< Back to News

Daily News

The worlds of archaeology and the Bible move fast. Check back regularly for the latest news.

The Israel Antiquities Authority recently sponsored a conference that was focused on the protection of cultural heritage sites at risk from both natural and human-related disasters. There are many sites throughout the world that have been subject to impact by either natural events such as earthquakes, storms and flooding, or human activities such as vandalism and looting. The conference centered on policies that can be enacted quickly after a disaster strikes—response time is often the determining factor in damage mitigation.

The head of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s conservation administration, Raanan Kislev, believes that damage due to vandalism is easier to prevent than that which is caused by the destructive forces of nature. Vandalism can be fought by security systems and education of the public, while natural events such as earthquakes, climate change and flooding are more difficult to prepare for.

Haaretz.com reports on the conference addressing the protection of cultural heritage sites from nature.

The marshland between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, drained decades ago by Saddam Hussein and believed by some scholars to be the Biblical Garden of Eden, is being partially restored to its previous rich and lush environment. Saddam Hussein engineered numerous canals after the Gulf War in 1991 as means of diverting the river’s waters so as to drive out the rebels, the “Marsh Arabs,” who were resisting his regime. The abundant, maze-like waterways made the area an ideal hiding place for Hussein’s enemies.

This area, which some scholars pinpoint as the location of one of the ancient world’s most famous gardens as well as being the Middle East’s largest wetlands, will probably never reach its original magnificence. However, engineers are attempting to make the region livable once again. A number of people who lived in the marshes years ago have already begun to return and make it home, and there are attempts to make the region Iraq’s first national park.

CBS News.com reports on the regeneration of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates.

Carbonized olive wood from a site in Egypt was discovered by researchers at Ancient Egypt Research Associates, Inc., indicating that olives were present in Egypt around 600 years earlier than previously believed: somewhere in the range of 2551 to 2523 B.C.E. Prior to this discovery, the earliest known evidence of olives in the region were olive pits dating to about 1990 to 1800 B.C.E., while the first evidence of olives being grown in Egypt date to 305 B.C.E. to 337 C.E.

AERA reports on the discovery of the earliest evidence of olives in Egypt.

A team of Spanish archaeologists have discovered an ancient city along the Euphrates River in Syria dating back approximately 4,500 years. Discoveries at the site include a fortress that dates to 1,300 B.C., a large collection of ceramics, and a stamp that may lead researchers to the archives of the city, which would open doors to the study of the political and diplomatic systems of the city’s ancient inhabitants.

The site is unique because of its circular plan, which was discovered using geo-radar. There has only been one other ancient city found with a circular plan, and researchers are currently speculating on its use.

ANSA med reports on the ancient city discovered along the Euphrates in Syria.

Archaeologists believe they have found the remains of the great Persian army lost in the western deserts of Egypt to a sandstorm 2,500 years ago. A large number of human bones as well as bronze weapons and jewelry were identified in the Egyptian desert by Italian archaeologists (and twin brothers) Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni. After 13 years of research and five expeditions, they have concluded that these are the remains of the legendary army of Cambyses, whose 50,000-strong army was said to have perished during a sandstorm.

According to Herodotus (484–425 B.C.), Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, sent 50,000 soldiers from Thebes to attack the Oasis of Siwa and destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun after the priests there refused to legitimize his claim to Egypt. “A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear,” wrote Herodotus.

Discovery News reports on the discovery of a lost Persian Army in the Egyptian desert.

A Minoan-style wall painting was recently discovered during the excavation of a Canaanite palace in Kabri, Israel. The remains of a Middle Bronze Age (2000 to 1550 B.C) Canaanite city on the site include this, fresco which is the first of its type to be found in Israel and that displays the Canaanites’ desire to uphold the Mediterranean style of culture, as opposed to that of its Syrian and Mesopotamian neighbors.

Researchers were also able to find evidence of the day-to-day activities of people living in this Canaanite city due to the fact that no other settlements were built on top of this site after it was abandoned.

Newmedia-eng.haifa.ac.il reports on the Minoan-style wall painting uncovered in Israel.