Features

“And David Sent Spoils … to the Elders in Aroer” (1 Samuel 30:26–28)
Excavators bring to life ancient Negev fortress but find no remains from David’s time By Avraham Biran

Three sites in the Bible—and perhaps foura—are called Aroer (pronounced Ah-roe-air). We call one Aroer of the Negev. The other two—or three—are east of the Jordan River. Aroer may mean “crest of a mountain.” This very general description would explain why several sites have this name. Or, Aroer may be derived from the name […]

Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood
Extant “foundation stone” for the Ark of the Covenant is identified By Asher S. Kaufman

042 It is almost axiomatic among scholars that no trace of the Jewish Temple is to be found on Jerusalem’s imposing Temple Mount.1 “The Temple is gone. Not a stone, not a trace, remains,” wrote the venerable J. L. Porter in 1887.2 More recently, Dame Kathleen Kenyon echoed the same thoughts. Just before […]

A BAR Editorial: Ancient Remains on the Temple Mount Must Not Be Destroyed

Any archaeological discussion of the Temple or its location on the Temple Mount invariably includes a statement to the effect that it would, of course, be unthinkable to conduct any archaeological excavations on the Temple Mount itself. We do not wish to think about the unthinkable, but, on the other hand, there are a […]

BAR Jr.: Five Ways to Defend an Ancient City

“Walk about Zion … number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels … ” (Psalms 48:12–13) What distinguished an ancient village or town from a city? One thing, perhaps the most important, was fortifications. Fortifying a settlement reflected the importance attributed to it; fortifications meant that a settlement was worth defending. […]