The latest on the raising of the Mazzarón II

PHOENICIAN WATCH:

The raising of the Phoenician ship in the bay of Mazarrón is well underway. The first month of work has seen archaeologists remove 30% of the Phoenician ship from the sea in Mazarrón (Murcia Today).

New findings during the extraction of a Phoenician shipwreck in Spain, the most complete ancient vessel found in the Mediterranean Sea (Guillermo Carvajal, LBV).

Although the area has been previously excavated, the team has found materials that had not been documented before, which has been a pleasant surprise for the researchers. Among the most notable discoveries are fragments of ropes and ceramic pieces that had been buried under layers of sediment.

The preservation of such delicate objects is a unique opportunity for scholars, as they will offer new insights into trade practices and life aboard this type of vessel in antiquity. According to the experts, the condition of some of these materials is exceptional, allowing for in-depth studies of the navigation and trade techniques of the ancient Phoenicians.

Emphasis in original.

Background on the project of raising the Mazzarón II shipwreck in Murcia, Spain, which has been in planning for years and is currently being executed, see here and links. Note the variable spellings Mazarrón (Mazarron) and Mazzarón (Mazzaron).

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Hybrid event: Revealing Royal Jerusalem

ARMSTRONG INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY: Upcoming Event: Revealing Royal Jerusalem. Join AIBA, the Israel Antiquities Authority and other select partners on an archaeological journey to the core of ancient Jerusalem..

The event on 10 November will be both in-person and livestreamed. Follow the link for ticket information etc.

For more on the current "Kingdom of David and Solomon Discovered" exhibition, which includes the Tel Dan Stele, see here, here, and here.

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Orientalism and HB scholarship

THE BIBLE AND INTEPRETATION:

Orientalism and Hebrew Bible Scholarship

The standard version of Orientalism as a pernicious regime of power/knowledge is simplistic and somewhat grotesque. It entails the negation of the very possibility of philological knowledge and critical scholarship of ancient Middle Eastern texts, including the Hebrew Bible.

See also Genesis 1-11: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Yale University Press, 2024).

By Ronald Hendel University of California, Berkeley October 2024

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Frendo, How to Read Ancient Texts (Archaeopress, open access)

THE AWOL BLOG: How to Read Ancient Texts: With a Focus on Select Phoenician Inscriptions from Malta. By Anthony J. Frendo, open access by Archaeopress, September 2024.

This book foregrounds the principles of interpretation that scholars employ when reading ancient inscriptions. In order to better come to grips with Canaanite, such as Phoenician, inscriptions, we need to first understand how people wrote and read texts in the ancient Mediterranean world, including that of the Greeks and Romans.

Cross-file under New Book, Phoenician Watch, and Northwest Semitic Epigraphy.

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