Mar 25
By: Nathan Steinmeyer
A small stone vessel from the southeastern Jirof region of Iran may be the oldest lipstick ever discovered. Publishing in the journal Scientific Reports, […]
Mar 21
By: Hershel Shanks
The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the opulent vacation destinations of Roman elites in August 79 C.E.—almost exactly nine years after Roman troops destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Did this seem like more than mere coincidence to the ancients?
Mar 18
By: Nathan Steinmeyer
Excavations at the important site of Catal Hoyuk in south-central Turkey have uncovered what archaeologists have termed “the world’s oldest bread.” According to a press […]
Mar 4
By: Nathan Steinmeyer
While the modern field of archaeology is no more than a few centuries old, ancient texts show that the world’s first archaeologist lived around two […]
Feb 25
By: BAS Staff
While some scholars suggest that temple prostitution was practiced in ancient Israel, Edward Lipiński argues that neither the Bible nor archaeology provides any clear evidence that Israelite religion incorporated the sexual rites of Canaanite goddesses.
Feb 18
By: Noah Wiener
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 Europeans rather than outsiders.
Feb 15
By: Noah Wiener
A recently translated Old Babylonian flood tablet describes how to build a circular ark.
Feb 14
By: John Drummond
“The Woman at the Window” is an intriguing artistic motif that was popular among the elite of the ancient Near East during the Iron Age […]
Jan 29
By: Nathan Steinmeyer
Babylon’s famous Ishtar Gate was commissioned by King Nebuchadnezzar II, but was it completed during his lifetime? More interestingly, was the gate built to commemorate […]
Jan 23
By: Megan Sauter
When did the ancient Egyptians stop writing in hieroglyphs, and what came next? From the fourth to ninth centuries C.E., Egypt was predominantly Christian. During this time, the language used by the masses was Coptic.