Biblical Archaeology Society
[1] Upon his return, Hershel published an article in The Israel Exploration Journal and approached U.S magazines hoping to produce a similar suite of columns regarding biblical archeology.
[7] Shanks considered himself as an 'outsider' of the field and attributes Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin as crucial in assisting his early efforts in making archaeology accessible through the society.
[8] It was these early publications that Shanks suggests have led to now infamous excavation sites, such as David's burial palace and the entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel.
[15] The Society's review has been suggested to have 'a kind of de facto control' over mainstream media regarding biblical archaeological endeavours and as such, is considered 'the gate keeper' for most major news outlets.
[3] BAR also promoted a renewed comprehensive archaeological analysis on the Temple Mount, in addition to a report on matters of litigation, regarding a lawsuit involving Muslims accused of destroying a historic site for three of the world's major faiths.
The Biblical Archeology Society adopts a historical archaeology approach to their excavations, whereby their researchers seek to understand the relationship between sacred or ancient texts and the geography in which they are found.
[3] The Biblical Archaeology Society publishes an annual Digs Guide, which lists upcoming excavation projects in Israel and Jordan for which volunteers are welcome to apply to join.
[21][22] Their contributions to the Umayri excavation assisted in developing a greater understanding surrounding the biblical genealogies and nature of the settlement process in relation to the Hebrew tribe of Reuben.
[21] Similarly, during the excavation of Tall Jalal numerous fragmentary specimens were uncovered, including iconographic figurines of animals representative as deities or apotropaic forces.
[23] Subsequently, in 2009 the Society announced, in an addition of the Biblical Archaeology Review, its discovery in Ophel of a clay seal (bulla) dated to the 8th century B.C ruler, King Hezekiah.
[27] After being purchased by academic epigraphist Andre Lemaire in a Jerusalem antiquities dealership for US$3,000, Shanks provided an accessible account of the pomegranate's discovery in the Biblical Archaeology Review.
[27][28] In May 2002, Tel Aviv engineer Oded Golan purchased a limestone ossuary (burial box) from the 1st century, adorned with the Aramaic inscription "James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus".
[28] Lemaire and the Biblical Archaeology Society presented the ossuary to the Geological Survey of Israel for analysis, to which they found no reason to doubt its authenticity.
[27] The Biblical Archaeology Society subsequently published a book and sold the television rights of the Ossuary, generating a documentary that was later released on DVD.
[2] It has been suggested that his acquittal was a matter of an underfunded prosecution and an in-comprehensive investigation, with the judge conceding that the trial did not necessarily prove the objects authenticity.
[2] Shanks maintains that scepticism surrounding the ossuary's authenticity can be deduced to two scientists on the committee for the Israeli Antiquities Authority, Professor Yuval Goren and Dr Avner Ayalon.
[30] Regarding the Biblical Archaeology Society's ongoing insistence of the Ossuary's authenticity, some scholars have suggested at the financial motives and public exposure gained through its legitimacy.
[33] The court ruled that the Biblical Archaeology Society was to halt distribution of its two-volume compilation of Dead Sea Scroll photographs in Israel.
