#1609
2018-03-14
The Tomb of Jonah and Archaeological Destruction
With Clyde Billington
The Mosque marking the traditional tomb of Jonah in Mosul was destroyed by ISIS four years ago. Now that ISIS is gone, the mosque could be rebuilt but there's just one problem, it sits on top of a ruin that archaeologists have identified as the ancient palace of Assyrian kings Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal. These kings are mentioned in the Old Testament. Sennacherib tried and failed to conquer Jerusalem. We bring our listeners up-to-date on what's happening at this site. We also report on the looting and destruction of two other palaces in Israel, the Jericho palace of King Herod, and the palace of Archelaus, the son of Herod, just north of Jericho.
tags: Jericho Gaza Herod Palace ISIS Jonah Assyrian Tomb Nineveh Sennacherib Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Archlaus
#1608
2018-03-07
With Clyde Billington
Reviewing archaeology news reported in the latest issue of ARTIFAX, we cover a seal impression (bulla) which has the inscription, "Governor of the City." This conforms to two separate scriptural mentions of the Governor of the City of Jerusalem. This seal impression was found by Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists working in the western wall plaza area, near the Temple Mount. Also in this program, we discuss several reports from Egypt, including a new investigation of King Tut's tomb and the discovery of a void inside of the great pyramid. And finally, a few words about the great work done by Andrews University archaeologists over the past 50 years at the site of Tall Hisban in Jordan.
tags: Jerusalem Heshbon King Tut Western Wall Governor of the City Tall Hisban Andrews University
#1607
2018-03-01
With Clyde Billington
We report the announcement of the discovery of a seal impression (bulla) that’s being connected to the prophet Isaiah, who wrote the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. The seal impression was dug up in 2009 in excavations at the Ophel, near the Temple Mount by archaeologist Eilat Mazar. The name on the bulla is clearly Isaiah, in Hebrew characters. In the lower register, it could say prophet but the word is incomplete. But this bulla was found just a few feet from another bulla of Hezekiah, King of Judah. And Hezekiah and Isaiah are linked in the same verse in the Bible 15 times. So Bible scholars will be debating about this bulla for years to come.
tags: Jerusalem Ophel Eilat Mazar Bulla Hezekiah Isaiah
#1606
2018-02-20
Herod's Royal Winery at Herodion
With Clyde Billington
Once again we’re reviewing the latest news stories about biblical archaeology that have appeared in the digest of the most recent issue of ARTIFAX magazine but haven’t been discussed on the air yet. There are three items in this review. The first involves excavations in the honeycomb of tunnels beneath Herod’s mountain-top fortress/palace at Herodion. Among other things, archaeologists have discovered the remains of Herod’s winery, including wine jars (amphorae) that were imported from Italy. We also discuss the Akra Fortress, on a hilltop that no longer exists just southeast of the Temple Mount. Who leveled the hilltop? Dr. Billington, in his article in ARTIFAX, suggests it was Herod. And finally, the latest news from the renovations in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem a year ago last October, when researchers got their first look at the traditional tomb of Jesus in 500 years. According to analysis of the mortar samples from the site, the oldest construction dates to A.D. 325, exactly when tradition says the Emperor Constantine had the church built.
tags: Temple Mount wine Herodion Akra Fortress Holy Sepulcher
#1605
2018-02-14
Laodicea - City of Revelation, part 2
With Mark Fairchild
More information on the seven cities of Revelation and their related archaeology.
tags: Laodicea Turkey Ephesus Colossae Apostle Paul Hierapolis Revelation Seven Cities Apostle John