Archaeology has always held a great attraction for people.  This fascination with the past is as old as archaeology itself. From the discovery of ancient mummies to the swashbuckling adventures of Indiana Jones people have associated archeology with romance and adventure. But nowadays the reality is much different.  Archaeology has developed into a demanding and exact science; it is no longer about finding ancient cities and uncovering hidden treasures, but much more!

In general, archaeology is concerned with the recovery and interpretation of artifacts from the past.  Through the careful study of these material remains, archaeologists are able to learn a great deal about the peoples and cultures of ancient times.  For biblical studies this is important because archaeology helps us understand the world in which the Bible was written.  But learning about ancient peoples and cultures from their physical remains is not easy.  To help in interpreting what they are finding, archeologists in recent years have turned more and more to experts in other fields: historians, linguists, anthropologists, chemists, geologists, botanists, and architects.  These in turn have demanded that archaeologists use much more care in excavating their sites.  So archaeology today is a large interdisciplinary scientific endeavor.  As the great American archaeologist William F. Albright once said, archaeological excavation "is both an art and a science."