Wine Production in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
Winemaking is an ancient practice in the Levant. But when the Franks arrived during the Crusades they brought their own techniques.
Ancient Egyptian Texts for the Afterlife?
Ancient Egyptian funerary texts have been a source of fascination since their discovery. But do these texts describe a coherent vision of an afterlife, or is that a 19th century ac
A Half a Century of Studying Biblical Coins
Why revise a book on coins for fifty years and six editions? For one thing there are more data than ever. For another, old questions with big implications keep sticking around, lik
David and Solomon’s Kingdom as a State: An Archaeo-Historical Anachronism
Archaeologists have spent much time and energy looking for ‘states’ in the past, including in ancient Israel. Not surprisingly, they find them. But what is a 'state', and how d
The Shavei Zion Figurine Assemblage. A Cultic Site at Sea
An underwater discovery off the coast of Israel revealed terracotta figurines. But there was no shipwreck and the finds dated across hundreds of years of the Iron Age. Was this an
Data Science and the Bible: Rediscovering the History of the Christian Bible in Ethiopia
Ethiopia was one of the first Christian societies to translate the Bible into a local language. Thanks to data science, the patterns of transmission are now coming into better focu
Aspects of Daily Life in Ancient Egyptian Letters
Ancient Egyptian art gives an idealized view of that world. In contrast, letters are personal and direct, as in what happens when a leased donkey isn’t returned on time.
Rethinking Slavery in the Ancient Near East
Our picture of slavery is often conditioned by images of the American South and other situations. But in the Ancient Near East slavery was far more complicated.
Divine Channels: Rediscovering the Canal Networks of the Assyrian Empire
Today northern Iraq is a land of rolling plains and a few rivers. But Assyrian kings cut immense canals into the landscape for irrigation and transportation.
The Location of the Biblical ‘Red Sea’
The Exodus from Egypt was a foundational event for the Israelites. But where exactly did they cross the ‘Red Sea’? Scholars have debated this question for centuries, as have ma