Urban Planning, Hasmonean-Style

In the early 1990s, construction began on Modi'in, Israel's new "City of the Future." Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie and located mid-way between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Modi'in is in many ways typical of modern planned communities.

Honoring Our Heritage  Howie Mischel,  Ynet.  A citizen of the New Modi'in asks the government to take more interest in the old one.  SAVE

The Hasmoneans Were Here—Maybe  Ran Shapira,  Haaretz.  Umm el-Umdan? Titura Hill? The competition continues among theories on the location of ancient Modi'in.  SAVE

Holy Land of Holy Graves  Shmuel Rosner,  International Herald Tribune.  Archeologists may fiercely debate the graves' authenticity, but worshipers favor tradition over suspiciously secular science.  SAVE

SAVE "Urban Planning, Hasmonean-Style"

The Dead Sea Scrolls, Alive in Times Square

In the basement of a converted theater on West 44th Street, tucked between the legendary Sardi's restaurant and a bowling alley, a block from Times Square and across the street from the musical Memphis, is Discovery Times Square.

A Dead Issue?  Elli Fischer,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  Since the electrifying discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in the late 1940's, the scholarly consensus has been that they were produced by the Essenes. But is this true?  SAVE

Virtual Qumran Tour  Orion Center, Hebrew University.  Take a virtual tour of the Qumran community and the caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  SAVE

Digital Dead Sea Scrolls  Israel Museum.  This digital gallery allows viewers to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls in unprecedented detail.  SAVE

Old and New Tools  Jean Duhaime,  H-Net.  In a collection of essays, scholars consider and reconsider their methods of understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls and the world in which they were composed.  SAVE

SAVE "The Dead Sea Scrolls, Alive in Times Square"

Synagogue, Dura-Europos, ca. 245 C.E.

Diversity at Dura-Europos

A new exhibit at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World brings to life the ancient city of Dura-Europos, which stands high above the Euphrates River on the eastern border of modern Syria, a monument to vanished eras.  

Excavating Antiquity  Yale University Art Gallery.  Aerial site views, historical background, and excavation history of Dura-Europos.  SAVE

Crossroad of Cultures  Carly Silver,  Archaeology.  A brief history of the rediscovery of the "melting pot of the ancient Middle East."  SAVE

Considering Dura: Part III  Richard McBee,  Jewish Press.  The final installment of a series on the lessons in the murals of the 3rd-century synagogue. (Parts I and II are here.)  SAVE

On the Dura-Europos Synagogue Paintings  Meyer Schapiro,  Images.  Where the artists borrowed from others, and where they were original and distinctive: a 1968 talk by a pre-eminent art historian. (PDF; Schapiro comments begin on page 6.)  SAVE

SAVE "Diversity at Dura-Europos"

Digging at Khirbet Qeiyafa.

The New Biblical Archeology

Every summer, the Israel Antiquities Authority holds a reception for foreign archeological teams excavating in Israel. This year's reception was attended by over 200 archeologists, who are investigating sites ranging in age from the Paleolithic through Islamic periods.

The Eye of the (Archeological) Storm  Israel Finkelstein,  Forward.  Whatever the controversial expeditions in the City of David turn out to have revealed, they have definitively exposed the baselessness of Palestinian claims about the site.  SAVE

Digging the Bible’s Bad Guys  Associated Press.  Excavations at Goliath-the-giant's hometown of Gath are helping to paint a more nuanced portrait of the Philistines, perennial enemies of the Israelites.  SAVE

SAVE "The New Biblical Archeology"

Mosaic floor, synagogue of Saranda.

The Tourist's Dilemma

On the southwest coast of Albania on the Ionian Sea, opposite the Greek island of Corfu, beneath the modern town of Saranda, lies the ancient city of Onchesmos. That ancient city had a synagogue.

Where To?  Jewish Heritage Europe.  An online resource guide for Jewish heritage tourism in Europe.  SAVE

Auschwitz as Destination  Sarah Stricker,  Ynet.  Despite the economic crisis, the former Nazi death camp is seeing record numbers of visitors.  SAVE

SAVE "The Tourist's Dilemma"