island jewels: understanding ancient cyprus and crete Archives

island jewels: understanding ancient cyprus and crete Latest

Sep 28 Blog

Who Were the Phoenicians?

With a commercial empire that lasted a millennium, the Phoenicians were major players in the ancient Mediterranean world. Spreading their culture and goods, they came into contact with many different groups, but their relationship with the Israelites was distinct.

Aug 24 Blog

Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

By: Robin Gallaher Branch

Who is Barnabas in the Bible? In part one of this two-part study, Robin Branch describes the traits that define Barnabas as an early church leader.

Feb 18 Blog

Who Were the Minoans?

By: Noah Wiener

Crete’s Minoan civilization has long been considered Europe’s first great Bronze Age society. But who were the Minoans? A recent DNA study suggests that the Minoan civilization comprised of local Europeans rather than outsiders.

Mar 15 Blog

The Phoenician Alphabet in Archaeology

By: Josephine Quinn

The Phoenician script was borrowed by the Israelites, Greeks and Romans. Learn what sorts of texts the Phoenicians wrote as revealed by a recent archaeological excavation.

Jun 28 Blog

Bronze Age Collapse: Pollen Study Highlights Late Bronze Age Drought

By: Noah Wiener

What caused the Bronze Age collapse? A study of pollen grains in sediment cores beneath the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea provides a different view of the Bronze Age collapse.

Jun 5 Blog

Minoan Frescoes at Tel Kabri

By: Noah Wiener

Over 100 years of excavations on Crete have exposed elegant Minoan frescoes that once adorned the walls of the island’s Bronze Age palaces. This distinctively colorful Aegean art style flourished in the Middle Bronze Age (1750-1550 B.C.).

Jul 11 Blog

Tarshish: Hacksilber Hoards Pinpoint Solomon’s Silver Source

By: Noah Wiener

What is the location of Tarshish, the Biblical source of the Phoenician silver trade? A Hacksilber Project study points to Spain and Sardinia as the Biblical world’s source of silver in the 10th century B.C.E., lending scientific credence to textual associations between Biblical Tarshish and modern Sardinia.

Mar 30 Blog

Two D.C.-Area Archaeology Events

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Check out two D.C.-area archaeology lectures in April: “The Rebirth of a Roman Luxury Resort: Recent Archaeological Discoveries at the Seaside Villas at Stabiae” by Matthew Bell and Thomas Howe (April 3) and “Excavations at Idalion, Cyprus: Crossing Cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean” by Ann-Marie Knoblauch (April 6).

Nov 7 Blog

Virtually Explore Bronze Age Cyprus: There’s an App for That

By: Robin Ngo

Researchers are creating an augmented reality mobile app for a Late Bronze Age site in Cyprus.

Oct 30 Blog

Phaistos Disk Deciphered? Not Likely, Say Scholars

By: Robin Ngo

A Bronze Age artifact that has eluded decipherment for over a century has finally been decoded—so claims linguist Gareth Owens. This article presents reactions by Aegean Bronze Age script experts.

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