Archeology

Discovered a century ago, clay figurines of human forms were prevalent in the First Temple period (c. 800–586 B.C.E). To this day, no one knows. . .

Robin Ngo
Aug. 25 2014 12:01AM

In the ruins of an ancient village near the Jordanian border, researchers have unearthed the oldest metal object yet discovered in the Middle East. 

Andrew Tobin
Aug. 22 2014 12:01AM

Six varieties of fruit served not merely as food for the ancient Israelites but as symbols that feature prominently in biblical names, laws, proverbs, and traditions.

David Moster
Jan. 30 2014 5:00AM

Do epigraphic variations in a 3,000-year-old inscription discovered at an ancient fort suggest that the Hebrew alphabet once incorporated vowels?

Brian E. Colless
Jan. 28 2014 12:00AM

Some biblical scholars interpret the story of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) as a case of sacred prostitution. Their reading is supported neither by textual. . .

Jan. 27 2014 12:00AM

Do the remains of a stone structure located on a rocky spur in Jerusalem match the biblical specifications for King David’s palace? An expert. . .

Robin Ngo
Jan. 21 2014 12:00AM

An ancient flood narrative inscribed on a 4,000-year-old Babylonian cuneiform tablet gives precise instructions for building an ark and recruiting its animal cargo—two by two.

Irving Finkel
Jan. 20 2014 12:00AM

A First-Temple-era column, whose location has been kept secret until this week, is less interesting than the ancient water system in which it was discovered.

Noah Wiener
Jan. 16 2014 12:00AM

Before the exploits for which he became famous, T. E. Lawrence made discoveries in Syria and the Sinai desert that laid the foundations for future biblical archeology.

Stephen E. Tabachnick
Dec. 20 2013 12:00AM

Twenty years ago, a scholarly consensus identified the Dead Sea Scrolls with the ascetic Essene community at Qumran. Now the picture is more complicated.

Olivia Yeo
Dec. 18 2013 12:00AM

A 10,000-year-old house at Eshtaol represents the oldest structure ever found in the Judean lowlands, dating from a time before permanent dwellings became the norm.

Noah Wiener
Dec. 10 2013 12:00AM

Why do so many ancient synagogue mosaics in Israel feature pagan symbols? (2012)

Walter Zanger
Dec. 5 2013 12:00AM

The discovery of an Iron-Age altar at Shiloh provides the first evidence of First-Temple-era sacrificial worship at the site that hosted the Tabernacle before. . .

Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu
Nov. 25 2013 12:00AM

Does an ancient Aramean bull deity, depicted on an 8th-century B.C.E. stele, explain how Judaism came to adopt a lunar calendar?

Ilan Ben Zion
Nov. 19 2013 12:00AM