Robert Deutsch is suing the Israel Antiquities Authority for $3 million.

Leen Ritmeyer points to a Washington Post article and detailed graphic of the Temple Mount.

Seth Rodriquez shares an animated map that shows who controlled the Middle East from 3000 BC to present.

The story of Eilat Mazar’s discovery of gold coins and medallion near the Temple Mount and how she kept it secret is recounted by Israel HaYom.

The Egyptian Museum is open, but King Tut is all alone, according to an update in the Washington Post.

The first winter storm in Israel brought snow to Mount Hermon and a rise in the level of the Sea of Galilee.

HT: Jack Sasson

Graphic from The Washington Post
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The world’s largest Ark of the Covenant has been donated to Israel.

Leen Ritmeyer discusses the little-known Jewish excavation underneath the Temple Mount.

As for the recent challenge to the identification of Herod’s tomb at the Herodium, Ritmeyer sides with Netzer.

Have you been to Joseph’s tomb at Shechem? Ferrell Jenkins gives the biblical significance and a recent photo.

The Ephraim of Jesus’ day is modern Taybeh. There are more reasons to visit than ever before.

The “most popular photo” at The Bible and Interpretation is one our sunset shots over the Sea of
Galilee.

Tomb of Joseph, Nablous, ef0131
Joseph’s Tomb in Shechem
Photo source
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The Preliminary Report of the 2013 Jezreel Expedition Field Season has been posted at The Bible and Interpretation. Three areas were excavated in the inaugural season.

Aren Maeir and Jeffrey Chadwick discuss a recent suggestion to date Hezekiah’s Tunnel to Manasseh. They note that the four years that geologists claim would have been required for construction would fit between Hezekiah’s revolt in 705 and the arrival of Sennacherib in 701.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has announced its 2013 Publication Awards Winners. They include works on Ashkelon, Gath, and Isaiah.

A summary of the contents of the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is now online.

Wayne Stiles proposes the best way to use your time in Jerusalem after the sun goes down.

BibleX has a preview of a four-part series by National Geographic entitled “The Lost Faces of the Bible.”

Pedestrians won’t have to compete with motorists when visiting the Roman Forum and Colosseum.

Colosseum from west, tb112105088
The Colosseum of Rome
Photo from Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
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The Jerusalem Post has a feature story on the current excavations at the Philistine city of Gath. For daily updates, see the excavator’s blog. In particular, you may want to check out this remarkable 3-D image of Area A.

The Post also reports on a new virtual tour of the Temple Mount, online at HarHakodesh.co.il.

The sphinx found at Hazor is described by the archaeologists in a 3-minute video. Apparently this was the last of 24 years of excavations at the site. UPDATE (7/19): My interpretation that this was the final season was incorrect. See comments below.

Tel Aviv University is offering a free online course via Coursera on “The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem,” taught by Professor Oded Lipschits, Ph.D. and Ido Koch.

John H. Hayes died last week at the age of 79.

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Hazor upper city aerial from west, tbs112040011
The upper city of Hazor
Photo from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands
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Barry Britnell has the scoop on the forthcoming update to Google Maps and he shares some impressive examples.

Following the discovery of the mosaic near Bet Qama, Miriam Feinberg Vamosh provides a “flying [mosaic] carpet”-themed itinerary through Israel.

Matti Friedman follows up on an article in Biblical Archaeology Review to find out whether wooden beams on the Temple Mount might date back to the time of Solomon’s or Herod’s temples.


Smithsonian magazine reports on the Rise and Fall and Rise of Zahi Hawass.

Two months of excavations annually for the last 56 years is not enough, so a Turkish team will join the Italians and excavate the ruins of Hierapolis year-round.

Phase 2 of Eilat Mazar’s Ophel Excavation is now underway.

The University of Liverpool’s second annual conference on Archaeology and the Bible focused this year on “Egypt and the Bible” with lectures by James Hoffmeier and others.

HT: Daniel Wright, Jack Sasson

Hierapolis view from east, tb041305832
The ruins of Hierapolis
Photo from the Pictorial Library, Western Turkey
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A proposal to create a large platform for mixed prayers along the Temple Mount’s western wall south of today’s prayer plaza has evoked some cries of protest. Though the elevated platform would create space for visitors to tour the archaeological remains below, this is “absolutely not an option,” says Eilat Mazar. “It’s a sacred archaeological site.” Nir Hasson’s article in Haaretz is superior to the reporting in the Jerusalem Post.

If you’re interested in the history of the Western Wall, from the earliest Jewish prayers to the present day, Ofer Aderet’s article in Haaretz is quite interesting. The final quotation implicitly reveals why the Jewish people no longer refer to it as the Wailing Wall.

The LMLK Blogspot reports on a letter written from Jerusalem in 1868 by a member of Charles Warren’s excavation team.


The Times of Israel: Gleaning just like Ruth would have done, if she’d had Google Maps
Leen Ritmeyer links to an interview with archaeologist Yuval Gadot who describes the earliest results from his excavation in the City of David.

The Spring 2013 issue of the electronic newsletter DigSight is now online. The focus is on Southern
Adventist University’s upcoming excavations of Lachish.

There is an explanation for the photo showing a Ferris wheel on the Temple Mount.

HT: BibleX, Mike Harney

Western Wall, mat00027
Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall, early 1900s
Photo from the
American Colony and Eric Matson Collection
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