In the Biblical world, Lebanese cedar (Cedrus libani) trees were highly sought after as an excellent source of timber for ancient woodworking. The wood’s high quality, pleasant scent and resistance Read more…
Daily Life and Practice
Archaeology, inscriptions and literature all give us an insight into daily practice in the ancient world. How did the Israelites live? What material culture did they interact with on a daily basis? How did an average person practice religion?
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Lebanese Cedar—The Prized Tree of Ancient Woodworking
• 05/20/2013
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A Jerusalem Quarry from the Second Temple Period
• 05/08/2013
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of a massive quarry from Second Temple period (538 B.C.E–70 C.E.) Jerusalem in the modern Ramat Shlomo district on Wednesday, May 8th. Read more…
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Iron Age Weapons—From Cold Metal to Warm-Blooded Animals
• 04/16/2013
Judging by the numerous Biblical stories, victory stele and battle reliefs, war seems to have been widespread in antiquity. But in our modern world of jets, rockets and tanks, how Read more…
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A Feast for the Senses … and the Soul
• 03/21/2013
Go on a journey of the senses through history and discover the significance of ritual feasts and meals in antiquity. Read more…
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Ancient Board Games
• 02/11/2013
Archaeologists have uncovered over 25 inscriptions in Jerusalem’s Old City alone that served as public boards for ancient games. Read more…
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The Enduring Symbolism of Doves
• 02/01/2013
Few symbols have a tradition as long and as rich as the dove. Read about what it represents, how its use has been shared, adapted and reinterpreted across cultures and Read more…
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Tumor and Teeth in Late Roman Spain
• 01/23/2013
Archaeologists excavating a Spanish necropolis discovered a calcified tumor with a bone and four teeth in the pelvis of a late Roman woman. Read more…
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Re-dating Nabatean Farming at Petra
• 01/03/2013
Researchers examining dam construction and terrace farming techniques at Petra suggest that the Nabateans began employing these techniques around the first century, rather than the earlier Iron Age chronology hypothesized Read more…
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Archaeologists Expose Israel’s Largest Hellenistic Harbor
• 12/03/2012
Excavations at Akko (Acre) have exposed archaeological evidence of the Israel’s largest Hellenistic harbor, according to an Israel Antiquities Authority Press release Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Read more…
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Brewing Bronze Age Beer
• 11/29/2012
University of Manchester archaeologists working at Kissonerga-Skalia, located near Paphos (Cyprus), are having fun with experimental archaeology. During the investigation of a Bronze Age industrial area, Manchester archaeologist Dr. Lindy Read more…
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Philistine and Israelite Religion at Tell es-Safi/Gath
• 10/31/2012
Over the past few years, excavations at Tell es-Safi have exposed some remarkable cultic discoveries, including a horned altar, featured as the Prize Find in BAR’s 2012 Dig Issue.* Read more…
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Exposing Petra’s North Ridge
• 10/31/2012
This summer, NC State and East Carolina University began a new excavation on Petra’s North Ridge, exposing evidence from shaft tombs, domestic structures and new evidence of the city wall. Read more…
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The Fiscus Judaicus and the Parting of the Ways
• 10/10/2012
The fiscus Judaicus was a tax imposed on the Jews of the Roman Empire by Emperor Vespasian in the early 70s C.E. Whereas formerly the Jews had sent a half Read more…
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Who Really Invented the Alphabet—Illiterate Miners or Educated Sophisticates?
• 09/13/2012
Scholars Anson Rainey and Orly Goldwasser continue their debate as to who really invented the alphabet. Read more…
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Archaeologists Identify the World’s Earliest “Matches” in Ancient Israel
• 08/09/2012
The ability to cultivate fire stands out as a distinct step in the development of humanity. The ancient Greeks believed that the trickster titan Prometheus stole flames for humanity to Read more…
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The Olympic Games: How They All Began
• 07/27/2012
It’s back—that special two week festival, held every fourth summer, when elite athletes from all over the world gather to pummel one another in the spirit of brotherhood: the Olympic Read more…
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Medicine in the Ancient World
• 07/11/2012
What exactly did ancient cultures do to combat disease and injury, and did these methods have any real basis in science as we know it today? The answers may surprise Read more…
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Making Sense of Kosher Laws
• 07/09/2012
The origins of Jewish dietary or kosher laws (kashrut) have long been the subject of scholarly research and debate. Read more…
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What is it? Answer to the BHD and Facebook Artifact Discussion.
• 06/29/2012
What is this object? When is it from? What culture did it come from?
Multiple Choices for this week’s What is it? discussion. Read more…
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How Ancient Taxes Were Collected Under King Manasseh
• 04/09/2012
Discovered during the Temple Mount Sifting Project, this seventh-century B.C.E. clay bulla inscribed in paleo-Hebrew script with the phrase “Gibeon, for the king” provides new evidence for how ancient taxes Read more…
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Apotropaic Guardians, Ancient Symbols, Divine Icons or Children’s Toys?
• 03/08/2012
Clay, stone and plaster figurines have been found across the ancient world, but their significance repeatedly mystifies archaeologists. What are these ancient symbols? Could they be apotropaic guardians, children’s toys, Read more…
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Did the Northern Kingdom of Israel Practice Customary Ancient Israelite Religion?
• 02/17/2012
There is very little archaeological evidence of royal ancient Israelite religion. Excavations have had greater access to sites showing everyday “folk religion,” mostly because the center of elite ancient Israelite Read more…
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An Expert’s Take on Toilet History and Customs from Antiquity to the Renaissance
• 02/17/2012
While reading Sarah Bakewell’s bestselling biography of the 16th-century French essayist Michel de Montaigne, Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) editor Hershel Shanks came across a reference to an interesting toilet custom Read more…
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The Garum Debate
• 01/25/2012
Scholars question whether “pure” garum (a popular Roman sauce that was made from various types of fish and marine life) was intended for Jews or for the followers of other Read more…
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What Archaeology in the Galilee Tells Us About Daily Life in Ancient Israel
• 12/30/2011
Uzi Leibner’s new book reports the results of an archaeological survey of the eastern Galilee. The survey provides important details about Israel in the Roman period, as well as the Read more…
