middle bronze age

middle bronze age Latest

A rock-hewn altar carved out of limestone located about a mile from Shiloh. The four corners point to the four directions on a compass (Exodus 27:1-2). Photo: Yoel Elitzur

Feb 22 Blog

High Places, Altars and the Bamah

The open-air altar shrine, called a bamah (plural bamot), is known through several books of the Biblical canon. Often referred to as “high places” in translations of the Bible, bamot were worship sites that usually contained an altar.

Standing mudbrick architecture in the Kurd Qaburstan lower-town palace, view to north. Courtesy Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, UCF.

Jan 17 Blog

Excavating Middle Bronze Kurdistan

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

While some archaeological sites are well-known from ancient sources, others remain a mystery, despite the scale of their remains. This is the case with Kurd […]

Dec 31 Blog

Did Camels Exist in Biblical Times?

By: Megan Sauter

Mark W. Chavalas explores the history of camel domestication in BAR.

Sep 28 Blog

Who Were the Phoenicians?

By: Megan Sauter

With a commercial empire that lasted a millennium, the Phoenicians were major players in the ancient Mediterranean world. Spreading their culture and goods, they came into contact with many different groups, but their relationship with the Israelites was distinct.

Aug 20 Blog

Hezekiah’s Tunnel Reexamined

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

For more than a hundred years, an extraordinary water tunnel in Jerusalem has been attributed to King Hezekiah, who dug it to protect the city’s water supply during the Assyrian siege of 701 B.C.E. Hence its name, Hezekiah’s Tunnel. However, recent scholarly publications now argue that the tunnel was not built by Hezekiah but by his predecessor or his successors.

Jul 26 Blog

Earliest Example of “Biblical Scarlet” Discovered

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Translated into English as “scarlet,” biblical Tola‛at Hashani was one of three colors that decorated the tabernacle during Israel’s desert wanderings (Exodus 26:1). Obtained from […]

Jul 9 Blog

The Expulsion of the Hyksos

By: Noah Wiener

In the 16th century B.C.E., Ahmose I overthrew the Hyksos and initiated the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom of Egypt. Recent archaeological discoveries at Tel Habuwa shed new light on Ahmose’s campaign.

Jun 4 Blog

What Happened to the Canaanites?

By: Robin Ngo

For the first time, researchers have conducted DNA sequencing on ancient Canaanite skeletons and have determined where the Canaanites’ descendants can be found today.

May 25 Blog

Where Is Sodom?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The stories of Sodom and its destruction, whether historical or not, were clearly understood to have occurred near the Dead Sea, among the so-called “cities of the plain” mentioned in Genesis 13, verse 12. But where exactly was this plain, and was a particular site associated with Sodom?

May 21 Blog

Biblical Sidon—Jezebel’s Hometown

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The city of Sidon on the coast of modern Lebanon is mentioned 38 times in the Hebrew Bible. Recent excavations have exposed part of the ancient Canaanite—and later Phoenician—city, including a massive temple and depictions of deities worshiped at Sidon.

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