BiblePlaces Blog - Page 345 of 555

Seven New Kingdom Tombs Opened in Saqqara

Egypt is looking to bring visitors back with the opening of seven new tombs 20 miles from Cairo. From the Jerusalem Post:

Egypt’s antiquities ministry on Monday opened seven New Kingdom tombs that were previously unavailable to the public. The tombs include the final resting place of King Tutankhamen’s treasurer as well as a general, Horemheb, who would later become king.
Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass announced the opening of the South Saqqara tombs on his website on May 22. The tombs are located about 30 kilometers south of Cairo and near Djoser’s Step Pyramid. The seven tombs are from New Kingdom, a period that lasted from the 16th century to 11th century B.C.
The tomb of King Tut’s treasurer, Maya, while unfinished, features images of Maya and his wife Merit. Maya helped Tutankhamen reopen temples in the then-capital Luxor, further south in Egypt, which had been abndoned during his father Akhenaton’s rule for the site of Amarna. He helped Tutankhamen restore order in a country that had been disrupted by his father’s drastic changes including the move of the capital and abolishing of the priestly order.

The full story is here. The story is also reported by the AP. NTDTV has a four-minute video.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, told reporters:

We are opening this new cemetery today to tell the whole world that Egypt is safe and come to smell and to see the magic and the mystery of Egypt.

Tagged Egypt, Tourism

Lecture: Barkay on the Temple Mount

Gabriel Barkay will be lecturing on Wednesday, May 25, 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. The lecture title is “Ancient News from the Temple Mount,” and entrance is included with admission to museum. Advance reservations may be made online or at the museum itself.
Barkay will likely be updating his audience with the latest discoveries from the Temple Mount Sifting Project which he co-directs. For more about this work, see the following posts:

Archaeological Remains from the Temple Mount (March 2011)

Barkay on Claim to Temple Mount (May 2010)

Interviews with Monson and Barkay (March 2010)

Temple Mount Sifting Project: Support Needed (December 2009)

New Discoveries Related to Temple Mount (November 2009)

Gabriel Barkay Interviewed (November 2009)

Two Important Coins Found in Temple Mount Rubble (December 2008)

Temple Mount Sifting Project: Video (March 2008)

Excavation Opportunities in 2008 (January 2008)

Temple Mount “Excavation” Update (September 2007)

Finds from the Temple Mount (November 2006)

Temple Mount Debris Summary (October 2006)

Trash Worth Digging Through: The Dump on the Temple Mount (initial story written before blog
began)

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Lectures

Weekend Roundup

David Hendin describes the conclusion of a two-week season of excavating at Sepphoris with Eric and Carol Meyers.

Israel’s water crisis is over, says the former head of the Water Authority. No, it’s not, says the Authority’s spokesman. “We will be under the red line this summer in all three main reserves.”

Giovanni Pettinato, well known for his work in translating the Ebla tablets, has passed away.

John Lund, a 70-year-old tour guide from Utah, was arrested this week in Israel for selling stolen antiquities. He allegedly made $20,000 from recent sales, but only had to post bail of $7,500. (Does that make sense to anyone else?) James Davila faults the media for calling Dr. Lund an Egyptologist despite the fact that “he is a retired adjunct lecturer in areas that have nothing to do with ancient history.” He concludes that, “it has become obvious that the media could not identify an Egyptologist if one rose up from an alabaster coffin in front of them”!

A number of interesting travel pieces have been written in the last week or two:

Ferrell Jenkins has located a portion of the Roman road in the eastern Galilee near the Golani Junction.

Jenkins also points out Carl Rasmussen’s photos that reveal just how oppressive a khamsin in Jerusalem is.

Shmuel Browns describes Mount Arbel and what you can see on a hike in the area.

Joe Yudin takes his readers to the places of Gideon’s life, including his hometown of Ophrah, the Hill of Moreh, and the Spring of Harod.

Wayne Stiles continues his weekly “Sights and Insights” column with a visit to Tel Arad’s Early Bronze and Iron Age cities.

Jonathan Goldstein investigates some of the more modern attractions in Nazareth.

Tagged Galilee, Jerusalem, Negev, Weekend Roundup

Germany Agrees to Give Sphinx of Hattusa to Turkey

In February, A.D. Riddle wrote here about the Turkish government’s demands that Germany give them the Sphinx of Hattusa. Turkey threatened to revoke the German license to excavate Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites. The Germans have been excavating this site before the modern country of Turkey was even founded.

Alexander Schick has informed us of an article in the German press that reports that Germany has surrendered to Turkish demands and will be sending the Sphinx to Istanbul (rough English translation here). Schick has also sent along photographs of the artifact. (Our previous post included only photos of the replica.)

The Sphinx of Hattusa (circled in red) will be given to Turkey. The replica is on the right. Also on the right is a stela of Esarhaddon from Sam’al/Zincirli, from 671 BC.

The Germans brought the Sphinx to Berlin in 1915 to restore it. At the time Germany and the Ottoman Empire were allies as the First World War was beginning.

If I was a German archaeologist working in Turkey, I’d plan to wrap my work up very soon. Those who succeed in blackmail are not likely to change their ways.

All photos courtesy of Alexander Schick.

Tagged Museums, Turkey

Bible Exhibition in OKC

The “Passages” exhibit opened on Monday and runs through October 16 of this year. It is hosted by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. From explorepassages.com:

Passages is a 14,000-square-foot interactive, multimedia exhibition for all ages. It features some of the most exquisite and rare biblical manuscripts, printed Bibles, and historical items in the world. These cultural treasures include a Dead Sea Scroll text, ancient biblical papyri, beautifully illuminated manuscripts, early printed materials, including a portion of the Gutenberg Bible, and multiple first editions of the English Bible through the King James Version.
Visitors are immersed in a fascinating story that spans over two thousand years, winding through Judeo-Christian history, from an ancient synagogue to a modern excavation site where new discoveries are being made. Over 300 of the world’s rarest artifacts are presented in highly thematic settings which depict significant historical periods of time that are brought to life with animatronic historical figures, creative films and many interactive activities for both the young and old.
Each guest is provided with an iPod touch, at no additional charge, so they may travel through time with expert commentary on the artifacts by some of the world’s leading scholars. There is even a children’s listening track hosted by Louie the Lion.
Special effects and surprises are found throughout the exhibit so that guests can not only get a glimpse into history but also feel as if they are part of the translation and transmission of the Bible into English.
The self directed tour ends with an original film that capsulates this amazing story, shot on location throughout the world, with special narration by Wintley Phipps.

For more information, see the official website. Tickets are $26 online. The website suggests that the exhibit will be moving to the Vatican and to New York City in the future.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged Museums, New Exhibits

Wednesday Roundup

The Israeli State Comptroller report released yesterday finds that the Muslim work in “Solomon’s Stables” was destructive and illegal.

It is dangerous to travel in the Middle East, but not because of war or terror. You’re much more likely to die in a car accident. The traffic fatality rate average is nearly three times that of Europe.

It is not only crazy drivers that one must fear in Israel, but rockslides. A man driving on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway found his car destroyed when passing the Hemed Junction near Abu Gosh.

A new park near the Ben Gurion Airport will be three times the size of Central Park in New York City, built on top of a large garbage dump.

The largest dish of hummus was created last year in Abu Gosh (and then again surpassed in Lebanon), but honors for the largest falafel ball go to a chef in Santa Clarita, California. [What else do Abu Gosh and Santa Clarita have in common? Answer: Proximity to two campuses of one of the best educational institutions in the world.]

Israel received a lot of rainfall in April, but it’s not enough. And the water level of the Dead Sea is now 1,358 feet (424.44 m) below sea level.

Dennis Dufrene looks back at the “discovery” of Noah’s Ark by the Hong Kong group last year and concludes that “All of these issues point to the fact that the NAMI find was most certainly a hoax.”

Abu Gosh, formerly home to the largest hummus dish and near location of recent rockslide. The Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway cuts across the photo. View from the southeast.

Tagged Jerusalem, Pseudo-Archaeology, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weather