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Israel: An Archaeological Journey

October 6, 2009

CONTACT: Sarah Yeomans
The Biblical Archaeology Society
Phone: 1.202.364.3300 ext. 221
E-mail: syeomans@bib-arch.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 5, 2009) Announcing the release of Israel: An Archaeological Journey, a free e-book published by the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS). This latest publication from BAS illuminates this most sacred of destinations using recent archaeological research. As the point where three of the world’s major religions converge, Israel’s history is one of the richest and most complex in the world. This free collection of articles, written by scholars who have first-hand knowledge of their subjects, sifts through the archaeology and history of this ancient land, and presents a view of these Biblically significant sites through an archaeologist’s lens. Ideal for the armchair historian or traveler as well as for those journeying to Israel, this collection is the consummate companion guide to some of Israel’s most important sites.

The five-article collection is comprised of the following:

The Fury of Babylon: Ashkelon and the Archaeology of Destruction, by Harvard professor Lawrence Stager, guides readers through the excavations at Ashkelon, the city whose destruction by the Babylonian army is so vividly described in the Old Testament.

Vegas on the Med: A Tour of Caesarea’s Entertainment District, by Israel Antiquity Authority archaeologist Yosef Porath, provides an archaeological tour of Israel’s most Roman city.

How Jewish was Sepphoris in Jesus’ Time? by scholars Mark Chancey and Eric Meyers, examines the city of Sepphoris as it was in the early first century A.D. and offers the latest research on the city that was just 4 miles from Nazareth, the childhood town of Jesus.

Where Masada’s Defenders Fell, by renowned sociologist Nachman Ben-Yehuda, looks closely at the legendary site of Masada and offers a different theory regarding the final resting place of the fortress’s Zealot defenders.

A New Reconstruction of Paul’s Prison: Herod’s Antonia Fortress, by archaeologist Ehud Netzer, presents the latest evidence for a reconstruction of one of Jerusalem’s most enigmatic monuments.

This free e-book is available for download at http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/israel-ebook. For more information, please visit the Biblical Archaeology Society’s Web site at www.biblicalarchaeology.org, or contact Sarah Yeomans at 1.202.364.3300 ext. 221.