Archaeologists have excavated a dolmen on the Golan Heights that is unique because of its large size and artistic decorations. The capstone weighs about 50 tons. You can watch a 2-minute video here.

Two large pharaonic statues, believed to be from the 19th dynasty, have been found near the ruins of Ramses II’s temple in Heliopolis. Zahi Hawass has responded to criticism of the rescue work.


Haaretz (premium): “The long-lost wreck of a Crusader ship and sunken cargos dating to the 13th century C.E. have been found in the bay of the crusader stronghold city Acre, in northern Israel.”

The Sea of Galilee is at its lowest level in a century, and it’s only March.

Here’s a short video of the Assyrian palace remains beneath the destroyed Tomb of Jonah.

Jordan’s Department of Antiquities has announced that the lead codices discovered in 2010 have “not been proven to be authentic so far.” James Davila provides a good review of why he (and others) rejects their authenticity.


The New York Times offers a guide to “make the most of the British Museum,” including sections on

“5 Must-Sees,” “Off the Beaten Path,” and “Tips for Visiting.”

The Grand Egyptian Museum is scheduled to open in the middle of next year.

ISD has a sale on two multi-volume archaeology works: The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology, ed. Daniel M. Master (was $395; now $150); The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, ed. Neil Asher Silberman (was $595; now $99; sold out?).

The new Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible is for sale on Kindle now for $3.99.

Purim begins at sundown. You might want to grab the kids and read them the book of Esther. Or check out the Maccabeats’ interpretation.

HT: Explorator, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Bill Soper

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Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved Roman-period road in the Shephelah of Judah. 
Based on a milestone previously discovered with the name of Hadrian, they have dated the road to circa AD 130, though numismatic evidence may indicate a first-century date for the revealed section. 
The road was discovered during the process of laying a water pipeline to Jerusalem.
Roman road near Elah Valley, ws030817362
Stone construction of Roman road

The road is located near the junction of the “Chalk Moat” route running south from Beth Shemesh and the Elah Valley road that runs up into the Judean Hill Country towards Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
On a modern map, the road is near the intersection of Highways 375 and 3855.

Satellite Bible Atlas 1.11, Roman road
Map from the Satellite Bible Atlas, with red circle identifying location of discovery

The Israel Antiquities Authority has determined that the road is about 20 feet (6 m) wide and one mile (1.6 km) long, but only 150 meters of the road have been exposed and will be preserved for visitors to view.

Roman road near Elah Valley aerial from south, ws030817228
Aerial view showing relationship of excavation to Highway 375 (foreground) and Highway 3855 (approaching from distance)

The ancient road was a spur that apparently connected the ruin of Khirbet Beit Natif on the hills north of the Elah Valley with the “Emperor’s Road.” This latter road was constructed in the time of Hadrian and ran from Bet Guvrin (ancient Eleutheropolis) through the Elah Valley near the newly discovered road and then up into the hills along the Hushah ridge.

Roman road near Elah Valley aerial from south, ws030817211
Aerial view of Roman road from the south

Ilan Ben Zion identifies Beit Natif as the first-century site of Bethletepha, “a town sacked by
Vespasian’s army during the First Jewish Revolt, between 66 and 70 CE.”

Coins were discovered between the pavement stones that suggest a first-century date:

  • a coin of Pontius Pilate, dating to AD 29
  • a coin of Agrippa I, dating to AD 41 and minted in Jerusalem
  • a coin from Year 2 of the Jewish Revolt (AD 67)
Roman road near Elah Valley aerial from southeast, ws030817218
The Roman road (aerial view from the southeast)

All photos in this post were taken earlier today by Bill Schlegel. More photos from the IAA are posted here.

It’s too bad that when they laid a similar water pipeline along the Roman road to Emmaus from Jerusalem that they didn’t take steps to preserve it.

HT: Joseph Lauer, David Bivin

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Tabgha’s Church of the Multiplication of Fish and Loaves has re-opened after 20 months of restoration following the arson attack.

Hebrew inscriptions discovered on a Roman-period capital point to the Jewish history of the Druze village of Pekiin.

The oldest known sickle blades have been discovered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Archaeologists working at Omrit have discovered a house decorated with frescoes dating to circa AD 100.

Robert Cargill suggests that “Cave 12” provides evidence that parchment was produced at Qumran.

Israel’s Culture Minister has offered to trade two elephants to Turkey in exchange for the Siloam
Inscription from Hezekiah’s Tunnel.

Israel’s Good Name describes a morning hike in the Ramot Forest on the north side of Jerusalem where a herd of gazelles live and a wild boars were recently spotted.

Carl Rasmussen shares a photo of a mosaic depiction in Berea that shows Jesus climbing a ladder on to the cross.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project blog gives the back story on Zachi Dvira and how he came to direct this important project.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

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A Roman-period gate has been discovered at Beit Shearim (“house of gates”).

A study of LMLK seal impressions reveals that there was a massive spike in the earth’s magnetic field in the time of King Hezekiah. I expect that G. M. Grena will have more to say about this on his blog soon. (UPDATE: now online here.)

A preliminary report from the 2016 season at et-Tell (Bethsaida?) is now up at The Bible and Interpretation.

A man who fished a Persian-period amphora out of the sea at Ashdod has turned it over to authorities.

I enjoy seeing my photos (especially of more obscure sites) put to good use, and no one does it better than Wayne Stiles. This week he ventures over to Ein Parath.

Lawrence Schiffman has written an article for Ami Magazine on the discovery of Qumran’s 12th cave.

Liberty University has a story on their role in the Qumran excavations.

James VanderKam considers it a “bit premature to call it Qumran Cave 12.”

Gordon Govier talks with John DeLancey about Qumran Cave 12 and upcoming excavations in Israel on this week’s edition of The Book and the Spade.

Is Genesis History? is a new documentary showing on theaters on Thursday, February 23. I’ve heard good reports from those who have seen it.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Paleojudaica

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Scott Stripling provides an account of the 21st and final season of excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir, possible location of biblical Ai. They found a Bronze Age stele in the final week of excavations.

Breaking Israel News provides an illustrated report of Noam Arnon’s exploration of the caves below Hebron’s Machpelah 35 years ago.

A medieval building constructed atop the Byzantine-era synagogue at Huqoq may also have served as a synagogue.

Carl Rasmussen links to some new excavations in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Shem Tov Sasson brings his readers along on the annual two-day Bar Ilan University’s Archaeology tour, this year to the Aravah (part 1, part 2).

A large display of Greek ceramics is now on display at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.

The Louvre is planning to display some of its antiquities in Iran this spring.

“The European police have arrested 75 people and recovered about 3,500 stolen archaeological artifacts and other artworks as part of the dismantling of an international network of art traffickers.”

Iraqi authorities discovered more than 100 Assyrian artifacts in the home of an ISIS leader.
Critical Perspectives on the Practice of Digital Archaeology” is the title of a conference being held
on Friday and Saturday at Harvard.

The Center for the Study of Christianity at the Hebrew University is sponsoring a conference in June with the theme, “Origen’s Legacy in the Holy Land—A Tale of Three Cities: Jerusalem, Caesarea and Bethlehem.”

“Students should study Egyptology and Assyriology.”

If Israel was compared to the playing board of Monopoly, Wayne Stiles identifies “Boardwalk” as Tel Megiddo.

I recently returned from a great study tour led by Dr. Mark Wilson. If you’re looking for an outstanding opportunity to learn the biblical lands outside of Israel, he’s leading a May walking tour in Turkey and a September-October tour of Malta and Italy.

The latest episodes at The Book and the Spade include The Library at Herculaneum, with Brent Seales; Jesus and the Remains of His Day, with Craig Evans; and the Top 10 Biblical Archaeology Stories of 2016, with Clyde Billington.

There will be a one-night showing next month of the new documentary, “Is Genesis History?
Leen Ritmeyer notes a special offer by Carta Jerusalem that includes a discount as well as a free copy of a new biblical archaeology map of Jerusalem. I plan to post more on that map shortly.

We’re now on Instagram, posting a photo every day. We continue to do the same on Facebook and Twitter.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle

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Gordon Govier lists his top 10 discoveries in biblical archaeology in 2016.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has selected its top 10 biblical archaeology discoveries of the year.

LandMinds has a one-hour video podcast discussing the list.

Haaretz provides a list of the best archaeological finds in Israel in 2016.

Live Science suggests the 9 biggest archaeology findings of 2016. And they identify 5 big archaeology stories to watch for in 2017.

Brandon Marlon writes about 18 interesting sites that most tourists to Israel miss.

ASOR is offering a free e-book of the “5 Most Popular Biblical Archaeology Articles from The Ancient Near East Today” to subscribers to the weekly newsletter.

Recent excavations in Paphos, Cyprus, have discovered fortifications and a thick layer of crushed murex shells. “Team leader Maria Iacovou noted that this is the first time that archaeological evidence for the production of the highly valued purple dye from murex shells has been found in
Cyprus.”

A marble sculpture of a Roman noblewoman was discovered by a farmer in Crete following a recent storm.

Twelve tombs from the 18th Dynasty have been discovered in Gebel el Silsila.

A study of a toy Roman chariot reveals that ancient charioteers affixed an iron strip to the right wheel in order to improve their chances of winning.

As tourism in Egypt continues its lull, officials are trying new ways to attract visitors.

There is only one archaeobotanist in Egypt, but he is hoping this will change.

Ongoing work at Laodicea has uncovered the sacred agora.

This May: Archaeology and History of Lydia: From the Early Lydian Period to the Late Antiquity (8th century B.C.-6th Century A.D.): An International Symposium.

Robert Alter will be lecturing in Nashville on January 30.

The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has a lecture series scheduled for the coming months.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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