Shephelah Archives - Page 3 of 64

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Aren Maeir and colleagues have written three articles in the forthcoming Israel Exploration Journal that raises questions about the Mount Ebal “curse inscription,” including “whether it is an inscription, its dating, its function (it is most probably a mundane lead fishing weight) and other issues.” The story is reported by The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.

A new study of lion bones discovered at Tel Burna suggests that local leaders displayed them as trophies of their prowess. Ruth Schuster’s article includes a lot of more general information about lions in the ancient world.

Zoom lecture on Dec 6: “The Schooling of a Scribe in Ancient Israel,” by Christopher Rollston, hosted by the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society.

The Near East Archaeological Society has a list of twenty papers given at the recent conference in San Antonio. Videos of three of the presentations have been posted:

The Kingdom of the Palastin: Sea Peoples of the North?, by Brian Janeway
The Late Date versus the Early Date at the Mount Ebal Altar, by Abigail Leavitt
Fifth Excavation Season at Shiloh, by Scott Stripling

Bryan Windle surveys the top three reports in biblical archaeology for the month of November.

Bible Mapper Atlas links to a series of free maps related to Christmas.

Carl Rasmussen is leading a “comprehensive 35-day Bible Study Tour to Israel/Jordan, Turkey, and Greece.” Participants can join one or more of the segments of the trip. (The Turkey portion looks particularly outstanding to me.)

Kristine Garroway discusses children in ancient Israel in the latest episode of Biblical World.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer

Tagged Lectures, Samaria, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A new dataset of radiocarbon dates from Gezer “provides an independent source of absolute dates that will allow researchers to better understand the events at Gezer and to place them in a regional perspective.” Of particular interest is that the Solomon gate dates to the time of Solomon, contrary to the Low Chronology promoted by Finkelstein who calls the study “meaningless.” The underlying journal article is here.

When the war began in Israel on October 7, Israel’s museums acted quickly to protect their most precious artifacts.

Avshalom Halutz writes a “short history of Gaza,” reviewing the last 5,000 years of the coastal city’s conflicts (Haaretz premium)

Ariel David reports on the recent study that argues that Jerusalem’s Millo was “defensive complex that protected the ancient water spring of Jerusalem for centuries.”

Online lecture in the BAS Scholars Series on Dec 6: “The Life of Jesus Written in Stone: The Earliest Commemorative Churches in Roman Palestine,” by Jordan Ryan, Wheaton College ($10)

Online “gala event” on Dec 10: “New Discoveries in the Temple Mount Sifting Project Research,” with Zachi Dvira, Gabriel Barkay, Haim Shaham, Anat Mendel-Geberovich, and Mordechai Kedar

New release: From Nomadism to Monarchy? Revisiting the Early Iron Age Southern Levant, edited by Ido Koch, Oded Lipschits and Omer Sergi (Eisenbrauns, $100)

Jerusalem Seminary is offering a 6-week audit-only version of “Israel Matters: A Theology of People and Land,” with Gerald McDermott, for only $79. A full description is here.

Now online: A Biblical Archaeology Conference held last Saturday, hosted by the Institute for Creation Research, with presentations by Randall Price and Tom Meyer

Bible Mapper Atlas has added a number of new maps in the last few months:

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

Tagged 10th Century, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Aren Maeir writes about the situation in Israel and how you can help.

A pair of scholars argue that “Azekah is the new name of Moresheth-Gath given to the city by Judahite rulers after taking control of the western Shephelah, not before the end of the ninth century BCE.”

“For the first time, ancient DNA has been recovered from the bodies of ancient Israelites living in the First Temple period.”

In his first Q&A, Chandler Collins answers questions about Jerusalem’s monasteries, the “palace of David,” and a proposed bema seat of Pilate.

In part 4 of the Flora and Faith series, Brad Nelson explains why Paul used the olive tree to explain the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the church.

An article I wrote on Solomon’s coronation and coregency has been published in the Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal. I argue that there were three stages in his coronation and that there is no foundation for a two-year coregency.

Andy Naselli has collected some of the better videos of reconstructions of the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and Herod’s temple.

The Arch of Titus, built to celebrate the destruction of Jerusalem, was lit up this week in blue and white in solidarity with Israel.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

Tagged 10th Century, Discoveries, Italy, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Technology, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Excavations conducted during the laying of a water pipe not too far from Lachish revealed the “most ancient gate ever discovered in Israel.” They are dating it to about 300 years earlier than the Early Bronze gate at Tel Arad. The gate has already been backfilled.

Archaeologists excavating Tel Shimron announced the discovery of a massive Middle Bronze monument that was 15 feet tall and covered the entire acropolis. The monument was very well-preserved because soon after its construction it was filled in with gravel.

A beautiful Herodian ceiling panel was discovered in secondary use in the Ophel excavations (YouTube).

One of the arches in Caesarea’s Roman aqueduct collapsed on Friday.

A suspension bridge crossing the Hinnom Valley is now open to pedestrians (YouTube).

Zedekiah’s Cave (aka Solomon’s Quarries) reopened earlier this month, and Zahi Shaked gives a 30-minute tour.

Some Jews and Christians are arguing over the right to pray in the area of a possible tomb of Elisha at Stella Maris on Mount Carmel.

Israeli officials are considering loaning the Megiddo Mosaic, which comes from an early Christian building, to the Museum of the Bible. (Ilan Ben Zion’s AP article is a disappointment.)

WUNC interviews Jodi Magness upon the completion of her 11-year excavation of the Huqoq synagogue.

Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am write about some of the many ritual baths that have been discovered throughout Israel. The article includes many photos.

Abigail Leavitt recounts various sites she visited this summer in Jerusalem. She has another post about a tour of the Shephelah.

“The Jewish National Fund, KKL-JNF, recently welcomed guests to visit the ancient Jewish synagogue in Ma’on, located in Israel’s southern Negev desert.”

Tour Caesarea virtually with DIVE (Digital Interactive Virtual Experiences) on August 30 ($20).

Joel Kramer goes to Mamre in the latest episode from Expedition Bible.

There are a number of late-summer festivals being held around Israel.

New release: The Changing Landscape of Israeli Archaeology: Between Hegemony and Marginalization, by Hayah Katz (Routledge, $42/$136).

The latest Jerusalem Tracker has been posted, with a roundup of news, publications, and media.

It may be hard to believe, but apparently there are unscrupulous shopkeepers in the Old City of Jerusalem.

HT: Agade, Gordon Dickson, Al Sandalow, Will Varner, Arne Halbakken, Roger Schmidgall, Keith Keyser, Wayne Stiles, Explorator

With the Israeli military gone, there are no obstacles to visiting Hyrcania in the Judean wilderness.

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Judah, Museums, Negev, Resources, Shephelah, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Bryan Windle’s report on “three things in Shiloh Samuel likely saw” includes discussion and photos of recent discoveries, including a building they think may be the tabernacle.

“Archaeologists working on a 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery discovered in Gaza last year have found at least 125 tombs, most with skeletons still largely intact, and two rare lead sarcophaguses.”

“A sword that was discovered by a diver off the coast of northern Israel in 2021 was likely lost overboard during a fierce naval battle between Crusaders and Muslim residents of coastal cities some 800 years ago.”

David Moster gives a video walkthrough of a beautiful 3D model of Herod’s Temple and Temple Mount.

The latest video from Expedition Bible looks at Jesus’s tomb, showing how strong the evidence is for the authenticity of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Scott Stripling talks about the New Testament excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir on a recent episode of Digging for Truth.

A volunteer at the Abel Beth Maacah excavations describes what a typical day on the dig is like.

Hybrid lecture on August 10: “Excavations at Khirbet Summeily, 2011-2023: A Preliminary Report,” by Jeff Blakely

Carl Rasmussen shares some older photos of an Intermediate Bronze cemetery discovered at Dhahr Mirzbaneh (Ain Samiya).

Abigail Leavitt shares photos of tombs in Jerusalem she recently visited.

Ferrell Jenkins shares photos of vineyards at Lachish then and now.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Alexander Schick, Explorator

This is the “Holy Sepulcher ladder” of the Jewish Quarter. This temporary pedestrian bridge floating over the Western Wall plaza is nearly 20 years old now.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Samaria, Shephelah, Tomb of Jesus, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Recent excavations in front of the edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher revealed the 4th century arrangement of the rotunda.

Chris McKinny gives an overview of the results from Week 2 of excavations at Tel Burna.

Aren Maeir notes that excavations are also currently underway at Tell el-Hesi and Khirbet Summeily.

Archaeologists have invited the local community to help conserve the Middle Bronze gate at Gezer after last year’s fire.

William Hild, a participant in this summer’s excavation at Hyrcania, is guest on The Book and the Spade discussing the project.

Ruth Schuster writes about the treasures that were returned when the Israel Antiquities Authority announced an amnesty campaign. Enjoy the many photos, for you’ll never see these objects again as the IAA protects them in a vast storage center.

Ariel David reports on Garfinkel’s latest claim of Judah’s importance in the 10th century, including criticism from other archaeologists. Melanie Lidman has a similar story.

Tim Chaffey explains how Ernest Martin and Robert Cornuke “avoid key passages of Scripture, distort Josephus’ words, and ignore the findings of archaeologists” in their relocation of Solomon’s temple.

New release: Ancient Synagogues Revealed 1981-2022, edited by Lee I. Levine, Zeev Weiss, and Uzi Leibner (Israel Exploration Society, 300 NIS). You can see all the volumes in the long-running series on the IES website.

Hybrid conference on July 10-13 in Jerusalem: “Jerusalem: From Umbilicus Mundi to the Four Corners of the Earth and Back.” The conference brochure is here. The live broadcast will be here.

Zoom lecture on July 25: “Jesus in Galilee: An Archaeological Perspective,” by Eric Meyers

BBC Reel has released “Armageddon: The ancient city behind the biblical story.”

Chandler Collins considers what may be learned from 19th century travelers’ writings about their first views of Jerusalem.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Joseph Lauer, Explorator

The latest big hole in the ground opened to visitors is the Gezer water system. The descent gives you a new appreciation for the value of a secure source of water.

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Judah, Lectures, Resources, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup