The desire to acquaint the Russian reader with an objective and correct history of the study of the archeology of biblical countries became the main motive for the preparation of this publication. It was based on the book by J.E. Wright's "Biblical Archaeology", the advantage of which is that it is not overloaded with secondary material and specific scientific polemics. But, since Wright’s work reflects the state of the issue only for the first half of the 20th century, the editors considered it possible to provide information about recent discoveries. This was done in the form of a commentary and extensive notes included in the appropriate places in the main text.