Ethiopian Basilica & Church of the Glorious Martyr

With Clyde Billington

Two church discoveries are reported in the news digests of the latest issue of ARTIFAX, our biblical archaeology news magazine. A church excavated in northern Ethiopia is the oldest church in sub-Saharan Africa and helps us understand the Christian history of that part of Africa. At Beth Shemesh in Israel, excavators have uncovered an impressive Byzantine church with beautiful mosaics and an inscription that dedicates the church to “The Glorious Martyr.” The identity of this martyr is not yet know. Also at Beth Shemesh, a large rock table has been excavated, which some believe may be connected to the story of the return of the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites in I Samuel 6. And finally, we discuss the discovery of garum vats, a production facility for what some have called, “The Ketchup of the First Century.”

tags: Ethiopia Aksum Sudan Beth Shemesh Glorious Martyr Garum

Assyrian Rock Reliefs, Pilgrim Road News

With Clyde Billington

Assyrian rock reliefs, carved into a rocky cliff along an ancient canal in Kurdistan, are the cover story in the latest issue of ARTIFAX, our biblical archaeology news magazine. This canal may have been dug by Israelite slave labor. We discuss the biblical significance of this discovery. We also discuss a recent discovery made in connection with the excavation of the Pilgrim’s Road, between the Pool of Siloam and the Temple Mount. A measuring table device used by an agoranomos to calibrate liquid measurement in the market place is an unusual looking artifact. And we discuss an Israelite name written on a piece of pottery found at Abel Beth Maacah, which indicates this border town belonged to the Israelites around 900 BC.

tags: Assyrian rock reliefs Kurdistan Pilgrim's Road Pool of Siloam Temple Mount Agoranomos Abel Beth Maacah

Recent News: Legio, Ecole Biblique Centennial, and the Tomb of the Kings

With Clyde Billington

Reviewing news digest items from the recently published winter issue of ARTIFAX, our Biblical Archaeology Newsmagazine, we first noted a video posted on our website at radioscribe.com that features a lecture by Matthew Adams on the excavations of Legio, the second century Roman fort at Megiddo. After four seasons, some intriguing discoveries have been made. We also discussed the centennial of Ecole Biblique, home of French archaeology in the Holyland; the reopening of the Tombs of the Kings, which aren’t actually tombs of kings but of a queen instead; and the reopening of the Temple Mount Sifting Project in Jerusalem.

tags: Matt Adams ASOR Legio Megiddo Ecole Biblique Tombs of the Kings Temple Mount Sifting Project

Excavations Plans for 2020

With John DeLancey

It’s an annual tradition at the beginning of each new year to take a look at some of the excavations planned for the upcoming year. These are the institutional excavations, usually multi-year projects mounted by educational institutions, that mostly take place in the summer. (Salvage excavations, which make up 80% of the excavations in Israel take place year-round).

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A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman, part 2

With Holly Beers

This is the seventh book in this A Week in the Life historical fiction series, published by InterVarsity Press, and the first fiction effort by Holly Beers, a professor of religious studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. The fact that it's written by a woman and the main character is a woman makes it a little bit different but professor Beers does a great job of taking us inside the mind of a woman who lived in first century AD Ephesus. One of the best parts of this series are the archaeological and historical sidebars that are sprinkled throughout the books, which helps in our understanding of life in the first century. The worst thing about these books is that they are too short. After getting to know the characters, I would like to learn more about them. In these program she addresses three of the centers of interest in the book: The lecture hall of Tyrannus, the Agora (marketplace), and a worship service in the place of business of Priscilla, Aquila, and Paul.

tags: Ephesus women Paul childbirth Agora