ANE Today - Current News About the Ancient Past

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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

Fig. 9: Clay plaque with representation of a mušuššu. BM 103381. © The Trustees of the British Museum. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Mesopotamia

What Sorts of Rituals Really Went on Inside Late Babylonian Temples?

July 3, 2019

Detail of an alabaster wall panel relief showing two scribes. The first holds a clay-tablet in his left hand; the second is writing on a roll presumably made of leather. Nimrud: Central Palace, 8th century BCE. Museum number: BM 1848,1104.5. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Assyria

Neo-Assyrian Legal Practices – Law Without Lawyers

August 9, 2021

Sinai 375a drawing. Courtesy of Douglas Petrovich.

Language & Writing

Hebrew as the Language behind the World’s First Alphabet?

April 13, 2017

Ravens and crows are also popular motives in Roman mosaics and wall-paintings. In this mosaic from the Dominicans Museum in Rottweil, Germany, dated to the end of the 2nd century AD, a raven is sitting to the left of the famous singer Orpheus. Public Domain via Wikimedia

Animals

When ‘Dumb’ Beasts Raise Their Voices: Speaking Animals in Ancient Graeco-Roman and Near Eastern Literature

April 5, 2022

Cyprus

How Greek is Limestone Sculpture on Cyprus?

July 14, 2020