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Israel

Excavations at this site in Israel's Negev Desert yielded evidence of olive oil soap manufacturing dating back roughly 1,200 years.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 1,200-Year-Old Soap Factory in Israel

To create the cleaning concoction, ancient workers mixed olive oil with ashes from saltwort plants

The charred shoulder blade of a young adult who was cremated in northern Israel some 9,000 years ago. The bone contains the embedded point of a flint projectile.

Humans in the Near East Cremated Their Dead 9,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists found the charred bones of a young adult in the ancient Israeli village of Beisamoun

Today, the figurative field of battle has become a literal one: Israel's Sharon Plain.

Study Identifies Site Where Crusader King Richard the Lionheart Defeated Saladin

In September 1191, the English monarch’s forces secured victory over the sultan’s army at the Battle of Arsuf

A clear shard of Roman glass found in northern Jordan. The purple highlights are iridescence caused by weathering.

Ancient Rome’s Finest Glass Was Actually Made in Egypt

Researchers used chemical analysis to determine the origins of the empire’s crystal-clear glass

This "grain mummy" honors the Egyptian god Osiris.

Cool Finds

CT Scans Reveal Miniature Mummies’ Surprising Contents

One appears to hold the skeleton of a bird, while the other contains a tightly packed lump of grain and mud

Archaeologists discovered rock art engraved inside this 4,000-year-old stone monument in northern Israel. Illustrations highlight the herd of horned animal figures etched into the boulder.

Cool Finds

Millennia-Old Rock Art in Israel Offers Window Into Lost Culture

The carvings depict animals, geometric designs and what may be a human face

A set of 120,000-year-old shells from the Qafzeh Cave in northern Israel. Ancient humans collected these shells, which had natural perforations, and arranged them on lengths of string.

Cool Finds

New Research Suggests Humans Invented String at Least 120,000 Years Ago

Marks found on ancient shells indicate that they were laced together to create necklaces

Reptile vertebrae found at el-Wad Terrace Cave

15,000 Years Ago, Humans in Israel Ate Snakes and Lizards

Snacking on reptiles may have helped these prehistoric people adapt to living in more permanent settlements

This 1484 copy of Tuhfat al-Ahrar was produced during the lifetime of Jāmī, considered Iran's last great mystical poet.

The National Library of Israel Will Digitize 2,500 Rare Islamic Manuscripts

The cultural institution estimates that the process will take three years to complete

Archaeologists found the two altars seen here featured burnt cannabis (right) and frankincense (left), respectively.

Archaeologists Identify Traces of Burnt Cannabis in Ancient Jewish Shrine

New research suggests the mind-altering substance may have been widely used in the ritual practices of the Kingdom of Judah

Six-year-old Imri Elya was awarded a "good citizenship" certificate for discovering a rare, small Canaanite tablet near an Israeli archaeological site.

Six-Year-Old Boy Discovers Rare Canaanite Tablet

Imri Elya was hiking with his family when he spotted the 3,500-year-old object

Green patches of Nana Estate Winery in the arid desert.

Why Wines From Israel’s Negev Desert May Represent the Future of Viticulture

Overcoming scorching heat and little rain, experimental vineyards teach winemakers to cope with climate change

Fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the 20th century, are displayed 18 June 2003 at Montreal's Pointe-a-Callieres Archeological Museum

All of the Museum of the Bible’s Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fake, Report Finds

The new findings raises questions about the authenticity of a collection of texts known as the “post-2002” scrolls

The inspector of measurements and weights, called the agoranomos, was a common job throughout the Roman Empire.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Measuring Table Points to Location of Ancient Jerusalem Market

The table ensured standard measurements for buying and selling in the first century A.D.

The garum factory found near Ashkelon in Israel

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Fish Sauce Factory Unearthed in Israel

The site produced the incredibly popular fish gut-based condiment garum—a process so stinky it had to take place far from town

Excavation of the Philistine cemetery at Ashkelon.

When Ancient DNA Gets Politicized

What responsibility do archaeologists have when their research about prehistoric finds is appropriated to make 21st-century arguments about ethnicity?

St. Peter’s Church rises above the ancient port of Jaffa, today a bustling neighborhood abutting Tel Aviv.

Two Tour Guides—One Israeli, One Palestinian—Offer a New Way to See the Holy Land

With conflict raging again in Israel, a fearless initiative reveals a complex reality that few visitors ever experience

Excavation of the Philistine cemetery at Ashkelon.

Ancient DNA Sheds New Light on the Biblical Philistines

A team of scientists sequenced genomes from people who lived in a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel between the 12th and 8th centuries B.C.

Faithfuls kneel on the new restored Holy Stair (Scala Santa) at San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome.

Trending Today

For the First Time in 300 Years, Pilgrims Can Climb These Holy Marble Steps

Worshippers can kneel up the 28 steps some believe Jesus ascended to receive his death sentence

Palestinians gather to perform the Friday prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem

A Small Fire Broke Out at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque as Flames Ravaged Notre-Dame

The blaze left the Islamic holy site largely untouched, damaging a single mobile guard booth

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