The Foreign Ministry today received letters from the Ambassadors of Britain, France, Italy and Holland stating those countries’ readiness to participate in the Sinai peacekeeping force. Officials here said the letters would be studied by the Cabinet at its regular meeting this Sunday but gave no other response. The letters are not identical. But all […]
There was no immediate confirmation here today of reports that unidentified attackers set off bombs at the Israeli, Argentine and Haitian embassies in Guatemala City last night. The State Department and the Israel Embassy told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that they had no information on the attacks. According to the reports from Guatemala City, guards […]
When Jewish and or Israeli delegations come to Rome to visit the Pope they are inevitably surprised by the cordial reception extended to them. The shadow of history seems to fall on today’s reality, almost as if the spectre of past humiliations and discriminations were a constant traveling companion. For those who have been following […]
Using Archaeology to Interpret a Biblical Text Archaeologists often accuse Biblical scholars of ignoring archaeological materials that could significantly illuminate the Biblical texts that scholars are studying. As one archaeologist recently put it- “Most [Biblical] commentators do not even make use of archaeology where it can contribute best, namely in illustrating the material culture of […]
In ancient Israel, the most significant collections of ivories have been recovered at Megiddo and Samaria. At Megiddo, over 300 ivory fragments, dating from the beginning of the Iron Age (12th century B.C.), came from the palace’s treasury room. Samaria yielded over 500 ivory fragments, which are more pertinent to understanding the passage from Amos […]
The Claremont “Marzeah” Tablet, pictured here, is inscribed with a text written in the Ugaritic alphabet. Some of the most important tablets from Ugarit, including this one, are now housed in the United States at The Institute of Antiquity and Christianity in Claremont, California. This particular tablet is called the Marzeah Tablet because it includes […]
Yigal Shiloh, director of the City of David Excavations in Jerusalem from 1978 to 1985, died last November at the age of 50. Less than five months before his death, Shiloh was interviewed by BAR editor Hershel Shanks. In Part I of the interview (“BAR Interview- Yigal Shiloh—Last Thoughts,” BAR 14-02), which appeared in our […]
Bible and Beyond Click here to view the original article. In “The Peculiar Headrests for the Dead in First Temple Times,” BAR 13-04, Professor Othmar Keel takes issue with an earlier BAR article in which Amos Kloner and I discussed these stone headrests carved on top of burial benches (“Jerusalem Tombs from the Days of […]
Winter is sometimes the best time to dig in Israel’s Negev desert—and sometimes the worst. In summer the heat can be stifling; while in winter, cold windy days at times prevent any outdoor work. It was the winter of 1979 when I began to excavate Tel Ira, a site in the eastern Negev.a As BAR […]
BAR’s Archaeological Preservation Fund makes substantial contribution The largest and most impressive city gateway in ancient Israel is being restored. It stands at the entrance to the ruins of the great Judean city of Lachish—a mighty reminder of past glory. In fact, it is really several gateways, one piled on top of the other. To […]