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IAA Israel Antiquities Authority

IAA archaeologist Marwan Masarwah holds a 1,700-year-old anchor in front of a sign advertising the campaign to encourage citizens to return illegally-held antiquities on June 15, 2023. (courtesy IAA)
June 15, 2023, 11:10 pm
New campaign to anonymously return illegally held antiquities nets thousands of items
15% of public estimated to be holding antiquities in their homes that by law belong to the state; Israel Antiquities Authority’s collection drive extended another week
By Melanie Lidman
A 3,000-year-old figurine of the Egyptian goddess Hathor found on the beach in Palmachim in 2023 (Yuli Shwartz/IAA)
June 13, 2023, 10:07 am
3,000-year-old Egyptian goddess figurine, a good luck symbol, washes up on beach
Little statuette of Hathor, widely used in Canaanite culture, found by woman out walking on Palmachim beach in southern Israel; IAA calls on public to report all antiquity finds
By ToI Staff
Inspectors for the Israel Antiquities Authority Theft Prevention Unit with three ossuaries recovered from a burial cave in northern Israel that was nearly destroyed by construction. (courtesy Yoli Schwartz/IAA)
May 23, 2023, 2:58 pm
Family building a house in northern Israel destroys 1,800-year-old burial cave
Inspectors raid construction site where bulldozers flattened cave, find ossuaries; owner to be indicted for failing to report antiquity discovery
By Melanie Lidman
A compass and other items from a 1948 War of Independence battle that have been found on Ha-Lamed Heh Battle Hill, April 2023. (Yoli Schwartz/Israel Antiquities Authority)
April 24, 2023, 2:59 pm
75 years on, newly found compass points to heart of 1948 battle where 35 troops died
Researchers also unearth bullet casings at site of famous Lamed Heh battle in War of Independence, shedding rare light on an incident from which there were no Palmach survivors
By Michael Bachner
Dr. Yael Abadi-Reiss, an archaeologist with the IAA, shows the copper fishhook in this photo from March 29, 2023. (courtesy Emil Aladjem/IAA)
March 29, 2023, 2:38 pm
Ancient jaws: 6,000-year-old copper fishhook, oldest in region, was likely for sharks
Artifact discovered near today’s Ashkelon demonstrates mastery of copper technology, say archaeologists
By Melanie Lidman
A potsherd discovered in Tel Lachish with an Aramaic inscription 'Year 24 of Darius.' It was announced by the IAA as the first written evidence of Persian king Darius the Great discovered in Israel, but on March 3, 2023 was declared to not be authentic. (Yoli Schwartz/IAA)
March 20, 2023, 11:46 am
Too-good-to-be-true Darius ostracon mix-up teaches a public lesson etched in pottery
While archaeologists worry about forgeries, the IAA vows to implement more rigorous testing after a highly touted potsherd thought to be from 498 BCE was found to be inauthentic
By Melanie Lidman
Volunteers work to clear the flower mosaic at Horvat El-Bira in Shoham on March 14, 2023, on Good Deeds Day. (Emil Algam/IAA)
March 19, 2023, 12:36 pm
Ancient rest stop with flowery mosaic to host tired travelers once again
Israel Antiquities Authority teams up with residents from central town of Shoham during Good Deeds Day to spruce up 1,800-year-old spot for travelers to take a break
By Melanie Lidman
A potsherd discovered in Tel Lachish with an Aramaic inscription 'Year 24 of Darius.' It was announced by the IAA as the first written evidence of Persian king Darius the Great discovered in Israel, but on March 3, 2023 was declared to not be authentic. (Yoli Schwartz/IAA)
March 3, 2023, 1:13 pm
Unfounded: Ancient Darius inscription shard isn’t authentic – Antiquities Authority
Officials backtrack on claim of find linked to Purim king’s father, say fragment was created by an expert showing inscription techniques to students, accidentally left at dig site
By ToI Staff
Restoration work at the Tower of David, near the Jaffa Gate entrance in the Old City of Jerusalem, June 23, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
February 25, 2023, 6:07 pm
Israeli experts removed, rebuilt top of iconic Tower of David amid fears of collapse
Channel 12 TV report details complex, highly sensitive renovation at ancient site alongside Jaffa Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City
By David Horovitz
A clay figure, the decorative end of a candle holder dated to the 6th-7th century, discovered south of the central city of Modiin by the Lavi family, February 18, 2023. (Courtesy of the Lavi family)
February 21, 2023, 6:19 pm
Family comes face to face with 1,400-year-old decorative clay figure
Lavi family finds artifact on hike in central Israel; IAA says Byzantine-era item is a candle holder, finding is ‘typical,’ though not all candles had such ornaments
By Michael Horovitz
Philanthropist Shelby White poses for a picture on the roughly 1,700-year-old Lod mosaic, ahead of the inauguration of a new visitors center she helped fund to display the prized piece in the Israeli city of Lod, June 27, 2022. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)
February 18, 2023, 1:32 am
New York antiquities trafficking unit focuses on US patron of Israeli archaeology
Shelby White has already relinquished two dozen items worth at least $20 million due to investigations
By Asaf Elia-Shalev
Damage to an ancient wine press at the Soger archaeological site in the Galilee region, January 29, 2023. (Reuven Kapol/Israel Antiquities Authority)
January 30, 2023, 10:36 pm
Nabbed antiquities robbers cause ‘heart-breaking damage’ to ancient wine press
Israel Antiquities Authority says two suspects caught ‘red-handed’ at Soger, in Western Galilee, as they dug beneath and destroyed a 2,000-year-old mosaic floor
By ToI Staff
Grade four students Alon Cohen, Liam Atias, and Rotem Levnat with an ancient oil lamp they discovered in Kibbutz Parod, December 2022. (Israel Antiquities Authority)
December 19, 2022, 1:29 pm
Children out for a stroll in north discover 2,000-year-old lamp in the ground
Clay item found at Kibbutz Parod; location provides new insights into size of ancient Jewish community that lived there
By ToI Staff
2,200-year-old silver coins that were discovered in a wooden box inside a cave in Wadi Muraba‘at near the Dead Sea. (Shai Halevy, Israel Antiquities Authority)
December 18, 2022, 1:32 pm
Daily Briefing Dec. 18: Very Hallmark Hanukkah & hard proof of pre-Maccabee pogroms
Military reporter Emanuel Fabian on Lion’s Den rearing its head, IDF hospital drill; feature writer Amy Spiro on Israeli MMA champ Natan Levy; Amanda Borschel-Dan on a coin cache
By ToI Staff
View of a new section of an 1,800-year-old Roman road in northern Israel, published December 1, 2022. (Alex Wigman, Israel Antiquities Authority)
December 3, 2022, 8:41 pm
‘Highway of ancient world’: Part of an 1,800-year-old Roman road found in Galilee
Antiquities Authority says it was paved during the reign of emperor Hadrian; excavation works also unearth pottery shards, metal vessels and coins
By ToI Staff
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