Archaeologists found some rock-cut tombs and burial shafts near Queen Hatshepsut’s funerary temple. They also found her Valley Temple.

Ongoing excavations at Saqqara have revealed four mastaba tombs from the 2nd Dynasty and 10 burials from the 18th Dynasty.

Authorities are cleaning the underground spaces of Hagia Sophia in order to make them open to the public.

University College Cork has donated a number of historical objects to Egypt.

A carefully restored coffin of a priestess and musician of Amun is on display in Madrid after a seven-month restoration process.

Two divers looted hundreds of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts from the seabed in Abu Qir Bay near Alexandria, Egypt.”

“A decade after jihadists ransacked Iraq’s famed Nimrud site, archaeologists have been painstakingly putting together its ancient treasures, shattered into tens of thousands of tiny fragments.”

“A newly restored small Aramaic scroll from Qumran called 4Q550 reveals an unexpected text: it contains an Achaemenid Persian court-tale set in the court of king Xerxes I” that was previously unknown. Gad Barnea’s lecture about the text is now online.

Analysis of Iron Age swords from Iran suggests has revealed “modern glue, drill holes, and even a fragment of a modern drill bit embedded in one of the blades, evidencing the carelessness of the forgers” who “altered the weapons to enhance their commercial value.”

Kathryn Kelley, Mattia Cartolano, and Silvia Ferrara write about the invention of writing in Mesopotamia.

“Graffiti, produced by an inmate of an ancient Roman prison in Corinth, Greece, had a chilling message for captors.”

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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A Roman water tunnel, nearly as long as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, has recently been restored at biblical Gadara. 

The Jordan Times has published a story about Khirbat as-Sar, possibly biblical Jazer.

“A trove of ancient curse tablets was made recently in Athens‘ downtown neighborhood of Kerameikos.”

“Through a recent excavation at Kouklia-Martsello in Palaepaphos, Cyprus, scientists have unearthed an ancient inscription in the Cypriot syllabary.”

Archaeologists working in Georgia have found an inscription with strange symbols unlike any known language.

“In the second phase of the restoration works, the facades of Hagia Sophia Mosque, the upper covering, and the Second Bayezid Minaret are in the focus of attention.”

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the most important stories for the month of November.

A lecture by Christian Leitz overviews the restoration of the temple of Esna, with its “magnificent astronomical ceiling, colorful columns, and close to two hundred ink inscriptions previously undescribed.”

A meeting between the British and Greek prime ministers is raising speculation that an agreement may be in the offing for a loan of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

New release: The Iron Age Town of Mudayna Thamad, Jordan; Excavations of the Fortifications and Northern Sector (1995–2012), by Robert Chadwick, P. M. Michèle Daviau, Margreet L. Steiner and Margaret A. Judd (BAR Publishing, £88). This site is potentially biblical Jahaz.

New release: Burning Issues in Classics, by Rhiannon Evans and Nicole Gammie (La Trobe University, free download)

Carl Rasmussen reports on his visit to Carchemish, a site he has long wanted to see.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Roger Schmidgall, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Excavations began this year at Lystra, the hometown of Timothy and place where Paul was stoned and left for dead. They have already uncovered a third of a Byzantine church.

“An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians.”

Archaeologists excavating under a Hellenistic theater in southwestern Turkey have discovered a sewage system large enough to walk in.

The Kestros Fountain at Perga in Turkey is operational after 1,800 years.

“A variety of reliefs, inscriptions, and grave stelae unearthed by archeologists help expand the understanding of gladiator history in the region of ancient Anatolia.”

The Luwian Studies Foundation wants to fill in a gap in the eastern Mediterranean around the year 1200 BC.

A 4-minute BBC video features an island off Turkey’s southern coast with underwater Roman cities, underwater Lycian tombs, and the oldest shipwreck in the world.

Over at BiblicalTurkey.org, Jason Borges describes his three-day visit to the historical sites of Cyprus.

Archaeological discoveries made during the construction of a subway line in Thessaloniki have been put on display at many of the subway stations.

Three books that caught my eye in the exhibit halls at ETS and SBL are:

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Cenk Eronat, Explorator

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“A tiny house full of exquisite frescos has been discovered in the ancient city of Pompeii.”

Thessaloniki offers visitors 2,300-plus years of history, tremendous shopping, and a Jewish story like no other in Europe.”

“A recent British Museum video reveals that the ‘oldest map of the world in the world’ on a clay tablet from Babylon was deciphered to reveal a surprisingly familiar story.

Despite claims to the contrary, ancient peppermint was not found in the Giza Pyramids.

Bryan Windle surveys the top three reports from biblical archaeology in the month of October.

Bible History Daily remembers Donald B. Redford.

In the latest episode of Thin Edge of the Wedge, Simo Parpola reflects on his career and the State Archives of Assyria project.

Friends of ASOR Zoom webinar on Nov 6: “Beyond the Museum Walls: Engaging with Archaeology and New Media,” with panelists Michael Zimmerman, Sarah Beckmann, Deidre Brin, and Adam Aja

New release: To Eat or Not to Eat: Studies on the Biblical Dietary Prohibitions, by Peter Altmann and Anna Angelini (Mohr Siebeck, €94; open access)

New release: Knossos: Myth, History and Archaeology, by James Whitley (Bloomsbury, $22-$81)

The American Center of Research in Amman, Jordan, has announced a number of fellowships for the coming year.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos from his two visits this year to Antakya, Turkey (biblical Antioch on the Orontes). The city was largely destroyed by earthquake in February 2023.

The Zoom seminar video is now available for “Reading the Bible as an Insider,” with Lois Tverberg and Milly Erema.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Wayne Stiles, Joseph Lauer

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A portion of a purple tunic discovered in a royal tomb in Vergina may have belonged to Alexander the Great.

Archaeologists have found a submerged Nabatean temple near Naples.

“In Turkey, a team of archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman gladiator dating back to the third century B.C., with the remains of 12 individuals inside.”

“A team of archaeologists and scientists has made a discovery that could restart the search for Noah’s Ark in the mountains of eastern Turkey.”

A section of the Grand Egyptian Museum opened last week, “with the rest of the facility to be inaugurated when authorities deem the time is right.”

Scientists are studying ancient Roman concrete in hopes of improving our own.

Brad Gray explains land and sea travel in the latest episode of the Life in the Roman Empire series.

Artaxerxes I, Persian king in the time of Nehemiah, is the subject of Bryan Windle’s latest archaeological biography.

Webinar on Oct 29: “The Top 10 Monuments of Ancient Rome,” by Rocky Ruggiero

New release: Yahwism under the Achaemenid Empire, edited by Gad Barnea and Reinhard G. Kratz (De Gruyter, $142, open-access pdf and epub)

New release: Motherhood and Early Childhood in Ancient Egypt: Culture, Religion, and Medicine, by Amandine Marshall (AUC Press, $70)

New release: The Underwater Basilica of Nicaea: Archaeology in the Birthplace of Christian Theology, by Mark R. Fairchild (IVP Academic, $32). The first chapter is available at the publisher’s website.

Mark Fairchild is on The Book and the Spade to discuss the findings in his new book.

HT: Agade, Wayne Stiles, Gordon Franz

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Ancient prisons are hard to find in the archaeological record, but archaeologists have identified one in Corinth’s Roman forum, dating to the 4th-5th centuries AD, based on graffiti found on floor tiles. Prior to that the area served as a market, and according to a local guide, there’s a tradition that Paul’s shop was here, based on fresco remains still barely visible. The underlying journal article is available to subscribers and for purchase ($20).

New archaeological research has found evidence that Pompeii was destroyed not only by the volcanic eruption but by a powerful earthquake.

Turkiye Today reports on irregularities in an excavation in Tarsus. The story alleges high security for a dig where nothing of significance was found. And yes, there is a dead policeman.

An article in Smithsonian Magazine explains who looted ancient Egyptian tombs and how they did it.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes four primary articles (subscription required):

  • “Jews of Arabia: Ancient Inscriptions Reveal Jewish Diaspora,” by Gary A. Rendsburg
  • “Gath of the Philistines: A New View of Ancient Israel’s Archenemy,” by Aren M. Maeir
  • “Letters to Pharaoh: The Canaanite Amarna Tablets,” by Alice Mandell
  • “Too Good to Be True? Reckoning with Sensational Inscriptions,” by Christopher Rollston

As Biblical Archaeology Review prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, it is asking its readers to share stories and memories.

ASOR has launched a new website for The Ancient Near East Today (ANE Today), their “open-access digital platform for public scholarship, disseminating the latest research, insights, and news about the ancient Near East and beyond.” You can read more about the changes and new features here.

With his archaeological biography on Ashurbanipal, Bryan Windle has written about all six Assyrian kings mentioned in the Bible.

HT: Agade, Mark V. Hoffman, Gordon Franz, Gordon Dickson, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Paleojudaica

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