Archaeology
News and features about archaeological finds linking stories from the Torah and Prophets, or other historical events to the State of Israel
University of Haifa study of ancient sickle blades suggests Natufian hunter-gatherers systematically harvested wild grains thousands of years before established agriculture.
The site was discovered during an operation related to a violent dispute between local families, according to police.
The artwork depicts scenes from the Book of Judges.
The complex was built during the 7th or 8th century C.E., during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, and remained in use for about 150 years, according to researchers.
The excavation revealed the synagogue’s central “bimah,” worshippers’ seating plaques and other remnants of one of Europe’s most important Jewish religious centers.
The suspect was found carrying metal detectors, excavation tools and archaeological finds.
The find will be housed in an archaeology, art and innovation wing of the Tower of David Museum slated to open in late 2028.
The 2,500-year-old find may offer “significant information about trade ties and movement between Cyprus and the Land of Israel.”
Art historian Jacob Wisse told JNS that he is concerned “when museums, which I value for the rigor, depth and richness of their curatorial voice, fall back, lazily, on untruths.”
The wooden beams, preserved for some 2,600 years beneath melted plaster, offer a rare glimpse into the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.
The scrolls, discovered starting in 1947, include the oldest known copies of large portions of the Hebrew Bible.
Project Qumran seeks scientific testing of surviving samples from a 1992 Dead Sea excavation that researchers believe may be remnants of biblical “Ketoret.”
