About US

The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit, nondenominational, educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information about archaeology in the Bible lands.

BAS educates the public about archaeology and the Bible through its bi-monthly magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review, an award-winning web site www.biblicalarchaeology.org, books and multimedia products (DVDs, CD-ROMs and videos), tours and seminars. Our readers rely on us to present the latest that scholarship has to offer in a fair and accessible manner. BAS serves as an important authority and as an invaluable source of reliable information.

BAS's flagship publication is Biblical Archaeology Review. BAR is the only magazine that connects the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience eager to understand the world of the Bible. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, BAR presents the latest discoveries and controversies in archaeology with breathtaking photography and informative maps and diagrams. BAR's writers are the top scholars, the leading researchers, the world-renowned experts. BAR is the only nonsectarian forum for the discussion of Biblical archaeology.

BAS produced two other publications, Bible Review from 1985-2005, and Archaeology Odyssey from 1998-2006. The complete editorial contents of all three magazines are available on the BAS Online Archive. The Archive also contains the text of five highly-acclaimed books, Ancient Israel, Aspects of Monotheism, Feminist Approaches to the Bible, The Rise of Ancient Israel and The Search for Jesus. The online archive is available through various colleges, universities, churches and other institutions.

BAR's annual volunteer dig guide to archaeological excavations in the Middle East and the Classical world is the only resource of its kind. That guide has now evolved into its section of our Web site: Find a Dig.

BAS also organizes tours and seminars all over the world, arranging for prominent scholars to address our audiences.

The books and multimedia products produced by BAS are suitable for individual and classroom use. History buffs, professors, clergy and lay readers have found BAS materials valuable, while librarians have selected our reference volumes for their collections. BAS titles have been chosen as texts at major American universities such as Harvard, Brown and Johns Hopkins.

BAS also takes on timely special projects, such as its partnership with the Smithsonian Institution that brought two remarkable objects to the United States for exhibit: an inscribed ivory pomegranate, the only surviving relic from Solomon's Temple; and the ossuary, or burial box, of the high priest Caiaphas, who is believed to be the high priest who presided at the trial of Jesus.

The society, its magazines, and its editor Hershel Shanks have been the subject of widespread acclaim and media attention in publications as diverse as Time, People, Civilization, U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Jerusalem Post. BAS has also been featured on television programs aired by CNN, PBS and the Discovery Channel.