Archaeology

Gov’t approves 250m. NIS plan to preserve West Bank heritage sites ahead of Six-Day War anniversary

Additionally, a multi-year plan worth tens of millions of shekel will be put in motion to upgrade existing infrastructure and hopefully turn the sites into major tourist destinations.

View of the ancient archeological site of Sebastia, near the West Bank city of Nablus, May 12, 2025.
Views from five different angles of a molar of an adult Neanderthal individual, discovered at Chagyrskaya Cave in the Siberia region of Russia and dating to about 59,000 years ago, seen in this undated image released on May 13, 2026.

Neanderthal tooth from Siberian cave shows signs of earliest-known invasive dental surgery - study

Plaster cast of victim of Pompeii, recently discovered to be a doctor, May 19, 2026.

Pompeii victim revealed to be a doctor fleeing Vesuvius’ eruption over 60 years after discovery

Ancient Egyptian wooden coffin found at  Draʻ Abu el-Naga’s necropolis site near Thebes, Egypt, May 19, 2026.

Over 30 mummified cats, ancient Egyptian tombs, coffins discovered at Luxor necropolis site


Silk Road Virtual Museum opens first Israel exhibit, displays ancient textiles found in Arava

The exhibit, curated by academics from the University of Haifa, features textiles from India, Central Asia, and China.

Ancient textile fragment found at the Nahal Omer archaeological site in the Arava, southern Israel, by archaeologists from the University of Haifa, May 19, 2026.

Egypt exhibits rare artifact from King Tut's tomb, two restored New Kingdom tombs in Luxor

The tombs that were opened are those of Rabuya and his son Samut from the 18th Dynasty, the first of the New Kingdom dynasties. Rabuya and Samut served as door keepers of the deity Amun.

Ancient Egyptian paintings adorn the newly restored tomb wall, inside the recently restored ancient "Samut" in the El-Khokha necropolis on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt, May 14, 2026.

Ancient tunnel with unknown age, purpose found near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel ahead of Jerusalem Day

After descending a set of ancient stairs from the surface, archaeologists found themselves standing at the hewn opening of the tunnel, found to be filled with hundreds of years of ancient sewage.

The mysterious, ancient tunnel found near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel on the outskirts of Jerusalem, May 14, 2026.

Heritage Minister taps INEXTG CEO Esther Shreiber for next IAA director, first woman in role

Her appointment will soon be submitted for approval by the IAA’s council and the government. 

INEXTG CEO Esti Shrieber, tapped to be the next director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

US returns two rare, ancient coins to Israel following joint antiquities theft investigation

One of the coins, depicting the Temple's seven-branched menorah, was minted in Hasmonean-ruled Jerusalem, while the other, the second of its kind ever found, was minted in ancient Ashkelon.

Hasmonean-era coin depicted the seven-branched menorah (L) and silver tetradrachm minted in Ashkelon during the Persian period (R) which were returned to Israel from the United States earlier this week, May 13, 2026.

Central-Eastern Europe's oldest Neanderthal group identified by DNA taken from teeth - study

Notably, three of the teeth - two belonging to children and one to an adult - taken from different sediment layers within the cave, all shared identical mitochondrial DNA.

 Neanderthal communities in prehistoric Europe. How were they linked? (Illustrative)

Knesset advances in first reading bill to form Israeli antiquities authority in West Bank

Should the bill pass, it would shift responsibility currently belonging to the Defense Ministry to the Heritage Ministry.

An Israeli flag is raised on the peak of Mount Sartaba in the Jordan Valley, February 23, 2026.

Eight-year-old boy visiting Ramon Crater finds over 1,700-year-old statue fragment hidden in rocks

“I was looking for special things on the ground that I could show in class,” Wolynitz shared. “ Suddenly, I noticed an interesting stone with stripes lying on the ground, and picked it up.”

Eight-year-old Dor Wolynitz with the over 1,700-year-old statuette fragment he found in the Ramon Crater area, May 11, 2026.

Wooden platform older than Stonehenge found hidden beneath man-made island in Scotland

The analysis found that the crannog started out as a circular wooden platform, measuring at around 23 meters across, and topped with brushwood.

The crannog at Loch Bhorgastail, Scotland, May 8, 2026.

Scientists find traces of rare 'imperial' Tyrian purple dye found in Roman infant burials in York

Tyrian’s costly nature comes from the difficulty of its creation - made in a process similar to that of tekhelet, the blue dye traditionally used in Judaism to color strings of the tzizit.

"Seeing the Dead" project member studying the burial cast of a Roman infant for traces of Tyrian purple, May 8, 2026.