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It was bound to happen. In a world of e-mail, Google and instant messaging, it was only a matter of time before archaeology and ancient studies hopped on the cyber-bandwagon. From Web sites to online lexicons and topical email listservs, the Internet has become a treasure trove of news, information and discussion about the Bible and archaeology. But the latest trend is “blogging.”
A “blog” (short for “Web log”) is a journal-style Web site run (usually) by one person to record his or her thoughts, interesting news items, articles or commentaries. Sometimes blogs focus on a particular topic, sometimes not. And there are already hundreds, if not thousands of them devoted to Biblical studies, the ancient Near East and archaeology. For example, Dr. James Davila (a professor at St. Andrew’s, Scotland) has been running the PaleoJudaica blog (paleojudaica.blogspot.com) since early 2003, making him a seasoned veteran of the blogging community. According to his site, Davila started the blog as “an experiment that aims to chronicle and comment on current developments in the academic field of ancient Judaism and its historical and literary context.” In almost four years, Davila has already posted thousands of entries.
Although Davila is a scholar in the field, any interested “layperson” can start a blog too. That is just what software engineer Yitzhak Sapir did with his Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East blog (toldot.blogspot.com). He shares his own opinions, as well as news and recent scholarship, with those who visit his site. And he’s had some help from the experts as well. With the cooperation of Israeli archaeologist Zachi Zweig, Sapir’s blog is one of only a few places where you can see photographs of a sixth-century B.C.E. bulla discovered by Zweig and Gabriel Barkay during their work of sifting the earth excavated and dumped from the Temple Mount in recent years.
Blogs aren’t limited to news and articles, though. They can also take you right into the trenches. In January 2006, the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project launched its own blog (gath.wordpress.com), which is believed to be the first in the world from an ongoing archaeological project. The Web site presents updated information about the dig, including recent finds, personal entries from staff and volunteers, and plenty of photos from the field. During the off-season, project staff continue to post on the blog with research updates and news from the lab. According to Director Aren Maeir, the blog provides “a new and exciting medium for outreach between archaeological projects and the public.” Based on the thousands of hits that the Tell es-Safi/Gath blog has received in its first year, it appears that the public agrees.—D.D.R.
For a firsthand account of life on an archaeological dig, check out our Dig Blog at www.biblicalarchaeology.org and read daily posts from two students who volunteered at the excavation in Megiddo last summer.
It was bound to happen. In a world of e-mail, Google and instant messaging, it was only a matter of time before archaeology and ancient studies hopped on the cyber-bandwagon. From Web sites to online lexicons and topical email listservs, the Internet has become a treasure trove of news, information and discussion about the Bible and archaeology. But the latest trend is “blogging.”