July/August 2011 Issue of Biblical Archaeology Review

Online, June 22, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The July/August 2011 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) features exclusive and fascinating articles about excavations in the Biblical world, including a beautifully illustrated archaeological story about the apostle Philip and his martyrium, or memorial church, in Turkey. According to the apocryphal Acts of Philip, Philip preached and converted many in Asia Minor at Hierapolis, yet he was martyred there nonetheless. As excavator Francesco D'Andria reports in "Conversion, Crucifixion and Celebration," an octagonal church was built to memorialize the saint, and a sixth-century bread stamp bears a portrait of Philip himself standing at this very site.

From martyred saints to exquisite ivories: Excavators at the Assyrian palace in Nimrud (in modern Iraq) quickly abandoned exploration of an old well when water started pouring in. Much to their surprise, they later found superbly carved ivories floating in the same well water that had threatened their lives. In "Well-Hidden Ivories Surface at Nimrud," Alan Millard shares the fascinating tale of these ivories that were owned by ancient Assyrian kings, cleaned by mystery novelist Agatha Christie, acquired by the British Museum and are now published in a handsome new volume.

Meanwhile, archaeologists working in Galilee have unearthed three ancient synagogues located within a few miles of each other, one of which is in Magdala, hometown of Mary Magdalene. It is one of the oldest synagogues ever found, dating to the first century C.E. Another synagogue features unparalleled mosaics, including famous Biblical scenes. In "New Synagogue Excavations in Israel and Beyond," BAR assistant editor Joey Corbett explores how, together, these synagogues, as well as ones in Turkey, shed new light on the development of Jewish life and worship from Second Temple times into late antiquity.

And finally, with "Isaiah Among the Scrolls" we return to an old favorite: the Dead Sea Scrolls. Purchased secretly by Israeli general Yigael Yadin in 1954, the Great Isaiah Scroll is now published by scholars Eugene Ulrich and Peter Flint in a fresh critical edition with stunning revitalized images. What do we learn about the history and intriguing features of the most famous of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

In our Biblical Views column, Scroll scholar Eugene Ulrich takes a closer look at some of the insertions in the just-published Great Isaiah Scroll, while in Archaeological Views Patricia Smith discusses the importance-and difficulty-of studying excavated human remains. And editor Hershel Shanks uses his First Person to tackle the question of whether or not the Bible can be used as the basis for testing hypotheses archaeologically.