Temple Mound Sifting Project

A fascinating video about the Temple Mound Sifting Project, with many pictures of archaeological finds and pictures and videos of the Temple Mound in Jerusalem.  (Note:  Contains call for donations at the end).

History Round-Up

These aren't necessarily new articles and resources, but new to me, and interesting! 


EGYPT

Egyptian Tour - Daily Life
A blog post with LOTS of pictures and a focus on daily life in Egypt.

Pharoah in Canaan
This article is about an exhibit that explores the cross-cultural exchange that took place between Egypt and Canaan during the second millennium BC.  Has a mention of the Biblical story of the Joseph, and lots of pictures.

Oldest/Longest Ancient Egyptian Leather Manuscript Found
Interesting tidbit about use of leather vs. Papyrus:  Parchment was used for important religious texts and for documents that had to travel, because it the short term it was more sturdy than papyrus.  But, over time it actually broke down quicker than papyrus.

Youngest Mummified Fetus Discovered
This is interesting because it says a lot about how Egyptians viewed the unborn.  The baby was probably from a miscarriage.

Amazing Mummies of King Tut's Grandparents

Redating the Exodus and Conquest (Free Book PDF)

Egyptian Boat Burial Discovered

Oldest Depiction of Ancient Egyptian Demons Found
"The ancient Egyptian world of belief was inhabited by a huge number of entities with super powers. They could play both malevolent or benevolent roles, as threats, maladies and dangers, or as protectors, helpers and defenders."

Art and Power in Ancient Egypt

Nilometer Discovered from 3rd Century BC
This instrument measured the Nile's rise and fall and was used for Taxes
  


ISREAL/JUDEA

Photo of the Week - Judean Desert

Daily Life in the Time of the Judges 

Ancient Sticy Notes Shift Secular Scholars Closer to Evangelicals on Bible's Age

 


OTHER/VARIOUS

Why No Truely Ancient Bible Writings Have Been Found
This article talks a lot about the history of writing in general, as it goes into deatail about the materials used by ancient writers including (but not limited) to Isreal, Egypt, Phonicia and how these hold up over time.

Free Books/Articles from Biblicalarchaeology.org
Well, I'm sure these have been there for a while, but I just discovered it:  a whole page full of e-books on Biblical history and archaeology free when you sign up for their newsletter.

History Round-up

Below are a list of my favorite "recent" Holy Land history finds (ok...not all so recent, as I've actually been collecting these since January).   Enjoy!


General/Mixed Location Articles

Top 10 Finds in 2015
Yes, I'm way late in posting this...but still interesting.

Isreal/Judah

A Woman's Seal and a Man's Seal From  Jerusalem Excavations
A very interesting article about seals and how they were used in Ancient Isreal.  This page shows an actual picture of the seal recently found.

Return to the Cave of John the Baptist
A look a first century Mikva, ritual bath/baptismal.

Possible Home of Jesus in Nazareth

Shovel found in Magdala House
I love examples of items of everyday life like this.

Holy Land Portraits
A website I found with artist interpretations of various holy land sites.

Shipwreck in Isreal in the Time of Constantine


Egypt

A Discussion of When the Exodus Took Place

Biblical History Resources

Bible Lands

This is a wonderful source for learning about daily life in various ancient cities.

The Nazareth Village Website

Nazareth Villiage has been a great resource both for photographic inspiration and for the informative articles on their site.

Historical Timeline

This timeline is great for putting the events of the New Testament in context.

Biblediagrams.com - Bible Timelines

This site has very good color coded visual timelines of the 4 Gospels as well as a 2000 year timeline that puts the Gospels in context.

Gospel Harmony - 4 Gospel Timeline

This site attempts to put the individual stories in the four Gospels in chronological order. Though I'm not sure if I agree entirely with their ordering (for instance, they split Jesus' trip to Nazareth where he was rejected into two separate visits, where it seems to me like these were describing a single event) I found this a valuable resource.

Life of Jesus - First Century Context of Palestine (Israel)

An overview of political and daily life in first century Palestine.

Bible Resources - Local Governments

I found this a clear, concise description of the structure of government under the Romans in Jesus' time.

Bible Archetecture

I found the "housing" section of this site extremely helpful.

All Things In the Bible

You can preview a lot of the pages of this book online, including pages showing agricultural and carpentry tools.

Sabbath Meals - Ancient History

I found this answer to a question about the type of meal Jesus would have eaten extremely helpful. He not only laid out wonderfully the first century diet and eating habits, but related it to it's practical application in a 5th grade classroom.

Primitive Skills and Wilderness Crafts

Though this lens doesn't have anything specifically to do with 1st Century Palestine, some of the skills it describes (rope making, fire starting) were things that were part of daily life in all ancient cultures).

Inside First Century Home | That the World May Know

Summary of what it was like in a first century Jewish home.

Luv Shmuli

This fictional diary of a first century Galilean boy is a fun way to learn about daily life in this time period.

Ancient Jewish Coins

A reference listing of coins used by the Jewish people in ancient times - Calgary Coin.

Map of 1st Century Judea and Galilee

A good reference.

Bible Printables - Bible Life and Times Coloring Pages - Biblical Headdress - 6

This site contains not only coloring pages depicting Biblical stories, but many pages that help kids learn about daily life in Biblical times.

Cooking With the Bible

A good source of Biblical recipes.