"Highway Through History" is the name of the new exhibit which opened with a media tour on the evening of March 19, 2019, at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, BLMJ.

With the expansion and development of Route #38 to and around Beit Shemesh, an impressive settlement dating back to the final decades of the Kingdom of Judah, the 7th century BCE, has been uncovered. 

Scholars had thought the ancient city of Beit Shemesh was destroyed by King Sennacherib of Assyria in 701 BCE following Hezekiah's rebellion. These new finds show that after its destruction, the city was rebuilt on the eastern slope and its industrial area was of economic importance.

The BLMJ exhibit showcases handles of royal jugs from oil olive and shekel weights in one case. The olive oil industry was important, in Hebrew called Beit Bad, and a large roller and and jugs are featured in another case. The quantity of fragments discovered lead to the conclusion that the oil was for export.

Also on display are fragments of figurines depicting women and animals, possibly "remnants of a popular fertility cult and may represent the Canaanite goddess Asherah." In a separate case  is a stone statute of the Egyptian god Bes, the only one found in Eretz Yisrael. This image with grotesque features was to scare enemies and was discovered in a private home in Tel Beit Shemesh dig. That all the figurines were found broken, the head of Bes smashed, could be related to the religious reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah, as recounted in Sefer Melachim

Besides the wonders of these ancient remnants of Jewish history in the land of Israel, the cooperation of this project and speed of work is important to note. Since November the BLMJ and Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University and Y.G. Contract Archaeology and the Beit Shemesh municipality have been working together to preserve the old and provide for the future.

Highway through History opened in the presence of  Ms. Aliza Bloch, Mayor of Beit Shemesh, Dr. Yuval Baruch, IAA Jerusalem district archaeologist ,Dr. Yehuda Govrin, Tel Beit Shemesh excavations' archeologist and the Director of the BLMJ Amanda Weiss.

Dr Yehuda Kaplan of the BLMJ pointed out the maps of the Tel Beit Shemesh site and proposed options of how to add the modern highway without losing this valuable look into life in Eretz Yisrael during the time of Bayit Rishon.