A scarab, a scroll and an ancient tomb are this month’s top reports in biblical archaeology.

3. Rare Carnelian Scarab Discovered by a Hiker near Tel Rekhesh

A man hiking in the Nahal Tabor Nature Reserve near Tel Rekhesh in the Lower Galilee discovered a rare carnelian scarab that had been exposed by recent rains. A scarab is a small seal or amulet constructed in the shape of a dung beetle on one side and usually bearing a design or inscription on the base. While many scarabs originated in Egypt, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority believes this scarab may have been made for an Assyrian or Babylonian official over 2500-years ago. Carnelian scarabs are rare, as scarabs are more often made of Egyptian faience or carved from other stone, such as steatite. Tell Rekhesh has been identified with biblical Anaharath (Josh 19:19) and contains the remains of a building complex on the summit of the tell that was in use during the periods of Assyrian and Babylonian control of the region. 

NEWS LINK: https://allisrael.com/idf-reservist-finds-2-800-year-old-assyrian-scarab-amulet-while-hiking

2. New Study Identifies Alexander the Great’s Father as the Occupant of a Royal Tomb in Greece

According to a new study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the occupant of a royal tomb (Tomb I)  in Greece is Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II of Macedon. Ever since the royal tomb complex in Vergina—the site of ancient Aegae, the first capital of Macedonia—was excavated in 1977, the identities of the occupants have been debated. In the new study, the authors detail their examination of the bones of the male skeleton from Tomb I. They determined that the individual had a knee fusion, which is consistent with ancient sources that say Philip II walked with a limp. Tomb I also contained the remains of a woman and an infant. This is consistent with sources that record that Philip’s wife Cleopatra and her infant son, were both killed shortly after the king’s death, which allowed Alexander the Great to take the throne uncontested. The authors of the study conclude that Tomb I contains the remains of Phillip II of Macedon, his wife, and his infant son.

NEWS LINK: https://arkeonews.net/the-identities-of-the-occupants-of-the-unspoiled-4th-century-bce-royal-tombs-at-vergina-in-northern-greece-have-been-identified/

1.  Carbonized Scroll from Herculaneum Digitally Unwrapped

The organizers of the Vesuvius Challenge have announced the winners of the 2023 Grand Prize which was awarded to a team of independent researchers that was best able to digitally unwrap one of the carbonized scrolls from the famous library at ancient Herculaneum that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. The organizers of the Vesuvius Challenge imaged the scroll using a particle accelerator and released the CT scans of the scroll to the public. The winning team was able to reconstruct 15 columns of text and over 2000 characters in total. The scroll turned out to be an unknown ancient work of Epicurean philosophy, possibly written by Philodemus, the teacher of Virgil, as it mentions a man named Xenophantos, who is also mentioned by Philodemus in his work, On Music. The advances in technology spurred on by the Vesuvius Challenge will hopefully allow for further carbonized scrolls from Herculaneum and other sites to be digitally unwrapped and read. Perhaps new biblical manuscripts will soon follow.

NWES LINK: https://scrollprize.org/grandprize

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