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The enclosure wall around the Mount Ebal altar has been restored. And Israel’s defense minister is not allowing a visit by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Two stone sarcophagi from the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD were discovered at the Ramat Gan Safari Park.

I share a bit about my work with photo collections, both past and future, in the latest Scholar’s Chair interview at Bible Archaeology Report.

Chris McKinny talks about learning historical geography and archaeology in Israel on a new video produced by John DeLancey.

Erez Ben Yosef is interviewed by the Jerusalem Post about his years of excavating at Timna.

Zoom lecture tomorrow: “Archaeology and the Hidden Religious Culture of Israelite Women,” by Carol Meyers.

The NY Times has posted an obituary for Norman Golb, the unorthodox Dead Sea Scrolls scholar who died last month.

Assyrians used the policy of deportation in the Levant not to bolster its labor supply but in order to intimidate the population and put down revolts.

The Hazor team is accepting applications for its 31st season of excavations at this important Canaanite and Israelite site.

The Times of Israel reports on the 2018 re-discovery in Cairo of a Hebrew Bible written in the year 1028.

Snow fell in Jerusalem this week for the first time in six years, and some photos are posted by The Jerusalem Post, Al Jazeera, Haaretz, and The Times of Israel. Shmuel Browns took some beautiful photos of the snow in the Judean hills. Daily Sabah has photos from around the Middle East.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Explorator

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An Israeli soldier discovered a rare coin dating to AD 158 from the ancient city of Geva Phillip near Megiddo.

Israeli archaeologists recently re-discovered a dolmen in northern Galilee in a search inspired by the memoirs of Prince Albert and Prince George (later King George V). The underlying journal article is here.

A portion of the “altar site” on Mount Ebal has been destroyed by road construction work. Israel’s President has asked the Ministry of Defense to investigate.

King Manasseh’s reign is illuminated by archaeological discoveries, as Bryan Windle shows in his latest archaeological biography.

Barry Beitzel is interviewed about his background in biblical geography and his recent work on the Lexham Geographic Commentary series.

Tributes to Hershel Shanks have been shared by Suzanne Singer, Daniel Silliman, Aren Maeir, and the Washington Post. The full Shanks commemorative issue of BAR (from 2018) is now open to all, including kind words from Christopher Rollston and others.

Albright Virtual Workshop on Feb 22: “‘The loss of a minute is just so much loss of life’: Edward Robinson and Eli Smith in the Holy Land,” by Haim Goren.

Jonathan Robker gives some tips for finding and using digital resources related to biblical studies and material culture.

Registration is now open for Infusion Bible Conference (formerly The Institute of Biblical Context Conference), June 14-16, in Franklin, Tennessee.

HT: Agade, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Archaeologists working at Timna have discovered fabrics dyed in royal purple from the time of David and Solomon. The underlying journal article is here. An early report from 2016 is here.

A mosque excavated in Tiberias may date back to the earliest years of Islam.

Several clay tablets discovered in the 1960s at Tell Deir Alla have mystified scholars, but a recent study has led to a translation along with the recognition that this is the only Late Bronze Age alphabet known from Jordan.

An endowment has secured a collection of historic Hebrew texts for Oxford University.

A new app created by an Episcopal church in South Carolina allows users to traverse a 98-mile path that follows the Gospel of Luke. You can access the app here.

Smithsonian Magazine: The Best Board Games of the Ancient World

The Onion: Archaeologists Uncover Separate Team Of Archaeologists Digging Towards Them From Other Side Of Globe

New from Yale: Ancient Israel, from Its Beginnings through 332 BCE, edited by Jeffrey H. Tigay and Adele Berlin.

Robert Cargill is stepping down as editor of Biblical Archaeology Review.

This week on The Book and the Spade, Gordon Govier reviews archaeology plans for 2021.

Bryan Windle chooses the top four reports in biblical archaeology for this month.

John DeLancey and Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours have released a new collection of 380 enhanced aerial photos of Israel (and a few sites in Jordan). Each of the 55 sites featured in this collection have seven photos each in this set. It is now available for purchase in thumb drive or download formats.

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

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Several shipwrecks from the Roman period are being studied near the Greek island of Kassos.

Timothy H. Lim explains that while the Essenes living at Qumran preferred isolation, most Essenes did not.

In the 1930s, the Oriental Institute conducted a series of investigations throughout ancient Persia.

Discover magazine looks at the use of the number zero in ancient history.

A new exhibition has opened at the University of Pennsylvania: Invisible Beauty: The Art of Archaeological Science.

UC Berkeley has announced a new program entitled “Assyrian Studies.”

Digging Digital Museum Collections Series “has created a pedagogical resource that provides examples of learning activities based on online museum collections and resources.”

Eric Cline and Christopher Rollston are being succeeded as editors of BASOR by a team of four.

Now on Pre-Pub at Logos: The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology.

John DeLancey gives a 12-minute tour of Caesarea Philippi.

Joel Kramer talks about how archaeology supports the Bible in an interview with Sean McDowell.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

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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

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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

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