iron age

iron age Latest

Mar 17 Blog

Ancient Israel’s Tyrian Purple Factory

Tyrian purple, tekhelet, royal purple: All names for an incredibly expensive, ancient dye. While this dye is often associated with the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, […]

Mar 16 Blog

How Bad Was Jezebel?

By: Janet Howe Gaines

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. But just how depraved was she?

Mar 3 Blog

Plants and the Philistine Cult at Gath

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Although the Philistines are well known from ancient texts, including the Hebrew Bible, and their cities have been extensively excavated, many questions remain about their […]

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

Feb 22 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?

Philistine Pottery. These pottery pieces from Ashkelon bear early Philistine decorations. Photo: © The Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon

Feb 13 Blog

Who Were the Philistines, and Where Did They Come From?

By: Megan Sauter

The Philistines are best known from the Bible as the Israelites’ enemies, but they were much more than that. Recent archaeological discoveries help inform our […]

Jan 30 Blog

The Edomite Stronghold of Sela

By: Glenn J. Corbett

King Amaziah of Judah (c. 801–783 B.C.E.), after having slain nearly 10,000 Edomites in battle near the southern end of the Dead Sea, is said to have thrown another 10,000 captives from the top of nearby Sela.

Jan 20 Blog

A Second Temple in First Temple Jerusalem?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Solomon’s Jerusalem Temple is easily one of the most central and important buildings in the Hebrew Bible. However, an archaeological discovery suggests that for much […]

Jan 19 Blog

How to Make a Mudbrick

By: BAS Staff

Anyone can make a mudbrick! The recipe is simple—and the ingredients are common.

Jan 12 Blog

Where Were the Old Testament Kings of Ancient Jerusalem Buried?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Jeffrey Zorn presents some of Raymond Weill’s early-20th-century plans from his Jerusalem excavations in “Is T1 David’s Tomb?” in the November/December 2012 BAR. Take a […]

Must-Read Free eBooks

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future

Biblical Peoples—The World of Ancient Israel

Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life

Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus

More Free eBooks

Want more Bible history?

Join Us on an Educational Journey

For more than 40 years, the Biblical Archaeology Society has partnered with world-renowned hosts and guides to provide you exceptional educational offerings in the archaeology of the Biblical lands and in Biblical studies.

Learn More