Jerusalem Archives - Page 4 of 189

Weekend Roundup – Jerusalem

I’m back from a 9,000-mile road trip, and though there are not many active excavations in Israel this summer, I have a lot of stories to catch up on. This roundup will be a six-parter, with today’s focus on Jerusalem.

A stone quarry with massive building stones was discovered in a northern neighborhood of Jerusalem. It was in use when Herod was carrying out his many construction projects, and the “geological signature” matches that of stone slabs used in the “Pilgrim’s Road” that runs from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount.

The publication of a journal article has brought a fresh wave of attention to the discovery of a large moat that separated Jerusalem’s Temple Mount from the City of David during the time of the monarchy.

Construction workers discovered a Medieval altar in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Nails from the sandals of Roman soldiers have been discovered in the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

A stone fragment with a drilled hole was uncovered in the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

“The Kishle moat at the Citadel in Jerusalem is now hosting the ‘Umbilicus’ exhibition . . . [which] delves into ancient ideas of Jerusalem being the center of the world.”

“The Israel Antiquities Authority is offering limited tours this summer of its Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, a new and modern facility, long under construction next to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.” The campus is expected to be fully open in a year or two.

Chandler Collins considers whether the evidence supports the popular interpretation that the Broad Wall in Jerusalem cut through houses, as described in Isaiah 22:10.

Bryan Windle evaluates the evidence to decide whether the ivory pomegranate inscription mentioning the temple is authentic.

Tuvia Pollack provides an overview of the archaeological significance of the City of David.

Ariel David writes about Israel’s Finkelstein’s new book, Jerusalem the Center of the Universe: Its Archaeology and History (1800–100 BCE). The book is available from SBL Press or from Amazon for $50-$85.

Nachi Weinstein interviews Jodi Magness about the city of Jerusalem throughout history (85 min).

On Sept. 4, the Friends of ASOR will be hosting a free webinar with Jodi Magness explaining, “What Makes Jerusalem Special?”

Jodi Magness is guest on the Biblical World podcast to discuss her new book, the Huqoq synagogue mosaic, the importance of pottery, and more.

Registration is now open for fall online courses at the Jerusalem Seminary. Courses include “The Life and Land of Yeshua,” “Journeying with Paul,” and a number of Biblical Hebrew courses.

BiblePlaces.com offers a number of photo collections related to Jerusalem, including our classic Pictorial Library collection on Jerusalem (1,500 photos), the American Colony collection on Jerusalem (650 photos), and the Photo Companion to the Gospels (10,000 slides).

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Steven Anderson, Gordon Dickson, Mark V. Hoffman

Tagged Jerusalem, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Monday announced the discovery of 33 archaeological tombs, dating back to the . . . the Greek and Roman eras near the Aga Khan Mausoleum in Aswan governorate.”

Mohy-Eldin E. Abo-Eleaz writes about foreign visitors to Egypt depicted in tombs in the reign of Thutmose III.

The Smithsonian Magazine has a feature article on the discoveries at Berenike on the shore of the Red Sea.

A new study shows that ancient Egyptian scribes suffered occupational bone damage.

The new study of radiocarbon dates from Jerusalem is the subject of the latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East.

Jodi Magness is on the Great Books podcast, produced by National Review, to discuss the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The latest issue of the Israel Exploration Journal includes articles on the Millo in Jerusalem, unique figurines from Judah, and forgotten papyri of the Judean desert. You can see the full table of contents here.

The May issue of BASOR has been released. The table of contents is online, but most of the articles require subscription.

New release: Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies, volume 35, The Hillel Geva Volume (Israel Exploration Society, 775 pages, ₪400). The IES website has posted the table of contents, but the Hebrew articles are listed in Hebrew and I haven’t found an online listing in English (but here’s a text file). A few of the Hebrew articles I searched for were previously published in English. Geva’s contribution has been immense, and he is rightly honored by a whole host of scholars.

The Bible in Its Traditions is a website created by the École Biblique et Archéologique in Jerusalem that intends “to create the most extensive and helpful set of notes for the entire Bible” with “significant differences between different versions of the text of the Bible in the text itself, rather than in footnotes.”

Pool of Siloam, taken on June 23, 2024 by John Black

There will be no roundups in the month of July.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Gordon Franz

Tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A Canaanite shipwreck from the 14th-13th centuries BC was discovered off Israel’s northern coast in a natural gas company’s survey, making it the oldest shipwreck ever found in deep seas. “Its body and contents have not been disturbed by the human hand, nor affected by waves and currents, which do impact shipwrecks in shallower waters.”

A hoard of coins discovered in Lod provides evidence for a little-known Jewish revolt against Rome in the 4th century AD.

Jerusalem University College has posted its online fall course offerings, including classes on Egypt, Jerusalem, the Shephelah, and life and times of Paul.

Raphael Golb has written The Qumran Con: A Dead Sea Scrolls Memoir.

The Times of Israel interviews George S. Blumental about Israel Archaeological Proof, his new website “that compiles archaeological and historical documentation that shows the millennia of Jewish presence in the Holy Land.”

On the Biblical World podcast, Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer “respond to listener questions about how to raise your kids to be like Chris and Kyle, prophetic practices, 1 Cor 11, chambered gates, Pharisees, forgery scandal, the Coliseum and Jerusalem Temple, and much more.”

Stephen Compton believes he has identified Sennacherib’s siege camps at Lachish and other sites including Jerusalem. The primary article is published in Near Eastern Archaeology magazine (subscription required) and is more wide-ranging. The popular accounts focus on the Jerusalem camp, including Compton’s article at Popular Archaeology and reports at the Daily Mail and Ancient Origins. Live Science’s report includes some brief responses from top scholars. I’ll add two things: Ammunition Hill is a logical place for an invader’s camp, but it does not meet the criteria for Nob. Second, my analysis of the historical evidence is that Sennacherib never laid siege to Jerusalem. But the NEA article has much else of interest.

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

Tagged Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Archaeologists excavating in the Givati parking lot in the City of David discovered a gold ring inset with a red garnet that was extremely well-preserved.

The Times of Israel has more information on the Iron Age Canaanite cemetery in the Jezreel Valley.

After two years and $5 million in renovations, the Herodian Quarter in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City is reopening.

In a new study, Nadav Na’aman argues that there was only one place in the Bible named Gilgal and it has nothing to do with the five footprint-shaped sites identified by Adam Zertal.

The “University of Haifa’s School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures (SAMC) has recently launched a new international Master’s program, offering an MSc in Archaeological Sciences.”

New release: The Ancient Water System of Sepphoris (Land of Galilee 6), by Tsvika Tsuk (322 pages, $70, via Mordechai Aviam)

Jeffrey Chadwick is on the Biblical World podcast to talk about his excavations at Hebron.

Now online: Mapping the Holy Land: The Foundation of a Scientific Cartography of Palestine, by Haim Goren, Jutta Faehndrich, and Bruno Schelhaas.

Ora Negbi, longtime professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University, died recently.

John Boardman, a classical archaeologist at Oxford, died last week.

The Bible Mapper Atlas continues to release free maps. Here are the latest:

HT: Agade, Frank McCraw, Gordon Franz, Gordon Dickson, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Keith Keyser

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Judah, Resources, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

“Excavations at a Byzantine-era church in the northern Negev desert have revealed 1,500-year-old wall etchings of ships, likely left by Christian pilgrims who had arrived by sea to the Holy Land.”

The Times of Israel has a follow-up article on the major carbon-14 study of Jerusalem that was recently published.

John Drummond pulls together the archaeological evidence for the reign of Solomon.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes articles on Solomon’s royal complex at Gezer, the large Moabite site of Kh. Balu’a, and the dawn of the Iron Age in Israel.

Israel21c identifies the top seven archaeological sites in Israel related to Jewish history as the Western Wall, Masada, Caesarea, Tiberias, Megiddo, En Gedi, and the City of David.

The Qumran Digital Project Lexicon has a new website.

Archaeologists have identified the original sarcophagus of Ramesses II from a fragment discovered in 2009 at Abydos.

The “Hazael and His World: Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Tel Dan Inscription” conference will be held in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on June 5 and 6.

The 100th issue of Syria: Archéologie, Art et Histoire has been released (open-access).

Online lecture on June 2 in the BAS Scholars Series: “Paul on Cyprus: Crossing the Divide,” by Thomas Davis.

Paul’s hometown of Tarsus is not on the itinerary of most tourists to Turkey, but it has much to offer. Jason Borges identifies ten sites within the city and five sites in the vicinity that are worth seeing.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is giving away hundreds of books related to the Old Testament.

In light of a recent conference celebrating William Dever, Glenn Corbett reflects on the future of biblical archaeology.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz

Tagged 10th Century, Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Lectures, Mediterranean Islands, Resources, Syria, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A cuneiform inscription discovered nearly 100 years ago at Beth Shemesh is one of the earliest of its kind found outside Ugarit. It has now been deciphered as a locally made inscription written by a student learning the alphabet.

Archaeologists are trying to explain why large storage jars suddenly showed up at Tel Burna in the Late Bronze Age after having gone out of style many years earlier. The underlying journal article is available here.

Alex Winston writes about the Second Temple period tombs located in the Sanhedria neighborhood in northern Jerusalem.

Abigail Leavitt reports on her participation in a mini-dig at Rujm es-Sia in the Jordan Rift.

The Late Bronze temple at Azekah is the subject of the latest podcast episode at This Week in the Ancient Near East.

Daniel Pioske writes about the meanings that archaeological ruins have for us today and for those in the Old Testament. He has also written a related book.

On June 10, a panel of scholars will be discussing Jodi Magness’s latest book, Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades, at the Albright Institute and on Zoom.

Walking The Text’s recommended resource of the month is the Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Pentateuch.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Jordan Rift, Resources, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup