Jerusalem Archives - Page 22 of 188

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A marble column from a Byzantine church was discovered by a beach patrol near Ashdod.

Tel Jarmuth (Yarmuth) is now surrounded by the fast-growing city of Beit Shemesh. The relationship between the community and the archaeologists may serve as a model for others.

A plan to expand the Jerusalem Walls National Park to include 68 additional acres, many on the Mount of Olives, has been shelved following opposition from church leaders.

The Times of Israel provides an overview of the $40 million renewal project of Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum, slated to be finished by the end of this year.

Andrew Califf provides a fascinating look into “a day in the life of an antiquities crime-buster in Israel.”

i24News reports on lions in the Holy Land, including comments from Natan Slifkin, director of the Biblical Museum of National History.

Susan Schmidt has released a new video on “Hiking to the 11 Qumran Dead Sea Scroll Caves and Scrolls Trail.” This 6-minute tour not only introduces the new trail but it identifies where each of the 11 caves are located.

Ynet has an article about the new Dead Sea Scrolls Trail. The article is in Hebrew, but Google’s translation is pretty good.

Hybrid lecture on March 3 in Jerusalem: “The Foundation Date and Northern Defenses of Aelia Capitolina,” by Jodi Magness.

Zoom lecture on March 9: “Architectural Development of Ancient Galilean Synagogues,” by Paul Flesher.

Leen Ritmeyer has created a beautiful reconstruction drawing of the Magdala synagogue. His post provides more details about the synagogue, and a non-watermarked version of the reconstruction is available in his impressive image library.

Bible History Daily provides a summary of three pilgrimage paths from Galilee to Jerusalem, based on a recent BAR article by Jeffrey P. Garcia.

Oded Lipschits has been awarded the 2022 EMET Prize in Archaeology.

Israel is dropping its requirement for tourists to be vaccinated as of March 1.

How can photos, drone videos, and illustrations help you and your audience better understand the Bible? Brad Gray provides a valuable guide to a number of available resources and how they can be used (17 min).

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Artifacts discovered in the harbor of Caesarea provide evidence of Late Bronze trade relations between Cyprus and Sardinia. The underlying journal article is here.

The Met Museum in NYC will spend $40 million to renovate its ancient Near East and Cypriote galleries.

The Grand Egyptian Museum is inching closer to being complete.

Writing for The New Yorker, Casey Cep explains why we find such a minor pharaoh as King Tut so fascinating.

An archaeologist is using deep learning to develop a search engine for precise searches of archaeological records.

Johannes Hackl attempts to explain when Akkadian ceased as a language used by native speakers and when cuneiform writing came to an end.

Cheryl Kolander, a professional natural dyer, writes briefly about her research on Tyrian purple dye.

A mass grave of Crusaders in Sidon is the topic of This Week in the Ancient Near East podcast.

Members of the Historical Faith Society can view several recent videos with Alexander Schick, including:

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Birth of Modern Israel
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Affirming the Word of God
Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Prove There was Only One Isaiah?

There will also be a free, live event with Alexander Schick and Timothy Mahoney talking about the history of the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls on Sun., Feb 27, at 4:00 pm US Eastern.

Sketchfab has a variety of 3D models available for viewing, including:

The John Henry Iliffe Collection of nearly 800 photographs is now available online. Iliffe’s career included being the Keeper of the Palestine Archaeological Museum (now the Rockefeller) in Jerusalem. Iliffe was also the author of A Short Guide to the Exhibition Illustrating the Stone and Bronze Ages in Palestine, published the year before the museum opened, available here in pdf format.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Alexander Schick, Explorator, Keith Keyser

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Egypt, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Museums, Photo Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

The Jerusalem Post has more about recent excavations that exposed part of Jerusalem’s Old City wall without a foundation but instead relied upon a “wonder of engineering”—a carefully calculated amount of earth packed against the base of the wall.

A new study of a fortress in Upper Galilee identifies it as the center of a local chiefdom in approximately 1100 BC. The underlying journal article may be purchased here.

A Crusader-era castle in northern Israel is being transformed into a mini-hotel.

With the Dead Sea level dropping more than 3 feet each year, the Israeli government is considering setting a level below which it may not fall.

“A soon-to-be-released docu-series will present a rare and researched look at one of the most perplexing Biblical topics: Nephilim (giants).”

Now online: Coin Deposits in Ancient Synagogues in Late Antique Palestine: A Digital Dissertation Project, by Tine Rassalle

“The Seventeenth International Orion Symposium, ‘(Con)textualPerspectives on the Dead Sea Scrolls,’ will take place from February 28 to March 3, 2022, online.”

National Geographic has released a special issue on “The Dead Sea Scrolls: 75 Years Since Their Historic Discovery.” Amazon’s “look-inside” feature has the table of contents and some photos, including one they printed upside-down.

Harry Moskoff believes that there are temple treasures hidden in the Vatican, and he tells stories of various people who allegedly saw them.

Kyle Keimer and Chris McKinny interview Andrew Lawler in the latest episode of the Biblical World podcast.

I am back for part 2 of “Esther in Susa” on Digging for Truth. In this episode we focus on discoveries related to the Bible in King Xerxes’s palace.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Alexander Schick, Explorator, Keith Keyser

Tagged Dead Sea, Dead Sea Scrolls, Galilee, Jerusalem, Persia, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A new study authored in part by Chris McKinny and published in the Journal of Biblical Literature identifies the millo of Jerusalem with the fortifications around the Gihon Spring. The JBL article requires purchase, but Bible History Daily has a summary.

Henri Gourinard is writing a guidebook on the Emmaus Trail, and he provides a brief introduction to the trail for Bible History Daily.

A new Israeli reality TV show named “My Trip is Better” will pit five tour guides against each other in a five-day competition.

“Location, location, location” – Brad Gray explains the significance of geography in his “Lenses of Context” series for Walking the Text. The 20-minute episode includes many photos and maps.

Foreign archaeologists are returning to Gaza to restore archaeological sites and to train Palestinians in conservation (3-minute video).

“Thousands of rare antiquities were confiscated . . . in a complex pre-dawn operation in the Nablus area on Monday following a months-long undercover investigation.”

NY Times: “For 10 days, a photojournalist drove across Jordan from north to south, visiting several of the country’s most treasured sites. Here’s what he saw.”

The Bible Mapper Blog has just posted its 100th map. The latest free maps include:

I join Henry Smith on the latest episode of Digging for Truth to talk about Queen Esther in Susa (25 min). In this first part of a two-part series, I describe the excavations of Susa, the layout of the city, and highlights of my visit to Iran.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Charles Savelle, Steve Ulrich, Keith Keyser

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Persia, Samaria, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations at the “altar site” on Mount Ebal have uncovered an ancient amulet with Hebrew writing. There’s more about it in this lecture by Scott Stripling (beginning at about 34:38).

Zvi Koenigsberg recounts some of his story in working with Adam Zertal on the Mt. Ebal excavation, and the conclusion of the account provides more information about the recently discovered amulet.

Archaeologists are investigating a group of asphalt-coated skulls discovered in a cave in Nahal Hemer near the Dead Sea.

A 5th-century Byzantine church has been opened in Gaza after a three-year restoration project.

The Israeli government is allocating $3 million toward the preservation of archaeological sites in Judea and Samaria, with half of that allocated to reconstruction work at Sebastia (the ancient city of Samaria) and a significant amount to the winter palaces at Jericho.

Ruth Marks Eglash writes about the $50 million renovation project underway at Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum, including the discovery that Suleiman’s Old City walls have no foundation.

Bryan Windle’s top 3 reports in biblical archaeology this month include two related to Egyptian pharaohs, a discovery on Mount Ebal, and a discoveries from a Jerusalem toilet.

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the geography of Judges in the latest episode of the Biblical World podcast.

Israel’s Good Name reports on a university trip to the site of Doq above Jericho and the Good Samaritan Museum. He includes many photos.

James Strange reflects on his work as an archaeologist and recent discoveries at Magdala. The story includes a 30-minute video interview.

Zoom webinar on Feb 10: “Tel Rehov: A Major Bronze and Iron Age City in the Jordan Valley,” with Amihai Mazar, Nava Panitz-Cohen, Nota Kourou, Naama Yahalom-Mack, and Robert Mullins.

Zoom webinar on Feb 20: “Excavations at Tel Gezer: A Personal Story,” with Sam Wolff.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a media blitz like that carried out by Andrew Lawler, author of Under Jerusalem. His latest story is on Christianity Today’s website.

There is something special about hiking in Israel.

Snow fell in Israel this week, from the Golan Heights to the hills around Jerusalem. The Times of Israel has photos. Haaretz (premium) has more.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Charles Savelle

Snow in the Jewish Quarter and on the Mount of Olives. Photo by Miriam Siebenberg

Jerusalem model at the Israel Museum. Photo by a museum guard.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Judah, Lectures, Samaria, Shephelah, Tourism, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Israel’s Good Name reports on his tour of four sites in the Nahal Tirzah area, including a possible site for Gilgal and a Roman army camp.

“People may find it hard to believe that tiny little Israel has more than 300 wineries,” with more than 50 in the foothills between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Foreign tourists are again allowed in Israel, and John DeLancey is posting daily updates about his group’s travels.

With the celebration of his 200th anniversary around the corner, Conrad Schick’s work in Jerusalem is highlighted by Bible History Daily. The article also notes that Shirley Graetz is working on a historical novel about Schick’s life.

Les and Kathy Bruce are leading an English/Spanish tour of Israel in April/May, and a Turkey/Greece tour in May.

Susan Laden and Rob Sugar share about the impact of Suzanne Singer on Biblical Archaeology Review.

New in paperback: Children in the Bible and the Ancient World Comparative and Historical Methods in Reading Ancient Children, edited by Shawn W. Flynn.

Zoom lecture on Jan 26: “The Roman Army in the Negev,” by Alexandra Ratzlaff ($7).

Jerusalem Seminary has announced its spring course offerings, including courses on the “Life and Land of Yeshua,” “Jewish Life and Literature,” and “Faith, Politics and Ministry.” The description and the various instructors in that last course look particularly interesting to me. You can see the full list here.

The latest free maps from Bible Mapper include:

Emanuel Hausman, founder of Carta Jerusalem Publishing House, died this week.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Judah, Lectures, Resources, Sad News, Tourism, Weekend Roundup