Jerusalem Tracker: News, Publications, and Media about the Holy City (No. 10)
Helpful lists of new material about Jerusalem
If you find this newsletter valuable, consider upgrading to a paid subscription and receive unique Jerusalem-related benefits.
Jerusalem Tracker is a quarterly publication that aims to list all new resources about historical Jerusalem. I currently follow over 260 periodicals, 90 book publishers, and a number of social media and popular outlets in search of relevant material. See the archive of previous lists here. I hope these resources are helpful for your study and appreciation of Jerusalem.
The following criteria apply to the publications below:
They must deal with an aspect of historical Jerusalem.
Archaeological publications about Jerusalem’s hinterland or other topics are included only when there is a direct connection to the historical basin.
Forthcoming publications are not included.
Open access (OA) works are noted.
Most publications were issued after November 2024.
If you sense that any relevant resources are missing below, feel free to leave a comment or send an email to approachingjerusalem@gmail.com.
New Academic Articles about Jerusalem
Book reviews
Review of Jewish Piety in Islamic Jerusalem: The “Lamentations” Commentary of Salmon ben Yerūḥīm by Jessica Andruss in Speculum by Zawanowska
Review of Frankish Jerusalem: The Transformation of a Medieval City in the Latin East by Anna Gutgarts in History by Morton
Review of The Landfill of Early Roman Jerusalem: The 2013 – 2014 Excavations in Area D3 edited by Yuval Gadot in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins by Lichtenberger
Review of Siloah – Quelle des Lebens. Eine Kulturgeschichte der Jerusalemer Stadtquelle by Wening in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins by Bieberstein
Review of Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths by Karen Armstrong (Turkish) in Journal of Islamicjerusalem Studies by Türk (OA)
Review of Über den Kuppeln von Jerusalem. Rundblick von den „kaiserlichen“ Türmen der Erlöserkirche und der Dormitio-Abtei 1898 – 1910 – 2012 – 2022 by Jacob Eisler and Christoph Knoch in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins by Lau
History of Jerusalem
“10th Cent. B.C.E. Benjamin History in the Southern Levant. A New Historical Scenario Drawing on Benjamin Settlement Pattern, Jerusalem Archaeology, Sheshonq I’s List, and Biblical Historiography” in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins By Lee-Sak
“Modern Typologies as Spaces of Inter-Religious Engagement in British-Mandate Jerusalem, 1917–1938” in Religions by Gitler (OA)
“The role of protestant missionaries during the Great Arab Revolt in Jerusalem and South Palestine (1936-1939) – towards humanity?” in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies by Summerer and Okkenhaug (OA)
“The Hebrew Community Council in Jerusalem and Shehitah Affairs—Between Political Split and Economic Intersection” in Israel Studies by Chenya
Jerusalem and ancient literature
“Text and the City: The Urban Geography of Jerusalem as Depicted in Chronicles” (book chapter) in Urbanism in the Iron Age Levant and Beyond, Maeir, Albaz and Berlejung (eds) by Levin
Inscriptions and art
“An Iron Age IIB–C Hebrew Stamp Seal with Apotropaic and Prophylactic Properties from the Southwestern Corner of the Temple Mount, Jerusalem” in ‘Atiqot by Vukosavović, Reich, Rom, and Baruch (OA)
“Sixth–Seventh-Century CE Armenian Inscriptions of a Monastic Community in Jerusalem” in ‘Atiqot by Stone (OA)
“Newly Discovered Inscriptions from the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem” in Cercetări Arheologice by Harutyunyan (OA)
“Graffiti and Other Evidence of Bulgarian Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the Ottoman Period: A Photographic Survey” in ‘Atiqot by Chernin and Halevi (OA)
“Armenian Graffiti from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem” in Cercetări Arheologice by Harutyunyan (OA)
“Women at the Altar of Jesus’s Tomb in the Anastasis” in Metropolitan Museum Journal by Kateusz (OA)
Archaeology of Jerusalem
“Redating the Jerusalem Folles of Heraclius” in Israel Numismatic Research by Woods
“Geophysikalische Erkundung der Lage und des Verlaufs der herodianischen Stadtmauer unter dem heutigen christlichen Viertel der Altstadt von Jerusalem” in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins by Vieweger, Sachs, and Just
“Evidence of Worship in the Rock-Cut Rooms on the Eastern Slope of the City of David, Jerusalem” in ‘Atiqot by Shukron, Freud, Roth, Avisar, and Bocher (OA)
“Pilgrimage Pathways: Burial Monuments and Road Networks in Early Roman Jerusalem” in Cercetări Arheologice by Zissu and Abadi (OA)
“Implementation of Red Ochre in Sinopia: Non-invasive characterization of the invisible frescos beneath Roman and Byzantine mosaics in Judea” in Journal of Archaeological Science by Asscher, Ricci, Reato, Leviant, Peters, Neguer, Avrahami, and Artioli
“The History of the Area between Ramat Raḥel and Jerusalem during the Hundred Years of Assyrian Rule in Judah” (book chapter) in Urbanism in the Iron Age Levant and Beyond, Maeir, Albaz and Berlejung (eds) by Lipschits
“Continuity and Change: Animal Economies of Jerusalem and Its Hinterland during the Persian and Hellenistic Periods” in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins by Spiciarich, Gadot, Shalev, Lipschits, and Sapir-Hen
“A Study on the Applicability of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Technologies in Cultural Heritage Sites of Jerusalem” (Turkish) in Journal of Islamicjerusalem Studies by Ataman and Nehir (OA)
“Chemical Analysis of a Rare Byzantine Brass Weight with a Silver Inlay from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem” in Israel Exploration Journal by T. Eshel, Bornstein, and Shaham
“A Decade of Discoveries in Biblical Jerusalem” in Biblical Archaeology Review by Gadot, Shalev, and Uziel
New salvage excavation reports in Hadashot Arkheologiyot (all open access)
“Jerusalem, Sacher Park” by Bejarano
“Jerusalem, Talbiya” by Novoselsky
“Jerusalem, the Russian Compound” by Rom
New Books about Jerusalem
The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 CE by Strategius of Mar Saba Sean W. Anthony and Stephen J. Shoemaker (OA)
Jérusalem 1900: La ville sainte à l'âge des possibles, Second Edition by Vincent Lemire
Gott in Zion: Geschichte der Zionstheologien im alten Israel mit Schwerpunkten auf den Psalmen und dem Jesajabuch by Martin Leuenberger
Jerusalem That Once Was: A Personal Perspective by David Kroyanker (Hebrew)
Rereleased Open-Access Books on Jerusalem
The Council for British Research in the Levant has digitally rereleased volumes 1 and 2 of the important study Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City: 1517-1917, Sylvia Auld and Robert Hillenbrand (eds) in open access format.
The following Jerusalem excavation reports published by the Israel Antiquities Authority have been released in open-access format:
The Akeldama Tombs: Three Burial Caves in the Kidron Valley, Jerusalem, Gideon Avni and Zvi Greenhut (eds)
Jerusalem, Western Wall Plaza Excavations Volume I: The Roman and Byzantine Remains: Architecture and Stratigraphy, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Alexander Onn (eds)
Jerusalem, Western Wall Plaza Excavations Volume II: The Pottery from the Eastern Cardo, Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom (eds)
Jerusalem, Western Wall Plaza Excavations Volume III: The Roman and Byzantine Periods, Small Finds from the Roman Refuse Dump and Other Contexts, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Alexander Onn (eds)
Jerusalem, Excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley (Giv‘ati Parking Lot) Volume I, Doron Ben-Ami (ed)
Jerusalem, Excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley (Givati Parking Lot) Volume II: The Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods Part 1: Stratum V: The Byzantine Period, Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets (eds)
Jerusalem, Excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley (Givati Parking Lot) Volume II: The Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods Part 2, Strata IV–I: The Early Islamic Period, Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets (eds)
Jerusalem, Excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley (Givati Parking Lot) Volume II: The Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods Part 3, Complementary Studies of Various Finds, Doron Ben-Ami and
Yana Tchekhanovets (eds)
New Pop/Social Media and Blogs about Jerusalem
Ebedmelech—A Remarkable Figure in Jerusalem’s Final Days (Robin Gallaher Branch/Biblical Archaeological Society)
More on the electrum pendant found during the 2012 excavation season in the Ophel (Brent Nagtegaal/Armstrong Institute)
The Ketef Hinnom Scrolls: Earliest Biblical Text Ever Discovered (Christopher Eames/Armstrong Institute)
The Temple Mount in the Herodian Period (Leen Ritmeyer/Biblical Archaeological Society)
Where was Jesus Christ buried? A look at the possible tombs in Jerusalem - explainer (Jerusalem Post)
The Finger of Og or Herod's Pillar? A Jerusalem archaeological mystery (Jerusalem Post)
'Jerusalem That Once Was': An architect's look at the history of Israel's capital - review (Jerusalem Post)
Rebuilding the Hurva Synagogue and Jerusalem’s Old City (Ben Bresky)
Jerusalem’s Transformation from Quaint to High-Rise (Ben Bresky)
Razzouk Tattoo Unites the Spiritual and Worldly, Inking Pilgrims for 28 Generations (Jerusalem Story)
Meet Jerusalem’s ‘Jesus Guy’ (The Pillar)
Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum champions accessibility (Jewish News Syndicate)
Recent Approaching Jerusalem articles
The Ordnance Survey Map of 1865, Kathleen Kenyon's view of ancient Jerusalem, and a new book by Lukas Landmann
New Year greeting, early photos of the Mount of Olives, the Mosque of the Ascension, and a book on childhood in Jerusalem
The surrender of Jerusalem during World War I and a book on Jerusalem at the time of Jesus
New Digital Resources related to Jerusalem
Podcasts
Between Death and Taxes in the 8th Century BCE, or Hezekiah’s Beltway Politics (This Week in the Ancient Near East)
Sir Ronald Storrs: Personality and Policy in Mandate Palestine, 1917-1926 with Christopher Burnham and Roberto Mazza (New Books Network)
Videos
Tower of David Museum
Discovering Israel
The Temple Mount Sifting Project—Past, Present and Future (Armstrong Institute)
The Virtual JERUSALEM YouTube channel is loaded with Jerusalem-related content.
New Developments in Jerusalem
The Medici altar was returned to Jerusalem from Florence, where it was on temporary display at the Marino Marini Museum. It has been restored to its former location in the Latin chapel at Golgotha.
See also this video.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project lists several recent small finds.
A mikveh was uncovered in the tunneling excavations beneath Jerusalem’s Southeastern Hill/Wadi Hilweh.
Recent excavations in the Holy Sepulcher have revealed evidence of quarrying activity, sparking some media coverage (DE and LBV). Despite the feel of these publications, the existence of a quarry below the Sepulcher has been known for some time.
A complete lamp from the Early Roman Period containing a menorah, lulav, and incense shovel was uncovered on the Mount of Olives.
The base of a Chinese pottery vessel dating to the 16th century CE with an inscription was found on modern Mount Zion in excavations of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology.
The recent publication of eight Iron Age rooms uncovered above Jerusalem’s spring, allegedly used for cultic purposes, has sparked much media coverage. Three were excavated during Montague Parker’s tunneling venture from 1909-1911, and five more were excavated in 2010-2011 by Eli Shukron. For several years now, the site has been shown to tour groups as the location of an ancient temple where Abraham met Melchizedek, fueling some online voices who promote the mistaken idea that Solomon’s (and Herod’s) temple was located near the spring rather than on the Temple Mount. All of this warrants a thorough review which I have not had time to undertake. For now, here are the media reports and a video by the IAA:
Upcoming Events about Jerusalem
April 27-30: “Jerusalem through the Ages: New Perspectives,” a Joint conference of the Ingeborg Rennert Center of Jerusalem Studies, Bar-Ilan University and the Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times. Features lectures on a variety of historical periods by many scholars working on ancient Jerusalem.
In-person: Schloss Beuggen, Rheinfelden, Germany or free Zoom broadcast at this link. PDF schedule here.
March 11, 8:00-9:30pm ET: Approaching Jerusalem livestream for paid supporters.
During these events, I discuss excavations, publications, pop media articles, and developments relevant to historical Jerusalem. I also share resources and occasionally present original research. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions. Paid subscribers get access these quarterly events and the archive of previous recordings.
Enjoy this post?
Show your appreciation by leaving a tip as low as the price of a cup of coffee. Less than 1% of readers do this, and it makes an enormous difference.
Follow Approaching Jerusalem
View the newsletter archive and follow Approaching Jerusalem on social media for archaeological stories, upcoming lectures, and other Jerusalem-related news, resources, and analysis.