In the study of Biblical archaeology, Biblical texts and archaeological finds must be examined critically and independently, but ultimately, they must be interpreted together. Such an approach can be applied Read more…
Jerusalem
Jerusalem, the capital of modern (and ancient) Israel, is the epicenter of Biblical archaeology. Almost every time someone digs in the Holy City, some new and exciting clue about the world of ancient Israel or the origins of Judaism and Christianity is revealed.
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King David’s Palace and the Millo
• 02/04/2019
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The Interrupted Search for King David’s Palace
• 02/03/2019
Eilat Mazar was forced to put her excavation of what may be King David’s palace on hold to excavate the collapsing Northern Tower. Her amazing discoveries were worth it. Read more…
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King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light
• 01/26/2019
For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation. Read more…
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Ancient Jerusalem: The Village, the Town, the City
• 01/11/2019
Archaeologist Hillel Geva says that population estimates for ancient Jerusalem are too high. His new estimates begin with people living on no more than a dozen acres. Read more…
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What Were the Crusades and How Did They Impact Jerusalem?
• 11/11/2018
Some of the most famous churches in Jerusalem were built during the Christian Crusades by Crusaders wishing to memorialize sites they believed to have great Christian significance. Read more…
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Site-Seeing: Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem
• 09/14/2018
Every visitor to Jerusalem has seen David’s Tower. Scholar Jonathan Klawans recommends venturing inside the magnificent complex. Read more…
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Pilgrims’ Progress to Byzantine Jerusalem
• 09/05/2018
Jerusalem has been revered as a holy city for millennia—with pilgrims a staple feature in its bustling streets. Egeria’s Travels and the journals of the Bordeaux Pilgrim and the Piacenza Read more…
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Hellenistic Jewelry Discovered in Jerusalem
• 08/10/2018
A 2,200-year-old gold earring portraying the head of a horned animal was unearthed in the Givati Parking Lot in Jerusalem’s City of David National Park. Read more…
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When Egyptian Pharaohs Ruled Bronze Age Jerusalem
• 05/30/2018
What were Egyptian pharaohs doing in Bronze Age Jerusalem? Peter van der Veen investigates an Egyptian presence before the time of David. Read more…
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Hezekiah’s Tunnel Reexamined
• 04/24/2018
For more than a hundred years, an extraordinary water tunnel in Jerusalem has been attributed to King Hezekiah, who dug it to protect the city’s water supply during the Assyrian Read more…
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The Bethesda Pool, Site of One of Jesus’ Miracles
• 04/24/2018
The Bethesda Pool, where Jesus heals the paralytic man in the Gospel of John, is a complex site. It appears to have been a mikveh, or ritual bath. As the Read more…
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Ophel Excavations Uncover Jewish Revolt Coins in Rebel Hideout
• 04/18/2018
Dozens of bronze Jewish revolt coins from the First Jewish Revolt against Rome were discovered in the renewed Ophel excavations in Jerusalem. Read more…
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Did Jesus’ Last Supper Take Place Above the Tomb of David?
• 03/29/2018
Jesus’ Last Supper and the Tomb of David are traditionally associated with a building called the Cenacle in Jerusalem. Can archaeology shed light on these traditions? Read more…
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How Was Jesus’ Tomb Sealed?
• 03/23/2018
What kind of stone sealed the tomb of Jesus? Was it a round (disk-shaped) stone or a square (cork-shaped) stone? While both kinds of blocking stones are attested in Jerusalem Read more…
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Tour Showcases Remains of Herod’s Jerusalem Palace—Possible Site of the Trial of Jesus
• 03/20/2018
Visitors to Jerusalem’s Old City can explore remains of King Herod’s palace, which may be where Roman governor Pontius Pilate tried and condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. Read more…
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A First Temple Period Palatial Estate Near Jerusalem?
• 02/13/2018
Archaeologists excavating at Ein Hanniya outside of Jerusalem unearthed seventh-century B.C.E. finds that suggest the presence of a palace in the First Temple period. Read more…
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The Royal Banquet Hall of King Herod the Great in Jerusalem
• 02/10/2018
A banqueting complex was recently identified just beside the Temple Mount. Dating to the time of King Herod the Great, it projects the splendor and comfort enjoyed by royal guests. Read more…
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Taking Out the Trash in Ancient Jerusalem
• 01/09/2018
Excavations on Jerusalem’s Southeastern Hill—just outside the “City of David”— have exposed a landfill from the Early Roman period. This garbage provides insight into residents’ daily lives and habits during Read more…
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Ancient Roman Theater Exposed Under Jerusalem’s Western Wall
• 11/01/2017
An Israel Antiquities Authority excavation underneath Wilson’s Arch of Jerusalem’s Western Wall uncovered a Roman-era theater more than 1,700 years old. Read more…
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Who Built the Cardo in Jerusalem?
• 06/23/2017
The Cardo was Jerusalem’s major north-south thoroughfare, as we know from the famous sixth-century Madaba map mosaic in Jordan. But was it fully built in the Roman period or only Read more…
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Did I Find King David’s Palace?
• 05/12/2017
Digging just south of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Eilat Mazar uncovered a monumental building from the tenth century B.C.—the right time and the right place for David’s royal residence. Read more…
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Where Is Golgotha, Where Jesus Was Crucified?
• 04/07/2017
Where is Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, located in Jerusalem? Marcel Serr and Dieter Vieweger discuss past and current investigations into the site where Jesus was crucified. Read more…
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The Third Wall of Jerusalem: Where Romans and Jews Battled
• 10/26/2016
Archaeologists believe they have located remains of the elusive Third Wall of Jerusalem described by ancient historian Josephus. According to Josephus, Jewish rebels completed this wall leading up to the Read more…
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Herod’s Temple Mount Revealed in Al-Aqsa Mosque Restoration
• 09/02/2016
As a result of earthquakes, Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount had to be dismantled and reconstructed in the 1930s and 1940s. Massive Cedar of Lebanon and cypress beams were Read more…
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The Seleucid Akra: 2,200-Year-Old Jerusalem Fortress Uncovered?
• 11/13/2015
Archaeologists excavating in the City of David may have found the fortress that Seleucid King Antiochus constructed following his conquest of Jerusalem around 167 B.C.E. Read more…
