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impression of Bar Kokhba by Polish-Jewish artist Arthur Szyk Source: Arthur Szyk/CC BY-SA 4.0

Judaic Devastation: The Bar Kokhba Revolt’s Tragic Legacy (Video)

The Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132 AD had profound and enduring effects on Jews and Judaism. Firstly, it led to the shattering of Judaic society, with devastating consequences for Jewish communities. The...
Archaeologists Oriya Amichay and Hagay Hamer removing one of the Roman swords from the crevice where they were hidden. Source: Amir Ganor/Israel Antiquities Authority

Four 1,900-Year-Old Roman Swords Found in Dead Sea Cave

Archaeologists working with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered a remarkable cache in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea: four Roman swords in "almost perfect condition," believed...
An AI generated Roman Legion, representative of Legio X Fretensis. Source: Noel Cook/ Adobe Stock

Coins Dug Up in Georgia Expose Dirty Work of Legendary Legio X Fretensis

Archaeologists in Georgia have discovered a hoard of ancient coins, which had symbols punched into their faces long after they were created. When the researchers learned the nature of the symbols,...
Herod’s calcite-alabaster bathtub found in Kypros fortress.	Source: Prof. Amos Frumkin, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem / Nature

Herod the Great’s Alabaster Bathtubs

Herod the Great was renowned for his ambitious projects and extravagant tastes. Now a major discovery has come regarding these projects, from of all places, his bathtub. Two beautiful bathtubs...
The 3-cm or 1.2-inch lead Seleucid sling stone recently unearthed at the Zif South Hebron Hills archaeological site in Israel.		Source: COGAT

Seleucid Sling Stone Sheds New Light on Jewish Hannukah Story

Hanukkah or the Jewish Festival of Lights is celebrated in memory of the recovery of the Second Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. This was at the beginning of the...
Volunteer Liel Krutokop with the rare silver Second Temple coin she found at the City of David National Park. Source: Yaniv Berman / City of David

Rogue Priest Second Temple Silver Coin Found By Girl in Jerusalem

A rare silver Second Temple coin belonging to the second year of the Great Jewish Revolt (67-68 AD) against the Romans was found by volunteers sifting through dirt from an archaeological dig...
A bird’s eye view of the Seleucid Hellenistic fortress burnt to the ground by Jewish freedom fighters nearly 2,000 years ago!

Evidence of Hannukah Story Found in Razed Hellenistic Fortress

In the Shephelah region or the Judean foothills of south-central Israel, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a Seleucid Hellenistic fortress that was burned by Hasmonean (Judean) conquerors...
An aerial photo of the Tel Lachish in central Israel, which was quickly conquered by the Assyrians with their powerful siege ramp in 701 BC. The Assyrian siege ramp is the focus of a new study published in Oxford Journal of Archaeology. 	Source: The Lachish Expedition / Southern Adventist University

New Study Reveals How Legendary Assyrian Siege Ramp Overcame Lachish

Israeli archaeologists have revealed the secrets behind the Assyrian siege ramp that conquered the ancient Judean town of Lachish. A recent study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology shows...
Mesopotamian Superpowers Laying Waste To The Ancient Near East

Mesopotamian Superpowers Laying Waste To The Ancient Near East

Call it Canaan, the Levant or the Ancient Near East; the region has always had a troubled history of warfare and invasions. For 400 years from 732 to 332 BC, this region incorporating Philistia,...
The Har Hozvim Jerusalem quarry: one part of a huge stone quarry that was likely three or four times larger. This quarry supplied many enormous stones for King Herod’s Second Temple era building spree.

Stone Quarry from Second Temple Era in Jerusalem Discovered

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists exploring an area of Jerusalem where a parking lot will soon be installed have uncovered something historically significant. Working on the grounds...
The Maccabean Revolt: The Jewish Rebellion Against the Seleucid Empire

The Maccabean Revolt: The Jewish Rebellion Against the Seleucid Empire

The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Empire that took place during the 2nd century BC. Not long before the revolt, Jerusalem had been captured by the Seleucids. According...
It was in a canyon like this one in the Judean Desert in the West Back of Israel that archaeologists found two ancient Jewish coins (one from 67 AD and one from circa 135 AD). That the coins were found in the same area rewrites existing assumptions about the Jewish revolts against the Romans in an area assumed to be uninhabited after the first Jewish revolt stage.

Two Coins Found in Israel Prove That Jewish Revolt History is Wrong!

East of Jerusalem lies the historic Judean Desert and the hilltop fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada was the setting of the mass suicide of almost 1,000 Jewish zealots, including men...
The ancient Judean date palm tree has been resurrected

The Judean Date Palm: Extinct Tree Resurrected from Ancient Seeds

For thousands of years, the date palm was a staple crop. In the Kingdom of Judea it was a source of food, shelter, medicine, and shade. But the plant went extinct due to waves of conquest and...
The magi or three kings who followed the Star of Bethlehem to find the new-born Jesus. Source: Pawel Horazy / Adobe Stock

Did Augustus' Royal Coins Lead the Magi from Parthia to Bethlehem?

One of the great mysteries of the New Testament is the Star of Bethlehem and the magi (the three kings or wise men) who “followed” the star to pay their respects to the newborn Jesus . Most...
Was Jesus literate? Jesus speaking with The Twelve Apostles             Source: Domenico Ghirlandaio / Public domain

Ancient Texts Strongly Suggest Jesus was Literate and Multilingual

The gospels do not provide definitive evidence of the language spoken by the historical Jesus of Nazareth . There is evidence in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:41-51) that suggests Jesus, despite having...
Reborn ancient palm tree saplings    . Source: Guy Eisner / Sciencemag.

Fabled Palm Trees Reborn From Ancient Seeds In Israel

In Israel, researchers have managed to cultivate palm trees from seeds that date back to the ancient world. They were able to grow palm saplings that are similar to those once grown in ancient Judea...
Depiction of the Captivity of Judah.   Source: The Providence Lithograph Company / Public domain

The End of Ancient Judaism: The Captivity

The twelve tribes of ancient Judaism were united into a single kingdom under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. The destruction of this kingdom and the forced exile of its population is known as...
Herod the Great as depicted in a painting in the Chapel of Madonna and Child. Photo source: Jbribeiro1 / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Herod the Great: A Biblical Tyrant But An Able Protector of Judaea

Herod the Great was a Roman client king of Judaea (known also as the Herodian kingdom) who lived during the 1st century BC. He was also the founder of the Herodian dynasty, whose members, like Herod...
Statue of Roman Soldier (Public Domain), and Roman Cavalry Reenactment  (CodrinB/CC BY-SA 3.0); Deriv.

Rome’s Forgotten General: Ventidius Takes Enemy Heads and Enemy Gold – Part II

With the Amanus Pass secured, Roman general Publius Ventidius Bassus, on the mission given by Antony to retake Asia-Minor, pushed south into Syria. Prince Pacorus of Parthia of was done fighting, at...
Immense 1,900-Year-Old Slab Found Underwater Names Forgotten Roman Ruler During Bloody Jewish Revolt

Immense 1,900-Year-Old Slab Found Underwater Names Forgotten Roman Ruler During Bloody Jewish Revolt

A team of researchers from the University of Haifa have recently discovered a rare inscription from the period prior to the Bar Kochba revolt. The enlightening discovery allows historians to finally...