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Scholars have long wondered if an Amorite language existed, until the discovery of two tablets written at least partially in the language.

“An archeological site at Girsu, in modern-day south-central Iraq, a major city in the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, has been unearthed revealing a palace and a temple that date back over 4000 years.”

Egyptian police discovered a fake tomb created to defraud antiquities traffickers.

Kim Phillips addresses questions of what’s real and what’s hype in the sale of Codex Sassoon.

Eric Cline explains how the recently discovered evidence of a drought in 1198-1196 adds to our knowledge of the collapse of the Hittite Empire and other societies.

France 24 shows drone footage of the earthquake damage to Turkey’s Gaziantep castle.

“It’s still an open question among scholars whether Mycenaeans participated in long-distance metallurgical trade in the Bronze Age. The mythological narratives found in Greek literary tradition suggest they did.”

“The UK is working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens.”

Greece has announced a four-year renovation project of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Online lecture on Feb 28, 10am: “Excavations at Nineveh and Nimrud in 2022.” Join by Zoom here, or watch the recording a few days later here.

New York tells the story of Michael Steinhardt and the investigation of his antiquities collection.

New release: The Most Extraordinary Life: Discovering the Real Jesus, by Bob Rognlien. Also on Kindle.

My colleague William Varner has just published his latest work, The Preacher and the Song: A Fresh Look at Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs.

HT: Agade, Explorator, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Dickson, Alexander Schick, Ted Weis

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Gobekli Tepe and Arslantepe Mound suffered little or no damage in the recent earthquake in southern Turkey. Other sites did not fare as well.

With the death of their leader and the destruction of their synagogue, the Jewish community in Antakya (biblical Antioch), Turkey, may be coming to an end after 2,500 years of continuous presence.

A new exhibition, “Late Ottoman Turkey in Princeton’s Forgotten Maps, 1883-1923,” has been created by the Princeton University Library’s Maps and Geospatial Information Center in collaboration with Richard Talbert, Research Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

“A research project headed by Dr. Michael Hölscher of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has uncovered that the Book of Revelation has some descriptions and phrases similar to ancient curse tablets.”

Aeon: “Some 3,700 years ago, an enslaved girl, a barber, and a king crossed paths in a city by the Euphrates. This is their story.”

“The historiography of cuneiform mathematics has been enormously fruitful in analyzing the surviving texts, such that countless aspects of the outstanding Mesopotamian mathematical techniques are known today.”

“The Database of Religious History, based at the University of British Columbia, is a digital, open access, and queryable repository of quantitative and qualitative information with the goal of covering the breadth of human religious experience.”

New from Princeton University Press: Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws: And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific Curiosities, by Adrienne Mayor

Carl Rasmussen explains “slip-strike tectonic movement” in the Jordan Rift and in the recent earthquake in Turkey.

I traveled last month in Turkey with Mark Wilson and Jason Borges. Jason’s new website on Biblical Turkey is worth checking out.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken

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The Gaziantep Castle, first built in the Roman period and expanded in the Byzantine period, was severely damaged in Turkey’s earthquake (before and after). The citadel of Aleppo also sustained significant damage. The epicenter appears to have been on the northern end of the Syro-African Rift (that includes the Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea).

Antioch on the Orontes, modern Antakya, was devastated. This article has many photos. The Turkish authorities announced that “the earthquakes did not cause any damage to the Kahramanmaraş, Elbistan, Adıyaman, and Malatya museums, but that a part of the Hatay Archeology Museum [in Antakya] was damaged.” The Antioch Seminar on Paul and Peter will be postponed until 2024.

Sarah Kaplan investigates possible causes for the collapse of the Hittite empire.

Turkish Archaeological News has a roundup of archaeological stories in the month of January.

“An amateur archaeologist in Romania has discovered a unique ancient Roman parade mask.”

The ancient stadium at Nemea has reopened to visitors.

On the ASOR Blog, Robin Derricourt writes about “Absences, Archaeology, and the Early History of Monotheistic Religions in the Near East.”

New from Oxford University Press: Ancient Greek Athletics: Primary Sources in Translation, by Charles H. Stocking and Susan A. Stephens. Reviewed here.

“Ancient Roman ruins at Pompeii have been fitted with invisible solar panels, in a move that will contribute to the archaeological site’s sustainability efforts and cut costs.” CNN has photos of the solar panels that look like terracotta tiles.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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A bronze shield thought to belong to a king of Urartu has an inscription mentioning a previously unknown nation.

Archaeologists discovered a tavern dating to 2700 BC in the ancient city of Lagash.

“Two ancient clay tablets discovered in Iraq and covered from top to bottom in cuneiform writing contain details of a ‘lost’ Canaanite language that has remarkable similarities with ancient Hebrew.”

“The ancient Egyptians employed a host of exotic ingredients – some apparently imported from as far away as Southeast Asia – to mummify their dead.”

“A battleground fought over by ancient Egyptians and the Ptolemaic Kingdom and mentioned on the Rosetta Stone has been discovered.”

Papyrus conservator Helen Sharp explains how ancient Egyptian papyri have survived for so long.

Julien Cooper writes about the travels of Khety in the Sinai Peninsula during the 11th Dynasty.

On the Tikvah Podcast, Israeli rabbi and biblical scholar Joshua Berman talks about leading tours to Egypt. (“Things that you see from there you don’t see from here.”)

Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, on view at the Michael C. Carlos Museum from February 4 to August 6, 2023, is an exhibition about the power of ancient Egyptian objects to engage and inspire.”

Jason Colavito argues against displaying mummies in museums.

Webinar on Feb 8: “Secrets of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom Capital: el-Lisht,” by Sarah Parcak

“The 20th edition of the Annual Symposium on the Iranian Archaeology will take place in the National Museum of Iran,” with presentations of the latest archaeological research.

Zoom lecture on Feb 8: “Mercenary Soldiers in the Achaemenid World,” by John W. I. Lee

New release from RevelationMedia: Polycarp. Free to view if you enter your email address. (I don’t see another viewing option.)

Nominations are invited for the 2023 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Awards, for books published in 2021 and 2022.”

ASOR is offering 40+ scholarships of $2,000 each for participation on ASOR-affiliated projects during the summer of 2023. The deadline to apply is February 15.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Explorator

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Archaeologists have uncovered cultic buildings and materials at what they believe may be the Hittite cultic center and royal city of Zippalanda.

A new decade-long study reveals that the Luwian culture extended further and lasted longer than those of Mycenean Greece or the Hittites.

Nearly two thousand Hittite tablets are being read for the first time using artificial intelligence.

A German undersecretary has called for the return of the Pergamon Altar and the bust of Nefertiti.

Turkish Archaeological News provides a summary of the major stories of 2022.

Archaeologists believe they have discovered a temple of Poseidon near Samikon, Greece.

Large-scale excavations in Thessaloniki are revealing impressive finds from the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Greek authorities have announced an upgrade masterplan for the archaeological site of Corinth. The plan includes the building of a new museum.

“A team of international researchers analyzing the genomes of ancient human remains has discovered that, unlike in other European societies of the period, first cousins in Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece frequently married each other.”

NY Times: “The British Museum and Greece’s prime minister are getting closer to a deal on returning the so-called Elgin Marbles to Athens.”

“The archaeological park of Pompeii has found a low-tech way to prevent the site from being overrun by vegetation: hungry sheep.”

A new study of Roman concrete reveals that its longevity owes to its ability to “heal” its own cracks when exposed to water.

After 20 years of restoration, the House of Vettii in Pompeii was opened to the public.

This excellent two-minute video explains explains how the ancient Romans built roads.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Gordon Dickson, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles, Mondo Gonzales, Alexander Schick, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Explorator

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Christy Chapman and Brent Seales describe the technology that allows Dead Sea Scrolls to be read without even unwrapping them.

NY Times: “Prodded by law enforcement, and pushed by foreign governments, American museums are increasingly returning artifacts to countries of origin, but critics wonder at what cost.”

The inscribed ivory lice comb is the subject on the latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East.

Author Rod Dreher reflects on his visit to Turkey and the seven churches of Revelation.

Andrew Lawler will be speaking in the BAS Scholars Series on March 5 on “Holy City Hotspot: Exploring Jerusalem’s Acropolis” ($10).

Brad Nelson looks at the “Magi from the East” in the latest episode from Walking The Text’s Teaching Series.

BAS has posted its list of dig opportunities for 2023 in Israel, Jordan, and Turkey. They are also accepting applications for $2,000 dig scholarships.

Douglas Clark, Larry Herr, and Larry Geraty reflect on Burton MacDonald’s legacy.

Robert Mullins reflects on the life of Father Bill Broughton.

The Institute of Biblical Culture is giving away hundreds of books related to the Semitic languages.

Carl Rasmussen will be leading a 33-day Bible Study Tour to Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and Greece in April and May.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Wayne Stiles, Charles Savelle, Keith Keyser, Gordon Dickson, Explorator

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