Israel Archaeological News - General

[Resource Manager]

Searching for the Temple of King Solomon

 

"How the ’Ain Dara temple in Syria sheds light on King Solomon in the Bible and his famous temple

 

Biblical Archaeology Society Staff  •  01/06/2017

 

This Bible History Daily article was originally published in October 2013.—Ed."

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Minister Offers Turkish Mayor Elephants for Ancient Hebrew Inscription

Miri Regev tries to get back 2,700-year-old Siloam inscription, taken by the Ottomans and still held in Istanbul, marks direct evidence of Bible’s account of King Hezekiah’s tunnel-building in Jerusalem

BY ILAN BEN ZION AND TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF

February 23, 2017, 6:39 am

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[Resource Manager]

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW
 

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

The Community Rule Manuscript Tradition from Qumran and the Growth of Ancient Jewish Texts

by Charlotte Hempel in Articles

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Ancient Legal Papyri Bring Lost World to Life

 

9780198767169
 

Babatha's Orchard: The Yadin Papyri and an Ancient Jewish Family Tale Retold

 

BY PHILIP F. ESLER MARCH 1ST 2017

"Everyone has heard of the ancient Jewish religious scrolls discovered at Qumran by the Dead Sea in the middle of the 20th century. But who is aware that nearly 100 legal papyri have been found in the same region, or that they allow unparalleled access to the ancient social world of Judea and Nabatea in the period 100 BCE to 200 CE?"

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Dead Sea Scrolls: From Copper to Parchment, An Archeological Treasure Trove
 

March 1, 2017 by John A. Jaksich 

"The Essenes, a Jewish sect of the first century CE, hid the Dead Sea Scrolls (and other artifacts) from the Roman occupiers in caves near Qumran. Bedouin shepherds discovered the first of the scrolls 70 years ago.

 

Since the discovery, the scrolls have generated a lot of scholarly buzz, as archaeologists and physical scientists worked together on the find."

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Ducks, Not Phalluses, Real Stars of 1,900-year-old Find in Northern Israel

Archaeologist at Roman settlement of Omrit, near Hula Valley, says phallic find that grabbed headlines pales in comparison to pastoral frescoes discovered at Roman manor

BY ILAN BEN ZION March 2, 2017, 5:23 pm

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Monumental Megalithic Burial and Rock Art Tell a New Story About the Levant Intermediate Bronze “Dark Ages”
 

Gonen Sharon , Alon Barash, Davida Eisenberg-Degen, Leore Grosman, Maya Oron, Uri Berger

Published: March 2, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172969

Abstract

 

"The Intermediate Bronze Age (IB) in the Southern Levant (ca. 2350–2000 BCE) is known as the “Dark Ages,” following the collapse of Early Bronze urban society and predating the establishment of the Middle Bronze cities. The absence of significant settlements and monumental building has led to the reconstruction of IB social organization as that of nomadic, tribal society inhabiting rural villages with no central governmental system. Excavation in the Shamir Dolmen Field (comprising over 400 dolmens) on the western foothills of the Golan Heights was carried out following the discovery of rock art engravings on the ceiling of the central chamber inside one of the largest dolmens ever recorded in the Levant. Excavation of this multi-chambered dolmen, covered by a basalt capstone weighing some 50 tons, revealed a secondary multi-burial (of both adults and children) rarely described in a dolmen context in the Golan. Engraved into the rock ceiling above the multi-burial is a panel of 14 forms composed of a vertical line and downturned arc motif. 3D-scanning by structured-light technology was used to sharpen the forms and revealed the technique employed to create them. Building of the Shamir dolmens required a tremendous amount of labor, architectural mastery, and complex socio-economic organization well beyond the capacity of small, rural nomadic groups. The monumental megalithic burial of the Shamir dolmens indicates a hierarchical, complex, non-urban governmental system. This new evidence supports a growing body of recent criticism stemming from new discoveries and approaches that calls for rethinking our views of the Levantine IB "Dark Ages."

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[Resource Manager]

Hundreds of Liquor Bottles belonging to British Soldiers from World War I were Exposed near Ramla

 

The surprising find was discovered in excavations prior to the construction of Highway 200

March, 2017

"An unexpected discovery was recently made in an archaeological excavation of the Israel Antiquities Authority being conducted in the vicinity of Ramla: together with flint tools that are 250,000 years old from the Middle Palaeolithic period, archaeologists were astounded to find a fascinating reminder from the First World War that included, among other things, hundreds of liquor bottles that are 100 years old. These were found near a building where British soldiers were garrisoned during the war."

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[Resource Manager]

March 05, 2017

 

The Destruction of the Road to Emmaus

 

"David Bivin has long lived within close proximity of the Roman road that runs from Jerusalem to Emmaus. He has led a number of tours along this route as well, showing pilgrims the way that Jesus walked with two disciples on the day of his resurrection (Luke 24). I had the privilege of being on one of those tours about 20 years ago. But Bivin is no longer guiding these trips because these ancient remains are being gradually destroyed by neglect and construction projects."

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Jewish Artist Unearths Ancient ‘Star-Shaped Lamp’ at Maastricht Fair

David Breuer-Weill recalls stumbling upon an ancient Jewish candle-holder at an arts fair in the Netherlands

BY STEPHEN ORYSZCZUK

March 13, 2017, 4:10 pm

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'Dome of the Rock inspired by Jewish Temple'
 

Archaeological findings and historical records show Dome of Rock inspired by Jewish temple.

Findings presented today in Knesset.

 

Mordechai Sones, 16/03/17 02:44

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Israeli Archaeologists Discover Ancient Crusader Shipwreck

by Menachem Rephun

 

03/10/2017 5:14 PM 

"The wreckage of a Crusader ship dating back to the 13th century C.E. has been discovered in the Northern Israeli city of Acre.
 

During the Middle Ages, Acre served as a landing point for thousands of Christian soldiers attempting to wrest control of the Holy Land from Muslim forces. The Crusaders ultimately succeeded in reclaiming Jerusalem in 1099 and established a kingdom reaching from Lebanon to the Gulf of Aqaba. This empire was short-lived. In 1187, Jerusalem was once again recaptured by the Muslim Sultan Saladin, after which Acre was established as the Crusader capital."

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2500 Year-Old Ship Replica Back in the Water
 

Posted on March 15, 2017 

 

"During a visit to the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa (Israel) last year I was impressed by the reconstructed ruins of a ship that sailed the Mediterranean during the Persian period about 400 B.C. Information with the display reads, ..."

 

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Hoard of Coins from 1,400-Year-Old Byzantine Site Tells Story of Persian Invasion

"As Jewish and Sassanid troops marched on Jerusalem in 614 CE, Christian residents of village on main pilgrimage route hid their valuables; now, nine copper coins hidden in a niche have been recovered"

BY ILAN BEN ZION March 19, 2017

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High Court to Consider Religious Status of Western Wall Tunnel

 

Bydaniel K. Eisenbud

 

March 20, 2017 18:23  

 

"The High Court of Justice on Wednesday will hear NGO Emek Shaveh’s petition against the Religious Services Ministry over claims regarding the religious sanctity and ongoing excavation of the Old City’s Western Wall tunnel.

 

The left-wing consortium of archeologists and activists submitted the petition to the High Court in December, noting that the tunnel, which was excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, runs under the Old City’s Muslim Quarter."

 

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[Resource Manager]

Monday, March 20, 2017

 

The Longest Stone in the Temple Mount

 

"Those interested in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem are probably aware that the largest stone is visible on a tour of the “Western Wall Tunnels.” This massive monolith is located just south of Warren’s Gate and measures 43.4 feet (13.55 m) long. There is, however, a longer stone that was discovered only recently."

 

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[Resource Manager]

Liquor Stash Belonging to WW1 British Soldiers Exposed in Central Israel

 

By JNi.Media -  24 Adar 5777 – March 22, 2017

 

"An unexpected discovery was made a few weeks ago in an archaeological excavation of the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted in the vicinity of Ramla, in central Israel, not far from Ben Gurion International Airport. Together with 250,000-year-old flint tools from the Middle Palaeolithic period, archaeologists were astounded to find a fascinating reminder from the First World War that included, among other things, hundreds of 100-year-old liquor bottles. These were found near a building where British soldiers had been garrisoned during the war."

 

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Discoveries At Israeli Warehouse Shine Light On Life In Time Of Christ

 

 3/20/2017 11:00:00 PM

 

"The Israel Antiquities Authority on Sunday offered a rare glimpse into its storerooms, where staff said recent archaeological discoveries have cast new light on life at the time of Christ."

 

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The Readers Access to the Divine: Solomon’s Temple vs. Israel’s Mishkan

 

The mishkan account as a polemical response to the Temple narrative.

 

Prof. Naomi Koltun-Fromm

 

March 19, 2017

 

"Both Parashat Pekudei (Exodus 38:21 – 40:38) and its haftarah (1 Kings 7:51 – 8:21) dwell, in great detail, on the construction of two different sacred spaces to “contain” God’s presence: the mishkan (tabernacle)/ ohel moed (tent of meeting)[1] and Solomon’s temple. As anyone who has ever tried to build a model of the mishkan or temple shrine will find, the biblical blueprints lack key details.[2] Thus, they were not meant to be exact architectural plans, but rather thought pieces about the purpose of sacred space. Whether historically accurate or not,[3] these literary descriptions invite us, the readers, to imagine these spaces, to visualize them, to even step within them mentally, and thus the texts provide us with an alternative means to divine access."

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[Resource Manager]

Dead Sea Study Reveals “Epic” Droughts

 

Posted on March 24, 2017

 

"The Dead Sea has received much attention in the past few years due to the fact that it is the lowest body of water on earth, and that body of water is drying up. Melanie Lidman, writer for The Times of Israel, prepared a series of three articles about the Dead Sea drying up last month here, here, and here."

 

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[Resource Manager]

Where Are the Royal Archives at Tel Hazor?

 

Searching for cuneiform tablets at Tel Hazor

 

Marek Dospěl  •  03/23/2017

 

“Joshua […] took Hazor and struck its king down with the sword. Before that time, Hazor was the head of all those kingdoms. […] Israel burned none of the towns that stood on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua did burn.”—Joshua 11:10–13

 

"It was only natural that the expressive Biblical account of Joshua’s conquest of Canaan guided the earliest archaeological investigations in the Land of Israel. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, archaeologists turned their attention to Jericho, Lachish (then identified with Tell el-Hesi), ‘Ai and Bethel, all of which were reportedly conquered in the latter part of the 13th century B.C.E. by the invading Israelites. None of these cities, however, was as prominent as Hazor, whose king headed the northern coalition of Canaanite kings."

 

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Students Unearth a 2000-Year-Old Jewish Settlement

 

"Boyer High School in Jerusalem will fund most of its youth delegation’s visit to Poland by working at archaeological digs. This week, the school’s students are helping unearth a site discovered in recent months: A rare and impressive array of ritual baths and underground systems used by rebels during the Bar Kokhba Revolt."

 

Ynetnews|Published:  27.03.17 , 19:00

 

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The Dead Sea Scrolls at Seventy

 

March 2017

 

By: Timothy Lim

 

"This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. What have we learned over the past three score and ten? First, it has become increasingly recognized that we do not have a “library of the Essenes” in the way that it was previously understood. Not every scroll found in the eleven caves is Essenic. There are scrolls that reflect the views of one or more Jewish sects or schools, most likely associated with the Essenes, but the corpus of 800-900 scrolls known as “the Dead Sea Scrolls” constitute a heterogeneous collection of manuscripts. Within it are texts that belong to Judaism generally in the late Second Temple period, such as the biblical Dead Sea Scrolls. In the past, scholars have marginalized these biblical scrolls, but there is no evidence that they are sectarian biblical scrolls."

 

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ASOR Blog

[Resource Manager]

Finding Jerusalem

 

Archaeology between Science and Ideology

 

Katharina Galor

 

"Archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem capture worldwide attention in various media outlets. The continuing quest to discover the city’s physical remains is not simply an attempt to define Israel’s past or determine its historical legacy. In the context of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is also an attempt to legitimate—or undercut—national claims to sovereignty. Bridging the ever-widening gap between popular coverage and specialized literature ..."

 

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The Royal Banquet Hall of King Herod the Great in Jerusalem

 

Archaeological discoveries near the Temple Mount

 

Robin Ngo  •  03/30/2017

 

"Did archaeologists find the royal banqueting complex of King Herod the Great in Jerusalem? Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Joseph Patrich and Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah believe so, and they present the find in “Old, New Banquet Hall by the Temple Mount” in the March/April 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. According to Patrich and Weksler-Bdolah, this dining complex “is arguably the most splendid Herodian building to have survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.”

 

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