A volunteer looking through the dirt that had been excavated from Robinson’s Arch (near the Western Wall) found a 1-cm impression of a seal in 2013. After closer examination, some archaeologists believe it is a First Temple seal. The impression,…Continue Reading
Anyone who is familiar with stories about Jesus, even those who have never read the gospels for themselves know about Pontius Pilate who ordered the crucifixion. Besides the New Testament Pilate was mentioned by Josephus at the end of the…Continue Reading
Alexandria, Egypt – Ahram Online reports that a team of Egyptian and Polish archaeologists discovered a well-preserved Roman mosaic floor in a house at the site of Kom El-Dikka, which features a small theater, an imperial bath, and a group…Continue Reading
Back in 2012 some volunteers and archeologists have uncovered a number of important discoveries while sifting through dirt in vicinity of Jerusalem Archaeological Park near Siloam pool. Among the findings was an ancient clay seal (bulla) which was probably used…Continue Reading
Researchers from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, believe they have discovered the Philistine town near Kiryat Gat, immortalized in the Biblical narrative. Ziklag is mentioned multiple times in the Bible…Continue Reading
Over the past century and a half, archaeologists have excavated a variety of sites in Jerusalem, bringing to light many aspects of everyday life in the biblical city. The examination of ceramic vessels for cooking and serving, as well as…Continue Reading
A new Tzur Natan neighborhood construction in central Israel was proceeded by a dig. The excavation unearthed a rare written record. It points to a Samaritan business from 1600 hundred years ago. The Greek inscription mentions a wealthy landowner ‘Master…Continue Reading
Archaeologists in Jordan have uncovered a Roman-era tomb decorated with spectacular frescoes (Aramaic Comics) that include some very elaborate drawings. The unique feature of the frescoes is that the titles and descriptions were written in Aramaic, but using the Greek…Continue Reading
A handful of ancient Israelite inscriptions feature an enigmatic title that has been variously translated as “governor of the city” and “commander of the fortress.” Who was this figure? This late eighth-century B.C.E. bulla discovered near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount displays…Continue Reading
Few symbols have a tradition as long and as rich as the dove. A particular favorite in art and iconography, the dove often represents some aspect of the divine, and its use has been shared, adapted and reinterpreted across cultures…Continue Reading
The Digital Corpus of Literary Papyri, a new digital tool for researching ancient literature, is now available. The open-access database, which offers information about and transcripts of Greek and Latin texts preserved on fragments of papyri, ceramic shards NAND wooden…Continue Reading
According to researchers of antiquity driving away bad luck, the evil eye and, in short, envious people—this was one of the purposes of mosaics in Ancient Rome. You may know of amulets, incantations, but art and specifical mosaics were also…Continue Reading
During the winter of 2017, archaeologists working in a Jerusalem suburb, discovered the foundations of a Roman structure dating to the 1st century B.C.E. What they found was building remnants and a part of a common round column. The exiting…Continue Reading
As research in Qumran scrolls continues some questions are answered and new ones arise. There is still so much we do not know about the Qumran texts collection. There are still so many things we are trying to piece together…Continue Reading
A gold earring portraying the head of a horned animal was unearthed under the Givati Parking lot near Jerusalem’s City of David National Park. The earring belongs to the second or third century B.C.E. “The jewelry was found inside a…Continue Reading
Researchers from Israel Antiquities Authority, the Safed Academic College, and the Israel Cave Explorers Club embarked on an intricate excavation mission to the cave on a cliff face near the Lebanon border. And their daring efforts paid off. Inside the…Continue Reading
A remarkable papyrus written in Coptic was uncovered during a 1934 expedition by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The manuscript was preserved by the Met but had never been deciphered or detailed in a scientific journal until now. It…Continue Reading
Minute inaccuracies in radiocarbon dating may cause a massive overhaul of the historical timeline, researchers studying anomalies in this dating method have found. By questioning certain assumptions underlying radiocarbon dating, a team of researchers at Cornell University have uncovered 20-year…Continue Reading
