Bible & Archaeology News
Welcome to B&A NEws
Welcome to the Bible & Archaeology News. Below is an aggregate of the latest headlines from the world of biblical archaeology and biblical studies.
JANUARY 2022
"Ancient Mesopotamians bred horse-like hybrids" (Arkeonews.net — By Oğuz Büyükyıldırım, January 17 2022)
"Greco-Roman rock-cut tomb discovered west of Aswan" (Ahram Online — Nevine El-Aref, January 14, 2022)
"The Exceptional Career of a Mesopotamian Ruler without a Crown: Kudur-Mabuk and the Kingship of Larsa" (ANE Today 10/1— Baptiste Fiette, January 13, 2022)
"Using the Bible as an Archaeological Travel Guide to Israel" (Haaretz — Moshe Gilad, January 12, 2022)
"An Ampulla was discovered for the first time in the ancient city of Dara, Turkey" (Arkeonews — Leman Altuntaş, January 11, 2022)
"Skilled Managers Key to Success of Ancient Arava Valley Copper Mines" (Jerusalem Post — Rossella Tercatin, January 10, 2022)
"4,000-year-old gameboard uncovered by Polish, Omani archaeologists" (Jerusalem Post — January 9, 2022)
"Podcast: Author Andrew Lawler digs into wacky-but-true tales of Jerusalem archaeology in new book" (Times of Israel — January 7, 2022)
"So Who Were the Magi—AKA the Three Kings—Who Visited Jesus?" (The Daily Beast — Candida Moss, January 6, 2022)
"Biblical Kings Were Plagued by Parasites, Study of 2,700-year-old Jerusalem Toilet Shows" (Haaretz — Ariel David, January 4, 2022)
"How 19th Century Western Archaeologists Made Jerusalem a Zionist Dream" (Haaretz — Andrew Lawler, January 3, 2022)
DECEMBER 2021
"Earliest victims of Bronze Age Thera (Santorini) volcanic eruption found in Turkey" (Jerusalem Post — December 28, 2021)
"Mummy of famous Egyptian pharaoh digitally unwrapped for first time in 3,000 years" (Live Science — Owen Jarus, December 28, 2021)
"Unfinished Roman-era statue found in old Macedonian capital of Veria (ancient Berea)" (Jerusalem Post — December 28, 2021)
"Large Roman fort built by the Roman Emperor Caligula discovered near Amsterdam" (The Guardian — Daniel Boffey, December 26, 2021)
"Ancient underwater treasure found in Caesarea with Christian gold ring" (Jerusalem Post — Rossella Tercatin, December 22, 2021)
"When Biblically Inspired Pseudoscience and Clickbait Cause Looting" (Sapiens — Morag M. Kersel, Meredith S. Chesson, and Austin "Chad" Hill, December 15, 2021)
"Cache of 13,000 Ostraca Unearthed in Upper Egypt's Sohag" (Ahram Online — Nevine El-Aref, December 15, 2021)
"Missing Papyri Professor Must Return $7 Million to Hobby Lobby" (Christianity Today — Daniel Silliman, December 15, 2021)
"In Hometown of Mary Magdalene, Israeli Archaeologists Find Second Synagogue" (Haaretz — Ruth Schuster, December 13, 2021)
"Rare evidence of Roman crucifixion uncovered in the UK" (Live Science — Owen Jarus, December 8, 2021)
"2,700-year-old leather armor proves technology transfer happened in antiquity" (Phys.org — University of Zurich, December 8, 2021)
"Ancient Egyptian Texts for the Afterlife?" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 12 – Rune Nyord, December 2021)
"Renowned Egyptologist says it’s time to stop romanticizing ancient Egypt" (UCLA Newsroom — Alison Hewitt, December 6, 2021)
"Is this really the biblical city where Jesus walked on water?" (Live Science – Owen Jarus, December 3, 2021)
"The Rise of Silver Coinage in the Ancient Mediterranean" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 12 – Gil Davis, December 2021)
NOVEMBER 2021
"Culinary Detectives Try to Recover the Formula for a Deliciously Fishy Roman Condiment" (Smithsonian Magazine – Taras Grescoe, November 2021)
"Byzantine Basilica With Graves of Female Ministers and Baffling Mass Graves Found in Israel" (Haaretz – Ariel David, November 15, 2021)
"Oh deer! Archaeologists reveal culinary taste of prehistoric Israelis" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, November 14, 2021)
"Ancient Hangover Cure Discovered—And It's Very Pretty" (Daily Beast – Candida Moss, November 14, 2021)
"Archaeologists discover 'slave room' at Pompeii" (Jerusalem Post, November 14, 2021)
"Archaeologists Reveal Secrets of Assyrian War Machine That Conquered Ancient Judah" (Haaretz – Ariel David, November 9, 2021)
"How did people live (and die) in biblical Azekah? 4 skeletons shed light" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, November 3, 2021)
"David and Solomon’s Kingdom as a State: An Archaeo-Historical Anachronism" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 11 – Zachary Thomas, November 2021)
"Italy Repatriates Ancient Artifacts to Mexico" (Archaeology Magazine – November 3, 2021)
"Tomb of New Kingdom Treasurer Found in Egypt" (Archaeology Magazine – November 3, 2021)
"A Half a Century of Studying Biblical Coins" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 11 – David Hendin, November 2021)
"Bronze Age Swords Unearthed in Greece" (Archaeology Magazine – November 2, 2021)
"Heads of Two Statues Uncovered in Turkey" (Archaeology Magazine – November 2, 2021)
"Roman Statues Unearthed in England" (Archaeology Magazine – November 1, 2021)
"The Phaistos Disk-An Enigmatic Artifact in its Cultural Context" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 11 – Giorgia Baldacci, November 2021)
"The Shavei Zion Figurine Assemblage. A Cultic Site at Sea" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No. 11 – Meir Edrey, Adi Erlich, and Assaf Yasur-Landau, November 2021)
OCTOBER 2021
"Judahite Temple Near Jerusalem May Have Housed Statue of Canaanite God" (Haaretz – Ariel David, October 27, 2021)
"Assyrian Wine Production Site Found in Iraq" (Archaeology Magazine – October 26, 2021)
"Unique Arabic Inscription Found on Ballista Ball at Crusader Castle in Israel" (Haaretz – October 24, 2021)
"Why Are There Christian Crosses on Jewish Graves in Ancient Italy?" (Daily Beast – Candida Moss, October 24, 2021)
"Prehistoric Phallus-Shaped Pillars Found in Turkey" (Archaeology Magazine – October 22, 2021)
"Amythest Seal Showing Biblical Persimmon and Maybe an Ibis Found in Jerusalem" (Haaretz – Sam Sokol, October 21, 2021)
"'Church of the Apostles' in Bethsaida Mysteriously Buried, Archaeologists Discover" (Haaretz – Ruth Schuster, October 20, 2021)
"Possible Crusader Campsite Found in Israel" (Archaeology Magazine – October 20, 2021)
"Swords, gold, & shipwrecks: Israeli waters keep on revealing treasures" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, October 19, 2021)
"400 stone-cut chamber tombs, filled with wall paintings and treasures, discovered in Turkey" (Live Science – Laura Geggel, October 18, 2021)
"Newly found skeleton may bring fresh insights on Vesuvius eruption" (Times of Israel – AFP, October 16, 2021)
"Byzantine Winery Discovered in Central Israel" (Archaeology Magazine – October 12, 2021)
"Data Science and the Bible: Rediscovering the History of the Christian Bible in Ethiopia" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 10 – Steve Delamarter and Daniel Assefa, October 2021)
"Aspects of Daily Life in Ancient Egyptian Letters" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 10 – Susan Thorpe, October 2021)
"Rethinking Slavery in the Ancient Near East" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 10 – Ella Karev and Seth Richardson, October 2021)
"Divine Channels: Rediscovering the Canal Networks of the Assyrian Empire" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 10 – John MacGinnis, Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, and Jason Ur, October 2021)
"Archaeologists find 2,700-year-old toilet in luxurious palace in Jerusalem" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, October 5, 2021)
"Roman Temple Discovered in Ancient City of Tyre" (Archaeology Magazine, October 4, 2021)
"4,500-year-old jar from the Bronze Age discovered in southern Turkey" (Jerusalem Post, October 4, 2021)
"40,000-year-old sealed cavern in Gibraltar gives new insight into Neanderthal life" (Jerusalem Post – Shira Silkoff, October 3, 2021)
SEPTEMBER 2021
"Water sustainability throughout Jerusalem's history" (Jerusalem Post – Susan de la Fuente, September 30, 2021)
"Zeus temple gate unearthed in Turkey" (Jerusalem Post, September 29, 2021)
"Who Were the Etruscans? DNA Study Solves Origin Mystery" (Haaretz – Ariel David, September 24, 2021)
"US to formally return 3,500-year-old 'Gilgamesh' tablet to Iraq" (Times of Israel, September 21, 2021)
"Making, Trading, and Consuming Phoenician Wine" (ANE Today – Adriano Orsingher, Jens Kamlah, Hélène Sader, Aaron Schmitt, Silvia Amicone and Christoph Berthold)
"The Ancient Salt Industry on the Mediterranean Coast of Israel" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 9 – Ehud Galili and Sarah Arenson)
"Altered States and Paleolithic Caves" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 9 – Yafit Kedar, Gil Kedar, and Ran Barkai)
"Royal Illness in the Bible and the Ancient Near East" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 9 – Isabel Cranz)
"Saudi Arabia's rock-cut camels redated" (Archaeology Magazine, September 20, 2021)
"Mass grave of slaughtered Crusaders discovered in Lebanon" (Live Science – Ben Turner, September 17, 2021)
"Saving Iraq's Tomb of Nahum, a secret mission resurrects Kurdistan's Jewish past" (Times of Israel – Tal Schneider, September 15, 2021)
"1,500-Year-Old Winepress, Other Artifacts Unearthed in Israel" (Science News, September 13, 2021)
"Roman emperor's statue discovered in Aydin" (Hurriyet Daily News, September 13, 2021)
"2,000-year-old quarry found to supply stones for ancient Jerusalem" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, September 5, 2021)
"Archaeologists Find Jerusalem Stone Quarry From Second Temple Period" (Haaretz – Ruth Schuster, September 5, 2021)
"Byzantine church dedicated to unknown martyr unearthed in Israel" (Live Science – Owen Jarus, September 2, 2021)
"Weight used to cheat in trade during First Temple era found in Jerusalem" (Jerusalem Post – September 2, 2021)
"Paradigm Shift in Human Evolution: Early Humans Left Africa via Arabia" (Haaretz – Ruth Schuster, September 1, 2021)
"Herodian Hangout" (Archaeology – Marley Brown, September/October 2021)
"Seeds of Conflict" (Smithsonian – Joshua Hammer, September 2021)
AUGUST 2021
"From Texts to Scribes: Evidence for Writing in Ancient Israel" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 8 – Philip Zhakevich)
"Why Did the World End in 1200 BCE?" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 8 – Jesse Millek)
"Neo-Assyrian Legal Practice — Law without Lawyers" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 8 – Betina Faist)
"Cognitive Science and the Ancient Near Eastern Religious Imagination" (ANE Today Vol. 9, No 8 – Brett Maiden)
"From Texts to Scribes: Evidence for Writing in Ancient Israel" (ASOR – Philip Zhakevich, August 2021)
"Update: Week 4—Protecting the Cultural Heritage of Cyrene, Libya" (ASOR – Ahmad Emrage and Susan Kane, August 2021)
"New Study Solves the Mystery of Dead Sea Scrolls Site" (Haaretz – Nir Hasson, August 27, 2021)
"Archaeologists expose Torah ark of Vilna synagogue destroyed by Nazis, Soviets" (Times of Israel – Michael Bachner, August 26, 2021)
"IN PHOTOS: Excavating the Great Temple at Motza Near Jerusalem" (Haaretz – Ruth Schuster, August 26, 2021)
"Stunningly preserved mummy of slave found in Pompeii graveyard" (Live Science – Stephanie Pappas, August 17, 2021)
"Well-preserved skeleton skeleton sheds light on culture in ancient Pompeii" (Jerusalem Post – Reuters, August 17, 2021)
"Ancient 1,700-year-old coins found on Israeli beach" (Jerusalem Post – Staff, August 14, 2021)
"Archaeologists unearth 1st Jerusalem evidence of quake from Bible's Book of Amos" (Times of Israel – Amanda Borschel-Dan, August 4, 2021)
"Sacred stone tied to the legend of Romulus and Remus unearthed in Rome" (Live Science – Tom Metcalfe, August 3, 2021)
JULY 2021
"Contacts Between the Cuneiform Cultures and India" (ANE Today – Claus Ambos)
"Did an Academic Outsider Determine What Saved Jerusalem from Conquest by the Assyrian Emperor Sennacherib in 701 BCE?" (ANE Today – Alice Ogden Bellis)
"New Symbols of Hierarchy: On the Origins of the Cartouche and Encircling Symbolism in Old Kingdom Pyramids" (ANE Today – David Ian Lightbody)
"A Treasure Quest in the Copper Scroll from Qumran" (ANE Today – Jesper Høgenhaven)
"Assurbanipal's iPad: Wax Boards in the Ancient Near East" (ANE Today – Michele Cammarosano and Katja Weirauch)
"Archaeologists Uncover Rare "Fast Galley" From 2nd Century BCE" (Maritime Executive – July 27, 2021)
"Israeli Archaeologists Find Biblical Name ‘Jerubbaal’ Inked on Pot From Judges Era" (Haaretz – Ruth Schuster, July 14, 2021)
"Five-letter inscription inked 3,100 years ago may be name of biblical judge" (Times of Israel – Amanda Borschel-Dan, July 14, 2021)
"From the Louvre to the Met—Should We Break Up Major Museums?" (Daily Beast – Candida Moss, July 6, 2021)
"Fossil Shark Teeth Cache Unearthed In The City Of David, One Of The Oldest Parts Of Jerusalem" (Forbes.com – David Bressan, July 4, 2021)
JUNE 2021
"The Art of Conservative Rebellion: A Short Introduction to the First Sealand Dynasty" (ANE Today – Odette Boivin)
"Housewives, Weavers and Businesswomen: Assyrian Women from Assur and Kanesh" (ANE Today – Cécile Michel)
"The Symbolic Representations of the Cosmos in the Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazilikaya" (ANE Today – Eberhard Zangger and E.C. Krupp)
"Temples and Cult Places in Iron Age Transjordan" (ANE Today – Margreet L. Steiner)
"2,000-year-old Roman coffin unearthed in UK, enlightens on funeral rituals" (Jerusalem Post – Staff, June 29, 2021)
"New prehistoric human unknown to science discovered in Israel" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, June 24, 2021)
"Fossils found in Israel are ‘last survivors’ of ‘missing’ type of extinct humans" (Times of Israel – Christina Larson, June 24, 2021)
"Stunning archaeological find: Is there an 'underworld' under the earth?" (Jerusalem Post – Maariv Online, June 21, 2021)
"Prehistoric man lived with and loved Neanderthals in the Negev 50,000 years ago" (Times of Israel – Amanda Borschel-Dan, June 14, 2021)
"New Discovery Highlights How Jews and Christians Were Once Naughty with Magic" (Daily Beast – Candida Moss, June 13, 2021)
"7,000-year-old seal impression marks prehistoric site as early trade hub" (Times of Israel – Amanda Borschel-Dan, June 10, 2021)
"Ancient stone anchor used for 2,000 years found on Israel’s northern coast" (Times of Israel – Staff, June 10, 2021)
MAY 2021
"Glass: Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln" (ANE Today – Andrew Shortland)
"Mesopotamian Sculpture in Color" (ANE Today – Astrid Nunn)
"Monotheism or Monopoly? Akhenaten and His Religious-Political Reform" (ANE Today – Jiří Janák)
"The Geography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire" (ANE Today – Ariel M. Bagg)
"Bad Judeans? Despite biblical ban, non-kosher fish were eaten in ancient Israel" (Times of Israel – Amanda Borschel-Dan, May 25, 2021)
"Dead Sea Scrolls: Mysterious scribe wrote eight diverse scrolls, scholars find" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, May 4, 2021)
"From Papal Gift to Royal Fertility Charm, the Insane Story of Jesus’ Foreskin" (Daily Beast – Candida Moss, May 3, 2021)
APRIL 2021
"Reading Inscriptions Alongside the New Testament" (ANE Today – D. Clint Burnett)
"Sheshonq (Shishak) in Palestine: Old Paradigms and New Vistas" (ANE Today – Felix Höflmayer and Roman Gundacker)
"Excessive and Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible" (ANE Today – Rebekah Welton)
"Condemning Statues" (ANE Today – Simon Connor)
"My Meeting with Mellaart or, Dutch Cigars and the Case of the Missing Wall Paintings" (ANE Today – Alex Joffe)
"Archaeologists Think They’ve Found Missing Link in Origin of the Alphabet" (Daily Beast – Candida Moss, April 25, 2021)
"How old are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Carbon-dating project to offer answers" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, April 25, 2021)
"Israel uncovers 3,500-year-old inscription from biblical Canaan" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, April 17, 2021)
"Stoned in the Stone Age: Prehistoric humans got high - Israeli scholars" (Jerusalem Post – Rossella Tercatin, April 8, 2021)
MARCH 2021
"Commemorating Jesus: Constantine's Church of the Holy Sepulchre" (ANE Today – Jordan J. Ryan)
"Visualizing Ancient Athens in 3D" (ANE Today – Dimitris Tsalkanis)
"The (Historical) Origins of God" (ANE Today – Theodore J. Lewis)
"A Cosmic Impact and the Beginning of Farming at Abu Hureyra in Syria" (ANE Today – Andrew M.T. Moore)
FEBRUARY 2021
"Genderbending Performances in Wartime: From Judges to Judith" (ANE Today – Jacob Wright)
"Neo-Assyrian Deportation and the Levant" (ANE Today – Jonathan Valk)
"Eggstraordinary Objects" (ANE Today – Tamar Hodos)
"The Last Empire of Iran" (ANE Today – Michael R.J. Bonner)
JANUARY 2021
"The Enigmatic Tablets from Late Bronze Age Deir 'Alla" (ANE Today – Michel de Vreeze)
"Sinai in Ten Maps" (ANE Today – Ahmed Shams)
"Saqqara in 3D: A New Look at an Ancient Site" (ANE Today – Elaine Sullivan)
"Fish Sauces — The Food that Made Rome Great" (ANE Today – Benedict Lowe)