In recent times Biblical archaeology has been heavily criticised by some camp who maintain that it has little to offer Near Eastern archaeology. However, some scholars carry on the fight to change people's views and this collection of essays continues the trend towards reassessing and reemphasising the link between the Bible and archaeology.

This book challenges readers to consider whether archaeology explains the Bible. Archaeology and the Bible examines new developments in archaeological finds in the Near East, particularly Palestine, that are related to the Bible. New methodologies, regional surveys and creative syntheses have all had an impact on traditional approaches to looking at these discoveries. John Laughlin examines these new developments and discusses what they imply for biblical studies.

Joint winner of the 2011 Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the category "Best Scholarly Book on Archaeology" The archaeology of the Holy Land is undergoing major change. 'Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future' describes the paradigm shift brought about by objective science-based dating methods, geographic information systems, anthropological models, and digital technology tools. The book serves as a model for how researchers can investigate the relationship between ancient texts (both sacred and profane) and the archaeological record. Influential archaeologists and biblical scholars examine a range of texts, materials and cultures: the Vedas and India; the Homeric legends and Greek Classical Archaeology; the Sagas and Icelandic archaeology; Islamic Archaeology; and the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ayyubid periods. The groundbreaking essays offer a foundation for future research in biblical archaeology, ancient Jewish history and biblical studies.

A historical survey of the relationship between archaeology and biblical studies in the first archaeological excavations in Palestine at Tell el-Hesi, from 1840 to 1990. Concentrating on the work of major excavators and scholars, Moorey details collaborations and conflicts between archaeologists and theologians who possess different views on the purpose of biblical archaeology.

Before the 1970s, "biblical archaeology" was the dominant research paradigm for those excavating the history of Palestine. Today this model has been "weighed in the balance and found wanting." Most now prefer to speak of "Syro/Palestinian archaeology." This is not just a nominal shift but reflects a major theoretical and methodological change. It has even been labeled a revolution. In the popular mind, however, biblical archaeology is still alive and well. In Shifting Sands, Thomas W. Davis charts the evolution and the demise of the discipline. Biblical archaeology, he writes, was an attempt to ground the historical witness of the Bible in demonstrable historical reality. Its theoretical base lay in the field of theology. American mainstream Protestantism strongly resisted the inroads of continental biblical criticism, and sought support for their conservative views in archaeological research on the ancient Near East. The Bible was the source of the agenda for biblical archaeology, an agenda that was ultimately apologetical. Davis traces the fascinating story of the interaction of biblical studies, theology, and archaeology in Palestine, and the remarkable individuals who pioneered the discipline. He highlights the achievements of biblical archaeologists in the field, who gathered an immense body of data. By clarifying the theoretical and methodological framework of the original excavators, he believes, these data can be made more useful for current research, allowing a more sober, reasoned judgment of both the accomplishments and the failures of biblical archaeology.