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Excavations at Metropolis in western Turkey have uncovered a Greek inscription honoring Gaius Fabius, the governor in 57/56 BC.

Officials have recovered 550 high-quality ancient artifacts from the earthquake rubble in ancient Antioch on the Orontes (modern Antakya).

“Archaeologists have excavated subterranean rooms and a tunnel under an early church in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.”

Archaeologists working in Pompeii have found a servant’s quarters in the house of a rich person.

“A 30-day exhibition on agriculture – with fruits grown and tools used in cultivation – in ancient Egypt is on at the Luxor Museum to celebrate Inundation Day.” The article includes several photos.

“For the first time, a group of researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick.”

“A team of Swiss and Greek archaeologists recently successfully completed the third season of a research program (2021-2025) on the famous wreck of Antikythera, which dates back to the first half of the 1st century BC.”

“Rare photographs of the excavations at the Greek Island of Delos from the 19th Century have come to light in a book by French archaeologists.”

Seth Sanders explores the question of who invented the alphabet.

“The electronic Babylonian Library (eBL) Project brings together ancient Near Eastern specialists and data scientists to revolutionize the way in which the literature of Iraq in the first millennium BCE is reconstructed and analyzed.”

An employee was fired and police are investigating after British Museum officials discovered that some of their artifacts were being sold on eBay. And now the director of the museum has resigned.

Zahi Hawass is imploring Arabs with British nationality to sign his petition to give the Rosetta Stone to Egypt.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Jason Borges, Ted Weis, Explorator

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Archaeologists discovered an Akkadian tablet from 1800 BC during excavations of a palace in ancient Alalakh in southern Turkey.

Excavations of the tophet in Carthage uncovered “five gold coins from 2,300 years ago, tombstones and several urns with the remains of animals, infants and premature babies.”

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses have been discovered in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park.”

A 1st-century BC synagogue has been discovered in southwestern Russia. It stood for more than 500 years before it was likely destroyed.

“Coal miners in Serbia have discovered the remains of a large wooden boat likely used by the Romans to supply a nearby city and military headquarters on the empire’s frontier.”

“Once quiet backwater departments of Assyriology (sometimes called Sumerology or Mesopotamian studies) are suddenly hotbeds of innovation” with the help of AI.

“The ‘miracle’ plant Silphium consumed by Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, which was thought to have become extinct two thousand years ago, has recently been rediscovered in Turkey by a professor, who thinks he’s found a botanical survivor.”

“The distinctive transdisciplinary approach of the recently established Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP) may provide keys to [the] rediscovery” of the use of ancient plants.

Zoom tour on Aug 23: “The First Half of History: A Virtual Tour of the Yale Babylonian Collection,” by Ekhart Frahm and Agnete Lassen ($7)

Zoom lecture on Aug 31: “Who Really Invented the Alphabet?,” by Seth Sanders ($6/12). Season passes for the Friends of ASOR Webinar Series are now available. You can also purchase recordings from previous seasons’ webinars.

“The Corning Museum of Glass is pleased to announce its 61st Annual Seminar on Glass, a two-day program of online sessions that complements the special exhibition Dig Deeper: Discovering an Ancient Glass Workshop.” All are welcome, and there is no charge for the Oct 19-20 event.

New release: Scientific Traditions in the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, edited by Sofie Schiødt, Amber Jacob and Kim Ryholt (NYU Press, $85)

New release: The Routledge Handbook of Museums, Heritage, and Death, edited by Trish Biers, Katie Stringer Clary (Routledge, $216/$46)

ACOR has signed agreements with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities to restore the Kerak Castle, the Byzantine church in Aqaba, and the Beit Ras Amphitheater.

Geoffrey Lenox-Smith describes what he saw on a tour in a “soft opening” of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

HT: Agade, Gordon Dickson, Al Sandalow, Will Varner, Arne Halbakken, Roger Schmidgall, Keith Keyser, Wayne Stiles, Explorator

The visit of a rabbi to Jerusalem was met with great excitement by his followers.

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Ruins of Nero’s theater have been discovered in Rome.

“An iconic bronze statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian, which is one of three found worldwide and dates back some 2,000 years, was turned into an active honeycomb as 50,000 bees produced their wax onto 3D-printed grid replicas of the original.”

“Archaeologists have recovered thousands of pieces of glassware—many of them ‘perfectly preserved’—from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck in the waters between Italy and France.”

Impressed by costly Persian metal vessels, Athenian craftsmen created imitations in clay.

Local women are helping to renovate the mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue of Sardis.

Kim Lawton recently visited important, but less-visited, sites in Turkey related to Paul’s ministry, including Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, and Tarsus. The well-illustrated article includes a couple of quotes from an interview with me.

Leon McCarron spent ten weeks traveling the length of the Tigris, from its source in Turkey to its mouth at the Persian Gulf.

“Gems have unique elemental compositions that can be used to identify their location of origin.”

Mark Hoffman writes of his discovery of the Gardens of the Roman Empire website.

Steven Anderson’s book on Darius the Mede has been translated into Persian Farsi and published by Qoqnoos Press in Iran (ISBN: 9786220404651). It can be purchased from Agah Bookshop.

Howard Golden is donating his collection of hundreds of European maps dating to the 15th to 18th centuries to the National Library of Israel.

Don’t delay: “The permanent galleries in the Pergamon Museum will close on October 22, 2023 and will remain closed for renovations until 2037 (estimated).” Photos of many of their artifacts are available online.

The James Ossuary will go on display in Dallas beginning on August 25. This is the first time it has been displayed in the US. The price should keep the crowds down.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

The experience at Nazareth Village, with the increased number of exhibits and actors, has never been better. One caveat: it doesn’t work so well with large groups.

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The Times of Israel has the best summation of the Huqoq synagogue excavations that I’ve read.

Melanie Lidman writes a story about the University of Haifa’s School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, the only underwater archaeology certification program in Israel.

The Israeli government has a plan to protect Jewish archaeological sites in Area C of the West Bank. Of 3,000 antiquity sites in the West Bank, about 80% are in Area C.

The Times of Israel writes about the opportunity for the public to join conservation work at Gezer on Thursdays in the month of July.

Archaeologists are using chemical imaging technology in ancient Egyptian tombs to analyze the process in which the walls were painted.

So many tourists are visiting the Acropolis of Athens this summer that they will be implementing crowd control measures for the first time ever, including time-slot system for groups and electronic ticketing. There is also talk of enlarging the Propylaia.

The BBC shares the latest discoveries at Pompeii, including serpents, frescoes, and yes, more skeletons.

Charging for admission to Rome’s Pantheon may make the site like the Colosseum—impossible to visit without joining a tour at many times the ticket price.

The NY Times has a lengthy story of Shelby White’s antiquities collection, pieces she has returned, and artifacts recently seized.

BiblePics is a new AI tool that allows users to chat with biblical characters.

New release: Hesi after 50 Years and 130 Years: Beginning a New Generation of Research, edited by John R. Spencer, James W. Hardin, and Jeffrey Blakely (Eisenbrauns, $70 with code NR23)

New release: West Semitic Inscriptions & the Hebrew Bible (AOAT 410), by Bob Becking (Ugarit-Verlag, €123; Amazon)

I have not seen the new “Borderland: Israel in the Time of Jesus” exhibit at The Creation Museum in Kentucky, but the exhibit book contains hundreds of the best reconstruction artwork I’ve ever seen—everything from Herod’s temple at Caesarea to a Jewish funeral and much more. This link gives a video preview of the book, and the book may be purchased here ($30-45).

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Ted Weis

It’s always better when artifacts stay at the site and are not transported to some distant museum. The new visitors’ center at Caesarea provides archaeological displays and visual presentations that enhance the site experience.

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“Israeli archaeologists have been left scratching their heads over the discovery of a large tomb containing dozens of skeletons, many of them women, who were buried more than 2,500 years ago in the midst of the Negev desert, at an ancient crossroad far from any known settlements at the time.”

According to Yosef Garfinkel, five sites in Judah indicate that Judah was expanding into the Shephelah already in the 10th century. The underlying journal article is here.

Chris McKinny provides an overview of all of the excavation areas at Tel Burna after their first week of their 13th season.

The Greek Reporter has a well-illustrated story on the Bird Mosaic and the sigma-shaped glass-gold table found in Caesarea.

Martine van den Berg reports on the first-ever “Friends of ASOR Tour to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.” They had quite a few experiences that the average tourist doesn’t get.

After a three-year renovation, Solomon’s Quarries/Zedekiah’s Cave has reopened to visitors. It now includes a multimedia show. The article includes a video report by i24 News.

Ron Simkins discusses “Creation and Ecology in Ancient Israel” on the Biblical World podcast.

Lisa LaGeorge gives a good answer to the question, “What difference does it make if I go to Israel?”

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of a beautiful view that he took in the Judean hill country between Bethlehem and Hebron.

Zoom lecture on July 12: “The King is Dead, Long Live the King: Murder, Poetry, and Scribal Culture in Ancient Egypt,” by Margaret Geoga ($7)

The NY Times reports on Christian tourism to Saudi Arabia, though the reporting seems limited to a single tour group.

A large Roman-period mosaic discovered near Homs, Syria, depicts Greek soldiers in the Trojan War as well as the god Neptune and forty of his mistresses.

A conference will be held at Oxford on July 5 entitled “The Aramaeans B.C.: History, Literature, and Archaeology”

The oldest completely hand-sewn boat in the Mediterranean dates to the Iron Age I and is remarkably well-preserved.

A fresco newly discovered at Pompeii looks like a pizza but is more likely a focaccia covered with fruit.

Bryan Windle reports on the top three stories in biblical archaeology for the month of June.

What do real archaeologists think of Indiana Jones?

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

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Excavations in the Sarachane Archaeology Park in Istanbul uncovered a fragment of a statue of the Greek god Pan holding a flute.

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the top stories in the month of May, including mention of three new museums to open in Kuşadası (ancient Ephesus)

Writing for Religion Unplugged, Kim Lawton reports on her recent travels to the seven churches of Revelation. She interviewed me as part of her research.

The Christian Post has a feature on places in Turkey related to the apostle Paul.

A retired garbage collector helped uncover two dozen bronze statues in central Italy.

Three more victims of the Vesuvius eruption were discovered recently at Pompeii.

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples will be opening a new branch in the city to display more of its collection.

Stephen DeCasien investigates the development of the naval ram in early maritime warfare.

Katerina Velentza describes her project to “interpret anew where, when, why and how sculptures were transported by sea in the ancient Mediterranean world.”

New video from the British Museum: “How the Greco-Persian Wars changed the way Athenians drank their wine” (16 min).

Terry Madenholm investigates how the ancient Greeks and Romans viewed suicide.

“Last week the American Academy in Rome launched a major update to the Arthur & Janet C. Ross Library’s Digital Humanities Center, giving the repository a new look and feel while increasing access to the collections and their research value in several important ways.” This resource is easily searchable, especially by location, with lots of old photos.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Stephanie Durruty, Wayne Stiles, Alexander Schick, Gordon Franz, Explorator

The Lod Mosaic Museum protects a beautiful Roman-era mosaic, but I think it’s unlikely to get many visitors, especially with the $10 entrance fee.

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