archaeology

A spirit is seen being led to the afterlife by a lover on a Babylonian clay tablet. The white line tracing is by Chris Cobb for Irving Finkel's book, The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies. (Screenshot/ Youtube/Archaeology Now)

Archaeology

Unhappy spirit: Oldest ever drawing of ghost found on ancient Babylonian tablet

Revisiting a ‘spectacular’ 3,500-year-old clay tablet in its vaults, a researcher at the British Museum spots a ‘miserable’ phantom being led into the afterlife by a lover

October 17, 2021, 12:12 am

Unhappy spirit: Oldest ever drawing of ghost found on ancient Babylonian tablet

Revisiting a ‘spectacular’ 3,500-year-old clay tablet in its vaults, a researcher at the British Museum spots a ‘miserable’ phantom being led into the afterlife by a lover

By TOI staff

Ancient Herculaneum is seen on a backdrop of modern Ercolano and Vesuvius (CC BY-SA Qfl247/ Wikimedia Commons)

October 16, 2021, 4:17 am

Newly found skeleton may bring fresh insights on Vesuvius eruption

Remains of a man presumed to be aged 40-45 found under meters of volcanic rock in ancient Roman city of Herculaneum

By AFP

Aerial view of the Byzantine winepress uncovered in Yavne (Asaf Peretz/IAA)

October 11, 2021, 11:48 am

Ancient alcohol: World’s largest Byzantine winepresses uncovered in Israel

Industrial complex dating back 1,500 years, found south of Tel Aviv, was capable of producing 2 million liters of wine a year that were marketed across region, archaeologists say

By TOI staff

Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Yaakov Billig next to the toilet discovery. (Yoli Schwartz/IAA)

October 5, 2021, 11:44 am

Royal flush: Rare First Temple-era private toilet unearthed in Jerusalem

‘Only the rich could afford toilets’ 2,700 years ago, says Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist who uncovered the ancient latrine

By Amy Spiro

This undated photo made available by the National Park Service in September 2021 shows fossilized human footprints at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico. (NPS via AP)

September 24, 2021, 5:47 am

New Mexico footprints show humans walked in North America some 23,000 years ago

Scientists manage to date seeds discovered in fossilized prints, giving a more definitive time frame to question of when people first arrived in Americas

By Agencies

Illustrative: Ancient artifacts, smuggled into the US in violation of federal law and shipped to Hobby Lobby stores, are shown at an event returning the artifacts to Iraq, on May 2, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)

September 21, 2021, 9:12 pm

US to formally return 3,500-year-old ‘Gilgamesh’ tablet to Iraq

UNESCO hails return of artifact, which was looted during Islamic State rule and then illegally imported to the US, as ‘a significant victory’

By AFP

Photo illustration showing the tomb of Nahum during restoration work in 2018. (Photo courtesy Adam Tiffen; illustration by Joshua Davidovich/Times of Israel)

September 15, 2021, 1:59 pm

Saving Iraq’s Tomb of Nahum, a secret mission resurrects Kurdistan’s Jewish past

With IS just miles away, a US army vet, 2 Israeli engineers and the head of a preservation group carried out an audacious plan to restore an ancient shrine of the biblical prophet

By Tal Schneider

Philanthropist Dan David, for whom the Dan David Prize is named, and which now is considered the largest history prize in the world (Courtesy Dan David Foundation)

September 15, 2021, 10:46 am

Dan David prize becomes largest history award in world

Headquartered at Tel Aviv University, endowment will give 9 scholars $300,000 apiece for achievements in study of human history

By Jessica Steinberg

A 2,000-year-old stone quarry discovered in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Hotzvim. (Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority)

September 5, 2021, 3:16 pm

Quarry that may have been source of Second Temple stones uncovered in Jerusalem

Archaeologists say find provides ‘clear demonstration’ of various phases of stone preparation, and can help them recreate and test ancient methods described in biblical sources

By TOI staff

Illustrative: Two adult skulls lie next to each other at an archaeological excavation site in London, March 6, 2015. (AP/Matt Dunham)

August 27, 2021, 2:31 pm

7,200-year-old skeleton unearthed in Indonesia reveals unknown human group

DNA examination of the remains of a female teenage hunter-gatherer reveals ‘distinct lineage’ not found anywhere else

By AFP

The excavation of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Lithuania showing the area of the Torah ark and two flights of stairs destroyed by the Nazis and the Soviets, August 2021. (Jon Seligman/Israel Antiquities Authority)

August 26, 2021, 8:34 pm

Archaeologists expose Torah ark of Vilna synagogue destroyed by Nazis, Soviets

Joint Israeli-Lithuanian six-year excavation in ruins of centuries-old Jewish community center unearths prayer platform, silver pointer used when reading the Torah

By Michael Bachner

An ancient winepress unveiled in Ramat Hasharon. (Yoli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority)

August 18, 2021, 1:13 pm

Building project unearths ancient history in Tel Aviv suburb

Construction of new residential neighborhood in Ramat Hasharon reveals human activity dating back 1,500 years, including a winepress and gold coin much prized by its owner

By Stuart Winer

The Yitzchaki family with a 1,500-year-old coin they found at the Korazim archaeological site in northern Israel, August 10, 2021. (Dekel Segev/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

August 10, 2021, 4:58 pm

Girl finds 1,500-year-old coin at Talmud-era Jewish village in northern Israel

Young girl picks up the ancient bronze coin during a scavenger hunt game at ancient community of Korazim, hands it to park officials

By Michael Bachner

Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram performs during the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on Saturday, August 7, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP/Ashley Landis)

August 8, 2021, 2:31 pm

Daily Briefing August 8 – Golden highs & a few lows of Team Israel at Tokyo 2020

Olympics wrap-up with Amy Spiro and a look forward to the COVID Winter games; diplomacy reporter Lazar Berman talks about signals being sent by new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi

By TOI staff

Remains of tools discovered in Jerusalem's City of David within a layer of destruction from the 8th century BCE, which coincided with a massive earthquake mentioned in the Bible. The tools were likely shattered during the quake. (Eliyahu Yanai/ City of David)

August 4, 2021, 2:34 pm

Archaeologists unearth 1st Jerusalem evidence of quake from Bible’s Book of Amos

8th century BCE tremblors recorded by biblical prophet get new proof from current excavations in the City of David; scholars hope it will help them crack the city’s timeline

By Amanda Borschel-Dan