Welcome to Times Will Tell, the weekly podcast from The Times of Israel. This week we have two really interesting, really nerdy, interviews with two of Israel’s leading archaeological scholars.

First, we’ll speak with Tel Aviv University Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef, who since 2013 has led the excavations at Timna on the site of the fabled King Solomon Copper Mines and their surroundings. As you’ll hear, the excavation is currently concentrating on the Iron Age activities of the nomadic Edomite kingdom. The team has uncovered all sorts of 3,000-year-old artifacts, including three super rare textiles that are dyed with the precious argaman or true purple that is mentioned in the Bible. Based on these findings and others, Ben-Yosef has developed a truly fascinating take on the early biblical United Monarchy.

Read more here: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-cloths-with-royal-purple-dye-found-in-israel-dated-to-king-davids-time/

The second half of our program is devoted to an interview with Weizmann Institute of Science Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto, an internationally recognized leading expert in radiocarbon dating. Boaretto generously explained to this science dummy the basics of radiocarbon dating. Part of what makes the work done in Boaretto’s lab so noteworthy is that unlike most pure scientists, she and her team are regularly out in the field, collected secure samples, and working alongside the archaeologists.

We delve into an aspect of a new study looking at an old find — an almost 4,000-year-old olive branch — which is the only remaining organic sample from the pivotal volcanic eruption on the Greek island of Santorini. Through new experiments on 70-year-old olive branches, Boaretto offers a new resolution to an ongoing debate over the timing of the eruption.

PHOTO: Fragment of the rare purple fabric from 1,000 BCE excavated in the Timna Valley. (Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority)

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