Temple Mount Archives - Page 15 of 57

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 team has been excavating the so-called “Cave 12” at Qumran and a statement of their latest work will be released soon.

One of the last unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls has been deciphered using high-tech imagery to put together a puzzle of 60 tiny scroll fragments.

The Times of Israel has more on the depiction of the birth of Athena on the potsherd from et-Tell.

Moshe Gilad, in a lengthy and well-illustrated article at Haaretz, asks why Qasr el-Yahud, the traditional place of Jesus’s baptism, is still mined and booby-trapped seven years after the site opened to tourists.

A conference on the Archaeology of the Dead Sea Region will be held next month at the State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz in preparation for an exhibition on “Life at the Dead Sea” in the fall of 2019.

In a journal article for NEASB, Brian Peterson considers whether a ram’s head discovered at Khirbet el-Maqatir provides evidence for the Israelite conquest of Ai.

New images of mosaics discovered at the Huqoq synagogue will be displayed for the first time in a lecture at the University of Chester in the UK.

Carl Rasmussen shares photos of reliefs that illustrate the “dogs eating the crumbs” that fall from the table.

Leen Ritmeyer discusses the importance of the Trumpeting Stone discovered below the Temple
Mount and shares some photos from its original discovery.

Wayne Stiles explains why the Lord took his people to Mount Sinai before the Promised Land.

Kenneth Seeskin explains why the Hebrew Bible is so easy/difficult to interpret.

The Caspari Center is running a course on “Discovering Jesus in His Jewish Context” in April and May of this year.

Les and Kathy Bruce of Biblical Byways are leading a tour to Turkey and Greece in May and June.

Elisha Qimron has been awarded the Israel Prize for his work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The ESV Archaeology Study Bible is coming in March, and you can read about the editors and their approach.

Appian Media has released a trailer for their next big project: Searching for a King. Filming will begin this summer.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Charles Savelle

Tagged Dead Sea, Egypt, Galilee, Jordan Rift, Lectures, Movies, Museums, Resources, Samaria, Technology, Temple Mount, Tourism

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Israeli archaeologists have found that early Muslim coins and vessels were inscribed with menorahs.

Scholars have discovered more than 1,000 seal impressions from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD in southeastern Turkey.

“An Egyptian-European archaeological mission working in Luxor Governorate uncovered a collection of 27 fragmented statues of the lioness goddess Sekhmet.”

The gate of Amenemhat I is being moved from north Cairo to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Haaretz (premium) reports on a new study of the decoration of the Temple Mount by Orit Peleg-Barkat. Leen Ritmeyer considers her work on the Royal Stoa and proposes another plan.

On Academia: Yosef Garfinkel argues for the identification of Khirbet Qeiyafa as an Israelite site.

The excavations of the Galilean synagogue of Huqoq are summarized following a recent lecture by Jodi Magness.

Shmuel Browns shares a beautiful photo of a supermoon rising over the Dead Sea this week.

Now released: The second and third videos of Wayne Stiles’s new series, “The Promise That

Changed the World: A Journey through the Birth of Christ.”

Barnes & Noble has a 25% off coupon, good in store or online (GETGIFTING), valid through Sunday. Here are four recommendations:

Jerusalem: Biblical Archaeology (A Carta Map), $14.95
The Holy Land for Christian Travelers: An Illustrated Guide to Israel, by John A. Beck, $12.49
Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor, by Mark Wilson, $39.95
Fighting for the King and the Gods: A Survey of Warfare in the Ancient Near East, by Charlie Trimm, $74.80

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Rodger Young, Steven Anderson

Tagged Dead Sea, Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Resources, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Roman Theater Discovered Next to Western Wall

Archaeologists working in Jerusalem today announced the results of the last two years of excavation underneath Wilson’s Arch next to the Western Wall. The most exciting find is a small Roman theater.

The story is being reported by a number of news sources. The quotations below are from The Times of Israel. The article includes several photos.

“Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologists announced Monday that for the past two years they have been excavating and exposing a massive eight-meter deep section of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, unseen for 1,700 years.
And in the course of their work, which has been quietly proceeding directly beneath Wilson’s Arch — the area immediately adjacent to the men’s section of the Western Wall — they unexpectedly discovered a small Roman theater.
[…]
The work is set to continue for another six months, and the expectation is that First Temple-era findings will be uncovered. When the work is completed, the site will be opened to the public.

The findings of the archaeologists are interesting, and as is often the case, not entirely clear or consistent. Here are a few highlights:

The dating of the theater is not clearly stated, but it appears that it was built after the destruction of the temple in AD 70.
The theater went out of use following an earthquake in 360.
The construction of the theater was never finished.
The theater seated 200-300 people.
The theater may have been used as a bouleuterion or as an odeon.
Wilson’s Arch served as the roof for the theater.
Excavations will continue below the theater with hopes of discovering remains from the First Temple Period.
The archaeologists will present more of their findings at a conference this week at Hebrew University.

Read the full story here. High-resolution photos are available here.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Roman theater with archaeologist Joe Uziel Photograph: Yaniv Berman, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Robert Mullins has written an update on the major discoveries at Abel Beth Maacah after 5 years of excavation.

A head of an Akhenaten statue has been discovered in excavations at Tel el-Amarna.

Some medieval artifacts were seized in Turkey, including a gold seal attributed to Solomon. James Davila provides some commentary.

The Jerusalem Post profiles the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

Mordechai Aviam and R. Steven Notley make a case that el-Araj should now be considered the leading candidate for the site of Bethsaida-Julias.

Appian Media has released a “sneak peek” from an upcoming upside in the “Following the Messiah” series with an acoustical experiment at the Cove of the Sower.

With the water level of the Sea of Galilee nearly at an all-time low, Ferrell Jenkins illustrates the dramatic difference with several photos of Heptapegon.

David Moster will be lecturing on “The Jordan River and the Two Half-Tribes of Manasseh” in NYC on Nov 14. (We noted some of David’s work on the Jordan River here last year.)

Ben Witherington is on The Book and the Spade talking about his newest book, A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem.

HT: Paleojudaica, Joseph Lauer, Agade

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Excavations, Galilee, Jerusalem, Lectures, Temple Mount, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Resources on the Temple and Temple Mount

I was asked recently if I had a recommendation for a good book on the Temple Mount. I love easy questions! Here’s the short answer: http://amzn.to/2xZqkkf.

And here’s a slightly longer answer if you’re not sure which book of Leen and Kathleen Ritmeyer to start with:
The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This is the reference book that describes the sacred compound through the centuries. I doubt it will ever be surpassed. (I see that at the moment, Amazon has it for sale at more than 50% off.)

Jerusalem: The Temple Mount. This newer Carta Guide is a quick and easy read that you can use to walk yourself around the complex. (You might not be allowed to carry it on the mount itself, but you can do what I did and read it first and take notes of what to look for.) This guide is full of fascinating details you probably will never learn otherwise.

In addition to these two, Carta Jerusalem has published a number of shorter, subject-specific books that cost about $15 each. All are full-color and filled with the beautiful reconstructions that the Ritmeyers are known for.

Understanding the Holy Temple of the Old Testament (2017)

Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah (2nd ed., 2015)

Jerusalem in the Year 30 AD (2nd ed., 2015)

Understanding the Holy Temple Jesus Knew (2017)

The Ritual of the Temple in the Time of Christ (2015)

Several of these books are available in Accordance. (I don’t see any available from Logos or Olive Tree at present.)

If you’re looking for beautiful images to use in personal study and teaching, check out the Image Library of Ritmeyer Archaeological Design for a large selection of unique images at very reasonable prices.

Tagged Jerusalem, Photo Resources, Resources, Temple Mount