Biblical Artifacts

Biblical Artifacts

The early alphabetic inscription, dated to the mid-15th century B.C.E., was preserved on a tiny sherd of painted Late Bronze Age pottery imported from Cyprus. Image credit: Austrian Archaeological Institute/Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Mar 12

Early Alphabetic Writing Found at Lachish

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.

Mar 7

Puzzling Finds from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

“Yahweh and his Asherah” is written across the top of this eighth-century B.C. drawing on a ceramic pithos from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud in the eastern Sinai. Some scholars have theorized that these figures resembling the Egyptian god Bes are in fact a drawing of God and his consort.

Moses Shapira

Mar 5

The Shapira Fragments

By: Jonathan Klawans

Followers of this blog may have heard that the 19th-century Shapira Affair[1] has resurfaced again. In March, 2021, a biblical scholar at the University of […]

hezekiah-bulla

Mar 3

King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light

By: Robin Ngo

For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation.

Two ancient amulets from Ketef Hinnom. Photo: © Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Nahum Slapak.

Feb 22

Miniature Writing on Ancient Amulets

By: Robin Ngo

In 1979, archaeologist Gabriel Barkay discovered two miniature silver scrolls from a late Iron Age (seventh century B.C.E.) tomb in Ketef Hinnom outside of Jerusalem. When unrolled, the scrolls had tiny texts written on them—similar to the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24–26.

Ark Tablet

Feb 15

The Animals Went in Two by Two, According to Babylonian Ark Tablet

By: Noah Wiener

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

Furniture plaque carved in relief with a “woman at the window.” Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Feb 14

Women, Windows, and Death

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 […]

Facsimile of Great Isaiah Scroll

Feb 4

Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?

By: BAS Staff

A recent computer analysis of handwriting from the Great Isaiah Scroll—one of the longest and best preserved of the Dead Sea Scrolls—found the 54-column text was produced by two different scribes who apparently worked in shifts to complete the task.

Feb 1

Lebanese Cedar—The Prized Tree of Ancient Woodworking

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

From Solomon’s Temple to the Jesus Boat, the Biblical world was built of cedar.

IAA operation aerial view. Credit: Guy Fitoussi, Israel Antiquities Authority.

Jan 21

Scrolls Hidden During Bar Kokhba Revolt Discovered

By: Glenn Corbett

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced in March, 2021 that explorations in the Judean desert south of Jerusalem revealed scores of new scroll fragments hidden […]