Syrian archaeological site endangered — a look at Ebla

Ferrell Jenkins's avatarFerrell's Travel Blog

During the course of the bloody civil war in Syria we have heard of damage to various archaeological sites such as Aleppo and Palmyra. A recent article in The New York Timeshere includes a report specific to Tell Mardikh in northern Syria, about 30 miles SW of Aleppo.

The headline tells the story, “Grave Robbers and War Steal Syria’s History.” An excellent video illustrates what both of these factors (vandalism and war) are doing to destroy the ancient site.

We have previously written about Ebla, and the Ebla tablets, here, and here.

More than 17,000 cuneiform tablets were discovered in 1975. They date to the mid-third millennium B.C. when Ebla was the capital of a great Canaanite empire. Scholars state that there are important affinities between the Eblaite language and biblical Hebrew, both being members of the Northwest Semitic family.

The first golden age of Ebla is dated…

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British Excavation at Ur

British Excavation at Ur

Ancient Sumerian site excavated

Excavation of Tell Kahiber

Ferrell Jenkins's avatarFerrell's Travel Blog

Mike Addelman, Press Officer of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Manchester, has been kind enough to provide us with some photos of the recent excavation of Tell Kahiber.

Some of us might easily drive past the ancient mound without realizing that it was an ancient archaeological site. Prof. Stuart Campbell and Dr. Jane Moore, both of Manchester University, and independent archaeologist Robert Killick, first recognized important features of the tell on satellite images.

Tell Kahiber is located close to Tell Mugheir, thought by some scholars to be the biblical Ur of the Chaldeans, the home of Abraham (Genesis 11:28-31; 15:7). Historically we know this area to be Sumer. The following map from Bible Atlas shows the general area.

The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology points out,

There are no direct references to Sumer in the Bible, although it corresponds to the “land of Shinar”…

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Biblical Archaeology Review – Digital Books and Articles

Biblical Archaeology Review – Digital Books and Articles

Vivid remains of crucifixion- via Ferrell Jenkins

Ferrell Jenkins's avatarFerrell's Travel Blog

The Romans were adept at crucifixion, according to many historical sources. The first archaeological evidence of crucifixion was uncovered in 1978 [1968; see comments] when an ossuary (bone box, or receptacle) was found north of Jerusalem containing the bones of a man who had been crucified. His name was “Yehohanan, the son of Hagakol.” He is thought to have been between 24 and 28 years of age, and was about 5 feet 6 inches in height.

Both the ossuary and a replica of the heel bone are displayed in the Israel Museum. When Yehohanan was removed from the cross the nail pulled away from the wood.

On Pentecost, Peter proclaimed the truth about Jesus. He said,

This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23 NIV)

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New Archaeological Journal from Penn State

http://www.psupress.org/journals/jnls_JEMAHS.html

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies Covers

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies

    • Ann E. Killebrew
    • Sandra A. Scham
    • Quarterly Publication
    • ISSN 2166-3548
    • E-ISSN 2166-3556

Click here for a look at the lead article from the inaugural issue, ‘Preserving Petra Sustainably (One Step at a Time)’!

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology Heritage Studies (JEMAHS) is a peer-reviewed journal devoted to traditional, anthropological, social, and applied archaeologies of the Eastern Mediterranean, encompassing both prehistoric and historic periods. The journal’s geographic range spans three continents and brings together, as no academic periodical has done before, the archaeologies of Greece and the Aegean, Anatolia, the Levant, Cyprus, Egypt and North Africa.

As the publication will not be identified with any particular archaeological discipline, the editors invite articles from all varieties of professionals who work on the past cultures of the modern countries bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Similarly, a broad range of topics are covered, including, but by no means limited to:

  • Excavation and survey field results;
  • Landscape archaeology and GIS;
  • Underwater archaeology;
  • Archaeological sciences and archaeometry;
  • Material culture studies;
  • Ethnoarchaeology;
  • Social archaeology;
  • Conservation and heritage studies;
  • Cultural heritage management;
  • Sustainable tourism development: and
  • New technologies/virtual reality.

Appearing four times a year in February, May, August, and November, the journal will engage with professionals and scholars of archaeology and heritage studies as well as non-practitioners and students, both graduate and undergraduate.

In addition to combining traditional and theoretical archaeological data and interpretation, the Journal’s articles may range from early to prehistory to recent historical time periods. It also aims to publish accessible, jargon-free, readable, color-illustrated articles that will be informative for professional and non-professional readers. The journal does not publish unprovenanced artifacts purchased on the antiquities market or objects from private collections.

Editors
Ann E. Killebrew, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park (USA)
Sandra A. Scham, University of Maryland, College Park (USA)

Assistant Editors
Justin Lev-Tov, Statistical Research, Inc. (USA)
Louise A. Hitchcock, University of Melbourne (Australia)

Book Review Editor
Brandon R. Olson, Boston University (USA)

Editorial Assistant
Heather Heidrich, The Pennsylvania State University (USA)

Editorial and Advisory Board
Lorenzo d’Alfonso, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University (USA)
Jere L. Bacharach, University of Washington (USA)
Hanan Charaf, University of Paris I-Sorbonne (France)
Yiorgos Chrysanthou, University of Cyprus (Cyprus)
Eric H. Cline, George Washington University (USA)
Elif Denel, American Research Institute in Turkey, Ankara (Turkey)
Hermann Genz, American University of Beirut (Lebanon)
Ioannis Georganas, Independent Researcher (Greece)
Matthew Harpster, Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Bodrum (Turkey)
Kenneth G. Holum, University of Maryland at College Park (USA)
Morag Kersel, DePaul University (USA)
Saleh Lamei, D.G. Centre for Conservation of Islamic Architectural Heritage – CIAH (Egypt)
Mark Leone, University of Maryland at College Park (USA)
Thomas E. Levy, University of California at San Diego (USA)
Lynn Meskell, Stanford University (USA)
Mirko Novák, University of Bern (Switzerland)
Mark Munn, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park (USA)
Shelley-Anne Peleg, Israel Antiquities Authority (Israel)
Issa Jubrael Sarie, Al-Quds University (Jerusalem)
Neil A. Silberman, University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA)
Stuart Tyson Smith, University of California at Santa Barbara (USA)
Sharon R. Steadman, SUNY Cortland (USA)
Margreet Steiner, Independent Scholar (Netherlands)
Christopher A. Tuttle, American Center of Oriental Research (Jordan)
Stephen Weiner, Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel)
James M. Weinstein, Cornell University (USA)
Donald Whitcomb, University of Chicago (USA)
Tony J. Wilkinson, Durham University (United Kingdom)

Buried Treasure – Ferrell Jenkins

http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/hidden-treasure/http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/hidden-treasure/