Yehuda desert

Poisoning from pesticides is the main threat to the biblical eagle in Israel today. Photo: Tuvala Salomon

Live the moment: The biblical eagle – the king of birds fighting for its survival in Israel

With a population of only about 200 individuals, the biblical eagle is critically endangered in Israel. Despite conservation efforts, poisoning, electrocution, and climate change threaten it, while it plays a critical role in the ecosystem as a cleaner.
The excavation is changing historical knowledge about the site. Photo: Judean Desert Team at the Israel Antiquities Authority

A mysterious pyramid-shaped structure from the Ptolemaic and Seleucid periods was discovered in the Judean Desert.

The excavation is changing historical knowledge about the site. Photo: Judean Desert Team at the Israel Antiquities Authority
Nature conservation, by definition, has no positive side. It is loss management. Prof. Dror Balana. Image courtesy of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority

"We try to preserve as much as possible, so that in the future there will be something to bequeath to those who come after us."

Prof. Dror Halana talks about lizards, wars, oil disasters, nature conservation in general, and his love for the desert. An interview with the incoming Chief Scientist of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority about the challenges of the role
Crow in the desert. Photography: Ran Natan

Wise from the source: the surprising minds of the desert crows

The crows have become a routine part of our landscape. How smart are they really, and why is one species more successful than another?
2,000-year-old tefillin in the Antiquities Authority laboratories. Photo: Emil Eljam, Antiquities Authority

A new study states: 2,000 years ago, Tefillin were not dyed black

Researchers from Ariel University, the Antiquities Authority, the University of Exeter in England, and the Weizmann Institute conducted a series of scientific tests on ancient tefillin houses from the Judean Desert, and discovered that - contrary to the accepted law, according to which the houses must be painted
The ornate spiny-tailed lizard, Uromastyx ornata, also known as the ornate lizard, is a species of lizard in the agamidae family. The species is endemic to the Middle East. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How is the climate crisis expected to affect the lizard population in Israel?

Climate change may lead to the collapse of the population of lizards that are common in the deserts of the Land of Israel
One of the sections recovered from the Qumran Scrolls. Credit: The Antiquities Authority, the online library of the Judean Desert scrolls by Leon Levy.

One of the last two undeciphered Qumran scrolls has been recovered

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

The Tales of Naot Hekhar Part III - Flood

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Memories from Manot HaKer - fish stories

Cosmic scene with DNA, stars, solvents and atomic circles in oral flow.

Neot HaKer - memories from the desert. Part a'