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Hanukkah dig reveals stunning bracelet: Fragment of 1,600-year-old glass embossed with menorahs is unearthed in Israel The bracelet remains were found in Israel's Mount Carmel National Park Area was a settlement during the late Roman or early Byzantine period It was found in ancient box containing glass pieces discarded as waste Researchers say it may have been destined to be exported elsewhere Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed fragments of a glass bracelet stamped with seven-branched menorahs. The bracelet remains were found on the second night of Hanukkah in Mount Carmel National Park - once a large settlement during the late...

The climate in Palestine, both today, and at the time of Jesus has two distinct seasons. The wet or rainy season is from the middle of October to the middle of April. The dry or summer season lasts from the middle of June until the middle of September. It is quite dry in these months and rainfall is very unusual. Although the temperature is summer can get very hot, it often does not feel this way. Cool breezes and low humidity are typical, making the summers very pleasant, especially in areas directly on the coast or on the higher slopes...

Remains of a Jewish settlement from the Second Temple period were partially uncovered in the western and southern sections of Tel Hebron, near Tel Rumeida in Hebron, and visitors were allowed to see them. These remains were found outside the the Middle Bronze Age (the Patriarch period) wall that was previously found in Hebron. An industrial area was discovered with an olive oil press, cisterns, a workshop with a furnace and ponds. From the industrial area, there is a road that leads to the city square and center of the town, but that section hasn’t been excavated yet. In an...

New findings from an archaeological excavation led this winter by Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University’s Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures prove that copper mines in Israel thought to have been built by the ancient Egyptians in the 13th century BCE actually originated three centuries later, during the reign of the legendary King Solomon.Based on the radiocarbon dating of material unearthed at a new site in Timna Valley in Israel’s Aravah Desert, the findings overturn the archaeological consensus of the last several decades. Scholarly work and materials found in the area suggest the mines...

Archaeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the area of the Gihon Spring in the City of David, in the Walls around Jerusalem National Park, have unearthed a layer of rich finds including thousands of broken pottery shards, clay lamps and figurines. Most intriguing is the recent discovery of a ceramic bowl with a partially preserved inscription in ancient Hebrew. While not complete, the inscription presents us with the name of a seventh century BCE figure, which resembles other names known to us from both the Biblical and archaeological record (see examples below) and providing us with a...

Newly found coins underneath Jerusalem's Western Wall could change the accepted belief about the construction of one of the world's most sacred sites two millennia ago, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The man usually credited with building the compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary is Herod, a Jewish ruler who died in 4 B.C. Herod's monumental compound replaced and expanded a much older Jewish temple complex on the same site. But archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority now say diggers have found coins underneath the massive foundation stones of the compound's Western...

There's a buzz of excitement among archeologists. In recent days, archeological digs in Jerusalem revealed a tunnel that, according to a number of estimates, leads to a pool used by King David. The digs, which have been underway for years, are located in David's City, west of the Wailing Wall. A year ago, archeologists discovered a pool from the days of the Second Temple that had been used by pilgrims to Jerusalem, to refresh them after their long journey. Recently, the edge of a tunnel was discovered in the digs. Archeologists posit that it leads to a pool, originally located...

FLOAT out beyond the Crusader city walls, Roman aqueduct and 19th-century mosque. Then descend through a cloud of quicksilver bubbles 20ft and 2,000 years to Herod The Great’s sunken harbour. Here, just off Caesarea port, a unique underwater archaeological park opened yesterday, showcasing 80,000sq m of a sunken harbour built by the biblical king of the Jews for Caesar Augustus. It is no ordinary “museum” — no chattering schoolchildren, no queues, no headphones, and the only sound that of boat propellers passing above your head as you swim around the “exhibits”. “I am excited. I think anyone in the field...

Jewish home found in City of David By ETGAR LEFKOVITS Jun. 5, 2005 18:32 | Updated Jun. 5, 2005 19:29 "Site of excavation at City of David. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority A Second Temple Jewish house has been uncovered in Jerusalem's ancient City of David, Israel's Antiquities Authority announced Sunday. The 2,000 year old private home, which archeologists believe was part of a complex of homes belonging to affluent people, was discovered during an excavation at the history-rich site last month. Several rooms of the split-level house - as well as a ritual bath - were found at the compound,...