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Archaeologists Reveal Another Ancient, Luxurious Mosaic in Lod
 
Another beautiful, ancient and detailed mosaic is uncovered in Lod, and ready to be displayed to the public this week.
 
By: Hana Levi Julian
 
Published: November 16th, 2015
 
Second Impressive Mosaic Uncovered in Lod
 
"A second impressive mosaic discovered by archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority is ready to be publicly displayed this week for the first time ever.
 
In June–November 2014 a team of IAA archaeologists directed a large excavation in the Neve Yerek neighborhood of Lod. It is an area where a breathtaking mosaic that served as the living room floor in a villa some 1,700 years ago was previously exposed."

 

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also @ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

Impressive New Mosaic Uncovered in Lod

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Not wailing at the wrong Western Wall of the Temple Mount
 
Posted on November 17, 2015 by Leen Ritmeyer
 
"I am frequently asked to comment on stories on the archaeology of Jerusalem and/or the Temple Mount, that make headline news.  Usually these stories are not well researched and written in such a way as to excite the uninformed public. But, that is what one expects nowadays from the media.
 
It is therefore surprising that the Popular Archaeology magazine is publishing an article called Wailing at the wrong wall?,  that suggests that the Jewish people have been praying at the wrong wall!"

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Impression of King Hezekiah’s Royal Seal Discovered in Ophel Excavations South of Temple Mount in Jerusalem
 
02/12/2015
 
"First seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king ever exposed in situ in a scientific archaeological excavation
 
Discovery brings to life the Biblical narratives about King Hezekiah and the activity conducted during his lifetime in Jerusalem's 1st Temple Period Royal Quarter
 
See video at http://www.keytodavidscity.com (Video is copyright of Dr. Eilat Mazar and Herbert W. Armstrong College)
 
The Ophel excavations at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology under the direction of Dr. Eilat Mazar, have unearthed an impression of the royal seal of King Hezekiah (727–698 BCE)."

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Also see: 
 
 
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Newsletter
 
Wednesday December 2, 2015
 
1,300-year-old Olive Press Uncovered at Ancient Shiloh
 
"The large size of the press and its proximity to a similar one found in 2011 provide proof that aside from being the capital of Israel for 369 years and housing the Ark of the Covenant, Shiloh was also the region's main manufacturer of olive oil."

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Ancient 'Wand' May Be Oldest Example of Lead Work in the Levant
 
by Laura Geggel, Staff Writer   |   December 04, 2015 11:20am ET
 
"A lead and wood artifact discovered in a roughly 6,000-year-old grave in a desert cave is the oldest evidence of smelted lead on record in the Levant, a new study finds.
 
The artifact, which looks like something between an ancient wand and a tiny sword, suggests that people in Israel's northern Negev desert learned how to smelt lead during the Late Chalcolithic, a period known for copper work but not lead work, said Naama Yahalom-Mack, the study's lead researcher and a postdoctoral student of archaeology with a specialty in metallurgy at the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Archaeology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem."

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MIDDLE EAST
 
A Carved Stone Block Upends Assumptions About Ancient Judaism
 
By ISABEL KERSHNER DEC. 8, 2015
 
BEIT SHEMESH, Israel — "The carved stone block is about the size of an occasional table. It has held its secrets for two millenniums. Whoever engraved its enigmatic symbols was apparently depicting the ancient Jewish temples.
 
But what makes the stone such a rare find in biblical archaeology, according to scholars, is that when it was carved, the Second Temple still stood in Jerusalem for the carver to see. The stone is a kind of ancient snapshot." 

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FORBES / SCIENCE

 

DEC 8, 2015 @ 10:19 AM 25,254 VIEWS
 
This One Bone Is The Only Skeletal Evidence For Crucifixion In The Ancient World
 
" The Romans practiced crucifixion – literally, “fixed to a cross” – for nearly a millennium. It was a public, painful, and slow form of execution, and used as a way to deter future crimes and humiliate the dying person. Since it was done to thousands of people and involved nails, you’d probably assume we have skeletal evidence of crucifixion.  But there’s only one, single bony example of Roman crucifixion, and even that is still heavily debated by experts." 

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At Biblical Site, Researchers Discover ABCs of How Alphabet Came to Be 

Oldest Precursor to Letter S found in nine-letter Canaanite text unearthed at Lachish, in central Israel; discovery ‘another piece in the puzzle’ of alphabet’s development, researcher says

 

BY ILAN BEN ZION December 10, 2015, 4:44 pm 

 

" A potsherd slightly larger than a business card found in the ruins of a Late Bronze Age temple at the biblical site of Lachish in southern Israel has yielded a few tantalizing letters from a 12th century BCE alphabet — what one researcher called a “once in a generation” find.
 
The inscription, three lines containing nine early Semitic letters, was discovered during excavations at the site in 2014 and is believed to date from around 1130 BCE. It’s the first Canaanite inscription found in a Late Bronze Age context in over 30 years, the authors of the paper said. The letters were etched into a clay jar before firing, and are exceptionally clear." 

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The Gold of the Jerusalem Temple

 

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Leen Ritmeyer

 

"In the latest Biblical Archaeology Review (Jan./Feb. 2016), Peter Schertz and Steven Fine wrote an interesting article called  “A Temple’s Golden Anniversary”. The anniversary they refer to is that of the well-known model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period that at present is located in the Israel Museum and will be 50 years old in 2016." 

 


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Unearthing the World of Jesus
 
Surprising archaeological finds are breaking new ground in our understanding of Jesus’s time—and the revolution he launched 2,000 years ago
 
By Ariel Sabar
Smithsonian Magazine | Subscribe 
January 2016
 
"As he paced the dusty shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, Father Juan Solana had a less-than-charitable thought about the archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority: He wanted them to go away.

Everything else had fallen into place for the Christian retreat he planned to build here. Just up the road was the “evangelical triangle” of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida, the villages where, according to the Gospels, Jesus mesmerized crowds with his miraculous acts and teachings. Across the modern two-lane highway was a small town Israelis still call Migdal, because it was the presumed site of Magdala, the ancient fishing city that was home to Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’s most loyal followers." 

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Discovery Suggests Jews Lived in Galilee 1,500 Years Ago
 
An ancient tablet featuring Hebrew letters has been excavated and is the best proof yet of a former Jewish town at the site.
 
Itay Blumenthal 
 
Published:  12.16.15, 18:56
 
"An archeological discovery near the Sea of Galilee may prove the presence of a Jewish settlement at the site 1,500 years ago.
 
The existence of an ancient settlement in the northeast Sea of Galilee became known to researchers by the early 1960s, when fragments of a large pier from the Byzantine period were found underwater. Researchers from Haifa University returned to the site last week following a drop in the water level and found a 1,500-year-old marble tablet bearing Hebrew letters – potential evidence for an ancient Jewish presence." 

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More on Kursi (#388):
 

University of Haifa Excavations Uncover Unique Hebrew Inscription Showing Existence of a Jewish Village at Kursi
 
Released: 18-Dec-2015 7:05 AM EST 
 
Newswise — "Excavations at the Kursi site on the shores of the Sea of Galilee have uncovered an inscription in Hebrew letters engraved on a large marble slab, dating back ca. 1,600 years. No similar artifact has even been found before in Israel, and the finding confirms for the first time that the ancient settlement at the site was Jewish or Judeo -Christian. The excavation is led by Dr. Haim Cohen and Prof. Michal Artzy of the Hatter Laboratory in the Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa, in cooperation with the Antiquities Authority and the Nature and Parks Authority’s Kursi Beach site."

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On Hanukkah, Israeli High School Students Discover Hasmonean-Era Coins

 

Posted on December 10, 2015 by JNS.org.

 

(JNS.org) "A team of students from Israel’s Handasaim Herzliya High School found three coins from the historic Hanukkah-era Hasmonean dynasty while on an archaeological dig. The coins were minted during the rule of King Alexander Jannaeus in the 1st century BCE."

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The Philistines and Their Cities
 
by Aren M. Maeir
 
"The core region of Philistia is centered around the five cities of the so-called Pentapolis: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, between modern-day Tel Aviv and the Gaza Strip. Because the Philistines are not related to the native Canaanite population of this region, scholars long assumed that they derived from some as-yet-unidentified location in the Aegean, having migrated en masse and largely replaced the indigenous population along the southern coastal plain. Current research suggests a more complex picture."

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(Aren M. Maeir, "Philistines and Their Cities", n.p. [cited 8 Jan 2016]. Online: http://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/places/related-articles/philistines-and-their-cities
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Statue of a Ram Discovered Near Ancient Church in Caesarea
 
27 Dec 2015
 
An impressive marble statue of a ram, an ancient Christian symbol for Jesus, was discovered on Christmas Eve during the excavation of a Byzantine-period church in Caesarea.
 
(Communicated by the Israel Antiquities Authority Spokesperson)

An impressive marble statue of a ram was exposed near an ancient church that dates to the Byzantine period. The discovery was made last Thursday morning in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority http://www.antiquities.org.il/default_en.aspx is conducting in the Caesarea Harbor National Park http://www.caesarea.com/en/home/tourism-and-leisure/harbor/general-info/caesarea-harbor-national-park-map , at the initiative of the Caesarea Development Corporation.

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Roman Aqueduct Excavated in Arava Region
 
The discovery of an ancient aqueduct reinforces the theory that agriculture in the Arava dates back thousands of years.
 
By: JNi.Media
 
Published: December 31st, 2015
 
"An aqueduct which transported water into agricultural land was excavated at the “Biblical Tamar” site near Ein Hatzeva, a cooperative village in the central Arava valley. According to legend Tamar, which is mentioned as part of the southern border of the Promised Land, was built by King Solomon."

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An Impressive Farmstead and an Ancient Monastery with Colorful Mosaics and Inscriptions were Recently Exposed in Rosh Ha-‘Ayin

January, 2016
 
"In an excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority at the initiative of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Rosh Ha-‘Ayin municipality, prior to the building of new neighborhoods in the city. Impressive archaeological finds are currently being uncovered in extensive excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out in Rosh Ha-‘Ayin at the initiative of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Rosh Ha-‘Ayin municipality, prior to the building of new neighborhoods. So far scores of teenagers from preparatory programs and youth villages have participated in the excavation as part of the Israel Antiquities Authority policy of increasing public awareness of our cultural heritage."
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3,400-Year-Old Citadel to be Integrated in Israeli High-Rise
 
Posted by TANN
 
ArchaeoHeritage, Archaeology, Breakingnews, Greater Middle East, Heritage, Israel, Near East 6:00 PM 
 
The remains of a 3,400-year old Canaanite Citadel will be incorporated into a high-rise residential building, Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has said.

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Virtual Tour of the Temple 2.0
 
Posted on January 11, 2016 by Leen Ritmeyer
 
"Visiting the Temple Mount can be a frustating experience nowadays with Muslims protesting against the presence of Jews and other non-Muslim visitors. However, there are resources, such as our own guide book to the Temple Mount, and now a new DVD with lots of information on the Temple Mount that make it possible to visit the Temple Mount in a virtual way without all the hassle one could encounter in real time."

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BAR
 
To Jerusalem: Pilgrimage Road Identified?
 
Ancient road sheds light on Jewish pilgrimage to Jerusalem
 
Robin Ngo  •  01/18/2016
 
"Before the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 C.E., Jewish pilgrims would make their way to Jerusalem for numerous festivals and occasions. The command to “appear before the Lord” is referenced in relation to the three festivals of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Festival of Weeks) in the Bible (Exodus 34:22–23; Deuteronomy 16:16). Ancient literary sources, additionally, describe throngs of Jews singing and playing music during their pilgrimage to Jerusalem."

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