Persistence pays. And pays, and pays. Just ask Avraham Biran, who has excavated at Tel Dan in northern Galilee for 27 years, making it the longest ongoing dig in Israel. His relentless quest at Dan has produced a steady stream of important discoveries, including an inscription identifying the site, a triple-arched gateway from the time of the Canaanites and an Israelite sacred area with a high place and priestly artifacts. The discoveries have yet to cease, however. Recent work uncovered five standing stones, an outer outer gate and—the crowning achievement—a fragment of a stela bearing the only extra-Biblical ancient […]
