Antiquities Trade Archives - Page 8 of 30

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Several magnificent 4th-century AD Roman sarcophagi will soon be on display in Ashkelon.

The site of ancient Samaria (Sebastia) has been damaged by arson and looters. The article discusses more broadly the destruction of archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria.

Artifacts discovered in a salvage excavation next to the Machpelah in Hebron may be buried to provide a path for disabled visitors.

Plans have been shelved that would have transformed the ruins of Lifta on the outskirts of Jerusalem into a residential and commercial area.

The arrest of three antiquities thieves in the West Bank resulted in the recovery of Roman and Byzantine coins, jewelry, doors, and a stone olive press.

Israel’s tourism industry is on it way to record highs.

“The Experience of Resurrection” is a new multimedia exhibition at the Franciscans’ Christian Information Center (CIC) located inside the Old City’s Jaffa Gate. The same Jerusalem Post article reports on several other new tours, including one which explores Wilson’s Arch.

After going on an international tour, the Magdala stone has returned home.

James McGrath reports on his tour of the region of Samaria, led by the grandson of the Samaritan high priest. This is part of a series entitled “In the Footsteps of John the Baptist.”

John DeLancey shares a video of the 1st-century pilgrimage road that runs from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is seeking more financial support.

Ilan Ben Zion summarizes two views on the origins of the Philistines. Aren Maeir believes that Philistines came to the land of Canaan in a series of mass migrations, arriving from many locations in the eastern Mediterranean over many decades, whereas Daniel Master argues that they came from Crete around 1175 BC.

Joseph Aviram, long-time director of the Israel Exploration Society, died at the age of 106 (Haaretz premium).

Chandler Collins reports on the transformation of a mound of dirt in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City into a paved parking lot. He has done a great job with before-and-after photos. (You can support his work and gain some nice benefits by becoming a patron.)

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Philistines, Sad News, Samaria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have made numerous discoveries, including an ornate first-century villa with its own ritual bath, after a project began to increase access for disabled people to Jerusalem’s Western Wall.”

Elon Gilad surveys the discussion over Gershon Galil’s reading of an ancient inscription discovered in Jerusalem, if it even is an inscription. Galil and Eli Shukrun were interviewed about the matter on i24 News recently.

David Ussishkin believes that Khirbet Qeiyafa was a vast walled cultic compound.

Israel is dedicating $1 million to the restoration of Tel Gezer after the recent fire. Steve Ortiz talks about the effects of the fire on The Book and the Spade.

The season at Tel Burna has concluded, and they have posted a summary of the results from each area with lots of photos.

For the OnScript Biblical World podcast, Chris McKinny interviews Tel Burna’s excavation director Itzick Shai on location during the dig.

i24 News has a 4-minute segment on “Tel Aviv’s hidden gems of antiquity.”

Nathan Steinmeyer writes about the recent restorations at Tel Ashkelon, including ongoing work of the basilica and odeon.

The Times of Israel’s original ‘Into the Land’ docuseries investigates two sensational objects that some have labeled as forgeries—the James Ossuary and the Jehoash Inscription (18 min).

A sale of Zondervan Academic resources for Logos includes the Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology, by Randall Price, for $8.99. Several of Gary Burge’s Ancient Context, Ancient Faith books are also for sale.

Rivka Merhav, pioneer curator of Neighboring Cultures at the Archaeology Wing of The Israel Museum, died this week (obituary in Hebrew).

Richard Freund, excavator of et-Tell (“Bethsaida”), died last week. The link is worth clicking just for the photo.

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Resources, Sad News, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have revealed rock layers of a stone quarry used for the construction of Constantine’s church. A press release from the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land gives more details about all of the excavation works in progress.

“An Israel Antiquities Authority bust in the northern Israeli city of Afula late last week yielded thousands of ancient coins and arrowheads.”

The Druze military fortress on Mount Arbel will open after being closed for a year and a half for conservation work.

The Museum of the Bible and DIVE are offering a virtual tour of Shiloh on August 10 ($20).

John DeLancey just returned from volunteering at the Tel Dan excavation, and he shares his experiences on The Book and the Spade.

Bryan Windle has created a well-illustrated archaeological biography of King Menahem. (If you don’t remember who that is, you’ll be reminded in the first paragraph.)

Cynthia Shafer Elliott writes about the first post in a series on the geographical context of ancient Israel, looking at Israel’s place in the ANE.

Leen Ritmeyer notes the publication of JewishQuarter Excavations, Volume VIII, focused on the Palatial Mansion. Leen has created a beautiful new reconstruction drawing of the mansion, available in his image library for only $6.

Glamping is increasingly popular in Israel, including rooftop options in Jerusalem.

I watched Gesher Media’s “The Philistines: Warriors to the West” and was very impressed with the high-quality production, featuring top archaeologists, an interesting storyline, and (my favorite!) stunning aerial footage. For $7.99, you can stream it anytime.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Movies, Philistines, Resources, Samaria, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“An ongoing underwater archaeological project [near Antikythera Island in Greece] most recently recovered a large marble head of a bearded male figure believed to be part of a statue of Hercules.”

Archaeologists discovered granite blocks from the time of Khufu at the temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, along with many other remains.

A study of cattle teeth discovered at Ur sheds light on the economy, health, and diet of ancient Mesopotamia.

Isabella Segalovich gives a brief history of women’s eyebrows in art.

Robyn Ramsden gives workshops on how to create your own Nag Hammadi codex.

“Italy has been so successful in recovering ancient artworks and artifacts that were illegally exported from the country it has created a museum for them.”

“The funerary portraiture from the city of Palmyra, in the eastern Roman Empire, is a rich and heterogenous display of identity dating to the first three centuries CE.”

“A new exhibit at the Israel Museum uses VR technology to bring back to life the rich heritage of the destroyed Great Synagogue of Aleppo.”

New release: The Archaeology of Iran from the Palaeolithic to the Achaemenid Empire, by Roger Matthews and Hassan Fazeli Nashli. Also available as a free download.

New release: A Guide to Scenes of Daily Life on Athenian Vases, by John Howard Oakley (University of Wisconsin Press, 2020). Summarized and reviewed here.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos of the only completely preserved chapel for emperor worship in the Roman world.

Joel Kramer’s latest video is about his visit to Babylon and how the prophecies against the city were fulfilled.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Mesopotamia, Museums, Persia, Resources, Syria, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Carl Rasmussen reports that the Classical Archaeology section of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum has reopened after a long closure, though the all-important upper floor is still not open. On his visit he discovered the “Assos Tablet” that he’s long been looking for.

Babylonian cuneiform texts are shedding light on the life of the ancient Judeans who were living in exile in Babylon.

Emlyn Dodd shares the ancient Egyptian recipe that he used for making olive oil.

A British tourist was given a 15-year jail sentence in an Iraqi prison after picking up a few potsherds as souvenirs.

“New York prosecutors have seized five Egyptian [antiquities] from the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of an international trafficking investigation involving the former head of Paris’s Louvre Museum.”

Hybrid workshop on July 1: Performing Tutankhamun: One Hundred Years of Retellings

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of stories from the month of May.

Clyde Billington is on The Book and the Spade to discuss Jewish perspectives on the exodus, including recent research by Lawrence Schiffman and Joshua Berman.

Accordance Bible Software is offering their best deals ever on graphics collections, including our Cultural Images of the Holy Land and Trees, Plants, and Flowers of the Holy Land. I would also recommend The Virtual Bible: 3D Reconstructions of the Biblical World ($20) and the bundle of five resources (including tabernacle and temple) from Rose Publishing ($40). See all the discounts here.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Photo Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Egypt has unveiled a major new archaeological find of 250 sarcophagi, 150 small bronze statues of gods and goddesses and other antiquities at the Saqqara necropolis.”

One of the more remarkable finds from the excavations of Satala in Turkey is an ornate bronze belt from an Urartian warrior.

Turkish authorities raided sites in 38 provinces in culmination of a yearlong investigation of an antiquities theft ring.

“The lost [Mittanian] city of ‘Zakhiku’ has resurfaced after spending decades underwater in the Mosul reservoir on the River Tigris in Iraq.”

Joel Kramer has found lots of sulfur balls at Numeira, a possible location of biblical Gomorrah.

Elon Heymans looks at the factors that led the use of silver and other precious metals as a form of currency at the beginning of the Iron Age in the ANE.

Greek Reporter: “Antioch on the Orontes, an ancient Greek city on the eastern side of the Orontes River, was one of the most glorious of all the Greek cities in the world.”

The Unsilencing the Archives Lectures from Badè Museum “explore the often-overlooked contributions made by Middle Easterners to archaeological excavations during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine.” The full series of 11 lectures is now online.

A 21-year-old punk broke into the Dallas Museum of Art and caused $5 million in damage, including the destruction of three ancient Greek vessels.

“Like us, the Romans were adept at scrolling — except they used actual, unwieldy scrolls. They would have loved OmnesViae, a handy online route planner, just for Roman roads.”

The Babylon Bee: “Archaeologists Have Just Discovered CONCLUSIVE PROOF Of The Bible.”

New release: Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honor of P. Kyle McCarter Jr., edited by Christopher Rollston, Susanna Garfein, and Neal H. Walls (SBL Press, $99). Free pdf download here (via AWOL).

BibleTelling’s Christian Storytelling Conference is being held in Jacksonville, Illinois, on June 23-25. The Story Concert will be broadcast live on Friday evening.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Deborah Hurn

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Jordan, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Technology, Turkey, Weekend Roundup