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The statue of a priest’s head was discovered in the western theater of Laodicea.

X-rays are revealing the insides of an Egyptian mummy.

Restoration of a 2,000 year old burial cave in Croatia revealed the tomb of a Greek warrior.

National Geographic runs a well-illustrated piece on the Emperor Hadrian’s relationship with the city of Athens.

New: The British Museum’s Excavations at Nineveh, 1846–1855, by Geoffrey Turner

“Nineveh’s renowned cultural heritage museum, known for the Islamic State’s disastrous attack on its treasures, has finally reopened to the public.”

A 3-D model recently made of the site of Mari “showed major vandalism of the Royal Palace and a huge amount of illegal excavation throughout the site.”

A collection of 25 photographs illustrate important archaeological sites in the UAE.

Assyriologist Veysel Donbaz is interviewed about ancient languages and tablets discovered in Turkey.

Chariots in ancient Egypt were ridden not only by men, but also certain women as well.

Online seminar: “‘An even more unexpected find’: The Synagogue of Dura-Europos and its place in local history,” with Ted Kaizer on Dec 16.

David Moster has posted the first video in a new series: “American Cities Named for the Bible.”

V. M. Traverso writes about the four earliest NT manuscripts, though the 1st century dates he gives are earlier than generally accepted.

An unparalleled collection of Judaica amassed by one of the greatest Jewish dynasties in the world and not seen in public for over a century is to be sold at auction.”

Phillip J. Long reviews A Rooster for Asklepios, by Christopher D. Stanley, the latest in the genre of scholarly novel. He highly recommends it as one of the best with “an interesting plot line which is rich in details illustrating the Greco-Roman world of mid-first century Asia Minor.”

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Explorator

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A seal impression of an official of King Jeroboam II has been discovered. It is a smaller version of the famous seal found at Megiddo in 1904 (and later lost). UPDATE (Aug 2021): This item is actually a common tourist replica.

An archaeologist has brought to light a menorah engraved in a Second Temple period tomb on the outskirts of Mukhmas (biblical Michmash), home of Jonathan the Hasmonean. The press release is here, and a journal article is available here.

Authorities are opening several new areas to visitors to Herodium, including the arched stairway, foyer, and private theater.

The underground excavations in Jerusalem took top prize for “Oddities of the Underground” at the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association Awards.

Israel21c photographs 10 eye-catching sculptures around Tel Aviv.

Wayne Stiles looks at traditional sites associated with Jesus’s flight to Egypt.

Bridges to the Bible has created their first series of videos, focusing on the communal culture of the biblical world.

Jerusalem University College will be hosting its first-ever online seminar on January 10 and 11. The event is free and open to the public.

Now available from ACOR (free pdfs): Archaeology in Jordan 2: 2018 and 2019 Seasons, edited by Pearce Paul Creasman, John D.M. Green, and China P. Shelton. This publication features over 50 reports on archaeological fieldwork, conservation initiatives, and publication projects in Jordan.

New: My Nine Lives: Sixty Years in Israeli and Biblical Archaeology, by William G. Dever

Favorably reviewed in the NY Times: A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology, by Toby Wilkinson.

Ferrell Jenkins has a lengthy, informative post about the problem of emperor worship faced by the seven churches in Revelation.

Leen Ritmeyer’s post on the synagogue of Capernaum includes a number of beautiful reconstruction drawings.

Wrapping up her long-distance internship with the PEF, Jade Dang explains how the maps of the Survey of Western Palestine provide a fascinating snapshot of history.

December is the perfect month for an archaeological biography on Herod the Great.

“Who Were the Maccabees, Really? Hannukah, the Hasmoneans and Jewish Memory,” A Conversation with Prof. Joseph Angel and Prof. Steven Fine, Dec 15, 11 am EST.

In asking why Jews today do not read a scroll for Hanukkah, David Golinkin recalls that historically the Scroll of Antiochus was read, but he proposes beginning a new custom by reading 1 Maccabees 1-4.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Explorator

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A mosaic stolen from Apamea is the oldest representation of a Roman hydraulic water wheel.

Karahantepe may be an older settlement than its famous neighbor Göbeklitepe.

Kevin Burrell has written an interesting, well-illustrated article on the Cushites in the Bible.

A new archaeological museum will be opening in Ermionida in the eastern Peloponnese of Greece.

The British Museum highlights objects relating to disability in their collection.

The British Museum is seeking help in naming its upcoming exhibition of the Roman emperor Nero.

New: Ebla: Archaeology and History, by Paolo Matthiae

Archaeopress is hosting a daily “Mystery Box” with Tuesday’s theme being the Ancient Near East. Purchase 5 mystery eBooks for £5.

The ABR online bookstore has many interesting resources, and shipping is free on orders of $40 or more with code: FREESHIP40.

Leen Ritmeyer is interviewed in the latest Discussions with the Diggers on Biblical Archaeology Report.

Secrets from the Ancient Paths has produced a five-part Christmas series, with short (8-10 min) segments featuring drone footage. Episode 3 was released today, focused on Herod’s impact on the Christmas story.

Shlomo Bunimovitz has died.

I have an extra set of Biblical Archaeology Review from 1975 to 2011. The volumes from 1975 to 2003 are bound (ex-library, good condition). Contact me for more information ([email protected]).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Explorator, Charles Savelle

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Archaeologists working near Beit El have discovered an ancient play die dating to the Second Temple period.

Scholars continue to discuss whether Judean Pillar Figurines were depictions of Asherah, fertility figurines, apotropaic symbols, or something else.

An article in Discover Magazine looks at the religious motivations of some archaeological projects in the last century.

A Jewish arsonist attempted to set fire to the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Christianity Today interviews Christopher Rollston about forgeries of biblical antiquities.

Drawing on the research of Shmuel Safrai, Brad Gray explains the educational system in Jesus’s day.

Carl Rasmussen’s “Encountering the Holy Land” is now available on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.

Leen Ritmeyer has created a new image collection illustrating the Roman destruction of the Temple Mount.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Explorator, Charles Savelle

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To celebrate their 45 years of selling and publishing books, Eisenbrauns is offering a 45% discount on all their titles from now until December 21. This is great news for some of us who have had our eye on a volume or two but were discouraged by ever-climbing book prices. This is the largest discount I have seen, perhaps ever, so be sure not to miss this rare opportunity. To apply the discount, use the code EB45 during checkout.

To help get started, the sale page provides lists of Eisenbrauns’ recent releases, some of their most popular sellers, and 15 of James Spinti’s Favorite Eisenbooks.±

We have highlighted, and often recommended, several Eisenbrauns books on this blog over the years. More recently, they have published the first of a new series, Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This initial volume contains the royal inscriptions of Amēl-Marduk, Neriglissar, and Nabonidus, covering the period 561-539 BC. (This seems a curious place to begin since the inscriptions of these same kings were published not all that long ago by Rocio da Riva. Nevertheless we are glad to see this new series appear. UPDATE: This information was incorrect. They overlap only with Amēl-Marduk and Neriglissar who combined have few inscriptions (14 texts). Da Riva’s publication includes Nabopolassar but does not include Nabonidus. The new Eisenbrauns volume includes Nabonidus but not Nabopolassar. For Nabopolassar 13 texts are published and for Nabonidus 61 texts (± 10) are published, so the Eisenbrauns volume covers quite a bit more material.

Also of note, one can use the sale discount to pre-order the The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II by Grant Frame, due out next year. As mentioned here and here and here and here, I have been looking forward to this volume coming out. [UPDATE: Later on the same day I wrote this, Eisenbrauns announced the release of this title, so it is available now.]

Eisenbrauns publishes archaeological reports, studies in Biblical Hebrew, as well as theology and Biblical studies. Here are some specific series our readers may wish to explore:
Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement
History, Archaeology, and Culture of the Levant
Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures
Mesopotamian Civilizations
Linguistic Studies in Ancient West Semitic
Languages of the Ancient Near East

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An Egyptian mummy with a woman’s portrait turned out to be a 5-year-old girl, based upon a study using high-resolution scans and X-ray microbeams.

SURA is a new project that will make available to the public 7,000 historic glass plate negatives from the Egyptological library of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.

“New analysis of a First Book of Breathing papyrus sheds light on its derivation from the Book of the Dead and postmortem deification in ancient Egypt.”

Wayne Stiles shares photos and looks at lessons to be learned from the pyramids of Giza.

Archaeologists are using artificial intelligence to analyze satellite images to identify ancient structures.

The Greek Reporter has created a short video showing the conservation and transportation of the mosaic of the Villa of Dionysus at Dion.

Carl Rasmussen shares photographs of Sinope, a likely recipient of Peter’s first epistle.

Gordon Govier asks, “Where are the other fake fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls?”

I just learned about thebiblesleuth.com, a weekly blog that links the Pentateuch with archaeological findings, following the Jewish annual reading cycle of the Torah. The blog is written in serial format, with the focus this year on the Iron Age IIA period (early Israelite monarchy).

In a three-minute video, John Currid answers the question, “Why is archaeology useful to Christians?”

Louise Pryke: “Nebuchadnezzar Explained: Warrior King, Rebuilder of Cities, and Musical Muse”

“Owning the Past: From Mesopotamia to Iraq” is a new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.

Accordance’s Black Friday sale includes big savings on collections, including a number of graphics collections.

James Sanders died last month.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Ferrell Jenkins, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken

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