Weekend Roundup Archives - Page 10 of 148

Weekend Roundup

A group of students used “computer vision, machine learning, and hard work” to translate a portion of a scroll from Herculaneum and win a $700,000 prize. “This is a complete gamechanger,” said one scholar.

A reservist hiking in Galilee discovered a scarab made of carnelian and dating to about 800 BC, possibly related to the Assyrian conquest.

“Egypt’s antiquities ministry said Saturday it was setting up a committee to review the restoration of Giza’s Menkaure Pyramid after a public outcry over the project.”

“Excavations have given proof of a flourishing wine industry in the Byzantine and early Arab period, especially at sites like Shivta, Halutza, Nitzana, and Avdat.”

The latest episode of This Week in the Ancient Near East looks at the use of artificial intelligence to translate Mesopotamian texts.

Bryan Windle joins John DeLancey to talk about the top 10 archaeological discoveries related to Jesus.

Now online: Deborah Hurn’s dissertation, “Identifying and Delineating the Geographic Regions of the Israelite Migration from Egypt to Canaan Using a Hydrological Approach”

Hybrid lecture on Feb 29: “A Queen, her Son, and her Chamberlain. Seal Imagery and Socio-Administrative Hierarchies at Persepolis,” by Mark Garrison

Walking The Text’s recommended resource of the month is The Essential Archaeological Guide to Bible Lands, by Titus Kennedy.

Appian Media has released a trailer for “Out of Egypt.”

Abigail Leavitt shares some photos from her recent explorations in Jerusalem.

HT: Agade, Gordon Dickson, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Jerusalem, Lectures, Negev, Resources, Technology, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The occupants of the 4th century BC Royal Tombs at Vergina have been identified as Alexander the Great’s father Philip, his stepmother, half-siblings, and son.

An Egyptian antiquities official was criticized after he announced that Egypt was restoring the granite casing on one of the three main pyramids of Giza.

The Times of Israel: “A Tel Aviv University team is using muon detectors to track powerful particles, hoping to build a 3D map of undiscovered tunnels, chambers and fortifications under the holey city,” Jerusalem.

Kathryn Oliver describes how conservators at the British Museum restored a sarcophagus relief in conjunction with the ongoing exhibit, “Legion: Life in the Roman Army.”

In the latest video from the Institute of Biblical Culture, David Moster compares Torah scrolls from Yemen with others from around the Jewish world.

Chandler Collins looks at what we can learn about Jerusalem from a travelogue published by William Barlett in the 1840s.

John Drummond gives a preview of “The Seven World Wonders” article that is in the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Bryan Windle’s top three reports in biblical archaeology for the month of January includes a bonus story.

The BBC gives a history of beds through the ages.

“The Bible and Its World” international academic conference will be held in Israel on July 1-3.

Now open access: Syria’s Monuments: Their Survival and Destruction, by Michael Greenhalgh (Brill, 2016, $229; open access pdf – download link temporarily not working)

Stephen Mitchell, author of many books on Asia Minor in the Roman era, died this week.

Zoom all-day seminar today: “In Search of Ancient Israel,” with Gary Rendsburg ($90)

HT: Agade, Gordon Dickson, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Lectures, Museums, Resources, Sad News, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

The Temple Mount Sifting Project has discovered some very rare Byzantine coin weights, suggesting that there was more activity on the Temple Mount in the Byzantine period than usually assumed. Perhaps there was even a church located there.

“Almost a century after the British archaeologist Alan Rowe excavated Gezer, Dr. Samuel Wolff published a final report on the site, including on three vessels whose use defies interpretation.”

“The Forma Urbis Museum recently unveiled an exhibition featuring an ancient marble map of Rome dating back to 203-211 AD.”

Nathan Steinmeyer provides a 6-minute video tour of Beth Shean in the latest episode in BAS’s OnSite series.

Bible History Daily has a piece introducing an article in BAR about the Deborah and Jael mosaics discovered in the Huqoq synagogue.

A new study suggests that Roman wine tasted spicy.

“After years of criticism over its collecting practices, Emory University’s Michael C. Carlos Museum is repatriating to Greece three antiquities that are widely regarded to have been looted.” Reading the article requires a free account.

Hybrid lecture on Feb 22 at the Albright: “The Archaeology of Olive Oil: Excavating a Bronze Age Olive Oil ‘Factory’ in Jordan,” by Jamie Fraser

Biblical Israel Ministry and Tours has begun a new teaching series on the “Life of Christ in Context.” The first episode is an overview of the whole.

HT: Agade, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Galilee, Italy, Jerusalem, Jezreel Valley, Lectures, Shephelah, Temple Mount, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Archaeologists discovered a rare silver coin from the Persian period during excavations as part of a highway-expansion project in the hills southwest of Jerusalem.

Ariel David, writing for Haaretz, reports that underground hiding places in Israel have “a more complex history than previously thought.”

A recent article by Nahshon Szanton in ‘Atiqot argues that the small pool at the outlet of Hezekiah’s Tunnel is the true Pool of Siloam and the more recently excavated large reservoir (Birkat el-Hamra) is what Josephus called “Solomon’s Pool.” Leen Ritmeyer (mostly) agrees, and he is not surprised that they have not discovered more steps in the recent excavations.

The National Library of Israel received the world’s largest collection of Yemenite Jewish manuscripts as a donation.

The latest issue of Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology focuses on “Spatial Digital Archaeology and History of Israel.”

Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer discuss the top 10 archaeological discoveries in 2023 in the first of a three-part series in the Biblical World podcast. Part 2 is here.

A man was arrested while carrying out an illegal excavation at the site of Philippi.

New release: An Ancient Mesopotamian Herbal, by Barbara Böck, Shahina A. Ghazanfar, Mark Nesbit (Surrey Kew, £30). “Combining methods from the humanities and science, the authors provide a concise overview of ancient Mesopotamian culture and herbal lore, along with new identifications of Assyrian and Babylonian herbal medicines, focusing on 25 case studies.”

Zoom event on Jan 31: “The Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University Library would like to invite you to experience up close the more than 200,000 fragments of the Cairo Genizah Collection.”

On the latest episode of Digging for Truth, Bryan Windle explores the archaeological evidence for King Jehoiachin.

Bryan Windle has written an archaeological biography for King Belshazzar.

There are 42 things you are not allowed to do on the dig.

HT: Agade, Andy Cook, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Egypt, Greece, Jerusalem, Judah, Mesopotamia, Resources, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Israeli reserve soldiers discovered an ancient basalt mortar while on patrol near the Gaza Strip.

Marek Dospěl summarizes the argument for locating Peter’s house at Bethsaida (el-Araj) rather than Capernaum.

“The ancient remains of an unborn fetus found in the headless mummy of an Egyptian teenager shows she died while giving birth to twins.”

The latest issue of ‘Atiqot focuses on “The Archaeology of Purity,” and includes articles about the Pool of Siloam, ritual baths, and a chalk quarry on Mount Scopus.

New release: The Nubian Pharaohs of Egypt: Their Lives and Afterlives, by Aidan Dodson (AUC Press, $35)

The bi-weekly Research Seminar of the Archaeology department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will now be accessible to the public via Zoom. Lectures are given in English, and take place every other Tuesday, 9:15-10:45 am Eastern Time. The next lecture will be on January 23 entitled “Identities in the Making: Foodways and Table Manners in the City, Village, and Temple in Hellenistic Idumea,” by Débora Sandhaus.

Petra M. Creamer looks at what burial practices reveal about the power of an empire over its subjects, looking specifically at mortuary practices in couple of Assyrian cities.

The Biblical Archaeology Society is offering a free 2024 calendar (with email address and option to receive daily newsletter).

Steven Anderson who works with me on the Photo Companion to the Bible was interviewed for the Daily Dose of Aramaic (YouTube, Vimeo) to celebrate a special milestone for that ministry.

Carl Rasmussen has posted photos taken by David Padfield inside the Dome of the Rock.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis

Tagged Discoveries, Egypt, Galilee, Israel's Coast, Jerusalem, Lectures, Mesopotamia, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup, Part 2

A monumental tomb from the Roman era has been excavated at the Apollo Smintheus Sanctuary in western Turkey.

The head of Dionysus was discovered in Cyrene following a major storm.

Greece has reopened to tourists the palace where Alexander the Great was crowned.

Nathan Steinmeyer provides a list of the top ten biblical archaeology stories of 2023, in no particular order.

Jessica Nitschke lists ten exciting discoveries in Near Eastern archaeology last year.

Paleojudaica lists the top ten stories for 2023.

Hurriyet Daily News identifies the top 10 archaeological discoveries in Turkey in 2023.

The Greek Herald names the top four Greek archaeological discoveries of the year, one of which is in Jerusalem.

Gizmodo surveys the best archaeological discoveries from around the world.

“The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (LGPN) traces every bearer of every name, drawing on a huge variety of evidence, from personal tombstones, dedications, works of art, to civic decrees, treaties, citizen-lists, artefacts, graffiti etc.: in other words, from all Greek literary sources, documentary sources (inscriptions and papyri), coins, and artefacts.”

“30 antiquities, with a collective value of $3.7 million, were returned to Greece” by the Manhattan District Attorney.

Jonathan Robie explains how artificial intelligence is beneficial in creating Bible translations.

Zoom lecture on Jan 23: “Scrolls and Scribes: How Well has the Bible Survived?,” by Hugh Williamson

Walking The Text has just released its “Proclamations of Christmas Study Guide.”

Leon Mauldin shares photos of the Arch of Constantine, with a close-up of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

HT: Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Gordon Dickson

Tagged Antiquities Trade, Discoveries, Italy, Lectures, Tourism, Turkey, Weekend Roundup