http://www.bib-arch.org/ Unearthing the World of the Bible en-us webmaster@bib-arch.org (BAS Webmaster) http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#06The Egyptian home of Howard Carter, the archaeologist who found the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings in the early 20th century, has been converted into a museum. Hired by Lord Carnarvon, Carter searched and studied the boy pharaoh’s resting place for almost a decade after discovering it in 1922. The museum will display a number of the tools Carter used to excavate the tomb as well as pictures documenting the historic event. Friday, November 06, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#05A 1st-2nd-century A.D. tomb of a Thracian aristocrat has been uncovered by a team of Bulgarian archaeologists just outside the central Bulgarian village of Karanovo. Artifacts found within the 12-square-meter tomb include a hoard of silver objects, a chariot and pieces of a shield. A structure will be built over the site allowing the excavation to continue into the winter season. Archaeologist and team leader Veselin Ignatov expects to find many more interesting and valuable artifacts during his upcoming research. Thursday, November 05, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#04Ruins of an ancient Assyrian palace and a 3,000-year-old cuneiform tablet were found at the Ziyaret Tepe site along the Tigris River in Turkey. The ancient tablet represents a very rare find in Turkey. It is inscribed with the 144 female names, none of which are Assyrian. This specific site is identified as Tushan, the capital of the Assyrian Empire from 800 to 600 B.C. Wednesday, November 04, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#03The International Committee for the Safeguarding of Tyre has created a group, comprised of numerous cities along the Mediterranean Coast, whose main purpose will be to manage tourism, culture, preservation of traditional crafts and prevent sea pollution. The idea for the League of Phoenician, Canaanite and Punic Cities was brought up at a UNESCO meeting with the goal of creating an “association of cities that were founded by the Phoenicians or that had commercial, cultural or human relations with the Phoenicians.” Tuesday, November 03, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#02North of Hebron, recent construction of a road in the town of Halhul has produced a Roman-era cemetery consisting of graves and human remains. The cemetery was uncovered as construction workers were using heavy machinery in order to expand the main road. Upon identifying the graves, workers immediately contacted the antiquities police. Residents in the area have been asked to report any related discoveries to police in order to help preserve and protect the region’s cultural heritage. Monday, November 02, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#30With the conclusion of the archaeological survey at the site of the ancient city of Palmyra, the Syrian-Japanese team of researchers uncovered a number of burials dating back to the third century A.D. The discovery at the central Syrian site consisted of thirteen burials of children and infants younger than two years old. Most bodies of the bodies were buried in coffins, though two were in clay jars. Friday, October 30, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#29A site containing numerous caves with burial chambers dating back 2,000 years has been opened to the public within Beit Shearim national park. The caves are famous for a relief of a menorah discovered on one of the walls—a symbol that is representative of the Jewish state and tied to the history of the Jewish people. Thursday, October 29, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#28The world’s oldest known granaries have been discovered during recent excavations at Dhra’ near the Dead Sea in Jordan. A recent study co-authored by Ian Kuijt, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, and Bill Finlayson, director of the Council for British Research in the Levant suggests that granaries existed 1,000 years before the domestication of plants and sizeable sedentary communities. Wednesday, October 28, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#27Limestone karsts found below the city of Jerusalem have been used as evidence by a U.S. Geologist, Dr. Michael Bramnik of Northern Illinois University, to support his theory that it was the landscape that was the deciding factor for King David’s new city. Bramnik also believes the limestone was the savoir for Jerusalem from the Assyrian attack in 701 B.C.E., and not just the strength of the Jewish faith. Tuesday, October 27, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/dailynews.asp#26Researchers are claiming there is evidence that Alexander the Great may not have been the first to establish a settlement in the region of Alexandria in Egypt in 331 B.C. Lead traces and ceramic fragments found in the sediment of Alexandria predate the traditional settlement date of this important ancient port. Monday, October 26, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=35&Issue=6&ArticleID=21Southwest Missouri State University professor Charles Hedrick sets the stage for our debate about the “Secret Mark” letter, without revealing his own belief in the authenticity of Secret Mark. Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=35&Issue=6&ArticleID=2Hershel Shanks has been barred from the City of David by General Shuka Dorfman, the current director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=35&Issue=6&ArticleID=17Columnist Steve Mason of York University in Toronto, Canada suggests getting back to the basics in the study of ancient Judaism. Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=35&Issue=6&ArticleID=18Columnist Jeffrey R. Zorn discusses the effects of the economic downturn on the field of Biblical archaeology. Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=35&Issue=6&ArticleID=7Columnist Leonard J. Greenspoon comments on artist Damien Hirst’s work Golden Calf. Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/linder-obit.aspElisha Linder, one of the founding fathers of maritime archaeology in Israel and a senior lecturer at the University of Haifa, died on June 8, a few days before his 85th birthday. Monday, October 12, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/news/weinfeld-obit.aspOn April 29, 2009, Moshe Weinfeld, professor emeritus of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, passed away. He was 84 years old. Monday, October 12, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/priene-excavation.aspPriene is one of Turkey’s best preserved ancient cities. It has a dramatic location on the south side of Mount Mycale, which separates it from Ephesus to the north. Monday, October 12, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/secret-mark-translation.aspWhile looking for ancient documents in the Mar Saba monastery library in the Judean Desert, scholar Morton Smith made a discovery that rocked the academic world: Copied onto the end-pages of a 17th-century book was a previously unknown letter from Clement of Alexandria, a second-century church father, which contained passages of a lost “secret” gospel of Mark. Monday, October 12, 2009 http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/band-played-on.aspThe text itself is music. Like a refrain, the litany of instruments is repeated four times in chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel: “the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick.” Monday, October 12, 2009