Jerusalem Tracker: News, Publications, and Media about the Holy City (No. 4)
Helpful lists of new material about Jerusalem
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Update: since posting this article, “Jerusalem Tracker” has become a quarterly publication of new media about historical Jerusalem. Access the archive here.
Subscribers to this newsletter will likely know that one of its core goals is to track all news, publications, media, and digital resources related to Jerusalem’s historic basin. My long-term vision is to promote attention to every publication about historical Jerusalem in order to encourage their appreciation and integration into research. To do this, I currently track more than 80 periodicals and some 25 book publishers and publishing groups, in addition to pop media outlets, museums, research institutions, and more. Today’s newsletter represents the fourth such list that I have published within the last 12 months, demonstrating something we already know: that there is a vast and steadily unfolding stream of material about historical Jerusalem.
Forthcoming publications and resources that do not pertain to Jerusalem’s historic basin or its immediate hinterland are not included. Feel free to comment below or send me an email (approachingjerusalem@gmail.com) if you feel that an important resource was missed, and I will be sure to highlight it in the next newsletter.
If you appreciate lists like these, you may enjoy access to my interactive bibliography of public domain and open-source works related to historical Jerusalem. This continually updated list contains hundreds of items and is available to paid subscribers.
New Academic Articles about Jerusalem
Book Reviews
Vincent Lemire, In the Shadow of the Wall: The Life and Death of Jerusalem’s Maghrebi Quarter, 1187–1967 in MEB by Smith O’Neil (open access)
Andrew Lawler, Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City in Electrum by Collins (open access)
History of Jerusalem
“Jerusalem’s Temple Treasures: Where Did They Go?” in BAR by Dugan
“The Arch of Titus: Jerusalem in Rome” in Picturing Royal Charisma: Kings and Rulers in the Near East from 3000 BCE to 1700 CE David et al (eds) by Noga-Banai
“Royal Sovereignty in Frankish Jerusalem: Davidic Legacy and the Transformation of Jerusalem’s Cityscape in the 12th Century” in Picturing Royal Charisma: Kings and Rulers in the Near East from 3000 BCE to 1700 CE David et al (eds) by Gutgarts
“Albanians in the Holy Land – Absence of Archaeological Evidence or Evidence of Absence?” in Gibbert and Dum-Tragut (eds) by Tchekhanovets (open access)
“Locating Jerusalem’s Royal Palace in the Second Millennium BCE in Light of the Glyptic and Cuneiform Material Unearthed in the Ophel” in TA by Na’aman
“The Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem, 1926–1938” in ‘To Aleppo gone …’: Essays in honour of Jonathan N. Tubb Irving Finkel, J.A. Fraser, and St John Simpson (eds) by Hawari
Jerusalem and Ancient Literature
“Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine from the Temple: Joel’s Interpretation of the Epilogue of Amos” in JSOT by Dunne
Inscriptions from Jerusalem
“Northern Refugees in Jerusalem: The Case of Menaḥem, Son of Yawbana” in Gary Rendsburg’s festschrift Linguistic and Philological Studies of the Hebrew Bible and its Manuscripts, Vincent D. Beiler and Aaron D. Rubin (eds) by Schniedewind
Archaeology of Jerusalem
“Reconsidering Toilet Installations in the Southern Levant” in RB by Vukosavović (discussing all toilet seats from Jerusalem)
“The Sites of Mordot Arnona and Armon HaNatziv on the Southern Outskirts of Jerusalem: An Alternative Archaeological and Historical Interpretation” in RB by Finkelstein
“Destruction by fire: Reconstructing the evidence of the 586 BCE Babylonian destruction in a monumental building in Jerusalem” in JAS by Shalom et al
“Giardia duodenalis and dysentery in Iron Age Jerusalem (7th–6th century BCE)” in Parasitology by Mitchell, Wang, Billig, Gadot, Warnock, and Langgut (open access)
“Insights into the Contribution of Radiocarbon Dating in Reconstructing Jerusalem’s Past: The Early Bronze Age Settlement of Jerusalem” in In Centro by J. Regev, Uziel, Gadot, Roth, Mintz, L. Regev, and Boaretto
“Evidence of the Roman Attack on the Third Wall of Jerusalem at the End of the Second Temple Period” in ‘Atiqot by Arbiv (open access)
“Hellenistic Roof Tiles in Jerusalem” in JHPAC by Vukosavović, Cohen-Weinberger, Gadot, Bocher, Bejarano, and Shalev
“Zwischen Skylla und Charybdis. Jerusalem in der Späten Bronzezeit und frühen Eisenzeit” in Über das Alte Testament hinaus 12 by Bieberstein
Selected articles from Thomas E. Levy’s festschrift, “And in Length of Days Understanding” (Job 12:12), edited by Erez Ben-Yosef and Ian W. N. Jones:
“Jerusalem’s Settlement History: Rejoinders and Updates” by Finkelstein
“The Interconnections Between Jerusalem and Samaria in the Ninth to Eighth Centuries BCE: Material Culture, Connectivity and Politics” by Gadot, Kleiman, and Uziel
Selected articles from Jodi Magness’s festschrift Pushing Sacred Boundaries in Early Judaism and the Ancient Mediterranean, edited by Dennis Mizzi, Matthew Grey, and Tine Rassalle:
“Where Did the Second Temple Period Low-Level Aqueduct Enter the Herodian Temple Mount? A View from the Western Wall Plaza” by Weksler-Bdolah
“Was There a Constantinian Edict Prohibiting Jews from Entering Jerusalem? Notes on Fact and Fiction” by Irshai
“Jerusalem in Galilee: Urban Architecture and Communal Belonging in a Mosaic from a Rural Synagogue” by Britt and Boustan
New salvage excavation reports in Hadashot Arkheologiyot:
“Jerusalem, the Old City, Bet Ha-Bad Street” by Landes-Nagar
“Jerusalem, The Christian Quarter” by Silverberg
“Jerusalem, Gaza Road” by Novoselsky
New Books about Jerusalem
The Noble Sanctuary. An Exploration of Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Haram al-Sharif by Bashar Tabbah and Robert Schick
The Making of Syriac Jerusalem: Representations of the Holy City in Syriac Literature of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages by Catalin-Stefan Popa
Jerusalem as Contested Space in Ezekiel: Exilic Encounters with Emotions, Space, and Identity Politics by Natalie Mylonas
Aschdod und Jerusalem. Eine archäologische und exegetische Untersuchung zu den Beziehungen von südpalästinischer Küstenebene und judäischem Bergland by Felix Hagemeyer
The Book of Jerusalem 1948-1973 (Hebrew) edited by Arnon Golan, Reuven Gafni, Assaf Seltzer, and Amnon Ramon
Aelia Capitolina in Context. Roman Policy in Judaea in the Time of Hadrian by Miriam Ben Zeev Hofman
Death and Redemption in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin: Guide to the Kidron Valley Basin by Emek Shaveh (open access publication)
The Council for British Research on the Levant have has re-released the 1987 classic book Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study by Michael Burgoyne (open access publication).
New Pop/Social Media and Blogs about Jerusalem
Popular reporting on parasites causing dysentery found in Iron Age Jerusalem cesspits
Popular reporting on Nadav Na’aman’s article arguing ancient Jerusalem was located on the Temple Mount:
Israeli experts removed, rebuilt top of iconic Tower of David amid fears of collapse
Israeli Archaeologists Enlist Cosmic Rays to Unveil Underground Secrets of Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists unearth building destroyed during Babylonian siege of Jerusalem
Israel’s Disneyfication of Jerusalem Seeks to Erase Palestinians’ Historic Presence
French historian claims Israel abetted 1967 razing of Jerusalem’s Mughrabi quarter
Rabbi Chaim Abraham Gagin: The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and the Ottoman Empire
New Approaching Jerusalem articles:
New Digital Resources related to Jerusalem
3D Models
Clay Sealing of [Hi]ṩilyahu Son of Immer from the Temple Mount Sifting Project
Half Shekel Silver Coin (66/67 CE) from the Temple Mount Sifting Project
Podcasts
The Levantini Podcast
This Week in the Ancient Near East
New Books Network
Jerusalem Unplugged
Videos
3D Walkthrough of the Herodian Temple in Jerusalem with David Moster
A recording of the first day of the conference on Conrad Schick, hosted by the Albright this past February 6-7, is available on Youtube. The video recording of day 1 is 5.5 hours, covering 12 different lectures in four sessions. The conference schedule (with abstracts) has been made available here.
David Gurevich is also collecting articles on Conrad Schick which will be posted in the “Virtual Schick Library.”
Recordings of the Open Jerusalem conference which took place June 13-18 in East Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories are available to watch on Facebook. The event focuses on archival material relating to Jerusalem's history during the 19th and early 20th centuries (1840-1940). View the conference program here. The link to each recorded session (in order) is below:
June 14: Historiographical Uses of the Open Jerusalem Archival Database
June 14: Public Dissemination: Reviews, Comics & 3D Reconstruction
June 15: The Maghrebi Quarter in 3D
June 15: Consular and Diplomatic Resources
June 18: Closing Event: Coffee, City Walk, and Debate
Varia
New “Jerusalem Maghrebi Quarter” app lets you walk through the digitally reconstructed neighborhood which was forcibly evicted and demolished in 1967.
Aren Maeir is working on a new online class (MOOC) related to the archaeology and history of Jerusalem.
Online exhibition: Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study by the Council for British Research on the Levant
Annotated photo collection: The Armenians of Jerusalem
New Developments in Jerusalem
The Tower of David Museum renovations have been completed. They include digital presentations, wheelchair accessibility, and a café. Stefan Illés’s model of Late Ottoman Jerusalem has been restored and moved from the basement of the museum to a main gallery.
See another writeup here.
Michael Chernin provides a photo of a dedicatory inscription of Suleiman the Magnificent has been recovered from a 1970s dump pile and is on display after the renovations (use the “translate” feature).
Several excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have been completed. Two new preliminary reports, with photos, are available.
The first report covers an excavation on the east side of the church which revealed, among other things, two stamped roof tiles of the Tenth Roman Legion.
Another important report details an excavation that uncovered the area in front of the Edicule, as well as the floor in the Chapel of the Angel and the Tomb of Christ. The project revealed what may be a piece of the previous Edicule (covered in 18th century graffiti) as well as steps and flooring of the early Christian (4th century CE) Edicule. Notably, bedrock was uncovered under the Chapel of the Angel, and "part of the bottom of a burial chamber" (not pictured) was uncovered in the Tomb of Christ.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project has yielded Crusader horseshoe nails.
The so-called Solomon’s Quarries/Zedekiah’s Cave reopened on August 1 after years of renovations added an audio-visual presentation.
See also here.
A new walkway is being installed around Avigad’s Wall (popularly known as the “Broad Wall”) in the Jewish Quarter. It unfortunately may obscure portions of the visible topography and adjacent buildings that predate the wall and show evidence of multiple Iron Age phases of occupation in this area.
Major archaeological excavations in Jerusalem have come to a close:
Mount Zion Excavations (The University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
This excavation takes place on the slopes of the Western Hill just outside Zion Gate. During the last field season (2019), they uncovered Iron Age remains, evidence of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and a piece of the Fatimid moat over which the Crusaders crossed when they captured the city in 1099 CE. We eagerly await a report of what they encountered this season. Here is a drone’s eye view of the area after the excavations were finished. Read more about these excavations here.
Ophel Excavations (Hebrew University and the Armstrong Institute)
These excavations are an extension of many previous digs in the Ophel. This season focused on several areas east of the triple gate. Read updates about the excavation on their Facebook page. The finds included part of a decorated ceiling panel from the Early Roman Period, which co-director Orit Peleg-Barkat discusses in this video.
Zionsberg (German Protestant Institute of Archaeology)
After several years of extensive work in the Protestant Cemetery and last season in the garden of the Dormition Abbey, GPIA excavated this season in and adjacent to the Greek Orthodox Cemetery on Mount Zion. Important finds relate to the Byzantine and Crusader Hagia Zion (use the “translate” feature). Read more about GPIA’s ongoing work on Mount Zion on their Facebook page and website
Upcoming Events about Jerusalem
Emek Shaveh is offering English walking tours exploring the City of David park in the context of Silwan on 21 August, 6 September, and 7 September.
The Ben Zvi Institute is offering tours in Hebrew focusing on various the history of several West Jerusalem neighborhoods.
13 September 8:00-9:30pm ET - A livestream for paid supporters of Approaching Jerusalem, where I will discuss recent pop media archaeological stories, excavations, and developments in Jerusalem. Q&A will be available throughout. To access the livestream and enjoy other Jerusalem-based rewards, become a paid subscriber at the $5/month tier or higher.
16-19 October - Celebrating 125 Years of the German Protestant Archaeological Institute. The conference schedule features several lectures on archaeology in Jerusalem. Hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Conference Center in Mishkenot Shana’anim.
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