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Biblical archaeology

The growth rings of the wooden beams discovered in the City of David, believed to have been burnt in 586 BCE (Efrat Bocher)
'You feel you are witnessing the very moment of destruction'
Rare well-preserved Iron Age wood said to offer evidence of First Temple’s destruction
By Zev Stub
Ahead of Tisha B'av, archaeologists announce discovery of beams charred from fires they believe were caused by razing of Jerusalem holy site in 586 BCE, likely kept as-is by returning Israelites
Ido Koch holds a 2,600-year-old seal found at Tel Hadid in 2019 (Courtesy/Ido Koch)
June 18, 2026, 11:15 am
Rare mother-of-pearl seal highlights movement of goods and ideas across Assyrian empire
2,600-year-old shell, used for a tiny seal stamped with an Assyrian-era religious symbol, originated in the Indo-Pacific. How did it reach the Holy Land?
By Zev Stub
An aerial photograph of Room B in the 101 Building at Tel 'Eton in the southeastern part of Israel's Judean Shephelah. At the bottom left corner, the two segments of a standing stone (massebah). According to a 2026 study, the stone might have been repurposed following the religious reform by biblical King Hezekiah in the 8th century BCE. (Photo by Griffin Aerial Imaging; prepared by Dvir Rotem/Tel 'Eton Archaeological Expedition)
June 16, 2026, 9:32 am
Rare cultic stone from Israelite mansion may testify to King Hezekiah’s biblical reform
A massive 2,750-year-old artifact found at Tel ‘Eton might have been repurposed after a clampdown on worship outside the Temple in Jerusalem
By Rossella Tercatin
An aerial view of the Ein Hatzeva archaeological site south of the Dead Sea in an undated picture. A new study published in the journal Levant on April 27, 2026, suggests that the ancient fortress at the site was built by the biblical kingdom of Israel in the first half of the 8th century BCE and not by the Assyrian empire as previously thought. (Asaf Peretz/ Israel Antiquities Authority)
May 16, 2026, 7:51 am
How ancient seeds are rewriting the history of biblical-era trade with Arabia
New radiocarbon dating of Ein Hatzeva fortress on ancient trade route in the Arava suggests it was built 2,800 years ago by the Kingdom of Israel, shoring up Bible’s account
By Rossella Tercatin
The site of Tel Hazor (Upper Galilee) in the area of the Lower City in July 2023. (Courtesy Ben Siegel/Ohio University and the Hazor Lower City Excavations)
April 16, 2026, 6:04 am
Shepherds without borders: In biblical Israel’s war zone, flocks traversed contested lands
Study of 3,000-year-old animal teeth from Tel Hazor in the Upper Galilee shows herds moved between warring Israel and Aram, shedding light on ancient boundaries’ permeability
By Rossella Tercatin
Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University found a 2500-year-old infant mass grave at Tel Azekah, some 30 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem, in a discovery revealed in a study published in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly journal in March 2026. In the image, a section of the archaeological layer including the burials. (The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition)
April 11, 2026, 11:25 am
2,500-year-old infant mass grave cracks open enigma of biblical-era baby burials
Archaeologists found the remains of dozens of children under the age of two deposited in a water reservoir of the ancient Judean town, a new study has revealed
By Rossella Tercatin
Detail from the cover of 'Echoes of Egypt: A Haggada,' curated by Bar-Ilan University Prof. Joshua Berman and published by Koren. The image on the cover shows a relief of Pharaoh Seti I (13th century BCE) and the goddess Hathor 'face to face,' from the tomb of Sethi I. (Koren)
April 1, 2026, 4:32 pm
How the Exodus story subverts pharaonic texts to mock ancient Egypt
According to Bar-Ilan University’s Joshua Berman, who curated the new hagaddah ‘Echoes of Egypt,’ the biblical narrative ‘culturally appropriates’ facets of Egyptian culture — by design
By Rossella Tercatin
Maritime archaeologists working at the Dor/Tantura Lagoon off the Carmel Coast in northern Israel in an undated picture. (Marko Runjajić/Tantura Underwater Excavation)
March 25, 2026, 7:35 pm
Iron from a 2,600-year-old shipwreck off Israeli coast may rewrite the history of war
The first evidence that iron was traded as a semifinished product has been found off the coast of northern Israel. It may have been intended for weaponry among rival empires in an era of upheaval
By Rossella Tercatin
The exhibition “A Voice from the Desert - The Great Isaiah Scroll” was inaugurated at the Israel Museum on February 23, 2026. In the image, people admire the seven-meter-long scroll in a special climate-controlled room. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
February 24, 2026, 1:45 am
Great Isaiah Scroll, oldest near-complete biblical book ever found, on show in entirety for 1st time since 1968
The 2,100-year-old artifact, seven meters long, can be viewed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem; only 25 people at a time allowed into climate-controlled room
By Rossella Tercatin
Room B in the 101 Building at Tel 'Eton, in the southeastern part of Israel's Judean Shephelah. A study published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal in January 2026 suggests it was used by the grandparents of the household. (Sky View / Tel 'Eton Archaeological Expedition)
February 19, 2026, 2:53 pm
Forget the granny flat: Study of Israelite home shows elders ruled the Iron Age roost
Finds at Tel ‘Eton preserved by fire amid Assyrian conquest 2,700 years ago offer evidence that matriarch and patriarch got biggest and best room of multi-generational household
By Rossella Tercatin
Japanese biblical Hebrew scholar Takamitsu Muraoka in Jerusalem on December 30, 2008. (Courtesy of Matthew Morgenstern)
February 16, 2026, 5:51 pm
Takamitsu Muraoka, Japanese pioneer of Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew studies, dies at 88
A prominent specialist in Semitic languages, Muraoka was proud to describe himself as the first Japanese student to complete a PhD at the Hebrew University
By Rossella Tercatin
The 2,000-year-old 'pilgrimage road' leading from the City of David to the Western Wall in Jerusalem opens to the public on January 20, 2026. (Rossella Tercatin/Times of Israel)
February 2, 2026, 7:42 am
2,000-year-old Pilgrimage Road to Temple Mount opens to public after years of digging
Millennia after being buried, street once traversed by millions of faithful from southern end of ancient Jerusalem to Western Wall can once again be walked by visitors
By Rossella Tercatin
Illustration of a rendering of slab 28 of the Southwest Palace in Nineveh (modern Mosul), Iraq, showing a city that research says may be Jerusalem, superimposed on a picture of the slab taken in 1990 by John Russell. (Trustees of the British Museum, John Russell; Illustration by Times of Israel staff)
January 25, 2026, 4:14 pm
Smashed by ISIS, a 2,700-year-old carving may have been the earliest-known depiction of Jerusalem
New research suggests a long-overlooked bas-relief in King Sennacherib’s palace in modern-day Mosul, Iraq, destroyed with other priceless artifacts, showed the Temple Mount and Bible’s King Hezekiah
By Rossella Tercatin
Prof. Gabriel Barkay, co-director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, on May 30, 2019. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
January 14, 2026, 5:03 pm
Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, pioneer of Temple Mount research, dies at 81
Discoverer of the Ketef Hinnom scrolls and founder of Temple Mount Sifting Project was a larger-than-life figure who stirred controversy, loved Jerusalem and made the city his mission
By Rossella Tercatin
The Great Isaiah Scroll, the oldest near-complete book of the Hebrew Bible, dating back to approximately 2,200 years ago. (Giorgio Skory/Qumran Caves Publication Project)
January 3, 2026, 8:17 am
The oldest complete biblical scroll ever found was originally split in 2, scholar finds
Study comes as ‘Great Isaiah,’ a 24-foot-long text parchment found with the Dead Sea Scrolls, set to be displayed by the Israel Museum in full for the first time since 1968
By Rossella Tercatin
Palestinian men drink coffee as they sit next to a statue of King David in Jerusalem's Old City, January 27, 2011. (Kobi Gideon/ Flash90/ File)
December 27, 2025, 3:46 am
Despite academic battle royal, a new book returns David’s kingdom to its place in history
In ‘The Bible’s First Kings,’ scholars piece together archaeology and biblical studies to show that a United Monarchy indeed emerged in the region’s highlands 3,000 years ago
By Rossella Tercatin
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