Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Tobyah Inscription
This inscription spelling out tobyah is probably a reference to the family of Hyrcanus, said to have descended from a man named Tobias. The inscription is engraved on the right side of a cave entrance…
Arch of Titus
This arch was constructed by the emperor Domitian to commemorate the victory of his older brother, Titus, over the Jewish rebels in Judea. It is located on the Via Sacra in Rome and depicts the…
Qumran Caves 4 and 5
These caves, discovered by Bedouin shepherds at the end of the British Mandate period (1918–1948), contained numerous scrolls and scroll fragments, which came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, in…
Proseuchē Inscription, Alexandria, Egypt
This dedicatory inscription comes from a proseuchē (“house of prayer” or “prayer hall”). Many scholars see the Egyptian proseuchai as forerunners to later synagogues.
Basalt Olive Press, Capernaum
This press consists of a basin and a large wheel that was rolled over the olives. Olive oil was used as food, as fuel for lamps, and in soapmaking, as well as in religious ceremonies. This type of…
Restored Mikveh, Jericho
More than ten mikvaot were found near the winter palace of Herod the Great in Jericho. This mikveh has seven steps leading down into the pool.
Ḥorvat ‘Ethri House
Boaz Zissu and Amir Ganor, “Horvat ‘Ethri: A Jewish Village from the Second Temple Period and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in the Judean Foothills,” Journal of Jewish Studies 60…
Sanhedriyya Tomb Interior
Loculi with Ossuaries. Photo: Gideon Avni, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.