Unearth the Secrets of the Past

BASONOVA is a non-sectarian society open to anyone who has an interest in biblical-era archaeology or the history, art, religion, and texts of ancient times in the Near East and Mediterranean. Our members are drawn from all walks of life and live predominantly in Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, and the District of Columbia. We call ourselves a society because there is an important social aspect to our organization, which recently began its third decade.

Before the pandemic, we met eight times a year, usually on Sunday afternoons at a restaurant in Northern Virginia, to sample ethnic food, enjoy engaging table talk, and listen to well-informed scholars and field archaeologists. Many of these lecturers have international reputations and educate us for an hour with richly illustrated images of their work.

During the pandemic, we temporarily joined with our sister group in Maryland, BAF, to host usually twice-monthly virtual Zoom lectures. We are now transitioning back to in-person programming, beginning in September 2022. We will continue to offer Zoom programming on an episodic basis, especially during the summer months.

BASONOVA Members and BAF Subscribers in good standing may request links to individual lectures iisted in our lecture Archive tab by emailing their selection to: info@basonova.org

BASONOVA began in 1994 as an unofficial offshoot of Hershel Shanks' Biblical Archaeology Society and has grown to become a popular destination to meet a wide range of warm and thoughtful people interested in the biblical history and archaeology of ancient times.

Yearly Events

Once a year, we hold a special "Big Event" with BAF (our sister group in Rockville, MD), the Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies and B'nai Israel Congregation. On February 26, 2023 our Big Event speaker will be Dr. John Ahn of the Howard University School of Divinity on the topic of the Return From Babylonian Exile.

Our last Big Event featured BASONOVA President Donald Kane examining the question of "What Were the Words of God?" The prior season's Big Event was headlined by Professor Joan Branham of Providence College, who took us on a tour of Herod's Temple.

Earlier Big Events include Big Event featured Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, who guided us through the late Second temple Times and the Rise of Rabbinic Judaism; Professor Robert Cargill of the University of Iowa and former Editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, who took us on a tour of Cities of the Bible; Jodie Magness of the University of North Carolina, who described her sensational mosaic findings at the synagogue at Huqoq, Israel. Some 300 people attended this lecture!

Even earlier Big Events have featured: Sidnie White Crawford of the University of Nebraska presenting an illustrated lecture on What the Dead Sea Scrolls Teach Us About the Bible; Professor Andrea Berlin of Boston University speaking about, Revolt! Why the Jews Took On Rome; George Washington University archaeology professor Eric Cline, talking about the topic of his Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed. A year earlier, our Big Event sponsored the husband and wife team of Mark Smith and Elizabeth Bloch-Smith (biblical scholar and archaeologist, respectively), tracing the origins of biblical monotheism. Our inaugural Big Event was a reception and lecture at the Egyptian Embassy that featured superstar Egyptologist Betsy Bryan of Johns Hopkins University.