Temple at Jerusalem

By: Megan Sauter

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 shrine model from Khirbet Qeiyafa hold the answer?

By: BAS Staff

The black basalt ruins of the Iron Age temple discovered at ’Ain Dara in northern Syria offer the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible.

By: Leen Ritmeyer

Archaeological architect Leen Ritmeyer presents drawings of the Temple Mount in the Herodian period.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

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? Learn more in this post and view a number of important menorah depictions from antiquity.

By: Megan Sauter

Were there synagogues before the Romans destroyed the Temple, or did they develop only afterward? Communal structures from the Second Temple period have been discovered, but should they be considered synagogues even though they don’t share the major architectural feature common to post-destruction synagogues?

By: Jennifer Drummond

Fifty years ago, leading Israeli scholar Michael Avi-Yonah constructed a now-iconic model of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem. How accurate is it?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Building and furnishing the Herodian Temple involved more than stone quarrying and laying, but the stones and foundations of Herod’s Temple can give us clues to Temple Mount history.

By: Marek Dospěl

There is little doubt that the Temple Menorah was taken to Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem. However, Rome was sacked, and the Temple Menorah was looted. After disaster befell the cities that housed it as a spoil of war, was it returned to Jerusalem?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Eastern section of Jerusalem’s Iron Age wall has been discovered.. It was uncovered in the City of David Archaeological Park, a short distance from the Temple Mount.

By: Marek Dospěl

At Khirbet Qumran, the ancient settlement associated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, excavations uncovered a seemingly illogical couple of graves. Among ordinary […]