New research from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uses C14 dating of preserved organic samples taken from one of two ancient fortresses in the Arava in southern Israel. The findings suggest they were built by the biblical kingdom of Israel almost 2,800 years ago, and not by the Assyrian empire decades later. With no systematic data or information to rely upon, the consensus among scholars was that the fortress, built over a perfect square measuring 100 meters (328 feet

Israel’s Civil Administration announced its intention to expropriate large swaths of Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank, in the document obtained by The Associated Press. Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the site is around 1,800 dunams (450 acres)—Israel’s largest seizure of archaeologically important land. The capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom Samaria is thought to be beneath the ruins of Sebastia, and Christians and Muslims belie