Biblical Archaeology Review announces its March/April 2011 Issue

March 4, 2011 - PRLog -- After an especially long, hard winter, we are delighted to turn our minds—and yours—to thoughts of spring with the March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) magazine. As Jews and Christians prepare to celebrate Passover and Easter, our focus in this issue is on the Holy City itself.

Jerusalem is the epicenter of Biblical archaeology. As BAR readers know, almost every time someone digs here, some new and exciting clue about the world of ancient Israel or the origins of Judaism and Christianity is revealed. From Jerusalem’s earliest inscription to the discovery of Solomon’s fortifications, the city has been abuzz with archaeological activity. Our up-to-the-minute reports in “Jerusalem Roundup” puts the spotlight on these exciting new finds, as well as the projects and scholars who have brought them to light.

Although the Bible gives a detailed description of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, we have no physical remains of the building destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. Thanks to the recent excavation of several hitherto-unknown ancient Near Eastern temples, however, archaeologists are shedding new light on similarities and differences between these temples and King Solomon’s structure. In “Solomon’s Temple In Context,” author Victor Hurowitz takes a look beyond Israel’s borders.

Back in Jerusalem, the Royal Stoa at the southern end of Herod’s Temple Mount was “a structure more noteworthy than any under the sun,” according to Josephus. And when the First Jewish Revolt broke out in 66 C.E., this magnificent building became a hub for rebel coin minting. BAR editor Hershel Shanks examines the new evidence in “‘Revolt’ Coins Minted on Temple Mount.”

And finally, a fresh new look at a rather old find. Discovered in the Egyptian desert over a century ago, the Oxyrhynchus Papyri have provided invaluable insights into the life and times of an early Roman Christian community of the Nile Valley. As Stephen J. Patterson explains in “The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: The Remarkable Discovery You’ve Probably Never Heard Of,” these priceless documents, which include everything from little-known gospels to revealing personal letters, intimately portray the beliefs and daily lives of ordinary Romans and Christians, making them one of the greatest archaeological finds ever.

In our popular columns Leonard J. Greenspoon takes a look at the phrase “jumping Jehosaphat,” Ben Witherington III ponders the significance of the Easter story’s unlikely details, and Eric Cline and Rachel Hallote give us a view from the trenches when it comes to teaching Biblical archaeology to students.

There’s even more on our Web site (www.biblicalarchaeology.org) as scholars respond in droves to debates about the authenticity of “Secret Mark,” the dating of the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim, the origins of the alphabet, and more in the Scholar’s Study section. We also feature a fascinating E-Feature about Amelia Edwards, a 19th-century pioneer of Egyptology, to compliment our story about the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.

As always, the BAS Library online features easy access to all footnoted articles in BAR Notables, as well as new Special Collections each month.

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The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit, nondenominational, educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information about archaeology in the Bible lands.