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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

In the final season of the Tel Gezer Project, archaeologists have found evidence of Merneptah’s fiery destruction of the city, including the skeletons of an adult and child. The capture of Gezer is mentioned in the famous Merneptah Stele, along with the slaughter of Israel.
Norma Franklin explains why the winery they discovered at Jezreel fits the time and place of Naboth’s vineyard.

The IAA has posted a 3-minute video on the “Siloam street” and drainage channel that is being excavated between the Pool of Siloam and the Temple Mount.

Gabriel Barkay is interviewed on the World Affairs Report (28 min, mp3).

Did Jeremiah bury his loin cloth at the Euphrates or at Ein Perat? Ferrell Jenkins provides photos of both and some evidence for the latter.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos and reflects on his time in Jerusalem during the Six Day War.

Photorientalist exhibits photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries, including a number of exhibitions that tell a story, such as “Palestine’s Nativity Trail.” They are accepting submissions.

One of your considerations in choosing a summer excavation to join is the field school. Year after year, the Tell es-Safi team has one of the best schedules of lectures and field trips.

The PEF’s refusal to accept papers which discuss Jewish excavations in Jerusalem ultimately led to its cancellation of the conference on “Anglo-German Exploration of the Holy Land 1865-1915.”

The Book and the Spade reposts a Dead Sea Scrolls Documentary, produced for the 50th anniversary of the discovery and including audio from Albright, Yadin, Trever, DeVaux, and others.

J. C. McKeown writes about famous doctors in the ancient world on the Oxford University Press blog.

Gary Rendsburg has recently posted his 1998 interview of Cyrus Gordon on YouTube.

A new program at Leiden University seeks “to show the great potential video games have for archaeology in terms of public outreach, heritage preservation, and education, but also for actual research.”

Eisenbrauns has a big sale going in July, with 60 titles at 60-80% off. Here are a few recommendations:

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, AWOL, John DeLancey

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Weekend Roundup, Part 1

A lot happened while we were traveling in June, and I think it is going to take us four roundups to catch up. Today we begin with stories related to Israel.

Archaeologists have discovered a Crusader-era tunnel in Tiberias that apparently led from the fortress to the harbor.

Students excavating in Modiin discovered a collection of women’s jewelry from the Crusader period.

Excavations at the site of Huqoq in Galilee have discovered agricultural installations in use in either the Middle Bronze Age or the Roman-Byzantine period.

Weekly reports are available for ABR’s first season at Shiloh: Week 2 by Mark Hassler, Week 3 by

Andrew Kvasnica, and Week 4 by Gary Byers.

Scholars at Tel Aviv University have used multispectral imaging to reveal text on ancient “blank” potsherds from the First Temple period.

Emek Shaveh has petitioned Israel’s high court to halt excavations in the Western Wall tunnels.

An alert hiker reported suspicious activity which led to the capture of two antiquities thieves near the site of Sepphoris.

The new National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel remains unopened due to a lack of donations. This article in Apollo magazine reviews the controversy over moving archaeological material from east to west Jerusalem.

Haaretz reports on a new exhibit at the Israel Museum, “Faces of Power: Coins from the Victor Adda Collection.” These 75 gold coins depict Roman emperors and their wives and have never been publicly displayed before.

A nighttime audiovisual show at the City of David begins later this month.

The Israeli government has temporarily restricted civilians from visiting the Golan viewpoints overlooking Qunetra.

Appian Media has released a free (and downloadable), 10-minute video on Magdala.

Wayne Stiles notes the irony that “the Church of the Holy Sepulchre demonstrates the need for the place it hallows.”

There are several coming Israel tours of note. Wayne Stiles is taking a group October 26–November 6 and another March 16-27, 2018. Joel Kramer (SourceFlix) is leading a trip March 11-24.

This weekend, fans are reenacting the Battle of the Horns of Hattin in which the Muslims defeated the Crusaders in 1187.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Charles Savelle, Agade

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Weekend Roundup

“In an statement timed just ahead of Passover, the Temple Mount Sifting Project said Sunday it had found a stone finger that may have belonged to a Bronze Age Egyptian statue, but conceded it wasn’t sure.”

For the first time ever, a reenactment of the Passover sacrifice took place in the Jewish Quarter.

Wayne Stiles has released the third video in his virtual tour of the Passion Week.

Carl Rasmussen has written a series of informative posts related to Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, including “Another Gethsemane?,” “Site of Crucifixion of Jesus?,” “Gordon’s Calvary,” and “The Burial Bench of Jesus?”

John DeLancey is on The Book and the Spade discussing the latest renovations of the edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

DeLancey also recently announced a tour this fall of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

An archaeologist claims that a thick layer of sand at Tel Achziv attests to a tsunami that hit the coast of Israel in the 8th century BC.

Evidence discovered below the Dead Sea suggests that there were significant droughts in the past.

On the ASOR Blog, Douglas Petrovich discusses some of his discoveries behind his theory that Hebrew is the language behind the world’s first alphabet. Alan Millard has written a response. You can get a 25% discount on Petrovich’s book with code PET25.

The Linda Byrd Smith Museum of Biblical Archaeology opens today at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Israel’s Good Name recently went on a Bar Ilan U tour of the Old City and Ramat Rahel.

The latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review has articles on the Arch of Titus, Magdala, and three more biblical people confirmed by archaeological evidence.

Leen Ritmeyer notes two new apps that take visitors to ancient Jerusalem. Live Science has more about the Lithodomos VR app.

Divers in Italy have begun the search for a third pleasure barge of Emperor Caligula.

The site of Humayma in southern Jordan was probably founded by the Nabatean king Aretas IV early in the first century AD.

“War and Storm: Treasures of the Sea Around Sicily” is a special exhibit of recovered antiquities at Glyptotek in Copenhagen.

According to The Irish News, some of the Chester Beatty manuscripts are now on display in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.

John the Baptist would feel right at home at a Mariners’ game with their new menu offering of toasted grasshoppers.

Frederic William Bush, longtime Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, died last week.

HT: Charles Savelle, Agade, Joseph Lauer, Steven Anderson

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Weekend Roundup

Gabriel Barkay believes that they have discovered one of the capitals from Solomon’s Colonnade on the eastern side of the Temple Mount. Leen Ritmeyer seems inclined to agree, but he clarifies an issue with a measurement.

An excavation last month of Qumran Cave 11 resulted in the discovery of an upper chamber, linen textiles, medicinal plants, and leather and wooden artifacts. An international workshop on Cave 11 will be held later this month.

An underground tunnel network from the Bar Kochba period has been discovered in the Hebron hills.

The dating of donkey dung supports a Solomonic-date for a mining camp at Timna Valley in southern Israel.

Construction has begun on the “Sanhedrin Trail,” running from Beth Shearim to Tiberias. It will be a “smart” trail that “will communicate with the hikers using an innovative, augmented reality-based application.” The project also includes the building of a visitor’s center in Tiberias.

After the Temple Mount Sifting Project sent out an urgent plea for funds, the Prime Minister of Israel stepped in to restore the lost funding. Or did he?

The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery of a 13th dynasty pyramid, currently being excavated in Dahshur’s royal necropolis.

A Roman bath complex has been inaugurated in Alexandria.

Magnetometers and ground-penetrating radar has been used to discover the concession stands, taverns, and souvenir shops that surrounded a Roman amphitheater in Austria. (If you substitute “NFL” for “gladiator,” it will all make perfect sense.)

“Colorising the Arch of Titus: The Spoils of Jerusalem” is a new 4-minute video that reveals the results of a recent study led by Steven Fine of the original design and colors of the famous panel.

Ferrell Jenkins shares a couple of photos of the view from Mount Nebo.

Joel Pless suggests a biblical connection in his recent interview on Pompeii and Herculaneum on The Book and the Spade.

Israel’s Good Name recently visited Solomon’s Quarries, the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, and more.

Later this month, New College of the University of Edinburgh will be hosting a conference entitled “Coins and the Bible: Understanding Ancient Coinage.”

This month, Logos is offering Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels, by Kenneth E. Bailey for only $1.99.

Winged Bull Press released several new titles on April 1. And their new shipping service is a hoot!

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Charles Savelle, Alexander Schick

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Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists have discovered a Crusader ship that wrecked in the harbor of Acco.

A replica of a 2,500-year-old ship discovered at Ma’agan Michael launched yesterday from Haifa.

That colossus they recently dug up belongs not to Ramses II, but to Psamtik (Psammetichus) I of the 26th Dynasty.

High-tech imaging is revealing the text of erased and recycled parchments at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai.

Carl Rasmussen has visited the Archaeology Museum of Nazareth and shares photos of Crusader capitals that depict scenes from the New Testament.

Philippe Bohstrom considers the problem of diving thieves who are looting antiquities from the ocean floor.

The Huis Marseille Museum of Photography in Amsterdam is hosting a spring exhibition about 19th-century photography in Egypt.

A World of Emotions: Ancient Greece, 700 BC – 200 AD has opened at the Onassis Cultural Center in New York.

The founder of Elad, the City of David Foundation, has been awarded the 2017 Israel Prize.

You can get caught up on what happened in the Gezer excavations last year by watching a 16-minute video.

How do you do math in Roman numerals?

After a successful fundraiser and launch of the initial episodes of “Following the Messiah,” Appian Media kicked off a new campaign to raise funds to complete the series. In the first few days, they’ve already raised more than half of their goal. You can pitch in here.

Jodi Magness will be lecturing on “The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls” at William Jessup University on March 23. You can register here.

This week’s program on The Book and the Spade is an interview with Clyde Billington entitled, “Dead Sea Scrolls and the Sinai Inscription.”

Wayne Stiles is leading a trip to Israel this fall and there’s an early-bird discount if you sign up soon.

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

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Weekend Roundup, Part 2

The Vatican and the Jewish community of Rome are collaborating on a new exhibition on the menorah.

Whenever Mosul is liberated from ISIS, a strategic plan will be in place for restoring its heritage.

Restoration work is underway on a colossal statue of Rameses II that once stood in the Karnak Temple.

Israeli border officials caught a Palestinian smuggler bringing in 53 ancient coins from Jordan.

Digital Giza is a virtual 3D model of the Giza Pyramids, and includes information about the history and archaeology of the site.

In an excerpt from his latest book, Eric Cline compares the archaeology of Masada with Josephus’s report and identifies discrepancies. Among his conclusions is that Josephus made up the story of the mass suicide to protect the Romans.

The updated Appian Media website has all 5 free episodes of “Following the Messiah” as well as a new subscription area with additional video clips and photographs.

Wayne Stiles visits the famous Cave of Machpelah in Hebron to see what it teaches about life, death, and God’s promises.

Ferrell Jenkins posts on several interesting ossuaries. See also a link in the comments to two of Tom
Powers’s articles on another ossuary probably related to the New Testament.

HT: A.D. Riddle, Charles Savelle, Joseph Lauer, Mike Harney, Ted Weis, Agade

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About the BiblePlaces Blog

The BiblePlaces Blog provides updates and analysis of the latest in biblical archaeology, history, and geography. Unless otherwise noted, the posts are written by Todd Bolen, PhD, Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s University.

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