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Excavations under a house in northern Israel have revealed what may be the largest wine factory from the Crusader era.

Archaeologists have discovered an arrowhead from the Roman siege of Jotapata in AD 67.

A i24News video shows the “pilgrim road” leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount of Jerusalem.

“Archaeologists working in the buried Roman city of Pompeii say they have uncovered a ‘sorcerer’s treasure trove’ of artefacts, including good-luck charms, mirrors and glass beads.”

A new exhibit about a 4th-century synagogue mosaic floor has opened in the Archaeological Museum of Aegina. Aegina is a Greek island not far from Athens.

“Anchors Aweigh: Seaports of the Holy Land” is a new exhibit opening on Tuesday at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.

Preliminary images of seven (alleged) Dead Sea Scroll fragments owned by the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary are now online. (The link looks unusual, but it works.)

Lubna Omar provides a personal perspective as a Syrian archaeologist unable to protect her country’s heritage.

A guy passionate about ancient Egypt and baking used ancient yeast to bake a loaf of bread.

Egyptian authorities transferred a 90-ton obelisk of Ramses II from Zamalek to El Alamein.

The Oriental Institute is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos of the largest altar in the world.

I always like the photos that Wayne Stiles includes with his posts, and this week is no different with his reflections on Abraham’s faith.

Matti Friedman writes a helpful review of Jodi Magness’s new book on Masada.

Did you know there are four long distance hiking trails in Israel? They range in length from 37 miles to 637 miles.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis

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Archaeologists excavating on the Western Hill of Jerusalem (aka the modern “Mount Zion”) have announced the discovery of a destruction layer from the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

The discovery is of a deposit including layers of ash, arrowheads dating from the period, as well as Iron Age potsherds, lamps and a significant piece of period jewelry – a gold and silver tassel or earring.

Despite what you might expect, archaeologists working in Jerusalem over the years have not found an abundance of material from this destruction, probably because it has been disturbed by later inhabitation. Shimon Gibson and his team date this material to the Babylonian destruction on the basis of context.

The team believes that the newly-found deposit can be dated to the specific event of the conquest because of the unique mix of artifacts and materials found — pottery and lamps, side-by-side with evidence of the Babylonian siege represented by burnt wood and ashes, and a number of Scythian-type bronze and iron arrowheads which are typical of that period.

The arrowheads are similar to those discovered at the “Israelite Tower” on the north side of ancient Jerusalem in a destruction context from the Babylonian invasion. Because the excavation site is inside the city walls, it is unlikely to be a dumping area.

“It’s the kind of jumble that you would expect to find in a ruined household following a raid or battle,” Gibson said. “Household objects, lamps, broken bits from pottery which had been overturned and shattered… and arrowheads and a piece of jewelry which might have been lost and buried in the destruction.”

“Frankly, jewelry is a rare find at conflict sites, because this is exactly the sort of thing that attackers will loot and later melt down.”

“I like to think that we are excavating inside one of the ‘Great Man’s houses’ mentioned in the second book of Kings 25:9,” Gibson speculated. “This spot would have been at an ideal location, situated as it is close to the western summit of the city with a good view overlooking Solomon’s Temple and Mount Moriah to the north-east. We have high expectations of finding much more of the Iron Age city in future seasons of work.”

The full press release is here, and the story is reported by numerous outlets, including The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, and Haaretz (premium).

Jerusalem from the south, with excavation area circled


Area of Mount Zion excavations (in 2016)

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A few weeks ago I mentioned that the new Ancient Jerusalem Revealed: Archaeological Discoveries, 1998-2018 has been published, but I lamented the difficulty for many readers in ordering it from Israel. Now I have received word that you can order it direct from the Biblical Archaeology Society. (Two other options: Amazon or the Israel Exploration Society)

I have not yet read the book (my order is going in after I write this), but my expectations are very high given (1) the excellent quality of the two previous books in this series (the first published in 1975, and the second published in 1994); (2) the editorship of Hillel Geva; and (3) the fact that the latest reports from Jerusalem archaeology are bound to be amazing! I’ve told a number of groups touring Jerusalem, as we’re trying to peek behind some protective curtain to see what’s going on – watch for this to be published. Well, here it is, in a single book covering the last 20 years. The price is $60 for a hardcover, and shipping is free.

Here is the official description from the publisher:

Ancient Jerusalem Revealed, Archaeological Discoveries 1998–2018, presents the results of archaeological research conducted in Jerusalem over the past twenty years. xvi + 319 pages + profusely illustrated in color, 27.5 x 21 cm., hardcover.
Image result for Ancient Jerusalem Revealed: Archaeological Discoveries, 1998-2018

The major results of the numerous excavations presented in the current volume cover all parts of the ancient city: the City of David, the Ophel, the Temple Mount, the present-day Old City, and adjacent areas beyond the urban limits of ancient Jerusalem. The articles were written by archaeologists who conducted the excavations. Contents include: The Bronze Age to the Iron Age, The Second Temple Period, the Late Roman to Ottoman periods, and multi-period excavations.

And here’s the table of contents, with an * next to the articles I plan to read first.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Archaeological Research in Jerusalem from 1998 to 2018: Findings and Evaluations— Hillel Geva

JERUSALEM—THE BRONZE AGE TO THE IRON AGE

*Recent Discoveries in the City of David—Ronny Reich, Eli Shukron, and Omri Lernau
Excavations at the Summit of the City of David Hill, 2005–2008—Eilat Mazar

*The Royal Quarter Built by King Solomon in the Ophel of Jerusalem in Light of Recent Excavations (2009–2013)—Eilat Mazar

A “Governor of the City” Seal Impression from the Western Wall Plaza Excavations in Jerusalem—Tallay Ornan, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, and Benjamin Sass

JERUSALEM—THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD

*The Second Temple Period Siloam Pool—Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

*Second Temple Period Finds from the New Excavations in the Ophel, South of the Temple Mount—Yuval Baruch and Ronny Reich

Research in the Western Wall Tunnel—Dan Bahat

Wilson’s Arch and the Giant Viaduct West of the Temple Mount during the Second Temple and Late Roman Periods in Light of Recent Excavation—Alexander Onn and Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah

*A Herodian Tricilinium with Fountain on the Road Ascending to the Temple Mount from the West—Alexander Onn, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, and Joseph Patrich

*First and Second Temple Period Fortifications and Herod’s Palace in the Jerusalem Kishle Compound—Amit Re’em

Discoveries from the First and Second Temple Periods near the Mamilla Pool in Jerusalem—David Amit

JERUSALEM—THE LATE ROMAN TO OTTOMAN PERIODS

*A First Temple Period Building and the Roman Eastern Cardo in the Western Wall Plaza—Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Alexander Onn

A Pool from the Period of Aelia Capitolina in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem—Ofer Sion and Yehudah Rapuano

Wilson’s Arch: 150 Years of Archaeological and Historical Exploration—Tehillah Lieberman, Avi Solomon, and Joe Uziel

The Legio X Fretensis Kilnworks at the Jerusalem International Convention Center—Haim Goldfus and Benny Arubas

Roman Period Workshops at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Givat Ram—Ron Beeri and Danit Levi

Excavations at Saint John Prodromos Church in the Old City—Jean-Baptiste Humbert

A Gold Hoard Containing Jewish Symbols and the Byzantine Ophel Neighborhood of Jerusalem—Eilat Mazar

Excavations East of Herod’s Gate, 1998—Yuval Baruch and Gideon Avni

New Excavations and Studies in the Holy Sepulcher Compound—Jon Seligman and Gideon Avni

Excavations at Ohel Yizhaq in the Suq al-Qattanin Quarter, Jerusalem—Tawfiq Da‘adli and Hervé Barbé

A New Look at the History of Solomon’s Stables—Dan Bahat

JERUSALEM—MULTI-PERIOD EXCAVATIONS

*The Givati Excavation Project 2007–2015: from the Iron Age to the Early Islamic Period—Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets

The Line of the Southern City Wall of Jerusalem in the Early Periods—Yehiel Zelinger

Excavations at the Hurva and Tiferet Israel Synagogues in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of

Jerusalem—Hillel Geva, Oren Gutfeld, and Ravit Nenner Soriano

New Excavations on Mount Zion—Shimon Gibson, James Tabor, Rafael Y. Lewis, and Steve Patterson

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Madeleine Mumcuoglu and Yosef Garfinkel explain how a shrine model discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa may help us to better understand Solomon’s Temple.

Samuel Dewitt Pfister asks whether the latest claim about Bethsaida and the Church of the Apostles should be trusted.

ABR has announced the discovery of three altar horns in their excavations at Shiloh this summer. (Press release not online as of this writing.)

Applications for excavating at Shiloh in 2020 with the Associates for Biblical Research are now being accepted.

“Hamas has done little to protect Gaza’s antiquities and in some cases actively destroys them.”

Though rare and significant, few people know about a First Temple period cistern discovered near the Western Wall of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

Joe Zias looks at ancient crucifixion, considering the difficulties of the lone archaeological bone and arguing that crosses were shaped as a T.

Clyde Billington reviews the latest archaeological news on this week’s The Book and the Spade.

A slideshow/video on the work of M. G. Kyle at Tell Beit Mirsim’s excavations from 1926 to 1932 is on YouTube. The photos have captions, and if you read faster, you can advance more quickly through parts. The video clips may be the earliest from an excavation in the Holy Land. Near the end, there are scenes from a grain harvest as well as footage from Jerusalem in 1930.

HT: Ted Weis, Agade, G. M. Grena

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Archaeologists working at el-Araj (Bethsaida?) are claiming that a Byzantine church they are excavating is the “Church of the Apostles.” The story is reported in Haaretz (premium); the excavation website has lots of photos.

The excavation season at Gath is over. Among this week’s posts is this one with their end-of-season photo shoot.

“A rare, very early rural mosque was unearthed during recent archaeological excavations in the southern Israel Bedouin city of Rahat.”

Excavations on Mount Zion have revealed a moat from the Crusader siege of Jerusalem in 1099.

“An unprecedentedly vast Neolithic settlement — the largest ever discovered in Israel and the Levant, say archaeologists — is currently being excavated ahead of highway construction five kilometers from Jerusalem

The University of Basel announced its possession of the oldest autograph of a Christian letter.

Researchers are studying the harbor technologies of Portus, the maritime harbor of Rome in the first centuries AD.

For the first time in decades, Egypt has opened the Bent and Red Pyramids of Dahshur to tourists.

Wayne Stiles draws spiritual lessons about closed doors from Paul’s second missionary journey.

New from Eerdmans: Scribes and Scrolls at Qumran, by Sidnie White Crawford

Now at the top of my wish list (but more difficult to acquire outside of Israel): Ancient Jerusalem Revealed: Archaeological Discoveries, 1998–2018, edited by Hillel Geva.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade

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The story around the “First Century Gospel of Mark” text has turned very strange. (Michael Holmes, Elijah Hixson, Brent Nongbri, Candida Moss, Jerry Pattengale)

An Egyptian statue resembling King Tut sold for $6 million in a controversial auction.

A luxury hotel built in Antakya (biblical Antioch on the Orontes) preserves the ancient ruins found below.

Boxes of material from Jerry Vardaman’s excavations at Macherus have been dug out of storage and will be studied and published.

Omri Lernau explains what kinds of fish were eaten in ancient Jerusalem.

Dozens of metal archaeological artifacts excavated at Caesarea were stolen from an Israel Antiquities Authority storage facility (Haaretz premium).

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is a double issue, featuring articles on the wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah, the Royal Stoa of the Temple Mount, Jewish purity practices, inscriptions from Mount Gerizim, and the Copper Scroll.

Here’s a tutorial on how to write in cuneiform.

The newest Bible Land Passages documentary has been released. This 18-minute video looks the candidates for the tomb of Jesus.

In a recent episode of Hebrew Voices, David Moster explains how toilets worked in ancient Israel.

And David just produced part 2 of “How to Use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: the Masorah Notes” (20-min video).

Recent interviews on The Book and the Spade:

Carl Rasmussen explains how a Lewis Bolt was used to lift heavy stones in the ancient world.

Leen Ritmeyer shares some photos from his underground work at the Temple Mount in the 1970s.

Ferrell Jenkins posts an idyllic photo of an olive tree and two olive presses.

A friend at my church is leading a 20-day tour of New Zealand this January and he has a few open spots. He’s a native New Zealander and a seminary graduate, and he will be giving biblical instruction along the way (for example, NZ has 30 million sheep!). I can’t imagine a better tour of New Zealand. Here’s a flyer with more info.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Agade, David Padfield, Mark Hoffman, Explorator

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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