Where Scripture meets stone.

Relic is a Protestant scholarly archive of the archaeological finds that illuminate — and in many cases corroborate — the biblical record. The name refers only to the archaeological object itself: the stone, the seal, the potsherd, the scroll. It carries no other freight.

We are convinced that Scripture is the inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), that it does not require external validation to be true, and that it nevertheless makes real claims about real people, real places, and real events. Where the earth has yielded evidence of those people, places, and events, that evidence is worth collecting, documenting, and making available to the church and the academy alike.

Each entry in the archive documents an artifact's provenance, dating, discovery, current custodian, and the biblical passages it illuminates. We favor pieces recovered in controlled excavations over market acquisitions, and we mark disputed pieces plainly.

Relic stands in the classical Protestant tradition: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Gratia, Soli Deo Gloria. We publish this archive to the glory of God, in service of Christ's church, and for the strengthening of every reader's confidence in the historical trustworthiness of Scripture.

Artifact images are the property of the museums and institutions that hold them and are used here under fair scholarly use. Wherever possible, we credit the source directly on the artifact's page.