Jerusalem is arguably the most contested city in the world, the site of centuries of religious conflict. Synagogues, churches and mosques exist side-by-side, both above and below ground, where thousands of years of history lie buried. As recently as spring 2020, this village from the 2nd century B.C. was excavated in the ancient City of David. It is said to date back to the Bronze and Iron Age.

Recently, archaeologists discovered a hiding place for ammunition in an old cistern under the Western Wall. It was apparently placed there by Jordanian forces during the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors in 1967. At that time, the old city of Jerusalem belonged to Jordan, but after Israel's victory it fell under the control of the still young state.

Archaeologists also benefited from the annexation of east Jerusalem in 1967. After a district near the Wester Wall was demolished, excavations began and are ongoing to this day. In 2017 fragments of a theater and long-hidden sections of the Western Wall were uncovered. Archaeologist Tehillah Lieberman (pictured) described them as likely the best stones of the Wall known today.

Near the Damascus Gate, in the north of the old town, construction workers found this 1500-year-old mosaic with the name of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It was discovered in a room that was probably used as a pilgrims' hostel. It was a miracle find for excavation director David Gellman: "Every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription, especially one so well preserved."

Clay vessels discovered in a palace in Jerusalem and a 5000-year-old Egyptian brewery near the border to the Gaza Strip revealed more than just details about ancient pottery: Yeast colonies were found hidden in the microscopically small pores of the shards. Thus, in 2019, archaeologists and microbiologists were able to brew beer and honey wine from ancient yeast for the first time.

The German archaeologist Dieter Vieweger and his team spent five years searching for the ancient city wall of Jerusalem on Mount Zion. But it turns out that in Old Testament times, the wall did not run where the researchers had suspected. The revelation has not deterred Vieweger, and the search for the original wall continues.