The Old Testament refers to many different groups of people who have long since disappeared – the Amorites, Hivites, Jebusites, and so on. Millenia after those Biblical references were written, archaeology is finding the material evidence for many of them.
A good example from the 20th century were the Hittites. Frequently appearing in the Bible, they have a presence in the land of Canaan from the time of Abraham to the united monarchy of King Solomon. Their disappearance from historical records led some to attribute their presence in the Old Testament to myth and legend.
In 1880, archaeological excavations in modern day Turkey led Archibald Henry Sayce to announce the discovery of the remains of the Hittite civilisation. Their writings, architecture and sculptures proved not only their existence, but the extent of their unique culture. From 1906 an entire library of Hittite cuneiform tablets began to be excavated. The Hittites were very much back from legend into the realm of historical studies. But it is the Old Testament that had preserved their memory.
