Hasmonean period

Inside the dig that peeled back 2,000 years of Jerusalem history

In Jerusalem’s Old City, archaeologists peel back 2,000 years layer by layer, drawing a direct line to our ancient past

|ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
Eilat Lieber, director and chief curator of the Tower of David Museum, stands in the site of the Kishle, which is currently being excavated.
Ancient and counterfeit coins seized by Israel Antiquities Authority in East Jeruusalem raid, February 2, 2026.

Police seize hundreds of ancient, counterfeit coins in east Jerusalem antiquities raid

The collection, hidden in a flowerpot on the suspect's balcony, included coins from the Hasmonean, Herodian, and Roman periods, the IAA said.

|ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM
An archaeologist of Israel Antiquities Authority displays an oil lamp and coins dating back to the Sanhedrin era which have been uncovered at the Tel Yavne excavation site in central Israel, on November 29, 2021.

Hanukkah discovery: Rare Hasmonean lamp, Second Temple stylus found near Jerusalem

The Civil Administration said the artifacts add to a growing corpus of Second Temple–era material recovered in recent years across the West Bank.

|BySHIR PERETS
Israel’s modern soldiers carry the moral continuity of a 3,000-year-old promise.

A call to courage: What Judah Maccabee can teach Israel today - opinion

In Josephus’s account, Judah repeatedly stresses that Israel does not seek dominion over others, only the right to live according to its ancestral traditions in its own land.

|ByMICHAEL FREUND

Rare menorah engraving dates back to Hasmonean era

The menorah was discovered in the 1980s in Judea and Samaria.

DECEMBER 7, 2020ByHANNAH BROWN
The faint marks of one of the menorahs can be seen drawn in cistern at al-Alilyat cliffs near Mukhmas

Ancient biblical fortress at risk of robbery, neglect - archaeologists

2nd-century fortress was built by a brother of Judah Maccabee, leader of Jewish revolt against the Seleucids, which is celebrated on Hanukkah.

DECEMBER 30, 2019ByROSSELLA TERCATIN
Aerial view of the Hasmonean estate house near Modi'in.

Officials stop illegal building by palaces of Second Temple 'Hanukkah hero'

Catching the vehicles before construction started likely prevented damage from being done to the current and future archaeological findings.

OCTOBER 28, 2019ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
A soldier is seen walking towards construction vehicles at an illegal construction site in the West Bank

Zionism's beginnings: 'Redemptive Paralysis'

The failure of the Bar Kochba revolt was a turning point in the Jewish understanding of redemption.

APRIL 11, 2019ByAHARON E. WEXLER
‘THE BAR Kochba Revolt,’ Arthur Szyk, 1927.

A short primer on Jerusalem

Not only was there never a nation of 'Palestine, but there was never even a country, territory, or a single province of 'Palestine' even remotely similar in its geography to modern Israel.

DECEMBER 11, 2017ByJOSHUA CHARLES
BATTLES FOR Jerusalem in 1967.

The hanukkia: Left- and right-wingers

Theocracy, democracy and Halacha

DECEMBER 7, 2017ByNATHAN LOPES CARDOZO
A reconstruction of the Temple’s menorah, created by the Temple Institute in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter

Disproving 'Temple Mount denial' one bucket at a time

"No civilized person in the world can claim Temple denial or lack of a Jewish link to Jerusalem."

OCTOBER 6, 2017ByDANIEL K. EISENBUD
Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologist Eli Shukron shows an ancient seal, at an archaeological site known as the City of David in Jerusalem December 25, 2011.