Let the Stones Speak

#62: Israeli Underwater Excavations Reveal Earliest Hoard of Iron Blooms From 600 B.C.E.

The earliest evidence of a grouping of iron blooms has been discovered in a shipwreck off the Carmel coast. On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal interviews lead author Prof. Tsilla Eshel of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa, about the discovery. https://armstronginstitute.org/1451-israeli-underwater-excavations-reveal-earliest-hoard-of-iron-blooms-from-c-600-bce [https://armstronginstitute.org/1451-israeli-underwater-excavations-reveal-earliest-hoard-of-iron-blooms-from-c-600-bce]

#61: Top 10 Biblical Archaeology Finds of 2025

From ancient shipwrecks to an Egyptian fortress and New Kingdom Period tomb, as well as new research relating to two of Judah’s notably righteous kings—Hezekiah and Josiah—2025 brought us many new and exciting discoveries illustrating the biblical account. https://armstronginstitute.org/1408-top-10-biblical-archaeology-finds-of-2025 [https://armstronginstitute.org/1408-top-10-biblical-archaeology-finds-of-2025]

#60: Revealed: A 2,700-Year-Old Depiction of Jerusalem and King Hezekiah (Exclusive Interview)

Around 170 years ago, British archaeologist Sir Austin Henry Layard excavated much of Assyrian King Sennacherib’s palace in ancient Nineveh. In the royal throne room, there stood a stunning 3-meter-high carving of a majestic city that was utterly unique in all of Sennacherib’s reliefs. Atop the tallest tower in the city was one individual holding up a royal standard. Could this be a depiction of ancient Jerusalem and could the lone figure be Judah’s King Hezekiah, of whom Sennacherib boasted that he besieged as a “bird in a cage.” Revealed: A 2,700-Year-Old Depiction of Jerusalem and King Hezekiah [https://armstronginstitute.org/1401-revealed-a-2700-year-old-depiction-of-jerusalem-and-king-hezekiah]

#59: Revealing the Source of Royal Ivory from Biblical Times

Ivory was a luxury item in the ancient biblical world, associated exclusively with royalty and the rich. King Solomon sat on a throne of ivory in Jerusalem. King Ahab had a famous house of ivory in Samaria. Where did the Bible’s ivory come from? Dr. Harel Shochat from the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa answers this question in a recently published article titled “A Thousand Years of Nubian Supply of Sub-Saharan Ivory to the Southern Levant, ca. 1600–600 B.C.E.” Dr. Shochat explains how ivory was exported from Nubia, Egypt’s southern neighbor on the Nile, to the Southern Levant. On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal and Dr. Shochat take a deep dive into his paper. They analyze what the data shows about ivory exports during biblical times.

#58: A 3,000-Year-Old Palace on Israel’s Northern Frontier

Excavating the time of David and beyond at Abel Beth Maacah with Prof. Naama Yahalom-Mack https://armstronginstitute.org/1328-a-3000-year-old-palace-on-israels-northern-frontier [https://armstronginstitute.org/1328-a-3000-year-old-palace-on-israels-northern-frontier]