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While building an on-site museum to house the massive Lod mosaic, they discovered another mosaic.

Archaeologists working at Gedera have uncovered a 20-bath spa, a game room, and a pottery workshop.

The final season has wrapped up at the site of Horvat Kur near the Sea of Galilee.

Whether one swallowed Jonah or not, whales used to live in the Mediterranean, according to a new study.

Thomas Hikade and Jane Roy assess the evidence for human sacrifice in early Egyptian history.

New: An excavation report from Khirbet Qeiyafa: In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City, by Yosef Garfinkel, Saar Ganor, and Michael G. Hasel.

Carl Rasmussen writes about the Solomonic gate at Gezer and shares a photo of Bill Dever and Yohanan Aharoni at the site.

John DeLancey shares about his recent volunteer experience at Gath on The Book and the Spade.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the importance of the cedars of Lebanon and shares many photos.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Paleojudaica

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Archaeologists working at et-Tell (aka Bethsaida) have been uncovering an 11th-10th century BC wall with towers this season.

The excavation season has concluded at el-Araj (aka Bethsaida) and daily updates have been posted here. An excerpt from the last day: “This year we demonstrated that the settlement was widespread, and not limited to a small area. This was no mean city. What began around 30 CE as Herod Philip’s transformation of a Jewish fishing village into a polis, evolved over the centuries into a wealthy community.”

Excavations this summer at Huqoq revealed mosaics in the synagogue’s north aisle, including a scene of the Israelite spies, a youth leading an animal, and a fragmentary Hebrew inscription reading
“Amen selah.”

Archaeologists are drawing conclusions on Christian-Muslim relations in the 7th century on the basis of a brass weight discovered at Hippos (Sussita).

The work at Tel Burna is still humming along.

From Aren Maeir’s posts, the excavators at Gath keep having one great day after another.

The wheeled cart depicted at the Capernaum synagogue is not the ark of the covenant.

Sixteen images of Qumran taken by Philip R. Davies in 1970–71 are posted online.

A new exhibit focused on life in New Testament times has opened in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem.

A rare coin from the fourth year of the Jewish Revolt has been discovered in debris from the City of David.

A complex rescue operation salvaged pottery from the Second Temple period in western Galilee.
Israel’s Good Name visited the Carmel region, with stops at Ramat HaNadiv, the Carmel Caves, Dor HaBonim, Tel Dor, and more.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is running out of funds, and they now have a quadruple match grant.

New: A Walk to Caesarea, by Joseph Patrich. (Available only in Israel, apparently.)

Ephraim Stern’s life is remembered by Hillel Geva in the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Ada Yardeni died recently.

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

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Brian Peterson reviews the events and discoveries of Week 2 of the Shiloh excavations.

Scott Stripling is interviewed about the excavations at Shiloh on The Land of Israel Network (34 min).

Ferrell Jenkins looks at the importance of Shiloh, the longtime location of the tabernacle.


The Times of Israel has a lengthy follow-up on the study that suggests that the carbon-14 calibration scale for Israel is faulty.

ASOR has posted an update on the severe damage to the site of Ebla in Syria.

Israel is opening a new national natural history museum in Tel Aviv.

Israel’s Good Name went on a tour of the Tel Aviv Zoological Research Institute, a place not normally open to the public.

Aren Maeir has posted the lecture and field trip schedule for the Gath excavations.

The American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman has posted 9,000 low- to medium- resolution watermarked images from Jordan and the surrounding region, including many taken by Jane Taylor.

Wayne Stiles writes about an important event at the Water Gate in Jerusalem.

Ron Traub writes about the Baram synagogue near the northern border of Israel.

Leon Mauldin is visiting Rome and sharing photos.

Mitchell First has written an article on “The Earliest Surviving Texts of the Torah” for Jewish Link of New Jersey.

The Vatican Library has made 15,000 manuscripts available online, with another 65,000 to come in the next couple of decades.

The ESV Archaeology Study Bible has some recent video posts of interest:

“The Biblical Archaeology Society is now accepting applications for the 2018 Joseph Aviram, Yigael Yadin, and Hershel Shanks fellowships that allow scholars to attend the annual meetings” of ASOR and SBL. (The announcement mentions that Aviram, at age 102, is still the president of IES!)

Norma Dever died on Thursday. William Dever writes an obituary that may surprise you.

HT: Charles Savelle, Agade, Joseph Lauer

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Amanda Borschel-Dan surveys the state of Israeli archaeology as the nation celebrates its 70th birthday.

Jill Katz offers a summary of “Israel Archaeology at 70.”

Philippe Bohstrom looks at Sennacherib’s 701 BC invasion of Judah, focusing on how to account for the Assyrian king’s failure to conquer Jerusalem (Haaretz premium).

By studying the dirt piles of burrowing mole rats, archaeologists working at Tel ‘Eton believe that they have found evidence of the site’s significance in the 10th century BC (Haaretz premium).

“The Palestinian government and international organizations started a major excavation to restore St. Hilarion Monastery, locally known as Tell Umm Amer, in the central Gaza Strip, Palestine’s oldest and largest Christian monument.”

In this week’s The Teaching Series, Brad Gray explains the paradox of the two major bodies of water in Israel: the life-giving Sea of Galilee and the lifeless Dead Sea.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is inviting you to visit their research lab.

Is the Via Dolorosa in the right place? Wayne Stiles explains the controversy.

The “Sanhedrin Trail” will be inaugurated next week. This 45-mile (70-km) route connects Beit Shearim to Tiberias and hikers can take advantage of a Hebrew web app.

Ferrell’s Travel Blog has a new address. You can bookmark the new site, or subscribe to the blog by email (upper right).

Charles Savelle and Luke Chandler recommend our new Photo Companion to the Book of Ruth. The sale ends tomorrow. Shipping is free in the US and satisfaction is guaranteed.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser, Steven Anderson

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Rome’s ongoing subway system project has uncovered several glimpses of the past, this time the ruins of a Roman military commander’s 14-room luxury villa. ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives has a report on the current status of the Ain Dara Temple. Authorities caught tomb raiders in Galilee as they used a bulldozer to loot graves from the Roman period. 3D computational geometry is being used in a long-distance virtual reconstruction to piece together ancient cuneiform texts. Christopher Rollston is on the OnScript Podcast speaking about the Isaiah seal impression. The Digital Archive for the Study of pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions “seeks to gather all known pre-Islamic Arabian epigraphic material into a comprehensive online database, with the aim to make available to specialists and to the broader public a wide array of documents often underestimated because of their difficulty of access.” A proposed restructuring at University College London may have adverse effects on the Petrie Museum. You can learn how to help here. Bible Gateway has published an interview with Lois Tverberg about her new book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus. On sale for Kindle: Provan, Long, and Longman, A Biblical History of Israel ($3.99). Accordance has a big sale going on now on atlases and related resources. The Satellite Bible Atlas is now available on Accordance, and it too is on sale (40% off) until March 12. BAS is offering subscriptions to its video lecture service for 75% off for a limited time. David Z. Moster’s latest video explains how to use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Wayne Stiles shares some new video footage shot over biblical Joppa. The LMLK Blogspot links to a new video of aerial footage of Hebron. HT: Ted Weis, Agade, Charles Savelle, Mark Hoffman

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A colorful mosaic with a lengthy Greek inscription has been uncovered in Caesarea. The badly damaged mosaic features three men and dates to about AD 200.

Israeli security forces may have destroyed ancient ruins as early as the Middle Bronze Age in demolition work in Gush Etzion.

Biblical Archaeology Review is teasing “a major new discovery connected to an important biblical figure” in its upcoming double issue.

Israel has begun construction on a permanent pavilion for mixed prayer at the Western Wall near
Robinson’s Arch.

An Israeli family had be rescued while hiking in the Nahal Darga in the Judean wilderness.

Wayne Stiles explores the two times that Dothan appears in the Bible.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos from the Herodium display in the Israel Museum.

Leen Ritmeyer refutes the claims of some who argue that the Temple Mount is actually the Antonia Fortress.

Israel’s Good Name went on a hiking trip in and around the Wadi Qelt.

John A. Beck, author of The Holy Land for Christian Travelers and many other works, has just launched a new website. You can check out his resources and sign up for his quarterly newsletter.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

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