December 2013 Archeology - Ancient Near East and Egypt

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

Bahrain
They’re finally making some archaeological decisions in Bahrain:
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=365496

Egypt
Some aftermath (date disputing) from those paint-scraping amateur German archaeologists who poked around the Great Pyramid:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/87647/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egyptian-archaoelogists-refute-claims-by-German-am.aspx

… and:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/87435/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Penalties-imposed-on-two-amateur-German-archaeolog.aspx

Four Greco-Roman mummies from Aswan:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/four-mummies-found-aswan-after-attempted-robbery

Feature on Flinders Petrie:
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/heritage_hampstead_resident_sir_flinders_petrie_measured_the_pyramids_of_giza_and_laid_the_foundations_of_egyptology_1_3032036

More on meat mummies:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=pharaohs-got-yummy-mummy-meals-13-11-26

Iraq
On the Hanging Gardens:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2513819/Mystery-missing-Hanging-Gardens-Babylon-solved-Expert-claims-elusive-wonder-world.html

Israel
Evidence of a 10 000 years b.p. community near Beit Shemesh:
http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=2031&module_id=#as

Feature on that gold treasure Eilat Mazar found a few months ago:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13673

Suggestion that the Celts are one of the ten tribes of Israel:
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Are-the-Celts-one-of-the-ten-lost-tribes-of-Israel-233823021.html

Palestinian Territories
Palestinian Authority has been digging at Beit Betzi, apparently:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174530#.Upp5PCfzM7A

Syria
Ongoing concerns for Syria’s antiquities and sites:
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/destruction-of-antiquities-a-loss-for-all-eternity-1.1608316

Turkey
Plans (maybe) to turn an Istanbul monastery into a mosque:
http://www.france24.com/en/20131127-istanbul-monastery-mosque-turkey-hurriyet

Byzantine burials from Sanfranbolu:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/oldest-local-bones-found-in-safranbolu.aspx?pageID=238&nID=58486&NewsCatID=375

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

Egypt
GPR has revealed the existence of multiple tombs in the Valley of the Kings:
http://www.livescience.com/41675-tombs-hidden-in-valley-of-kings.html

3000 years b.p. ‘potted puppies’ from Abydos:
http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/dog-pots-found-in-egypt-131205.htm

Events are contributing to a funding shortage at the Egyptian Museum:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/44/88237/Heritage/Museums/Egypt-museum-hurt-by-political-turmoil.aspx

Plans to poke around the tomb of Min:
http://www.sotterraneidiroma.it/notizie-sdr/item/missione-italo-spagnola-per-tomba-maestro-del-re?category_id=20  (Italian)

A purloined ushabti figure is returning to Egypt from Brussels:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/88491/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/th-Dynasty-ushabti-figure-coming-home-from-Brussel.aspx

… as are five Ptolemaic items from France:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/88315/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egypt-recovers-five-Ptolemaic-objects-from-France.aspx

Fallout from the actions of those German ‘archaeologists’ scraping paint from the Great Pyramid:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/six-officials-punished-theft-archaeological-site

… while some Russian tourists were detained for filming around the pyramids:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/two-russian-tourists-detained-filming-pyramids-area

Iran
A tower dating to Cyrus the Great:
http://www.sotterraneidiroma.it/notizie-sdr/item/a-persepoli-scoperta-antica-torre-costruita-da-ciro-il-grande?category_id=20

Iraq
The National Museum of Iraq remains closed:
http://www.aina.org/news/20131206195359.htm

Israel
Evidence of 13 000 years bp funeral banquets in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa:
http://www.newkerala.com/news/story/97103/happy-birth-day-rekha.html#.UqRzgicQQ_U

First ruins of a Hasmonean building from Jerusalem:
http://www.livescience.com/41640-archaeologists-find-hasmonean-building-jerusalem.html

Yet another political side to archaeology in Israel:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/israeli-land-claims-archaeology-ideology-2013111113012956687.html

In the wake of the James Ossuary decision, Robert Deutsch is suing Israel:
http://bibleinterp.com/articles/2013/12/kal378001.shtml

More on Tel Kabri:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/22/archeologists_dig_up_3700_year_old_psychedelic_plonk/

Jordan
Feature on copper mining in Southern Jordan:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheAsorBlog/~3/91f9nl7oP1g/

A 900 years b.p. fountain from Old Ramle:
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/highway-work-uncovers-900-year-0ld-fountain-in-garden/2013/12/08/

Turkey
Feature on Byzantium’s gates and walls:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-gates-of-istanbul.aspx?pageID=238&nID=59146&NewsCatID=438

Overview of finds made during megaconstruction projects in Istanbul:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/marmaray-and-metro-excavations-yielded-major-discoveries-about-istanbuls-past.aspx?PageID=238&NID=58813&NewsCatID=375

More rumblings about turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque again:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/turkish-leaders-want-to-convert-the-hagia-sophia-back-into-a-mosque/2013/12/04/0d84411e-5d27-11e3-8d24-31c016b976b2_story.html

… while an Istanbul monastery will be a mosque by next year:
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=66594
 cf: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/12/03/248355379/some-turkish-churches-get-makeovers-as-mosques

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

Egypt
A pair of Ptolemaic tombs from Al Qantara East:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/88863/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Two-Ptolomaic-tombs-uncovered-in-AlQantara-East.aspx

Hints of ‘secret excavations’ inside the Great Pyramid?
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/antiquities-ministry-investigates-secret-excavations-inside-cheops-pyramid

They’ve recovered that stolen statue of Tut’s sister:
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=66743

Another feature on how the chaos in Egypt is affecting museums,etc.:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/egypts-antiquities-fall-victim-to-political-chaos.aspx?pageID=238&nID=59211&NewsCatID=375

Brief feature on ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/arts/design/a-big-bit-of-egypt-in-central-park.html?ref=design

Iraq
Iraq is planning on ‘rehabilitating’ assorted sites affected by recent conflicts:
http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/newsbriefs/2013/12/10/newsbrief-17

Israel
Last week the news was just starting to trickle out about this 900 years b.p. farm and fountain from Old Ramle:
http://www.livescience.com/41790-ancient-estate-garden-fountain-unearthed-in-israel.html

… and a feature on how the wealthy live in ancient Israel:
http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-1.562660

 Another feature on the politics of archaeology in Israel:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/11/israeli-land-claims-archaeology-ideology-2013111113012956687.html

… and another aspect thereof:
http://forward.com/articles/189057/plo-urges-nbc-to-pull-filming-of-dig-show-in-jerus/

The annual ‘rethinking Masada’ piece:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4462171,00.html

Feature on the Qumran community:
http://asorblog.org/?p=6359

Very interesting feature on the translation of a 5th century Aramaic inscription (I think we’ve had something related to this before):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/nyregion/chasing-5th-century-clues-from-a-womans-tombstone.html?src=mv&_r=0
cf: http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/beginning/ancient-gift-unlikely-friendship

Qatar
A dig in Doha:
http://www.gulf-times.com/Qatar/178/details/374188/Excavations-in-heart-of-Doha-aim-to-reveal-early-city-life

Al-Zubarah (Qatar) has been given Heritage Status:
http://www.gulf-times.com/Qatar/178/details/374128/Al-Zubarah-site-set-to-draw-hordes-of-visitors

Feature on CT scans (etc.) being used to study artefacts in Qatar:
http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/374394/researchers-use-hi-tech-methods-to-study-archaeological-finds

Syria
UNESCO is concerned for sites in Syria:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/syria-crisis-un-archeology-idUSL2N0JS1HJ20131213

Feature on the discovery of Judaeo-Syrian:
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/fotm/august-2013/index.html

Turkey
 Latest questions in the ‘Dorak Affair’:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1312/S00028/the-whereabouts-of-the-dorak-treasure-monograph.htm

[Aisling]

Data mining courtesy of: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Explorator/messages

The annual (it seems) concern for the survival of Aramaic:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/art-and-culture/2013/12/25/Will-Middle-East-s-Aramaic-language-survive-.html

Feature on Lawrence of Arabia’s archaeological side:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/archaeologists-biblical-scholars-works/lawrence-of-arabia-as-archaeologist/

Egypt
Recent finds from Hermonthis:
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2013/statues-discovered-at-ancient-hermonthis-in-egypt

Spider (?) rock art from the Kharga Oasis is raising discussions:
http://www.livescience.com/42126-spider-rock-art-discovered-in-egypt.html
 
An unidentified New Kingdom royal head from Luxor:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/90118/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/An-unidentified-royal-head-found-in-Luxor.aspx

The fallout from that ‘paint scraping’ in the Great Pyramid continues:
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/antiquities-minister-denies-german-team-offer-reconciliation-over-stolen-cheops-cartouche

There’s a state of emergency at Egyptian archaeological sites:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/90121/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Security-to-be-tightened-at-Egypts-archaeological-.aspx

… this seems to be related:
http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Templates/Articles/tmpArticleNews.aspx?ArtID=74959

Concerns for the St Mina cemetery:
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/st-mina-cemetery-sinking-under-groundwater

Egypt was trying to halt an antiquities sale in the US:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/89383/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egyptian-antiquities-ministry-tries-to-stop-sale-o.aspx

… but did receive five items from France:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/ministry-antiquities-receives-five-artifacts-repatriated-france

Those Islamic beams in Denmark that were in the news a year or so ago have been returned to Egypt:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/89526.aspx

They’re fixing up the Mallawi Museum:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/44/89276/Heritage/Museums/Upper-Egypts-Malawi-Museum-is-under-restoration.aspx

… while Italy is coming to the aid of the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria:
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Italy-comes-to-the-aid-of-Alexandria/31090

A theory on how the pyramids were built is making the rounds again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25412540

Review of Bob Brier, *Egyptomania*:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/books/egyptomania-by-bob-brier-tells-of-the-mummys-lure.html?hpw&rref=books&_r=0

Israel
Feature on the Shuni Fortress site:
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2013/12/27/archaeology-art-history-await-at-shuni-fortress/

Questioning Masada:
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/12/27/arab-media-outlet-says-masada-was-a-jewish-myth/

On fashion in ancient Israel:
http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-1.565513

On Solomon’s silver sources:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/biblical-archaeology-topics/tarshish-hacksilber-hoards-pinpoint-solomons-silver-source/

Latest issues on Temple Mount:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175501
 cf: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/283344#.UsAxpCeOemM

… while recent snows there have caused problems at the sifting site:
http://templemount.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/major-damage-to-the-sifting-site-from-the-snow-storm/

After reflecting on the Oded Golan trial:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/25/burial-box-earliest-reference-jesus

… it seems some folks are trying to keep the James Ossuary claims alive:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/27/decade-long-debate-continues-over-authenticity-of-ancient-box-naming-james-as-the-brother-of-jesus/

In case you need a Noah’s Ark fix:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2524056/Noahs-Ark-coracle-reeds-bitumen-reveals-Babylonian-text.html

Review of Lapin, *Rabbis as Romans*:
http://blogs.yu.edu/cjl/2013/12/17/review-of-lapin-_rabbis-as-romans-the-rabbinic-movement-in-palestine-100-400-ce_/

The Israel Museum has acquired (inter alia) the  ‘first Jewish coin’
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israel-museum-buys-1500-year-old-persian-coin-collection/2013/12/19/

Jordan
Feature on prehistoric activities in Jordan’s Black Desert:
http://asorblog.org/?p=6378

… and the Azraq Community Archaeology Project:
http://asorblog.org/?p=6333

Syria
UNESCO is concerned for Syria’s antiquities and sites:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/9527796/UNESCO-sounds-alarm-about-illicit-Syria-archaeology-digs

OpEd on saving Syria’s antiquities:
http://www.troyrecord.com/opinion/20131216/column-why-should-we-care-about-saving-syrias-antiquities

Turkey
Interest in King Hekatomnos’ tomb:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kings-tomb-becoming-center-of-attraction-in-western-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nid=59653&NewsCatID=375