Museums Archives - Page 3 of 95

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“New evidence shows that the well-preserved Roman Imperial Highway crossing the Golan was constructed in the second half of the second century CE.” The underlying journal article is here.

A new study claims that Bar Kochba only joined the revolt named after him in the middle of the insurrection. The underlying journal article is here.

The oldest inscription with the Ten Commandments sold for $5 million to a buyer who plans to donate it to an Israeli institution.

The Tel Dan Inscription is on display at the Jewish Museum in New York City until January 5.

The latest Jerusalem in Brief explores the conflicting accounts of the surrender of Jerusalem in 1917.

Applications are now open for $2,000 dig scholarships offered by the Biblical Archaeology Society.

Biblical Archaeology Society has also posted this year’s excavation opportunities, including summer projects at Hippos, Azekah, and Dan.

New Release: The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE by Strategius of Mar Saba, by Sean W. Anthony and Stephen J. Shoemaker (University of Chicago; $35; open access)

Ze’ev Meshel, longtime archaeology professor at Tel Aviv University, died last week at the age of 92.

Lois Tverberg explains why she likes our photo collections.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Mark Hoffman, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Excavations, Golan, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations have identified a 2nd-century BC military fortress at Ashdod-Yam.

“Researchers have discovered 50 rare cave pearls, some of which contain ancient Greek artifacts from the Hellenistic era, in an underground water system near Jerusalem.”

Some scholars are questioning whether the oldest copy of the Ten Commandments—scheduled to be sold next week at auction—is authentic.

In a short video, Eitan Klein shows how a band of antiquities thieves were caught in the act, robbing a cave in the Shephelah.

Expedition Bible’s latest video looks at the archaeological evidence for the location of Jesus’s crucifixion.

John DeLancey filmed on location at the Ketef Hinnom tombs in Jerusalem.

Appian Media has released a new short film entitled “Explore Petra” (12 min). I’m curious how they got the drone footage.

Christopher Rollston explains why the Megiddo Mosaic is important on The Book and the Spade.

“New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary held a 10^th anniversary celebration for its Museum of the Bible and Archaeology” last week.

Eliezer Oren, longtime Professor of Bible, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, died this week.

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

Archaeological Methods and Theory, taught by Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer
Introduction to the Modern Middle East, taught by Oded Yinon
Jewish Thought and Practice, taught by Rabbi Moshe Silberschein
The Book of Revelation and the Seven Cities of the Apocalypse, taught by Chris Vlachos

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

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Jerusalem, Jordan, Judah, Lectures, Museums, Sad News, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

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

Tagged Greece, Jordan, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A new study of DNA extracted from the bones inside Pompeii’s famous plaster casts has largely debunked long-held assumptions based solely on the physical appearance and positioning of the casts.”

The Pompeii Archaeological Park is now limiting the number of daily visitors to 20,000 and using timed personalized tickets with the visitors’ full names.

In a new program sponsored by Airbnb, some tourists will be chosen to participate in a mock gladiatorial fight inside Rome’s Colosseum.

An amulet depicting the “prophet Solomon” was discovered in Karabük, Turkey.

The earring holes on King Tut’s famous golden mask indicate that it was originally created for a female or child.

“Scientists at Chicago’s Field Museum are studying Egyptian mummies using a mobile CT scanner.”

Ellie Bennett tells the story of one of the “Queen of the Arabs” mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions.

“On Sunday, November 17, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, followed by a keynote from 6:00-7:30 PM, the George Washington University Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations & the Capitol Archaeological Institute will co-host an international symposium focused on the Amarna Letters, a collection of 14th-century BCE diplomatic correspondence which offers a rare insight into the political dynamics of the ancient Near East.” Register here for the full day, or here for the keynote.

Virtual tour on Nov 20: “Rome’s Legendary Emperors: Nero, Hadrian, and Constantine”

Available for preorder on Logos: Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide, by David A. deSilva ($28). This is the first of three planned volumes.

New release: The Labors of Idrimi: Inscribing the Past, Shaping the Present at Late Bronze Age Alalah, by Jacob Lauinger (SBL Press, $58-$78; open-access ebook).

New release: The Archaeology of the ‘Margins’: Studies on Ancient West Asia in Honour of Peter M.M.G. Akkermans, edited by Bleda S. Düring and Jo-Hannah Plug (Sidestone, €15+; read online for free)

Barbara Aland, former director of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, died earlier this week.

Dan Diffendale has posted many thousands of photos, organized by albums on Flickr. He has written a short guide to using them.

“Biblical Field Studies are funded study trips to biblical sites in Turkey for Bible scholars and teachers in the Majority World. The program is designed to equip Christian teachers and professors who work in the Majority World by introducing them to the geographical, historical, and social contexts of early Christianity. The 2025 trip (June 11–18, 2025) will visit the sites related to the Seven Churches of Revelation and the Seven Ecumenical Councils.”

There will be no roundup next weekend. If you will be attending ETS or SBL, stop by the BiblePlaces booth and say hi.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Mark Hoffman, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles, Paleojudaica

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Lectures, Museums, Photo Resources, Resources, Sad News, Technology, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“At the [new National Campus for the Archeology of Israel], visitors are offered a look behind the scenes at archeological finds from the time of excavation and at the labs where they are cleaned, restored, preserved, conserved, documented and finally revealed to the public.” After 12 years of construction, the building has now (mostly) opened to the public.

“Newly unearthed stone tools reveal evidence of early axle-based rotation technology, predating the invention of carts by thousands of years and marking a significant milestone in the development of rotational tools like wheels.”

Gordon Govier writes about the use of subatomic muon detectors in the archaeology of Jerusalem for Christianity Today (account required).

Robert Duke is on The Book and the Spade to discuss the Megiddo Mosaic now on display at the Museum of the Bible.

The oldest known inscribed tablet with the Ten Commandments, dating to the Late Roman or Byzantine periods, will be auctioned by Sotheby’s.

The topic of the Archaeo-Informatics 2024 hybrid conference is “Use and Challenges of AI in Archaeology.” The program is here. Registration is open for in-person and online participation.

The Ancient World Online lists many festschriften and gedenkschriften published by the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures that are available for download.

An exhibition opening on Friday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in southern California will feature 8 Dead Sea Scrolls, the Magdala Stone, ossuaries, shekels, and more. The website claims that the Sea of Galilee Boat will be on display as well; I don’t remember that ever traveling outside of Israel before.

Walking The Text’s latest recommended resource is Rediscovering Christmas, by AJ Sherrill.

I join Henry Smith on the latest episode of Digging for Truth to discuss the death of Herod Agrippa and where in Caesarea I think it took place.

There will be no roundup next weekend. If you will be attending ETS or SBL, stop by the BiblePlaces booth and say hi.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Mark Hoffman, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles

Tagged Discoveries, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A tiny house full of exquisite frescos has been discovered in the ancient city of Pompeii.”

“Thessaloniki offers visitors 2,300-plus years of history, tremendous shopping, and a Jewish story like no other in Europe.”

“A recent British Museum video reveals that the ‘oldest map of the world in the world’ on a clay tablet from Babylon was deciphered to reveal a surprisingly familiar story.

Despite claims to the contrary, ancient peppermint was not found in the Giza Pyramids.

Bryan Windle surveys the top three reports from biblical archaeology in the month of October.

Bible History Daily remembers Donald B. Redford.

In the latest episode of Thin Edge of the Wedge, Simo Parpola reflects on his career and the State Archives of Assyria project.

Friends of ASOR Zoom webinar on Nov 6: “Beyond the Museum Walls: Engaging with Archaeology and New Media,” with panelists Michael Zimmerman, Sarah Beckmann, Deidre Brin, and Adam Aja

New release: To Eat or Not to Eat: Studies on the Biblical Dietary Prohibitions, by Peter Altmann and Anna Angelini (Mohr Siebeck, €94; open access)

New release: Knossos: Myth, History and Archaeology, by James Whitley (Bloomsbury, $22-$81)

The American Center of Research in Amman, Jordan, has announced a number of fellowships for the coming year.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos from his two visits this year to Antakya, Turkey (biblical Antioch on the Orontes). The city was largely destroyed by earthquake in February 2023.

The Zoom seminar video is now available for “Reading the Bible as an Insider,” with Lois Tverberg and Milly Erema.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Wayne Stiles, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Greece, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Tourism, Weekend Roundup