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Dec 2 Blog

First Person: Did the Kingdoms of Saul, David and Solomon Actually Exist?

In BAR, Hershel Shanks examines a recent article published by archaeologist Amihai Mazar. Mazar contends that while the Biblical narratives were written hundreds of years after the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, they “retain memories of reality.”

A young boy wades through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Photo: Hershel Shanks

Aug 16 Blog

Hezekiah’s Tunnel Reexamined

By: BAS Staff

For more than a hundred years, an extraordinary water tunnel in Jerusalem has been attributed to King Hezekiah, who dug it to protect the city’s water supply during the Assyrian siege of 701 B.C.E. Hence its name, Hezekiah’s Tunnel. However, recent scholarly publications now argue that the tunnel was not built by Hezekiah but by his predecessor or his successors.

A rock-hewn altar carved out of limestone located about a mile from Shiloh. The four corners point to the four directions on a compass (Exodus 27:1-2). Photo: Yoel Elitzur

Jun 12 Blog

High Places, Altars and the Bamah

By: Ellen White

The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canon. Often referred to as “high places” in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar.

Feb 15 Blog

First Person: Human Sacrifice to an Ammonite God?

By: Hershel Shanks

Were sons and daughters sacrificed in ancient times? Is there any archaeological evidence?

May 11 Blog

Did I Find King David’s Palace?

By: Eilat Mazar

Digging just south of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Eilat Mazar uncovered a monumental building from the tenth century B.C.—the right time and the right place for David’s royal residence.

Mar 14 Blog

Beth Shean in the Bible and Archaeology

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

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 archaeology (and the Bible) can—and can’t—tell us about the site’s history.

Mar 16 Blog

A Biblical Altar on Mt. Ebal and Other Israelite Footprints in the Jordan Valley?

By: Megan Sauter

Foot-shaped sites have been found throughout the Jordan Valley, including an extraordinary cultic site on Mt. Ebal. Is this the Israelite altar described in Joshua 8?

Sep 28 Blog

First Person: BAR Gives Away $50,000

By: Hershel Shanks

BAR is giving $50,000 in grants to professional archaeological excavations in Israel.

Jun 29 Blog

The New Bible of Ancient Pottery

By: Reviewed by Nava Panitz-Cohen

Nava Panitz-Cohen reviews The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors: From the Iron Age Through the Hellenistic Period (vols. 1 and 2), edited by Seymour Gitin.

Apr 27 Blog

Ancient Apiary on Display

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

While we know this refers to the land of Israel, what does “flowing with milk and honey” mean? A new exhibit at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel, looks at this question anew.

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