Tag Archive for archaeology

| April 11, 2013
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Huge Ancient Cone-Shaped Structure Found Deep in Lake Kinneret

Nautical archeologists think the monumental cone-shaped structure may have been built more than 4,000 years ago onshore when the water level was lower than today.

By Gil Ronen

 

Nautical archaeologists have reported the discovery of a “monumental” conical stone pile built of large, natural, unhewn basalt cobbles and boulders, on the floor of the Sea of Galilee.

Lake Kinneret, a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee

Lake Kinneret, a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee

The structure is definitely man-made, and measures about 70 meters in diameter at a depth of about 219 meters, reported archaeologists Yitzhak Paz, Moshe Reshef, Zvi Ben-Avraham, Shmuel Marco, Gideon Tibor and Dani Nadel, in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology

Close inspection by scuba diving revealed that the structure is made of basalt boulders up to 1 meter long with no apparent construction pattern and no signs of cutting or chiseling. Continue Reading »

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| April 6, 2013
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Archaeologists discover 2000 yr-old Byzantine wine press & Church

Archaeologists for the Israel Antiquities Authority found the remains of an ancient community, most likely Christian, during the construction of an events hall near the Hamei Yoav hot springs.

By Yori Yalon & Israel Hayom Staff

 

The remains of an ancient Byzantine community, including a well-preserved wine press, were recently discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority near the Hamei Yoav hot springs in southern Israel. The discovery was made during excavations for the construction of an events hall.

The recently discovered Byzantine wine press in southern Israel. – Photo: Sa’ar Ganor / Israel Antiquities Authority

The wine press, more than 100 square meters in size, includes a floor for crushing grapes.

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| January 18, 2013
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Israel Antiquities Archives are Now Online & Open to the Public

Israel’s Antiquities Authority has uploaded tens of thousands of original documents,  architectural plans, maps & photographs to its newly digitized collection

1st section available includes original architectural plan for the post-renovations Church of the Holy Sepulchre & even British espionage maps.

By Yori Yalon

 

 

The archaeological archive of Israel, administered by the Israel Antiquities Authority, has digitized and uploaded all of Israel’s archaeological archives to the Internet, slated to be publicly available this month.

Jerusalem 1941The archive allows visitors to explore the British Mandate Period, for example, and view the impressive and original architectural plan for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre following renovations, British espionage maps from World War I and blueprints for buildings on the Temple Mount.

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| January 15, 2013
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Jewish synagogue found where Jesus may have taught

When the synagogue was first discovered in 2009, the archaeological team found a large stone table or altar with intricate carvings.

By  Israel Today Staff

 

A team of archaeologists from Israel’s Antiquities Authority have unearthed an ancient synagogue with some very unique characteristics in a small Galilee village frequented by Jesus and his disciples.

Migdal synagogueThe synagogue was found in Migdal (known in the New Testament as Magdala), which sits just north of Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

During Jesus’ time, Magdala was a thriving fishing village, and home to many of his followers, most notably Mary Magdalene (literally: Mary of Magdala). Continue Reading »

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| December 26, 2012
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Rare Find of Temple Era Artifacts on Highway 1 near Jerusalem

Road excavation have unearthed a rare cache of artifacts, testimony of a pagan ritual cult before the Jewish Kingdom abolished them.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

The discovery, like may others, was made during road excavation, this time at a new section of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway, known as Highway 1. The archaeological site is known as Tel Motza, at the Motza turnoff less than five miles west of Jerusalem.

History discovered near Jerusalem

History discovered near Jerusalem – Israel news photo: IAA

A ritual building and a cache of sacred vessels date back approximately  2,750 years.

“The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judae at the time of the First Temple,” according to Anna Eirikh, Dr. Continue Reading »

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| December 26, 2012
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Court May Be Asked to Stop ‘Destruction of History’ by the Waqf

Israel’s High Court may be the only way for archaeologists to order the gov’t to stop the Waqf from destroying more ‘history’ at the holy site.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

The High Court may be the last resort for archaeologists to order Netanyahu to stop allowing the Waqf to destroy history at the holy site.

Temple Mount digging

Temple Mount digging – Israel news photo: Prof. Eli Hollander and architect Gidon Harlap

Following the latest disclosures of massive removal and dumping of dirt containing artifacts from the area of the Holy Temples, attorney Aviad Vesuli told Arutz Sheva he would appeal to the High Court. Continue Reading »

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| December 11, 2012
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Treasures found the heart of Jerusalem from the Hasmonean era

 

A perfume container and a lead weight from the ancient days of the Hasmonean dynasty, were found in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Yovel neighborhood

Chief archaeologist: Little is known about Jerusalem during that era.

Efrat Forsher

 

As Jews throughout the world celebrate the Hanukkah holiday, which commemorates the victory of the ancient Hasmoneans over the militarily superior Hellenists, the Israel Antiquities Authority recently disclosed that an important archaeological find was discovered in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of Jerusalem, including items dating back to the Hasmonean era — 140 B.C.E. to 116 B.C.E.

The archeological dig in south Jerusalem. – Photo: Daniel Ein Mor & Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority

The IAA, which conducted the excavation, uncovered what appeared to be an agricultural farm that was occupied during the days when Jerusalem was under Hellenist rule.

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| October 2, 2012
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Humans & Neanderthals may have co-existed in Northern Israel

Archaeological evidence leads to believe that both warring sub-species may have lived peacefully in Nahal Me’arot in Northern Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

It may be known for modern- day conflict, but 80,000 years ago the Holy Land may have been the only place where early homo sapiens and neanderthals lived peacefully, new archeological findings suggest.

RECONSTRUCTIONS OF Neanderthals, Rheinischeslandes

RECONSTRUCTIONS OF Neanderthals, Rheinischeslandes

Archeologists working on Mount Carmel’s Nahal Me’arot, UNESCO’s most recently declared World Heritage Site, found evidence that the genealogical relatives lived side by side and perhaps even interbred, according to a report in The Times of London.

“If that interbreeding did take place, it must have been here,”said Daniel Kaufman, an archeologist working at the site. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Mid-East News | Tags:
| September 2, 2012
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1,500-Year-Old Jewish Town Near Be’er Sheva Uncovered by Road Workers

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 1,500 yr-old Jewish town near Be’er Sheva, with a synagogue or Torah study center.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Archaeologists have discovered remains of a large 1,500-year-old Jewish town near Be’er Sheva, including two public ritual pools, or mikvehs, a synagogue or Torah study center. Mikvehs are used in Judaism for ritual purification purposes.

Site of 1,500-year-old Jewish town

Site of 1,500-year-old Jewish town
Israel news photo courtesy of Nir Shimshon Faran (IAA)

Israel Antiquities Authority officials said the remains were found during excavation work in extending the southern leg of Israel’s north-south super highway, Kvish 6, (Highway 6) to the Lehavim junction, located five miles north of the “capital of the Negev.” Continue Reading »

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| July 29, 2012
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Skeletons of Jews massacred by the Romans on the Temple Mount found

Journalist Benny Liss releases movie of underground cave on Temple Mount where he found  mass grave • He believes the skeletons may be remains of massacred Jews by the Romans when they destroyed the Temple Mount; urges the authorities to properly examine the area.

By Nadav Shragai

 

 

Remains of thousands of Jews massacred by the Romans on the Temple Mount at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple may have been uncovered in Jerusalem, according to a veteran archaeological journalist.

Jews, Christians or Muslims? An image from the film of the skeletons.
Photo credit: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch

During a conference on Thursday at Megalim – the City of David Institute for Jerusalem Studies, journalist Benny Liss screened a movie recorded a few years ago that clearly shows thousands of skeletons and human bones in what appears to be a mass grave.

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| July 17, 2012
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Akko Harbor from Second Temple Period Unearthed

The 2,300 year old harbor was the largest in the country during Hellenistic period, & may have been military as well.

By Gil Ronen

 

A magnificent ancient harbor – considered the largest and most important in the Land of Israel in the Hellenistic period – has been unearthed in Akko (Acre). The harbor dates back 2,300 years, to the time in which the Second Temple stood in all of its magnificence in Jerusalem.

Among the finds at the harbor are large mooring stones that were incorporated in the quay, which were used to secure sailing vessels. This was probably a military harbor. Continue Reading »

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| July 11, 2012
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Archaeology Proves Existence Of Biblical Bethlehem – Ancient Bulla Discovered

In this latest archaeological discovery, together with others recently unearthed, is raising a new wave of interest in the field of biblical archaeology. This latest find is the 1st ancient artifact constituting tangible evidence of the existence of the city of Bethlehem, at least from the 1st Temple period, found during excavations in Jerusalem.

 

 

Posted by OTBT Israel , Archeology, Off The Beaten Track Israel News

A very long & heated battle has raged in the archeological world about the validity of the Biblical narrative & archeological evidence supporting it. One camp says that the archeological discoveries do not prove the narrative and are notoriously skeptical when new finds are announced.

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| July 8, 2012
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Archaeologists Uncover Gold Treasure Near Herzliya

One of the largest gold treasures ever to be discovered in Israel was uncovered last week at an archaeological dig near Herzliya.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

One of the largest gold treasures ever to be discovered in Israel was uncovered last week at an archaeological dig near Herzliya.

The treasure, more than 100 gold pieces and weighing approximately 400 grams (nearly one pound), is estimated at a worth of more than $100,000.

The coins were found hidden in a partly broken pottery vessel at the Appollonia National Park, where archaeologists say the former Crusader town of Apollonia-Arsuf once thrived. The dig is being carried out under the joint auspices of Tel Aviv University and the Nature and Parks Authority. Continue Reading »

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| July 2, 2012
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Menorah like image from the second Temple found in Rome.

The Romans were again caught red handed looting the Jewish second Temple.

By YourJewishNews.com/Shifra Unger

 

Historical sources describe the menorah looted by the Romans when they destroyed the Second Temple of Jerusalem in AD 70, as gold, as God instructed Moses in Exodus.

The menorah image stolen by the Romans from the Jewish second Temple

The menorah image stolen by the Romans from the Jewish second Temple

Thus, the recent discovery that a version of the menorah in a bas-relief on the Arch of Titus in the first century of the Roman Forum was originally painted rich yellow color should not be a surprise. But because the image faded to the color of the stone foundation after a long time – like so many other things in and around the Forum – a precise knowledge of their once brilliant pigmentation appears as an interesting revelation for historians and archaeologists. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Jewish News | Tags:
| July 2, 2012
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Synagogue and mosaic floor excavated in Galilee

Israel Antiquities Authority Press Release: Monumental synagogue building discovered in excavations in Galilee

by

 

A monumental synagogue building dating to the Late Roman period (ca. 4th-5th centuries C.E.) has been discovered in archaeological excavations at Huqoq in Israel’s Galilee.

 

The excavations are being conducted by Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and David Amit and Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the sponsorship of UNC, Brigham Young University in Utah, Trinity University in Texas, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Toronto in Canada. Students and staff from UNC and the consortium schools are participating in the dig

Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala).

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