archaeology

Archaeology

Alabaster for Herod the Great’s lavish bathtubs traced to quarry in Israel

Daughter-father scientific study rules out Egyptian quarries and shows ancient Holy Land industry was potentially much more developed than previously thought

Herod’s calcite-alabaster bathtub found in Kypros fortress (Prof. Amos Frumkin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

May 17, 2022, 4:48 pm

Alabaster for Herod the Great’s lavish bathtubs traced to quarry in Israel

Daughter-father scientific study rules out Egyptian quarries and shows ancient Holy Land industry was potentially much more developed than previously thought

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

The Sha'ar Ramon roadside inn. The trash midden is seen on the right next to the entrance gate. (Roy Galili)

May 12, 2022, 3:59 pm

Ancient trash a treasure in mapping first steps to globalization on Incense Route

Sifting through refuse at roadside inns from 300 BCE to 300 CE uncovers ‘social archives’ that help explain the social and economic organization of the Nabatean caravan trade

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Security guards guard at the entrance to Ariel, where on April 29, 2022, Palestinian assailants shot and killed a security guard. (Flash90)

May 1, 2022, 2:06 pm

Daily Briefing May 1: Ariel terror attack & poison pen letters to the first family

Editor David Horovitz discusses Gaza Hamas head Yahya Sinwar’s explosive speech and its implications; military reporter Emanuel Fabian updates us on ripples of Friday’s shooting

By TOI staff

Remains of 12th century Medieval vessels discovered in Jerusalem's Old City, including (far right) a fragment of the sphero-conical vessel that was identified as containing an explosive material from Jerusalem, Israel. (Robert Mason, Royal Ontario Museum)

April 29, 2022, 12:28 pm

Was Monty Python’s ‘Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch’ fact? Crusader-era explosive found

Analysis of 11th-12th century vessel shards excavated in Jerusalem’s Old City give support to Crusader-era accounts of exploding projectiles — such as depicted in ‘The Holy Grail’

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

An ancient bronze fork found at Korazim National Park, believed to be from the Talmudic period (Ahia Cohen-Tavor/Nature and Parks Authority)

April 22, 2022, 6:17 pm

Girl finds rare ancient fork at 1,500-year-old dig site near Sea of Galilee

Members of the public participate in work to uncover ancient Jewish village at Korazim, also uncover an elaborate earing

By TOI staff

A huge ancient Roman theater unearthed in Tiberias lies neglected, October 19, 2021. (Michael Bachner/Times of Israel)

April 2, 2022, 10:02 am

After years of neglect, ‘rare opportunity’ opens up for Tiberias archaeological gems

Volunteers have cleaned up stunning sites including Sanhedrin seat and huge Roman theater that were buried under trash; as authorities argue, experts plead to set up national park

By Michael Bachner

Collection of 6th century BCE wine jars after the restoration process. (Dafna Gazit/Israel Antiquities Authority)

March 30, 2022, 11:01 am

6th century BCE Jerusalemite oenophiles had a taste for exotic vanilla-spice wine

New research based on First Temple City of David pottery sherds dating to the Babylonian destruction shores up theories of international trade with Kingdom of Judah

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

An Israel Antiquities Authority conservationist works on the 'Jesus' mosaic excavated at a prison in Megiddo in northern Israel, part of a structure from the third or fourth century that may be one of the earliest Christian churches. (Yoli Schwartz/IAA)

March 28, 2022, 8:21 pm

Earliest mosaic in Israel dedicated to Jesus may soon be sprung from prison

3rd-century Christian structure and 3 mosaics with inscriptions – including ‘to the God Jesus Christ’ – were uncovered at Meggido jail in 2004-08; it may now become a tourist site

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Dr. Scott Stripling, head of the current excavation at biblical Shiloh, exhibits a find. May 22, 2017. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)

March 25, 2022, 9:42 am

Podcast: Does a tiny ‘curse tablet’ from Mt. Ebal date to the Israelite settlement?

Hear Dr. Scott Stripling explain the biblical resonance of what, if verified, could be the earliest Hebrew writing in the Land of Israel

By TOI staff

Close-up of the outside of the arguably Late Bronze Age lead curse tablet discovered on Mt. Ebal in 2019. (Michael C. Luddeni/Associates for Biblical Research)

March 24, 2022, 6:00 pm

Archaeologist claims to find oldest Hebrew text in Israel, including the name of God

Scholars date tiny ‘curse tablet,’ found at Mt. Ebal, to 1200 BCE – which would prove Israelites were literate when they entered Holy Land; but findings have not been peer-reviewed

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

The ancient clay jug discovered by Robbie and his friend in cave 53 in the Qumran region, February 2022. (Amir Ganor/Israel Antiquities Authority)

March 8, 2022, 9:51 pm

American tourist stumbles upon intact Early Bronze Age pottery jug in Judean Desert

Officials say discovery at Qumran may be the first complete vessel from the period found in region’s caves

By TOI staff

(Left to Right): Prof. Ran Barkai and Bar Efrati. (Tel Aviv University)

March 7, 2022, 3:39 pm

Half a million years ago, prehistoric man may have been just as sentimental as us

Tel Aviv University study on popular settlement spot Revadim looks at personal motivations behind reuse of flint tools

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Three 1,500-year-old 'magic' incantation bowls created in the 5th-7th centuries in present day Iraq that were seized from an alleged illegal antiquities' dealer's home in Jerusalem (Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority)

March 7, 2022, 1:41 pm

‘Magic’ bowls among trove of ancient artifacts seized in raid on Jerusalem home

Ramat Shlomo resident suspected of illegal antiquities trade had three 1,500-year-old incantation bowls from Iraq, hundreds of other rare treasures

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

This photo provided by Jordan Tourism Ministry shows two carved standing stones at a remote Neolithic site in Jordan’s eastern desert. A team of Jordanian and French archaeologists said Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, that it had found a roughly 9,000-year-old shrine. The ritual complex was found in a Neolithic campsite near large structures known as “desert kites," or mass traps that are believed to have been used to corral wild gazelles for slaughter. (Tourism Ministry via AP)

February 23, 2022, 5:40 am

Almost perfectly preserved 9,000-year-old shrine discovered in Jordanian desert

Ritual complex found in ancient Neolithic campsite near mass traps that are believed to have been used to corral wild gazelles for slaughter

By OMAR AKOUR

Ashdod municipal police officers Sagiv Ben Gigi and Eitai Dabosh (Shira Lifshitz/Israel Antiquities Authority)

February 22, 2022, 12:45 pm

Beach-combing police find 1,500-year-old marble pillar near Ashdod

Believed to once have been part of a Byzantine era church, massive artifact likely exposed during recent winter storms

By Amanda Borschel-Dan