Tag Archive for archeology

1,500 year-old mosaic unearthed near Kibbutz Beit Kama

The 15 century old mosaic, preserved in good condition & traced to between the 4th & 5th centuries C.E., “is unique due to the large number of motifs incorporated together,” says Dr. Yigal Yisrael from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

By Yori Yalon

A splendidly colorful mosaic, some 1,500 years old, was discovered recently in an open field near Kibbutz Beit Kama, located in the Bnei Shimon Region Council in the northern Negev.

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Byzantine era wine press excavated from under the streets of Jaffa

Excavation believed to be part of wine press or for other fruit-based alcohol from the fertile fields of Jaffa

By Yori Yalon & Israel Hayom Staff

 

A Byzantine winepress was recently uncovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority in an archaeological dig in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv. The excavation is taking place under Rabbi Hai Gaon Street near the city’s central artery, Jerusalem Boulevard, and provides a rare glimpse into the town’s past.

Under the bustling streets of Jaffa, remnants of its past. – Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

The excavations were conducted before the start of a massive project to modernize city infrastructure for tourist and residential purposes. Continue Reading »

WATCH: At the Israel Museum, “Herod the Great” Exhibition

At the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, premieres the world’s 1st exhibition on the life & legacy of the Roman King, Herod the Great.

By Hezki Ezra

 

Arutz Sheva TV visited the world’s first exhibition devoted to the architectural legacy of KiRoman King Herod the Greatng Herod, the Jewish proxy monarch who ruled Jerusalem and the Holy Land under Roman occupation two millennia ago. The exhibition, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, includes about 250 archaeological artifacts recently discovered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, at the Herodion summer palace, south of the capital, Jericho and other sites.

The display includes a reconstructed tomb and sarcophagus from Herod’s grave and a wall painting from the Herodion. Continue Reading »

Court Protects Caesarea’s Antiquities over Construction Plans

A local court recently ruled that building plans for a new neighborhood in Caesarea would have to be put on hold due to the important archaeological artifacts in the area.

By Yoni Kempinski

 

After a long legal battle, a court recently ruled that building plans for a new residential neighborhood in the city of Caesarea would have to be put on hold because of the presence of important archaeological artifacts in the land where the construction is planned.

 Ruins of the Roman aqueduct at Caesarea Maritima - Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Ruins of the Roman aqueduct at Caesarea Maritima – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

The ruling is a victory for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Continue Reading »

World’s 2nd-oldest Bible fragment posted online

 

Purchased by Dr Walter Llewellyn Nash from an Egyptian antiquities dealer in 1902, he presented the fragment that is said to have come from Fayyum, Egypy, to the Cambridge Library in 1903.

 

By JTA

The University of Cambridge posted online thousands of pages from fragile religious manuscripts.

nash

Nash Papyrus – Photo from the Cambridge Digital Library

One of the documents scanned and uploaded to the Cambridge Digital Library is the Nash Papyrus, a 2,000-year-old fragment containing the Ten Commandments and part of the Shema prayer discovered in Egypt in the late 19th century.

It is the world’s second oldest known manuscript containing a text from the Hebrew Bible. Continue Reading »

8,500-year-old skulls found in Neolithic well in the Jezreel Valley

Skeletal remains of a young woman & older man discovered on the bottom of a ancient well in the Jezreel Valley.

 

In a mortal mystery that cannot help but beckon the age-old tragedies of Antigone and Haimon, or Romeo and Juliet, the 8,500-year-old skeletal remains of a young woman and an older man have been discovered at the bottom of a

8,500-year-old skulls found in Neolithic well in the Jezreel Valley. - Photo: Clara Amit/Israel Antiquities Authority

8,500-year-old skulls found in Neolithic well in the Jezreel Valley. – Photo: Clara Amit/Israel Antiquities Authorit

Excavators discovered the well during a dig of the Israel Antiquities Authority at Enot Nisanit in the western Jezreel Valley, which occurred ahead of an enlargement of HaYogev Junction at Road 66 by the National Roads Company.

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Stone Age Figurine Unearthed In Jerusalem Highway Work

Prior to work to widen the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, Israeli Archeologists have discovered Stone Age figurines.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Archeologists have discovered Stone Age figurines in excavations carried out prior to work to widen the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.

Stone Age figurine found near Jerusalem highway

Stone Age figurine found near Jerusalem highway – Photo: Yael Yolovitch, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Two figurines, which experts claim are 9,500 years old, were found in the Tel Motza area less than five miles south of Jerusalem. They are images of a ram and a wild bovine and point to the existence of a cultic belief in the region in the New Stone Age, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.

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Ancient Bethlehem seal unearthed in Jerusalem

Antiquities Authority says archeologists found oldest artifact bearing Bethlehem’s name – 2,700 years old seal

 

The Israel Antiquities Authority says archeologists digging at a Jerusalem site have found the oldest artifact that bears the inscription of Bethlehem – a 2,700 years old seal with the name of Jesus’ traditional birthplace.

2,700 years old seal Photo: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority

2,700 years old seal - Photo: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority

Eli Shukron, the authority’s director of excavations, says this is the first time the city’s name has appeared on an artifact from this period.

The clay seal, or bulla, was found in a Jerusalem dig.

Shukron said on Wednesday the seal bears the ancient Hebrew script used during the period of the first biblical Jewish Temple. Continue Reading »

Israeli archaeologists find earliest evidence of Bethlehem’s existence in Jerusalem dig

Ancient clay seal, dating to the First Temple period, bears the name Bethlehem in ancient Hebrew script; artifact located by researchers sifting soil removed from Jerusalem’s City of David.

A piece of clay was found during archaeological excavations at the City of David, in Jerusalem, bearing the name of the city of Bethlehem in ancient Hebrew script. The piece of clay dates back to the First Temple period (1006 – 586 BCE), making it the first tangible evidence of existence of the city of Bethlehem in ancient times.

The artifact, called a “bulla,” is a piece of clay typically used as an official seal on a document or object. Continue Reading »

In Jerusalem, possible site of ancient church’s ‘miracle’ is revealed

Rehavia site may be place where ‘God revealed’ stone supply to church builders.

 

In “The Buildings of Justinian,” the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea wrote at length about the churches the emperor built in the 6th century. He related a miracle that occurred during the construction of the Nea Church, in what is now the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City:

“God revealed a natural supply of stone perfectly suited to this purpose in the nearby hills, one which had either lain there in concealment previously, or was created at that moment,” he wrote, adding, “So the church is supported on all sides by a number of huge columns from that place, which in color resemble flames of fire … exceptionally large and probably second to no columns in the whole world.”

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