Crete’s Minoan civilization has long been considered Europe’s first great Bronze Age society. But who were the Minoans? A recent DNA study suggests that the Minoan civilization comprised of local Read more…
The Ancient Near Eastern World
The Biblical world existed in a wider context of the ancient Near East and interacted with Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greco-Roman and other contemporaries. See how these other cultures influenced the region through alliances, migrations, trade, material culture and cultural perspectives.
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Who Were the Minoans?
• 05/16/2013
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Thonis—A Major Egyptian Port Swallowed by the Sea
• 05/01/2013
Maritime archaeologists have recently discovered the spectacular remains of the port city under the Mediterranean Sea off the Egyptian coast. While it is unclear how and exactly when in the Read more…
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New Monumental Structure Uncovered Near Ur
• 03/29/2013
After nearly 80 years, archaeologists have returned to one of the world’s most prolific archaeology sites, and have uncovered a monumental new structure. Read more…
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Herod the Great: Friend of the Romans and Parthians?
• 03/29/2013
Duquesne University’s Jason M. Schlude explores how King Herod manipulated his position between two regional powers. Read more…
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A Feast for the Senses … and the Soul
• 03/21/2013
Go on a journey of the senses through history and discover the significance of ritual feasts and meals in antiquity. Read more…
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Stoa Poikile Excavations in the Athenian Agora
• 03/20/2013
The Stoa Poikile, or Painted Portico, was one of the major structures in Athens’ Classical Agora, the center of political and public life. In the early third century B.C.E., philosopher Read more…
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The Expulsion of the Hyksos
• 03/19/2013
Recent archaeological discoveries at Tel Habuwa (also known as Tell el-Habua or Tell-Huba), a site associated with ancient Tjaru (Tharo), shed new light on Ahmose’s campaign. Read more…
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Epic Genes: Dating The Iliad
• 02/28/2013
The Iliad, an epic poem on the heroes and events of Trojan war, is one of the oldest extant pieces of Western literature. But just how old is it? Read more…
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The Pyramid of Khay
• 02/26/2013
Archaeologists recently discovered the dismantled pyramid of the Khay, Ramesses II’s vizier. Read more…
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The Last Days of Hattusa
• 02/08/2013
In the latter part of the second millennium B.C., the Hittite empire was a Near Eastern superpower. Its capital, Hattusa, was a great city of palaces and temples surrounded by Read more…
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Arabian Sights
• 02/04/2013
We may never know if the Bible’s accounts of King Solomon’s liaison with the Queen of Sheba are historically accurate (1 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 9). However, the Biblical references Read more…
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Jewish Captives in the Imperial City
• 01/28/2013
Ancient Rome was the superpower of its day. Yet, when the Romans conquered the tiny province of Judea and quashed the First Jewish Revolt in 70 C.E., it was actually Read more…
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The Elusive Kingdom of Kush
• 01/16/2013
In the 8th century B.C.E., the Nubian Kingdom of Kush took over its politically fragmented northern neighbor, forming Egypt’s twenty-fifth dynasty, known as the Nubian dynasty or the Kushite Empire. Read more…
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Millions of Mummified Dogs Uncovered at Saqqara
• 01/10/2013
Recent excavations at the so-called dog catacomb in Saqqara have brought to light the lesser-known tale of over eight million mummified dogs and other animals. Read more…
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Re-dating Nabatean Farming at Petra
• 01/03/2013
Researchers examining dam construction and terrace farming techniques at Petra suggest that the Nabateans began employing these techniques around the first century, rather than the earlier Iron Age chronology hypothesized Read more…
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The Göbekli Tepe Ruins and the Origins of Neolithic Religion
• 12/26/2012
On a hill known as Göbekli Tepe (“Potbelly Hill”) in southeastern Turkey, archaeologists have uncovered several large megalithic enclosures that date between 10000 and 8000 B.C.E., the dawn of civilization Read more…
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Archaeologists Expose Israel’s Largest Hellenistic Harbor
• 12/03/2012
Excavations at Akko (Acre) have exposed archaeological evidence of the Israel’s largest Hellenistic harbor, according to an Israel Antiquities Authority Press release Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Read more…
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Exhibit Watch: A City of Gold at a Cultural Crossroads
• 11/27/2012
Through January 20, 2013
City of Gold: The Tomb and Temple in Ancient Cyprus at the Princeton University Art Museum
Princeton, NJ Read more… -
Worldwide: Saida, Lebanon
• 11/08/2012
This remarkably lifelike, 7-inch-tall bronze right hand dating to sometime in the first centuries C.E. was crafted to capture every detail of the human hand, from the slight curvatures of Read more…
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Bronze Age Dam Irrigates Modern Farms
• 11/07/2012
A 3,250-year-old Hittite dam at Alacahöyük features striking similarities to modern water management construction. Archaeologist Aykut Çınaroğlu says the dam in north-central Turkey was built for irrigation and drinking water, Read more…
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Old Kingdom Princess Discovered at Abusir
• 11/05/2012
Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities recently announced the discovery of a 4,500-year-old tomb belonging to an Old Kingdom princess from Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty. Inscriptions at the tomb in Abusir list Read more…
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Alexander the Great’s Illuminated Birthday
• 10/19/2012
A new study in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology provides an astronomical insight into Alexandria’s urban design. Read more…
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The Autographed Rock Art of Southern Jordan
• 10/17/2012
In her recent Archaeological Views column, Davida Eisenberg-Degen highlighted some of the reasons rock art has traditionally been neglected as a source of information about the past. Not only does Read more…
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Roman Ships Discovered off Turkish Coast
• 10/09/2012
Two Roman ships were recently discovered by Italian archaeologists working near the Cilician Roman city Elaiussa Sebaste in southeastern Turkey. Elaiussa Sebaste’s location on a narrow isthmus made it ideal Read more…
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Coin Discovery at ed-Dur Suggests a Female Ruler
• 10/04/2012
Surveys at ed-Dur, a prominent multi-period site in the United Arab Emirates, exposed numerous coins. While some may have come from as far as Rome, coins minted locally include the Read more…
