Biblical archaeology is the systematic study of the material/physical remains of ancient persons in the lands where biblical history has taken place. Such places include Palestine [present-day Israel], Transjordan (modern Jordan), Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey (ancient Asia Minor), Greece, and Italy. A biblical archaeologist seeks to correlate archaeological findings with biblical narratives.

The objects of archaeological investigation of ancient cultural remains include mounds (tells); caves; man-made tombs and graves; human and animal skeletal remains; pottery remains and other artifacts of metal, stone, and glass. They include inscriptions/texts found on stone, parchment, papyri, and baked clay; coins; building remains; religious and legal items, such as altars, religious equipment, fertility figurines and other cult objects; testimonial monumental stones; the sequence of soil layers (laid down by humans); microscopic material in soil deposits indicating human and animal diet; water supplies; defense devices; agricultural production; road systems, bridges; and commercial structures. Archaeologists also study modern patterns of living and working that reflect the life-style of the people there in ancient times.

Archaeological investigation in the Bible lands began early and in a simple fashion.

Pilgrims and Travelers. In the second and third centuries local and pilgrim Christians were interested in the holy lands. They thought about the biblical events and the material remains pointing to those events.For example, they were interested in the early indication that Jesus was born in a cave (Justin Martyr, Jerome), that He was crucified at the place of the skull and buried in a new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. They wanted to know about the Pool of Siloam, the place where Jesus sent the blind man He healed, and other sites.

The Explorers. About 1800 a German named Seetzen first scientifically investigated Transjordan and discovered Caesarea Philippi. (There Jesus had asked His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" [Matt. 16:15].) They discovered Amman (Rabboth Ammon, where at David's command Uriah the Hittite died in battle, 2 Sam. 11:15) and Jerash (Geraza, where Jesus healed the Gerasene demoniac, Mark 5:1). The Swiss explorer Burckhardt rediscovered Petra.

Topographers and Surveyors. In 1838 an American named Edward Robinson went to Palestine and identified for the first time in the modern period many of the biblical places. In the mid-1800s the Frenchman de Saulcy was the first modern excavator of a Palestinian site. The Englishman Charles Warren was sent to excavate Jerusalem. He dates the Herodian masonry of the great retaining wall of the ancient temple platform. The Frenchman Charles Clermont-Ganneau in the 1870s recovered the famous Mesha inscription stone (2 Kgs 3:4) and found the famous stone inscription prohibiting the admission of the Gentiles into the temple court on pain of death (see Acts 21:28-29).

Beginning of Pottery Analysis. In the 1890s the Englishman Sir Flinders Petrie, first working in Egypt and then in Palestine, developed a system of dating the biblical periods and events by observing and recording the differences in pottery forms, texture, and painting. As pottery sherds were found in the various layers of soil at the ancient sites, Petrie discovered differences that showed up in the same sequential order in various sites.

Stratigraphic Recording. In the twentieth century the Britisher Kathleen Kenyon and others developed the technique of observing and drawing the distinctive soil layers and other features exposed in the perpendicular walls of the squares of a site. They related these results to the pottery and other items found there in sequential order. By this method different and successive cultural patterns were distinguished.

Interdisciplinary Team. Recognizing the complex task of interpreting the cultural material unearthed, archaeologists began bringing together experts from a number of scientific disciplines. They formed teams of experts such as surveyors/architects, photographers, geologists, and osteologists.

To understand the chronological setting and cultural background of the Bible events, it is necessary to relate them to the standard chart of Palestinian chronological periods (see chart).

The countries involved in archaeology in Bible lands include the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Syria.

The persons involved are usually professors and their students from colleges, universities, and seminaries and also national departments of antiquities in many of the foreign countries.

Sites with a Long History. Examples of sites with a long archaeological history are: (1) Jerusalem, with a history extending from Neolithic times to modern period; (2) Abila, of the Decapolis (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31), with an archaeological history from Neolithic times down through Late Islamic and Turkish times; and (3) Pella, also of the Decapolis, with habitation from Chalcolithic to Islamic times.

Ebla, Tell Mardikh in northern Syria. Although Ebla (about 2300-2600 BC), is not mentioned in the Bible, it may be that the Ebla tablets mention Jerusalem. In the 1970s Italian excavators found about fifteen to twenty thousand tablets and fragments in the Royal Archives section of ancient Ebla by the Italian excavators. Excavation continues at Ebla, now known to have been a city of international importance in the third millennium.

Tell Daba/Rameses, in the Eastern Nile Delta. Tell Daba probably is biblical Rameses (Exod. 1:11) in the Eastern Nile Delta region. Excavations there are important in relating Egyptian chronology to ancient Israelite chronology, especially in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, and can have a bearing on the dates of Israel's exodus and conquest of Canaan.

Jericho/Ai/Heshbon. Each of these sites has been excavated within the past four to five decades. The results of the excavations relate to the problem of the date of Israel's conquest of Canaan, whether the older traditional time of about 1400 BC or later, about 1290 or 1250 to 1225 BC or even later. The pottery and other artifactual evidence and building remains have given rise to differences of opinion about an early or late date of the exodus. Some scholars have proposed that the traditional identification of et-Tell as Ai (Josh 7-8) is incorrect, and search is underway in the nearby area to find the Ai of the Late Bronze period.

At Heshbon (Num 21:25) the excavations have uncovered material that only takes the site archaeologically back to 1200 BC. Therefore it is argued that the earlier Late Bronze Heshbon of the conquest, thoroughly destroyed by the Israelites, is to be located at nearby Tell Jalul, a site within view of Heshbon and just east of Madaba. Jalul does have Late Bronze sherds on its surface and needs to be excavated to test this hypothesis. At Jericho (Josh 6), because the mudbrick walls have largely been washed away, excavators have felt that the city does not fit a date for the conquest at 1400 BC. However, some scholars have argued that a reevaluation of the pottery of Jericho, which has been published recently, points to a Late Bronze Jericho of the conquest after all.

Arad. Arad is west of the Dead Sea and at the northern edge of the Negev. Excavated in the 1960s and 1970s, Arad was one of the cities conquered by Joshua (Josh 12:14; compare Num 21:1; 33:40). It is of particular interest because archaeologists found there an Iron Age temple. (It probably served as a border sanctuary in the time of the monarchy; the cult objects found point to a fairly pure worship of Yahweh.) Arad's temple was similar in plan to Solomon's temple, with altar, holy place, and holy of holies. Evidence at the site shows habitation back to the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages.

Beersheba. At the northern edge of the Negev, Tell Beersheba is located about five miles east of the modern city. Beersheba was important in the lives of Abraham (Gen 21:14,31-33; 22:19), Isaac (Gen 26:23,33), and Jacob (Gen 28:10; 46:1,5). It was known as one of the boundaries of Israel (Judg 20:1; I Sam 3:20; I Kgs 4:25; I Chr 21:2).

In the area of Tell Beersheba, Chalcolithic remains have been found, but habitation on the mound itself dates from the twelfth to the seventh centuries BC. Excavation at the tell began in 1969 and continued into the 1970s. Remains were found of an Iron Age temple, probably a border sanctuary in the time of the monarchy, but the cult objects show a strong pagan influence, mainly Egyptian. Amos 5:5 and 8:14 condemn the pagan worship there. Also found were a crater (bowl) with the Hebrew word for "holiness" inscribed on it and a horned altar (Exod. 29:12), similar to the ones found at Megiddo and Dan.

Dan. Located in northern Galilee near the foot of Mount Hermon, Dan (Gen 14:14) was formerly known as Laish (Judg 18:29). After the conquest it became the northern border of Israel (Dan to Beersheba, Judg 20:1; II Sam 3:10; II Chr 30:5) and was also famous for the golden calf Jeroboam I set up there (I Kgs 12:29,30; II Kgs 1:29). Excavation, which has continued there from 1966 on, has shown human habitation in the Early, Middle, Late Bronze, and Iron Ages. Important finds at the site include a high place (I Sam 9:19; I Kgs 12:31), a horned altar (similar to the one found at Tell Beersheba), an eighteenth century BC Middle Bronze gateway cominscription in Greek and Aramaic on a limestone plaque that mentions worship of "the god of Dan." (Compare Amos 8:14, which also speaks of the god of Dan.) Also recently found were an eighth century BC altar and three incense shovels, part of the ancient sacrificial system, as existed there in the time of Amos (Amos 8:14).

Deir Alla/Succoth, the Jordan Valley. Deir Alla, generally identified with Succoth, was inhabited in the Chalcolithic, Late Bronze, and Iron I and II periods. Deir Alla is near where the burnished bronze objects for Solomon's temple were cast (I Kgs 7:46). Painted religious texts found there in the eighth century BC preserve the religious tradition of centuries past in the mention of "Balaam, son of Beor, who was a seer of the gods" (compare Num 22:5).

Gezer. Located in the Shephelah, northwest of Jerusalem, Gezer (Josh 10:33; 16:3,10; I Kgs 9:16) shows habitation from the Chalcolithic to Roman times. It has been clearly identified by several nearby boundary stones reading, "The boundary of Gezer." Excavation first occurred at Gezer early in the twentieth century and then in the 1930s, 1960s, and 1970s. Important finds include a 1600 BC south gate and large tower; an important "high place" also of about 1600 BC, consisting of ten monoliths (large standing stones; the Solomonic gate similar to the ones built at Megiddo and Hazor (compare I Kgs 9:15); and also an agricultural calendar written in an old Hebrew script.