ANE Today - Current News About the Ancient Past

Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, a digital platform for public scholarship on the Ancient Near East and beyond. Whether you are a student, scholar, or enthusiast, you are bound to learn something new.

Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter!

Recent Articles

Courtyard of “Le Petit Palais”, constructed 1831-1832. Photo by Helen Dixon.

Art

Treasures in Tunis: An Archaeologist’s Guide to the Bardo National Museum

November 3, 2026

Map of Cyprus from 1873-1874 CE, while under Ottoman control. Public Domain via Wikimedia.

History

Cyprus Through Syrian Eyes: Reflections on Hanna Diyab’s 1707 Travels

October 22, 2026

Close-up of a seal impression on a mudstopper from Saqqara tomb S3503 with serekhs (rectangular symbols that were used to frame an Egyptian king’s name in the Early Dynastic period). Courtesy of the Egypt Exploration Society; used with permission from the author.

Digital Archaeology

Did Meretneith Rule Egypt as a Female King in the First Dynasty?

October 1, 2026

Featured Articles

Piles of dung cakes drying. Nihal Singh Wala, District Moga, Punjab, India 2014. Photo by Satdeep Gill, CC By-SA 3.0.

Agriculture

Animal Dung and Energy — A View from Mesopotamia

November 27, 2025

Example of the characteristics displayed by bones that had been digested (note the scalloped surface, thinned and sharpened edges and signs of acid widening natural holes in the bone structure). Photo by Lisa Yeomans.

Animals

Our Early Neolithic Canine Companions

January 20, 2020

History of the Field

The ‘Biblical Origins’ of the Etruscans in the 16th Century CE and Their Impact on European Politics

August 16, 2022

Henk Franken carefully examining tablet 1440, which was among the first tablets found within an auxiliary room of the temple complex. (Photo courtesy of the Deir ‘Alla excavation archive.)

Bronze Age

The Enigmatic Tablets from Late Bronze Age Deir ‘Alla

January 27, 2021

Bible

A Half a Century of Studying Biblical Coins

November 15, 2021