Peter’s homeĪ prayer to the apostle Peter adds evidence that el-Araj is the true location of the New Testament town of Bethsaida. He has deciphered the partial text as saying, “Hezekiah made pools in Jerusalem,” which echoes the phrase in 2 Kings 20:20, “He made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city.” According to the biblical account, the pool was one of Hezekiah’s great works, created to defend Jerusalem against potential sieges. According to Galil, however, there is now evidence they did.

These were very common in other ancient cultures but did not appear to exist in Israel or Judea. Haifa University professor Gershon Galil has concluded that a piece of limestone, dug up in 2007, is the first known monumental inscription celebrating a great achievement in ancient Israel or Judea. Hezekiah is back in the news after the king of Judah’s name has been confirmed in an inscription excavated near Jerusalem’s Gihon Spring. They immediately identified numerous pots from as far away as Cyprus, indicating a lively trading network around the time the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, or perhaps 100–150 years after. A video of the entry records them saying, “Wow, wow,” over and over.īecause the tomb was never disturbed and the items buried with the important person are still intact, archaeologists believe they will be able to learn a great deal from the excavation of the Palmahim Beach Tomb, which is now being planned. When archaeologists entered, they realized they were looking at a burial chamber dating to 1300 B.C. A digging machine fell through the roof of the tomb of an unknown Canaanite. The dig director called the discovery “a time capsule, frozen in time.”Īn accidentally opened tomb south of Tel Aviv revealed treasures that had been sealed away for 3,300 years. The workers left behind implements and equipment, including pieces of a loom and large storage vessels, giving scholars insight into the average day at the time the Hasmonean kingdom, during the Hellenistic period, was expanding north from Jerusalem. The farm was abandoned for unknown reasons about a century and a half before Jesus’ lifetime. Rural life in Galilee came into sharper focus when work on a water project uncovered remains of a farmstead. Ishmael was a common biblical name going back to the time of Abraham. Radiocarbon tests matched the paleographic dating of the writing style. Experts do not know where the papyrus came from originally, but they do think it’s genuine. The owner agreed to donate the historic object to the Israel Antiquities Authority, so that it can be properly preserved and studied. Israeli authorities believe it dates to around 700 B.C. The unnamed owner said his mother was given the papyrus when she visited Israel in 1965.

The text is a little larger than a postage stamp, with four short lines of ancient Hebrew, including the name Ishmael.

Here are 10 of the most important archaeological finds that made news this year:Ī scrap of papyrus framed and hung on the wall of a home in Montana was identified as one of a handful of Hebrew texts older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. But the past 12 months have seen some amazing announcements of findings that expand our knowledge of the world of the Bible. The most important things unearthed in 2022 will not be widely known for years. Not only does it take years to dig and sift the artifacts of biblical history, but it also takes years to analyze and interpret the discoveries.

Wow curse archy