Shephelah Archives - Page 21 of 64

Weekend Roundup

The Column of King Merneptah has been transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Popular Archaeology investigates the discovery of three skeletons at Gezer last summer.

Researchers at Bowdoin College Museum of Art are working to reconstruct the color on ancient Assyrian reliefs.

The luxurious Roman silver Berthouville Treasure collection is now on display in Denmark.

James Mellaart, former excavator of Catalhoyuk, is accused of having forged murals and inscriptions that he claimed to have discovered.

Was the synagogue of Capernaum in Jesus’s day white or black? Leen Ritmeyer explains why it was black.

As Easter approaches, Carl Rasmussen shares related photos, including one of a “crown of thorns.”

Gary Rendsburg gives a tour of the world’s oldest Torah scrolls.

Wayne Stiles looks at Abraham’s visit with Melchizedek in Salem.

The latest from Walking the Text is “Returning to the Path.”

This week’s program on The Book and the Spade addresses the tomb of Jonah and archaeological destruction.

For years I’ve used a helpful OT chronological chart with my students. Now Kris Udd is making it
available to the public (via Academia).

HT: Ted Weis, Agade

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Holidays, Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, Museums, Resources, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A recent DNA study confirms that the “Screaming Mummy” is the son of Ramses III, and the hanging marks around his neck indicate that he was the conspirator who plotted to murder his father.

Haaretz: “About a dozen life-sized stone sculptures and reliefs of camels have been found in a markedly inhospitable site in northern Saudi Arabia.”

A 2nd-century Roman temple has been discovered in Kom Ombo, Egypt.

Randall Younker will be lecturing on “Ancient Worlds of the Bible” on Feb 23 and 24 in Medford,
Oregon.

The Times of Israel has a short article on a seal depicting Cupid that was discovered in Jerusalem in 2010.

The Albright Institute has a busy schedule of events in February and March.

Luke Chandler notes a new video on the Lachish excavation that includes a number of interviews
with dig volunteers and career archaeologists.

Carl Rasmussen looks more closely at Herod’s Tomb in the Israel Museum.

Israel’s Good Name describes the second day of the Wadi Qilt Tour.

John DeLancey is wrapping up another tour of Israel.

The Book and the Spade is celebrating 35 years of broadcasts, and this week Mark Fairchild is on the program discussing the latest discoveries at Laodicea.

Gordon Govier was on The Eric Metaxas Show yesterday discussing the world of biblical
archaeology.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Egypt, Judah, Lectures, Museums, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Lois Tverberg explains the reading tradition used in the synagogue in ancient times, and she provides a list of the triennial reading schedule used in the 3rd to 7th centuries.

Wayne Stiles’s post on “How to live the impossible Christian life” includes a beautiful photo of the Sea of Galilee.

The Young Archaeologists School in el-Alamein, Egypt, is teaching schoolchildren about the importance of archaeology.

“Why don’t most ancient Near Eastern languages have words for ‘blue,’ ‘yellow,’ or even ‘color’?”

G. M. Grena notes a couple of episodes on the “Excavating the Bible” show that mention LMLK seals.

Chris McKinny is one of the authors of a new article entitled “The Agricultural Landscape of Tel Burna: Ecology and Economy of a Bronze Age/Iron Age Settlement in the Southern Levant.

Aren Maeir has posted the schedule for the annual “Aharoni Day,” this year focused on ancient metallurgy.

In honor of Tu B’Shevat, the Temple Mount Sifting Project shares some of the fascinating story of ancient wooden beams from the Temple Mount.

Israel’s Good Name took a field trip to the IAA Warehouse and to the Rockefeller Museum.

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A 4th century BC vase discovered at et-Tell (Bethsaida?) has a depiction of an image copied from the Parthenon in Athens.

Haaretz (premium): “A team of Israeli scientists and archaeologists has embarked on a massive four-year project to accurately radiocarbon-date the complex layers of ancient Jerusalem.”

A stele from the reign of Ramses II has been discovered at San al-Hagar.

Roman funeral mummy portraits from Egypt, dating to the first three centuries AD, are on exhibit at Northwestern University’s Block Museum. There’s a 3-minute video here.

ASOR Blog: “What were the types of musicians and instruments in Ancient Egypt, how were they used, and where did they come from?”

How do scholars reconstruct the rules for ancient board games?

David Z. Moster of 929 Chapters has launched a new YouTube channel with a video on “How to
Study the Bible with Ancient Near Eastern Texts.”

The Spring 2018 issue of DigSight includes reports on the Fourth Expedition to Lachish, ecology on ancient seals, and more.

Scott Stripling reports on Week Two of the winter’s work processing material from Khirbet el-Maqatir.

Leon Mauldin writes of the possible connection between the apostle Paul and Gush Halav in Galilee.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos that illustrate a king making a footstool of his enemies.

Wayne Stiles is leading a tour to Israel this October.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Greece, Jerusalem, Museums, New Exhibits, Samaria, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

“The Legio camp [at Megiddo] is the only full-scale imperial Roman legionary base found so far in the eastern empire” and to date they’ve unearthed a monumental gate, a dedicatory inscription, and the cremated remains of a Roman soldier.

The first royal winery of King Herod was discovered at the Herodium. The story does not seem to be in the English press yet, but you can read a Google-translated version of the Israel Nature and Parks

Authority story here. UPDATE: I’ve posted Joseph Lauer’s improved translation here.

Some Israelis are accusing authorities of not protecting Herod’s palace at Jericho from destruction caused by the nearby building of homes.

A new exhibit at the Haifa Hostel tells the story of ancient Castra on the slopes of Mount Carmel.

A new exhibit at the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa documents the transition of the city of Sussita (Hippos) from pagan to Christian.

The ASOR Blog has a well-illustrated piece on the Ottoman and Turkish history of Majdal Yābā (aka Migdal Aphek, Mirabel).

Leen Ritmeyer explains how Jerusalem’s garbage dump refutes the theory that the temple was built over the Gihon Spring.

New from Wayne Stiles: How to follow God by pondering amazing bird migrations in Israel.

Now published: The Elephant Mosaic Panel in the Synagogue at Huqoq, by Karen Britt and Ra’anan
Boustan. Authorized photos are available at National Geographic. Dr. Britt will lecture on the subject on Feb. 21 at UNC Asheville.

At The Book and the Spade, John DeLancey talks with Gordon Govier about Excavation Plans for 2018.

Israel’s Good Name describes his experience in an archaeological survey of Tel Goded (Moresheth-Gath?) in part 1 and part 2.

With 3.6 million tourists in 2017, Israel hit a new record. This was a 25% increase over 2016. For some trends in tourism between 1990 and 2011, see this booklet.

Israel saw lots of rain yesterday, but probably not the “100 inches” claimed in this article’s subhead.

Lawrence Stager died at the age of 74 after a fall at his home. He directed the excavations at Ashkelon for 30 years.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Keith Keyser, Charles Savelle

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Judah, Lectures, Museums, New Exhibits, Sad News, Shephelah, Tourism, Weather, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

Yehiel Zelinger discusses the excavations of Bliss and Dickie on Mount Zion and shares a great photo of his own excavations there. (I’d love to see a labeled version, if anyone knows of such or can create one…)

Archaeologists working in Turkey have uncovered evidence related to the collapse of the Assyrian empire.

The first phase of the renovation of St. Catherine’s Library is complete.

The BBC tells the story of the relocation of the modern inhabitants of ancient Gadara through its former security guard.

The third issue of the newsletter of Tel Aviv U’s Institute of Archaeology includes field reports from this year’s work at Ashdod-Yam, Kiriath Jearim, Beth Shemesh, and the City of David.

And now Hollywood gives us . . . Samson. (Whether you are interested in the trailer or not, click the link to see how archaeologist Aren Maeir keeps his volunteers in line.)

Ferrell Jenkins shares a beautiful aerial photo of Jerusalem from the west.

A writer for Haaretz (premium) asks, Why doesn’t Israel have a museum for Jesus?

LiveScience looks into the backstory of a bone that Oxford scientists believe comes from the real St. Nicholas.

The city of Nazareth has cancelled Christmas celebrations in protest of Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Was the census that brought Jesus to Bethlehem a coincidence?

Among the specials for Accordance’s 12 Days of Christmas is the Biblical Archaeology Review (1975-2012).

We’ll have part three of the roundup tomorrow with another dozen stories.

HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade, Mark Hoffman, Charles Savelle, Explorator, Chris McKinny,
Mike Harney

Tagged Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Holidays, Jerusalem, Jordan, Movies, Museums, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup