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Weekend Roundup

National Geographic has a beautiful seven-shot photo gallery of King Herod’s tomb, including good information about the recent discoveries. The Book and the Spade discusses the tomb in its current radio broadcast (direct link from this page).

Leon Mauldin has posted a beautiful aerial photograph of Aphek/Antipatris.

No, I didn’t watch the 60 Minutes piece on the excavations in the City of David. After a while, dishonest reporting is no longer even entertaining.

The Jerusalem Post has a short article on the stones of Jerusalem, including mention of the British
Mandate law requiring that buildings in the city be faced with it.

Logos 4 was released a year ago, but I waited until recently before installing it on my computer. I’ll add my voice to the chorus praising the program. If you didn’t already know, each of the base packages includes a module entitled “BiblePlaces.com Image Library,” which features 350 selected photographs from our collection.

The new Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible arrived in the mail Saturday. I am impressed by the attractiveness of the pages (full color) and the selection of writers for the notes. I like the appropriately chosen photos of biblical sites and artifacts, and I was usually pleased with what was written about the controversial issues I checked. Apparently the whole Bible is online at mystudybible.com, but it was a bit slow when I tried.

Last week my family welcomed another son into our home. He missed the 10-10-10 date by one day, but otherwise he is perfect.

Tagged Herod's Tomb, Jerusalem, Resources

Summer 2010 Discoveries at Qeiyafa

During the summer, I noted Luke Chandler’s tantalizing comment about the discoveries at Khirbet Qeiyafa. He has now posted twice about the finds, including details and photos of a stable building for mules (?) and the discovery of several weapons. All of these are dated by the archaeologist to the early Iron IIa period, the time of David.

HT: Ferrell Jenkins

Tagged Discoveries, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup

Construction of a new parking lot underneath the Jewish Quarter was reported to require the first breach of the Old City walls of Jerusalem in more than a hundred years. Well, not quite. First, the architect clarified that he was only going under the walls and not through them. Then Leen Ritmeyer explained that the walls were not breached a hundred years ago for Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit. The walls are safe, for now.

A program on the “New Finds in Jaffa Gate” will be held on Oct 12, 2010, 6-8 pm at Jerusalem’s Yad Ben Zvi Institute. Ofer Sion and Shahar Poni will lecture on the discoveries, including the channel leading to Hezekiah’s Pool. The lecture notice (in Hebrew) can be found here and here (pdf).

HT: Joe Lauer

A statue of Hathor disappeared from a temple at Serabit el-Khadim and was discovered in the Sinai desert five days later. Authorities are questioning the site’s security guards.

Following Friday’s report that the Syrian army has a Scud missile base near Damascus, Jay Baggett (Land of the Bible) created a flyover tour to the “hidden” base where the missiles can be easily seen on Google Earth.

Steven Lancaster and James Monson have completed the Geobasics Study Guide, an outstanding and unique work that deserves a post of its own. In the meantime, you can get a copy for yourself. The guide is in pdf format and is free. The accompanying map book is (only) $15.

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Syria, Weekend Roundup

Jericho Celebrates 10,000 Years on 10-10-10

Jericho is attempting to capitalize on today’s unique date in connection with its claim to be a 10,000-year-old city. From the AP:

Visitors to ancient Jericho Sunday got a rare glimpse at what archaeologists here say is the largest carpet mosaic in the Middle East, measuring nearly 900 square meters (9,700 square feet).
The small red, blue and ochre square stones laid out in complex geometric and floral patterns cover the floor of the main bath house of an Islamic palace that was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. Since being excavated in the 1930s and 1940s, the mosaic has largely remained hidden under layers of canvas and soil to protect it against sun and rain.
Starting Sunday, a small section will be laid bare for a week, as part of Jericho’s 10,000th birthday celebrations. The mosaic then will be covered up again until the money is found to build a roof that would serve as a permanent weather shield, said Palestinian archaeologist Hamdan Taha.
Biblical Jericho attracts a steady flow of pilgrims, but the small Jordan Valley oasis is making a major push these days to become a magnet for tourists, presenting itself as the oldest city on earth. Marking the 10,000th birthday Sunday is entirely random, though, with archaeologists saying they could be off by hundreds of years in dating the first human settlement in the area.

Where does the 10,000-year-old claim come from? First, the issue is not settlement, as remains of earlier sites have been found around the world. Jericho claims to be unique because of its early fortifications. Second, Kenyon identified remains of a city (with a wall and tower) from the earliest part of the Neolithic period. Some archaeologists date the beginning of the Neolithic period to 8000 BC, or 10,000 years before present.

Massive stone tower at Jericho from the Neolithic period

Over the years, various signs have welcomed visitors to the “oldest city in the world.”

Tagged Tourism

Harding Excavations at Beth Shemesh

Last night I was talking with a friend about how to choose a good summer excavation for his college students. I suggested three main criteria: (1) a site with historic significance and well-preserved remains; (2) an excavation group that fits the character of his own; (3) a program with evening lectures and weekend trips.

These three factors are all present in this report of Harding University’s successful summer excavations at Beth Shemesh. From the Christian Chronicle:

For more than a decade, Dale Manor, professor of archaeology and Bible at Harding University, has taken history buffs and aspiring archaeologists on summer excavation trips to Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel.
The groups that Manor usually takes on the four-week digs consist mostly of archaeology students and faculty from secular universities.
“I had never been on a project where the majority of the people were even religious,” Manor said.
But that changed this past summer.
All 14 participants in Manor’s most recent trip were members of Churches of Christ.
“Through the years, a number of folks had indicated interest in coming to excavate, and I pressed them into making a decision,” Manor said of his fellow Christians.
Beth-Shemesh, about 12 miles southwest of Jerusalem, is where the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant to Israel, as recorded in I Samuel 6. It’s also the site of some of Samson’s activities during the time of the Judges.
Manor said excavations at Beth-Shemesh since 1990 have uncovered an underground water reservoir and the largest iron workshop found in the Middle East, both dating around the 10th Century B.C.

The story continues here.

Tagged Excavations, Shephelah

Jesus at Hazor

Gordon Franz has just written a unique article entitled “Jesus at Hazor.” It’s unique because while there are many biblical stories that explicitly mention the city and area of Hazor, none of them are from the New Testament. Yet Franz has found a number of connections. He writes:

In this essay, a case will be suggested that Jesus walked past the mound on at least two occasions with His disciples. The first time they might have visited Hazor was when Jesus took His disciples on a tour of the cities and villages of Galilee. The second time might have been when Jesus and His disciples went to Tyre and Sidon. They could have viewed the site from a distance when they went to and from Caesarea Philippi.

Franz gives a careful look at the sites and routes in Galilee that Jesus probably visited and traveled upon, but which are not known by many tourists or students today. He also has written a separate article on spiritual lessons that Jesus might have taught the disciples while at Hazor.

Hazor from southwest

Tagged Galilee