Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“A marble statue of Hermes from the Roman Imperial Period was found during the 2024 excavation season in the ancient city of Aspendos.”

Smithsonian Magazine runs a feature article from a forthcoming book by Joshua Hammer about the four-way mid-19th-century race to decode the Akkadian language.

Researchers at Cornell University and Tel Aviv University are developing methods to use AI in the deciphering of cuneiform tablets.

A. Bernard Knapp explores the relationship between Cyprus and Ugarit in the Late Bronze Age. His recent book on the subject is free to read online.

“The 2,000-year-old water channels of the ancient city of Smyrna in Izmir continue to function as they did centuries ago.”

“The British Museum has just unveiled the winning design in an international architectural competition for the substantial revamp of the so-called Western Range of the museum.” This article in the Greek City Times wonders whether this renovation includes a space for the Parthenon Marbles.

An archaeological display of 50 artifacts sponsored by the Associates for Biblical Research will be exhibited over Easter weekend at the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

Available next month: Archaeology and the Ministry of the Apostle Paul: A Visual Guide, by David A. deSilva (Baker Academic, $33)

Zoom lecture on March 17: “From Online Auction to JTS Special Collections: How Two Historic Bibles Were Reunited in the JTS Library,” by David Moster

Hybrid lecture at Harvard on March 26: “Murder, Poetry, and Scribes in Ancient Egypt,” by Margaret Geoga

Michael Danti and John MacGinnis are guests on Thin End of the Wedge to discuss “Nimrud: Post-conflict Archaeology in the Heartland of Assyria.”

“The Institute of Classical Studies, in collaboration with the Faculty of Linguistics and the Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Oxford, will offer two free, online semi-intensive courses in Phoenician.” One course is at the elementary level, the second is intermediate, and both are on Zoom.

Turkish Archaeological News reviews the most important discoveries in the month of February.

Paul L. Maier, ancient history scholar and author of Pontius Pilate, The Flames of Rome, and numerous other works, died last month.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bible History Daily has posted a video of a recent presentation by Chris McKinny and Erika Brown of top finds in biblical archaeology in 2024.

Paul S. Evans uses the War of 1812 as an analogy to explain how neither the Assyrians nor the biblical writers were deceptive in claiming victory in Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah in 701 BC.

A new exhibit entitled “Treasures Saved from Gaza” will be going on display at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris on April 2 (subscription).

“Divine Warrior” is the latest episode in Walking The Text’s series on Biblical Images of God.

Zoom lecture on March 5: “Refugees in the Early Iron Southern Levant,” by David Brown

New release: Urbanism in the Iron Age Levant and Beyond: Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times VII, edited by Aren Maeir, Shira Albaz, and Angelika Berlejung (Mohr Siebeck, €170)

The latest issue of Buried History has been released (open-access).

A new group of Dead Sea Scrolls have been added to the exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Bezalel Porten, professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, died this week.

Jerusalem Seminary is hosting two free online lectures. Register here.

  • March 1: “The Shepherd-King, the Tribulation and the End of Exile,” by Dr. Noel Rabinowitz
  • March 8: “Engaging the Oral Torah with Yeshua/Jesus,” by Elazar Brandt

HT: Agade, Explorator, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Bryan Windle summarizes the top three reports in biblical archaeology in the month of January.

Turkish Archaeological News rounds up the top stories for the month of January.

Zuzana Chovanec explains how Organic Residue Analysis makes it possible to understand the use of the opium poppy in history.

The Grand Egyptian Museum will reportedly have its grand opening on July 3.

BibleTelling is planning 2 “seminars”—where the participants tell Bible stories on Bible land locations where they occurred:

New release: How to Eat: An Ancient Guide for Healthy Living, translated with commentary by Claire Bubb (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers, Princeton University Press, $13-$18; Amazon)

New release: The Akkadian Great Hymns and Prayers: A Critical Edition of the Nabû and Ištar Prayers and a Study of the Corpus, by Geraldina Rozzi. Free download.

Webinar on Feb 19: “The Archaeology of Psychotropic Substances in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia,” by David Ilan

The World of Abraham exhibit opened recently at The Bible Seminary’s Joshua, Judges, and Jesus Museum in Katy, Texas.

Lipscomb University offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in biblical and ANE archaeology, with six current projects in four Middle Eastern countries.

Leon Mauldin has posted a number of photos of Amarna Tablets now in the British Museum.

Charles A. Burney died in November. He excavated in Libya, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and with Kenyon at Jericho.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A newly discovered burial site in the Negev Highlands is shedding light on trade networks in Arabia, Egypt, and beyond circa 500 BC. There are more photos here.

A cache of 26 bronze coins discovered at a Hellenistic site west of Arbel in 2016 provides insights into the Galilean military campaign of Jonathan Maccabee.

Archaeologists have deciphered a Phoenician inscription from an amphora sunk in a shipwreck off the coast of Tel Achziv around 400 BC. The inscription mentions the Sidonians. The underlying journal article is here.

According to a new study, the inability of the southern Levant to support sheep herding in the Early Bronze Age slowed the area’s advancement in agriculture and herding. The underlying journal article is here.

Excavations at Motza uncovered the Neolithic tomb of a woman with six fingers on her left hand.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has received financial support, so they are reducing availability and increasing participation fees. They have made some new discoveries, including a Second Temple period seal and a rare Late Bronze pottery sherd.

Nathan Steinmeyer provides a brief introduction to the Negev of Israel.

A new exhibit in the departure hall of Ben Gurion airport entitled “Eternity of Israel” will include archaeological finds, some of which have never been publicly displayed before.

Bible Passages has recently begun a new blog as well as a podcast. Recent episodes have highlighted Rhodes, Cyprus, and Ephesus.

Available for pre-order: The Bible’s First Kings: Uncovering the Story of Saul, David, and Solomon, by Abraham Faust and Zeev I. Farber (Cambridge University Press, $50; Amazon). Use code TBFK2024 for a discount at the publisher’s website.

Now online: The Samaritan Pentateuch: An English Translation with a Parallel Annotated Hebrew Text, by Moshe Florentin and Abraham Tal (Open Book Publishers; free download)

Haaretz (premium) has a story about the 70-year-old Israeli reserve officer and antiquities dealer who was killed in Lebanon.

Bible Mapper Atlas has created a poster map of the tribe of Benjamin circa 1200 BC.

Kenneth Kitchen, renowned Egyptologist, died this week. Peter J. Williams’s reflections reveal what an extraordinary man he was.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Arne Halbakken, A.D. Riddle

This is how the excavations at the Pool of Siloam looked yesterday. Photo by Bethany Bolen.

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“A magnificent assortment of 364 gold and silver coins dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries CE has been unearthed” at Huqoq in Galilee.

The “Faithful Farmer” is the subject of the latest episode in the “Biblical Images of God” series.

On a recent episode of Digging for Truth, Bryan Windle surveys the top 10 biblical archaeology discoveries in 2024.

A new series of 9 videos entitled “Unveiling Megiddo-Armageddon: The Mother of All Tells” features conversations between archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Matthew J. Adams. It was filmed during the 2022 excavation season.

On the Biblical World podcast, John Monson discusses the historical geography of the Bible.

Leon Mauldin has posted some photos from the Philistine city of Ekron, Moresheth Gath, Sardis, and Pergamum.

Jerusalem Seminary has just announced a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies.

The Israel Antiquities Authority Publication Portal is a new resource hosting more than 10,000 “open access excavation reports and studies published in journals, books, conference proceedings and monographs.” That includes ‘Atiqot, Qadum, and IAA Reports. The site includes lists of the most popular papers and the latest additions.

Available for pre-order for Logos: Jesus and Archaeology, edited by James H. Charlesworth

Westminster Bookstore has a number of archaeological, geographical, and historical books on sale through Monday. One of the best deals is the three volumes (released to date) of the Lexham Geographic Commentary series (for $100).

Several excavation reports published by the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology, Hebrew Union College, are now available as open access pdf files:

  • Excavations at Maresha Subterranean Complex 169, Final Report, Seasons 2000-2016, by Ian Stern (2019)
  • The Excavation of the Templar Fortress at Jacob’s Ford, Seasons 1993-2009, by Kate Raphael (2023)
  • The Golan in the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods: An Archaeological and Historical Study, Excavations at Naʿarān and Farj, by Kate Raphael and Mustafa Abbasi (2024)
  • Dan IV: The Iron Age I Settlement, by David Ilan (2019)

Edward “Ted” Campbell, biblical scholar and field director of the excavations at Shechem in the 1960s, died earlier this month.

In celebration of 200 maps and 20 years, Bible Mapper Atlas is offering registration keys for Bible Mapper 5.1 for only $20.

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A Byzantine monastery with a mosaic inscription from Deuteronomy 28:6 was discovered near Kiryat Gat in southern Israel.

A stash of rare coins with the image of Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus was found during an excavation project in the Jordan Valley.

Archaeologists found a small mikveh, apparently for private use, near an ancient drainage channel in the City of David. The Hebrew version includes to a short video.

Scholars have a new theory on why there are no cave drawings from the Stone Age in Israel.

Marion Fischel writes about the massive Herodian column that was abandoned in an ancient quarry in the Russian Quarter.

The Tel Dan Inscription is returning home after its brief tour in the US.

New Release: The Tel Aviv University Excavations in Ancient Jaffa , Volume I, by Meir Edrey, Boaz Gross and Ze’ev

New release: ‘Akko III: The 1991-1998 Excavations: The Late Periods. Part II, The Knight’s Hotel Site, the Messika Plot and Miscellaneous Studies, by Danny Syon and Ayelet Tatcher (IAA Reports; open-access).

Zoom lecture on January 16: “A Wise Woman and a Bearded Male: Excavations at Tel Abel Beth Maacah in Northern Israel,” by Nava Panitz-Cohen (Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society; free)

Hybrid lecture at the Albright on Feb 12: “The Hula Provides: Reconstructing Animal Economy and Provisioning under Empire at Kedesh,” by Alexander Dorr

Clinton Bailey, the world’s foremost expert on the Bedouin communities of Israel, died recently.

The latest Jerusalem in Brief compares two 19th-century photos of the Mount of Olives to a modern one, considers the neglect of the Mosque of the Ascension, and a recently discovered book on Jerusalem in the British Mandate period.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, 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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