Archeology

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Lost City Found on Egypt’s Way of Horus?

New excavations at Tel Abu Saify, in Egypt’s eastern Delta region, are shedding light on a major site along the ancient Way of Horus, a route that connected Egypt to the Levant. The discoveries include a massive mudbrick enclosure surrounding a temple, successive Ptolemaic and Roman roads leading into the complex, a sandstone lintel bearing Ramesses II’s titles and an inscription referring to “Horus, Lord of the City of Mesen,” as well as statues and other objects. The inscription provides evidence for the site’s possible identification with Mesen, a city known from New Kingdom sources, but whose location has not been established.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-egypt/lost-city-found-on-egypts-way-of-horus/?

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Were the Greek Gods Actually Minoan?

Long before the world of classical Greece, the island of Crete was home to the Minoans, one of the great civilizations of the Bronze Age Mediterranean. Flourishing especially during the second millennium BCE, the Minoans built impressive palace centers at places like Knossos and participated in extensive trade networks that linked Crete with the Aegean, Anatolian, Egyptian, and Levantine worlds.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/were-greek-gods-actually-minoan/?

Paul and the Slave Girl in Philippi

According to Greek mythology, the god Apollo killed the massive snake Python at Delphi, Greece. Some traditions claim Python to be the child of the goddess Gaea (Earth), who had a sanctuary at Delphi. Following Apollo’s victory, a temple dedicated to him was set up at the site, which replaced Gaea’s earlier sanctuary and appropriated her oracle. For more than a millennium, people sought the prophecies of Apollo’s famous oracle at Delphi: Pythia, a priestess at the temple, who was said to have the spirit of the god.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/paul-and-the-slave-girl-in-philippi/?

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Sacred Circles in Christianity and Buddhism

Archaeologists have discovered dozens of eight-spoked wheels scratched into the floors, walls, and architectural elements of Greco-Roman temples, fountains, and street intersections. A circle divided by lines radiating from a central point, an eight-spoked wheel is a simple form, yet also one that has mystified interpreters. It also happens to be one of the most famous religious symbols of Buddhism.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-rome/sacred-circles-in-christianity-and-buddhism/?

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Who Was Cornelius the Centurion?

Luke, the traditionally accepted author of Acts and the gospel bearing his name, often expanded and further developed theology through the story of a named character. In Acts 10–11, he did so with the conversion of Cornelius, a Roman centurion whose story helped the council in Jerusalem accept that salvation now included both Jews and gentiles.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/who-was-cornelius-centurion/?

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Roman Sanctuary Hidden in “Cave of the Women”

Recent discoveries at Cova Dones, in Spain’s province of Valencia, offer a fascinating glimpse into Roman religious practice, and potentially women-centered worship. Archaeologists have identified around 120 Latin inscriptions dating primarily to the first and second centuries CE, several of which invoke a goddess called Domina, “Lady,” while feminine names and objects associated with textile production add further evidence of women’s presence. According to the University of Alicante, the 120 inscriptions make Cova Dones (“Cave of the Women”) the largest known collection of Latin inscriptions in a cave-sanctuary found anywhere in the Roman Empire.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-rome/roman-sanctuary-hidden-in-cave-of-women/?

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Four Early Rabbis You Should Know

Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Judaism underwent a radical transformation. In the wake of the crisis, a new question loomed large: How were people to express devotion to the God of Israel without the Temple? Ultimately, a reimagined form of Judaism (“rabbinic Judaism”) would take shape in small informal disciple circles centered around Torah study. Although hundreds of rabbis contributed to this development, four figures represent key aspects of the transition.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/four-early-rabbis-you-should-know/?