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(Post by A.D. Riddle)

For those living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, there will be a very special showing of Hebrew Scrolls this coming Saturday. Many, perhaps, have seen a Torah scroll, which contains the text of the first five books of the Bible—the books of Moses. This collection of scrolls is rare, however, in that in includes the entire Old Testament.

Dallas International University is hosting the exhibition. The event is scheduled for Saturday, January 13, at 3:00pm, in the Event Center on campus.

The exhibition will begin with a talk covering topics such as the Hebrew Old Testament (or Tanakh), unique items in the scroll collection, and techniques used by scribes to copy a scroll. After the talk, visitors will be able to examine the scrolls up-close, discuss and ask questions about the scrolls, and take photographs. Some of the scrolls are several centuries old, some were specially commissioned in more recent times. This event is free and open to the public.

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A monumental tomb from the Roman era has been excavated at the Apollo Smintheus Sanctuary in western Turkey.

The head of Dionysus was discovered in Cyrene following a major storm.

Greece has reopened to tourists the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned.

Nathan Steinmeyer provides a list of the top ten biblical archaeology stories of 2023, in no particular order.

Jessica Nitschke lists ten exciting discoveries in Near Eastern archaeology last year.

Paleojudaica lists the top ten stories for 2023.

Hurriyet Daily News identifies the top 10 archaeological discoveries in Turkey in 2023.

The Greek Herald names the top four Greek archaeological discoveries of the year, one of which is in Jerusalem.

Gizmodo surveys the best archaeological discoveries from around the world.

“The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (LGPN) traces every bearer of every name, drawing on a huge variety of evidence, from personal tombstones, dedications, works of art, to civic decrees, treaties, citizen-lists, artefacts, graffiti etc.: in other words, from all Greek literary sources, documentary sources (inscriptions and papyri), coins, and artefacts.”

“30 antiquities, with a collective value of $3.7 million, were returned to Greece” by the Manhattan District Attorney.

Jonathan Robie explains how artificial intelligence is beneficial in creating Bible translations.

Zoom lecture on Jan 23: “Scrolls and Scribes: How Well has the Bible Survived?,” by Hugh Williamson

Walking The Text has just released its “Proclamations of Christmas Study Guide.”

Leon Mauldin shares photos of the Arch of Constantine, with a close-up of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Gordon Dickson

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“Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed more than 2,000 clay seal impressions that ancient [Roman] officials once used to fasten government documents.”

The Imhotep Museum in Saqqara has reopened after a year of renovations.

“An ancient clay tablet at Yale has shed light on how the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ has evolved over the ages.

Expedition Bible’s latest video goes to Nineveh in Iraq to explore the site and understand its significance for the Bible.

“A team of German researchers has figured out a new way to train computers to recognize cuneiform and even make the contents of millennia-old tablets searchable like a website, making it possible to digitize and assemble larger libraries of these ancient texts.”

“Authorities in New York have been accused by leading academics in France and Britain of repatriating fake Roman artefacts to Lebanon.” Does this mean that ancient mosaics were never stolen in the first place?

ASOR webinar on Dec 14: “The Wheat from the Chaff: What we can Learn from Studying Plants in Antiquity,” by Jennifer Ramsay ($13).

The world’s only intact Roman shield will be part of an exhibit at the British Museum opening in February.

eHammurabi provides a digital version of the Law Code of Hammurabi, including cuneiform, transliteration, normalization, English translation, some comments, and a brief bibliography.

Konstantinos Politis recalls the impact that Jonathan Tubb had in his career as an archaeologist, working at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, the Palestine Exploration Fund, and the British Museum. A festschrift was released shortly before his death.

Will Varner explains why Hannukah is not the Jewish Christmas.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

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Aren Maeir and colleagues have written three articles in the forthcoming Israel Exploration Journal that raises questions about the Mount Ebal “curse inscription,” including “whether it is an inscription, its dating, its function (it is most probably a mundane lead fishing weight) and other issues.” The story is reported by The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.

A new study of lion bones discovered at Tel Burna suggests that local leaders displayed them as trophies of their prowess. Ruth Schuster’s article includes a lot of more general information about lions in the ancient world.

Zoom lecture on Dec 6: “The Schooling of a Scribe in Ancient Israel,” by Christopher Rollston, hosted by the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society.

The Near East Archaeological Society has a list of twenty papers given at the recent conference in San Antonio. Videos of three of the presentations have been posted:

  • The Kingdom of the Palastin: Sea Peoples of the North?, by Brian Janeway
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  • Fifth Excavation Season at Shiloh, by Scott Stripling

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Bible Mapper Atlas links to a series of free maps related to Christmas.

Carl Rasmussen is leading a “comprehensive 35-day Bible Study Tour to Israel/Jordan, Turkey, and Greece.” Participants can join one or more of the segments of the trip. (The Turkey portion looks particularly outstanding to me.)

Kristine Garroway discusses children in ancient Israel in the latest episode of Biblical World.

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

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A new study reports on some of the earliest evidence of warfare—424 biconical slingstones from the Early Chalcolithic period discovered at two sites in northern Israel.

Chandler Collins has produced his latest Jerusalem Tracker, with the latest news, publications, and media about the holy city.

The latest issue of DigSight, produced by the Institute of Archaeology at Southern Adventist University, has stories on a new museum exhibit, the inscribed ivory comb, and a new Archaeology and Cultural Background Study Bible.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has announced its publication awards for 2023 in the following categories:

  • Best Book on Archaeology
  • Best Dig Report
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  • Best Book on the New Testament

Bryan Windle discusses the top ten archaeological discoveries related to the book of Joshua on a latest episode of Digging for Truth.

Israel’s Good Name reports on a berry-picking expedition near Shiloh that he went on this summer.

James R. Strange is on The Book and the Spade discussing his new book, Excavating the Land of Jesus.

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

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Keith Keyser

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A mosaic in a 4th-century Roman villa in Cappadocia now measures 6,000 square feet, and they’re not done digging. (Most of the photos don’t seem to be showing up right now.) This article has a few images, and this one has a video made with still images.

“Turkey has unveiled a new archaeology research centre that includes the country’s first archaeometry laboratory and vast digital archive” in the city of Gaziantep.

“On the plateau overlooking the ancient Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, a major outdoor art exhibition brings together the work of 14 international contemporary artists who have created site-specific installations responding to the iconic monuments.”

Sara E. Cole writes about current research into the “Book of the Dead” texts in the Getty Collection.

New release: The Nubian Pharaohs of Egypt: Their Lives and Afterlives, by Aidan Dodson (AUC Press, $35)

New release: Women in Ancient Egypt: Revisiting Power, Agency, and Autonomy, edited by Mariam F. Ayad (AUC Press, $95)

Zoom lecture on Dec 5: “Crafting Luxury: Dress in Ancient Persia,” by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. “In conjunction with the British Museum’s recent exhibition Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece, it was decided to attempt to create the types of garments worn by the elite of the Persian court in the Achaemenid period.”

Rome Reborn 4.0 is a digital model of Rome as it appeared in the year AD 320. Users are able “to glide above the historic landmarks while listening to expert narrations about 43 monuments, temples, structures, and locations.”

One of the books highly discounted for Accordance right now is What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About: A Survey of Jesus’ Bible, edited by Jason DeRouchie. This is my preferred textbook for Old Testament class, and I wrote the chapter on 1-2 Chronicles. On sale for $20. Amazon has it in hardcover for $47.

At a festschrift celebration, Gary Rendsburg gives a 20-minute presentation about his 45 years in academic life.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

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