Free Republic

A joint study by TAU and the Hebrew University, involving 20 researchers from different countries and disciplines, has accurately dated 21 destruction layers at 17 archaeological sites in Israel by reconstructing the direction and/or intensity of the earth's magnetic field recorded in burnt remnants. The new data verify the Biblical accounts of the Egyptian, Aramean, Assyrian, and Babylonian military campaigns against the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Findings indicate, for example, that the army of Hazael, King of Aram-Damascus, was responsible for the destruction of several cities—Tel Rehov, Tel Zayit, and Horvat Tevet, in addition to Gath of the Philistines,...

) — Ancient Judeans ate non-kosher fish at a time when it was thought to have been prohibited in the Bible, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed ancient fish bones from 30 archeological sites in areas that are now part of Israel and Egypt, dating from the Late Bronze Age (1550-1130 B.C.) to the end of the Byzantine period in 640 A.D. The main principles of Jewish dietary law are laid down in the Chumash, or written Torah -- thought by many scholars to have been compiled during the Persian era (539-332 B.C.) and based on long-held traditions. Observant...

The Edomites were portrayed as aggressors in biblical texts. but there's more to their story, according to a new study. With help from the nearby Egyptians, the Edomites developed technological prowess with a hot commodity at the time: copper. Studying ancient slag, archaeologists were able to uncover a complex geopolitical situation in the year 10,000 BCE. ========================================================================== The Edomites, an ancient kingdom derided in biblical texts as simple, have been underestimated for thousands of years, according to a new paper from a team of archaeologists. Far from simple tent-dwellers, the Edomites experienced a massive technological leap in the 10th...

Canadian archeologist Russell Adams's interest is in Bronze Age and Iron Age copper production. He never intended to walk into archeology's vicious debate over the historical accuracy of the Old Testament -- a conflict likened by one historian to a pack of feral canines at each other's throats. Yet by coincidence, Prof. Adams of Hamilton's McMaster University says, he and an international team of colleagues fit into place a significant piece of the puzzle of human history in the Middle East -- unearthing information that points to the existence of the Bible's vilified Kingdom of Edom at precisely the time...

Archeologist unearths biblical controversy Artifacts from Iron Age fortress confirm Old Testament dates of Edomite kingdom By MICHAEL VALPY Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Canadian archeologist Russell Adams's interest is in Bronze Age and Iron Age copper production. He never intended to walk into archeology's vicious debate over the historical accuracy of the Old Testament -- a conflict likened by one historian to a pack of feral canines at each other's throats. Yet by coincidence, Prof. Adams of Hamilton's McMaster University says, he and an international team of colleagues fit into place a significant piece of the puzzle of human history...