Discoveries Archives - Page 39 of 142

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A Greek inscription from the 5th century AD reading “Christ, born of Mary” was discovered in a salvage excavation in the Jezreel Valley.

Archaeologists discovered a marble statue of a ram dating to the Byzantine period at Caesarea.

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a new group of 50 wooden sarcophagi at Saqqara, dating to the New Kingdom period.

“Alexandria University launched a new project to excavate and preserve underwater artifacts, in a bid to revive tourism and protect Egypt’s underwater heritage.”

“Tomas Libertiny, a Slovakian artist, has created a beautiful beeswax sculpture of Egyptian queen Nefertiti with the assistance of 60,000 honey bees.”

A Roman fort has been discovered near Aswan.

Ten maps can tell us a lot about the Sinai Peninsula.

Charles F. Aling is interviewed in the latest edition of the Scholar’s Chair at the Bible Archaeology Report.

Leen Ritmeyer provides a brief history of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, with many illustrations.

The Annual Yohanan Aharoni Day 2021 will be live on Zoom and Facebook on March 4. The topic is “The Forces that Shaped Jerusalem: Earth, Faith and People,” with sessions on landscape, religion, and the charismatic individual.

Conference recordings are now available from the recent conference “‘The Land That I Will Show You’: Recent Archaeological & Historical Studies of Ancient Israel.” (Playback speed is adjustable.)

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A study by the Weizmann Institute dates the eruption of Santorini to 1630–1620 BC based on radiocarbon dating and an analysis of an olive branch’s growth rings.

Four water cisterns have been discovered under the acropolis of the classical city of Metropolis in western Turkey.

An ancient aqueduct near Troy is being restored, with hopes of attracting tourists.

Scholars searching for clues to Cleopatra’s appearance find conflicting data in Roman coins, Egyptian relief, and imperial propaganda.

Elaine Sullivan has created a 3D model of Saqqara that allows the viewer to jump through time to see the cemetery in different eras.

The BBC reports on ancient businesswomen involved in trade between Assur and Kanesh.

Covid-19 has led to an increase in looting of ancient sites in Iraq (6-min video).

You don’t have to wait until your next visit to the Edomite capital of Bozrah (Busayra) to view the new signs erected describing the temple, palace, and fortifications.

The world’s first hanging obelisk has been installed in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The Acropolis Museum of Athens is the first museum in Greece to be fully digitized.

A portion of the imperial garden of Caligula’s palace in Rome is opening this spring to visitors.

New: Landscapes of Survival: The Archaeology and Epigraphy of Jordan’s North-Eastern Desert and Beyond, edited by Peter M.M.G. Akkermans (hardback, paperback, ebook, or read online for free)

In an interview on Jan 26, Katie Chin, Acquisitions Editor at Brill Publishers, will talk about why she accepts or rejects manuscripts, and about practical tools for increasing scholars’ chances of being published. Attendance is free but registration is required.

This new archaeological biography on Darius the Great provides background, photographs, and archaeological discoveries to illuminate the life of one of the most important rulers of Persia.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, A.D. Riddle, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Alexander Schick

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

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Analysis of soil from Herod’s palace garden in Jericho reveals that he raised “lush bonsai versions of pines, cypresses, cedars, olives and other trees.”

There is more here about the police bust of a major antiquities ring in central Israel.

Israel21c runs an interesting piece on the value and conservation of ancient mosaics in Israel.

With the mines removed, worshipers were able to celebrate Epiphany near the Jordan River for the first time in more than 50 years.

Roger D. Isaacs adds to the lists of top 10 Bible discoveries of 2020.

Because of travel restrictions, Jerusalem University College is offering for the first time ever its full slate of classes online, including courses on physical settings, cultural background, parables of Jesus, and history of the Second Temple period.

New: Heart of the Holy Land: 40 Reflections on Scripture and Place, by Paul H. Wright (and on Kindle)

New: Encountering Jesus in the Real World of the Gospels, by Cyndi Parker

New: Archaeology and Ancient Israelite Religion, edited by Avraham Faust. Hardback for purchase or free pdf. Individual essays are available here.

The Israel Film Archive has some short film clips of historic interest. They are in Hebrew, but visually interesting even if you don’t know Hebrew.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, A.D. Riddle, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Alexander Schick

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A worker clearing a nature path at Nitzana (Nessana) in the Negev discovered a stone with a Greek inscription reading “Blessed Maria.”

A forthcoming article by David Ussishkin argues that there was no gate shrine at Lachish desecrated in the reign of Hezekiah.

Bill Barrick’s latest research trip post focuses on Tel Dan and includes a variety of images and a list of recommended resources.

The Crusader-era siege ramp around Ashkelon served another purpose: protecting the city from being overtaken by sand.

After an extended investigation, the Israel Antiquities Authority recovered thousands of looted artifacts in three raids in central Israel.

Evie Gassner looks at a lot of evidence in order to determine just how Jewish King Herod was.

Bruce Routledge will be lecturing on Jan 11, 11am CET, on “Iron Age Jordan: The Levant from a very different angle.” To register and receive a Zoom link, email [email protected].

Conversations in the Archaeology and History of Ancient Israel with Israel Finkelstein. This video series with a controversial archaeologist will be rolling out over the coming year. The initial videos (20-30 min. each) are available now.

Claus-Hunno Hunzinger died this week. He was the last living member of the original Dead Sea Scrolls team.

An obituary has been posted for Shlomo Bunimovitz who died last month.

Peter Goeman gives a good roundup of articles in the blogosphere in the latest biblical studies carnival.

HT: Agade, Andy Cook

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jordan, Lectures, Negev, Philistines, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Happy new year to everyone! May we walk wisely in the days ahead.

A new agreement between Israel’s Finance Ministry and the Israel Antiquities Authority will speed up rescue excavations by allowing private companies to bid on carrying out the excavations.

Following the discovery of a Roman bathhouse in Amman, authorities have to decide whether to preserve the antiquities or construct the planned drainage channel.

Egypt has completed the restoration of a temple of Isis in Aswan.

A limestone relief from the Late Period was illegally excavated, stolen, smuggled out of Egypt, tracked through the internet, recovered in New York, and repatriated.

Examination of elephant tusk DNA found on a shipwreck reveals the impact of ivory trade on elephant herds in Africa.

An Achaemenid pedestal and base was discovered in a garden near Persepolis.

“Underwater excavation, borehole drilling, and modelling suggests a massive paleo-tsunami struck near the ancient settlement of Tel Dor between 9,910 to 9,290 years ago.”

Ariel David looks at how the Israelites went from being a people who worshipped idols to a people who did not (Haaretz premium).

Haaretz runs a story on a recent documentary that presents Israel Finkelstein’s views of Kiriath Jearim and how it rewrites biblical history.

Amanda Borschel-Dan provides a review of her 2020 articles “broken down into studies of provenance; who wrote the Bible and on what; how “pure science” is aiding archaeologists confirm historical events; and a number of “firsts” from deep in pre-history.”

Ken Dark clarifies his views about the house in the church crypt in Nazareth, noting that while the Byzantines believed they had found the childhood home of Jesus, there is no way to prove that.

‘Atiqot 101 (2020) is now online, including articles on an ancient pool next to the Pool of Siloam in the City of David.

The Met’s Imaging Department has created a short video showing the interior of a 19th-century model of Solomon’s temple.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Paleojudaica

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Top 10 Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology in 2020

For a year in which most excavations were cancelled, it was remarkably fruitful for archaeology in general. Some of that is owing to the continuation of certain excavations such as rescue projects sponsored by the government. In other cases, discoveries made in previous years were only announced in 2020.

The following list prioritizes archaeological discoveries closer in time and place to the biblical record. It was prepared from a survey of the year’s roundups, without consulting other lists (see below for links to those).

In addition to the top ten, I have included a good number of additional discoveries, primarily as a reminder of just how many interesting finds were made in a year that might otherwise be considered a loss.

1. Three royal (Proto-Aeolic) capitals were discovered south of ancient Jerusalem, providing beautiful evidence of a building that once served Manasseh or Josiah.

2. A large administrative complex dating to the time of Kings Hezekiah and Manasseh was discovered two miles south of the Old City. Finds included more than 120 LMLK jar handles.

3. A stone measuring table and several dozen stone weights were discovered in a plaza along the first-century AD street from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount. Archaeologists believe that the area it was found served as the Jerusalem’s central market.

4. Archaeologists have published a report that they have discovered a “massive Iron II temple complex” at Moza, in use from 900 to 600 BC.

5. A well-preserved complex at Horvat Tevet, near Afula in the Jezreel Valley, served as a royal estate for Israel’s kings.

6. ~~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.

7. A Canaanite temple was discovered during excavations of Lachish.

8. More than 100 sarcophagi from the Ptolemaic period have been discovered at Saqqara in Egypt.

9. Archaeologists working in Kurdistan have exposed ten new rock inscriptions from the reign of Sargon II.

10. A subterranean complex was chiseled out of the bedrock near the Western Wall before Jerusalem was conquered in AD 70.

Noteworthy stories:

Discoveries by young people:

A 9-year-old discovered a First Temple-era gold granule bead during wet sifting of earth from the Temple Mount.
A 6-year-old found a unique, 3,500-year-old depiction of a Canaanite prisoner and his victorious warden.
A 7th-grader walking near Caesarea after heavy rains discovered a Byzantine inscription.

Small finds in Jerusalem:

A gem stone featuring a portrait of the god Apollo was discovered in debris sifting of soil coming from an ancient drainage channel in the City of David.
A two-shekel weight from the Iron Age was discovered in excavations near the Western Wall.
A Persian-period seal and a seal impression were found in Jerusalem.

More discoveries in Jerusalem:

Archaeologists have found a ritual bath from the first century at the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane.
Excavations in the old Givati parking lot in the City of David have continued this summer, with archaeologists uncovering a building destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

More discoveries in Israel:

An oil lamp workshop from the 4th century AD, first found in the 1930s, has been rediscovered at Beth Shemesh. This is the Late Roman equivalent of finding the LMLK production center.
Archaeologists have discovered a fortified building in the Golan Heights that dates roughly to the time of David and may have belonged to the kingdom of Geshur.
Excavations at Caesarea Philippi (Banias) revealed the remains of a Byzantine church as well as a 2nd or 3rd century AD altar with a Greek inscription written by a pilgrim to the god Pan.
A border stone from the Roman period was discovered in the Golan Heights with a Greek inscription reading, “A border stone between Amatiya [or Amatira] and Kfar Nafah.”
Archaeologists have discovered a copper-ore smelting furnace in Beersheba from the Chalcolithic period, making it the oldest known to date.
Archaeologists working at Azekah may have found traces of the Assyrian siege ramp used to conquer the city in 701 BC.
A Canaanite fortress from the time of the judges was discovered near Kiryat Gat.
A team excavating Khirbet a-Ra‘i discovered a rare “smiting god” figurine and a bronze calf figurine from the 12th century BC.