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“An archaeological dig in Nimrud, Iraq revealed an enormous palace door that belonged to the Assyrian King Adad-Nirari III during his rule from 810-783 BCE.”

Egyptian archaeologists working in the Fayoum area have discovered the first full-color portraits of mummies found in the last hundred years.

Fine jewelry from 1400 BC has been found on a young Egyptian woman buried in the Tombs of the Nobles at Amarna.

Virginia Verardi describes evidence discovered at a site in Syria that seems to have been a concealed murder.

Smithsonian Magazine addresses the question of who owns antiquities discovered in Egypt but now in museums in Europe and the US.

“Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade” is a new exhibit at the Smithsonian that focuses on the area’s golden age in the Greco-Roman era.

“Saudi Arabia has announced the registration of 67 new archaeological and historical sites.”

New release: Late Bronze Age Painted Pottery Traditions at the Margins of the Hittite State (£55.00; pdf free)

Zahi Hawass will be going on a “Grand Lecture Tour” of a couple dozen US cities in May and June ($79 and up).

Jordan is planning to spend $100 million to develop the baptismal site at the Jordan River, including construction of a biblical village, restaurants, a museum, and “opportunities for pilgrims to have special quiet spiritual time.”

I’ll be back with part 3 of the weekend roundup tomorrow.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Gordon Dickson, Explorator

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“The ruins of an ancient Greek city [Skepsis] in Asia Minor have become visible for the first time in three decades due to a drought that has caused the water of the Bayramiç Dam to recede.”

“The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is implementing a project to restore the Great Hypostyle Hall in Karnak Temple in Luxor, in a bid to reveal the original colors of the Pharaonic inscriptions and subsequently draw more tourists and increase the country’s revenues.”

This year’s excavations have concluded at ancient Kition in Cyprus.

Egypt is calling on the British Museum to return the Rosetta Stone.

Ferrell Jenkins marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of King Tut’s tomb with several photos he took of the tomb in about 1978.

Jaafar Jotheri proposes reforms to the excavation license sections of the heritage law in Iraq.

The coins of “Roman emperor Sponsian” are still fake, says Koen Verboven. He gives seven reasons why.

The table of contents for the latest issue of BASOR is online.

Phillip Long has posted the biblical studies carnival for November.

The Appian Media team recently traveled to an authentic brick-making facility outside of Luxor, Egypt. They have released a completed scene of the “Out of Egypt” film for everyone to enjoy.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Explorator, Paleojudaica

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Archaeologists working at Saqqara discovered the pyramid of Queen Neith, a queen hitherto unknown in the historical record.

Archaeologists have found the earliest Egyptian tomb oriented to the winter solstice.

“A hoard of gold coins once thought to be fakes have been authenticated by researchers who say the artefacts reveal a long-lost Roman emperor.” The underlying journal article is here. Not all are convinced.

King Tut’s tomb was opened 100 years ago on Thursday.

BBC radio has aired “The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Quest for Immortality,” with Anmar Fadhil discussing the latest discoveries.

Hybrid lecture on Nov 29: “Trade in the Eastern Mediterranean of the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE—A Petrographic Perspective,” by Paula Waiman Barak. (Webex link)

The best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco are at the site of Volubilis.

New release: “‘Now These Records are Ancient’: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical History, Language and Culture in Honor of K. Lawson Younger, Jr.,” edited by James K. Hoffmeier, Richard E. Averbeck, J. Caleb Howard and Wolfgang Zwickel (Zaphon, €128).

National Geographic asked scholars why Noah’s Ark will never be found.

Ben Witherington has several blog entries about his recent trips to Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Penn Museum has opened its new Eastern Mediterranean Gallery: Crossroads of Culture after an extensive renovation.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Jared Clark, Paleojudaica, Ted Weis

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The University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with an Iraqi team, has announced the discovery of seven very fine wall reliefs from the time of King Sennacherib in Nineveh. The team is also actively reconstructing the ancient city’s Mashki Gate, which was destroyed by militants a few years ago.

“An ancient Christian monastery possibly dating as far back as the years before Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula has been discovered on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.”

Archaeological work is underway near the Church of St. Peter in Antioch on the Orontes.

The fourth of five excavation seasons at Amphipolis has concluded, and this story summarizes the latest discoveries.

“An intact skeleton of a woman lying next to a stunning necklace and other important artifacts from the Early Minoan era (circa 2,600 BC), were unearthed recently at the archaeological site of Sisi on Crete.”

“Archivists have uncovered a long-lost historical relic hidden underneath a Christian manuscript: the earliest known map of the stars.”

“We, a group of Egyptologists, IT scholars and enthusiasts, have started an initiative to promote the digitization of Egyptian texts as open, re-usable data. Inspired by the great ORACC, we call ourselves ORAEC, Open Richly Annotated Egyptian Corpus.”

Brent Nongbri reviews the new exhibition at the Cheater Beatty Library called “First Fragments: Biblical Papyrus from Roman Egypt.” It looks worth adding Ireland to your travel list for 2023.

John DeLancey has posted a 360 Interactive Video in the Colosseum in Rome. It provides a great perspective of this ancient slaughterhouse.

The Greek Reporter lists the top 20 archaeological sites in the country. It is a good list.

Ferrell Jenkins posts a photo of the Appian Way south of Rome.

Robert Miller died last month.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Wayne Stiles, Explorator

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A virtual tour has been posted of the Assyrian canal and rock-reliefs at the Faida Archaeological Park in northern Iraq.

Teach Ancient Egypt is a library of free teaching resources for learners of all kinds. Browse videos, lesson plans, coloring pages, slides, language-learning materials, and more—created and vetted by Egyptologists and other experts.”

“A new exhibition at the British Library explores the diverse and remarkably enduring legends that have sprung up about Alexander [the Great], and the ways successive cultures have shaped stories of him to their own ends.”

A one-minute video gives a preview of the 1st-century Jerusalem model coming to the Ark Encounter.

Classical artworks were originally full of color, and this 6-minute BBC video questions whether that reality has been intentionally suppressed in modern times.

Art & Object lists ten of the most significant underwater finds made in recent decades.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of Corinth, Cenchrea, and Isthmia.

John P. Meier, a theologian and biblical commentator who wrote the multi-volume ‘A Marginal Jew,’ died Oct. 18, 2022.”

Burton MacDonald, best known for his survey work in Jordan, died on October 20.

The Bible Society of Taiwan has published a Chinese (Traditional Script) edition of the Satellite Bible Atlas. Also, the English edition is available once again after a delay caused by printer supply chain issues.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick

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Behind the Bible (Gesher Media) has released its premiere episode in the Vanished Views series (6 min). Chris McKinny explores a fascinating photo taken in the village of Zerin (biblical Jezreel).

Excavations at Tell Zira’a in northern Jordan point to the presence of an elite class in the Late Bronze Age.

“An International Colloquium on the ancient city of Zoara (also known as Zughar) in the Ghor Safi was inaugurated in Athens on Wednesday.”

“Archaeologists trying to reconstruct an ancient site bulldozed by Daesh terrorists discovered extraordinary 2,700-year-old rock carvings in the ruins in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul.”

The Faida Archaeological Park has opened, and this 1-minute video gives a preview.

“Enheduanna, a Sumerian 3rd millennium BC high priestess, is the focus of an exhibit on the lives of women in Ancient Mesopotamia at The Morgan Library & Museum.

A three-day international symposium on “Yahwism under the Achaemenid Empire” will be held at the University of Haifa on December 20-22.

Zoom lecture on Nov 9: “On Nimrud Bowls and Nimrud Ivories,” by Dirk Wicke

Turkish archaeologists believe that they have discovered the tomb of Saint Nicholas underneath a church in Demre (biblical Myra).

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of the sacred pool at Hierapolis and the Valley of Lebonah.

Harvard Magazine has a profile of George Reisner, excavator of Samaria and 23 archaeological sites in Egypt and Sudan. Harvard naturally calls Reisner out for not being ahead of his time in his colonialist attitude.

Full transcripts of all episodes from the Thin End of the Wedge podcast are now available.

HT: Agade, Charles Savelle, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis

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