BiblePlaces Blog - Page 384 of 555

iSrael on the iPhone

iPhone users in Israel can now download an application that provides detailed information about tourist sites in Israel. The free application is called iSrael and has been developed by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. From the Jerusalem Post:

The application has three main sections: sites, tracks and accommodations. Each section can be navigated either by operating the “Around Me” option, which detects the user’s geographic location via GPS and arranges the information by distance from the user’s location; or by choosing the “By Region” option, which presents information according to the part of the country the user wishes to explore. Once a location is selected, users can choose from a list of sites according to their interests. The list includes themes such as archeology and history, nature and animals, holy places, national sites and parks and gardens. Choosing a category opens a list of all the relevant available attractions in the area and users can select a specific site out of the options offered. Clicking on a site opens a new page, which provides a photo and a description of the site as well as helpful information like contact details, hours of operation, a map of the area, a precise address and a link to the attraction’s website. The tracks section allows users to locate tours based on their interest and physical abilities. The section is divided into hiking tours, bicycle tours, vehicle tours and tours for people with disabilities. Each tour contains a description of the sites along the way and a map of the route. For now the selection is fairly limited, but Tourism Ministry officials said that more tours will be available as more are uploaded by the ministry and as other tourism bodies contribute suggested tours.

The full article is here.

Tagged Technology, Tourism

Excavation and Restoration of the Tomb of the Kings

Tom Powers commented on yesterday’s post, but knowing that many do not read the comments, I’m making a portion of it a post of its own. He is replying to my statement that “Gaining access to the tomb today is more difficult than the average tourist site, but it is well worth it.”

Just a word about access to the “Tombs of the Kings” these days: There is none, as far as I know, for the forseeable future. The main reason is that the site is undergoing complete restoration. In fact, as part of this process folks from the Ecole were called on to excavate on top of the tomb and completely remove all of the accumulated earth. One object was to inspect and then seal the bedrock surfaces there, in order to prevent leakage of water into the tomb chambers. Also of interest, though, was to try to identify any traces of a superstructure — a nefesh — over the tomb, especially since Josephus mentions the “monuments of Helena” (War 5:147) as a landmark in tracing the line of Jerusalem’s Third Wall. Many have supposed that the tomb featured the sort of pyramids or cones that you have atop the “display tombs” in the Kidron Valley. Long story short: nothing conclusive was found. One byproduct, though: several tons of nice topsoil, which wound up in the garden of the Ecole Biblique!

You can see one artist’s reconstruction of the tomb with the original superstructure in James Finegan, The Archeology of the New Testament, page 315.

I hope that the current restoration work signifies an interest in making the tomb accessible to the public.

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem

Sarcophagus of Queen Helene on Display

The most impressive tomb in all of Israel from any of the biblical periods is the “Tomb of the Kings.” Despite its modern name, the tomb actually belonged to Queen Helene of Adiabene, a royal convert to Judaism from a Mesopotamian kingdom. Her tomb was constructed about a decade after the crucifixion of Jesus a few hundred meters north of the Garden Tomb. Gaining access to the tomb today is more difficult than the average tourist site, but it is well worth it.

Tomb of Queen Helene of Adiabene, aka Tomb of the Kings

One thing you will not see at the tomb, however, is Queen Helene’s sarcophagus. This 2,600-lb (1,200 kg) stone coffin was shipped to the Louvre following the tomb’s excavation in the 1860s. I’ve hunted around the French museum looking for this sarcophagus, but without success. The object has been safely stored in the basement for years and years. Nevertheless, the French were reluctant to loan the sarcophagus to Israel where people could actually view it. After a year of negotiation, the sarcophagus has arrived at the Israel Museum where it will be on display for four months as part of the exhibition, “Breaking Ground: Pioneers of Biblical Archaeology.”

Queen Helene is not mentioned in the New Testament, but there is a connection. Josephus (Ant. 20.2.5) writes that she supplied food for Jerusalem during the famine that is mentioned in Acts 11:27-30.

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Haaretz tells the story and provides a photo. For more about the tomb itself, including photos and links, see this page at BiblePlaces.com. Several years ago, archaeologists working in Jerusalem claimed that they located her palace in the City of David.

Tagged Jerusalem, Museums, New Exhibits

Weekend Roundup

To everyone who has written me asking how to visit the new excavations at Magdala, Tom Powers answers your question. He also provides a map showing the excavation and construction areas.
For the first time in 2,000 years, Babylonian texts have been read aloud. The readings by Cambridge University scholars are available online.

The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library for Logos Bible Software will no longer be on pre-publication discount after this week. Readers here may be particularly interested in the standard archaeological reference works by Mazar and Stern, but there are many valuable resources in this collection.

Raphael Golb was convicted of 30 counts of identity theft, forgery, and harassment.

Perhaps the weekend is a good opportunity for you to read my article on the location of David’s palace, if you haven’t already.

Tagged Dead Sea, Galilee, Resources

Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum Lecture Series 2010-11

From the DigSight Newsletter:

October 7, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Khirbet Qeiyafa 2010: Excavating in the Shadow of Alexander the Great, by Michael G. Hasel

(Southern Adventist University)

October 28, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Uncovering the Past: 50 Years of Biblical Archaeology, by William G. Dever (University of Arizona, emeritus)

November 16, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Ancient Coins of Khirbet Qeiyafa: A Stronghold on the Road to Jerusalem, by Yoav Farhi (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

March 16, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
In Search for Joshua’s Ai, by Bryant Wood (Associates for Biblical Research)

The museum lecture series is free and open to the public. All lectures are held in the Lynn Wood Hall building on the campus of Southern Adventist University. For driving directions and parking information, visit our website.

Tagged Lectures

Flight Tours over Israel with Google Earth

Google Earth is a fantastic tool that combines high-resolution aerial imagery with a “flying” engine so that users can travel anywhere in the world in seconds. The problem is that most people don’t know where they’re going. Jay Baggett is on the way to solving this problem for students and teachers of the Bible. His new website, Land of the Bible, features more than a dozen video tours through the 3-D landscape of Israel and Jordan.

After you get an introduction on the home page, you can see a list of the flights in the left sidebar.

You’ll notice that Jay has plans to create many more in the future. If you want a short tour, you can start with “David & Goliath,” which begins David’s hometown in Bethlehem and brings you down to the Elah Valley and the stage for the famous battle. As the video proceeds, the “tour notes” on the right make it clear what you are seeing and why it is important.

Fly-over tour at landofthebible.com

For a longer tour, click “From Dan to Beersheba.” This is a great way to get a feel for the whole land and how one site is related to another. If you want to “pick up the pace,” you can always click the “fast-forward” button; each click doubles the speed of the video.

Most of the tours are located in the “Pilgrim’s tour of Israel and Jordan.” Since most visitors see similar sites on the same basic route, this tour will be useful to many tourists even if they were not on Jay’s trip last year.

The videos require a Google Earth plug-in and they do not seem to work in Firefox. This is a great tool and I look forward to seeing the new fly-overs as Jay finishes them.

Tagged Technology, Tourism