the minoans

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A helmeted god stands guard over one of the principal entrances to ancient Hattusa. From the 17th to the early 12th century B.C., Hattusa served as the capital of the Hittite empire. Credit: Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis

Aug 10 Blog

The Last Days of Hattusa

By: Trevor Bryce

In the latter part of the second millennium B.C., the Hittite empire was a Near Eastern superpower. Then, suddenly, the empire collapsed and Hattusa was invaded and destroyed.

Jul 6 Blog

The Expulsion of the Hyksos

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.

Jun 29 Blog

Ashkenazi Jewish Ancestry Confirmed European by mtDNA Tests

By: Noah Wiener

A recent study on mitochondrial DNA revealed that the female line of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry closely resembles that of Southern and Western Europe, rather than the ancient Near East, as many scholars proposed in the past.

Apr 29 Blog

The Oracle of Delphi—Was She Really Stoned?

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?

Feb 18 Blog

Who Were the Minoans?

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.

Nov 14 Blog

Early Bronze Age: Megiddo’s Great Temple and the Birth of Urban Culture in the Levant

By: Noah Wiener

Megiddo’s Great Temple is a structure that, according to its excavators, “has proven to be the most monumental single edifice so far uncovered in the EB I Levant and ranks among the largest structures of its time in the Near East.”

Jun 28 Blog

Bronze Age Collapse: Pollen Study Highlights Late Bronze Age Drought

By: Noah Wiener

What caused the Bronze Age collapse? A study of pollen grains in sediment cores beneath the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea provides a different view of the Bronze Age collapse.

Oct 20 Blog

What Does the Aegean World Have to Do with the Biblical World?

By: Ellen White

What does the ancient Aegean world in the west have to do with the Biblical world in the east? Quite a lot, according to Aegean archaeology specialist Louise Hitchcock.

Jun 19 Blog

Site-Seeing: Face to Face with Ancient Greek Warriors

By: Beth Ann Judas

The Archaeological Museum in Nauplion, Greece, is a must-visit. The centerpiece of the museum’s collection is the Dendra Panoply, a complete bronze suit of body armor.

Jun 5 Blog

Minoan Frescoes at Tel Kabri

By: Noah Wiener

Over 100 years of excavations on Crete have exposed elegant Minoan frescoes that once adorned the walls of the island’s Bronze Age palaces. This distinctively colorful Aegean art style flourished in the Middle Bronze Age (1750-1550 B.C.).

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