Biblical Archaeology Review, 2026

For centuries, traditional interpretations of the Last Supper tended to set the story in an elite Roman dining room, where participants would recline on benches while eating from individual place settings. But in everyday Judean contexts, dining in the time of Jesus looked very different, with common dishes shared by all in attendance. Enter the setting of Jesus’s last meal and explore how this famous repast likely took place.

Under Roman and Byzantine rule, ancient Syria became the first predominantly Christian province in the Middle East. Between the fourth and seventh centuries, many of the region’s Christian communities shared in a distinctive religious, literary, and architectural culture. Now abandoned and dubbed the “Dead Cities,” copious stone-built towns and villages on the Aleppo Plateau in northwest Syria bear witness to that glorious past.

Synagogues became vital centers of Jewish religious and community life after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Written and archaeological sources provide vivid testimony of how these structures were built, decorated, and sustained across the Mediterranean world of late antiquity. What was it like to worship inside these spaces? Explore how early Jews experienced the sights and smells of ancient synagogues.

Situated on a high ridge with a commanding view of the Dead Sea, the Jordanian site of Khirbat Ataruz (biblical Ataroth) was a prominent sacred center during the time of the Israelite and Moabite kingdoms. Join archaeologists as they uncover this remarkable Iron Age temple complex, including traces of its sacred cult and a tantalizing inscription that may hint at a dramatic battle between Israel and Moab that was remembered in the Hebrew Bible.

The Jewish uprising that occurred across the eastern Mediterranean from 115 to 117 CE was violently suppressed by the Romans, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Yet, unlike the better-known First Jewish Revolt and the later Bar-Kokhba Revolt, this uprising is poorly documented in written sources. Explore what recent archaeological discoveries reveal about the Diaspora Revolt on the island of Cyprus.

For thousands of years, mercenaries routinely fought in the armies of competing powers and kingdoms across the ancient Mediterranean world. Even the biblical David sold his sword to the Philistines before becoming king of Israel. Explore the Shardanu, some of the best-known warriors of the Bronze Age, and what archaeology reveals about the critical role such mercenaries played in shaping the fates of civilizations.

The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70 were pivotal events in biblical history. But while archaeology has revealed abundant evidence of Jerusalem’s destruction, little has been found of the siegeworks the Romans built to capture the city. Examine the historical and archaeological clues that reveal how the Romans brought the city to heel.

Whether imagined as the future sanctuary of the people of Israel or as a grand sacred domain in the eschatological world to come, the Jerusalem Temple captivated authors in the biblical and postbiblical periods alike. But the specific details of its form and construction were not settled. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, we encounter two unique, detailed models for how the future Temple should be built.