archaeology odyssey

By: Noah Wiener

In the early 1960s, archaeologist James Mellaart uncovered a mural at Çatalhöyük, the world’s largest and best-preserved Neolithic site, which he interpreted to represent a volcanic eruption.

By: Sarah Yeomans

What exactly did ancient cultures do to combat disease and injury, and did these methods have any real basis in science as we know it today? The answers may surprise you.

By: Michael B. Poliakoff

Three ancient Olympic combat events—wrestling, boxing and pancratium—reveal much about the aspirations and values of ancient Greece, about what was deemed honorable, fair and beautiful, both in the eyes of those of who competed and those who traveled to Olympia to watch.

By: Andrew McGowan

Theological scholar Andrew McGowan examines how December 25 came to be associated with the birthday of Jesus and became Christmas, a holiday celebrated by Christians around the world.

By: Noah Wiener

In the 16th century B.C.E., Ahmose I overthrew the Hyksos and initiated the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom of Egypt. Recent archaeological discoveries at Tel Habuwa shed new light on Ahmose’s campaign.

By: Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and John R. Hale

According to Strabo and other sources, the Pythia who gave prophecies on behalf of Apollo was inspired by mysterious vapors. Is there evidence that intoxicating gases actually drifted through the Temple of Apollo at Delphi?

By: Daniel Ogden

When seeking “hidden” knowledge, ancient Greeks and Romans visited sacred oracles and consulted necromancers, who communed with the dead. The necromancer’s art often involved strange journeys, sleep-and-dreaming rituals and even blood sacrifices—since the ghostly shades were thought to need a tonic of fresh blood to become reanimated. Our modern fascination with exorcism and vampires suggests that necromancy is hardly dead.

By: Noah Wiener

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon may not be Babylonian after all—they may have been 300 miles to the north at Assyrian Nineveh, planted by Sennacherib at the start of the seventh century B.C.E.

By: Ellen White

Archaeology tells us a lot about the Hittites—and the Neo-Hittites too. But it’s hard to reconcile this with the Hittites of the Bible.

By: David Moster

Seeds and fruit remains are exciting discoveries for archaeologists, and they provide radiocarbon data to help date buried strata. Fruit also plays an important role in the Biblical narrative.