Archaeologists working at Jerash (biblical Gerasa) have discovered part of a life-size statue of Aphrodite.

“American and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a rare structure called a nilometer in the ruins of the ancient city of Thmuis in Egypt’s Delta region.” It was built in the 3rd century BC and used for 1,000 years.

British archaeologists have identified the remains of a 16- to 18-week-old mummified fetus that was found in Giza nearly 100 years ago.

The Antiquities Ministry of Egypt has completed a project to lower the groundwater at the Edfu Temple.

A plan has been approved that will remove all the mines around the traditional area of John’s baptisms on the Jordan River.

Haaretz (premium) visits the site of Tell el-Ajjul, once a prosperous Canaanite city south of Gaza but today at risk of complete destruction.

“Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1). Wayne Stiles uses photos to explain what this means today.

Two archaeology students have crowdsourced images to create a VR reconstruction of the Mosul museum. The article includes a cool YouTube 360 video.

The Palestinian Museum opened this week in Bir Zeit, but it has no exhibits.

The enforcement of a new antiquities law is making it harder for black market antiquities to be sold in Israel.

Israel will be returning two Bronze Age wooden anthropoid sarcophagus lids found by IAA agents in an Old City dealer’s shop.

Of 28 Egyptian obelisks standing today, only 6 are in Egypt. That’s one of many interesting facts about obelisks in a WSJ article that is based on a book by Bob Brier entitled Cleopatra’s Needles.

Allison Meier reviews the new exhibition in NYC, “Gods and Mortals at Olympus: Ancient Dion, City of Zeus.” The article includes many photos.

Charles Jones has recently updated the list of titles in JSTOR which focus on Antiquity. It now includes 243 titles.

Dubgallu is a new forum for scholars of the ancient Near East. Registration is free, and open to anyone who academically studies the ancient Near East.

There’s a sale on for various electronic editions of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old and New Testaments Logos, Accordance, and Olive Tree.

The Atlas of Palestinian Rural Heritage looks interesting. Some themes covered: Tilling – Harvesting – Moving the Harvest – Threshing – Sifting – Grinding – Making Dough – Baking Bread – Cooking – Making Grape Syrup – Sesame Oil – Olives and Olive Oil – Storage – Bard – Domestic Birds – Honeybee Farming – Milk – Shepherd – Washing – Water – Gathering Rainwater.

If you have a passion for biblical geography, perhaps you would consider supporting Seth Rodriquez to go to Zimbabwe to teach future pastors about the land of Israel. This is a great opportunity to help others learn about what we love.

I’ll be traveling for a few weeks and the regular roundups will resume when I return.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Steven Anderson

Old City from west, db6605212212
On this day 50 years ago, David Bivin took this photo while standing on the edge of no man’s land looking toward the Old City of Jerusalem, then occupied by Jordan. Photo from Views That Have Vanished.
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A mosaic found in Antioch on the Orontes from the 3rd century BC reads “Be cheerful, enjoy your life.”


The Washington Post has more on the discovery of a waystation built during the early years of Queen Hatshepsut.

A scholar believes he has found the oldest depictions of demons in ancient Egypt.
Atlanta Jewish Times has a story on Jodi Magness’s on-going work at the Galilean village of Huqoq.

New book: Hazor: Canaanite Metropolis, Israelite City, by Amnon Ben-Tor. Available from the Israel Exploration Society.

The Hazor Expedition needs more volunteers this summer. Get all the details here.

A recent donation to the Yale Babylonian Collection includes 360 cylinder seals from the third and fourth millennia BC.

ISIS has destroyed two gates of Nineveh, but most of what they bulldozed is modern reconstruction work.

Most of the 200 objects displayed on the ground floor of the Palmyra Museum were destroyed, including the famous Lion of Allat.

The US Senate has voted to ban all imports of antiquities from Syria in order to discourage looting.

Archaeologists are trying to solve the mystery of why 150 people were buried with shackles near the port of Athens.

An article by Philippe Bohstrom in Haaretz (premium) traces the history of writing materials from clay tablets to wax tablets.

Construction workers in Spain discovered a trove of 1,300 pounds of Roman coins dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries.

A replica of Noah’s Ark will sail from the Netherlands to Brazil before coming to the United States.

Another reason to visit Jordan: Jordanian Food: 25 of the Best Dishes You Should Eat

Wayne Stiles explains why the Judean wilderness is a perfect place to escape.

HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Steven Anderson

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Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a 13th dynasty scarab in a gold ring at Tel Dor.

Excavations begin this summer at el-Araj, a candidate for the site of Bethsaida. Nyack College is participating and inviting others to join them.

The Temple Institute held a public practice reenactment of the Passover sacrifice last week. A few dozen photos have been posted.

Two Israeli Jews were arrested for trying to carry a goat up to the Temple Mount to make a Passover sacrifice.

A senior Egyptian archaeologist has claimed that the Pharaoh of the exodus was not Egyptian.

Paleojudaica provides some analysis.

The 8th-century citadel at Ashdod Yam was vandalized recently by youths who shared photos on social media. The teens who caused the damage have now apologized.

What’s there to see in Ashdod? Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am lead readers on a tour of the sites.

Wayne Stiles shows you what you’ll see if you walk down the Kidron Valley.

For an CT article, Gordon Govier asks evangelical scholars to weigh in on the recent study that literacy in ancient Israel was more widespread than previously believed.

The full text is online for Lawrence Schiffman’s recent lecture entitled, “In the Valley of David and Goliath: Digging Up Evidence on the United Monarchy.”


Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary eBooks are on sale now for $4.99 each.

Now free online in pdf format: John J. Bimson, Redating the Exodus and Conquest, 2nd ed. Sheffield: The Almond Press, 1981.

A bidding war has resulted in sale of 1,000 historic photographs of the Holy Land to sell for nearly $1.5 million. Note to the loser: we can provide you with more than 1,000 images for half price!
Seth Rodriquez, a long-time contributor to this blog, has been invited to teach a course in biblical backgrounds at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zimbabwe and he would appreciate your prayer and financial support.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle

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The oldest known glass production factory in Israel has been discovered on Mount Carmel. High-res photos are available here.

A new study by Tel Aviv University points to widespread literacy in Israel in 600 BC. Christopher Rollston offers a summary and reflections. An op-ed at the Jerusalem Post is entitled “Holy Shards.”

The academic article is available to subscribers here.

Three Palestinians were arrested attempting to smuggle a statue of Herod’s wife Mariamne. A photo of the statue is here.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project will soon be announcing the discovery of a pendant with the cartouche of Pharaoh Thutmose III.

The Big Picture returns to Palmyra.

Dubai’s plans for the world’s tallest skyscraper are inspired by the hanging gardens of Babylon.

Wayne Stiles goes to Ein Harod to learn how to move from fear to faith.

Yale’s “Old Babylonian Period Mathematical Text” is one of the university’s most-reproduced cultural artifacts.

The Iraqi government is turning Saddam Hussein’s palace in Basra into an archaeological museum.

With Passover around the corner, Haaretz looks at indirect evidence of Israelite presence in Egypt before the exodus.

A Passover sacrifice event will be held on Monday on the Mount of Olives.

Luke Chandler notes that the official website for the Khirbet Qeiyafa excavations has been updated.

The summer excavation of Khirbet el-Maqatir is on and applications are being accepted until April 30.

Ferrell Jenkins and Leon Mauldin are traveling around Israel and sharing photos from their trip.

Filip Vukosavovic has resigned his position as Chief Curator at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem.

Now free online: The Bible in Its World: The Bible and Archaeology Today, by Kenneth A. Kitchen.

Many people liked the photo we shared this week on Facebook and Twitter of the Mount of Olives
before the churches were built.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Ted Weis, Agade

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Ferrell Jenkins remembers the events of this weekend with photos related to the crucifixion and resurrection.

Michael Heiser offers some links in response to the perrennial “miracles-are-impossible” stories that surface this time each year.

The battle continues over the size of the Kedem Center in the City of David.

Shmuel Browns’ photo of the week is a beautiful shot of the Judean wilderness.

A number of interesting finds have been made in an excavation of a Byzantine church in Gush Etzion.

If you are an American undergrad looking to excavate in Israel this summer, you should apply for a scholarship to join the Tel Burna team.

Wayne Stiles gives three reasons why you should travel to Israel.

The Tel Al-Amarna Visitors Centre has been inaugurated in Minya. Work on the Aten Museum and
Malawi National Museum is on-going, despite rumors to the contrary.

Archaeologists are learning more about ancient watercraft from an Old Kingdom boat excavated in Abusir.

Reproductions of the 50-foot arch that formed the entrance to Palmyra’s Temple of Baal will be erected in New York City and London next month.

The Syrian army is close to re-capturing Palmyra.

John Brown University has received an anonymous gift of $1 million for their Abila Archaeological Project.

The Torlonia collection, with more than 600 statues and sculptures, will be on display in Rome for the first time in decades. An overseas tour will follow.

Described as one of most important recoveries in decades, 45 crates of archaeological material, dating between the 7th century BC to 2nd century AD, has been returned to Italy after being stolen from sites in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Analysis of Herculaneum papyrus scroll fragments reveals the use of metallic ink in Greco-Roman literary inscription centuries earlier than previously thought.”

Bruce and Ken Zuckerman will be lecturing on “Archaeological Photography” on March 28 at the South Bay Camera Club.

Now online: “The Lenkin Family Collection of Photography at the Penn Libraries, as it is now known, comprises over 5,000 original photographs, primarily of Jerusalem and Palestine taken from 1850 to 1937.”

For a limited time, access to the latest issue of Near Eastern Archaeology is available for free without a login required.

Bible Software Review is looking for a new owner-editor.

Going Places with God, by Wayne Stiles, is on sale for Kindle right now for $0.99. It’s at the same price on Vyrso/Logos. The sale won’t last. I recommend it!

Happy 13th Anniversary to Paleojudaica! And Aren Maeir recently celebrated his birthday.

For photos recalling the momentous events of this week nearly 2,000 years ago, check out our posts this week on Facebook and Twitter.

HT: Jared Clark, G. M. Grena, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle

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A woman hiking on an unnamed archaeological site in eastern Galilee picked up a gold coin with the image of Emperor Augustus. High-res images are available here.

Luke Chandler reports on a new excavation at Khirbet Arai, not far from Tel Lachish. The first week has already revealed two massive structures as well as Philistine pottery.

Douglas Petrovich has done some interesting work related to the Israelite presence in Egypt. He has started a Kickstarter project to raise funds to publish a book on it.

The lyre depicted on Israel’s half-shekel is based on a seal now known to be forged. A larger drawing of the forged seal is online here.

A 19-year-old American spent the night in Solomon’s Quarries to dig for treasure.

The publication of Yadin’s final report from his Megiddo excavations will be celebrated at an event at Hebrew U on April 5.

In Photos: Members of an Israeli historical group dressed up in costume for a three-day hike from Jericho to Jerusalem.

The plan to enlarge the mixed prayer area in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park next to the Western Wall prayer plaza is apparently dead.

Archaeologists are opposing plans to build a hotel and apartment buildings in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tor, the traditional “Hill of Evil Counsel.”

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of one of the best preserved stretches of Roman roads in Israel.

Ashkelon excavation veterans are invited to a closing celebration as the thirty-year project ends.

HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Daniel Wright

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