According to Jordan’s Department of Antiquities, Israel has returned more than 600 ancient clay vessels and artifacts that have been in Israel’s possession since the 1967 war. The Early Bronze Read more…
News
The worlds of archaeology and the Bible move fast. Keep abreast of the latest Bible and archaeology news from around the world. Our presentation of a news story does not constitute our endorsement of a news source, or of the source’s presentation or interpretation of events.
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Israel Returns Early Bronze Age Artifacts to Jordan
• 09/28/2011
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Google, Israel Museum Put Dead Sea Scrolls Online
• 09/27/2011
This week, the Israel Museum, in collaboration with Google, launched a new Web site that allows visitors to view and search high-resolution images of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Read more…
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Original Maimonides Manuscript Goes Digital
• 09/26/2011
The Bodleian Library at Oxford University has digitized an 800-year-old copy of the Mishneh Torah, an authoritative guide to Jewish law written by the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides in the Read more…
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Remarkable Wall Paintings Discovered at Catalhoyuk
• 09/22/2011
Archaeologists excavating the important Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk in central Turkey’s Konya Plain have uncovered an elaborate 9,000-year-old wall painting depicting an enigmatic arrangement of brightly-colored geometric shapes. Read more…
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Another Egyptian Antiquities Chief Resigns
• 09/21/2011
In the face of growing and increasingly violent demonstrations by antiquities department employees, Mohammad Abdel Fatah, the recently-named secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), resigned from his Read more…
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Cave Found at Bottom of Gezer Water Tunnel
• 09/20/2011
Archaeologists excavating the ancient Canaanite water tunnel at Gezer have uncovered a large natural cave near the bottom of the 150-foot-long rock-hewn tunnel, a cave that may ultimately prove to Read more…
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Israeli Bus Station Becomes Archaeological Dig
• 09/19/2011
*Click here to read an updated post on the Beersheba excavations from April 2012*
Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) are uncovering evidence of Byzantine Beersheba in a most unexpected Read more…
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Google to Create Virtual Tour of Jerusalem
• 09/16/2011
Google announced this week that it has begun collecting digital images for a Jerusalem version of its popular Street View feature in Google Maps and Google Earth. Over the course Read more…
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Ancient Anchor Found off Israel’s Coast
• 09/15/2011
Israeli lifeguards working the beaches near Tel Aviv this month rescued a well-preserved Byzantine-era anchor from the sea. Though lifeguard Avi Afia initially spotted the tip of the anchor five Read more…
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Haredi Jews Hold Conference on “Torah Archaeology”
• 09/13/2011
Leading Haredi Jews from Israel and abroad recently held a conference to discuss the light archaeology can shed on Jewish religious texts. Known for their conservative religious outlook, Haredi Jewish Read more…
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Mel Gibson to Make Film about Maccabean Revolt
• 09/12/2011
Warner Bros. studios and Oscar-winning actor and director Mel Gibson are teaming up to make an epic film about the Maccabean Revolt. According to reports, the film, which will be Read more…
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Reflecting on the Power of the Codex
• 09/06/2011
Sometime in the first few centuries C.E., the first bound books—termed codices—revolutionized the way people read the words of prophets, kings, scribes and thinkers.* Unlike lengthy, cumbersome ancient scrolls, which Read more…
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Ancient Tunnels Provide Glimpse of Jewish Revolts
• 09/02/2011
Scattered across Israel are hidden entrances to elaborate cave systems, many of which were used as places of refuge during the first and second Jewish revolts against Rome in the Read more…
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Graffiti: The Ancient World’s Social Media
• 09/01/2011
Thousands of ancient graffiti can be found carved into the walls of burial caves, tombs and quarries throughout the land of Israel. Typically, they include the name of the carver, Read more…
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Saudi Archaeologists Claim Earliest Evidence of Horse Domestication
• 08/31/2011
According to Saudi Arabian antiquities officials, a Neolithic site in the southwestern Asir province has revealed the earliest evidence of horse domestication. Ali al-Ghabban, vice-chairman of the Department of Museums Read more…
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Study Finds Ancient Egyptians Cared About Hair
• 08/29/2011
A study of more than a dozen mummies has found that ancient Egyptians used gels and other products to style elaborate hairdos, both in life and in death. The research, Read more…
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Duke Archaeologists Hold Online Office Hours
• 08/26/2011
If you have questions about Biblical archaeology, get them ready! This Thursday, September 1 at noon EST, Duke University professors and renowned Biblical archaeologists Eric and Carol Meyers* will hold Read more…
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New Egyptian Antiquities Chief Named
• 08/25/2011
The Egyptian press announced last week that Mohamed Abdel Fattah, the former head of the antiquities sector of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, has been named the council’s secretary general. Read more…
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Jordan’s Wadi Rum Named World Heritage Site
• 08/24/2011
Wadi Rum, the majestic, mountainous desert located in the far south of Jordan, was named this summer to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Wadi Rum protected area, which includes more Read more…
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Cedars of Lebanon Under Threat
• 08/23/2011
Lebanon’s majestic cedar trees, famously used in the building of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5:6), have survived thousands of years of human use and exploitation. Now the precious few cedar Read more…
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Study Finds Skin Cream Caused Egyptian Queen’s Death
• 08/22/2011
German scientists studying the contents of an ancient bottle may have found evidence of what killed Queen Hatshepsut, one of the most powerful women to ever rule over ancient Egypt.* Read more…
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Ancient Mesopotamian Cookoff Challenge Underway
• 08/19/2011
Laura Kelley, author of The Silk Road Gourmet, has challenged fellow chefs, ancient historians and food enthusiasts to compete in the first ever Ancient Mesopotamian Cookoff Challenge. Participants are invited Read more…
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Damascus Gate Restoration Completed
• 08/17/2011
The Israel Antiquities Authority this week completed its restoration of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, the oldest and most imposing of the gates that stand guard over the entrances to the Old Read more…
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Hercules Statue Found in Northern Israel
• 08/16/2011
A well-crafted, headless statue depicting the Greco-Roman hero Hercules was found this week during a salvage excavation in northern Israel’s Jezreel Valley. Found at the site of Horvat Tarbenet, the Read more…
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Update on Tayinat Lion
• 08/15/2011
According to archaeologists working at Tel Tayinat in southeastern Turkey, a recently discovered stone statue of a roaring lion was found guarding the entrance to the site’s monumental Iron Age Read more…
