×

Debit/Credit Payment

Credit/Debit/Bank Transfer

Returning to a Home at War

Archaeology in Review

JNF Says “Happy 60th Israel”

{image_1} The Jewish National Fund gave the Adulam Park to the State of Israel for its 60th anniversary, as reported in the Good News section of the last Dispatch from Jerusalem, the Jewish National Fund gave the Adulam Park to the State of Israel for its 60th anniversary. Since then, we have received further information about the park. Located near the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath, the park covers some 50,000 dunams (12,500 acres) and will be developed with bike and hiking trails and other outdoor activities.

Continue Reading »

Other Recent Finds

{image_1} In 2007, Reich and Shukron found part of a Second Temple Period street and a channel that ran beside it, showing evidence of people having lived inside for some time. The channel was deliberately broken in several places where the Roman soldiers penetrated under the streets to capture and kill Jewish people hiding there, confirming the account by Flavius Josephus of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Continue Reading »

Latest City of David Find – A First Temple Period Inscription

{image_1} An inscription from the First Temple Period was found recently by Professor Ronny Reich of Haifa University and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in their excavations near the Siloam Pool at the southern tip of the City of David. According to Reich, “We can date it to the eighth century BC through the shape of the letters and the pottery with which it was found.” Reich said that the inscription consisted of only six Hebrew letters found on several 2 to 3-inch (5 to 7.6-centimeter) fragments of white stone that was “broken from all sides.” He also said that it was still too early to know exactly what the inscription is and that more fragments would need to be found. However, Reich did agree that inscriptions from this period are indeed rare.

Continue Reading »

Unique Glass Panel Restored

{image_1}The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently unveiled a large 103 x 103 centimeter (40.5 x 40.5 inch) glass panel first discovered in 2005. The panel was found in Caesarea in the ruins of a large Byzantine Period (AD 324–638) structure, possibly a palace. It was found face down underneath the collapsed second floor of the structure. Specialists have spent the last several years restoring and studying the panel.

Continue Reading »

Connecting the People with the Land for 60 years

“Archaeology in Israel has provided a valuable link between the country’s past and present, with thousands of years of history unearthed at some 3,500 sites. Many finds attest to the long connection of the Jewish people with the Land of Israel,” states Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While Muslims are busy destroying thousands of years of Jewish history below the Temple Mount, archaeological finds in the past 60 years throughout Israel have only reaffirmed Israel’s claim to the Land. We have room to highlight only three.

Continue Reading »

Second Temple Housing Found

{image_1}One of the biggest problems in Jerusalem is finding a place to park. Each year the city attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, and one of the most popular destinations is the Western Wall below the Temple Mount. The city of Jerusalem decided to build a new parking lot for visitors to the Western Wall near the entrance to the City of David, but before work could begin, archaeologists undertook a salvage dig to see if there were any antiquities there.

Continue Reading »

Unique Mosaic Unearthed

{image_1}The remains of a synagogue believed to be from the Late Roman Period (AD 135–324) were recently discovered in excavations at Khirbet Wadi Hamam. Located about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) north of Tiberias in the Galilee, the site is being excavated under the direction of Dr. Uzi Leibner of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Continue Reading »

First Temple Artifacts Found on Temple Mount

{image_1}The laying of a new electrical line on the Temple Mount this summer (see article on page 9) allowed Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) inspectors to discover a layer containing finds dating to the First Temple era. Jon Seligman, IAA Jerusalem district archeologist, said that the discovery—mostly ceramics and a few bones—was made while inspecting the construction work. Unfortunately, no full excavation was conducted, and no further archaeological work is planned for the future, as it is a prayer site for the Muslims.

Continue Reading »

Second Temple Quarry Uncovered

{image_1}A large 1.23-acre quarry has been discovered in Ramat Shlomo, a north Jerusalem neighborhood. The Israel Antiquities Authority believes that stones from the quarry were used in the construction of the Second Temple. The stones reach up to 26 feet (7.9 meters) in length and are consistent with stones found in the bottom layers of the walls surrounding the Temple Mount, known to be placed there by King Herod. Several clay objects, tools, and coins found at the site confirm that it was in use during the first century AD, when the new Temple complex was still being built.

Continue Reading »

Beehives at Tel Rehov

{image_1}A recent discovery at Tel Rehov near Beit Shean in the Jordan Valley shows that as far back as biblical times, Israel really was a “land of milk and honey.” Archaeologists from Hebrew University found three rows of beehives totalling more than 30 hives, all dating back to the 10th–9th centuries BC, the time of the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The hives are made of baked clay and straw and are about 15.75 inches (40 centimeters) in diameter. Remains of several bees, as well as pollen and beeswax, were found inside the hives and are being examined by experts.

Continue Reading »