The 2017 excavation season at Huqoq unearthed more stunning mosaics depicting Greco-Roman and Biblical scenes, including the story of Jonah and the whale and the construction of the Tower of Read more…
Biblical Sites & Places
Biblical sites and places are archaeological sites or geographical places and regions related to the Bible.
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Huqoq 2017: Mosaics of Jonah and the Whale, the Tower of Babel and More
• 08/02/2017
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On Display in Rome: Images of the Temple Menorah
• 07/07/2017
The Menorah: Worship, History and Myth, a major exhibition on display at the Vatican Museum and the Jewish Museum in Rome, provides dramatic images of the Temple Menorah. Read more…
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What Were the Crusades and How Did They Impact Jerusalem?
• 06/26/2017
Some of the most famous churches in Jerusalem were built during the Christian Crusades by Crusaders wishing to memorialize sites they believed to have great Christian significance. Read more…
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King Herod’s Ritual Bath at Machaerus
• 06/25/2017
Several mikva’ot (Jewish ritual baths) have been uncovered at Machaerus, the palace-fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea where Salome danced and John the Baptist was beheaded. Archaeologist Read more…
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Who Built the Cardo in Jerusalem?
• 06/23/2017
The Cardo was Jerusalem’s major north-south thoroughfare, as we know from the famous sixth-century Madaba map mosaic in Jordan. But was it fully built in the Roman period or only Read more…
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Missed Masada Visit
• 05/31/2017
U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to land his helicopter at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Masada but was denied permission to do so. Read more…
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Understanding the Jewish Menorah
• 05/27/2017
The Jewish menorah—especially the Temple menorah, a seven-branched candelabra that stood in the Temple—is the most enduring and iconic Jewish symbol. But what did the Temple menorah actually look like? Read more…
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Excavating Ancient Pella, Jordan
• 05/25/2017
According to fourth-century church historian Eusebius, on the eve of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Romans in 70 A.D., Jesus’ followers miraculously escaped the city and fled to Pella of the Read more…
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Hazor Excavations’ Amnon Ben-Tor Reveals Who Conquered Biblical Canaanites
• 05/21/2017
The Book of Joshua describes how the Israelites vanquished the Biblical Canaanites at Hazor. But is that what really happened? Read more…
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When Egyptian Pharaohs Ruled Bronze Age Jerusalem
• 05/20/2017
What were Egyptian pharaohs doing in Bronze Age Jerusalem? Peter van der Veen investigates an Egyptian presence before the time of David. Read more…
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Beth Shean in the Bible and Archaeology
• 05/19/2017
Beth Shean plays an important role in the Bible following the death of King Saul and as a major Israelite administrative center. Excavations over the past century have revealed what Read more…
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The Doorways of Solomon’s Temple
• 05/11/2017
In the Bible, the inner shrine of Solomon’s Temple is described as having five mezuzot. What are they? The question has puzzled Biblical scholars for centuries. Does a recently discovered Read more…
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New Discoveries Unveiled at Caesarea Maritima
• 05/04/2017
Each year, visitors come to the coastal site of Caesarea Maritima in Caesarea National Park to marvel at the ancient ruins still preserved there. It was announced recently that Caesarea Read more…
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Discoveries in Mary Magdalene’s Hometown
• 05/03/2017
Following the discovery of a synagogue at Magdala on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, four ritual purification baths dating to Jesus’ time have been uncovered. These attest to Read more…
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Machaerus: Beyond the Beheading of John the Baptist
• 05/02/2017
According to the Synoptic Gospels, Herod Antipas had John the Baptist imprisoned and killed at the request of the beautiful Salome. The historian Josephus locates the event at the eastern Read more…
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What the Temple Mount Floor Looked Like
• 04/25/2017
More than a hundred colorful polished stone tiles have been recovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The tiles reveal what the Temple Mount floors looked like in Herod’s time. Read more…
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Canaanite Fortress Discovered in the City of David
• 04/18/2017
Excavations around the Gihon Spring in the City of David uncovered a massive 3,800-year-old fortress. Read more…
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The Masada Siege
• 04/17/2017
What do we know about the Roman siege of Masada? We must consider both the account given by Josephus and the surviving archaeological evidence in order to reconstruct what happened. Read more…
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The Edomite Stronghold of Sela
• 04/08/2017
In one of the Old Testament’s colder and more brutal episodes, King Amaziah of Judah (c. 801–783 B.C.E.), after having slain nearly 10,000 Edomites in battle near the southern end Read more…
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Where Is Golgotha, Where Jesus Was Crucified?
• 04/07/2017
Where is Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, located in Jerusalem? In their Archaeological Views column “Golgotha: Is the Holy Sepulchre Church Authentic?” in the May/June 2016 issue of BAR, Marcel Read more…
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How Was Jesus’ Tomb Sealed?
• 04/06/2017
Urban C. von Wahlde looks at the Gospel accounts to see how the stone that sealed the tomb of Jesus is portrayed. Read more…
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Baptismal Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” Added to UNESCO World Heritage List
• 04/02/2017
In 2015, UNESCO added the archaeological complex at Al-Maghtas, Jordan—called the Biblical “Bethany beyond the Jordan”—to its World Heritage List. Another tradition places the baptismal site on the west bank Read more…
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The Royal Banquet Hall of King Herod the Great in Jerusalem
• 03/30/2017
A banqueting complex was recently identified just beside the Temple Mount. Dating to the time of King Herod the Great, it projects the splendor and comfort enjoyed by royal guests. Read more…
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Jewish Captives in the Imperial City
• 03/26/2017
Ancient Rome was the superpower of its day. Yet, when the Romans conquered the tiny province of Judea and quashed the First Jewish Revolt in 70 C.E., it was actually Read more…
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Has the Childhood Home of Jesus Been Found?
• 03/17/2017
The childhood home of Jesus may have been found underneath the Sisters of Nazareth Convent in Nazareth, Israel, according to archaeologist Ken Dark. Read more…
