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Biblical archaeology
Israel@70
ToI asks the experts: What are the most important finds of Israeli archaeology?
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
From Dead Sea Scrolls to space-age tech, the dramatic history of the ever-developing field is indelibly entwined with that of the nation itself
A 1951 image of the Hebrew University's Prof. Eleazar Sukenik with one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. (Department of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem - National Library of Israel, Schwadron collection)
April 19, 2018, 7:50 am
ToI asks the experts: What are the most important finds of Israeli archaeology?
From Dead Sea Scrolls to space-age tech, the dramatic history of the ever-developing field is indelibly entwined with that of the nation itself
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
A pupil prepares the Sanhedrin Trail as a gift to the country on the occasion of its 70th year of independence. (Israel Antiquities Authority)
April 16, 2018, 12:29 pm
1,400-year-old menorah lamp, rare coin found as kids dig trail for Israel’s 70th
Galilee's new, high-tech 70 kilometer interactive ‘Sanhedrin Trail’ is blazed on paths that were walked by great Jewish thinkers 1,900 years ago
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Selavan wants to give his tours combining Jewish text and ancient artifacts at museums around the world. (Debra Nussbaum Cohen/JTA)
March 30, 2018, 9:55 pm
A tour group leader uncovers Passover secrets in the Met Museum’s Egyptian wing
Nachliel Selavan, a Jewish educator and self-taught museum guide, looks at Jewish texts and history through ancient artifacts, showing that 'the Bible doesn't exist in a vacuum'
By Debra Nussbaum Cohen
Isaiah bulla, a 2,700-year-old clay seal impression which may have belonged to the biblical prophet Isaiah. (Ouria Tadmor/© Eilat Mazar)
February 22, 2018, 7:00 am
In find of biblical proportions, seal of Prophet Isaiah said found in Jerusalem
Chanced upon near a seal identified with King Hezekiah, a tiny clay piece may be the first-ever proof of the prophet, though a missing letter leaves room for doubt
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Crop of the RTI photographic depiction of Apulian pottery portraying Dione and Aphrodite found in Israel's e-Tell site near the Sea of Galilee. The image is apparently the copy of a design found at the Parthenon in Athens, from the 5th century BCE. (Hanan Shafir, Bethsaida Excavations / Michael Maggen, The Israel Museum)
January 22, 2018, 10:37 pm
Imaging technology reveals birth of Athena on 2,300-year-old shard from Galilee
Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) is an increasingly common technique in the tool chests of today's archaeologists
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Found 100 meters from Jerusalem's Western Wall, the First Temple period sealing published in December 2017 bears an inscription stating, 'Belonging to the Governor of the City.' (Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)
January 1, 2018, 12:28 pm
2,700-year-old seal impression cements existence of biblical Jerusalem governor
Found in ongoing Western Wall plaza excavations, the minuscule clay piece is inscribed in ancient Hebrew script, 'Belonging to the governor of the city'
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Tourists at Israel's Beit Sh'ean National Park test drive the Roman-era public latrine, March 2017. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
November 20, 2017, 8:21 pm
4 ancient toilets almost wiped from Israel’s history
Studying old thrones, researchers flush out ancient man's past through what we've passed
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Joshuah Ordering the Sun to Stand Still (1743-1744), Joseph Marie Vien in Musée Fabre, Montpellier. (Public domain, Wikimedia Commons)
October 30, 2017, 10:11 pm
‘Joshua stopped the sun’ 3,224 years ago today, scientists say
Researchers claim epic Biblical story is earliest account of annular eclipse that occurred on October 30, 1207 BCE; also helps pinpoint reigns of Pharaohs Ramesses and Merneptah
By David Sedley
Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists (left to right) Tehillah Lieberman, Dr. Joe Uziel and Dr. Avi Solomon at the site of an ancient Roman theater-like structure, hidden for 1,700 years adjacent to the Western Wall underneath Jerusalem's Old City, on October 16, 2017 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
October 16, 2017, 12:33 pm
Massive section of Western Wall and Roman theater uncovered after 1,700 years
Sought for 150 years, the remarkable discovery of the small theater changes archaeologists' perceptions of Roman-conquered Jerusalem after the fall of the Second Temple
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
An inscription in the ancient Luwian language detailing the fall of the Hittite empire and the conquering of Ashkelon by the 'Sea Peoples.' (courtesy Luwian Studies)
October 11, 2017, 5:00 pm
Is this huge inscription our missing link to the biblical ‘Sea Peoples’?
Newly rediscovered 29-meter-long hieroglyphic text from Turkey depicts the fall of the Hittite Empire. But only if it's authentic. And the original has disappeared
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
A Dead Sea Scrolls fragment from the book of Genesis, part of Museum of the Bible's Scholars Initiative research project published by Brill in 2016. Of the museum's 13 published scrolls, at least six are of dubious authenticity. (Image by Bruce and Kenneth Zuckerman and Marilyn J. Lundberg, West Semitic Research, courtesy of Museum of the Bible)
October 3, 2017, 6:21 pm
Dead Sea Scrolls scam: Dozens of recently sold fragments are fakes, experts warn
Since 2002, collectors have paid millions for portions of ancient text. As DC's Museum of the Bible prepares to open with several such pieces, evidence of fraud emerges
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Complete seal bearing the name 'Ahiav ben Menahem' found at Jerusalem' City of David, summer 2017. (Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)
September 4, 2017, 2:12 pm
Jerusalem welcomed Jewish refugees 2,700 years ago, new finds show
A trove of clay imprints from official documents indicates that after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, refugees fled to the Kingdom of Judah, where they rose in the ranks
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Dr. Yonatan Adler on-site at the stone quarry and tool production center excavations at Reina in Lower Galilee. (Samuel Magal/IAA)
August 10, 2017, 11:51 am
2,000-year-old stone workshop discovered near where Jesus turned water into wine
Because it was immune to ritual impurity, the use of stoneware was rife among Jews during the Roman era
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Illustrative: An ultra-Orthodox man examines a citron (etrog) in Jerusalem (photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 9, 2017, 10:44 pm
As Italy’s citron crop fails, an archaeologist looks to fruit’s 2,500-year history in Israel
After a disastrous frost that looks to wipe out the majority of this year's etrog yield, Chabad Jewry braces for a crisis ahead of the Feast of Tabernacles
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Dueling Bethsaida excavations: (clockwise from top left) Bronze coin from e-Tell, team member at el-Araj, mosaics found at el-Araj, city gate at e-Tell excavation site. (courtesy)
August 7, 2017, 2:20 pm
Sites vie to be seen as Christianity’s ‘lost’ city of Bethsaida
Seeking the location of a myriad of New Testament miracles, excavations in area of important Second Temple-era town uncover conflicting finds
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
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