4,000 years ago, an official named Aradmu kept economic and social records of agrarian life and the economy near Nippur in southern Iraq. After having been looted from Iraq, smuggled Read more…
Biblical Artifacts
Biblical artifacts are manmade objects, often found during archaeological excavations, that make a contribution to our understanding of the Bible and/or the historicity of Biblical events.
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4,000 Year Old Texts Survive the Attacks of Time and 9/11
• 05/16/2012
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Book of Nehemiah Found Among the Scrolls
• 05/15/2012
Norwegian scroll scholar Torleif Elgvin of Evangelical Lutheran University College in Oslo, Norway, announced that he and colleague Esther Eshel of Bar-Ilan University will be publishing a collection of more Read more…
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The Troubled Return of the James Ossuary
• 05/14/2012
Despite the March 14th verdict declaring collector Oded Golan not guilty on all counts of forgery, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) persists in its conflict with the defendant. Prosecutor Dan Read more…
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Archaeologists Discover “New” Ancient Language from the Eighth-Century B.C.E.
• 05/11/2012
When Cambridge archaeologist John MacGinnis examined a tablet listing the names of 60 women found at an Assyrian governor’s palace in southeastern Turkey, he noticed that most did not bear Read more…
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Fifty Years of Dead Sea Scroll Translation
• 05/11/2012
Fifty years have passed since a young scholar named Geza Vermes published the first Dead Sea Scrolls translation of the texts available at the time. The seventh edition of the Read more…
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Israeli Archaeologists Discover Byzantine Quarry and Possible Site of Sixth Century Miracle
• 05/09/2012
In the sixth century C.E. history The Buildings of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea describes how God provided a miraculous supply of stone for the construction of the Read more…
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Breaking News—Evidence of Cultic Activity in Judah Discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa
• 05/08/2012
The exciting finds just keep coming at Khirbet Qeiyafa. This unique, fortified Judahite city on the border with Philistia had a short-lived existence between 1020 and 980 B.C.E., according to Read more…
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Qeiyafa Ostracon Relates the Birth of the Kingdom of Israel
• 05/07/2012
Gerard Leval presents French epigrapher Émile Puech’s interpretation of the Qeiyafa Ostracon as the earliest text on the formation of the Kingdom of Israel and the only artifact referencing King Read more…
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First Temple Period ‘Matanyahu’ Seal Discovered in Jerusalem
• 05/02/2012
An Israel Antiquities Authority excavation in Jerusalem uncovered a small stone seal dating to the First Temple period earlier this week. The 8th-6th century B.C.E. personal seal was used to Read more…
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What is it? Answer to the BHD and Facebook discussion posted 1 May 2012
• 05/01/2012
Multiple Choices for this week’s What is it? discussion. Read more…
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City of David Archaeologists Unearth Late Bronze Age Egyptian Scarab
• 04/19/2012
Israeli archaeologists working at the City of David excavations in Jerusalem recently uncovered a rare 13th century B.C.E. Egyptian scarab. The scarab dates to Egypt’s 19th dynasty, which was marked Read more…
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Ashkelon Excavations Find New Evidence of Philistine Religion
• 04/13/2012
In the summer of 2009, the Ashkelon excavations were working in a typical Philistine domestic structure from about 1200 B.C.E. (roughly contemporaneous with the settlement of the Israelites in adjacent Read more…
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James Ossuary Forgery Trial Resources Guide
• 04/13/2012
The Biblical archaeology world has been abuzz ever since Oded Golan and Robert Deutsch were declared not guilty in the March 14th James Ossuary forgery trial verdict. The verdict sparked Read more…
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An Artistic Survey of the History of Ancient Egypt
• 04/11/2012
Ancient Egypt and Nubia provides an overview of the history of ancient Egypt, as well as a catalog of the stunning objects on display in the newly redesigned Egyptian gallery Read more…
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Google Helps Readers Understand Scroll Translations
• 04/10/2012
In September 2011, Google and the Israel Museum launched the ambitious Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project, with the aim of eventually making English translations and high-resolution images of all of 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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Romans Used Celebrity Fighter to Recruit Soldiers
• 04/09/2012
A newly translated Greek inscription recovered from the ancient town of Oinoanda in southwest Turkey reveals that the Roman army relied on the services of a mixed martial arts champion 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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IAA Seizes Smuggled Egyptian Coffins
• 04/05/2012
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced this week that two beautifully decorated and well preserved wooden coffin lids dating to the time of Egypt’s pharaohs were seized during a raid Read more…
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New Details Emerge About Lod Mosaic Artist
• 04/04/2012
Sixteen years ago, a beautiful and elegantly crafted third-century C.E. mosaic, festooned with lively depictions of wild beasts, birds and marine life, was discovered during roadwork near the town of Read more…
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What is it? Answer to Last Week’s BHD and Facebook Artifact Discussion
• 04/04/2012
What is it? Answer to Last Week’s BHD and Facebook Artifact Discussion Read more…
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Price of the Shekel Rises to $1 Million
• 03/28/2012
An American collector paid $1.1 million for an ancient Judean coin at an auction in New York earlier this month. The silver shekel, dated to the first year of the Read more…
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What is it? Artifact Discussion on BHD and Facebook.
• 03/28/2012
The answer has been posted for last week’s discussion. Join our weekly artifact analyses on BHD and Facebook! Read more…
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Archaeologists Find Earliest Known Metal Equestrian Bit in Israel
• 03/22/2012
Excavations at the Middle Bronze Age site of Tel Haror in Israel uncovered a metal bit in an equid burial dating between 1750 and 1650 B.C.E. It is the oldest Read more…
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Jeremiah, Prophet of the Bible, Brought Back to Life
• 03/22/2012
The relationship between archaeology and the Bible is not always an easy one, but sometimes they come together in striking agreement as witnesses to history. Two small clay bullae (seal Read more…
