Biblical Archaeology

Jewish Captives

Could these be two Jewish captives? This sculptured wall relief was excavated at ancient Nineveh and illustrates the fall of Lachish by the army of king Sennacherib of Assyria. He drove the inhabitants into captivity. Sennacherib was later routed at Jerusalem by the Angel of the Lord, he had captured 36 cities. This real historical picture of th...

Read More

The Ishtar Gate

Did the Jewish captives pass through this gate after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.? The Ishtar Gate was built and dedicated to the goddess Ishtar around 575 BC. It was awesome in appearance and one of the most impressive monuments of the ancient Near East. It was decorated with glazed brick reliefs, in tiers, of dragons and young bulls. ...

Read More

Ancient Hebrew Altar

Was this ancient altar found at Beersheba used by the Hebrews? This dismantled altar was discovered at the ruins of ancient Beersheba and was most likely destroyed during a revival, possibly by king Hezekiah. The Bible records one revival by king Hezekiah about 715 BC and another by Josiah about 621 BC. The Bible says that Hezekiah, "removed the h...

Read More

The Jeroboam Inscription

Does this jasper seal actually mention the name of king Jeroboam? The Megiddo Seal was discovered in 1904 by an archaeological team led by Gottlieb Schumacher. The discovery was determined to be a seal belonging to a royal minister in the 8th century BC. It is engraved with the figure of a roaring lion (symbol of the kingdom of Judah) with a beauti...

Read More

Ivory Pomegranate Fraud

This ivory pomegranate was on the staff of the ancient high priest in Jerusalem. It was discovered in 1979 by French paleographer André Lemaire. It contains an inscription in Hebrew script that says, "Belonging to the Temp[le of Yahw]eh, holy to the priests." This artifact proved recently to be a forgery: "The Israel Museum removed the ivory pomeg...

Read More

Baal Stele

Could this stone monument of Baal have been the same image that many Israelites worshipped? Baal, the storm god, is seen on this Stele unleashing a storm. He is holding a club in his right hand and a spear in his left like a lightning bolt, which extends upward in the form of a tree. It was found in 1932 at the site of ancient Ugarit, known today ...

Read More

Persian Guards

Could these Persian soldiers have served Queen Esther of the Bible? Here we see a group of Persian soldiers on a wall relief armed with spears and shields from a stairway at the ruins of ancient Persepolis. It reveals soldiers of the Achaemenid Empire (From Xerxes to Darius II) which was composed of two great groups: the Persians and the Medes. Thi...

Read More

Colossal Statue of Ramesses II

Is this the same Ramesses mentioned in the Bible? This colossal statue of Ramesses II weighs over 7 tons and is one of the largest pieces in the British Museum. Some believe Rameses II was the greatest of all of Egypt's Pharaoh's. The Ramesses II Bust discovery is important in the study of Biblical Archaeology. Ra'amses name is mentioned in the Bib...

Read More

Clay Prism of Sennacherib

Does this record of Sennacherib's war campaigns mention Hezekiah the Judahite? This beautifully preserved six-sided hexagonal prism of baked clay, commonly known as the Taylor Prism, was discovered among the ruins of Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire. It contains the victories of Sennacherib himself, the Assyrian king who had be...

Read More

Brick of Nebuchadnezzar

Was every brick in ancient Babylon inscribed with the name of Nebuchadnezzar? Bricks like this Nebuchadnezzar II Brick are very common around the ruins of ancient Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar used them in all of his official building projects and they were made in the millions and every one of them was stamped or inscribed in cuneiform. The discove...

Read More