Ancient Cultures

Ancient Cultures

Pompeii

Jun 17

New Paintings Found at Pompeii

By: Lila Wolk

Archaeologists working in Pompeii have uncovered yet another house filled with magnificent wall paintings. Nicknamed the House of Phaedra, which like the rest of the […]

edomite-goddess- qitmit

Jun 17

Who Were the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites in the Bible?

By: Megan Sauter

During the Iron Age, when Israel and Judah ruled Canaan, the kingdoms of Ammon, Moab and Edom ruled east of the Jordan River. Recent archaeological discoveries vastly increase our understanding of these kingdoms and their religion.

Entrance to the Cave of Salome. Courtesy Nir-Shimshon Paran and Vladik Lifshits

Jun 16

Was the Cave of Salome for Jesus’s Disciple or a Herodian Princess?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Constructed in the late Second Temple period (first century BCE–first century CE), the Cave of Salome is a massive burial estate among the sprawling hills […]

The side of the marble sarcophagus, depicting the scene of Hercules, sprawled on a lion's skin and holding a cup in his hand. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

Jun 13

Heracles and Dionysus in Caesarea Maritima

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

While excavating the Herodian city of Caesarea Maritima, archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) made a startlingly beautiful discovery: a marble sarcophagus depicting the […]

Cuneiform tablets from the site of Nuzi in northern Iraq. Zunkir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jun 13

The Nuzi Tablets

By: Philippe Bohström

Northern Iraq is a landscape steeped in both historical and economic significance. During the early 20th century, international oil consortiums dispatched businessmen, geologists, and engineers […]

A rock-hewn altar carved out of limestone located about a mile from Shiloh. The four corners point to the four directions on a compass (Exodus 27:1-2). Photo: Yoel Elitzur

Jun 12

High Places, Altars and the Bamah

By: Ellen White

The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canon. Often referred to as “high places” in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar.

roman road

Jun 11

The Golan’s Roman Road

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Extending through the southern Golan is one of the best-preserved Roman roads in the region, connecting the Sea of Galilee to the ancient Syrian city […]

Rephaim valley

Jun 9

Where Is the Valley of Rephaim?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

  Mentioned in connection with King David’s war against the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-25), the Valley of Rephaim is one of many biblical locations whose […]

Banias

Jun 6

Excavating Banias

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Banias is, without a doubt, one of the more breathtaking natural archaeological sites in the Holy Land, a large spring-fed cavern surrounded by the ruins […]

gilgal

Jun 4

Where Is Biblical Gilgal?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

A memorial to the Israelite crossing of the Jordan River, a place of sacrifice, the location of King Agag’s death, Gilgal may be one of […]

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