Israel's Coast Archives - Page 30 of 32

Wednesday Roundup

The rain in Israel has turned to snow. Jerusalem is all but closed. A meter of snow fell on Mount Hermon overnight. The Sea of Galilee is up 6 inches. Haaretz is calling this the biggest storm in a decade with Israel’s main highway closed for 9 hours. Wind gusts in Haifa reached up to 75 miles per hour.

BBC reports that Gaza’s archaeological treasures are at risk from war and neglect.

Ferrell Jenkins explains the significance of Gaza.

Artifax and The Book & The Spade Radio program have posted their Top Ten 2012 Discoveries.

They are similar to our (unnumbered) list. Leen Ritmeyer picks his top two.

The conclusion from the 2012 excavations south of the Temple Mount (aka “Ophel”) is posted in an 11-minute video, concluding with a tour by archaeologist Eilat Mazar.

Thirty Days in the Land with Jesus: A Holy Land Devotional, by Charles H. Dyer, is for sale on Kindle for $1.99 this week. The 248-page book was released in 2012.

HT: Charles Savelle

Iron Age tower in Ophel Excavations
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Recent IAA Excavation Reports

Horbat Hadat Modiin – Two strata from the Chalcolithic period were exposed, revealing high quality construction and a flint repertoire with more than 500 pieces.

Petah Tiqwa, Kefar Abraham – This Middle Bronze IIA industrial site with a tabun and kiln was probably related to the major city of Aphek.

Amazya, Al-Dawayima – A survey northwest of Moshav Amazya on the western end of Nahal Lachish in the Shephelah revealed 37 sites with abundant remains from the Iron, Roman, and Byzantine periods.

Amazya South – A survey south of Moshav Amazya identified 40 sites including many cisterns and cave dwellings.

Yattir Forest – A salvage excavation exposed a farming terrace and a square field tower, both of which might date to the Byzantine period.

Be’er Sheva‘, Bet Eshel Street – Excavations in downtown Beersheba uncovered pottery from the 8th century BC and a home from the Byzantine era.

Middle Bronze kiln excavated at Petah Tiqwa, Kefar Abraham.
Photo by Israel Antiquities Authority.

Tagged Excavations, Israel's Coast, Judah, Negev, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup #2

SourceFlix’s latest video shows a shepherd seeking out a lost sheep.

Matthew Kalman has a summary of the recent dust-up between Amos Kloner and Simcha Jacobovici.

The Israel Museum will be hosting an exhibition on King Herod next year.

Shmuel Browns posts some of the earliest photos taken in the Holy Land.

A court ruling will preserve antiquities near the Roman aqueduct in Caesarea.

We now have a better understanding of the gruesome details of the murder of Ramses III.

A five-minute clip of General Allenby in Jerusalem is online. For a longer version without the
Hebrew annotations, see here.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Allenby entry 1917, troops entering Jaffa Gate, mat02225

Entrance of General Allenby through Jaffa Gate
Photo from The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection

Tagged Egypt, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Weekend Roundup

Haaretz: Aphek and Antipatris

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh writes about the biblical site of Aphek in Haaretz (free subscription required).

The lumbering fortress that crowns the ancient mound at Yarkon Sources-Tel Afek National Park is just one of many must-see sights and a good place to start an approximately two-hour visit that effortlessly combines nature and heritage.
From the northwestern tower of this 16th-century compound you’ll get a breathtaking view of the coastal plain. From the southeastern corner of the fortress you can peer down at remains of the Roman road, built by Herod the Great who named it Antipatris after his father. The road recalls the New Testament story of Paul the Apostle, who spent the night here with his Roman guards as they marched him from Jerusalem to Caesarea (Acts 23:31). But the road is a virtual historical toddler compared to the other antiquities you’ll see.
The city of Afek, straddling a strategic pass on the ancient highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia (the Via Maris) was founded in the fifth millennium BCE and is first mentioned in Egyptian writings some 4,000 thousand years ago. Among the finds unearthed in excavations of the Egyptian governor’s palace are documents written in hieroglyphics, Hittite, Akkadian, and Sumerian.

The story also notes the biblical connection as well as some modern history. The four-minute video does not include narration.

For more photos and history of the site, see the BiblePlaces page on Aphek and Antipatris.

Lake and Turkish fortress at biblical Aphek.
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Tagged Israel's Coast, Tourism

Wednesday Roundup

Leen Ritmeyer has photos from Alexander Schick of a wooden version of the formerly Holyland Hotel model of Jerusalem, now on display at Ben Gurion Airport.

Haaretz has a story about a Canaanite banquet hall discovered at Tel Kabri.

The Samaritans are using genetic testing (and abortion) to reduce the chances of birth defects caused by inbreeding.

The first snow of the season has fallen on Mount Hermon.

Vandals have attacked the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem for the second time this year.

You can now purchase the high-resolution artwork from the ESV Study Bible. The maps, illustrations, and charts/diagrams are available in packages for $10, or you can download everything for $25.

Eisenbrauns has a 30-50% off sale on the 4 volumes of the Ashkelon reports.

HT: Jack Sasson

Model of Jerusalem at Ben Gurion Airport.
Photo by Alexander Schick.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Photo Resources, Resources, Samaria, Weekend Roundup

Recent IAA Excavation Reports

An agricultural complex one mile northeast of the Church of the Nativity of Bethlehem in Khirbet el-Qatt was in use during the Roman period and included cisterns, terrace walls, watchman’s huts, winepresses, olive presses, and a coin from the time of Herod.

Some ancient pits excavated in Ramat Aviv in Tel Aviv had remains of mountain gazelle, dogs, and a donkey.

A quarry of unknown date and sections of plastered wall and floors from a Byzantine monastery were excavated along Nablus Road north of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Two squares were excavated on the western slope of Jonah’s hometown of Gath Hepher, revealing remains from the Early Bronze, Middle Bronze, and Iron II. If the excavators were a little more media-savvy, they could have made their fame and fortune showing off the cooking pot and jar that were certainly used by Jonah’s mother.

Excavations on the edge of Tel Yafo (biblical Joppa) revealed lots of Iron Age pottery (the canteen Jonah dropped on his way to the boat?) as well as finds from the Hellenistic, Early Islamic, Crusader, and later periods.

Vandals excavated a winepress in Horbat Pezaza but they left a second one untouched for those paid by the day rather than the piece. The archaeologists dated the winepresses to the Late Roman and Byzantine period.

Winepress in Horbat Pezaza. Photo by IAA.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Shephelah