A 3,000-year-old structure from the city of Jesus' birth and a "red worm" that is mentioned 25 times in the Bible has been found in Israel. Photo

In the past few days, archaeologists have uncovered two important Christian finds in Israel. First they found a 3,800-year-old cloth dyed with "red worm," a dye that is mentioned 25 times in Scripture, and later they found a "monumental" 3,000-year-old structure that confirms biblical stories.

Scientists unearthed the first find in Jerusalem and the other in Israel's "Cave of Skulls." Both are extremely valuable, writes the DailyMail.

"Red Worm."

Scientists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) revealed that in the "Cave of Skulls" in the Judean Desert, they found a cloth less than two centimeters thick that was dyed with a very specific dye called "red worm".

The worm mentioned 25 times in the Bible is a scale insect that lives in oak trees, the main species of which in the ancient world was the kermes.

Females and their eggs produce carminic acid, which gives the dye its red color. People collected the beetles, sprayed them with vinegar and dried their corpses. They then ground the residue into powder, which they used to dye fabrics and clothing.

Despite the large amount of written historical evidence of the widespread use of dyeing by scaly insects in the ancient world, very few textiles dyed in this way have been found so far.

This important find complements the gap between written sources and archaeological discoveries. The rare textiles are evidence of extensive international commercial networks already in operation today and indicate the presence of an elitist society," said Dr. Naama Sukenik of the IAA.

Bronze Age monumental structure

Another super-important find was a 3,000-year-old structure found in Jerusalem that is mentioned in two books of the Bible.

For 150 years, researchers have been working to prove that the city where Jesus was born was divided into two parts, as described in the Bible. Finally, archaeologists discovered a moat that separated the southern residential area from the upper city to the north.

The moat was about 9 meters deep and 30 meters wide with perpendicular rocks on either side, making it impassable.

The research team said the findings confirm that the moat was formed in the Iron Age. The period when the Book of Kings and the Book of Samuel were written to describe the City of David divided into Ophel and Millo.

"It is not known when the ditch was originally cut, but evidence suggests that it was used for centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah nearly 3,000 years ago. We are certain that it created a clear buffer between the residential city in the south and the upper city in the north," said excavation leader Dr. Yiftach Shalev.

According to scholars, the moat was designed to change the topography of David's city. And also to show the power of Jerusalem's ruler over others, to emphasize the strength and ability to defend its walls at the time.

"Again discoveries are being made that shed a new and bright light on biblical history," IAA director Eli Escusido summarized the findings.

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