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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have discovered dramatic evidence of the conflagration that destroyed Azekah circa 1130 BC, leading them to dub the site as a “small Pompeii.”

According to news reports, a rare Tyrian shekel was discovered during a renovation project at the Tower of David Museum. This is true, except that the coin is not a shekel and not rare. It is a silver tetradrachm of Demetrios II Nikator from Tyre with a date of SE 184 = 129/8 BC.

While undergoing conservation work, a large structural crack was discovered in Herod’s tower in the Citadel of David.

Justin Kelley’s BAR article on “The Holy Sepulchre in History, Archaeology, and Tradition” is summarized in Bible History Daily, where a detailed plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is also provided.

Scholars are using high-tech imaging to understand thousands of hand-engraved crosses on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

A new “Emmaus Trail” allows walkers to travel the 11 miles (18 km) from Abu Ghosh to Nicopolis/Latrun. Leen Ritmeyer takes the occasion to propose that Emmaus should be identified with Bethel in the Old Testament.

David Moster has posted a new video that explains how to “make sense of the new Dead Sea Scrolls,” including a discussion of how important these discoveries are to biblical studies.

Randall Price is on The Book and the Spade discussing the new Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries.

The latest teaching video from John DeLancey is “The Life of Jesus – His Redemptive Purpose.”

New book: Jesus of Nazareth: Archaeologists Retracing the Footsteps of Christ, by Michael Hesemann. The author’s background and motivations are reported here.

Bryan Windle lists the top 10 discoveries related to Jesus.

Robert E. Cooley died on Thursday. During his career, he excavated Tel Dothan and helped to found the Near East Archaeological Society.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Resources, Sad News, Shephelah, Tomb of Jesus, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A well-preserved Roman arena, partially buried and hidden by vegetation, has been discovered in the ancient city of Mastaura, in Western Turkey.

A new study suggests it only took fifteen minutes after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius for the city of Pompeii to be engulfed in its lethal plume.

The ancient Diolkos of Corinth is being restored. The stone-paved road was once used for transporting ships across the isthmus. The well-illustrated article includes a video showing the Diolkos in operation.

Restoration work has begun at Alexandria, Egypt, on the sea wall, lighthouse, and ancient bridge.

NewScientist has a brief report on the excavations of Berenike, ancient Egypt’s southernmost port.

The NY Times has a feature on the forgotten pyramids of Sudan, with some beautiful photos.

BBC: “Kelly Grovier explores how images depicting a staged lion hunt were used to proclaim a king’s greatness.”

Webinar on April 12 and 13: “Jehu’s Tribute: What Can Biblical Studies Offer Assyriology?” Free registration is required.

Now online: The Archaeological Gazetteer of Iran: An Online Encyclopedia of Iranian Archaeological Sites, a free open-access online encyclopedia maintained by UCLA.

Ancient Iran: A Digital Platform provides various resources including timeline, maps, teaching tools, and photos.

The Louvre announced it now has more than half a million objects from its collection available to view online. The museum has hundreds of important objects related to biblical history.

Mark Wilson is on The Book and the Spade discussing the latest excavations at Laodicea, including an alleged house church.

“For Israelis, this year, Passover marks a celebration of freedom from virus.”

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Italy, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Persia, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bryan Windle reviews the top three reports in biblical archaeology in the month of March.

In a seven-minute video, Aren Maeir gives a quick overview of the archaeological process from start to finish.

Hannah Brown explains why spending a day or more at Timna Park in southern Israel is worthwhile.

Wayne Stiles is hosting a free webinar for the Passion Week, with an engaging look at Jesus’s final week, day by day.

An extract from the new CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible identifies five incidents and three patterns in Pilate’s life that set the context for the trial of Jesus.

BibleTimeLines.com has an extensive collection of timelines, graphics, and videos, including a timeline for the Passion Week.

Jordan J. Ryan considers how Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher celebrated more than Jesus’s resurrection.

The Infusion Bible Conference is a 3-day event focusing on the context of the biblical world. I’ll be back again this year. Early registration ends soon. Church leaders can take advantage of the IBC Press Kit to share with their congregations. (The conference has a virtual option this year.)

Not the millennium: “Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo is attempting damage control after kids saw a lion eat a bunny.”

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Arne Halbakken

The cemetery at Qumran has recently been “reconstructed.” Photo courtesy of Michael Schneider in Jerusalem.

Tagged Discoveries, Holidays, Lectures, Negev, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists working in Egypt’s Western Desert have discovered a monastery complex dating to the 4th to 8th centuries.

“Twenty-two royal Egyptian mummies are set to be transferred to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in a much-awaited parade in the streets of Cairo on 3 April.”

King Tut’s war shield has been restored so that it may be displayed to the public for the first time.

A small bronze bull was discovered after a rainfall near the temple of Zeus in Olympia.

Dimitris Tsalkanis describes his goals in creating “Ancient Athens 3D,” a collection of hundreds of digital models from seven historical periods from 1200 BC to AD 1833.

Some people are not happy with the proposal to loosen governmental control over five major museums in Greece.

There are a number of similarities between the chariot recently discovered chariot near Pompeii and five chariots discovered in Greece in 2002.

A beautiful, long-lost mosaic that once adorned a ship belonging to Caligula has found its way into an Italian museum.

A collection of 24 studies by Cyrus H. Gordon, published in a variety of books and journals between 1933 and 1982, have been compiled in pdf format by Robert Bedrosian.

In response to Peter J. Parr, Aren Maeir explains why preliminary reports and prompt publication of excavation results are essential.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Explorator, Steven Anderson

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Greece, Italy, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Jerusalem Post has more about the very old, very well-preserved woven basket that was announced at the same time as the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery.

The Israel Antiquities Authority has identified 20 caves in the Judean desert “with the potential for good artifacts” that will be excavated in the future.

Herb Keinon reflects on the possible significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls announcement that also mentioned the non-Jewish items of the woven basket and the mummified skeleton.

The city of Jerusalem has publicly acknowledged that the existence of a 150-meter tunnel that connects the Dormition Abbey to another church known as the “house of Joseph.” I suspect that there is much more to this story than is reported here.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos from a very interesting building in Jerusalem that dates to the Hasmonean or Herodian eras.

The Jerusalem Municipality archives, containing materials over 400 years old and more than 600,000 photos, will be digitized.

Jonathan Klawans argues that the Shapira scrolls should be regarded as forgeries because they “are suspiciously aligned with [Shapira’s] own curious mix of backgrounds and commitments.”

Jim Davila at Paleojudaica has some updates on the Shapira Scroll discussion.

Now online, incomplete but free: A Digital Corpus of Early Christian Churches and Monasteries in the Holy Land. This six-year project was carried out on behalf of the Hebrew University and the Institute of Archaeology.

One of my favorite books, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, is only $1.59 on Kindle right now. If you prefer paperback, you can support the author by buying it here.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick, Explorator, Steven Anderson

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Judah, Weekend Roundup

New Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Discovered

Archaeologists working in a cave in Nahal Hever near the Dead Sea have discovered two dozen scroll fragments. Most are Greek translations of portions of Zechariah and Nahum. Also announced was the discovery of “the world’s oldest woven basket” and the mummified skeleton of a child.

The announcement this morning reported the results of an operation begun in 2017, and the archaeologists are seeking more governmental support to continue the hunt for ancient artifacts in the Judean desert. The Times of Israel reports:

The latest identified finds, two dozen 2,000-year-old biblical scroll fragments from the books of Zechariah and Nahum, were discovered in clumps and rolled up in the Cave of Horror. The conservation and study of the fragments was conducted by the IAA’s Dead Sea Scrolls Unit under Tanya Bitler, Dr. Oren Ableman and Beatriz Riestra.

The team has so far reconstructed 11 lines of Greek text that was translated from Zechariah 8:16–17, as well as verses from Nahum 1:5–6. They join nine, much more extant fragments that were discovered by Yochanan Aharoni, who first surveyed the Cave of Horrors in 1953.

On the new fragments, as well as in the Greek translation scroll discovered by Aharoni, only the name of God appears in Hebrew. It is written in the Paleo-Hebrew script used during the First Temple period, as well as by some adherents of the Bar Kochba revolt (132–136 CE), including on coinage, and in the Qumran community.

For the full story, photos, and a video, see The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post, The New York Times, and other major news outlets.

Fragments of the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls. Photo by Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries