Epic Archaeology

MACHTOT (MACHTAH) – INCENSE SHOVELS – A key part of the function of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem were the machtot (singular, machtah) [incense shovels]. 1 Kings 7:45 states: “Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze.” Several of these machtot have been discovered or excavated in Israel. Three iron examples excavated at Tel-Dan, date to the 8th century B.C.. The use of incense in the Temple was an olfactory and visual representation of prayers and worship being offered up to God - Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”

The Zakkur Stele affirms the existence of Syrian king, Ben Hadad III (2 Kings 13)

NEW BLOG: Here is my latest archaeological biography. In it, I explore how the archaeological evidence for Ben-Hadad III, king of Aram-Damascus (Syria), illuminates 2 Kings 13.
https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2026/08/19/ben-hadad-iii-an-archaeological-biography/

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PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE — The Caiaphas Ossuary is just one of many historical artifacts which affirm and illuminate historical figures mentioned in the Bible. Check out this latest episode of Digging for Truth to learn about the historical evidence of people in the Bible.

[See LINK in COMMENTS ⬇️]

THE CAIAPHAS OSSUARY — Hebrew: יוֹסֵף בַּר קַיָּפָא, romanized: Yōsēf bar Qayyāfā; Koinē Greek: Καϊάφας, romanized: Kaïáphas — In 1990 this ornate limestone ossuary was discovered in Jerusalem in a tomb which was in use during the Second Temple Period. The ossuary was inscribed with the name “Joseph son of Caiaphas,” the exact name also given by Flavius Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews 18:63. This was the same Caiaphas who presided over the trial of Jesus (Matt. 26:57-67).

GALLIO INSCRIPTION - "In Corinth Paul was brought before the Roman proconsul, Gallio, and excavations have uncovered the rostrum on which Gallio may have appeared before the mob. Gallio is mentioned as proconsul of Achaia in an inscription found at Delphi. This inscription gives one of the few dependable clues to the chronology of the life of Paul. It indicates that Gallio came to Corinth for his year as proconsul in either A.D. 51 or 52. Paul, then according to Acts 18:11, 12) must have arrived there about A.D. 50." - G. Ernest Wright & Floyd Filson, The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible, p. 97

THE SOLEB INSCRIPTION (Amenhotep III ca. 1390-1352) - When Amenhotep III built a temple to honor the Egyptian god, Amun Re in Nubia at a place called Soleb, he mentions various people groups that he conquered. During the New Kingdom Period, the Egyptians had various names of foreign people and the designation "Shasu" appears frequently. The word can be translated as "bedouin" or "nomads." According to C. Ailing and C. Billington, the term, "...is found in a variety of New Kingdom hieroglyphic texts including the military, administrative, and diplomatic documents of Thutmosis III, Amenhotep II, Thutmosis IV, Amenhotep III, Akhenaton, Seti I, Ramses II, Merneptah, and Rameses III.”

The inscription on the column in the Soleb temple mentions "the Shasu of YHWH" (or the Nomads of YHWH). The inscription is significant for a number of reasons. First, it is the earliest references of YHWH outside the Bible. Second, it is written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, which means that Amenhotep III knew who YHWH was, and third, he connected people living in the Levant (Canaan) as worshippers of YHWH. Along with other inscriptions and evidence, this inscription points strongly in favor of an early (15th Century) Exodus date. Ex. 5:2 states that the Pharaoh "did not know the Lord that he should obey him and let Israel go.." Ailing and Billington state, “If the Pharaoh of the Exodus had never before heard of the God Yahweh, this strongly suggests that the Exodus should be dated no later than ca. 1400 BC because Pharaoh Amenhotep III had clearly heard about Yahweh in ca. 1400 BC.”

For additional info - https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/exodus-era/3233-the-name-yahweh-in-egyptian-hieroglyphic-texts

Troy Museum brings the world behind Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' to life - Türkiye Today Troy Museum connects Nolan's The Odyssey with 5,000 years of history, from the Polyxena Sarcophagus to Troy's returned gold