Treasure Trove of Temple Era Coins Found

August 11, 2014 On Tisha B'Av, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the discovery of a treasure trove of 144 bronze coins dating from the fourth year of the Jewish Revolt against Rome. The coins are decorated with the image of a chalice that may have been like those used in the Temple, as well as the Arba Minim (Four Species) that are relevant to Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

more

---

ISIS Funds Operations by Looting Biblical Antiquities and Christians

July 21, 2014 As ISIS sweeps across ancient Assyria and Babylon, (now Iraq), destroying Christian churches, monasteries and Shia shrines, it is now in control of the Mosul Museum, which is full of historic treasures, and Mosul (ancient Nineveh) itself, a region which was the location of many events recorded in the Bible, including Jonah. As well, Christians have been fleeing the area in a mass exodus as ISIS issued an ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay a tax, or be killed. Some of the communities fleeing have been in northern Iraq for almost 2,000 years. As they flee Mosul, seeking refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan, they are being stripped of all their possessions.

more

---

Assad Forces Destroy Syria’s Oldest Synagogue

May 30, 2014 As war rages on in Syria, it seems that an intriguing end-time Bible prophecy is in the process of fulfilled in Syria’s capital city, Damascus, one of the world’s oldest, continuously inhabited cities. The cost of the war has been high. More than 130,000 lives have been lost, millions have been displaced from their homes, and countless heritage building reduced to rubble throughout the country, including in Damascus. This past weekend, the ancient Eliyahu HaNavi Synagogue, which stood in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, was destroyed by Syrian Army forces.

more

---

Egyptian Coffin Unearthed in Israel

April 17, 2014 The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently unearthed a 3,300-year-old Late Bronze Age cylindrical Egyptian coffin in Israel. The IAA called the find, which features a rare human-shaped lid with a slender face and Egyptian-styled hands crossed over the form’s chest, "very appealing." "This is a really beautiful face, very serene," said Egyptologist and IAA archaeologist Edwin van den Brink, who was involved in the Jezreel Valley recovery.

more

---

3,800-Year-Old Canaanite Fortress Discovered in the City of David

April 9, 2014 The City of David National Park has uncovered a 3,800-year-old fortress securing the city's ancient water source, the Gihon Spring. At 3,800 years old, the Canaanite fortress is the largest of its kind ever found in Israel, circling the Gihon Spring as referenced in the Scriptures. The discovery is part of a 15-year excavation led by Eli Shukrun of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa.

more

---

9 Miniature Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered

March 19, 2014 Nine miniature phylactery scrolls from the Dead Sea collection that have lain unexamined since the 1950s have recently been discovered at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. In Judaism, phylacteries (tefillin) are worn during the morning prayers. They consist of a pair of leather cases, one worn over the forehead and the other wrapped around the arm and pointing toward the heart.

more

---

Pursuing the Aleppo Codex

January 29, 2014 Canadian-Israeli journalist Matti Friedman has received the Sami Rohr Prize for his Non-Fiction work The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible, a work of investigative journalism that explores the compelling story of what happened to this ancient Hebrew Bible manuscript—the Aleppo Codex, “one of the most important books on earth.”

more

---

1,500-Year-Old Byzantine Church Discovered Near Tel Aviv

January 29, 2014 The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has unearthed a remarkable 1,500-year-old Byzantine Church with intricate mosaics. One of the mosaics the archaeologists uncovered was a Christogram (the first two letters of the Greek word Christ) with an alpha and an omega surrounded by birds.

more

---

The Search for King David’s Hebron Palace

January 22, 2014 Hebron is the site of an important dig as the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) searches for the answers to Israel's ancient past, particularly the remnants of King David’s 3,000-year-old palace.

more

---

New USA Network TV Series Dig Filmed in Jerusalem

November 25, 2013 A groundbreaking conspiracy series featuring archaeology in Jerusalem is set to appear in late 2014 on the USA Network in the United States, Universal Cable Productions (UCP) recently announced. The six-episode action series called “Dig” will spotlight ongoing archaeological excavations in the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount wall. “It has a kind of Indiana Jones meets ‘The Da Vinci Code’ vibe,” said Jeff Wachtel, the chief content officer for NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, which owns the USA Network. (NYT)

more

---