Discoveries Archives - Page 33 of 142

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A 7th-century BC temple facade with Phrygian writing was discovered in western Turkey.

Restoration work is underway in the Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak Temple.

Betina Faist provides an introduction to legal practices in the Neo-Assyrian empire.

Farmers and artisans in Egypt are struggling to keep alive the ancient tradition of making papyrus.

ArtDaily has a photo essay of how the ancient technique of making papyrus paper continues today in Egypt (temporary link; see under “The Best Photos of the Day.”)

“From ancient Egypt to the Persian Empire, an ingenious method of catching the breeze kept people cool for millennia.”

The Jerusalem Post article about the discovery of the actual Trojan Horse is a hoax based on a satirical report in 2014.

Alexandra Ariotti reviews the history of Jews on the island of Crete, from before Paul’s travels there to the present day.

Free download: Guide to Ancient Near Eastern Art, by Ruth Ezra, Beth Harris, and Steven Zucker (Smarthistory, 2019).

Daily Sabah gives a short profile of Timothy Harrison, an archaeologist who has been excavating Tell Tayinat for nearly 20 years.

After 20 years of red ink, the Holy Land Experience in Orlando has permanently closed. (See our list of Bible-Related Attractions in the US.)

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Mediterranean Islands, Mesopotamia, Resources, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A curious tour guide found a stash of ancient coins all lumped together on the beach of Atlit.

An Israeli girl found a Byzantine-era coin at the ancient site of Chorazin during a scavenger hunt game.

Haaretz (premium) posts some photos of recent finds made in the excavations of Azekah.

Construction has begun on a controversial elevator at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

“New research based on the analysis of dozens of pottery vessels has suggested has shown that in the period between the Assyrian conquest and the Babylonian destruction, a new cultural group emerged in the biblical Kingdom of Judah.”

Live Science has a follow-up article on the 8th-century earthquake evidence found in Jerusalem with responses from scholars who agree with the earthquake conclusion.

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the site of Khirbet er-Ra‘i/Arai, including the “Jerubbaal” inscription and whether the site should be identified as biblical Ziklag.

The latest episode in This Week in the Ancient Near East podcast considers the significance of the “Jerubbaal” inscription.

There are more archaeological connections to the reign of King Jehoash than you might think, as Bryan Windle shows in his latest archaeological biography.

If you’re in Jerusalem this month or next, you can try out the ropes course or the zip line at the Tower of David Museum.

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

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Italy, Lectures, Persia, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working in the City of David believe that they have found evidence of the 8th-century BC earthquake that occurred in the reign of Uzziah (Amos 1:1; Zech 14:5).

Archaeologists believe they have discovered the place where the Aramean king Hazael breached the walls of the Philistine city of Gath.

Israel will not renew the contract for Elad to run the Davidson Archaeological Park south of the Temple Mount (Haaretz premium).

Ruth Schuster gives the case for identifying el-Araj as the New Testament site of Bethsaida.

Haim Silberstein lists “10 of the best underground attractions in Israel.”

Bruce Chilton writes about “Herod, His Progeny, and the Cutting Edge of Power.”

The current issue of Adventist Review has a number of articles related to biblical archaeology.

This week on The Book and the Spade: “Wet Sifting or Not, An Archaeological Dilemma” with Jimmy Hardin.

Online conference on Sept 30: Jerusalem and Other Chosen Places

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

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Philistines, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Researchers in Saudi Arabia have discovered a sixth-century B.C.E. rock carving of the last Babylonian king, Nabonidus” along with a lengthy cuneiform inscription.

“Beneath the murky waves of the Venice Lagoon, researchers have discovered the remains of an ancient Roman road and other possible port facilities, like a dock, that may predate the founding of the Italian city.”

“A spectacular ancient mosaic floor that was part of a building from the Hellenistic period is among the important finds from excavations carried out recently at Fabrika Hill in Kato Paphos, Cyprus.” The photo is apparently not of the newly discovered mosaic.

NPR has a story on what lies below ground in Istanbul.

“Work has begun to refurbish the old Acropolis Museum near the iconic Parthenon temple and turn it into an exhibition space.”

“Held annually on [Turkey’s] Aegean coast, the Selcuk camel-wrestling festival is part of a nomadic legacy rooted in ancient Turkic tribes.”

“Between the years 193 – 235, the Roman Empire was ruled by a series of emperors who were originally Phoenicians.”

The new director of Michigan State University’s excavations at Isthmia has developed a new website to share both old and new research with the public. The website is here.

The US government has seized the Museum of the Bible’s Gilgamesh Tablet, declaring that it was illegally deported from Iraq.

Death by stoning is not so common these days, especially in the United States. But that’s how a gunman in Texas recently died.

Zoom lecture on August 29: “From Standing Stones to Sacred Emptiness: Textual and Visual Portrayals of Israel’s God,” by Theodore Lewis.

University College London and King’s College London are co-hosting an eLecture series in August, entitled Ancient Near Eastern Languages in Contact (ANELC). The first eLecture will take place on Wednesday 4 August from 16:00 until 17:00 BST (London), when Dr. Ohad Cohen of the University of Haifa will be speaking on “The Canaanite Melting Pot – The Theoretical Implications of ‘Languages in Contact’ to the Understanding of Late Biblical Hebrew.”

New release: The City of Babylon: A History, c. 2000 BC – AD 116, by Stephanie Dalley

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Wayne Stiles, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Explorator, Mark Hoffman, Roger Schmidgall, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Arabia, Discoveries, Greece, Italy, Lectures, Mediterranean Islands, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists believe that they have greater clarity about the roads in the southern Judean desert leading to Edom following the examination of a site near Nahal Gorer. The underlying journal article is available to PEQ subscribers.

Haaretz follows up on the Jerubaal inscription discovery with a report fashioned as a back-and-forth between David Vanderhooft and Christopher Rollston, with the former suggesting the inscription may have been Zerbaal or Ezerbaal, and the latter sticking with his original interpretation of Jerubaal.

Excavations are underway at el-Araj (Bethsaida?), and updates are posted daily on their website.

The 25th and final summer season of excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath has concluded. They have had a remarkable run.

Haaretz surveys the debate between Erez Ben-Yosef and Israel Finkelstein on the effect of “architectural bias” in drawing conclusions about Israel’s United Monarchy.

Naama Yahalom-Mack writes about the history of iron in ancient Israel.

Naama Barak writes about the mystery of the 1,400 dog burials at Ashkelon during the Persian period.

Bryan Windle identifies the top three reports in biblical archaeology for the month of July.

Construction has begun on a new reception center at the traditional Shepherds’ Field site near Bethlehem.

A music historian plans to restore a 12th-century organ discovered beneath the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The instrument is the oldest known example of a pipe organ.

Shea Sumlin is on the GTI podcast talking about what it was like to be one of the first tour groups to be back in Israel.

Joseph L. Rife reviews A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective, by Joseph Patrich.

2nd edition released: The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Jodi Magness.

One of the books on sale at Logos right now is the Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology, by Randall Price with H. Wayne House ($9).

John DeLancey’s new Institute of Biblical Israel is launching a new course on biblical archaeology tomorrow.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Wayne Stiles, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Explorator, Mark Hoffman, Roger Schmidgall, Paleojudaica

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Judah, Negev, Philistines, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup