Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1991
Features
Why Were Hundreds of Dogs Buried at Ashkelon?
This is part II of a three-part article. Part I appeared in the last issue (“When Canaanites and Philistines Ruled Ashkelon,” BAR 17:02). Part III will appear in the next issue (“Eroticism and Infanticide at Ashkelon,” BAR 17:04). Ancient Ashkelon, now quietly nestled beside...Read more ›
Qatzrin—Reconstructing Village Life in Talmudic Times
Before 1967, the Golan Heights was, archaeologically speaking, terra incognita. Since then, surveys and excavations have revealed a rich Jewish life there during the third through eighth centuries C.E.,a what may be regarded as the talmudic and early medieval periods in Jewish history.b For...Read more ›
Please Return the Siloam Inscription to Jerusalem
The Siloam Inscription is the most famous, most significant and most precious ancient Hebrew inscription ever discovered. Carved in elegant paleo-Hebrew letters, the kind used by the Israelites before the Babylonian Exile, it was found in 1880 carved in the rock wall of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, beneath the...Read more ›
Buzz or Button?
A prominent archaeologist has recently suggested a function for the puzzling little buttonlike artifacts found at a number of sites in Israel, as well as elsewhere in the ancient world. According to Gus Van Beek, curator of Old World archaeology at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.,...Read more ›
It Had to Happen
Scientists examine remains of ancient bathroom
After you finish this article—reading time approximately eight minutes—you will know a great deal about two somewhat esoteric disciplines: palynology and archaeoparasitology. But first a little practical in formation about ancient toilet seats, two of which were found in excavations in the City of David,a the oldest...Read more ›