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A research team using magnetometry has identified five monumental buildings within the city walls of Dur-Sharrukin, the Assyrian capital of Sargon II. To avoid attracting unwanted attention, they chose not to use a drone and instead each team member walked 13 miles every day for seven days.

A Phoenician shipwreck dating to 600 BC has been discovered off the coast of Spain.

“Archaeologists in Turkey uncovered a limestone sarcophagus in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Demre, Antalya, which they believe could be linked to Saint Nicholas himself, known worldwide as Santa Claus.”

More than 100 ancient artifacts were discovered in a hidden basement area during eviction proceedings in Athens.

Michael Denis Higgins believes that the Colossus of Rhodes was ultimately destroyed not in 226 BC but in AD 142, after several reconstructions.

“The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the Ohio State University and the Digital Lab for Ancient Textual Objects is excited to announce the launch of the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia 2.0.” They have also released a video tutorial.

“Plauen is commemorating the biblical scholar and theologian Konstantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874) with an exhibition to mark the 150th anniversary of his death.”

New release: Egyptian Things: Translating Egypt to Early Imperial Rome, by Edward William Kelting (University of California Press, open access)

ASOR has posted a recap of its annual meeting.

The collapse of the Syrian government has led to concerns about Jewish archaeological heritage in the country.

Rami Chris Robbins explains the Jewish connection to Rome’s Colosseum.

Carl Rasmussen reports on his recent visit to an impressive Roman thermal spa in northern Turkey.

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

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A Roman water tunnel, nearly as long as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, has recently been restored at biblical Gadara. 

The Jordan Times has published a story about Khirbat as-Sar, possibly biblical Jazer.

“A trove of ancient curse tablets was made recently in Athens‘ downtown neighborhood of Kerameikos.”

“Through a recent excavation at Kouklia-Martsello in Palaepaphos, Cyprus, scientists have unearthed an ancient inscription in the Cypriot syllabary.”

Archaeologists working in Georgia have found an inscription with strange symbols unlike any known language.

“In the second phase of the restoration works, the facades of Hagia Sophia Mosque, the upper covering, and the Second Bayezid Minaret are in the focus of attention.”

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the most important stories for the month of November.

A lecture by Christian Leitz overviews the restoration of the temple of Esna, with its “magnificent astronomical ceiling, colorful columns, and close to two hundred ink inscriptions previously undescribed.”

A meeting between the British and Greek prime ministers is raising speculation that an agreement may be in the offing for a loan of the Elgin Marbles to Athens.

New release: The Iron Age Town of Mudayna Thamad, Jordan; Excavations of the Fortifications and Northern Sector (1995–2012), by Robert Chadwick, P. M. Michèle Daviau, Margreet L. Steiner and Margaret A. Judd (BAR Publishing, £88). This site is potentially biblical Jahaz.

New release: Burning Issues in Classics, by Rhiannon Evans and Nicole Gammie (La Trobe University, free download)

Carl Rasmussen reports on his visit to Carchemish, a site he has long wanted to see.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Roger Schmidgall, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Excavations began this year at Lystra, the hometown of Timothy and place where Paul was stoned and left for dead. They have already uncovered a third of a Byzantine church.

“An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians.”

Archaeologists excavating under a Hellenistic theater in southwestern Turkey have discovered a sewage system large enough to walk in.

The Kestros Fountain at Perga in Turkey is operational after 1,800 years.

“A variety of reliefs, inscriptions, and grave stelae unearthed by archeologists help expand the understanding of gladiator history in the region of ancient Anatolia.”

The Luwian Studies Foundation wants to fill in a gap in the eastern Mediterranean around the year 1200 BC.

A 4-minute BBC video features an island off Turkey’s southern coast with underwater Roman cities, underwater Lycian tombs, and the oldest shipwreck in the world.

Over at BiblicalTurkey.org, Jason Borges describes his three-day visit to the historical sites of Cyprus.

Archaeological discoveries made during the construction of a subway line in Thessaloniki have been put on display at many of the subway stations.

Three books that caught my eye in the exhibit halls at ETS and SBL are:

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Cenk Eronat, Explorator

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“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

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If you want the non-Indiana-Jones explanation of the Antikythera Mechanism, check out NASA’s recent Astronomy Picture of the Day.

“For the first time, scientists have recently obtained genetic material and analyzed genome sequences from the ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans.”

Bleda Düring explains why the Assyrian empire was more resilient than those of the Hittites and Egyptians.

The size of the illegal antiquities market is much smaller than usually claimed.

Ruth Schuster considers how archaeological technology has changed how we see ourselves.

“The East Garage Necropolis Area, which was once a public market in the southern province of Antalya [in Turkey] and where archaeological excavations started after the discovery of rock tombs, has been opened as a museum.”

Leon Mauldin has just returned from a trip to Malta and shares a few photos of St. Paul’s Bay.

Andy Cook has just released “Discovering the Bible inside your Bible.” This is a 10-week Bible study of the Gospel of John that is filled with full-color photos. The study includes videos to go with each week’s study. This resource could be used individually or with a small-group Bible study. Only $20.

There will be no roundup next weekend.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

A visit to el-Araj, possible site of Bethsaida, is most impressive with regard to seeing just how close this ancient fishing village was to the Sea of Galilee. The water almost touches the site itself (immediately behind the tree in the center of the photo).

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Archaeologists are making progress in their second season of renewed excavations at Nimrud (ancient Calah), including the discovery of a depiction of Ishtar in a temple dedicated to her.

Royal tombs full of artifacts dating to 1500-1300 BC have been discovered near Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus. The site was discovered using magnetometers.

A 2,500-year-old Phoenician shipwreck has been found underwater in the southeastern Spanish region of Murcia.”

MutualArt surveys the results of excavations and repatriations in Egypt this year.

Yigal Levin writes about the city of Dibon and the single reference to Dibon-Gad in the book of Numbers.

Marek Dospěl gives an overview of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Adam E. Miglio considers the similarities between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis.

Jessica Nitschke, the new editor of The Ancient Near East Today, explains her vision for the future of the website and newsletter.

New release: Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and Science in Jewellery (3500–1000 BC), edited by Maria F. Guerra, Marcos Martinón-Torres & Stephen Quirke (McDonald Institute Monographs; Cambridge; open access)

The Bible Mapper Blog continues to create helpful maps for Bible readers. Here are the latest:

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

The best museum in the Old City is now the Terra Santa Museum on the Via Dolorosa. Though it is not yet finished, it displays hundreds of impressive artifacts from around the country.

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