This month month featured two reports related to Jesus and one linked to major biblical events in Jerusalem. Here were the top three reports in biblical archaeology in August 2023.
3. Seven Days and Nights of Excavations Completed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
A seven-day, around-the-clock excavation was recently carried out at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by a team from the Department of Antiquities of Sapienza University of Rome. The excavations were conducted in front of the Edicule, which is believed to house the remains of the tomb of Jesus Christ, and revealed the earliest layout of the shrine. It was originally accessed by two marble steps that led to a floor of lithic slabs. Underneath one of the slabs the team discovered a hoard of coins from the fourth century, which confirmed the dating that historical sources assign to the construction of the original Edicule.
2. New Discoveries at el-Araj Continue to Reinforce Claims that It Is Bethsaida
The El Araj Excavation Project recently completed its summer dig season and uncovered more evidence showing that the site was a first-century fishing village, possibly the New Testament town of Bethsaida. This year the team excavated in Area D and continued to find evidence of occupation in the first century. These finds included coins, pottery, fishing weights, and stone vessels. In addition, an inkwell was discovered in a home that also contained numerous fishing weights. This would seem to indicate that first-century fishermen could be literate. Some scholars have suggested that fishermen like Peter and John could not have written New Testament books because they were merely illiterate fishermen. The discovery of an inkwell in a fisherman’s home challenges this assumption.
NEWS LINK: https://www.elarajexcavations.com/updates/categories/season-7
1. Destruction Layers from Both the Babylonians and Romans Discovered on Mount Zion
At team from the Mount Zion Archaeological Excavation, led by Shimon Gibson and Rafi Lewis, have unearthed evidence of both the destruction of the Babylonians in 587/586 BC and of the Romans in AD 70. The destruction levels displayed conflagration in strata that were separated by a couple of meters. This is the first time destruction layers from the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the Roman destruction of the city have been found in the same area. In addition, ample pottery from the Persian era (539-322 BC) was unearthed by the team. The article in Haaretz below notes that Shimon Gibson believes “Nehemiah restored parts of the original Iron Age wall and gates associated with Mount Zion, not just at the City of David” as previously thought.
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