For this BAR Test Kitchen dish, we made mersu, an ancient Syrian delicacy made of flour, dates, and pistachios. Read more…
Daily Life and Practice
Archaeology, inscriptions and literature all give us an insight into daily practice in the ancient world. How did the Israelites live? What material culture did they interact with on a daily basis? How did an average person practice religion?
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BAR Test Kitchen: Mersu
• 08/15/2018
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The Prehistoric Diet and the Rise of Complex Societies
• 08/13/2018
Learn about prehistoric dining at Tel Tsaf, an ancient village about 20 miles south of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Read more…
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Ancient Bread: 14,400-Year-Old Flatbreads Unearthed in Jordan
• 07/25/2018
In northeast Jordan, archaeologists discovered ancient “bread-like” remains that pre-date the emergence of agriculture by at least 4,000 years. Read more…
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Why Study Prehistoric Israel?
• 07/22/2018
Studying prehistoric Israel can give us a better perspective on Israel in the Biblical period, says archaeologist Daniel Nadel. Read more…
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Biblical Bread: Baking Like the Ancient Israelites
• 07/21/2018
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. Read more…
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Fragment of Homer’s Odyssey Unearthed at Olympia
• 07/16/2018
Archaeologists working at the Greek site of Olympia, home of the ancient Olympic Games, discovered a Roman-period clay tablet containing 13 lines of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Read more…
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An Ancient Jewish Lamp Workshop in the Galilee
• 07/04/2018
Excavations conducted in an ancient Jewish village near Nazareth in Israel uncovered the remains of an oil lamp workshop. Read more…
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The Philistine Marketplace at Ashkelon
• 06/20/2018
In “Buy Low, Sell High: The Marketplace at Ashkelon” in the January/February 2014 issue of BAR, Daniel Master and Lawrence Stager examine what was traded and by whom in Philistine Read more…
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Philistine Cemetery Unearthed at Ashkelon
• 06/17/2018
The first and only Philistine cemetery ever discovered was found outside the walls of ancient Ashkelon. Read more…
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The Enduring Symbolism of Doves
• 06/13/2018
Few symbols have a tradition as long and as rich as the dove. Read about what it represents and how its use has been shared, adapted and reinterpreted across cultures Read more…
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You Are What You Eat: The Israelite Diet and Archaeology
• 06/02/2018
Pigs weren’t part of the Israelite diet. Therefore if you are excavating and find lots of pig bones at your site, it can’t be Israelite—or can it? A new survey Read more…
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How Ancient Taxes Were Collected Under King Manasseh
• 04/17/2018
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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Book of Leviticus Verses Recovered from Burnt Hebrew Bible Scroll
• 04/09/2018
A burnt ancient scroll found 45 years ago has finally been deciphered thanks to advanced digital technology. The scroll was revealed to contain verses from the Book of Leviticus. Read more…
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How Ancient Jews Dated Years
• 04/04/2018
During the First Jewish Revolt against Rome (66–70 C.E.), which ended with the destruction of the Temple, Jews minted their own coins dated to the first, second, third, fourth and, Read more…
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At Carthage, Child Sacrifice?
• 04/01/2018
Was child sacrifice really practiced at ancient Carthage? In BAR, Patricia Smith discusses the research she and her team conducted on the cremated remains from the Carthage Tophet. Read more…
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Medicine in the Ancient World
• 03/27/2018
What exactly did ancient cultures do to combat disease and injury, and did these methods have any real basis in science as we know it today? The answers may surprise Read more…
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St. Nicholas Ring Unearthed in Jezreel Valley Garden
• 03/21/2018
A landscaper working in the Jezreel Valley discovered a 700-year-old ring bearing the image of St. Nicholas. Read more…
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Classical Corner: A Comet Gives Birth to an Empire
• 03/15/2018
In the Greco-Roman world, there is ample evidence that celestial objects, their movements and occasional surprise appearances not only inspired awe and wonder, but in some cases directly influenced mythology, Read more…
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What Were the Ancient Olympics Like?
• 02/08/2018
Beginning in 776 B.C. as a simple foot race, the quadrennial Olympic Games grew—during a span of 1,200 years—into the most prestigious athletic/religious festival of the Greek-speaking world. The feats Read more…
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How Were Biblical Psalms Originally Performed?
• 02/07/2018
Biblical psalms have throughout millennia been an important part of traditional Jewish and Christian worship. How were Biblical psalms originally performed? Read more…
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The Archaeological Quest for the Earliest Christians
• 02/01/2018
In part one of a two-part series, Douglas Boin presents new archaeological and historical research in the study of early Christianity. Read more…
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The Archaeological Quest for the Earliest Christians
• 02/01/2018
In part two of a two-part series, Douglas Boin challenges the idea that Christians left so few archaeological traces behind because they couldn’t afford to make them. Read more…
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Ancient Combat Sports
• 01/25/2018
Three ancient Olympic combat events—wrestling, boxing and pancratium—reveal much about the aspirations and values of ancient Greece, about what was deemed honorable, fair and beautiful, both in the eyes of Read more…
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Crafty Israelites: Iron Age Crafts at Tel Hazor
• 01/22/2018
The Iron Age Israelites weren’t known for their artistic tradition—so much so that, according to the Bible, King Solomon had to outsource to the Phoenicians wood-cutting in the construction of 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…
