Ancient Cultures

What does archaeology tell us about the world of the Bible? Explore what life was like in the ancient world, from broad cultural trends to daily habits.

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• IAA Announces Recovery of 9,000-Year-Old Neolithic Stone Mask

  Robin Ngo   •  12/11/2018

  

  The Israel Antiquities Authority recently announced that its Antiquities Theft Prevention Unit recovered a rare 9,000-year-old stone mask.   Read more…
  No comments

• Biblical Pharisees and Jewish Halakhah

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  11/29/2018

  

  Were the Biblical Pharisees really as bad as the New Testament makes them seem? Professor Roland Deines of the University of Nottingham thinks not.   Read more…
  28 comments

• You Are What You Eat: The Israelite Diet and Archaeology

  Marek Dospěl   •  11/25/2018

  

  Pigs weren’t part of the Israelite diet. Therefore if you are excavating and find lots of pig bones at your site, it can’t be Israelite—or can it? A new survey   Read more…
  6 comments

• Making Sense of Kosher Laws

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  11/24/2018

  

  The origins of Jewish dietary or kosher laws (kashrut) have long been the subject of scholarly research and debate.   Read more…
  20 comments

• A Biblical Spice Rack

  Devorah Emmet Wigoder   •  11/21/2018

  

  The brevity of life is compared to the delicate bloom of the caper in one of the Bible’s many references to fragrant and edible plants. Enjoy a glimpse of some   Read more…
  3 comments

• Saqqara Tombs Reveal More Animal Mummies

  Robin Ngo   •  11/13/2018

  

  Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities recently announced that rare mummified scarab beetles as well as dozens of mummified cats were uncovered in Saqqara.   Read more…
  No comments

• Did Camels Exist in Biblical Times?

  Megan Sauter   •  11/12/2018

  

  Mark W. Chavalas explores the history of camel domestication in BAR.   Read more…
  16 comments

• How to Make a Mudbrick

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  11/08/2018

  

  Anyone can make a mudbrick! The recipe is simple—and the ingredients are common.   Read more…
  10 comments

• The Origins of Democracy

  James Sickinger   •  11/06/2018

  

  When we think of democracy, we usually think of the ancient Greeks, but identifying the exact origins of political practices can be tricky.   Read more…
  2 comments

• Canaan and Egypt: Ancient Fish Trade

  Robin Ngo   •  11/01/2018

  

  Scientists determined through an analysis of fish teeth that there was an extensive fish trade between Canaan and Egypt 3,500 years ago.   Read more…
  1 comment

• Lay That Ghost: Necromancy in Ancient Greece and Rome

  Daniel Ogden   •  10/30/2018

  

  When seeking “hidden” knowledge, ancient Greeks and Romans visited sacred oracles and consulted necromancers, who communed with the dead. The necromancer’s art often involved strange journeys, sleep-and-dreaming rituals and even   Read more…
  No comments

• Delikkemer: Hydrating Democracy at Patara

  Noah Wiener   •  10/28/2018

  

  Explore the water system that supplied the world’s oldest federalist democracy.   Read more…
  4 comments

• What Does the Bible Say About Children—and What Does Archaeology Say?

  Megan Sauter   •  10/22/2018

  

  What was it like to be a child in the ancient Near East? What role did they play in the household?   Read more…
  3 comments

• Saving Aramaic, the Language Jesus Spoke

  Robin Ngo   •  10/15/2018

  

  Once spoken across most of the ancient Near East, Aramaic was most likely the language Jesus spoke. Yona Sabar, a scholar and one of the last living native speakers of   Read more…
  5 comments

• Who Is the Queen of Sheba in the Bible?

  Megan Sauter   •  10/13/2018

  

  The meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba is described in the Bible. Bringing exquisite gifts, the Queen of Sheba came from an exotic land—but where exactly? Ethiopians   Read more…
  28 comments

• “Aramaic Comics” Decorate Roman Tomb in Beit Ras, Jordan

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  10/03/2018

  

  In a Roman tomb in northern Jordan, archaeologists have discovered what they are calling the “first Aramaic comics.”   Read more…
  2 comments

• Where Did the Philistines Come From?

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  09/22/2018

  

  Excavators at Tell es-Safi/Gath, the site of Gath of the Philistines mentioned in the Bible, found an exceptionally well preserved horned altar reminiscent of the Israelite horned altars described in   Read more…
  15 comments

• BAR Test Kitchen

  Biblical Archaeology Society Staff   •  09/04/2018

  

  If you have ever wanted to eat like an ancient person, now you can.   Read more…
  1 comment

• Fruit in the Bible

  David Moster   •  09/03/2018

  

  Seeds and fruit remains are exciting discoveries for archaeologists, and they provide radiocarbon data to help date buried strata. Fruit also plays an important role in the Biblical narrative.   Read more…
  26 comments

• Carchemish in the Bible and History

  Mark Wilson   •  09/02/2018

  

  Carchemish was an important Hittite fortress and provincial capital located on the west bank of the Euphrates River.   Read more…
  No comments

• 6,500-Year-Old DNA Points to Ancient Migration

  Robin Ngo   •  08/31/2018

  

  A new DNA study demonstrates that humans migrated from modern-day Turkey and Iran to Israel’s Upper Galilee region 6,500 years ago.   Read more…
  1 comment

• What Happened to the Canaanites?

  Robin Ngo   •  08/28/2018

  

  For the first time, researchers have conducted DNA sequencing on ancient Canaanite skeletons and have determined where the Canaanites’ descendants can be found today.   Read more…
  19 comments

• Ancient Combat Sports

  Michael B. Poliakoff   •  08/26/2018

  

  Three ancient Olympic combat events—wrestling, boxing and pancratium—reveal much about the aspirations and values of ancient Greece, about what was deemed honorable, fair and beautiful, both in the eyes of   Read more…
  3 comments

• August 2017: An Eclipse of Biblical Proportions

  Frederick Baltz   •  08/21/2018

  

  An eclipse of Biblical proportions was visible across the United States on August 21, 2017.   Read more…
  17 comments

• Classical Corner: The Antonine Plague and the Spread of Christianity

  Sarah K. Yeomans   •  08/17/2018

  

  In 166 C.E., the Roman Empire was at the zenith of its power. The triumphant Roman legions, under the command of Emperor Lucius Verrus, returned to Rome victorious after having   Read more…
  4 comments