French and German researchers recently discovered nearly-invisible traces of metal on Phoenician ivories, suggesting the presence of dyes including copper-based Egyptian blue and iron-based hematite, according to a recent X-ray Read more…
Cultural Heritage
Cultural heritage shapes our understanding of the ancient world. How do museums display artifacts? What sites are developed for tourism? Why are some sites preserved and others reconstructed? What are the effects of looting?
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Hidden in Plain Sight—Painted Phoenician Ivories
• 05/20/2013
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Gabriel’s Revelation
• 05/08/2013
Gabriel’s Revelation: Download a free ebook of definitive articles on “the greatest archaeological discovery in the Middle East since the Dead Sea Scrolls,” now on display at the Israel Museum Read more…
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Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion
• 05/06/2013
Dorothy D. Resig reviews “Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion” edited by Patricia C. Pongracz. Read more…
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Digitizing Israel’s Scientific Archive
• 01/18/2013
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) Scientific Archive includes tens of thousands of extraordinary (and extraordinarily fragile) documents from the British Mandate (1919-1948). Read more…
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3-D Printing the Ancient World
• 01/02/2013
Researchers at Harvard University’s Semitic Museum are using new photomodeling technology to construct undamaged re-creations of Mesopotamian artifacts damaged over the millennia. Read more…
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Group Seeks Recognition of Aramaic Language and Maronite Heritage
• 10/12/2012
Aram, an Israeli Maronite Christian group, seeks formal recognition for their cultural and ethnic heritage. Israel’s Interior Ministry currently considers the group Arab. Read more…
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First Person: Should Israel Return the Tablets of the Law to Egypt?
• 09/21/2012
In 1969, barely two years after the 1967 Six-Day War, a team of Israeli archaeologists made an exploratory excavation at the base of one of the numerous sites in the Read more…
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World’s Great Libraries Go Digital
• 09/19/2012
When Johannes Gutenberg’s 1455 Latin Bible became the first book printed using movable type, it started a revolution by making literature (especially the Bible) easier to produce and Read more…
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Restoring the Walls of Jerusalem
• 09/11/2012
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the completion of the conservation and stabilization of St. Stephen’s Gate, also known as the Lions’ Gate, the final restored gate in a large-scale Read more…
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Frank Lloyd Wright: Baghdad Through the Eyes of a Visionary
• 07/05/2012
While Wright’s vision for Baghdad was never realized, his drawings now represent part of the history of Iraq – or at least the history of “what could have been.” Read more…
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Jesus’ Birthplace Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage List
• 06/30/2012
June 29, 2012 update: Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity was confirmed as as the first Palestinian UNESCO world heritage site by a 13-6 vote. Read more…
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Lebanese Culture Minister Allows Construction on Phoenician Port
• 06/29/2012
Lebanese citizens are protesting Culture Minister Gaby Layyoun’s decision to allow construction on a site that may contain a 2,500 year old Phoenician port. UNESCO and other organizations have declared Read more…
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Jerusalem Begins Construction on the National Archaeology Quarter
• 06/26/2012
The Israel Antiquities Authority began construction of Jersualem’s new National Archaeology Quarter on Sunday, June 24, 2012. Located next to the Israel Museum, the new space will replace the Rockefeller Read more…
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Yeshiva University Project Shines a Colorful Digital Light on the Arch of Titus (Updated June 22, 2012)
• 06/22/2012
The Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project, conducted by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, recently scanned the iconic arch for traces of color on the first century C.E. Read more…
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The Dawn of Egyptian Art Exhibit
• 06/20/2012
A new exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art highlights the grace and diversity of Egyptian art from the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods that set the tone for Read more…
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Conservation Efforts Expose Princely Umayyad Inscription
• 06/01/2012
Conservation efforts conducted by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro in Rome and the World Monuments Fund recently preserved an Umayyad Read more…
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Jerusalem Cabinet Invests in Biblical Sites in Jerusalem
• 05/21/2012
Jerusalem’s ministers approved a 350 million shekel (over $90 million) project to develop and renovate infrastructure in the city’s Biblical and other heritage sites. The special cabinet meeting Sunday was Read more…
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Oil Pipeline Threatens Ancient Babylon and World Cultural Heritage
• 05/18/2012
An Iraqi Oil Ministry plan to extend an oil pipeline through ancient Babylon presents a major threat to the cultural heritage of one of the ancient world’s most important cities. Read more…
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Prison Makes Way for the Holy Land’s Oldest Church
• 04/23/2012
Despite the great deal of fanfare surrounding its discovery, the third century C.E. Christian prayer hall discovered at Megiddo looks like anything but an archaeological tourist site. Likely the oldest Read more…
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Google and Israel Museum Create Virtual Museum Experience
• 04/06/2012
Google and the Israel Museum launched an interactive search engine and Web site this week that allows visitors to take a virtual tour of the museum’s vast collection of Biblical Read more…
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Restoration Completed on the World’s Oldest Major Parliament
• 03/12/2012
After the largest archaeological restoration project in Turkish history, taking over two years and costing 7.5 million Turkish liras to complete, the Lycian League Parliament building in Patara has regained Read more…
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Bowling Green State University Explores Repatriation of Looted Mosaics
• 03/09/2012
Bowling Green State University has quickly and candidly responded to accusations of owning looted mosaics from the Turkish site of Zeugma. The Turkish government requested that the mosaics be returned Read more…
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Turkish Authorities Claim to Have Seized Early Biblical Text
• 02/27/2012
Turkish media outlets report that Turkey is in possession of a 1,500-year-old Biblical text that was seized by police in 2000 during a raid on a smuggling operation. The text, Read more…
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Site Where Ark of the Covenant Rested to Be Preserved
• 02/23/2012
An Israeli heritage committee has allocated NIS 5 million (about $1.3 million) for the renovation and preservation of Tel Shiloh, the site where, according to Biblical tradition, the Ark of Read more…
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Important Temple Mount Model Returns to Jerusalem
• 02/16/2012
A 19th-century model of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, which details nearly every early excavation and underground passageway known at the time, was returned to Jerusalem last week. The model, which measures Read more…
