Apr 20
By: BAS Staff
A newly published inscription from Tel Lachish in southern Israel is the earliest alphabetic writing discovered in the southern Levant. The fragmentary inscription features a mere handful of letters inscribed on a tiny pottery sherd, measuring just 4 by 3.5 cm. The sherd is dated by radiocarbon to the 15th century B.C.E., or the first part of the Late Bronze Age.
Apr 19
By: Jennifer Drummond
Vestis Virum Facit—clothes make the man. While this quote has been (wrongly) attributed to Roman educator Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, its dubious authenticity doesn’t make it […]
Apr 16
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.
Apr 12
By: BAS Staff
New excavations near Luxor have revealed an extremely well-preserved urban settlement from Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. It was a time when Egypt’s powerful pharaohs ruled over an expansive empire that stretched to the land of Canaan and beyond. Known in antiquity as Aten, the settlement dates to the reign of Amenhotep III (1391–1353 B.C.E.) and his successors. The “lost golden city” may have been established to support and help administer the pharaoh’s royal residence, located nearby at the site of Malqata.
Apr 11
By: David Moster
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.
Apr 7
By: Hershel Shanks
The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the opulent vacation destinations of Roman elites in August 79 C.E.—almost exactly nine years after Roman troops destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Did this seem like more than mere coincidence to the ancients?
Mar 30
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
The Book of Exodus describes ten Egyptian plagues that bring suffering to the land of pharaoh. Are these Biblical plagues plausible on any level?
Mar 29
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
What do Iron Age altars tell us about Biblical sacrifices and worship in ancient Israelite religion?
Mar 23
By: Cynthia Shafer-Elliott
A team from the Tell Halif archaeological excavation made their own tannur, a traditional oven referenced in the Hebrew Bible, and baked bread in it.
Mar 21
By: Marek Dospěl
What does the Bibleclaim about the Israelites’ forced labor for the Pharaoh? Looking for the most plausible match in ancient Egyptian architecture.
