Second Temple

IAA reveals new study focused on ancient Jerusalem bullae in honor of Israel Excellence Week

According to the IAA, the study aims to examine Jerusalem's administrative systems from the First Temple period through the end of the Second Temple period.

Ancient bullae found in Jerusalem, May 1, 2026.
Aerial photo of Tel Hebron's Second Temple period mikvah, April 30, 2026.

Project to make Tel Hebron’s Second Temple mikveh accessible to visitors nearly complete, INPA says

Rare half-shekel coin discovered in Judean Desert by the Israel Antiquities Authority, February 26, 2026.

Rare half-shekel coin used in biblical census count discovered by archaeologists in Judean Desert

Newly discovered limestone shards and vessels on display in the new "Criminal Past" exhibit at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, February 16, 2026.

Second Temple workshop found on Israel's Mount Scopus during investigation into antiquities thieves


Ancient Pilgrimage Road leading to Temple Mount opens to public after 13 years of excavations

Archaeologists say the stepped street served as Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare for pilgrims during the Second Temple period.

Opening of the Pilgrim's Road in Jerusalem, on September 16, 2025.

Israel uncovers Second Temple-period mikveh beneath Western Wall

The ritual bath was found sealed beneath a layer of destruction dated to 70 CE, in which researchers found burned ash and numerous artifacts that offer a snapshot of life just before the city fell.

THE RITUAL purification bath (mikveh) from the Second Temple period.

Hanukkah: The Maccabees weren’t symbols; they were fighters - opinion

The Maccabees prevailed because they refused erasure – militarily, culturally, and spiritually. Contemporary Jewish survival requires the same multi-front refusal.

The Maccabees receive their father's blessing, 1873.

Hanukkah miracle: Israel discovers evidence of Judah Maccabee’s battlefield near Jerusalem

The site is widely identified with the ancient village of Bet Zecharia, where the Seleucid army and the forces of Judah Maccabee clashed in what is known as the fifth Maccabean battle.

A bronze coin from the Asia Minor city of Side found at Horbat Bet Zecharia south of Jerusalem, where the Maccabees fought the Greek Seleucid army.

'A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig': A Hebrew, Talmud, rabbinic expert goes ‘whole hog’

At the beginning of the Second Temple period, in the Persian era of the 4th to 5th centuries BCE, pigs did not have a unique status; other animals were viewed as equally non-kosher.

Wild boars cross a road in a residential area after the government ordered residents to stay home to fight the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Haifa, northern Israel April 16, 2020.

If not stopped, Israel's destruction will come from internal division - opinion

Israel's growing internal divide raises fears that baseless hatred could once again be the cause of Israel's downfall.

An anti-government protest takes place in Tel Aviv last week. Israel in 2025 is a remarkable social mosaic, yet also more fragile than ever, says the writer.

The Cyrus Accords: The beginning of a new chapter in Israel-Iran relations - opinion

Reviving ancient ties, the Cyrus Accords present a pragmatic vision for renewed Israel–Iran cooperation in a post-Islamic regime era.

Supporters of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and pro-Israel demonstrators gather outside the Iranian embassy during a protest in London, Britain, June 22, 2025

Baseless hatred destroyed the temple, baseless love must save this nation - editorial

Our sages taught that the Second Temple was consumed by sinat chinam – baseless hatred among Jews. On this Tisha B’Av, Jewish Israeli society must admit that the disease has returned.

Worshipers are seen at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Tisha B'Av.

First-of-its-kind discovery: Ancient coin from Second Temple Era reveals rebel mindset

The rare bronze coin engraved in Hebrew with 'For the Redemption of Zion' was found near the southwest corner of the Temple Mount in the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden – Davidson Center.

The reverse of the coin features a lulav flanked by two etrogs, with the inscription “Year Four.”

2,000-year-old ‘Freedom of Zion’ coin unearthed in Jerusalem stuns Milei

“The roots of Judaism and Christianity, followed today by billions of people around the world, originate right here — from Jerusalem.”

Argentina's Prime Minister Javier Milei receives the Genesis Prize at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, June 12, 2025.