Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 1984
Special Section
BAR Becomes Ten!
BAR is entering its tenth year. For us—and we hope for our readers—this is indeed cause for celebration. We have, we believe, now demonstrated several things: 1. A widespread public is seriously interested in high-level scholarship in Biblical archaeology. BAR’s circulation is now over 100,000—making us the...Read more ›
Winner of BAR Essay Contest Awarded Jerusalem Fellowship
Rebecca S. Knudeson of Carlton, Oregon, is the winner of BAR’s Biblical Archaeology Essay Contest. Her prize is a $1,500 traveling fellowship to Jerusalem. Knudeson, a former elementary school teacher, was chosen from among more than 80 entrants by judges Menahem Mansoor of the University of Wisconsin...Read more ›
BAS and Smithsonian to Cosponsor Lectures by Freedman and Cross Honoring Mitchell Dahood
The Biblical Archaeology Society and the Smithsonian Institution will honor the memory of the well-known Biblical scholar Mitchell Dahood by jointly sponsoring lectures by two of the world’s leading scholars in the field of Biblical archaeology, Frank Moore Cross and David Noel Freedman. Mitchell Dahood died in...Read more ›
BAR’s 100,000th Subscriber
Dr. Ralph Napolitano of Bloomfield, New Jersey, is the 100,000th member of the Biblical Archaeology Society and subscriber to BAR. Although Dr. Napolitano only recently discovered BAR, he is no newcomer to archaeology. Archaeology and history are part of his earliest childhood memories from his home in...Read more ›
Features
Exploring Philistine Origins on the Island of Cyprus
Recent excavations provide background to the Bible
If you really want to know about Philistine origins, come to Cyprus. Not that the Philistines originated here, but here the evidence seems clearest. The Philistines were one of a group of related peoples called the Sea Peoples, who emerged seemingly out of nowhere at the end...Read more ›
The Shroud of Turin—Probably the Work of a 14th-Century Artist or Forger
As both an historian of New Testament times and a Christian believer, I can easily accept the possibility that Jesus’ burial cloth might have survived for two millennia. On the other hand, my Christian faith in no way depends on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin...Read more ›
Destruction of Judean Fortress Portrayed in Dramatic Eighth-Century B.C. Pictures
Stunning new book assembles evidence of the conquest of Lachish
In the late eighth century B.C., Lachish was the second most important city in the kingdom of Judah. Only Jerusalem surpassed it. At that time, Assyria had risen to unprecedented power, dominating the known world. On the eve of Sennacherib’s accession to the Assyrian throne in 705...Read more ›
News from the Field: Defensive Judean Counter-Ramp Found at Lachish in 1983 Season
Our expedition to Lachish is described in detail in the review/article “Destruction of Judean Fortress Portrayed in Dramatic Eighth-Century B.C. Pictures.” In this brief note I would like to describe for BAR readers the exciting results of our 1983 season, in which, for the first time, we...Read more ›
Scholars’ Corner: Yadin Presents New Interpretation of the Famous Lachish Letters
On January 29, 1935, during the third season of excavations at Tell ed-Duweir, a site thought to be Biblical Lachish, archaeologists discovered a collection of 18 ostraca, or inscribed potsherds. The ostraca had been covered by a thick layer of destruction debris on the floor of a...Read more ›