Most Significant Biblical Archaeological Findings of 2015 - Rawan For Media Artistic and Production
IBTimes UK brings you a round-up of the most significant Biblical discoveries of the year.
Jesus' possible house
Where
better to start than with one of the main 'characters' of the Bible. In
March, British archaeologist Dr Ken Dark announced the discovery of a
house in Nazareth which dates back to the first century and could have
been the home of a young Jesus Christ. Dark has been investigating the
ruins since 2006, which could be where the Son of God was raised by Mary
and Joseph.
The
house, which is cut into a rocky hillside, is thought to have been
decorated with mosaics and tributes by the Byzantine Empire, which had
power in Nazareth until the seventh century.
Dark states that there is "no good archaeological reason" to discredit
this as Jesus's home, but adds that he cannot be 100% sure.
"Great
efforts had been made to encompass the remains of this building within
the vaulted cellars of both the Byzantine and Crusader churches, so that
it was thereafter protected.
Both the tombs and the house were decorated with mosaics in the
Byzantine period, suggesting that they were of special importance, and
possibly venerated," wrote Dark in the Biblical Archaeology Review.
The city of Sodom
In
the Bible, Sodom was destroyed by God as a punishment for its sinning
citizens. In October, experts announced that they may have found the
debauched city in eastern Jordan.
Archaeologist
Steven Collins from the Trinity Southwestern University in New Mexico
led the decade long excavations of a large Bronze Age city – which dates
back between 3500 and 1450BC – in an area called Tall el-Hammam near to
the Jordan River Valley. Included in the findings was a large chunk of
the city, which included defences and plazas linked by roads.
The
area is believed to have been abandoned for 700 years and initial signs
pointed to an earthquake which caused widespread panic – something that
the inhabitants could have interpreted as a message from a vengeful
God.
Collins
said: "We know very little about the Bronze Age in the south of the
Jordan River Valley. Most archaeological maps of the area were blank.
But what we have found is an important city-state, which was unknown
before our project began.
"Tall el-Hammam matches the description of the area where Sodom was located according to the Bible.
It was said to be the largest city east of Kikkar. So, I came to the
conclusion that if one wanted to find Sodom, one should seek the largest
city that existed in this area during the Bronze Age, in the time of
Abraham.
When we explored the region, Tall el-Hammam was an obvious choice, as
it was five to 10 times larger than the other Bronze Age cities
throughout the region, even those found beyond Jordan.
"It
became an uninhabited wasteland for over 700 years but then, after
those seven centuries, it started to flourish again – as indicated by
the huge Iron Gate that leads into the city."
By IBTimes, 15 hours 6 minutes ago
How
accurate the Bible is to real life has been the subject of debate for
some time, but ironically, as science improves and archaeology is
equipped with new and more expensive machinery, researchers are slowly
being able to paint a more accurate picture. This year has proved to be a
fruitful year for archaeological findings relating to the Bible or
Christianity in general.
accurate the Bible is to real life has been the subject of debate for
some time, but ironically, as science improves and archaeology is
equipped with new and more expensive machinery, researchers are slowly
being able to paint a more accurate picture. This year has proved to be a
fruitful year for archaeological findings relating to the Bible or
Christianity in general.
IBTimes UK brings you a round-up of the most significant Biblical discoveries of the year.
Jesus' possible house
Where
better to start than with one of the main 'characters' of the Bible. In
March, British archaeologist Dr Ken Dark announced the discovery of a
house in Nazareth which dates back to the first century and could have
been the home of a young Jesus Christ. Dark has been investigating the
ruins since 2006, which could be where the Son of God was raised by Mary
and Joseph.
The
house, which is cut into a rocky hillside, is thought to have been
decorated with mosaics and tributes by the Byzantine Empire, which had
power in Nazareth until the seventh century.
Dark states that there is "no good archaeological reason" to discredit
this as Jesus's home, but adds that he cannot be 100% sure.
"Great
efforts had been made to encompass the remains of this building within
the vaulted cellars of both the Byzantine and Crusader churches, so that
it was thereafter protected.
Both the tombs and the house were decorated with mosaics in the
Byzantine period, suggesting that they were of special importance, and
possibly venerated," wrote Dark in the Biblical Archaeology Review.
The city of Sodom
In
the Bible, Sodom was destroyed by God as a punishment for its sinning
citizens. In October, experts announced that they may have found the
debauched city in eastern Jordan.
Archaeologist
Steven Collins from the Trinity Southwestern University in New Mexico
led the decade long excavations of a large Bronze Age city – which dates
back between 3500 and 1450BC – in an area called Tall el-Hammam near to
the Jordan River Valley. Included in the findings was a large chunk of
the city, which included defences and plazas linked by roads.
The
area is believed to have been abandoned for 700 years and initial signs
pointed to an earthquake which caused widespread panic – something that
the inhabitants could have interpreted as a message from a vengeful
God.
Collins
said: "We know very little about the Bronze Age in the south of the
Jordan River Valley. Most archaeological maps of the area were blank.
But what we have found is an important city-state, which was unknown
before our project began.
"Tall el-Hammam matches the description of the area where Sodom was located according to the Bible.
It was said to be the largest city east of Kikkar. So, I came to the
conclusion that if one wanted to find Sodom, one should seek the largest
city that existed in this area during the Bronze Age, in the time of
Abraham.
When we explored the region, Tall el-Hammam was an obvious choice, as
it was five to 10 times larger than the other Bronze Age cities
throughout the region, even those found beyond Jordan.
"It
became an uninhabited wasteland for over 700 years but then, after
those seven centuries, it started to flourish again – as indicated by
the huge Iron Gate that leads into the city."
By IBTimes, 15 hours 6 minutes ago
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