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Active between the fourth and eighth centuries A.D., the vast site housed multiple churches, monastic cells and other structuresExcavations in Egypt’s Western Desert have unearthed the ruins of an early Christian monastic site, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). Highlights of the discovery include three churches and a set of monks’ cells, or living quarters. Per a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, a joint French-Norwegian team found the basalt and mudbrick structures at Tel Ganub Qasr Al-‘Aguz in the Bahariya Oasis, some 230 miles southwest of Cairo. Some of the buildings were carved directly into the bedrock. Ancient Egyptians...

Denver Newsroom, Mar 19, 2021 / 03:01 am MT (CNA).- Israeli archaeologists announced this week the discovery of several new sets of Dead Sea Scrolls— ancient fragments of biblical text that have, for the past 70 years, contributed to scholars’ knowledge about the Old Testament. The new scroll fragments, which the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced March 16, include the books of Zechariah and Nahum, both minor prophets. Dr. John Bergsma, professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville who has written and spoken extensively on the Dead Sea Scrolls, told CNA that an interesting feature of the scrolls recently found...

On a day that saw the Israel Antiquities Authority unveil the first Bible scroll fragments found in decades and numerous other dazzling artifacts from the “Cave of Horror” above the Dead Sea — including a huge 10,500-year-old complete woven basket, the oldest in the world — perhaps the most extraordinary news is that there are another 20 promising caves, holding untold potential treasures, that have yet to be excavated. That means the dozens of fragments shown to the public on Tuesday could mark the beginning of an exciting new era of discovery, 60 years after the last major scroll finds....

Dozens of 2,000-year-old fragments from scrolls containing portions of the books of Nahum and Zechariah have been unearthed in Israel, an extremely rare discovery in the Judean Desert. The Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the uncovered fragments on Tuesday. They are the first of such discoveries in approximately 60 years. The Dead Sea Scrolls are fragments of religious manuscripts that were originally found in the Judaean Desert decades ago. The newly discovered fragments are Greek translations of the two minor prophets. Despite most of the fragments being in Greek, the name of God is written in Hebrew. The...

With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. But the Atlantic hurricane season will start this year on June 1 as traditionally scheduled, despite meteorologists discussing the idea of moving it to May 15. A special World Meteorological Organization committee Wednesday ended the use of Greek letters when the Atlantic runs out of the 21 names for the year, saying the practice was confusing and put too much focus on the Greek letter and not on the dangerous storm...

They also discovered a partially mummified 6,000-year-old skeleton of a child.For the first time in 60 years, archaeologists have discovered a new fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a cache of ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts uncovered in the Qumran Caves on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. The Israel Antiquities Authority, which carried out the excavations, believes the new scroll, written in Greek, is actually a missing part of the “Book of the 12 Minor Prophets” scroll, first discovered in 1961. It contains verses from Zechariah 8:16-17 and Nahum 1:5-6. The minor differences in the wording compared...

“These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate—declares the Lord.” These verses, from Zechariah 8:16–17, were discovered in a cave where Jewish refugees hid almost 1900 years ago. The verses, written on dozens of parchment fragments were discovered in a complex and challenging national-archaeological operation undertaken by the Israel Antiquities Authority on the cliffs of the Judean Desert, since 2017, in order to prevent antiquities...

TEL AVIV - Israeli archeologists on Tuesday revealed dozens of recently-discovered fragments of biblical texts, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which build on a collection of ancient Jewish religious manuscripts that was first discovered 60 years ago. Israel’s Antiquities Authorities said that the pieces of parchment feature lines of Greek text from the books of Zechariah and Nahum which have been radiocarbon dated to the 2nd century A.D. The discovery is the result of a years-long Israeli excavation in the Judean Desert and are believed to belong to a set known as “The Cave of Horror,” named for the...

What We Can Learn Today From The Writings Of Marcus Tullius Cicero BY E.P. UNUM February 12, 2021 Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on January 3, 106 B.C., and was beheaded… murdered actually, on December 7, 43 B.C. by order from the Second Triumvirate. His life coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Republic, and he played an important role in many of the significant political events of his time. His writings are now a valuable source of information regarding the historical significance of those events. Cicero was, among other things, a brilliant orator, lawyer, politician, and philosopher,...

The inscription, “Christ born of Mary.” Photo: Tzachi Lang, Israel Antiquities Authority ======================================================= JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli authorities excavating in the Jezreel Valley have unearthed a 1,500-year-old inscription dedicated to Jesus. Excavators found the Greek inscription while digging in the village of et-Taiyiba. The inscription was engraved in stone in what is believed by researchers to be the remains of a Byzantine-era church. The inscription reads: “Christ, born of Mary. This work of the most God-fearing and pious bishop [Theodo]sius and the miserable Th[omas] was built from the foundation...Whoever enters should pray for them.” According to Dr. Leah Di-Segni, a...

A seemingly dull marble slab, used for 10 years as a stepping stone in an English garden, is actually a rare ancient Roman engraving, a new analysis finds. The discovery surprised its owner, who learned that the 25-inch-long (63 centimeters) slab — a stone she had previously used as a stair while mounting her horse — dated to the second century A.D. and was worth about $20,400 (£15,000). However, no one knows how the marble masterpiece ended up in England. It was likely carved in Greece or Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), according to a statement from Woolley and Wallis, a...

Ostracism was a political process used in 5th-century BCE Athens whereby those individuals considered too powerful or dangerous to the city were exiled for 10 years by popular vote. Some of the greatest names in Greek history fell victim to the process, although, as the votes were often not personal but based on policies, many were able to resume politics after they had served the statuary 10 years away from their home city. Nevertheless, ostracism was the supreme example of the power of the ordinary people, the demos, to combat abuses of power in the Athenian democracy.

Israel-born actress Gal Gadot announced Sunday that she would team up again with “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins in a new film about the legendary Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. The film will be produced by Paramount and written by Laeta Kalogridis in a retelling of the epic tale made famous by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 classic. The announcement drew criticism, with some railing against the casting of an Israeli as the Queen of Egypt... “Which Hollywood dumba** thought it would be a good idea to cast an Israeli actress as Cleopatra...instead of a stunning Arab actress like Nadine Njeim?” tweeted...

INTERNATIONAL | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan works to Islamize Christian sites TURKEY: The Turkish Islamic Foundation destroyed the historic St. Georgios Greek Orthodox Church in Bursa on Wednesday, seven years after local officials transferred the property to the group’s control. Authorities emptied Bursa of its Greek Orthodox population a century ago, and the church became a mosque in the 1920s. But in 2006 it was restored and for years served as a focal point for Greek-Turkish exchange and reconciliation, then was closed and lapsed into disrepair once the foundation took over. It follows a campaign by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan...

A priest on the Greek island of Kalymnos was arrested on Saturday after a citizen made a complaint about the priest’s message on social media calling for the faithful to not wear masks in church on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The priest was apprehended by police, accused of spreading fake news that endangers public health, according to Greek Reporter. “No one should wear a mask on the Feast of the Panagia!!! We should not hurt our Lady the Theotokos. Our Mother wants to see our faces. She wants to see our faith!!!! She wants...

Archaeologists from the Deultum-Debelt National Archaeological Reserve near Bulgaria's Burgas have discovered the first written evidence that the Roman colony Deultum had a port, BGNES reported. The inscription was found on limestone sarcophagus, dating from the II-III century AD. Experts say that the inscription, which is in Greek, proves that today's Debelt was a port town. Deultum is the oldest Roman colony in the Bulgarian lands. It was established in the 1st century AD, immediately after the Jewish-Roman War and is located at the mouth of today's river Sredetska, which flows into the Burgas Bay. The port town was of...

Round the Clock Diner made waves this week after the owner reopened the restaurant’s locations in Manchester and Springettsbury 'for dine-in' services, in contravention to the governor’s stay-at-home order.....the yellow phase of reopening does not allow restaurants to operate dine-in services. Despite that, Sacarellos is charging ahead. I think I just follow what’s right,” Sacarellos, who has been in the business for 52 years, said they are keeping the restaurant “very clean” and taking safety protocols, like seating patrons at every other table. Urging Wolf to “let the people open up ,Forget the politics.” “I didn’t back down. I’m still...

Our great American experiment was inspired by the ideas about liberty, self-government, and the rule of law that traced their roots to ancient Greece. On Greek Independence Day, we commemorate the rich history shared between the United States and Greece, which is fortified by our love of freedom and commitment to democratic institutions. We join the Greek people in celebrating another year of independence and unity.The great thinkers of ancient Greece stoked the American quest for freedom and a republic founded on the fundamental truth that people have rights that cannot be denied. Decades later, the same values that catalyzed...

His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira of the Greek Orthodox Church was arrested on Friday, March 20, for defying the government’s order and continuing to celebrate the Divine services. The Holy Synod of the Greek Church earlier announced that it would reduce its parishes’ schedules to just one-hour Liturgies on Sunday, though the state then overruled the hierarchs and ordered that all services be canceled until March 30 in an effort to contain the coronavirus. According to the Greek newspaper Lifo.gr, the Metropolitan was arrested after celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Cross Cathedral in defiance of the state’s...

Oxford University has shocked classics students by proposing to drop two of the most important texts from its syllabus. Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad may be made optional in an attempt to modernise the degree course, amid a drop in schools teaching Latin and Greek. But undergraduates say the works are vital to understanding the subject. Jan Preiss, a second-year at New College and president of the Oxford Latinitas Project, has started a petition to keep the texts. 'Removing Homer and Virgil would be a terrible and fatal mistake,' he said.