International MA Archaeology & Ancient Israel Studies - Tel Aviv University

22/01/2026

Hurry while you still can! In less than six hours, at 6pm Israel time, Tel Aviv University’s Lowy International School is hosting a webinar about our one-year MA program, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. In just one year, you can earn your master’s degree and learn from globally renowned scholars, who stand at the forefront of groundbreaking archaeology research. During the webinar you’ll get to meet some of these professors and even some students who can tell you exactly what it's like to learn while living in the heart of Tel Aviv! Don’t wait and click the link in our bio!

Earn your MA in Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures in one year and gain the experience of a lifetime at Tel Aviv University. Our Institute of Archaeology is consistently top-rated globally for game-changing research, elite academics, our distinguished faculty, and world-class scholars spe...

21/01/2026

Check out or annual trip to Tel Arad, a major fortress during the Iron Age! At the edge of the Negev Desert, this ancient fortress was strategically positioned, and an indicate for the boundary of the Judahite Kingdom. Travelers who came through the region would be met by soldiers stationed at Arad to make sure they knew who was coming in and out of their Kingdom. On top of that, the students went to the altar area at the center of the fortress. There, we saw two incense burners which researchers have conducted tests on. Turns out, one of the burners had traces of frankincense residue, and the other of Cannabis. Don't worry, we didn't try to recreate those ancient rituals.

And sign up before it's too late! Tomorrow evening at 6pm Israel Time, we are hosting a webinar about our one-year MA program, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. Join us to meet professors at the school and learn all about wide-ranging opportunities we have to offer! Find out about all the excavations we have going on at the school and all the tours you can go on across all of Israel. Register for the webinar now! You can message us for the link or sign up through our previous post.

20/01/2026

Another fun trip with our MA students, to a site mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, Tel Be’er Sheba. We walked through the four-chamber gates at the city’s entrance and onto its beautifully preserved Iron Age streets. There were casemate walls, four-room houses, and even what scholars believe to be the “Governor’s Palace.” To top it all off, we stepped into a massive underground water reservoir, which, thousands of years ago, would have gotten filled by the floodwaters of the Hebron Stream.

By the way, on January 22nd, this Thursday, Tel Aviv University’s Lowy International School is hosting a webinar about our one-year MA program, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. You will get a chance to meet our renowned scholars, your professors, and fellow students and learn all about the classes available to you. And for outside of the classroom, we will tell you about your excavation opportunities and all the fun tours ancient sites across Israel. If you want to join the Webinar click on the link in our post below!

20/01/2026

Do you want to become an archaeologist and uncover hidden secrets in the land of the Bible? Come join! If you want to learn more about what’s in store for you if you want to be a part of our program, join our Webinar on January 22, this Thursday. You’ll get to do a Q&A with staff and students, meet some of your future teachers and learn about some of the classes which will be offered to you. Hurry up and click the registration link now!

Earn your MA in Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures in one year and gain the experience of a lifetime at Tel Aviv University. Our Institute of Archaeology is consistently top-rated globally for game-changing research, elite academics, our distinguished faculty, and world-class scholars spe...

13/01/2026

You can read books all day long, but the real magic is out in the field, digging up and uncovering history. And that’s just what our International MA students did! Deep in the heart of the Jezreel Valley, our budding archaeologists tried their hand at excavating an Early Bronze Age (3700 BC – 2300 BC) settlement at the foot of Tel Shimron. The students learned about the different tools used by excavators, opened new areas, and looked for the material culture of ancient societies at a time when the first cities in the world had only just begun to emerge.

The excavations of Tel Shimron have been conducted on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology in Tel Aviv University since 2016, and they include academic exploration on the Tel (directed by Prof. Daniel Master) and salvage excavations at the foot of the Tel. These help uncover everything from a fortified Canaanite city to a Hellenistic farming outpost to a first century CE Jewish community.

And if you want, you can help excavate too by clicking the link in our bio and joining the Archaeology community right here at Tel Aviv University!

06/01/2026

Time for another 90 second tour with TAU’s International Archaeology Master’s program! This time we’re walking through the ancient streets of Tel Megiddo to learn about its multiple layers of settlements, its 11 superimposed gates, its Israelite palaces and horse stables, and water cisterns!

And remember, if you want a chance to take part in these trips in person and learn from the world-renowned scholars who dug up the site, just join the Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures program through the link in our bio! Hurry up before Armageddon comes and the battle of good versus evil takes over Megiddo!

01/01/2026

The MA students at Tel Aviv University’s International Archaeology Program went out for yet another adventure, this time led by Boaz Gross! The aspiring archaeologists went to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tel Megiddo, the home of over 4000 years of Canaanite and ancient Israelite history! According to the Book of Revelations, Megiddo is to be the site of the final battle between the forces of good and evil at the end of times, AKA Armageddon.

But thankfully, our students weren’t looking for a battle, instead they learned about the over 20 layers of settlements which comprise the Tel. They walked through ancient horse stables and even had the chance to go deep underground and go through an Iron Age (1100 BC – 600 BC) water system. They travelled down into the cistern and through a long tunnel to reach a natural spring outside the city. The purpose of this design was to bring water into Megiddo, to protect their supply during times of siege. Talk about a brilliant feat of engineering!

We don’t know when Armageddon will come, so join Tel Aviv University’s International Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures program now before it’s too late! You’ll get to see Megiddo too before the forces of good and evil turn it into a battle ground. Just a click away through the link in our bio!

19/10/2025

See you at Orientation, Wednesday Oct 22!
We warmly welcome our new class of 2025/ 26 International MA in Archaeology & Ancient Near Eastern Cultures , Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University. We wish everyone a fascinating, engaging & fun year. Stay posted for more!
|

18/09/2025

🍎🍯 May this year’s layers reveal only blessings.
As we welcome Rosh Hashanah, we send our warmest wishes to our global community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff. May this new year be as rich in meaning as the history we uncover together.
From ancient artifacts to modern aspirations, may your year be filled with sweetness, purpose, and discovery. Shanah Tova from all of us in the International MA in Archaeology Program!

Brush Off the Past & Welcome our Future.
Join us:
https://international.tau.ac.il/Ancient_Israel_Studies

13/08/2025

Time flies! End of the Summer Season at Azekah Field School 2025:

The 2025 excavation season of The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition seems it is over as soon as it began! Although the digging may be over, the work has just begun, as we move from the field to the laboratory, for analysis, recording and publication of new finds.

Our incredible team concluded a spectacular summer season with rich and bountiful findings that once again push the envelope of Archaeological research, keeping our MA program and the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University at the forefront.

The greatest treasure of The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition are not the pottery, not the ramparts, not even the rarest finds, but OUR PEOPLE: All of our International MA students, Israeli students, volunteers from around the world, our dedicated staff and faculty! Together we dig, learn, laugh and sweat through yet another successful season at Azekah. Archeology is HOT! Well done!!

Won't you join us next season? Don't miss out!
Registration is open, Join the Class of 2025/26:

https://international.tau.ac.il/Ancient_Israel_Studies

07/08/2025

Daytrip to Tel Shaddud!
Faculty, staff and PhD. students of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University ventured out together for a tour of the archaeological excavation at Tel Shaddud in the Jezreel Valley! The site is excavated by a joint expedition of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, led by Dr. Omer Sergi and Dr. Karen Covello-Paran. Prof. Bill Schniedewind from UCLA is the associate director and he joined the project with several of his students. During the tour, Omer surveyed the geographical and historical significance of the Tel, followed by an in depth presentation and walkthrough of each of the excavated areas led by our students: Ofer Neve, Asaf Weiss and Ni**od Katzir, along with the team of dedicated field workers.
Find out more! https://telshaddud.com/
Thank you all for the fascinating and inspiring tour!

Don't miss out & Join us for the Class of 2025/26! Its not too late!
Scholarships are available!

📍 Dirty Hands, Curious Minds! One year MA in Archaeology unlike any other!
https://international.tau.ac.il/Ancient_Israel_Studies

30/07/2025

Hats off & CHAPEAU to our International Archaeology MA students!
End of the Academic Year Ceremony 2025!

Last Thursday evening, friends, families, faculty, and our amazing MA graduates gathered at Tel Aviv University to honor the Class of 2025.
Our international students adapted to the unexpected, endured and thrived in a most challenging academic year. We supported each and despite the challenges, we finished stronger than ever.

A warm and well deserved congratulations to all our International MA students who joined us at Tel Aviv University this year, all who have achieved true greatness. After an academic year unlike any other, our amazing Archaeology students continue with their fieldwork on site at Tel Azekah!

To the class of 2025, you’ve all shown us the true meaning of resilience. 🥂

Join us for the Class of 2025/26! Its not too late!
Scholarships are available!

📍 Curious minds. Dirty hands. One year MA in Archaeology unlike any other!
https://international.tau.ac.il/Ancient_Israel_Studies