Weekend Roundup, Part 2

“Archaeologists in southern Jordan have uncovered a hieroglyphic inscription bearing the royal cartouche of Pharaoh Ramesses III.”

Egyptian authorities “announced the discovery of the tomb of Prince Weser Khaf Ra, son of King Userkaf, the founding monarch of Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, in the Saqqara necropolis.”

“A California research collective known as Noah’s Ark Scan says it will begin the first controlled excavation of the Durupınar Site on Mount Ararat’s southern flank.”

The NY Times has posted a beautiful photo essay of the mostly open Grand Egyptian Museum.

A new genetic study reveals that the people of Carthage were not significantly related to the Phoenicians.

Brent Nongbri writes about the recently discovered mikveh at Ostia as well as some of the Jewish material on display in the Ostia Museum.

Smithsonian magazine asks if “Talos, the bronze automaton who guarded the island of Crete in Greek myth [was] an early example of artificial intelligence.”

Leon Mauldin has posted some recent photos of Istanbul’s ancient water system.

New release: Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide, by David A. deSilva (Baker, 320 pages, full-color, $33; also on Logos)

New release: Populus: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome, by Guy de la Bédoyère (University of Chicago, 500 pages, $24)

New release: The Aegean and Cyprus: Interaction Between Two Distinct Cultural Mediterranean Areas from the Third Millennium to ca 1200 BC, by Giampaolo Graziadio (free download)

New release: The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Scribal Scholarship in Antiquity: Studies in Honor of Arie van der Kooij on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, edited by Wilson de Angelo Cunha, Martin Rösel, and Michael N. Van der Meer (Peeters, 65 euros, free download)

The WSJ reviews Toby Wilkinson’s new book, The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra ($29 at Amazon).

Leslie C. Allen, longtime professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, died on April 10.

Bible Passages has just released two short videos (7 min ea):

• Secrets of the Arch of Titus – goes beyond the well-known menorah and table of showbread to investigate scenes of military conquest, dedicatory inscriptions, and the depiction of a deified emperor.
• Erastus: Did Paul Get It Right? – considers the inscription for its insight into the social and economic standing of early Christians as well as how this archaeological discovery supports the historicity of Romans 16:23.

HT: Agade, Gordon Franz, Keith Keyser, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Explorator, Paleojudaica