The Ancient Near Eastern World

By: BAS Staff

What is biblical archaeology? The answer to this question has changed considerably over the 100-plus years since the discipline first emerged in the early 20th […]

By: BAS Staff

While some scholars suggest that temple prostitution was practiced in ancient Israel, Edward Lipiński argues that neither the Bible nor archaeology provides any clear evidence that Israelite religion incorporated the sexual rites of Canaanite goddesses.

By: Noah Wiener

A recently translated Old Babylonian flood tablet describes how to build a circular ark.

By: John Drummond

“The Woman at the Window” is an intriguing artistic motif that was popular among the elite of the ancient Near East during the Iron Age […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Mentioned more than any other animal in the Bible, sheep were an ever-present reality in the ancient Levant. For nomads like Abraham and pastoralists like […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Babylon’s famous Ishtar Gate was commissioned by King Nebuchadnezzar II, but was it completed during his lifetime? More interestingly, was the gate built to commemorate […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

A central feature in the Garden of Eden story, the Tree of Life is one of the Hebrew Bible’s more memorable symbols. But this biblical […]

By: Megan Sauter

When did the ancient Egyptians stop writing in hieroglyphs, and what came next? From the fourth to ninth centuries C.E., Egypt was predominantly Christian. During this time, the language used by the masses was Coptic.

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

While some archaeological sites are well-known from ancient sources, others remain a mystery, despite the scale of their remains. This is the case with Kurd […]

By: Megan Sauter

Mark W. Chavalas explores the history of camel domestication in BAR.