Jerusalem Tracker: News, Publications, and Media about the Holy City (No. 5)
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.
This is the fourth “Jerusalem Tracker” post I’ve written in 2023 detailing new publications and media about Jerusalem. My goal is to bring all new material about historical Jerusalem to light for study and appreciation.
In addition to perusing the usual sources for this list, I also examined books on the tables during the ASOR and SBL annual meetings for publications connected with historical Jerusalem. Several important books are forthcoming and will be included in a future post.
New Academic Articles about Jerusalem
Book Reviews
Justin L. Kelly, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Text and Archaeology: A Survey and Analysis of Past Excavations and Recent Archaeological Research with a Collection of Principal Historical Sources in RBL by Joshua Schwartz
Yuval Jobani and Nahshon Perez, Governing the Sacred: Political Toleration in Five Contested Sacred Sites in JQ by Dumper (open access)
Awad Halabi, Palestinian Rituals of Identity: The Prophet Moses Festival in Jerusalem, 1850–1948 in JQ by Norris (open access)
Mathew Teller, Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City in PEQ by Sutton
History of Jerusalem
“Digitizing Urban Heritage: The Digitization of Jerusalem’s Architectural Archives” in JJA by Rubin (open access)
“Holy green: Silwan, Design knowledge, and the 1967 making of Jerusalem's Old City Walls National Park” in Planning Perspectives by Wilkof and Shiftan
“Chapter 10. Jerusalem and Associated Trips” in Well Met! Friends and Travelling Companions of Rev. Thomas Bowles: Journals of Travels in Egypt, Petra and the Near East, 1854 by David Kennedy
“Britain's Position on Establishing the Protestant Church in Jerusalem (1841–45)” in JQ by Omar (open access)
“Leah and Nassib: Jerusalem through a Forgotten Story” in JQ by Schwake (open access)
“An Air-Smelling Event: The Metamorphosis of Simon the Just and His Shrine” in JQ by Tamari (open access)
“Sharing the Holy Land: Islamic Pilgrimage to Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem during the Late Medieval and Early Modern” in JQ by Ragheb (open access)
Jerusalem and Ancient Literature
“Gates and Entrances in Ezekiel 40–48: The Social Utopia of the Temple Vision” in VT by Rhyder (Academia)
“The “Coalition” Government of Jerusalem (66–67 CE) in Josephus’ Bellum and in Rabbinic Literature” in Peace and War in Josephus, Kókai-Nagy and Vér (eds) by Ilan
“Much More than Pilgrimage: A Materialist Reading of Zion Prophecies” in Political Theologies in the Hebrew Bible, Mark G. Brett and Rachelle Gilmour (eds) by Schmidtkunz
“Contextualizing Priestly Roles in the Formative Years of Jerusalem's Second Temple” in Biblica by Ganzel
“The Rebuilding and Settlement of Jerusalem in Ezra-Nehemiah and 1 Esdras” in JBTC by Pakkala (open access)
Inscriptions from Jerusalem
“Judaean Glyptic Finds: An Updated Corpus and a Revision of Their Palaeography” in The Scribe in the Biblical World, Eshel and Langlois (eds) by Mendel-Geberovich (covers many glyptic finds from Jerusalem)
“Egyptian-Fashioned Use of Logograms in the Canaanite Amarna Letters: A Case of “The Jerusalem Scribe” in The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, Rollinger, Madreiter, Lang, and Pappi (eds) by Nemirovskaya
“Josep Brunet i Bellet i la polèmica sobre l’autenticitat de la inscripció del túnel de Siloè” in Historiae by Vidal (open access)
Archaeology of Jerusalem
“New Type of Roman Period Clay Tokens from Jerusalem” in Tokens in Classical Athens and Beyond, M. E. Gkikaki (ed) by Farhi (open access)
“A Fresco in the Valley: The Jehoshaphat Deesis” in IMSA by Heyman (open access)
“An Early Iron Age Moat in Jerusalem between the Ophel and the Southeastern Ridge/City of David” in TA by Gadot, Bocher, Freud, and Shalev (open access)
“The Pottery of Babylonian-period Jerusalem: Stratum 9/10 at the Summit of the Southeastern Hill” in TA by Freud
“The Millo: Jerusalem’s Lost Monument” in BAR by McKinny, Tavger, Szanton, and Uziel
Historic Graffiti as a Visual Medium for the Sustainable Development of the Underground Built Heritage in Sustainability by Trentin, Altaratz, Caine, Re’em, Tinazzo, and Gasanova (open access)
“Jerusalem, Latin Patriarchate Road” in HA by David Gellman (open access)
“Jerusalem, the Jewish Quarter” in HA by Forestani (open access)
“Organisation and Reorganisation of Extravagant Complexes in the Post-Destruction Southern Outskirts of Jerusalem in Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Judah, Ido Koch and Omer Sergi (eds) by Bocher
“Animal Economy and Sacrifice in First Temple Jerusalem: An Inter-Site Analysis of Iron Age II Faunal Assemblages n Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Judah, Ido Koch and Omer Sergi (eds) by Spiciarich
Unfinished Business: What Caused the Sudden Cessation of the Construction Works during the Foundation of Aelia Capitolina? in Cities, Monuments and Objects in the Roman and Byzantine Levant, Atrash, Overman, and Gendelman (eds) by Weksler-Bdolah and Peleg-Barkat (open access)
“Left Behind: 19th Century Artefacts from a Bliss and Dickie Excavation Tunnel at Mount Zion, Jerusalem” in Strata by Arbel and Zelinger
“A Roman Marble Sculpture Base from the Old City of Jerusalem” in ARAM by Habas and Landes-Nagar
New articles in ‘Atiqot, all available here and open access:
“Lots of Pots: Cooking-Pot Deposits in Early Roman Jerusalem” by Lieberman, Monnickendam-Givon, and Dan-Goor
“A Byzantine and Early Islamic Building along the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Szanton and Uziel
“The Byzantine Pottery from Building 900 in the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Sandhaus
“Early Islamic-Period Pottery from Building 900 in the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Dolinka
“The Glass Finds from Building 900 in the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Winter
“The Coins from Building 900 in the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Ariel and Bijovsky
“Byzantine and Early Islamic Faunal Remains from Building 900 in the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Marom
“Byzantine and Early Islamic Malacological Remains from Building 900 in the Southern Tyropoeon Valley” by Ktalav
Papers are available on Academia.edu from the 2023 New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region Conference edited by Yiftah Shalev, Orit Peleg-Barkat, Yehiel Zelinger, and Yuval Gadot. Papers covering sites outside Jerusalem’s historic basin are not included.
“New Discoveries from the Giv’ati Parking Lot Excavations: The Channel Installations and the Growth of Jerusalem during the 9th Century BCE” (Hebrew) by Shalev, Bocher, Gelman, Bejarano, Freud, and Gadot
“Jerusalem’s Eastern Fortifications in Light of New Discoveries” (Hebrew) by Uziel, Roth, Chalaf, and Vukosavovic
“Archeological Remains from the Late Roman Period near the Southwest Corner of the Temple Mount Compound in Jerusalem, a Preliminary Overview” (Hebrew) by Baruch, Rom, Terem, and Zilberstein
“Notes on the Faunal Assemblages in the Qidron Valley Landfill” (Hebrew) by Abadi
“Burial Caves from the Second Temple Period in the Lower Qidron Valley” by Wiegmann, Zilberbod, Chernin, and Halevi
“New Discoveries in the Urban Topography of Mamluk Jerusalem” (Hebrew) by Yeger, Chernin and Sapir
“Luxury Gardens of King Herod” (Hebrew) by Langgut
“Clay Roof Tiles in the Southern Levant: a View From Jerusalem” (Hebrew) by Vukosavovic and Cohen-Weinberger
“A Coin on the Balance? A Tumbrel from the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem” (Hebrew) by Shatil, Monnickendam-Givon, Szanto, and Chalaf
The entire volume and some of the earlier NSAJR volumes can be purchased here.
New Books about Jerusalem
The Essenes of Mount Arbel and Jerusalem: Origins, History and Influence by John Ben-Daniel
Projections of Jerusalem in Europe edited by Bianca Kühnel, Neta Bodner, and Renana Bartal
The Contest and Control of Jerusalem's Holy Sites. A Historical Guide to Legality, Status, and Ownership by Breger and Hammer
Jewish Piety in Islamic Jerusalem: The Lamentations Commentary of Salmon ben Yeruhim by Jessica Andruss
The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem: Inventing a Patron Martyr by Hugo Méndez
Jewish Quarter Excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem Conducted by Nahman Avigad, 1969-1982 Vol. IX edited by Hillel Geva
New Pop/Social Media and Blogs about Jerusalem
Vincent Lemire: “Jerusalem is the Toughest Training Ground I’ve Ever Been on”
King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light
Lost Biblical Monument in Jerusalem Is in Plain Sight, New Theory Claims
Hellenistic Period Tomb Found on Hebron Road
Recent Approaching Jerusalem articles:
Some Unexpected Architectural Fragments from the Jewish Quarter
Unwinding the Stepped Stone Structure, Part 2: The Legacy of Macalister and Duncan
New Digital Resources related to Jerusalem
Podcasts
Jerusalem Unplugged
This Week in the Ancient Near East
Videos
Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah — Herodian Jerusalem in Light of New Finds from the Western Wall Tunnels
Yuval Gadot —New Light on Iron Age and Persian Period Jerusalem
Shimon Gibson — Forty Years of Archaeological Work on Mount Zion in Jerusalem
Chris McKinny and Joe Uziel - Where is the Millo?
Maryvelma Smith O’Neil - A Virtual Visit to Jerusalem in 1873
Expedition Bible - The Temple Mount--Where it IS. Where it ISN'T. What is it FOR?
Expedition Bible - The Last Supper and Pentecost...HERE!
James Tabor - Is Christianity's Most Holy Site the Wrong Location--And Does it Matter?
Varia
Jacob Lauinger and Tyler Yoder released an update for the Amarna Letters collection in the Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC). View the fully lemmatized letters sent from Abdi-Heba of Late Bronze Age Jerusalem here.
New Developments in Jerusalem
The tower at Hebrew University will be renovated to hold an observatory.
Applications for fellowships at the Albright close December 1.
The École Biblique has a new Director, Fr. Olivier Poquillon.
This media report details finds from the Mount Zion excavations by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The team excavated the floor of an Iron Age building which yielded a lamp, two inscribed weights, a cauldron, and perhaps other finds yet to be revealed.
Further comments on our FB page.
The Israel Antiquities Authority reports that around 300 m. (~1,000 ft.) of Jerusalem's Upper Aqueduct have been uncovered on the west side of Hebron Road across from the ruins of the Kathisma Church. Further comments on our FB page.
This IAA press release and video describes two sets of strange channels cut into bedrock at the Givati Parking Lot Excavations. They are dated to at least as early as the 9th century BCE. Further comments on our FB page.
See also write ups JP, HA, BAR, and Archaeonews.
An update about excavations at the Pool of Siloam (Birket el-Hamra) was published by Fox News in early September and subsequently picked up by JPost. As Todd Bolen helpfully points out, the stories incorrectly imply that a new set of steps was discovered. In fact, the existence of these steps was already known, and they had already been partly uncovered. We await a substantial archaeological update from this area where debris was removed by large machinery and most of the Roman Period pool seems not to have survived.
A 99-year lease to a foreign company to built a hotel in the southwestern corner of the Old City was cancelled by the Armenian Patriarchate after details of the contract came to light and the Armenian Jerusalemite community protested. Soon afterward, Israeli settlers attempted to demolish the parking lot with police assistance, but members of the Armenian Patriarchate and Armenian community prevented the bulldozers from fully entering the property. The heads of churches in Jerusalem have issued a response to the attempted unlawful takeover of Armenian church property. Follow updates here and here.
Upcoming Events about Jerusalem
December 4 8:00-9:30pm ET: Livestream and Q&A where I will discuss recent pop media archaeological stories, excavations, and developments in Jerusalem. Patreon patrons at the $5/month tier or higher get access to livestreams and other Jerusalem-based rewards.
December 10 19:15 JT/12:00pm ET: New Discoveries in the Temple Mount Sifting Project Research digital gala with lectures by Zachi Dvira, Gabriel Barkay, Haim Shaham, Anat Mendel-Geberovich, and Mordechai Kedar. Register here. Cost: $80.
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