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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Egyptian archaeologists do not often find a complete sarcophagus in its original tomb, but they did recently while National Geographic cameras were rolling. The tomb of Ramses II’s treasurer was discovered at Saqqara at the bottom of a 25-foot shaft that was filled with sand.

“Hieroglyphics: Unlocking Ancient Egypt” is a new exhibition at the British Museum.

“The mode of writing used in Ancient South Arabia, the legendary realm of the Queen of Sheba, was especially unique. The Sabaeans and their neighbours did not write on common materials such as leather or papyrus but rather on something surprisingly simple: branches of fresh wood just cut off the tree.”

Zoom lecture on Oct 11: “The Jordan Museum: More Than 10,000 Years of Human Resilience and Innovation,” by Ihab Amarin.

Excavation work on the Sardis synagogue is complete after 60 years, and all major finds will be displayed in the Manisa Museum.

Archaeologists discovered a Roman-era gymnasium north of Konya (biblical Iconium). The Laodicea mentioned in the article is not the same one mentioned in the New Testament.

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of stories for September.

A statue of Hercules from the 2nd century AD has been discovered in excavations at Philippi.

Mercenaries were an important part of Greek armies in the 5th century BC, a fact ancient Greek historians fail to mention.

“Archaeologists are using Apple’s iPad Pro to gather data, analyze objects, create a database and come to conclusions about the ancient site of Pompeii.”

“Entertainment among the Romans” is a new exhibition at the Lugdunum Museum in Lyon, France.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“Forty-four pure gold coins were recently found hidden in a wall during excavations at the Banias archaeological site.” The coins were minted in the reigns of the last two Byzantine emperors before the Muslim conquest in AD 635.

Mahmoud Hawari has a brief report on the Khirbat al-Mafjar Archaeological Project at Jericho.

As a follow-up to his previous post about a 1st-century synagogue at Chorazin, Carl Rasmussen shares some photos taken earlier this week on the current restoration project.

Leen Ritmeyer shares a number of reconstruction drawings from the Double Gate in Jerusalem, which he identifies with the Beautiful Gate of Acts 3.

The Museum of the Bible and DIVE (Digital Interactive Virtual Experiences) are hosting a virtual tour of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys on November 9. The cost is $20.

Ferrell Jenkins provides some history and photos of Tirzah, the second capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.

Zoom lecture on Oct 26: “One Site, Two Peoples: Phoenicians and Jews at Kedesh of the Upper Galilee,” by Andrea Berlin

Bryan Windle has written another well-illustrated archaeological biography, this one on Hazael, the Aramean king who boasted of defeating Israel and the “house of David” in the famous Tel Dan Inscription.

New release: Encyclopedia of Material Culture in the Biblical World. A New Biblisches Reallexikon, edited by Angelika Berlejung with P.M. Michèle Daviau, Jens Kamlah, and Gunnar Lehmann (Mohr Siebeck, $223).

Eretz Magazine has created a new travel guide to the Herodium, lavishly illustrated with photos, maps, and reconstructions.

New subscribers to Approaching Jerusalem (Chandler Collins) receive a free e-booklet, “Golden Heights: Five Accessible Panoramas of Jerusalem.”

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“The discovery of hidden hieroglyphics within Tutankhamun’s tomb lends weight to a theory that the fabled Egyptian queen Nefertiti lies in a hidden chamber adjacent to her stepson’s burial chamber.”

“Silphion cured diseases and made food tasty, but Emperor Nero allegedly consumed the last stalk. Now, a Turkish researcher thinks he’s found a botanical survivor” (subscription).

Sam Mirelman describes the Babylonian Akītu Festival and the Ritual Humiliation of the King.

Owen Jarus gives a lengthy survey of the history of Babylon.

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology at Harvard University is hosting an event on International Archaeology Day on Oct 15.

Phillip J. Long has written a new book, The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World.

Dan Reynolds will be speaking at the PEF on Oct 13 on “The Inheritance of Christ: Christian Pilgrimage in the Holy Land Before the Crusades, c. 800 – c. 1099.”

“September 2022 proved to be a banner month for discoveries in the world of biblical archaeology.” Bryan Windle reviews the top three.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Geomagnetic surface surveys at Khirbet al-Minya on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee have revealed an earlier Jewish or Christian settlement.

A new study of the Solomonic-era copper mines at Timna reveals that the enterprise came to a sudden halt around 850 BC because the miners overexploited the sparse desert acacia and white broom trees used to fuel their furnaces (Haaretz subscription).

Carl Rasmussen links to a video that shows evidence for a first-century synagogue at Chorazin. He also shares a photo of the synagogue in 1967 before reconstruction began.

Here is a video of the 7th-8th century AD shipwreck recently discovered off the coast of Israel.

“Hundreds of ancient decorated toga pins, earrings, rings and figurines of animals and idols were found in the home of a man who used to be an antiquities dealer in northern Israel.”

Albright Institute lecture on Oct 27: “The Austrian Expedition to Tel Lachish (2017-2022),” by Katharina Streit & Felix Höflmayer. Register to join by Zoom here.

Marc Zvi Brettler explains the Hakhel Ceremony, in which the assembly gathers together every seven years to read the Torah. This event will be celebrated at the Western Wall on October 11.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a photo of sheep grazing near Tirzah, the second capital of the northern kingdom.

HT: Agade, Keith Keyser, Arne Halbakken

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bible Land Passages has just released “The City of David Underground: What’s inside Hezekiah’s Ancient Tunnel?” (8 min).

The Times of Israel has a nicely illustrated story by Aviva and Shmuel and Bar-Am on the excavations of Usha in western Galilee. The site is one of many along the Sanhedrin Trail that has been excavated by volunteers, mostly pre-army teens.

The southern wall of the Temple Mount is being illuminated in the evening as part of a new initiative to attract tourists for evening visits to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has released a new ebook entitled The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future. The book celebrates the 75th anniversary of the discovery with a number of articles by and interviews with leading scholars. (Requires email address)

Leen Ritmeyer shares photos and reconstruction drawings of the Arbel synagogue in Galilee.

Cynthia Shafer-Elliott gives an introduction to the geographical context of ancient Israel.

Experience Israel Now is celebrating their seventh anniversary.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos that illustrate the beauty of the Bible Land.

“Unearth the Land of the Bible” is a 10-day tour sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism to give American Christians exposure to archaeological sites and an opportunity to excavate.

The Caesarea Maritima International Conference 2022 will be held on October 22-26 at NYU’s Washington Square campus. (I don’t have a link at this time.)

New release: Ashkelon 9: The Hellenistic Period, by Kathleen J. Birney (Eisenbrauns; $140; save 30% with code NR22).

The Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times has launched a Mini-MOOC, featuring shorter video clips (10-15 min) to introduce major topics of the Center’s research:

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Paul Mitchell

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery, the National Geographic Museum in Washington DC has an immersive exhibit, “Beyond King Tut.” The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries is running an exhibit, “Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archives.” They have created a 1.5-minute fly-through video of a 3-D model. Some of the original photos of the tomb’s opening have been digitally colorized. You can view some very high-resolution photographs that were taken in the creation of a facsimile of the funerary chamber in order to reduce the number of tourists.

Zahi Hawass has written a history of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo.

Zahi Hawass wants the Rosetta Stone to be donated to the Arab Republic of Egypt. (Is this news?)

Friends of ASOR webinar on Sept 15: “The Good Kings: The Modern Obsession with Ancient Egyptian Kingship,” featuring Prof. Kara Cooney and moderated by Prof. Sarah Parcak.

A new exhibition on “Byblos. The World’s Most Ancient Port” will be held at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities from October 14 to March 12.

The British Museum Blog: “Discover how a collaborative international partnership helped restore eight ancient glass vessels after their destruction in the 2020 Beirut explosion.”

The BBC Travel series Ancient Engineering Marvels explores the Ziggurat of Ur, noting that tourism is slowly returning to Iraq.

“A marble statue of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele created 2,350 years ago has been discovered in the ancient city of Antandrus.”

Ahmet Denker has spent 12 years working on a virtual reconstruction of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus.

“Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia are working together on an underwater archaeological expedition, researching the Skerki Bank region off the Sicily and Tunisian coasts.”

The BBC looks at the challenge of understanding what is (and what isn’t) ancient children’s toys.

A digital artist has created a photograph of what he thinks Alexander the Great looked like.

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