Excavations Archives - Page 41 of 93

Monumental Room Discovered in Temple of Sidon

Dozens of workers were busy covering old Sidon’s Frères archaeological site Monday, to protect a major new discovery unearthed by a delegation from the British Museum.
“A small contingent of the British Museum/Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanon team of archaeologists discovered a new deeply concealed room,” read a statement released by the delegation.
The newly discovered monumental room is believed to be an extension of the underground Temple of Sidon, which dates back to the Bronze Age.
This finding comes as workers prepare the foundations of a new national museum, which will be established beside the archaeological site. Construction of the museum led to urgent excavations at the site last month.
Ten years ago, the delegation discovered an underground “holy of holies” room, dating back to 1300 B.C., where ancient residents are believed to have worshipped their gods. The newly discovered room was found adjacent to it, and is thought to be an extension of the site’s temple. It is believed to have been used by high-status members of the community.

The story continues to provide more of the significance of this discovery as well as plans for the new museum.

Previously discovered basement room in temple of Sidon
Photo by A.D. Riddle

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Lebanon

Ongoing Excavations of Herodium

Shmuel Browns was at the Herodium a few days ago and had a chance to talk with archaeologists excavating the staircase area. He shares what he learned as well as some hastily-taken photos on his blog.

If you missed it, Shmuel also has some rare images of the VIP box of Herodium’s theater. Check those out here.

Thanks, Shmuel, for sharing the news and photos! Hopefully the area will be open to the public before too long.

Tagged Excavations, Herod's Tomb

Weekend Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer continues his Temple Mount series with a look at the Early Muslim period. He has many illustrations, but the one I’ve always found most helpful in teaching is the comparison of the
Temple with the Dome of the Rock.

Two Egyptian mummies were found in a sewer near Minya.

Morgan Freeman will star in a remake of Ben-Hur.

The IAA arrested three men for antiquities theft at Ashkelon.

The International Business Times has a short profile of Tel Burna (Libnah?) with many graphics.

For the 40th anniversary of Biblical Archaeology Review, Hershel Shanks recounts the story of how the magazine began.

Pontius Pilate, by Paul L. Maier, is on sale for Kindle for $0.99. I recommend it.

Here’s a unique subject for a blogpost: Salem—What We Can Learn from Abraham’s Visit to Jerusalem, by Wayne Stiles.

Wayne is also offering signed copies of two of his excellent books. This is a great gift idea for yourself or someone else who has recently traveled to the Holy Land or who wishes that they could.

Eisenbrauns has reprinted all 11 volumes of the State Archives of Assyria (SAA) and State Archives of Assyria Studies (SAAS) and they are on sale this month.

The exhibition catalog for the new Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem exhibit is now available: By the Rivers of Babylon, The Story of the Babylonian Exile Jerusalem, by Filip Vukosavovic.

The Al-Arish National Museum in the North Sinai has been damaged in an attack by the militant group State of Sinai.

Ancient Romans ate meals that most Americans would recognize.

On Monday we’re beginning a series on Twitter of our 15 favorite places in Jerusalem. Follow us @BiblePlaces or on Facebook.

HT: Agade, Jay Baggett

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Excavations, Italy, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Movies, Museums, Resources, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The William G. Dever Archaeological Fellowship for Biblical Scholars is a travel-study award for “a qualified American untenured faculty member in the field of biblical studies who wants to acquire elementary, first-hand experience in field archaeology and research in Israel.”

Wayne Stiles explains how Kadesh Barnea helps us to know God’s will.

Jerusalem’s recent snowfall: SourceFlix shares some beautiful aerial footage.

Swedish archaeologists have found near Cairo a 2,500-year-old relief depicting two pharaonic deities.
And Czech archaeologists find tomb of previously unknown pharaonic queen Khentakawess.

The original volumes of the Tell en-Nasbeh (biblical Mizpah) excavation reports are now available online for the first time. The Bade Museum website includes a couple of other downloads that may be of interest.

And now published by Gorgias Press: “As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah …”: The Tell en-Nasbeh Excavations after 85 Years, edited by Jeffrey R. Zorn & Aaron J. Brody.

The Yale Babylonian Collection now has its own website.

The open access, electronic companion to Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period, volume 3/2 (Eisenbrauns, 2014) is now online.

The authenticity of two Baruch son of Neriah bullae is rejected in a new article by Yuval Goren and
Eran Arie in BASOR vol. 372 (December 2014), pp. 147-158. (Abstract and article on JStor. And there’s free access to the entire issue via the BASOR website.)

“Patterns of Evidence: Exodus,” claims to solve the problem of lack of evidence, but it appears to do so by a major chronological revision. As far as I’m concerned, a movie showing on only one night (Jan 19, 7pm) in selected theaters doesn’t deserve much attention.

A full-scale sailing replica of the Ma‘agan Michael is now under construction. The original ship wrecked near Dor in 400 BC and was discovered in 1985.

Both portions of P46 have now been digitized and are available online.

Kevin Shillington has begun a series on Charles Warren on the Palestine Exploration Fund Blog.

Coming soon: Discovery House Bible Atlas, by John Beck.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, BibleX

Tell en-Nasbeh, biblical Mizpah, in 1966
Photo by David Bivin

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Forgery, Movies, Resources, Samaria, Tourism, Travels, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Leen Ritmeyer explains why the Western Wall of the Temple Mount was not destroyed by an earthquake, and he follows up a reader’s question to prove it with photos.

Snow fell in Israel this week. Arutz-7 has photos.

The story going around this week on the location of Jesus’ trial being excavated is not new. We’ve been posting on it here under the less sensational title of the Kishle excavations. We agree that this is the area of Herod’s palace, and that this is where Jesus’ trial occurred. George Athas explains further.

I’m on the Book and the Spade this week, talking with Gordon Govier about the top 10 biblical archaeology discoveries of 2014.

Many eastern Christians visited the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism on January 6.

New book: Biblical Lachish: A Tale of Construction, Destruction, Excavation and Restoration, by

David Ussishkin. I see a few mentions online with a 2014 date, but it’s not clear if the English edition is actually available. (I’ll have to remove Lachish from my pending post on “Whatever Happened to

Popular Books on Archaeological Excavations?”) UPDATE: BAS has the book in stock.

The Bible and Interpretation features an excerpt from Eric H. Cline’s book, 1177 BC: The Year
Civilization Collapsed, explaining the power vacuum that allowed Israelite and Philistine settlement.

Tourism to Israel dropped after the summer events.

Turkey has nominated Ephesus for the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Scott Stripling summarizes the recent winter excavation at Khirbet el-Maqatir (biblical Ai?).

Wayne Stiles is hosting an informal gathering on What It’s Like to Travel to Israel next weekend.
ASOR has listed its Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014.

Walking with Paul, a Lands of the Bible wall calendar, is now available for 50% off. Several of our photos are featured.

Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates at Ephesus
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Excavations, Exodus-Conquest, Holidays, Jerusalem, Resources, Samaria, Temple Mount, Tourism, Turkey, Weather

Kishle Excavations and the Citadel of David Museum

The new excavations at the Citadel of David are described by Seth J. Frantzman in an article at the Jerusalem Post. The excerpt below begins with a quotation from Amit Re’em, the Jerusalem District Archaeologist.

“He spoke of a lot of water; baths, ritual baths, pools. Herod loved water and this is proof,” says the archeologist pointing to the drainage system that goes under the Old City walls and ends at Sultan’s Pool. Re’em, energetic and constantly on the move during the tour, is fluent in all the historical geography, shifting from the story of the High Priest Annas to the tale of how Jesus was brought to the palace of Herod, according to the New Testament.
Re’em envisions tourists being greeted one day by holograms in which they will see virtually the different walls from the various periods. “In this beautiful place we can see all the archeological and historical sequence of the history of Jerusalem.”
Eilat Lieber, the general director and chief curator of the museum, has a vision for the Kishle that involves opening it to the public for tours as well as making it a center of culture.
“We want to put an exhibition about the finds with a floating glass floor [at the upper level]. What is important to us is to know about the history and create a new cultural space for activities like lectures, music and modern art, bring the past and future together.”

The full story gives more of the modern history and plans for the museum’s future.

Citadel of David in Jerusalem
Photo from the Jerusalem photo collection

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Tourism