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During excavations at the Khirbat el-Masani site, a Byzantine monastery dated between the 4th and 7th centuries, several tombs were uncovered. Among them, one stood out in particular: a burial where the individual had been wrapped in chains, an ascetic practice symbolizing the sacrifice of the body and detachment from the material world. Traditionally, this type of penance has been associated with male anchorites, leading archaeologists to assume that the remains belonged to a man. However, the poor preservation of the bones prevented a conclusive osteological determination of the individual's sex.Faced with the inability to rely on traditional osteological methods,...

A ten-year-old schoolboy accidentally discovered a 100-year-old cross medallion during a school trip to the birthplace of John the Baptist.Nehorai Nir, a student at Jerusalem's Argentina Experimental High School in Kiryat Hoyovel, said that when he was picking edible plants, "I suddenly saw a colourful object shining in the dirt. I pulled it out and was immediately very excited...According to Dr Amrit Re'em, the Jerusalem District Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the cross medallion was made with a micro-mosaic technique."This cross medallion is not considered an antiquity by law as it is 'only' 100-200 years old or so, but...

On December 6, 2024, Senator Tom Cotton (Republican of Arkansas) introduced a bill in the Senate to replace “West Bank” in all federal documents with “Judea and Samaria,” noting, “The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria go back thousands of years. The US should stop using the politically charged term West Bank to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.” His bill matches a House bill introduced earlier this year by Representatives Claudia Tenney, Randy Weber, and Anthony D’Esposito. Yes, they are the Jewish names but also the world’s. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly...

A rare collection of ancient coins was discovered last week by Israeli researchers, who called the find an "archaeological Hanukkah miracle." The coins are more than 2,000 years old and believed to belong to King Alexander Jannaeus, the second ruler of the Hasmonean dynasty that presided over Judea in the final centuries leading up to the common era, according to the University of Haifa in Israel. Archaeologists found the hoard of about 160 of the coins during ongoing excavations in the Jordan Valley, which runs between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the eastern border of Jordan. The project is headed...

A place of worship sealed up by the ancestors of Jesus has been discovered in the ancient heart of Jerusalem, frozen in time for nearly 3,000 years. Carved into the rock near Temple Mount, the structure comprises eight rooms, containing an altar, a sacred standing stone, and presses for olive oil and wine. And experts believe its destruction may have featured in the Bible, which describes how Hezekiah – one of Jesus' ancestors – smashed idolatrous places of worship. This was one such place, according to Eli Shukron, exacavation director for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who dated it to...

During the Hanukkah festival, hikers discovered a rare engraving of a menorah in a water cistern in the Judean Hills. The Israel Antiquities Authority reports that a rare and intriguing discovery was revealed over the Hanukkah weekend by hikers exploring a water cistern in the Judean hills: On the walls of the cistern, in chalk bedrock, were inscribed ancient engravings of a seven-branched menorah and a cross. Last weekend touring enthusiasts Mickey Barkal, Sefi Givoni, and Ido Meroz, who are members of the Israel Caving Club, went out to visit hidden caves in the Judean hills. According to hiker Ido...

Ancient Map Sets Middle East Ablaze: Jordan Accuses Israel of 'Criminal[sic]' Territory Grab What started as an Israeli Foreign Ministry social media post about ancient Jewish kingdoms has erupted into a major diplomatic crisis, with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority accusing Israel of revealing "malicious[sic] territorial ambitions" by sharing a map of biblical borders that extend into modern Arab states. The map which enraged Jordan and the Palestinians. Photo: Screenshot from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, X. A social media post by Israel's Foreign Ministry featuring an ancient biblical map has ignited fierce criticism from Arab nations, with Jordan's government...

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday repeatedly blamed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Islamist threat--from Iran to Pakistan. It all comes back to the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem, he said several times in an interview on NBC-TV's Meet the Press program. His host, David Gregory, did not ask the Jordanian King the obvious questions: Assuming Israel were to return the disputed West Bank territories, including East Jerusalem, which Jordan lost when it attacked Israel in the Six-Day War of June 1967, to Jordan or to a new Palestinian state, would that stop the Taliban and Al Qaeda from continuing their...

A rare, 4th-century CE ceramic oil lamp recently discovered during Israeli Antiquities Authorities excavations near the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem will be displayed to the public for the first time during the current Hanukkah holiday, the IAA said Thursday. The unusual lamp is decorated with imagery related to the services in the Jewish Second Temple in Jerusalem, including a Temple menorah (which had seven branches, unlike the nine-branched menorahs used during Hanukkah). Also depicted on the small lamp are an incense shovel, which Temple priests used when making offerings, and a lulav... The Second Temple was destroyed in 70...

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University have discovered a large 30 metre wide moat that separated the City of David from Temple Mount.Excavations in the Jerusalem Walls National Park revealed a massive impassable channel up to 9 metres deep by 30 metres wide.Archaeological evidence indicates that the moat was cut when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah. At this time, the moat would have separated the southern residential part of Jerusalem from the upper city, where the palace and temple were located...The exact date the moat was cut is inconclusive, however, most...

In a remarkable fusion of ancient tradition and modern craftsmanship, a meticulously constructed replica of the biblical Ark of the Covenant was showcased in Jerusalem during the Sukkot holiday. The display, which took place at the prestigious King David Hotel, featured the golden vessel housing a Holocaust-surviving Torah scroll from Thessaloniki, Greece. The ambitious project, spanning three and a half years, involved 17 volunteers across multiple countries who adhered strictly to Torah specifications. The replica’s construction required approximately three tons of Egyptian Acacia wood and was adorned with high-purity gold measuring 23.75 carats – the same grade used in ancient...

The Democratic Party’s symbolic dismissal of God with the removal and forced return of His name to its platform by party officials amid boos from delegates could be the turning point in the 2012 presidential campaign said talk radio-host Michael Savage. “This is a big moment,” Savage told his listeners after describing a remarkable divine encounter he experienced last night that has underscored for him the gravity of the moment. “America is disgusted with this party of atheists and America haters,” he said. At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte today, the Associated Press noted Democratic officials were embarrassed by...

In a rare display of just how quickly a tightly scripted national political convention can unwind, Democrats on Wednesday struggled to complete a voice vote amending their party platform to include language referring to Jerusalem and God. It took three attempts from Democratic National Convention Chairman Antonio Villaraigosa before the platform was amended, and a loud chorus of delegates yelling "no" met each attempt to pass the changes by voice vote.

Who needs God when you have Chicago Jesus?Via The Blaze: The Democratic Party may be getting a fair amount of attention this week — and not only because the political movement is hosting its national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Another point of focus has already been the contents — or the lack thereof — present in the 2012 Democratic Party Platform.Earlier today, we told you that the document fails to mention Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a proclamation that was previously touted by the party. And now, in an even more shocking revelation, CBN News is reporting that...

Former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee will attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September, WPRI reports. Chafee is now the independent governor of liberal Rhode Island, and has been drifting away from the Republican Party since at least 2006, when he lost his re-election bid for the Senate. (In 2004, he withdrew his support for President George W. Bush's re-election.) Chafee backed President Barack Obama's 2008 run, and is a co-chair for his campaign.

h/t Roberto _____________________________________ More fun-n-games at Reaganite Republican

Archaeologists have found evidence of an Assyrian military campaign against Judaea that resulted in the siege of Jerusalem.The campaign was launched in 701 B.C., when Sennacherib was king of Assyria and Hezekiah was king of Judaea. Sennacherib launched the campaign because he considered Hezekiah a vassal king who should obey the Assyrians, but Hezekiah refused and rebelled against him.The Assyrians conquered much of Judaea and laid siege to Jerusalem but, for reasons that are unclear, failed to take the city. The Hebrew Bible claims that the "the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and...

Archaeologists in Israel uncovered a stone seal they believe to be around 2,700 years old from the First Temple period, a find that strengthens the biblical heritage of Jerusalem. The seal, discovered at the City of David National Park in Jerusalem, contains a winged figure with one arm raised forward with an open palm, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced. The seal was discovered during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the City of David Foundation near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in the Davidson Archaeological Garden. On either side of the figure is an inscription in...

The stone ring indicates a multi-national culture thriving in ancient Jerusalem "The figure of a winged man in a distinct Neo-Assyrian style is unique and very rare in the glyphic styles of the late First Temple period," he added. "The influence of the Assyrian Empire, which had conquered the entire region, is clearly evident here." The seal depicts a winged genie in the style of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which the excavating team argued showed the influence of the empire in the region in the 7th and 8th centuries. The press release said the "figure raises one arm forward, with an...

One of the world's oldest landfills was recently uncovered in Jerusalem. Situated on the eastern slopes of Jerusalem's Southeastern Hill (the "City of David" or present day "Silwan"), the landfill dates to the Early Roman period (first century B.C.E.-first century C.E.). Through a systematic excavation of this landfill, Tel Aviv University archaeologist Yuval Gadot and his team have been able to shed light on Jerusalem during a particularly tumultuous chapter of its history -- when Rome ruled, the Temple stood, and Jesus preached... The nature of the massive amount of garbage concentrated at this site suggests the presence of an...