Queries & Comments
Biblical Archaeology Review
Biblical Archaeology Review is the flagship publication of the Biblical Archaeology Society. For more than 40 years it has been making the world of archaeology in the lands of the Bible come alive for the interested layperson. Full of vivid images and articles written by leading scholars, this is a must read for anyone interested in the archaeology of the ancient Near East.
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Authors
David Jacobson (“Marisa Tomb Paintings”) is a research fellow at the University of London and holds doctorates in materials science and classical archaeology. A specialist on Herodian architecture and the history of exploration in the Holy Land, he has published widely on classical history and archaeology.
ReViews
No subject has been more central to modern Jewish scholarship than the role of the Pharisees and the early Rabbis in the history of Judaism. Like “Historical Jesus” scholarship for the history of Christianity, “Historical Rabbis” scholarship has often served as a Rorschach test for modern Jewish identity.
Debate: Sticking to the Facts
Review: Why Objects from the Antiquities Market Matter
Strata: Synagogue Uncovered in Albania
Almost 20 years after the remains of a fifth-sixth-century A.D. synagogue were uncovered by an Albanian archaeologist, a joint Albanian-Israeli team has gone to the coastal city of Saranda, known in ancient times as Onchesmos, to renew work at the site.
Its efforts shed light on a structure that, though originally believed to have been a church, now appears to have been a synagogue that in later years was transformed into a Christian basilica.
Strata: Israelite Houses at Harvard
Describing everyday life in ancient Israel is one thing; recreating it is quite another.
A new exhibit at Harvard’s Semitic Museum tries to do just that—and with considerable success.
Strata: Bad Dates
We published incorrect dates for three excavations in our previous issue. Khirbat al-Mudayna will dig from June 25 until August 9 and asks that potential volunteers apply by March 15. Hippos/Sussita will dig from September 5 to October 7, and the Hazor dig begins on June 22 (not the 26th) and goes until August 3. We apologize to the digs.
Strata: IAA Unveils Plans for a Grand Headquarters
With pride tempered at first by a reluctance to tip his hand, Shuka Dorfman, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), made BAR the first publication to receive the IAA’s stunning booklet introducing the ambitious plans for its National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel.
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