Discoveries Archives - Page 40 of 142

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists have found a ritual bath from the first century at the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane.

Palestinian farmers have discovered a Hasmonean fortress that can be explored but not excavated.

Archaeologists have recreated a realistic ancient floor from the courts of the Jerusalem temple in Herod’s day.

“A unique Byzantine-era blessing token featuring baby Jesus was recently unveiled by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.”

A new study in dental calculus reveals that “that ancient Mediterranean civilizations were importing everything from chickens to black pepper and vanilla from as far away as India and Indonesia.”

“An olive press in ancient Yodfat, in northern Israel, sheds light on the role of olive oil in Jews’ lives 2,000 years ago” (Haaretz premium).

“Long Live King David” is a new 1-hour documentary featuring Israel Finkelstein, Yossi Garfinkel, and Eilat Mazar.

Rami Arav recently discussed a pair of spooning skeletons he excavated at et-Tell, a Geshurite city near biblical Bethsaida.

Aren Maeir shares photos from his recent visit to the Museum of the Philistine Culture in Ashdod.

Gideon Avni will be lecturing on Jan 6 at 5pm GMT by Zoom on “Jerusalem between Late Antiquity and Early Islam—The Creation of a Multicultural City.” An announcement is not yet posted online, but you can register at the email address on this page.

The Carta Jerusalem Bible Reference Collection (13 vols) for Logos Bible Software ships soon.

Recordings of 2020 lectures for the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society are available on their website.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Archaeologists are excavating a large defensive moat at an 9th-8th century BC Phoenicia colony in Spain.

“Curator St John Simpson reveals what happened after he saw a rare plaque from ancient Iraq on an online auction site.”

“Researchers have found evidence of the oldest gynaecological treatment on record, performed on a woman who lived in Ancient Egypt some 4,000 years ago.”

The first-ever archaeological replicas factory in Egypt is under construction.

Preparations are underway for transporting 22 royal mummies to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.

A neurologist in Iraq has spent more than 15 years photographing his country and sharing those pictures with the world.

Don McNeeley reports on the annual meeting of the Near East Archaeological Society held last month.

Michaeline Wilkins divided the Hebrew of the Song of Songs into male and female parts and then she and her husband read the text.

Zoom webinar on Dec 22: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament, by Lawrence H. Schiffman. Registration required.

Zoom lecture on Dec 23: Writing on the Wall: Graffiti and the Forgotten Jews of Antiquity, by Karen Stern

Thin End of the Wedge podcast: Nicolò Marchetti: Nineveh 2020. How and why archaeology?

A Roman warship is the latest Legos Ideas project to reach 10,000 supporters.

Susan Masten identifies the 10 most important ancient coins ever minted.

Ferrell Jenkins looks at three strata of paganism at Pergamum, the city “where Satan dwells.”

Tutku Tours has a few spots left for familiarization trips for professors this spring to Turkey and Jordan. Two great reasons to consider joining: (1) Mark Wilson is leading; (2) $1,990 includes air. (It costs almost that much just for the entrance ticket to Petra!)

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Mark Hoffman, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Tourism, Turkey

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

An intact oil lamp from the Hasmonean period was discovered on the Siloam/Pilgrimage Road in the City of David.

An oil lamp workshop from the 4th century AD, first found in the 1930s, has been rediscovered at Beth Shemesh.

“A complete rare, early Islamic-era oil lamp workshop from ancient Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee has gone on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.”

Renovation works at the “Tower of David” in Jerusalem is leading to new discoveries.

Archaeologists conducting salvage digs in Jaffa over the last decade discovered a baby buried in a jar, Phoenician burials, Hellenistic farms, a Byzantine winepress, and more. Haaretz provides a summary; the full issue of Atiqot is available here.

Excavations in Amman, Jordan, have uncovered Roman baths and a crematorium near the city’s amphitheater.

Haaretz reports on the Herodian palace at Macherus where archaeologists believe that have located the place where Salome danced before Antipas.

This article from April has some additional information and photos about the work of Ken Dark in Nazareth.

Chris McKinny is interviewed on Windows to the Bible. Part 1 looks at the story of David and Goliath (and more), and part 2 focuses on Saul’s death on Mount Gilboa and its aftermath.

The list of speakers and topics has been released for the Jerusalem University College’s online seminar.

Craig Dunning shares his thoughts on the new 1-2 Corinthians volume in the Photo Companion to the Bible series.

Yesterday Dr. Eugene Merrill, an esteemed mentor of mine, celebrated 60 years of marriage to his beloved, Dr. Janet Merrill. Many people know of Dr. Merrill’s prolific writing ministry, his decades of teaching at DTS, and his wise leadership at ETS, but fewer people know how he faithfully loves and serves his wife daily. He is a model to be emulated in every way.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Mark Hoffman, Explorator

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lectures, Resources, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

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

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Holidays, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judea, Lectures, Resources, Samaria

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Jerusalem, Judea, Resources, Samaria, Weekend Roundup