Mar 12
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 3
By: Robin Ngo
For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation.
Feb 22
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.
Feb 15
By: Noah Wiener
A recently translated Old Babylonian flood tablet describes how to build a circular ark.
Dec 28
By: BAS Staff
In a BAR article, epigraphy scholar Christopher Rollston asks a seemingly straightforward question: What is the oldest Hebrew inscription?
Nov 30
By: Robin Ngo
When was the Hebrew Bible written? Ostraca with Hebrew inscriptions excavated from the Iron Age fortress at Arad in Israel may provide clues, say researchers from Tel Aviv University.
Sep 5
By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have attracted as much attention as the Tel Dan inscription—writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible.
Aug 25
By: Matthieu Richelle and Andrew Burlingame
In their article, “Mesha’s Stele and the House of David” (BAR, Winter 2022), André Lemaire and Jean-Philippe Delorme argue that the reading btdwd (“House of […]
Aug 25
By: Various Authors
In his 1994 Biblical Archaeology Review article, acclaimed epigrapher André Lemaire first proposed that the ninth-century BCE Mesha Stele from ancient Moab includes a reference […]
Jul 25
By: Marek Dospěl
Before the emergence of Islam in the early seventh century, Arabia was home to a different monotheistic faith. Centuries before Muhammad, some ancient Arabian tribes […]