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“Archaeologists discovered private seating areas with names engraved on them during excavation at a 1,800-year-old amphitheater in the ancient city of Pergamon.”

Excavations of the ancient Greek city of Magnesia in western Turkey have revealed the entrance gate to the temple of Zeus.

“The discovery of a 3,500-year-old paving stone, described as the “ancestor” of Mediterranean mosaics, offers illuminating details into the daily lives of the mysterious Bronze Age Hittites.”

“An international research team conducting excavations in the city of Tyre has discovered a large Roman temple complex.”

“Freedivers off the coast of Spain have uncovered a treasure trove of 53 perfectly preserved gold coins from the Roman Empire, one of the largest collections ever found in Europe.”

A forensic artist has used genetic data to create 3D models of the faces of three men who lived in ancient Egypt more than 2,000 years ago.

In light of Hobby Lobby’s lawsuit against Dirk Obbink, The New York Times gives a summary of the story to date.

Now online: An exclusive sneak peek of ‘Times of Fire’ the first feature film in The 7 Churches of Revelation series.

Now on pre-pub for Logos: CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible Notes ($20)

Accordance has a number of graphics resources on sale.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, A.D. Riddle

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“Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a collection of ancient tools that were used in religious rituals from the Temple of the Pharaohs (Boto) in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate north of Cairo.

The tomb of King Djoser in Saqqara has been reopened after restoration.

“A mass grave uncovered in Sidon, Lebanon, has shed new light on the Crusades and on the cruelty of medieval warfare.”

The United Nations announced that a 3,500-year-old tablet containing the Epic of Gilgamesh was returned this week to Iraq.

Most of Iran’s 746 museums have reopened after being closed due to Covid.

Istanbul’s Hisart Live History Museum covers a wide range of historical periods and features a large collection of diorama art.

“A team of Polish archaeologists in Nea Paphos, Cyprus have unearthed a 1,500-year-old two-sided amulet depicting a palindrome inscription written in ancient Greek.”

A digital interactive guide has been launched to provide visitors with information about the 205 archaeological museums in Greece.

Zoom lecture on Oct 6: “Alexander the Great: His Career, Character, and What Made Him ‘Great,’” by Jennifer Tobin.

Zoom webinar on Oct 13-15: “Work/Life: Institutions, Subjectivities and Human Resources in the Roman World,” hosted by the NYU Center for Ancient Studies.

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

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An ancient stone weight dug up in Jerusalem has been found to be far heavier than the amount written on its surface, leading archaeologists to assume it was used to cheat in trading.” The discovery was presented at a conference in Jerusalem on Thursday (video in Hebrew here).

A report has recently been published on the overt and covert involvement of Israelis in archaeological research in the West Bank between 1948 and 1967.

Work has begun to renovate the bridge leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount.

A new app allows visitors to explore the archaeological remains of the Church of the Glorious Martyr recently excavated near Beth Shemesh. The latest issue of BAR has more information about the church, and Owen Jarus provides a summary.

Archaeologists working in Saqqara used ancient Egyptian technology to raise a sarcophagus to the surface (3-min video).

Archaeologists announced the discovery of a settlement in Alexandria dating back to the 2nd century BC, including a sculpture of Alexander the Great.

“One of the most important religious centers of the ancient world, the city of Akhmim in southern Egypt is presented in the exhibit Akhmim: Egypt’s Forgotten City, currently on display in the James Simon Gallery of the Berlin State Museums.”

The “wine of Lebanon” mentioned by the prophet Hosea was famous in antiquity. An article in The Ancient Near East Today describes some new archaeological evidence for the production of Phoenician wine.

The skull of a woman who underwent the world’s first brain surgery will be reconstructed using a beeswax technique.

Norwegian authorities “confiscated approximately 100 antiquities from the extensive collection of Martin Schøyen which Iraqi authorities believe were illicitly removed from their country.”

On Sept. 19, Yosef Garfinkel will be speaking in the next Friends of ASOR webinar on the topic of “David, Solomon, and Rehoboam’s Kingdom—The Archaeological Evidence.”

On Dec 1, Andrea Berlin will be speaking in the BAS Scholars Series on “The Rise of the Maccabees:What Archaeology Reveals About Antiquity’s Last Independent Jewish Kingdom.”

This week’s program on The Book and the Spade: Ashkelon basilica, Sussita theater, missing walls, with Clyde Billington.

Lois Tverberg takes a Hebraic look at the gospel and its surprising bearers.

“For the Jewish New Year, Joan Nathan composes a dish that pays tribute to foods that the biblical Canaanites might have eaten.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick

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Ruth Schuster has a photo essay of finds from the summer’s excavations of the temple at Motza (Moza) near Jerusalem.

A new study suggests that the site of Qumran was not a permanent settlement but a place where the Essenes came on pilgrimage once a year (Haaretz premium).

Brent Nongbri has a note about some little-known Dead Sea Scrolls fragments in the Vatican Museums.

Aren Maeir has posted his short summary of the Philistines, written for the Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel: Samuel.

Ukrainian travel photographer Alexander Ladanivskyy has captured some unique photos of the Great Pyramid of Giza using a drone.

Madeleine Muzdakis writes about the remarkably well-preserved statue of Ka’aper, with its beautiful rock-crystal and copper eyes.

Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs, an exhibition of Ancient Egyptian artifacts opens at the Houston Museum of Natural Science on November 20.”

Appian Media has released a teaser trailer for Trial & Triumph, a feature-length documentary on the seven churches of Revelation.

Phys.org has an article about the underwater archaeological park at Baiae, near Naples, Italy, where villas of the Roman emperors are now submerged under 15 feet of water.

A New York City antiquities dealer has been charged with selling antiquities that he mass-produced.

Philip Zhakevich looks at the ancient evidence for writing and scribes in ancient Israel. For more, see Zhakevich’s recent Scribal Tools in Ancient Israel: A Study of Biblical Hebrew Terms for Writing Materials and Implements. (60% off at Amazon now; my guess is that that price is very temporary.)

The fall issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on a Canaanite temple at Lachish and a Byzantine church near Beth Shemesh. An article on the importance of public scholarship is based on a recorded Zoom conversation with Eric Cline, Melissa Cradic, and Jodi Magness, available online here.

You can catch up on the top three reports in biblical archaeology for the month of August with Bryan Windle’s overview.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Ted Weis

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Archaeologists working at a construction site in a Tel Aviv suburb discovered a mosaic-floored winepress, a chandelier chain, and a hand-signed Byzantine gold coin.

The “Shema, servant of Jeroboam” seal impression announced last year is a fake. Yuval Goren claimed the seal was authentic after “years of strict laboratory testing,” but the object is in fact a common tourist replica.

A new study reveals that olive oil production in Philistia and the Judean Shephelah began earlier than thought and was significant in Judah after Sennacherib’s invasion. The journal article is available for purchase here.

“A large Roman-era sarcophagus dating to the 2nd or 3rd century CE excavated illegally at an unknown location in Israel has been returned to the Israel Antiquities Authority.”

In the OnScript Biblical World podcast, Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the excavations of Tel Burna, including destructions by Shishak, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar.

Leen Ritmeyer’s latest post surveys Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in the Hellenistic period.

A lecture that Nancy Lapp gave in 2019 at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is online. Entitled “Adventures and Discoveries from Half a Century of Life as an Archaeologist,” Nancy focuses mostly on her explorations with her husband Paul in the 1950s and 1960s, including driving from England to Shechem and on to India.

New release: Tel Reḥov, A Bronze and Iron Age City in the Beth-Shean Valley, Volume IV, Pottery Studies, Inscriptions and Figurative Art, by Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen (Qedem 62) (The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2020). To order, contact the IES.

Now available: The Road Taken: An Archaeologist’s Journey to the Land of the Bible, by Seymour (Sy) Gitin. Save 30% with code NR21.

Navot Rom has a unique job, working the night shift as an archaeological inspector in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Tell es-Safi team was doing more than digging this year, answering the “Jerusalema Challenge” with an impressive video showing off the team’s dancing skills.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, G. M. Grena, Ted Weis, Explorator, Charles Savelle

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A massive boundary stone marking the city limits of ancient Rome in the 1st century AD was discovered near the mausoleum of Augustus during construction work.

The monumental entrance gate of the Zeus Temple’s sanctuary in the ancient city of Aizanoi, located in the Çavdarhisar district of western Kütahya province, Turkey, was unearthed during recent excavations.”

The latest discovery from the submerged ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion are fruit baskets from the 4th century BC.

Egypt moved the 4,600-year-old solar boat of Pharaoh Khufu from its old home near the Great Pyramid to the soon-to-open Grand Egyptian Museum.

A new study concludes a tablet from the Old Babylonian period is the oldest example of applied geometry.

17,000 looted artifacts were returned to Iraq from the Museum of the Bible and Cornell University.

A 3-min clip from a BBC documentary on the Persians focuses on the ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil, one of the best preserved ancient ziggurats.

Zoom lecture on August 11: “From Sanctuary to Synagogue,” by Robert Stieglitz.

On pre-publication sale at Logos: Biblical Illustrator Treasury

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Andy Cook, Roger Schmidgall, Explorator

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