The Annual "Digs" Issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2014, Is Now Available

Online, December 10, 2013 (Newswire.com) - In "Digs 2014: Layers of Meaning" BAR web editor Noah Wiener chronicles his own experience at Tel Kabri on Israel's northern Mediterranean coast during the 2013 season. Learn how archaeologists and volunteers adapt their field methodologies to meet the specific needs of their site. You can explore excavation opportunities in 2014 with our annual dig guide.

In "Buy Low, Sell High: The Marketplace at Ashkelon," Daniel M. Master and Lawrence E. Stager examine the seventh-century marketplace at Ashkelon, a powerful Philistine city on the Mediterranean coast in the Iron Age. Ashkelon's merchants crossed the known world buying and selling, and its marketplace reveals the workings of both the local and international economy before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city in 604 B.C.E. A treasure-trove of artifacts enables us to reconstruct the daily lives of both merchants and residents.

In "Cult Prostitution in Ancient Israel?" Edward Lipiński explores the popular belief that cult prostitution was common throughout the ancient world, particularly associated with the fertility rites of the Canaanites and Phoenicians. While some scholars suggest that temple prostitution was practiced in ancient Israel, too, Lipiński argues that neither the Bible nor archaeology provides any clear evidence that Israelite religion incorporated the sexual rites of Canaanite goddesses.

Nadav Na'aman offers new perspectives on the relationship between archaeology and the Bible for historical interpretations. In "The Interchange Between Bible & Archaeology," Na'aman contends that the Bible and archaeology must be studied separately and independently, but in the end, the evidence must be combined and interpreted together. He applies this model to the case of the Large Stone Structure and the Stepped Stone Structure—remains uncovered in the City of David in Jerusalem that he identifies as King David's palace and the Millo, respectively—with interesting results.

In his First Person, Hershel Shanks examines early Christian communities' perceptions of Jesus. Leonard Greenspoon analyzes how the phrases "the salt of the earth" and "pillar of salt" have been used in the press in The Bible in the News. Laura Nasrallah looks at the marketplace and early Christian community at Corinth in Biblical Views, and in Archaeological Views Kevin McGeough explores the public representation of Biblical archaeology during the Victorian period.

Featured online at Bible History Daily is the Find a Dig component of our website, which offers detailed information about dozens of excavations seeking volunteers, anecdotes and photographs from our 2013 scholarship recipients and a new eBook about life in the ancient world.