king herod the great

By: Joan E. Taylor

Scholar Joan E. Taylor says that it’s worth remembering that Jesus’ earliest years were, according to the Gospel of Matthew, spent as a refugee in a foreign land.

By: Megan Sauter

In which year was Jesus born? While this is sometimes debated, the majority of New Testament scholars place Jesus’ birth in 4 B.C. or before.

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

Archaeology has confirmed 53 people from the Hebrew Bible. What about the New Testament? In BAR, Lawrence Mykytiuk examines the political figures in the New Testament who can be identified in the archaeological record and by extra-Biblical writings.

By: Leen Ritmeyer

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

By: Robin Ngo

Several mikva’ot (Jewish ritual baths) have been uncovered at Machaerus, the palace-fortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea where Salome danced and John the Baptist was beheaded. Archaeologist Győző Vörös takes readers on a journey through past and current archaeological excavations that have resulted in the discovery of these ritual baths.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Straight from the field to you, hear from the individuals who were awarded BAS dig scholarships in 2018.

By: Robin Ngo

Masada—the remote mountain-plateau in the Judean Desert, where Herod built a palace-fortress and where Jewish Zealots made their last stand against the Romans—is being excavated once again.

By: Frankie Snyder, Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira

More than a hundred colorful polished stone tiles have been recovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The tiles reveal what the Temple Mount floors looked like in Herod’s time. They were paved in a technique called opus sectile.

By: Amanda Laughead

A colorful Roman mosaic depicting three figures wearing togas was unearthed at Caesarea National Park in Israel.

By: Robin Ngo

A banqueting complex was recently identified just beside the Temple Mount. Dating to the time of King Herod the Great, it projects the splendor and comfort enjoyed by royal guests.