Archaeology Archive
May 9, 2012
Khirbet Qeiyafa - Getting It Right
So far there have been quite a number of abnormally interesting blog posts on the recently and loudly announced cultic finds from Khirbet Qeiyafa. John Hobbins provides a clear statement as to the significance of these finds, My take: the...Read all of "Khirbet Qeiyafa - Getting It Right"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:32 AM
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May 8, 2012
Cult Objects From Khirbet Qeiyafa
This from the first two paragraphs of the English news release, Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, the Yigal Yadin Professor of Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today the discovery of objects that for the...Read all of "Cult Objects From Khirbet Qeiyafa"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:41 AM
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April 22, 2012
The Re-Excavation Of Gezer Water System – One More Time
In September of last year I posted and briefly commented on a report in the Baptist Press concerning the recent and ongoing re-excavation of the Gezer water system. In the comments to that post Gary Hurt and I got into...Read all of "The Re-Excavation Of Gezer Water System – One More Time"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:02 PM
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April 19, 2012
The Egyptians And Their Cats
If you haven’t seen it, head over to Zenobia: Empress of the East and read Judith's abnormally interesting post on cat mummies. Here’s a sample: Owing to the huge demand for mummified cats throughout the Late Period (ca. 1069-30 BCE),...Read all of "The Egyptians And Their Cats"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:59 PM
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April 7, 2012
A New Old Fashioned Journal?
Do we really need another old fashioned closed access print journal? I don’t mean to sound snarky? It’s a serious question. De Gruyter and the Association of Ancient Historians are seeking “approval and support” for a proposed new journal that...Read all of "A New Old Fashioned Journal?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:19 AM
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March 29, 2012
The Domestication of Cattle
In a new paper, “Modern Taurine Cattle descended from small number of Near-Eastern founders," Ruth Bollongino, Joachim Burger, Adam Powell, Marjan Mashkour, Jean-Denis Vigne1 and Mark G. Thomas present DNA evidence indicating that “around 80 female aurochs were initially domesticated”...Read all of "The Domestication of Cattle"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:25 AM
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February 29, 2012
A Unique Hoard From Iron Age 1
The Megiddo website reports the discovery of a hoard of gold, silver and bronze jewelry, wrapped in fabric from the Iron 1 period. They have pictures. Archaeologists found the hoard in a vessel. Via Jack Sasson’s list server....Read all of "A Unique Hoard From Iron Age 1"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:18 PM
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February 18, 2012
The Theft At Olympia
The recent armed robbery at the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games has been in the news and discussed on various email lists. Rogueclassicist has a very good summary with lots of links. While some museum robbers seem...Read all of "The Theft At Olympia"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:16 PM
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February 17, 2012
Ramat Rahel's Garden
Science Daily has a story of the recovery of fossilized pollen from layers of plaster in a water system at Ramat Rahel. Here is something to whet your appetite for the whole story. According to Prof. Oded Lipschits, Dr. Yuval...Read all of "Ramat Rahel's Garden"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:28 AM
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January 1, 2012
New Old First Temple Period Bulla
Ma'ariv is reporting the discovery of a First Temple period bulla with an inscription reading גבעון למלך which I guess means, “Gibeon, for the king.” Gabriel Barkay suggests that it represents taxes paid by the residents of Gideon to...Read all of "New Old First Temple Period Bulla"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:31 PM
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December 28, 2011
Early Bronze Age Burial Excavated In Syria
The Syrian Arab News Agency is reporting the discovery of an Early Bronze Age burial in the village of Sousan, 12 kilometers west of Ein al-Arab, Aleppo governorate. Excavators date the burial to c. 2150-2250 BCE. SANA Photograph He [Director...Read all of "Early Bronze Age Burial Excavated In Syria "
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:33 PM
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December 22, 2011
Emmett L. Bennett, Jr 1918-2011
It is with sadness that I learned that Emmett L. Bennett, Jr. died on December 15th. A giant among classicists, Bennett was the author of over 60 works including ten books. Abnormal readers know that while my principal research focus...Read all of "Emmett L. Bennett, Jr 1918-2011"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:52 AM
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December 15, 2011
“What We Have Here Is Failure To Communicate”
Back in September I quoted from a report on recent work on the Gezer water system. In that report I expressed concern about the reference to “the time of Abraham.” Yesterday, having read my post, Gary Myers sent me an...Read all of "“What We Have Here Is Failure To Communicate”"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:13 AM
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December 1, 2011
Confusing News On An Amenhotep III Statue
The Telegraph, The Washington Post and even Fox News are reporting that archaeologists have uncovered a massive quartzite stature of Amenhotep III at Luxor. The Telegraph headline is typical, “Statue of Amenhotep III, King Tut's grandfather, found.” But exactly when...Read all of "Confusing News On An Amenhotep III Statue"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:41 PM
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October 25, 2011
The Preliminary Gezer Report – Now Read
I took a few minutes last night to read the preliminary report on the renewed Gezer excavations that I mentioned yesterday. I found two things abnormally interesting. The first item that struck me was this concerning a “short wall” associated...Read all of "The Preliminary Gezer Report – Now Read"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:35 PM
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October 6, 2011
Visit Old Virtual Amarna
This from the Virtual Amarna Project's homepage: The Official Website of the Amarna Project The ancient Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna (or simply Amarna) was the short-lived capital built by the ‘heretic’ Pharaoh Akhenaten and abandoned shortly after his death...Read all of "Visit Old Virtual Amarna"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:21 PM
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September 29, 2011
A Practicum In Historiography
Shirley and I are listening to the lecture portion of a course on History of the World to 1500 CE. Richard Bulliet of Columbia University taught the course a couple of years ago. While there are exceptions, Bulliet’s lectures are...Read all of "A Practicum In Historiography"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:09 PM
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September 27, 2011
Another New Old City In Turkey
“Lost city found in Dardanelles, Turkey: Older than Troy,” so says the National Turk. I assume the headline and the article means older than Troy I which it at ~7000 years old it certainly is. At first I thought this...Read all of "Another New Old City In Turkey"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:45 PM
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September 26, 2011
The Seymour Gitin Distinguished Professorship
Sy Gitin was my boss at Gezer. He went on to great things and I when on to other things. But we have remained in (very) occasional contact and I consider him a friend. Well, the W. F. Albright Institute...Read all of "The Seymour Gitin Distinguished Professorship"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:23 AM
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September 17, 2011
British Museum Online Database
Be sure to check out the British Museum’s searchable online database but be sure to schedule a lot of time for this abnormally interesting site. It will be hard to stop searching once you start. I’ve only looked a small...Read all of "British Museum Online Database"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:42 PM
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September 16, 2011
On The Gezer Water System
There are two new and interesting news items on the Gezer Water system (one link serves both). Here’s a sample, Gezer Water System Expedition, a joint project of NOBTS [New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary] and the Israel Nature and Parks...Read all of "On The Gezer Water System"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:54 PM
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September 14, 2011
Mari In Trouble
To look upon its remains [Mari, Tell Hariri] today, however, one would see a slow tragedy in the making. Its exposed walls are gradually eroding away, melting back into the natural landscape. Some of its excavated remains are now unrecognizable....Posted by Duane Smith at 1:57 PM
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September 4, 2011
The Lead Codices And The Bibliobloggers
Robert Cargill makes several important points about the so-called “Jordon Lead Codices” and about Tom Verenna's video on them and their debugging. None of Bob’s observations is more interesting than this. If you have not been following this case, Bibliobloggers...Read all of "The Lead Codices And The Bibliobloggers"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:47 PM
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September 2, 2011
The Meyers On Archaeology
At internet speeds this is rather late but yesterday archaeologists Eric and Carol Meyers of Duke gave an abnormally interesting interview about things Biblical and things archaeological. If you haven’t watched it, your 49 minutes, 20 seconds will be well...Read all of "The Meyers On Archaeology"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:37 PM
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August 25, 2011
Was The Horse Domesticated 9,000 years Ago?
Archaeologists working at a Neolithic site at al-Maqar in Saudi Arabia think so. I need to see a little more. Unattributed BBC Photo. While there may have better evidence, a figurine of a horse, however amazing, is not necessarily evidence...Read all of "Was The Horse Domesticated 9,000 years Ago?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:49 AM
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July 20, 2011
The Ziyaret Tepe Excavation
The Ziyaret Tepe Excavation has a great blog by excavation director Timothy Matney of the University of Akron. Ziyaret Tepe is an important Late Assyrian site. So far, Matney’s posts have combined interest and fun. I’ve added the Ziyaret Tepe...Read all of "The Ziyaret Tepe Excavation"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:51 PM
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July 15, 2011
Rollston on ‘Priests’ or ‘Priest’ in the Mariam (Miriam) Ossuary
Christopher Rollston has another interesting post on the Mariam (Miriam) ossuary inscription in which he argues for reading the final few words khn mm’zyh mbyt ‘mry, “priest of (from) Ma’aziah from Beth ‘Imri, rather than khnm m’zyh mbyt ‘mry, “priests...Read all of "Rollston on ‘Priests’ or ‘Priest’ in the Mariam (Miriam) Ossuary"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:44 PM
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July 6, 2011
Rollston On The Mariam Daughter of Yeshua’ Ossuary
Like me, Christopher Rollston finds the final words of the inscription, dbyt ‘mry, 'of the house of ‘Imry,' “very interesting.” Also like me, he doesn’t seem to have any explanation for these words. Unlike me, he has an abnormally interesting...Read all of "Rollston On The Mariam Daughter of Yeshua’ Ossuary"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:55 AM
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July 1, 2011
Aramaic Cuneiform Tablets From Tal Mabtouh Sharqi?
Yes, there are a very few tablets in cuneiform script where the language of the text is Aramaic. More common are Akkadian cuneiform tablets with Aramaic dockets written on their edge. The real question is, are recently discovered cuneiform tablets...Read all of "Aramaic Cuneiform Tablets From Tal Mabtouh Sharqi?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:12 PM
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June 29, 2011
On The Miriam Ossuary
See Robert Cargill’s post and the posts and other stuff he links to. I think at this point he has the most complete discussion of this ossuary and its intriguing inscription. Perhaps I’ll have something of my own to say...Read all of "On The Miriam Ossuary"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:02 PM
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Titles Only From Here On
June 27, 2011
Pre-12th Century Levels At Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus
The Custom of the Land
June 20, 2011
New Old Late Bronze Age Fortress On Cyprus
June 1, 2011
Just How Old Are These Houses?
May 31, 2011
New Old Statue of Amenhotep III Found
May 24, 2011
What To Do?
May 12, 2011
A Well Aged Wine
April 27, 2011
Finkelstein On The Politics Archaeology Of Jerusalem
April 15, 2011
Lewis Binford (November 21, 1930 – April 11, 2011)
April 9, 2011
Quotation Of The Day
March 24, 2011
New Project at Byblos
March 8, 2011
Homer Can’t Live By Naveh and Powell Alone
March 7, 2011
An Abbreviated Public Service
March 6, 2011
The Egyptian Throne
February 20, 2011
Mud Brick Construction In Egypt
February 2, 2011
Greek Fonts
February 1, 2011
Biblical Studies Carnival Is Up
January 26, 2011
New Old Or Old Old?
January 20, 2011
More On Old Snails
January 14, 2011
Finkelstein And The Role of Archaeology (And Texts)
January 2, 2011
These Books Deserve A Loving Home
December 29, 2010
A Lesbian Amphora From Tel Qudadi
December 13, 2010
New Old Temple Discovered In Syria
December 9, 2010
What’s In A Name?
December 7, 2010
Finkelstein and Qeiyafa
December 4, 2010
Old Photos From Palestine and Environs
December 2, 2010
More On Hazor
November 10, 2010
Four Stone Hearth – The Abnormal Edition
November 8, 2010
Ramses III Inscription Found In Saudi Arabia
November 6, 2010
Four Stone Hearth - Nominations Are Now Open
October 18, 2010
New Ancient World Open Bibliographies Blog
September 29, 2010
Der Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae Online
September 14, 2010
Old Syrian Hawk Discovered
September 6, 2010
A 7-6th Century BCE Scarab With An “Ugaritic” Shin?
September 1, 2010
Moabite(?) Temple Discovered
Claremont Colleges Digital Library And What Isn’t In It
August 19, 2010
Four Stone Hearth - 1 Short of 100
August 15, 2010
The Hazor Law Tablet Fragments A Surface Find
August 12, 2010
The Phoenician City Of Aüza (re)Located(?)
August 6, 2010
Divine Kingship
August 5, 2010
Four Stone Hearth #98 Is Up
August 2, 2010
David, Jerusalem, And Other Underdetermined Questions
July 30, 2010
Archaeology And Computer Modeling
July 26, 2010
More(?) On The Hazor Fragments
July 22, 2010
Friends Of Tayinat
July 12, 2010
Old Snails
July 7, 2010
Kubaba
July 6, 2010
The Time Of My Life
June 26, 2010
Looting In Iraq
June 24, 2010
Answers and Questions and Real Questions
June 22, 2010
Do We Still Have This Problem?
June 17, 2010
Closing In On An Absolute Chronology Of Dynastic Egypt
June 16, 2010
Why I Am Thankful For Hershel Shanks
June 13, 2010
GT, BGT, GTY
June 12, 2010
Not Quite Squares
June 9, 2010
A Couple Of Overdue Archaeology Items
June 2, 2010
Ooops
May 30, 2010
Later Occupations Of Ras Shamra
May 27, 2010
Middle Assyrian “Cuneiforms” From Tell Qaber Abu al-Atiq
May 26, 2010
Water Systems In Text and Archaeology
May 19, 2010
Archaeomusicology
May 14, 2010
It’s All Turkish Archaeology To Me
May 10, 2010
The Discover of Cleopatra's Tomb: Is There News Or Is There No News?
May 7, 2010
Pictures, Drawing, Plans Please
May 2, 2010
Roman Pornography Halts Construction
April 23, 2010
Temple: Some Assembly Required
April 15, 2010
Four Stone Hearth Is Up, 90th Edition This Time
March 20, 2010
The Latest Anthropology Carnival Is Up
March 18, 2010
Another Book On My Reading List
March 3, 2010
History and Statistical Reasoning
February 22, 2010
A Big Wall Discovered in Jerusalem
February 19, 2010
Oh No, Not Again
February 17, 2010
Child Sacrifice at Carthage
February 1, 2010
Tales From Ancient Egypt: The Birth of Stories
January 27, 2010
Suppressing An Evil Thought About The Khirbet Qeiyafa Ostracon