Anglican priest and religion scholar. Senior Lecturer in the School of Theology at Charles Sturt University. Dean, Cathedral Church of Christ the King, Grafton and Rector of the Anglican Parish of Grafton. Formerly Dean at St George's College, Jerusalem. The opinions expressed in my publications, including my blog posts, are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Diocese of Grafton nor Christ Church Cathedral in Grafton.
We are planning for a brief two week session at the Bethsaida Excavation during the second half of December: 15–31 December 2021. Places are limited, but there are a handful of places available at this stage. Accommodation has been reserved at Gadot Kibbutz Gadot in the Hula Valley. Early expressions of interest are essential due … More December 2021 Session
The field report for the 2019 season of the Bethsaida Excavations project has now been released, and can be downloaded directly from this site.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will not be an excavation season at Bethsaida in June 2020. We anticipate that the 2021 season will proceed as normal. Thank you for your understanding.
The Stratum VI stele stone, discovered during excavations at Bethsaida in May 2019, is just under 66 cm long. A plastic reproduction of this significant artefact is now available. At just under 20 cm the reproduction is almost 1/3 scale. See the framed example below. The reproduction utilises 3D digital technology to create a computer … More Reproduction Bethsaida Stele
During the 2019 summer excavation season, British filmmaker Chris Atkins made an excellent film about Bethsaida. Watch the 2019 Bethsaida Video Report
The twenty-first annual Batchelder Conference for Archaeology and Biblical Studies will take place during November 14–16, 2019, at the Thompson Center of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The conference will host two keynote speakers and 14 presenters in two days of deliberation on archaeology and biblical studies. Call for Papers You are invited … More 2019 Batchelder Conference
A new video features the excavations at Bethsaida during the 2019 season. These included a “high place” adjacent to the 11th-century city entrance, including another example of the moon-god stele.
The Jerusalem Post of 6 June 2019 carried a brief report on the discovery of a city gate dating to the eleventh century BCE, making it contemporary with the biblical dates for David and Solomon. Since this was not an Israelite city (as evidenced by the moon-god stele, another example of which was also found this … More 11C BCE city gates found at et-Tell
The official report on the 2018 season at Bethsaida has recently been released. You can read the Bethsaida 2018 Field Report online, along with reports from earlier years under Publications. Please note there is no field report for 2017 as there was no season that year.
The twentieth annual Batchelder Conference for Archaeology and Biblical Studies will take place at Thompson Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, on 9 & 10 November 2018. Our plenary speaker is the world acclaimed archaeologist Prof. Jodi Magness. She will present her amazing discoveries at the ancient synagogue of Hukuk in Galilee. Two days of scholarly … More 2018 Batchelder Conference
Bethsaida Excavations Project 