Biblical Archaeology and Later Periods

The deep religious attachment of Jews, Christians and Muslims to the events and places mentioned in the Bible has long been a primary motivation for the exploration of the Holy Land’s antiquities. In the first century BCE King Herod ordered that the traditional site of the tombs of the Patriarchs in Hebron be explored and preserved. Deeply religious, the Byzantine empress Helena ordered the search for the precise locations of Jesus' birthplace and tomb. Exploration went on under many rulers but only in the 19th century did archaeological societies initiate large-scale surveys and excavations. Modern science and improved methods have furthered our understanding of the past.