Biblical Archaeology Society of Northern Virginia

09/15/2024

Sunday, October 6, 2024
A Trio of 3rd Century Early Christian Inscriptions in Greek from Biblical Armageddon
Christopher Rollston

Spnsored by the Hellenic Society Prometheas

On occasion, ancient inscriptions with some very dramatic content will come to light, and with three recently excavated Megiddo Mosaic inscriptions we have just such a case!

One of these inscriptions, commissioned by a prominent woman named "Akeptous," includes this stunning sequence of words: “God Jesus Christ." Another of these inscriptions contains a command to "remember" four prominent women: "Primilla, Kuriake, Dorothea, and Chreste." Finally, one of these inscriptions refers to a Roman centurion named "Gaianus" (Greek: "Porphyrius") as the prominent benefactor who made the donation for the mosaic.

This mosaic inscription also includes a medallion with two fish (reminiscent of "the loaves and fishes" miracle or the famed Early Christian symbol acronym IXTHUS, or both). These mosaic inscriptions have been removed from the ground, are currently being conserved, and will be exhibited at various museums (including in Washington, DC) before being returned to Megiddo.

Christopher Rollston - Professor of Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures at George Washington University

Luncheon at 2 pm / Lecture at 3 pm

This event will be held at:

Full Key Restaurant
5830 Columbia Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041

On occasion, ancient inscriptions with some very dramatic content will come to light, and with three recently excavated Megiddo Mosaic inscriptions we have just such a case!

08/25/2024

Next Lecture:

Sunday, September 8, 2024

A History of Death in the Hebrew Bible
Matthew Suriano

The descriptions of death and burial in the Hebrew Bible are brief and ambiguous. Portrayals of postmortem existence are also enigmatic, seemingly contradictory and not fixed during First and Second Temple times.

The Psalms often depict the dead as residing in Sheol, a dark and dreary place: tomb-like. Passages in Genesis and Ecclesiastes imply that Sheol is the common fate of all people regardless of whether they were righteous or unrighteous. While Sheol is mentioned sixty-six times in the Hebrew Bible, it is never clear whether it is a final resting place; the prophet Samuel is recalled from death by King Saul.

A tomb also holds positive connotations in biblical literature. An ideal death involved being “gathered to one’s kin” and buried inside the family tomb. Burial practices also changed over time. The excavation of Iron Age tombs from Judah show that the dead received two burials: an initial interment when the body was brought to the tomb, and; a secondary burial when their bones were transferred to a repository of family bones stored inside the tomb.

Matthew Suriano - Associate Professor, Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Program and Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Maryland.

This event will be held at:

Yayla Bistro / 2201 N. Westmoreland street / Arlongton / VA/ 22213

Luncheon at 2 PM; Lecture at 3 pm

The Sea Peoples were emblematic of the mixed ethnic identities that typified pirates of the Mediterranean world near the end of the Bronze Age. These mixed identities, generally drawn from non-elite classes, seem to have coalesced into cultural groupings whose members split their b***y equally.

04/17/2024

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 7:30 PM at B’nai Israel
After 1177 BCE: The Survival of Civilizations
Eric Cline

In the years after 1177 BCE, many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost.

After 1177 BCE will trace the compelling story of what happened during the next four centuries across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean world. It is a story of resilience, transformation, and success, as well as failures, in an age of chaos and reconfiguration. Those that failed to adjust disappeared from the world stage, while others transformed themselves, resulting in a new world order that included Israelites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Neo-Hittites, Neo-Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, and world-changing innovations such as the use of iron and the alphabet.

It is now clear that this period, far from being the First Dark Age, was a new age with new inventions, new opportunities, and lessons for us today.

Eric Cline is Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at George Washington University.

Lecture at 7:30 pm

This event will be held at B'nai Israel Congregation: 6301 Montrose Road / Rockville, MD 20852

https://basonova.org/next-lecture-reservation.html

04/17/2024

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 7:30 PM at B’nai Israel
After 1177 BCE: The Survival of Civilizations
Eric Cline

In the years after 1177 BCE, many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost.

After 1177 BCE will trace the compelling story of what happened during the next four centuries across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean world. It is a story of resilience, transformation, and success, as well as failures, in an age of chaos and reconfiguration. Those that failed to adjust disappeared from the world stage, while others transformed themselves, resulting in a new world order that included Israelites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Neo-Hittites, Neo-Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, and world-changing innovations such as the use of iron and the alphabet.

It is now clear that this period, far from being the First Dark Age, was a new age with new inventions, new opportunities, and lessons for us today.

Eric Cline is Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at George Washington University.

Lecture at 7:30 pm

This event will be held at B'nai Israel Congregation: 6301 Montrose Road / Rockville, MD 20852

In the years after 1177 BCE, many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative pe...

10/17/2023

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 8 PM via Zoom
Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture
Mika Ahuvia

Angelic beings can be found throughout the Hebrew Bible, and by late antiquity the archangels Michael and Gabriel were as familiar as the patriarchs and matriarchs; guardian angels were as present as one’s shadow, and; praise of the seraphim was as sacred as the Shema.

This lecture follows how angels became foundational to ancient Judaism. Ancient Jewish practice centered on humans’ complex relationships with these invisible beings who acted as their intermediaries, role models, and guardians. By bringing non-canonical sources into view—incantation bowls, amulets, mystical texts, and liturgical poetry—it becomes evident that when ancient men and women sought access to divine aid, they turned not only to their rabbis, or to God alone, but often also to the angels.

This presentation allows these overlooked stories, interactions, and rituals to take center stage, and offers a new entry point to the history of Judaism, to the wider ancient Mediterranean and to Near Eastern world in which they flourished.

Mika Ahuvia is Associate Professor of Classical Judaism at the University of Washington

10/17/2023

Sunday, November 19, 2023
New Views on an Old Temple: The Parthenon and Its Decoration
Jenifer Neils

Sponsored by the Hellenic Society Promtheas

The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is perhaps the most readily recognizable building in the world, and during the past two millennia our understanding of it and its sculptural decoration has continued to evolve.

This lecture will examine some of these changing interpretations and how they are – or are not – related to the cultural, social and political context of 5th-century BCE Athens. Primarily a lavish marble temple dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens, the Parthenon is also a civic monument celebrating the democratic state’s victories in war, the valor of its heroes, the beauty of its citizenry, and even the status of its women.

Jenifer Neils is Emerita Professor, Case Western University and former Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

10/17/2023

Sunday, October 22 , 2023
Genius of Water Systems that Once Turned Petra Green
Christian Cloke

The site of Petra, famed for its monumental rock-cut tombs and named one of UNESCO's 7 modern wonders of the world, is located in an arid part of southern Jordan which today receives an annual rainfall under four inches.

In antiquity however, when Petra was a flourishing city of the Nabataean people (and eventually part of the Roman Empire), the surrounding hills were covered with gardens, growing grapes and other crops, and the city center was home to a public pleasure garden full of pools, fountains, and exotic plants. All of this was made possible by the Nabataeans' ingenuity, and their ability to capture rainfall, directing water to numerous cisterns around the city, while dams and canals in the hinterlands created an extensive agricultural landscape.

This presentation, based on excavation work in the heart of Petra, and archaeological survey on its outskirts, examines the ingenious ways in which the ancient Nabataeans of Petra harnessed water to create a lush and prosperous paradise in the desert.

Christian Cloke is Associate Director of Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture, Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland.

Location: Yayla Bistro - 2201 Westmoreland St. / Arlington, VA 22213

Luncheon at 2 pm; Lecture at 3 pm

The site of Petra, famed for its monumental rock-cut tombs and named one of UNESCO's 7 modern wonders of the world, is located in an arid part of southern Jordan which today receives an annual rainfall under four inches.   In antiquity however, when Petra was a flourishing city of the Nabataean p...

07/14/2023

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 8 pm via Zoom
The First Half of History: A Virtual Tour of the Yale Babylonian Collection

by Ekhart Frahm and Agnete Lassen

Tickets: https://www.basonova.org/upcoming-lectures.html

The Yale Babylonian Collection, founded in 1911, is one of the world’s main repositories of cuneiform texts, cylinder seals, and other artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia.

This virtual tour will provide glimpses into three millennia of Mesopotamian history and culture. Through a close examination of some of the collection’s most intriguing pieces – among them a manuscript of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a cuneiform letter sent by Ramesses II, and an early catalogue of medical treatises – participants will gain insights into the origins of elements of civilization that are still very much with us, from literary authorship (first ascribed to a woman) to counting, cooking, healing, and spying.

This presentation will explore the connections between Mesopotamia and the world of the Bible and demonstrate how new technologies help us better understand some of the most ancient testimonies of human history.

Ekhart Frahm is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University

Agnete Lassen is Associate Curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection at the Yale Peabody Museum

The Yale Babylonian Collection, founded in 1911, is one of the world’s main repositories of cuneiform texts, cylinder seals, and other artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia.

05/10/2023

For all future BASONOVA Lectures. Please visit:

Calamitous battles, breathtaking Helen, love-struck Paris, cuckolded Menelaus, and a giant wooden horse — Homer's famous tale of the Trojan War has fascinated humankind for centuries and has given rise to countless scholarly articles and books, extensive archaeological excavations, epic movies, ...

04/08/2023

Sunday, April 23, 2023
Ancient Slavery and Early Christians
Katherine Wasdin

Slavery was an omnipresent part of life in the ancient Mediterranean. One of its most brutal artifacts is the Zoninus collar, a late antique Roman metal collar designed to be worn around the neck of an enslaved person. One such collar that survives to this day bears a tag that identifies the wearer as owned by Zoninus and is decorated with a palm frond, indicating that Zoninus was a Christian.

The Pauline Epistle of Philemon (one of the books of the Christian New Testament), which accompanies the escaped slave Onesimos as he is returned to his owner Philemon, attests to a worldview about slavery among the earliest Christians. In contrast to the spiritual liberation promised by the new Christian religion, those who find themselves in actual slavery are to remain there.

While slaves were seldom able to tell their own stories, scholars have increasingly examined our available evidence, like the Zoninus collar, to tease out their experiences. This talk will explore the legal and social impacts of slavery in ancient Greco-Roman society and then turn to the role of actual and metaphorical slavery in early Christianity.

Katherine Wasdin is an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Maryland.

This event will be held at Yayla Restaurant: 2201 N. Westmoreland Street / Arlington / VA / 22213

Luncheon begins at 2 pm; Lecture starts at 3 pm

For Tickets: https://www.basonova.org/upcoming-lectures.html

04/08/2023

Sunday, April 23, 2023
Ancient Slavery and Early Christians
Katherine Wasdin

Slavery was an omnipresent part of life in the ancient Mediterranean. One of its most brutal artifacts is the Zoninus collar, a late antique Roman metal collar designed to be worn around the neck of an enslaved person. One such collar that survives to this day bears a tag that identifies the wearer as owned by Zoninus and is decorated with a palm frond, indicating that Zoninus was a Christian.

The Pauline Epistle of Philemon (one of the books of the Christian New Testament), which accompanies the escaped slave Onesimos as he is returned to his owner Philemon, attests to a worldview about slavery among the earliest Christians. In contrast to the spiritual liberation promised by the new Christian religion, those who find themselves in actual slavery are to remain there.

While slaves were seldom able to tell their own stories, scholars have increasingly examined our available evidence, like the Zoninus collar, to tease out their experiences. This talk will explore the legal and social impacts of slavery in ancient Greco-Roman society and then turn to the role of actual and metaphorical slavery in early Christianity.

Katherine Wasdin is an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Maryland.

This event will be held at Yayla Restaurant: 2201 N. Westmoreland Street / Arlington / VA / 22213

Luncheon begins at 2 pm; Lecture starts at 3 pm

For Tickets:

Slavery was an omnipresent part of life in the ancient Mediterranean. One of its most brutal artifacts is the Zoninus collar, a late antique Roman metal collar designed to be worn around the neck of an enslaved person. One such collar that survives to this day bears a tag that identifies the wearer....

08/20/2021

An article about BASONOVA and BAF.

Two local biblical archaeology lecture groups merged for the duration of the pandemic and saw their membership grow with the advent of Zoom presentations, which drew people from outside the Washington area. Now the combined group has to figure out how it’s going to get all those people back into t...