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Less than 100 meters from the southern wall of the Temple Mount, the Ophel Excavation is currently underway in one of the most important locations in all Israel. The joint project by Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology seeks to uncover the monumental remains from the late Second Temple Period (2,000 years ago) and even earlier. On today’s episode of Let the Stones Speak host Brent Nagtegaal speaks on-site in Jerusalem with excavation co-director Prof. Uzi Leibner about what has been uncovered so far and what this season’s excavation could reveal. 2026 Ophel Excavation Begins in Jerusalem

Host Brent Nagtegaal interviews Let the Stones Speak contributor Christopher Eames about his article in the May-June 2026 magazine, proposing the identity of this elusive queen on the scene some 3,000 years ago. https://armstronginstitute.org/1495-interview-has-the-queen-of-sheba-been-found

On today’s program, Dr. Van Huss explains the three areas of excavation, including further indication that an emerging monumental structure may indeed be the biblical tabernacle. https://armstronginstitute.org/1492-unearthing-the-tabernacle-site-at-shiloh-interview-with-dr-abigail-van-huss

Brand-new archeological evidence he discovered at Tel ‘Eton in southern Israel supports the biblical case for King Hezekiah’s reform. On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal explains the new evidence in the context of the biblical narrative. https://armstronginstitute.org/1483-new-archaeological-evidence-of-king-hezekiahs-religious-reform

A personal retelling of the discovery of seal impressions discovered on Dr. Eilat Mazar’s excavations https://armstronginstitute.org/1470-discovering-the-seal-impressions-of-the-prophet-jeremiahs-captors

Since their unearthing in the 2010–2011 excavations of Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich, the City of David “rock-cut rooms” have generated significant interest and speculation. The unusual nature of the rooms, including apparently cultic installations, has led some to associate them with Melchizedek (known to some as “Temple Zero”), King David or even the work of a later biblical king. Melchizedek, David or Neither? What to Make of the Mysterious Rock-Cut Rooms in Ancient Jerusalem

While excavating Tel Azekah in the Judean lowlands in 2012, archaeologists discovered the remains of over five dozen young children. This is the first time a mass burial of children was ever discovered from the Persian Period in the land of Israel. Research about the discovery was published in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly on March 27. On today’s podcast, host Brent Nagtegaal analyzes the study and pushes back on some of the archaeologists’ claims in light of the Bible and known Judahite burial practices. https://armstronginstitute.org/1454-bodies-of-dozens-of-infants-from-2500-years-ago-discovered-in-cistern-at-tel-azekah

Carved into a wall of bedrock, the Siloam Inscription is the longest piece of writing ever discovered in biblical Jerusalem. The question then arises: If it’s so important, why hide the inscription inside the darkened tunnel where almost no one could read it? Prof. Ariel Cohen, from the Department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, believes he may have the answer. https://armstronginstitute.org/1453-new-research-is-the-hezekiah-tunnel-inscription-evidence-of-an-ancient-deadly-workplace-accident

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

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

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

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.

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

Excavators in the City of David have uncovered a massive dam built during the time of Jerusalem’s biblical kings. The dating of the reservoir to about 800 B.C.E., two hundred years after King David reigned, was determined following the publication of new carbon-14 results of the dam wall. On today’s program, Brent Nagtegaal reviews the discovery in light of biblical history. https://armstronginstitute.org/1285-massive-2800-year-old-dam-discovered-in-ancient-jerusalem

The Bible records that King David’s grandson, King Rehoboam, fortified 15 cities in the kingdom of Judah almost 3,000 years ago. The biggest of these was Lachish, recognized as Judah’s second most important city after Jerusalem. Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University is currently excavating at Tel Lachish. Two days before the end of the excavation, Let the Stones Speak host Brent Nagtegaal sat down with Professor Garfinkel to view the massive city wall his team is unearthing. https://armstronginstitute.org/1257-new-excavations-king-rehoboams-fortifications-at-lachish