Free Republic

Archaeologists recently unearthed ivory plaques found in a luxurious Iron Age residence in Jerusalem, a first-of-its-kind discovery at the site, shedding light on the owner's wealth and social status.The ivory pieces were found in a building from around the eighth or seventh century B.C., the First Temple era, in the City of David...Sifting through the ruins in the building, likely burnt during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., diggers found around 1,500 ivory fragments, said Reli Avisar from Tel Aviv University, which excavated the site along with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA)...The decorations consisted of frames with rosettes...

2,700-year-old inscribed papyrus, a letter to 'Ishmael' written in early Hebrew script, joins only two others from biblical times. But that's just the beginning of the story...This 4-centimeter-high, 5-centimeter-wide (1.5 inch x 2 inches) fragment joins only two other known contemporary papyrus fragments inscribed with early Hebrew in the Land of Israel to date.The treasure hunt ended earlier this year after the IAA’s Eitan Klein located the owner of the exceedingly rare papyrus in the fittingly nicknamed Treasure State.The inscription is composed of four fragmented lines, the first of which begins with the intriguing command "To Ishmael, send…." and then...

The discovery of the remains of a fortified city was shown to be the first archaeological site in the region verified to be from the era of King David.Excavations performed 14 years ago at Khirbet Qeiyafa have proven to be a point of contact between archaeology, biblical studies, and ancient history. The discovery of the remains of a fortified city was shown to be the first archaeological site in the region verified to be from the era of King David. Excavations at Khirbet el-Eika dating from the mid-second century BCE have yielded fascinating insights into a prosperous Jewish community in...

A rare toilet cubicle from the First Temple Period, which was part of an ancient royal estate that operated at the end of the Kings of Judean period (7th century BCE), was discovered on the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem, where the Israel Antiquities Authority and the City of David, about two years ago, uncovered the remains of a magnificent building which overlooked the City of David and the Temple Mount, including the private toilet cubicle.

A section of Jerusalem’s city wall built some 2,700 years ago and mostly destroyed by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE was uncovered by archaeologists in the City of David National Park...The massive structure – some 5 m. wide – was built on the steep eastern slope leading to the city, just a few dozen meters away from the Temple Mount.Probably the steepness of the area preserved the structure from destruction during the Babylonian conquest – a vivid account of which is offered in the Bible – since the invading army likely accessed the city from an easier path...For the...

Full Title: Has the mystery of the Shapira Scroll finally been solved? Ancient manuscript dismissed as a fake since 1883 is actually the oldest known Biblical script, expert claims ...Reconstructing the text from the original 19th century transcriptions and drawings, Dershowitz claims the pieces date back to the time of the First Temple - as early as 957 BC, making them the oldest known biblical artefacts ever discovered.... ...The academic [Dershowitz[ said not only are they real but they date to before the Babylonian Exile.... ....If he is correct then they would present an 'unprecedented window' into the origin and...

An ancient limestone weight, dating to the First Temple period, was discovered in an archaeological excavation conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation under Wilson's Arch, adjacent to the Western Wall (the Kotel) in Jerusalem... Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, said: "How exciting, in the month of Tishrei, whose symbol is the scales of justice, to find a souvenir from the First Temple period. Now, when coming to the Western Wall is so restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic, this finding strengthens the eternal connection between the Jewish nation, Jerusalem,...

A "once in a lifetime" find is how the City of David described three immaculately preserved 2,700-year-old decorated column heads, or capitals, from the First Temple period that indicate a connection to the Davidic Dynasty. Archaeologists from the City of David did not expect to find anything this special when they began digging near what is now the Armon Hanatziv Promenade. "I'm still excited," said Yaakov Billig, an archaeologist with the City of David who began exploring the Armon Hanatziv area about 30 years ago. He was working at the site when the sound of a spade scraping a stone...

A Bulla (seal) bearing a Hebrew name from 2,600 years ago was uncovered from dirt excavated in 2013 beneath Robinson's Arch at the foundations of the Western Wall. The seal is inscribed with the name of an individual with the most prominent role in the king's court in the kingdom of Judea. The Bulla (seal), which was used to sign documents, bears the Hebrew name and title: "Adenyahu Asher Al Habayit" which literally translates as “Adenyahu by Appointment of the House”- a term used throughout the Bible to describe the most senior minister serving under a kings of Judea or...

The structure in which shattered jugs were found during the summer 2017 Israel Antiquities Authority dig, attesting to the destruction. (Eliyahu Yanai, Courtesy of the City of David Archive) On the eve of the Hebrew commemoration of the destruction of the Temples, archaeologists discover remnants of a blaze indicating the city was grander than thought New finds in the City of David confirm the veracity of the biblical account of the Babylonian capture and conquest of First Temple period Jerusalem. The event is commemorated next Tuesday on the Hebrew date Tisha B’av (August 1) in a day of fasting and...

The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem A 2,600-year-old seal from the Kingdom of Judah bearing the inscription “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” was recently discovered in the City of David, according to an announcement Sunday. The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem. ADVERTISING Read More Related Articles Trump cuts foreign aid to three countries with strong relations with Israel One of France's most advanced warships...

A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal where treasures from King Solomon's temple were hidden and discusses the fate of the Ark of the Covenant itself. But unlike the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the text leaves the exact location of the Ark unclear and states that it, and the other treasures, "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David …" putting it out of reach of any would-be treasure seeker. King Solomon's Temple, also called the First Temple, was plundered and torched by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar...

Israeli archaeologists made a rare discovery in the Western Wall Plaza, unearthing a 2,700-year-old clay seal impression that experts say belonged to a biblical governor of Jerusalem. The artifact, as first reported by Reuters, is inscribed in an ancient Hebrew script “belonging to the governor of the city” and was likely attached to a shipment or sent as a souvenir on behalf of the governor, the most prominent local position held in Jerusalem at the time, the Israel Antiquities Authority said. The impression, the size of a small coin, depicts two standing men, facing each other in a mirror-like manner...

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday that a unique stamped piece of clay from the First Temple period, inscribed in ancient Hebrew script, was unearthed in the authority excavations in the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem's Old City. The artifact originally belonged to the “governor of the city” of Jerusalem – the most prominent local position to be held in Jerusalem of 2700 years ago. According to the excavator, Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, "the Bible mentions two governors of Jerusalem, and this finding thus reveals that such a position was actually held by someone in the city some 2700 years...

“He burned the House of Hashem, the king’s palace, and all the houses of Yerushalayim; he burned down the house of every notable person.” II Kings 25:9 (The Israel Bible™) On the eve of Tisha B’av, the fast day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples, archaeological evidence of that destruction has been uncovered, verifying the truth of the Book of Kings and reaffirming that the Temples stood in Jerusalem. In a discovery the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) called “mesmerizing proof” of the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple, structures over 2,600 years old were exposed under collapsed...

A rare and important find was exposed in an enforcement operation initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery: a document written on papyrus and dating to the time of the First Temple (seventh century BCE) in which the name of the city of Jerusalem is clearly indicated. This is the earliest extra-biblical source to mention Jerusalem in Hebrew writing. The document, which was illicitly plundered from one of the Judaean Desert caves by a band of antiquities robbers and was seized in a complex operation by the IAA’s agents, was presented at a press...

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 2,900-year-old gate-shrine they say confirms the biblical story of King Hezekiah, who mandated the worship of God and the rejection of all other deities. The gate-shrine in Tel Lachish National Park was uncovered decades ago, but a new excavation has completely exposed the gate, which is the largest one known from the First Temple period. "The size of the gate is consistent with the historical and archaeological knowledge we possess, whereby Lachish was a major city and the most important one after Jerusalem," said excavation director Sa'ar Ganor. According to the Book of Kings, he...

Archaeologists have unearthed a city-gate and shrine dating to the First Temple Era. An Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) team headed by Sa'ar Ganor discovered the ruins in the Tel Lachish National Park. "Tel Lachish was the most important city in Judea, after Jerusalem," Ganor told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). "This is the biggest city-gate we have found in the Land of Israel." "The size of the gate is consistent our historical and archaeological data that indicates Lachish was a major city and the most important one after Jerusalem," Ganor said. The city gate is approximately 24 by 24 meters in...

ERRIADH, TUNISIA // In 586BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar laid waste to Jerusalem, inadvertently sowing seeds for a Jewish haven across the sea that has outlived his realm by 25 centuries and counting. Legend tells that refugees fled to the Tunisian island of Djerba, carrying a block from the ruined Temple of Solomon. Today it lies beneath the El Ghriba synagogue, the cornerstone of a thriving Jewish community. And after decades of Jewish exodus from Arab countries, that community is growing. For western holidaymakers, Djerba is a strip of lavish resorts along a sandy Mediterranean coast. For Tunisians, it also...

Archaeologists discover First Temple-era seals, one with a woman's name. Rare find that sheds significant light on owner's life. Archaeologists have found two ancient seals with Hebrew names, dating back to the time of the First Temple, in Jerusalem's City of David. The objects belonged to a woman and a man, Elihana bat Gael and Sa'aryahu ben Shabenyahu. "Finding seals that bear names from the time of the First Temple is hardly a commonplace occurrence, and finding a seal that belonged to a woman is an even rarer phenomenon," said a researcher with the project. The artifacts were discovered in...