Weekend Roundup, Part 1

Burnt sycamore beams from the First Temple period were discovered in the Givati parking lot excavation in the City of David. Researchers believe they belonged to the roof of an inner courtyard that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. An engraved reed discovered in a cave in Wadi Murabba’at is the only such object from the Middle Bronze ever found in the Levant. The underlying journal article is here. “The discovery of a controlled cultic deposit in Area D at Shiloh, near the presumed Tabernacle location, provides a rare archaeological window into early Israelite ritual practice.” Glenn J. Corbett writes about the damage to Gaza’s archaeological heritage caused by the war. Itzchak Tessler writes about different views for where the ark of the covenant and the lost Temple treasures are today. Joshua Schwartz surveys Josephus’s writings on the temple. The 29th Annual Bible & Archaeology Fest will be held on Nov 7 and 8 on Zoom. Speakers include Orly Goldwasser, Chang-ho Ji, Thomas Levi, and Brent Nongbri. Jerusalem University College has announced ten online courses for the fall, including: Biblical Jerusalem and Its Explorations, by Chandler Collins Ancient Egypt and the B...