Samaria Archives - Page 28 of 33

Weekend Roundup

Bryant Wood has posted a summary of this season’s excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir.

Joe Yudin recommends a short, wet hike near the Sea of Galilee.

Wayne Stiles explains why Shechem is the “most important crossroads in central Israel.”

He has also created the best illustrated page on the first-century boat in Galilee.

Ferrell Jenkins has discovered a way to keep tabs on the water level in the Sea of Galilee.

The discovery of gold coins in Apollonia and Kiryat Gat has led to an increase in illegal digging at sites in southern Israel. (A longer article and photos are available in an IAA press release in Hebrew.)

Israel’s Attorney-General says that all construction on the Temple Mount must adhere to existing laws.

An individual has filed a complaint with Israeli police against the playing of soccer on the Temple Mount.

Matthew Kalman’s story on the trial of the James Ossuary and Jehoash Tablet from The Jerusalem Report is now available for purchase in Kindle format (with free borrowing for Prime members).

The ASOR weekly roundup is here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Excavations, Forgery, Galilee, Jerusalem, Samaria, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

More photos and a video of the gold treasure from Apollonia have been released. The value of the coins is now given (in at least one article) as $500,000.

The “Egyptian Antiquities’ Renaissance Project” has been launched in order to turn archaeology into a major source of income in Egypt.

The Museum of the Bible, featuring the collection of the Steve Green family, will open not in Dallas and not in New York, but in Washington, DC.

I wonder if you could name 6 Christian Sites in Rome You Should Know About.

Shmuel Browns describes and illustrates the newly opened archaeological site on Mount Gerizim.

Joe Yudin visits “Genesis Land” in the Judean wilderness.

The owner of a bed-and-breakfast in Sepphoris was convicted of damaged antiquities when carrying out renovations on his property.

“Israel’s Tourism Ministry is planning to upgrade the hotel strip area at the southern end of the Dead Sea….The Dead Sea was the most crowded leisure destination in Israel in 2011, with some 857,000 visitors during the year.”

Itzhak Beit-Arieh, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, has passed away.

HT: Daniel Wright, Jack Sasson

Dead Sea from the northwest
(photo source)

Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Egypt, Italy, Judah, Samaria

Weekend Roundup

The archaeological site on Mount Gerizim has re-opened, 12 years after political conditions hindered tourists from visiting the area.

A new drainage system in Giza has some hydrologists concerned that the erosion of bedrock could cause the Sphinx to collapse.

A complaint has been lodged with Israeli police over the building material and scaffolding placed on the “rock” of the Dome of the Rock.

The Holyland Magazine, designed especially for North American evangelicals, is now online. Earlier editions are also available.

Several readers have asked recently about the “HT” that is often at the end of a post. Wikipedia provides a concise explanation:

In the 2000s, the term “hat tip” (often abbreviated to “HT” or “h/t”) rose to prominence in the blogosphere to acknowledge someone who has made a significant contribution toward an effort, or someone who drew attention to something new or interesting. It is considered good netiquette when sharing a link or news item to give a hat tip to the person from whom you learned of the item.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

Archaeological site on Mount Gerizim, looking north

Tagged Egypt, Jerusalem, Samaria, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Excavations at Shiloh

A news report in February stated that Tel Shiloh was to receive $4 million in government and private funding for developing the antiquities site. Recent visits to the site reveal that the money is being spent on several excavation areas, the improvement of paths, and the construction of a new observation platform.

I am especially interested in excavations on the northern side of the site, in the relatively flat area where scholars have speculated that the tabernacle may have once rested.

Shiloh excavations in potential tabernacle area, tb042612724

View from summit of potential area of tabernacle

Excavations on northern side of Shiloh

Excavation square on northern side of Shiloh

Cuttings in bedrock on northern side of Shiloh

Excavations continue on the western side of the tell where they have discovered a Byzantine olive press.

Excavations on western side

Olive press from Byzantine period

On top of the summit, work has proceeded since last year on a new viewing deck.

Viewing platform under construction, April 2012

Tagged Excavations, Samaria

Giveaway: The Israel Collection (5 Volumes)

This week we are going to give away two copies of the Israel Collection (volumes 1-5) of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. Just as any father likes all of his children, I like all 18 volumes. But since these are not children, I can say without hesitation or fear of repercussion that the first five volumes are my favorite ones.

Israel is not only the center of God’s redemptive plan for the world, but it was my home for a long time. These photos reflect that, not only in terms of comprehensive coverage, but also in quality of photos because of repeated visits in various seasons and at different times of the day.

If you asked a father to describe a few characteristics of his children, he would beam with joy and respond immediately. I’m not going to tell you about my five children, but I will offer a few words about these five volumes.

Galilee and the North – my favorite place in Israel is on the shore of a lake where Jesus walked, talked, and gave us a tiny taste of the kingdom to come.

Samaria and the Center – this volume easily wins the “most improved” award because so many of the sites had restricted access during the years I was making the previous editions (Shiloh, Shechem, Samaria, Jericho, etc.).

Jerusalem – the “city of the Great King” is my favorite city in the whole world. I could teach a whole course on it. But I enjoy even more a quiet stroll along the walls in the early morning.

Judah and the Dead Sea – this really is a 3-in-1 volume, with about 700 photos of the Judean Wilderness and the Dead Sea area, another 300 photos of the Hill Country, and another 500 of the Shephelah and Coastal Plain.

Negev and the Wilderness – I added a lot to sites previously included (Beersheba, Arad, tabernacle model, etc.), but a LandRover and some great friends got me to beautiful places you’ll probably never see. Indeed, the wilderness is “vast and dreadful,” but it also is majestic and inspiring.

This week you can sign up to win one of two free copies. One will be given away to entrants who use the email form. The other will go to those who enter with PunchTab. You can enter either or both. If you don’t win, you can purchase the Israel Collection with all of its 6,000 photographs for $149.99. If you do win and you already own the collection, we’ll refund your purchase or surprise you with something else. The drawing ends this Friday at 10 am Pacific Time.

(We need your email address to notify you if you win. We will not use it for anything else.)

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Tagged Galilee, Giveaway, Jerusalem, Judah, Negev, Photo Resources, Samaria

Weekend Roundup #1

The Samaritans celebrated Passover on Mount Gerizim yesterday. Because the holiday fell on Shabbat, the sacrifice was held at noon, making photography a bit easier. The ceremony was previewed by Gil Zohar in the Jerusalem Post.

Israel Hayom has side-by-side photos of the new Mattaniah seal with a seal impression.

Luke Chandler expects that Yosef Garfinkel’s press conference next week will be about cultic finds from the 11th-10th centuries at Khirbet Qeiyafa. Aren Maeir has heard that the announcement will be “very special” and he makes a few guesses.

Archaeologists have now found five ritual baths in the “caves of refuge” in the Arbel cliffs.

I was at the Israel Museum a few days too early and entrance to a display of the earliest coins ever minted was blocked. Featuring 500 coins from two private collections, the “White Gold” exhibit opens on Tuesday and continues through March 2013.

Shmuel Browns reports, with photos, on the destruction of a mosaic floor in a monastery near the Elah Valley. A photo showing graffiti painted by the vandals is posted at Ynet News.

It’s hard to beat the $1.99 price tag at Christianbook.com on The Bible and The Land, by Gary M. Burge. (112 pages, softcover, mentioned previously here; $10 at Amazon).

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Cliffs of Arbel with caves

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup