Registration for my course on The History of Israel’s United Monarchy closes on Friday, and the class begins on Monday. The time commitment is minimal (90 minutes a week), and the cost affordable ($189). My goal is to deepen your understanding of the century or so when all twelve tribes were united under a single king. To do that, I’ll be drawing on archaeological discoveries, geographical insights, and extrabiblical sources to supplement what the Bible records. My interest goes beyond decades of teaching a related course and leading “life of David” field studies around Israel to wri ..read more

“Newly-deciphered text from ancient scrolls may have finally revealed the location of where Greek philosopher Plato was buried, along with how he really felt about music played at his deathbed.” Marek Dospěl provides a quick primer of the ancient Egyptian language. Bible History Daily explains why Egeria’s Travels is such a valuable “source of geographical and historical information.” Ruth Schuster explores the history of the pomegranate. The Yale Babylonian Collection has a permanent exhibition space in the Yale Peabody Museum for the first time. A virtual one-hour tour of Pompeii is being of ..read more

An Israeli team believes that they have established an absolute chronology for Jerusalem in the Iron Age based on a study of 100 samples of organic material. One upshot is that Jerusalem was larger and more urban in the time of David and Solomon. Another conclusion is that the Broad Wall was built not by Hezekiah but by Uzziah. The underlying journal article is not free, but the 84 pages of “supporting information,” including pictures, is free. A related lecture will be given at the Albright and on Zoom on May 16: “Radiocarbon Chronology in Historical Jerusalem and the Challenges to Reconstruc ..read more

Archaeologists believe they have found a villa belonging to Emperor Augustus near Mount Vesuvius. The city of Anqa is said to be “a near mirror image of Dura-Europos, of the same size, comparable composition, and potentially equal value to scholars of the region.” A new study suggests that “wine produced around the Mediterranean during the Roman era may have been just as complex and flavorful as wine produced today, in contrast to what is commonly assumed.” “Egypt welcomed home a 3,400-year-old statue depicting the head of King Ramses II after it was stolen and smuggled out of the country more ..read more

An inscription in the synagogue of Susya in the Judean hills may suggest that a messianic community worshipped here. “The arched stone-built hall in Jerusalem venerated by Christians as the site of Jesus’ Last Supper has been digitally recreated by archaeologists using laser scanners and advanced photography.” Scott Stripling discusses archaeology related to the Judges on the latest episodes of Digging for Truth (Part 1, Part 2). Ken Dark: “How Much Did They Really Know? Long-Term Memory, Archaeology and The Topography Of Nazareth” A new ERETZ issue on Caesarea: Queen of the Sea provides an 18 ..read more

Jerusalem University College is offering three online courses this summer, and I am teaching one of them. I’d love to have you join me on a six-week study of “The History of Israel’s United Monarchy.” We’ll meet every Monday from 8:00 to 9:30 pm Eastern Time, from May 13 to June 17. The lectures will be recorded, so you can review them later or watch for the first time if you’re unable to attend some/all of the sessions live. This is a Summer Institute course that is offered for $189 per study, and no credit is offered. No homework will be required either, but I will providing you with some re ..read more

The Cyrus Cylinder is on display at the Yale Peabody Museum until the end of June. On May 1, Irving Finkel will give a lecture at the museum on “Cyrus and His Cylinder: What Was He Thinking?” Registration is required. The severed hands discovered at Avaris is likely a practice introduced by the Hyksos rulers of Egypt. “Five extramural shrines dated to the Late Bronze/Iron Age (LB/IA) have been excavated in the southern arid margins of the Levant: two at Timna, and one at Horvat Qitmit, ‘EnHazeva (Naqab) and Wadi at-Thamad (in south-central Transjordan).” A full-color graphic version of Eric H ..read more

Scholars are trying to understand four clay tokens discovered near the Temple Mount and unlike any known elsewhere in the Roman world. The Hamas War has resulted in damage to many archaeological sites in Gaza, though some treasures have been protected in Switzerland for years. “Nahal HaShofet, one of central Israel’s most popular outdoor destinations, reopened this week after extensive renovations costing 25 million shekels.” A new project at Hazor is seeking to understand the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age based on archaeological discoveries and biblical texts. Afte ..read more

If you didn’t know that we released the long-awaited Genesis volume last week, you probably are not subscribed to the BiblePlaces Newsletter. Circumstances late last year forced us to rebuild the entire subscriber list from scratch, so that could explain why you are not on the new list. Subscribing is free and easy, and you receive two photo sets when you do (140 photos of Herodium and 240 of Philippi). The Genesis volume is the largest collection of photographs in the Photo Companion to the Bible series (or in any of our 72 volumes of images). Quantity is important in building a library ..read more

Some newly discovered frescoes inspired by the Trojan War are among the finest ever to have been found at Pompeii. Archaeologists working on the Greek island of Aegina have discovered a Mycenean building from the time of the kingdom’s decline. “Cats were known and domesticated in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, but are absent from the Bible and Second Temple literature. The Persians despised cats, but the Talmud tolerates them.” For the occasion of last week’s solar eclipse, Carl Rasmussen brings back an explanation of how “the solar eclipse of June 15, 763 B.C. holds the key to the chro ..read more