Top Ten List

of Biblical Archaeology discoveries of the 20th Century

as compiled by THE BOOK & THE SPADE radio program.

This list of discoveries is clearly arbitrary and based upon our own unique perspective. Many archaeologists and Bible scholars will no doubt have their own suggestions or lists, such as...
Ben Witherington
Dominic Crossan
... Our primary motivation for this list is as a reminder that the only new facts about the Bible and the Biblical world come from archaeology. And also, that on any given day it's possible for a Biblical figure to walk off of the pages of the Bible and into the 21st century through the discovery of a new text, inscription, or relic of antiquity.

1) Dead Sea Scrolls - 1947

This chance discovery by bedouin shepherds in a cave overlooking the Dead Sea occurred just before the half way mark of the century, as the brand new state of Israel was being birthed. It appears on most lists of top archaeological discoveries and top religious events of the 20th century. The Dead Sea Scrolls are 2,000 year old documents, found in 11 caves in all, including the oldest versions of Hebrew scriptures.
...These documents provide a critical window into events in the cradle of monotheistic religions at a time when rabbinic judaism was forming, Christianity was about to begin, and the canonization of holy scripture was underway. The significance and meaning of the hundreds of Dead Sea Scrolls documents is still being debated by scholars.
...Portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display in the Shrine of the Book, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Others, including the Copper Scroll, can be seen at the Archaeological Museum in Amman. Many of the smallest scroll fragments are kept at the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem.

2) House of David Inscription - 1993

After the end of a 25-year excavation at Tel Dan in northern Israel, while work crews were readying the site for visitors, someone noticed lines of writing on a rock in the late afternoon sun. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a stele fragment mentioning King David's dynasty, and dating to approximately 100-200 years after the traditional 10th century B.C. date of King David's reign. It is the first mention of King David, and the earliest mention of a Biblical figure outside of the Bible. The inscription is now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

3) Amulet scroll - 1979

The oldest passage of scripture currently known was found written on a tiny scrap of silver. It was rolled up and apparently worn around someone's neck, and buried with them, then found in an excavation of burial caves directed by archaeologist Gabriel Barkai in the shoulder of Hinnom area, overlooking Mt. Zion. The scripture passage is from the Aharonic or priestly blessing, found in Numbers 6:24,25. The amulet scroll can now be seen in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

4) Galilee Boat - 1986

Two brothers from Kibbutz Ginnosar, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, stumbled across the remains of a 2,000 year old boat when lake levels were low. The boat was rescued from rising water levels and preserved in a solution of polyethleneglycol for almost ten years, and can now be seen in a special building at the kibbutz Ginnosar. The boat was dubbed "The Jesus Boat" when archaeologists confirmed that it represented the typical fisherman's craft that plied the Galilee waters during the time when Jesus' and his disciples lived and worked there.

5) Baruch Bulla - 1978.

A bulla (hardened clay seal impression) containing the stamp and name of the scribe of Jeremiah appeared on the antiquties market in the 1970's and was published by archaeologist Nahman Avigad in 1978. The seal, with the inscription "belonging to Berekhyahu, son of Neriyahu, the scribe" in old Hebrew script, can now be seen in the Israel museum in Jerusalem. A number of other seals connected to personalities mentioned in the Bible have also been found.

6) Caiaphas' ossuary - 1991

A dump truck accidentally smashed through the roof of a tomb during some work at the Jerusalem Peace Forest. Inside were found a number of ossuaries, stone boxes for retaining bones of the deceased. One of the ossuaries was inscribed with the name of Caiaphas, the high priest who presided over the trial of Jesus shortly before his crucifixion.

7) Pontius Pilate inscription - 1961

Italian excavators working at the Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima uncovered a monumental inscription naming another central figure in Christ's crucifixion drama. Though only partly legible, it clearly says: "Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea." Visitors to Caesarea's theater today see a replica, the original is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

8) Ekron Inscription - 1996

The first monumental epigraphic inscription from Southern Palestine, found during the final season of the excavation at Tel Mikne-Ekron. The excavation confirms Tel Mikne as the site of the Philistine city of Ekron and names a number of Philistine kings. Dated to 604 B.C., it also names a goddess not otherwise known from ancient history, and hints at the origins of the Philistines, according to head excavator Sy Gitin.

9) Mt. Ebal Altar - 1980

This is admittedly a controversial choice, for few archaeologists agree with discoverer Adam Zertal that the stone structure he found on Mt. Ebal is an altar. Still, none have provided a convincing alternative explanation. And the stone structure is located precisely where the Bible says Joshua was instructed to build an altar.
...This pick represents the crucial and controversial period of the formation of the nation of Israel, which is still coming into focus for modern archaeologists. Archaeological evidence in this period is deemed to be inconclusive and open to debate, even non-existent relative to Biblical chronology. With this pick we endorse the doctrine "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," and optimistically anticipate future finds that will shed new light on the early Israelite period.

10) tie: Elephantine Papyri and texts from Ugarit

The Elephantine documents were recovered at the beginning of the Twentieth century by a variety of scholars, either from dealers or in excavations in Egypt. They describe a colony of Jews, apparently mercenary soldiers, who lived in upper Egypt during the Persian period, around the 6th century B.C. They can be found today in a wide variety of museums, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Bodleian Library in Oxford and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
...The excavation at Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) by the French began in 1928 and continues to this day along the coast of Syria. Along the way hundreds of cuneiform tablets have been found, describing a Canaanite civilization of the second millenium B.C. that gives us a much better understanding of the Canaanites described in the Old Testament.
...These two choices represent the wide variety of additional archaeological sites and textual discoveries outside of Israel that have added many dimensions to our understanding of the Bible and the Biblical world.

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