Jerusalem Archives - Page 2 of 190

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“New evidence shows that the well-preserved Roman Imperial Highway crossing the Golan was constructed in the second half of the second century CE.” The underlying journal article is here.

A new study claims that Bar Kochba only joined the revolt named after him in the middle of the insurrection. The underlying journal article is here.

The oldest inscription with the Ten Commandments sold for $5 million to a buyer who plans to donate it to an Israeli institution.

The Tel Dan Inscription is on display at the Jewish Museum in New York City until January 5.

The latest Jerusalem in Brief explores the conflicting accounts of the surrender of Jerusalem in 1917.

Applications are now open for $2,000 dig scholarships offered by the Biblical Archaeology Society.

Biblical Archaeology Society has also posted this year’s excavation opportunities, including summer projects at Hippos, Azekah, and Dan.

New Release: The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE by Strategius of Mar Saba, by Sean W. Anthony and Stephen J. Shoemaker (University of Chicago; $35; open access)

Ze’ev Meshel, longtime archaeology professor at Tel Aviv University, died last week at the age of 92.

Lois Tverberg explains why she likes our photo collections.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Mark Hoffman, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Excavations, Golan, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations have identified a 2nd-century BC military fortress at Ashdod-Yam.

“Researchers have discovered 50 rare cave pearls, some of which contain ancient Greek artifacts from the Hellenistic era, in an underground water system near Jerusalem.”

Some scholars are questioning whether the oldest copy of the Ten Commandments—scheduled to be sold next week at auction—is authentic.

In a short video, Eitan Klein shows how a band of antiquities thieves were caught in the act, robbing a cave in the Shephelah.

Expedition Bible’s latest video looks at the archaeological evidence for the location of Jesus’s crucifixion.

John DeLancey filmed on location at the Ketef Hinnom tombs in Jerusalem.

Appian Media has released a new short film entitled “Explore Petra” (12 min). I’m curious how they got the drone footage.

Christopher Rollston explains why the Megiddo Mosaic is important on The Book and the Spade.

“New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary held a 10^th anniversary celebration for its Museum of the Bible and Archaeology” last week.

Eliezer Oren, longtime Professor of Bible, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, died this week.

Jerusalem University College has announced its online semester courses for the spring, including:

Archaeological Methods and Theory, taught by Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer
Introduction to the Modern Middle East, taught by Oded Yinon
Jewish Thought and Practice, taught by Rabbi Moshe Silberschein
The Book of Revelation and the Seven Cities of the Apocalypse, taught by Chris Vlachos

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Alexander Schick, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Lectures, Museums, Sad News, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Recent excavations at Caesarea Philippi (Banias) indicate that Herod Agrippa II repurposed the sacred cave “into a nymphaeum-triclinium, a venue for Roman-style banquets in which water flowed around a central dining area and out through an aqueduct.”

“A recent excavation on Mount Zion in Jerusalem unearthed a fragment of a 16th-century Chinese porcelain bowl with ‘the earliest known Chinese inscription in Israel.’”

The Temple Mount Sifting Project is again dealing with a funding shortfall that may cause it to shut down.

Rabbi Avraham Stolik lectured on the discoveries related to the Pilgrimage Road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount (50 min).

Zoom lecture on Dec 8: “Women of Prominence and Power in First Temple Period Hebrew Inscriptions,” by Christopher Rollston ($10)

The latest issue of Israel Exploration Journal includes an article that suggests a “revolutionary reading” of the Tel Dan Inscription. (Available only to subscribers)

The latest issue of DigSight includes articles on the ivory comb from Lachish, recent conferences and lectures, and upcoming events.

In the latest episode of Biblical World, Kyle Keimer and Chris McKinny discuss the fundamentals of biblical archaeology. “If you wondered what biblical archaeology is and why you should care – this is the episode for you.”

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

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Lectures, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A 12-year-old girl found an Egyptian scarab while on a family hike near Hod HaSharon.

A 71-year-old Israeli researcher was killed when attempting to visit an archaeological site in southern Lebanon.

The stone inscription of the Ten Commandments that is up for auction must be put on public display, as a condition of its purchase. The current owner violated that requirement for the last eight years. Another website identifies the owner.

Aren Maeir’s new MOOC on ancient Jerusalem is now online, along with his previous MOOC on biblical archaeology. Both may be taken for free or for a small fee for certification. There’s also a one-minute “behind the scenes” video for the Jerusalem course.

The latest Jerusalem Tracker links to the newest books, book reviews, academic articles, news reports, podcasts, videos, and upcoming events related to Jerusalem.

On Digging for Truth, Scott Stripling reviews the 2024 excavation season at Shiloh. “Discoveries include a city gate, new technologies, sacrificial activity, and even gold.”

In the latest edition of “Discussions with the Diggers,” Bryan Windle interviews Abigail Van Huss (nee Leavitt), assistant dig director for the Shiloh excavations.

The new issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on monumental churches built to commemorate Jesus’s life, Egyptian statues from Hazor, and the ten lost tribes.

Cambridge University Press has inaugurated a new series entitled Elements in The Archaeology of Ancient Israel. The first volume is Edom in Judah: Trade, Migration, and Kinship in the Late Iron Age Southern Levant, by Andrew J. Danielson. It is available online until December 18.

A new 5-minute video by the Orthodox Union explains why Hebron and the Machpelah is important to the Jewish people. The video includes a few photos from a surreptitious exploration of the underground caves in 1981. Elsewhere Avi Abrams tells the story.

Correction: The Galilee boat on display in the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Reagan Library is only a replica. There is more information about the exhibit in this JNS article.

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Excavations, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Lectures, New Exhibits, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“At the [new National Campus for the Archeology of Israel], visitors are offered a look behind the scenes at archeological finds from the time of excavation and at the labs where they are cleaned, restored, preserved, conserved, documented and finally revealed to the public.” After 12 years of construction, the building has now (mostly) opened to the public.

“Newly unearthed stone tools reveal evidence of early axle-based rotation technology, predating the invention of carts by thousands of years and marking a significant milestone in the development of rotational tools like wheels.”

Gordon Govier writes about the use of subatomic muon detectors in the archaeology of Jerusalem for Christianity Today (account required).

Robert Duke is on The Book and the Spade to discuss the Megiddo Mosaic now on display at the Museum of the Bible.

The oldest known inscribed tablet with the Ten Commandments, dating to the Late Roman or Byzantine periods, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s.

The topic of the Archaeo-Informatics 2024 hybrid conference is “Use and Challenges of AI in Archaeology.” The program is here. Registration is open for in-person and online participation.

The Ancient World Online lists many festschriften and gedenkschriften published by the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures that are available for download.

An exhibition opening on Friday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in southern California will feature 8 Dead Sea Scrolls, the Magdala Stone, ossuaries, shekels, and more. The website claims that the Sea of Galilee Boat will be on display as well; I don’t remember that ever traveling outside of Israel before.

Walking The Text’s latest recommended resource is Rediscovering Christmas, by AJ Sherrill.

I join Henry Smith on the latest episode of Digging for Truth to discuss the death of Herod Agrippa and where in Caesarea I think it took place.

There will be no roundup next weekend. If you will be attending ETS or SBL, stop by the BiblePlaces booth and say hi.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Mark Hoffman, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles

Tagged Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists working at Tel Shimron have found a cache of rare cultic objects from a Middle Bronze monumental structure. The collection includes two bull statuettes.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has conducted a quantitative analysis of pottery from the Iron Age IIB-C, finding that the characteristics are similar to that of the Ophel excavation.

After Christopher Rollston’s dismissal of interpretations of recently discovered inscriptions, Pieter Gert van der Veen pushes back.

Titus Kennedy summarizes archaeological and historical evidence for the Israelite exodus and settlement in Canaan.

Scott Stripling is on Digging for Truth discussing the location where Jesus cast the demons into the herd of pigs. He seems to be unaware of the data I presented in an article in the Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels.

The Jerusalem Post shares a story about the history of Jericho written with the help of AI. And here’s another one about King Tut’s tomb.

Online discussion on Nov 14: “Standing Firm on Mount Zion Amid Conflict,” with Oliver Hersey, Jon Kaplan, and Bernard Sabella. Registration is free, and the event will be recorded.

Aren Maeir’s new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on ancient Jerusalem will be online soon. A trailer has just been released.

Preserving Bible Times has released “The Real Birth of Jesus,” a session with Doug Greenwold “with added imagery that conveys the real cultural and historic context of this world-changing event.”

Walking The Text has launched a merch shop with a variety of outerwear and tees, with designs intended to promote conversations about God’s Word and its context. Brad Gray introduces the shop in a short video.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Exodus-Conquest, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Resources, Weekend Roundup