Ancient Cultures

Ancient Cultures

ancient lipstick

Mar 25

A 4,000-Year-Old Lipstick

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

  A small stone vessel from the southeastern Jirof region of Iran may be the oldest lipstick ever discovered. Publishing in the journal Scientific Reports, […]

Bar Kokhba Tunnels

Mar 22

Bar Kokhba Tunnels in the Galilee

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have revealed a complex of underground tunnels built by the Jewish residents of Huqoq, in central Galilee, around […]

1813 painting Vesuvius Erupting by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes

Mar 21

The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?

By: Hershel Shanks

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the opulent vacation destinations of Roman elites in August 79 C.E.—almost exactly nine years after Roman troops destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Did this seem like more than mere coincidence to the ancients?

A stone relief created in 1958 by sculptor Ferdinand Heseding. The relief, which appears on a fountain in Dusseldorf, Germany, depicts the Biblical spies Joshua and Caleb carrying a cluster of grapes back from the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-33)

Mar 19

No, No, Bad Dog: Dogs in the Bible

By: Ellen White

Dogs—or celeb in Hebrew—were not well loved in the Bible. Given the negative associations with dogs, it is surprising that one of the great Hebrew spies bears this name.

Neolithic Bread from Catal Hoyuk. Courtesy Necmettin Erbakan University

Mar 18

Neolithic Bread at Catal Hoyuk

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Excavations at the important site of Catal Hoyuk in south-central Turkey have uncovered what archaeologists have termed “the world’s oldest bread.” According to a press […]

Preserved hair from a Jewish male found in the 1st-century “Tomb of the Shroud”

Mar 17

The Only Ancient Jewish Male Hair Ever Found

By: James Tabor

The braided hair of a Jewish woman was found at Masada but until recently no example of preserved hair from a Jewish male had ever been found from the late 2nd Temple period. This discovery is one of the many fascinating, but less publicized finds of the 1st century “Tomb of the Shroud,” discovered in the summer of 2000 just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. The secrets this tomb continues to yield are many, including recent correlations with the DNA test results from the Talpiot Jesus tomb.

Tyrian Purple

Mar 15

Ancient Israel’s Tyrian Purple Factory

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

  Tyrian purple, tekhelet, royal purple: All names for an incredibly expensive, ancient dye. While this dye is often associated with the Phoenician city-state of […]

Flat plastered stone installation and limestone pillar in the Azekah sun temple’s inner sanctuary

Mar 13

Bathed in Morning Light

By: BAS Staff

Nestled in the heart of the Shephelah with a commanding view over the Elah Valley, the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE) Canaanite city of […]

The early alphabetic inscription, dated to the mid-15th century B.C.E., was preserved on a tiny sherd of painted Late Bronze Age pottery imported from Cyprus. Image credit: Austrian Archaeological Institute/Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Mar 12

Early Alphabetic Writing Found at Lachish

By: BAS Staff

A newly published inscription from Tel Lachish in southern Israel is the earliest alphabetic writing discovered in the southern Levant. The fragmentary inscription features a mere handful of letters inscribed on a tiny pottery sherd, measuring just 4 by 3.5 cm. The sherd is dated by radiocarbon to the 15th century B.C.E., or the first part of the Late Bronze Age.

Mar 11

Pompeii Reborn

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

The Pompeii Archaeological Park is launching a 100-million-euro project aimed at regenerating the archaeological and urban landscape of the ancient Roman city. As well as […]