NAMED IN THESE RECORDS AS THE HOLDER

Holding institution not recorded

Half of the named objects reach us with no holder recorded anywhere in our sources, and nearly half of the photographs are among them. Several are famous enough that their museum is common knowledge — but common knowledge is not a record, and an object is not filed under a museum here on a guess. They are gathered on this page instead, with everything our sources do say about them.

26

records held

26

listed on this page

19

openly licensed photographs

25

matched to our catalogue

THE OBJECTS

What we hold for this collection.

Amarna letters

diplomatic correspondence; archives; archaeological artefact

Wikimedia Commons · no author recorded by the source (opens in a new tab) Public domain

Fourteenth-century BC diplomatic archive naming Canaanite city-states.

archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom

CULTURE

diplomatic correspondence; archives; archaeological artefact

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-058 Late Bronze Age political and geographic context

What it supports. Berlin's museum catalog identifies EA289 as correspondence from Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem within the Amarna archive.

What it does not. Habiru terminology cannot simply be equated with biblical Hebrews; these letters do not independently narrate Joshua's conquest.

Bears on: Canaan and Jerusalem before Israel's monarchy

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Arad ostraca

discovered text; ostracon

פעמי-עליון (opens in a new tab) CC BY-SA 4.0 · share-alike

Hebrew ostraca from the Judahite fort at Arad.

collection of more than 100 inscribed pottery shards

CULTURE

discovered text; ostracon

FINDSPOT

Tel Arad

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-044 administrative and writing context

What it supports. Arad military correspondence documents late-monarchic Judahite administration; the authors discuss a reference to the house of YHWH.

What it does not. A literacy analysis cannot directly date the composition of individual biblical books or prove their narratives.

Bears on: Judah's military and religious administration

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Atra-Hasis

human whose existence is disputed; mythical character

SpeakingArch (opens in a new tab) CC BY-SA 4.0 · share-alike

Old Babylonian flood and creation poem.

protagonist in Akkadian creation myth

CULTURE

human whose existence is disputed; mythical character

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-117 flood literary parallels; global-event claim unestablished

What it supports. The museum catalogs an Atrahasis flood-text fragment; its object trail separately describes Gilgamesh's eleventh tablet and Utnapishtim.

What it does not. Literary flood traditions and local flood deposits do not establish a single simultaneous global flood. Regional sediment sequences were not individually audited.

Bears on: Genesis 6-9

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Bubastite Portal

Markh at English Wikipedia (opens in a new tab) CC BY-SA 3.0 · share-alike

Shoshenq I's campaign list, beside the Shishak invasion of 1 Kings 14.

No Wikidata item exists for this object. Recorded from its Wikimedia Commons category of photographs.

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated by the source

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-011 historical campaign context

What it supports. The Bubastite Portal preserves Shoshenq I's royal imagery and a southern-Levant place list.

What it does not. The Shishak identification is historical comparison; preserved names do not independently document the plundering of Jerusalem.

Bears on: 1 Kings 14:25-26; 2 Chronicles 12

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Caiaphas ossuary

ossuary

deror_avi (opens in a new tab) CC BY-SA 3.0 · share-alike

Ossuary inscribed for the high priest Joseph Caiaphas.

Ceremonial burial chest for high priest of Biblical Jerusalem

CULTURE

ossuary

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-029

Its reach, and its limit. Widely identified with the high priest's family; bones are not independently identified individuals.

Bears on: Matthew 26:57; John 11:49

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Chester Beatty Papyri

biblical manuscript

Unknown authorUnknown author (opens in a new tab) Public domain

Early Greek biblical papyri.

biblical manuscript

CULTURE

biblical manuscript

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-095

Its reach, and its limit. Manuscript collections and textual witnesses; separately catalog P45, P46, P47.

Bears on: Gospels, Acts, Paul, Revelation

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Code of Hammurabi

code of law

Mbzt (opens in a new tab) CC BY 3.0

Old Babylonian law stele, the standard comparison for the Mosaic law codes.

Babylonian code of law or conduct

CULTURE

code of law

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-136

Its reach, and its limit. Provides a primary comparative source for ancient Near Eastern law. Legal parallels neither establish direct copying nor prove divine origin.

Bears on: Exodus 21-23; Deuteronomy (legal comparison)

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Dead Sea scrolls

archaeological artefact; group of manuscripts; discovered text

Israel Museum (opens in a new tab) Public domain

The Qumran biblical manuscripts.

15,000 fragments of about 850 scrolls from ancient Judaism

CULTURE

archaeological artefact; group of manuscripts; discovered text

FINDSPOT

Qumran Caves; Judaean Desert

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-088 biblical textual transmission

What it supports. IAA's catalog identifies biblical scrolls from Qumran and displays dated, named examples.

What it does not. The corpus contains textual variants and non-biblical works; preservation of a biblical text is not independent verification of its narrated events.

Bears on: Hebrew Bible

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Deir Alla Inscription

inscription

Plaster inscription naming Balaam son of Beor, beside Numbers 22.

ancient inscription relating visions of the seer of the gods Bala'am, son of Be'or

CULTURE

inscription

FINDSPOT

Deir Alla

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-037 named tradition attestation

What it supports. An excavated Deir Alla plaster text names the seer Balaam son of Beor.

What it does not. The text attests a Balaam tradition rather than the events or miracles of Numbers.

Bears on: Numbers 22-24

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Delphi Inscription

inscription

Dates Gallio's proconsulship, which anchors the chronology of Acts 18.

collection of letter fragments written by Claudius

CULTURE

inscription

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-030

Its reach, and its limit. Gallio's office provides a chronological anchor for Paul's Corinthian visit.

Bears on: Acts 18:12-17

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Elephantine papyri

group of manuscripts · papyrus

Anagoria (opens in a new tab) CC BY 3.0

Aramaic archive of a Judaean garrison in Persian Egypt.

collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts

CULTURE

group of manuscripts

MEDIUM

papyrus

RECORDED HOLDER

not stated in Wikidata

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-057 diaspora historical context

What it supports. An Aramaic petition requests permission to rebuild the Elephantine Jewish community's YHWH temple.

What it does not. This concerns a diaspora temple, not an excavated archive of the Jerusalem temple.

Bears on: Ezra-Nehemiah period background

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Epic of Gilgamesh

2100 BC · literary work

Wikimedia Commons · no author recorded by the source (opens in a new tab) Public domain

Mesopotamian flood narrative, the standard comparison for Genesis 6-9.

epic poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature

DATE

2100 BC

CULTURE

literary work

RECORDED HOLDER

Mesopotamia

ARCHAEOLOGY CATALOGUE · ROW BA-117 flood literary parallels; global-event claim unestablished

What it supports. The museum catalogs an Atrahasis flood-text fragment; its object trail separately describes Gilgamesh's eleventh tablet and Utnapishtim.

What it does not. Literary flood traditions and local flood deposits do not establish a single simultaneous global flood. Regional sediment sequences were not individually audited.

Bears on: Genesis 6-9

Matches a row of this project's archaeology catalogue

Records and photographs are the museums' and archives' own, used under the licences each one states. A record here is a record, not an endorsement of any reading of the object.

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