Archaeology

Police on patrol noticed during routine activity a car driving illegally. To their amazement, they found a crate in the trunk, containing impressive and unusual archaeological finds.

This is the first time that two synagogues have been found in a single settlement from the Second Temple period.

Some of the artifacts were from the period of the Bar-Kochba revolt in 130 CE.

Among the items seized were a Hasmonean coin dating from the time of Matityahu Antigonus in the first century BCE with an embossment of the Temple Menorah.

"The candle is intact, a rather rare phenomenon.”

Soot marks had accumulated at the bottom of the lamp, indicating the lamp was used.

In the intervening years between the Great Revolt in 70 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 130 CE, Yavne became the most important Jewish spiritual center in the country.

Diodotus Tryphon initially signed a pact with the Hasmonean rulers of Judea, but subsequently turned on them and attempted to attack Jerusalem.

The girl came with her family to the Emek Tzurim Sifting Project in Jerusalem.

“The building’s devastation is probably related to the region’s conquest by the Hasmonean leader Yochanan Horkenus around 112 BCE.”

Construction began about 80 meters away from the walls of the city of Lachish, close to where stones required for the ramp could be quarried.

"The ring may have belonged to the owner of the warehouse, to a foreman, or to an unlucky visitor who dropped it."

Israeli authorities operating to clear old minefields in the Golan Heights have recently exposed a Syrian bunker packed with ammunition that was left behind by Syrian troops retreating as IDF forces advanced during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Original documents belonging to Yemenite Olim from the 1880s who lived in Kfar HaShiloach were recently discovered and brought to light.

Israeli law stipulates that causing damage to an antiquities site is a criminal offense for which the penalty prescribed by law is up to five years in prison.

The amethyst seal was discovered at The Sifting Project while examining soil samples from the base of the Western Wall.

“The discovery of ancient finds by swimmers and leisure divers is a growing phenomenon in recent years, with the increasing popularity of these sports.”

It appears that the town of Yavne, home to the Sanhedrin in exile after the destruction of the Second Temple, became a worldwide powerhouse of wine production some 1,500 years ago.

It's fascinating to see how something that's obvious to us today, such as toilets, was a luxury item during the reign of the kings of Judah."

It is illegal in Israel to excavate antiquities sites without a license, and offenders can face up to five years in prison under the law.

Jerusalem’s ancient quarries were the main source of building stones for monumental construction projects in the city, such as the Temple Mount.

The Gerah stone weight weighed 3 times more than it should have.

A few years ago, Dr. Jon Seligman's visit to Vilna as part of a roots trip sparked the idea of digging up what was left of the compound and the synagogue.

Interestingly, the rebels used existing Roman coins and re-struck them with their own themes and messages.

As Ramat Ha-Sharon approaches its centenary year, evidence is emerging that its history is far more ancient than was previously assumed.

Burnt archaeological flints enable us to determine the strength of the Earth's magnetic field during prehistoric periods.

"The girl and her family showed good citizenship, and since this is a state treasure, handed us the coin.”

"When we excavated the structure and uncovered an 8th century BCE layer of destruction."

The network of tunnels beneath the Temple Mount has been the subject of much mystery and controversy, but the cisterns – some of which are linked to biblical sources – are just as fascinating.

"This was unequivocally the eastern wall of ancient Jerusalem. . .Near the wall, a Babylonian stamp seal made of stone was uncovered."