crusades

By: Mary Joan Winn Leith

“The Cherry Tree Carol” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 13th-century England; an American version was discovered in Appalachia in the 20th century. Stonehill College Biblical scholar Mary Joan Winn Leith explains the carol’s roots in early Christian Syrian churches.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

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.

By: Mary Joan Winn Leith

The Virgin Mary and the prophet Muhammad have a lot in common within their respective Christian and Islamic traditions, according to author Mary Joan Winn Leith.

By: Hershel Shanks

Archaeologist Hillel Geva says that population estimates for ancient Jerusalem are too high. His new estimates begin with people living on no more than a dozen acres.

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

What did Crusaders eat while in the Holy Land? Understanding the diet of ancient groups can tell us a lot about them and how they […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Around-the-clock excavations in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre continue to reveal fascinating tidbits about the building’s ancient history, as the church undergoes its most […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

How did a Crusader sword end up in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel? Was it an accident or the result of some […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) continue to provide evidence of Jerusalem’s power and defensibility throughout history, with excavations along Sultan Suleiman Street revealing […]

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Textual sources are generally our primary source of information about the life and death of soldiers who fought in the Crusades (11th–13th centuries C.E.). Similarly, […]

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Archaeological excavations are prohibited on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, though one project—the Temple Mount Sifting Project—has been analyzing soil that came from the Temple Mount since 2004. Learn the story.