Syria Archives - Page 14 of 18

Weekend Roundup

An Egyptian scarab with the name of Pharaoh Shishak has been discovered in the copper mines of Feinan in southern Jordan.

Has evidence of human sacrifice been uncovered near Amman, Jordan? Hershel Shanks presents the evidence and the debate.

Also in the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review: a survey of readers’ views of the Bible. The poll has one question and does not require registration.

ASOR is working with the State Department to identify and document destruction of ancient sites in Syria.

Dura Europos is reportedly suffering severe looting under the control of ISIS and archaeologists fear for the world’s oldest synagogue located there.

The new director of the Louvre plans to give the museum a makeover that may take decades.

Charles Savelle shares a chart comparing the crossing of the Red Sea with that of the Jordan River. I would add one more contrast: Enemies behind vs. Enemies ahead. (One of those requires more faith!)

Gordon Franz’s article on Ancient Harbors of the Sea of Galilee is now online.

Ferrell Jenkins notes that Daniel I. Block’s book, Israel: Ancient Kingdom or Late Invention? is deeply discounted for Kindle for a short time.

Martin Klingbeil will be lecturing at Southern Adventist University on “Excavating War and Destruction in Ancient Judah” on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

Nyack College in partnership with the Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins is hosting a conference on “Unearthing Magdala” on October 20.

David Eitam will be lecturing at Yeshiva University on Monday, September 29 on “The Oil Enterprise at 7th Century BCE City-Kingdom of Ekron, Philistia: A Window into an Ancient
Levantine Economy.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade

Hippos harbor looking south, tb101399201

Remains of the harbor of Hippos on the Sea of Galilee
Photo from Galilee and the North

Tagged Discoveries, Galilee, Jordan, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Museums, Syria, Tourism, Weekend Roundup

Christian Inscription on Grand Mosque of Damascus

I came across this notable observation yesterday when looking over some photos in Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee.

The Grand Mosque of Damascus is one of the most interesting buildings in the East. It is quadrangular in form, one hundred and sixty-three yards wide, by one hundred and eight yards long. A lofty wall of fine masonry surrounds it. A few years ago the building was almost destroyed by fire.
One of the most wonderful things about this mosque is an inscription which is pointed out to the tourist. It runs over an arch in the second story. You can see even in this picture the Greek letters which form the following sentence: “Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” This is the Septuagint rendering of Psalms, cxlv [145]: 13, with the simple addition of the name of Christ. What a curious inscription to find on a Moslem mosque! And yet, how true it is that the kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom. To-day the power of Mohammedanism is waning.

Grand Mosque Lintel with Inscription
Photo from Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee

A 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal gives the history: Muslims reused stones of the church they razed. The builder of the mosque, al-Walid, was also responsible for the construction of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Unfortunately the last observation in the quotation above has proven false. But that is in accord with Scripture which speaks of the numerous enemies present on earth when Jesus returns (Ps 2; Zech 14; Rev 19).

Tagged Syria

Conference: Aram and Israel in the 12th to 8th Centuries BC

Heidelberg Colloquium on the Subject of Aram and Israel: Cultural Interaction, Political Borders and Construction of Identity during the Early Iron Age (12th–8th Centuries BCE)

IWH Symposium, September 1-4, 2014

IWH Hauptstrasse 242, Heidelberg

Organisation: Prof. Manfred Oeming, Dr. Omer Sergi, Dr. Izaak de Hulster

Monday, Sept. 1, 2014

14:00-14:30: Introduction

14:00-14:10: Peter Comba, Manfred Oeming, Greetings

14:10-14:30: Omer Sergi and Izaak de Hulster, Historical Outline for Aram and Israel

First Session: Jordan Valley between Aram and Israel: Archaeological Perspectives

Chair: Izaak de Hulster

14:30-15:15: Amihai Mazar, Looking for Aramaean Impact in the Beth-Shean Valley in Light of the Excavations at Tel Beth Shean and Tel Rehov

15:15-16:00: Stefan Münger, Who, When, and Why–Investigating Cultural Footprints at Early Iron Age Tel Kinrot

16:30-17:15: Nava Panitz-Cohen, Aram-Maacah? Aramaeans and Israelites on the Border: Excavations at Tel Abil al-Qameh (Abel Beth Maacah) in Northern Israel

17:15-18:00: Yifat Thareani, Enemy at the Gates? The Archaeological Visibility of the Aramaeans at Dan

18:00-18:30: Discussion

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014

Second Session: Aspects of Material Culture between Aram and Israel

Chair: Omer Sergi

9:00-9:45: Izaak de Hulster, The Aram–Israel Border Zone: Two Comparative Iconographic Case Studies

9:45-10:30: Benjamin Sass, Aram and Israel during the Early Iron Age (12th-8th Centuries BCE): The Alphabet

11:00-11:45: Assaf Kleiman, Dating the Aramaean Campaigns to the Southern Levant: A Gradual Process of Destructions?

11:45-12:30: Aren Maeir, The Aramaean Involvement in the Southern Levant: Case Studies for Identifying the Archaeological Evidence

12:30-13:00: Discussion

Third Session: Aramaean Identity in Changing Cultural Contexts

Chair: Jan Christian Gertz

14:30-15:15: Christoph Uehlinger, What are We Looking for when dealing with ‘Identity’ and the ‘Construction of Identity’ in Levantine Societies of the Iron Age? (with an Excursus on the Bethsaida Stela)

15:15-16:00: Guy Bunnens, Tradition, Innovation and Cultural Borders in Aramaean Syria

16:30-17:15: Stefania Mazzoni, Identity and Multiculturality in the Northern Levant of the 9th-7th century B.C. with a Case Study on Tell Afis

17:15-18:00: Herbert Niehr, The Power of Language:, Language Situation and Language Politics in Sam’ al

18:00-18:30: Discussion

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014

Fourth Session: The Border Zone between Aram and Israel: Historical Reflections

Chair: Juha Pakkala

9:00-9:45: Israel Finkelstein, Aram and Israel: Some Cultural and Historical Reflections

9:45-10:30: Erhard Blum, The ‘Borders’ between Israel and Aram-Damascus in the 9th-8th Centuries BCE according to Biblical and Epigraphical Sources

11:00-11:45: Omer Sergi, Gilead between Aram and Israel: Some Historical and Historiographical Considerations

11:45-12:30: Jutta Häser, Tell Zira’a in the Iron Age

12:30-13:00: Discussion

Fifth Session: Historical Memory of Aram in Israel’s Bible

Chair: Dorothea Erbele-Küster

14:30-15:15: Manfred Oeming, “And the King of Aram was at War with Israel”– The Construction of the Aramaean as an Enemy in the Elisha Cycle 2 King 2-13.

15:15-16:00: Matthias Köckert, Jacob Cycle and the Aramaean Identity of Israel

16:30-17:15: Angelika Berlejung, Family Ties: Constructed Memories about Aram and the Aramaeans in the Old Testament – “God’s People Network”

17:15-18:00: Nili Wazana, “My Father was a Wandering Aramaean”: The Implications for Israelite Identity

18:00-18:30: Discussion

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014

Concluding Session: Israel among the Aramaeans

Chair: Manfred Oeming

9:00-10:30: Concluding discussion

The Colloquium is supported by: Heidelberg University, Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

The program is available in pdf format here.

Another topic that seems relevant to this conference: Textual Witnesses to the Aramean Oppression of Israel in the Late Ninth Century. And another: Archaeological Evidence for the Aramean Route to Philistine Gath. I’ve written on both in my dissertation.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tell Chinnereth (Tel Kinrot) and the Sea of Galilee
Photo from volume 1

Tagged 10th Century, Lectures, Syria

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

After 31 years of hosting The Book & The Spade, Gordon Govier shares some personal reflections.

An aging Lebanese potter laments the passing of his craft.

Archaeologists have found evidence of the “plague of Cyprian.”

Satellite images from the US State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center “document the scale of destruction that looters continue to inflict on archaeological heritage sites during the ongoing conflict in Syria.”

Identifying a complete set of Edward Robinson’s Biblical Researches in Palestine at archive.org is a bit confusing, but David Stark has posted links to volumes 1 and 2 (3 volumes from 1841 in a 2-volume set, 2nd/11th eds.) and volume 3 (the 1856 volume, Later Biblical Researches, 11th ed.).

Now on pre-pub for Logos Bible Software: Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin (1958–2013) (78 issues) – $99.95.

ASOR’s Archaeology Weekly Roundup has more.

I’ll be traveling the better part of the next two weeks and will not be posting much. If they discover an archive at Hazor, Gezer, or Gath, I’m sure that one of my fellow contributors will let you know.

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis

Tagged Lebanon, Resources, Syria, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Aren Maeir reports on the highlights of the 2013 excavation season at Gath (Tell es-Safi).

A statue of a Phoenician priest dating to the 6th century BC has been discovered in Sidon.

The Pope has arrived in Jordan and heads to Israel soon.

Some religious Jews are afraid that if Catholic mass is permitted in the Upper Room that they will be unable to pray at the Tomb of David downstairs.

A new study suggests that some of Petra’s structures were intended to align with the solstices and equinoxes.

Archaeological work in Jerusalem indicates that it was the Roman construction of Aelia Capitolina that triggered the Bar Kochba Revolt (and not the other way around).

Have you ever wondered how Jonathan defeated the Philistines by climbing the cliff of Michmash?

Wayne Stiles explains it all with maps and photos.

Ferrell Jenkins and Leon Mauldin are traveling in eastern Turkey. They have recently visited Haran
and the Zeugma Mosaic Museum.

Muslims in eastern Syria have apparently destroyed a statue from the Neo-Assyrian period looted from Tell Ajaja.

The 2014 excavation season has begun at Tel Jezreel.

The PACE (Project on Ancient Cultural Engagement) online database has moved.

Judith McKenzie’s black and white photographs taken in 1982-1986 for The Architecture of Petra
(1990) are now all available online at the Petra Digital Archive. Other collections are also online, in high-resolution and free for use in educational and academic publications and research.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Tagged Excavations, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Jordan, Lebanon, Philistines, Syria, Tourism, Turkey

Wednesday Roundup

Archaeologists working at Omrit have revealed the discovery of an Assyrian seal from the reign of Sargon II. The story is reported at Haaretz and on Ferrell’s Travel Blog.

The remains of 50 mummies from the New Kingdom period have been discovered in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.

Haaretz is reporting that “a team of Spanish Egyptologists may have found one of the earliest-known pictures of Jesus Christ, in a 6th-century tomb unearthed in Upper Egypt.”

The Colosseum of Rome is getting its “first top to bottom cleaning in 2 millennia. The scrub-down began in December and is slated to cost $35 million before its completion in 2016.”

Former Egyptian antiquities minister Zahi Hawass is under investigation for illegally amassing a fortune of $14 million.

National Geographic: “A study of Cold War spy-satellite photos has tripled the number of known archaeological sites across the Middle East, revealing thousands of ancient cities, roads, canals, and other ruins.”

The pillaging of Syria’s antiquities is now a full-time business for some. The Christian Science Monitor talks to some of those involved.

Is the Abba cave in Jerusalem the burial place of the last Hasmonean king? Haaretz presents the case for this identification. Joe Zias rejects it.

There’s a new open-access journal of interest: Science and Technology of Archaeological Research.
The editors are looking for submissions.

Accordance has a new series of 6 introductory Bible atlases published by Carta (OT, NT, archaeology, kingdoms, people, geography). For the first week only, the price is reduced to $79.99.

HT: Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer, Mark Hoffman

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Resources, Syria, Technology