In BAR, Hershel Shanks examines a recent article published by archaeologist Amihai Mazar. Mazar contends that while the Biblical narratives were written hundreds of years after the reigns of Saul, Read more…
Ancient Israel
The land, culture and people of Israel during the Biblical period, especially from the Iron Age to the Persian period. The FREE eBook Israel: An Archaeological Journey allows readers to sift through the archaeology and history of this ancient land and get a view of Biblically-significant sites through an archaeologist’s lens.
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First Person: Did the Kingdoms of Saul, David and Solomon Actually Exist?
• 08/27/2017
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Hezekiah’s Religious Reform—In the Bible and Archaeology
• 08/16/2017
One of the most significant changes in the religious life of ancient Israel occurred during the reign of the Judahite king Hezekiah, in the late eighth century B.C.E. According to Read more…
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The “Philistines” to the North
• 07/08/2017
The Philistines, who established the famous five cities in the southern coastal plain, were just one tribe of Sea Peoples who invaded Canaan in the 12th century B.C.E. The northern Read more…
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Jewish Worship, Pagan Symbols
• 06/09/2017
Ein Harod is a spring that rises in the valley of Jezreel at the foot of Mt. Gilboa. Gideon gathered his men there to sort out the good soldiers from Read more…
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A Feast for the Senses … and the Soul
• 05/23/2017
Go on a journey of the senses through history and discover the significance of ritual feasts and meals in antiquity. Read more…
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Sacred Prostitution in the Story of Judah and Tamar?
• 04/24/2017
According to popular belief, cult prostitution was common throughout the ancient world, particularly associated with the fertility rites of the Canaanites and Phoenicians. While some scholars suggest that temple prostitution Read more…
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High Places, Altars and the Bamah
• 04/23/2017
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 Read more…
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Daily Life in Ancient Israel
• 04/19/2017
What was life like for the tribes of Israel in the time of the Biblical Judges, the period archaeologists call Iron Age I (1200–1000 B.C.E.)? Read more…
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How Ancient Taxes Were Collected Under King Manasseh
• 04/01/2017
Discovered during the Temple Mount Sifting Project, this seventh-century B.C.E. clay bulla inscribed in paleo-Hebrew script with the phrase “Gibeon, for the king” provides evidence for how ancient taxes were Read more…
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Where Are the Royal Archives at Tel Hazor?
• 03/23/2017
Biblical Hazor was the largest and most important royal city in the Southern Levant in the second millennium B.C.E. Its continuing exploration has brought to light impressive architecture and unique Read more…
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2,000-Year-Old Road Unearthed in Bet Shemesh
• 03/09/2017
Archaeologists working in Bet Shemesh, located 19 miles west of Jerusalem in Israel, discovered a Roman-period road near the modern Highway 375. Read more…
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The Magdala Stone: The Jerusalem Temple Embodied
• 10/27/2016
For a people living in the diaspora, unable to visit the Jerusalem Temple frequently, what kept the memory and centrality of the Temple fresh in their minds? An intriguing stone Read more…
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Early Bronze Age: Megiddo’s Great Temple and the Birth of Urban Culture in the Levant
• 10/09/2016
Megiddo’s Great Temple is a structure that, according to its excavators, “has proven to be the most monumental single edifice so far uncovered in the EB I Levant and ranks Read more…
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12,000-Year-Old Shaman Funeral Reflects Natufian-Period Changes
• 09/21/2016
Archaeologists discovered in a cave in Israel the 12,000-year-old grave of a shaman. According to researchers, the unusual burial reflects the social changes that accompanied the transition from a foraging Read more…
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Judaea Capta Coin Uncovered in Bethsaida Excavations
• 09/07/2016
A bronze Judaea Capta coin issued by Jewish ruler Agrippa II was discovered in the 2014 Bethsaida excavations. Read more…
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Silver Hoard from Abel Beth Maacah Illuminates Biblical Border Town
• 08/15/2016
In their BAR Archaeological Views column, Abel Beth Maacah staff describe the excitement around the discovery of a Late Bronze Age silver hoard, one of the earliest ever found in Read more…
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The “High Place” at Tel Gezer
• 08/13/2016
Tel Gezer’s first excavator, R.A.S. Macalister, believed there was a “high place” dedicated to child sacrifice at the Canaanite site. William G. Dever disagrees. Read more…
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Which Altar Was the Right One in Ancient Israelite Religion?
• 08/13/2016
What do Iron Age altars tell us about Biblical sacrifices and worship in ancient Israelite religion? Read more…
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Colorful Wall Paintings Excavated at Galilean Sepphoris
• 08/12/2016
For the first time at the ancient city of Sepphoris in Israel’s Galilee, wall painting fragments displaying figurative images have been discovered. Read more…
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First-Ever Philistine Cemetery Unearthed at Ashkelon
• 07/10/2016
The first and only Philistine cemetery ever discovered has been found outside the walls of ancient Ashkelon. Read more…
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Was Biblical Israel an Egalitarian Society?
• 05/06/2016
Although excavated structures, pottery and other household artifacts offer a glimpse of daily life in the Iron Age highlands of Canaan, no burials or tombs have been found. What do Read more…
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The Lod Mosaic—Jewish, Christian or Pagan?
• 04/25/2016
A series of stunning mosaic floors dated to around 300 C.E. were uncovered in Lod, Israel. Plants, birds, fish and animals are depicted in the mosaics—but no human figures. Who Read more…
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Rare Roman Gold Coin Minted by Trajan Found
• 03/16/2016
A 1,900-year-old Roman gold coin minted by Emperor Trajan was recently found by a hiker in Galilee. Read more…
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Fabrics Found at Ancient Mines in Timna Valley
• 03/09/2016
A trove of 3,000-year-old fabric fragments has been uncovered during excavations of ancient copper mines at Timna in Israel’s Southern Aravah Valley. Read more…
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A Biblical Altar on Mt. Ebal and Other Israelite Footprints in the Jordan Valley?
• 02/29/2016
Foot-shaped sites have been found throughout the Jordan Valley, including an extraordinary cultic site on Mt. Ebal. Is this the Israelite altar described in Joshua 8? Were these foot-shaped enclosures Read more…
