Seven inscriptions were discovered in three Byzantine churches excavated in Galilee this summer. Haaretz (premium) also covers the story. Archaeologists have discovered a Hellenistic-era gymnasium in the Fayoum province of Egypt. A recently discovered Assyrian tablet provides the first-known diagnosis to determine infertility. An intact sundial from the Roman period has been discovered in the excavation of a theater near Mount Cassino in Italy. A year-long mysterious excavation with high security in Tarsus ended with no explanation of what they found or why they were excavating. A gemstone discovered in Pylos, Greece, from the 15th century BC is a “masterpiece of miniature art.” Megan Sauter describes the Terra Sancta Museum, a new stop on the Via Dolorosa. Wayne Stiles’s post this week on Lachish includes some new drone video footage he shot recently. The Museum of the Bible is the topic of discussion this week on The Book and the Spade. Israel welcomed its 3 millionth tourist of 2017 this week. A new Biblical Archaeology Review Archive provides every article from 1975 to 2016 and is on sale for $130. Or you can subscribe to All-Access Membership for $35/year. HT: Jared Clark, Agade, Charles Savelle
The Israel Antiquities Authority has arrested looters who discovered a cave in a Galilean village that was used for storage and stables in the Roman period.
Aren Maeir reports on a “mini-season” they held this week at Gath.
The “Bible Marathon” traces the route of the Benjamite who raced to tell Eli of the death of his sons.
One month before its opening in Washington, DC, the Museum of the Bible held a press conference to address questions about the museum’s practices.
The abandoned village of Lifta, possibly the site of biblical Mei Nephtoah, has been named one of 25 Endangered World Monuments.
The New York Times has an article in its dining section on the ancient Canaanite food and wine of Tel Kabri.
The Winter 2017 issue of DigSight reports on an exhibit on seals, a seal of “Ushna, servant of Ahaz,” and more.
Carl Rasmussen has begun a series on Paul’s shipwreck on Malta.
The Lod Mosaic will have a home when the Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center opens in 2019.
Volcanic activity may have played a significant role in the demise of the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty.
Israel’s Good Name describes his recent camping trip in Park HaMaayanot.
Prof. Zvi Lederman will be giving a lecture on Nov 13 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology entitled “A Lost Queen of the Sun — Tel Beth Shemesh, the Age of Amarna, and the Mysterious ‘Mistress of the Lions.’” The lecture is free and open to the public.
Matthew Suriano will be lecturing on Nov. 16 at Brandeis University on “A Tomb with a View: What can we learn about death in the Hebrew Bible from the Silwan Necropolis in Jerusalem?”
Eisenbrauns’ Deal of the Weekend is Unearthing Jerusalem, at 60% off.
The end of an era: Penn State University Press has acquired Eisenbrauns.
HT: Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis
- Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Shephelah
I am traveling this weekend, and so this edition is shorter than usual. I’ll pick up any stories I missed next weekend.
Solomon’s Pools will be renovated with a $750,000 grant from the US Consulate in Jerusalem with hopes of turning it into a major tourism site.
An ancient inscription may provide contemporary evidence for the migration of the Philistines and other Sea Peoples, if it is authentic.
“Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old olive oil mill in the ancient city of Tripolis in southwestern Turkey.”
The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review includes the sad news that Hershel Shanks is retiring after 42 years and turning editorship over to Robert Cargill. Shanks is 87.
Accordance Bible Software is running a sale that includes a 25% off any one item deal. You could use it for one of their photo collections, including The American Colony Collection or Views That Have Vanished.
Wayne Stiles explains the relationship between the Pool of Siloam, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Messiah.
“The Dead Sea Scrolls at 70” is the title of a free conference that is being held at New York University on November 16-17. Speakers include Jodi Magness, Lawrence Schiffman, and many others.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is hosting a “Foothills of Judah” Conference on November 13-14. Speakers include Itzhaq Shai, Steven Ortiz, and Chris McKinny.
John DeLancey is blogging his way through his current Greece Tour.
Israel’s Good Name recently visited Sachne (aka “Heaven on earth”) and explored some interesting sites in the area.
On Monday the Israel Antiquities Authority is hosting a press conference to reveal discoveries made in the last two years underneath Wilson’s Arch in the Western Wall Tunnels. I’ll post the story on the blog when I have it.
HT: Ted Weis, Joseph Lauer, Agade
- Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Greece, Holidays, Judah, Lectures, Photo Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup
The biblical Feast of Trumpets, usually observed now as the Jewish New Year, was celebrated on Thursday. Ferrell Jenkins shares some photos of the ram’s horn.
With the ending of year 5777, the Temple Mount Sifting Project identifies the “top 10 topics” over the past year.
Ferrell Jenkins explains how Dr. James Turner Barclay is honored in the Cathedral of St. George in Jerusalem.
Israel’s Good Name describes his experience on the Horvat Midras excavation.
The re-dating of the Gihon Spring fortifications is the topic on this week’s edition of The Book and the Spade.
The latest issue of Tel Aviv includes an article on the “Monumentality of Iron Age Jerusalem Prior to the 8th Century BCE.”
There have been a number of wolf attacks in the Judean wilderness in recent months. The article includes a video of a wolf chasing a young ibex.
“Dr. Scott Stripling and Dr. Craig Evans headline the upcoming Text and Trowel symposium on archaeology and the Bible at the University of Pikeville on Oct. 20-21, 2017.”
HT: Agade
- Tagged Excavations, Holidays, Italy, Jerusalem, Judah, Lectures, New Exhibits, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup
Archaeologists have learned a lot in the first season of a renewed expedition to Masada, but they’re not saying much yet.
The tomb of an 18th-Dynasty goldsmith has been discovered on Luxor’s West Bank.
“Excavations at an ancient mound in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri shed light on writing from around 2,000 B.C.”
The Plutonium of Hierapolis is being restored so that it can be opened to tourists next year.
The ancient stadium of Laodicea is being restored.
Scholars are using new technology to read palimpsests at St. Catherine’s Monastery.
Israel’s Good Name describes two recent field trips to the Sorek Stalactite Caves and to Tel Burna.
After years of delay, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open two months from today.
HT: Explorator, Agade
- Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Judah, Museums, Shephelah, Turkey, Weekend Roundup
The discovery of a Neolithic model of a clay silo from Tel Tsaf is leading scholars to rethink the history of food storage.
Gabriel Barkay recently gave a tour of the Temple Mount to members of the US Congress.
John DeLancey is blogging about his Israel tour, and on Wednesday he took his group to el-Araj, a candidate for New Testament Bethsaida.
Students from Oakland University involved in the Lachish expedition this summer gained knowledge and experience.
Shmuel Browns shares some photos of sinkholes at the Dead Sea.
The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society has posted its schedule of fall lectures.
If you’re not familiar with Solomon’s failure in establishing his 12 administrative districts, take a look at Wayne Stiles’s post and map.
I’ve been waiting for Craig Keener’s four-volume commentary on Acts to be available in digital format, and Accordance has it first, and at a great introductory sale price.
Accordance also has a sale on the NICOT and NICNT bundle at about half of what I paid for it on Logos.
Phillip J. Long has written the first full-length review of the Photo Companion to the Bible.
Two of my favorite Bible teachers, both born in 1928, died this week: Stanley Toussaint (DTS) and Robert Thomas (TMS).
HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade
- Tagged Dead Sea, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup
