A Treasure Quest in the Copper Scroll from Qumran
The Copper Scroll from Qumran has puzzled scholars and the public since its discovery in 1952. Are the treasures it describes real or imaginary? And is the journey to find them rea
Assurbanipal’s iPad: Wax Boards in the Ancient Near East
Writing on wax began in Mesopotamia and spread to the Mediterranean and Europe. But some lingering questions may have finally been answered by a science project with children.
Temples and Cult Places in Iron Age Transjordan
Many temples and cult places are known from Iron Age Israel but what about in Transjordan? What does a look at these sites reveal about cult and religion in Moab, Ammon, and Edom?
The Symbolic Representation of the Cosmos in the Hittite Rock Sanctuary of Yazılıkaya
The Hittite sanctuary at Yazılıkaya functioned as a calendar. But the carefully carved galleries of gods and goddesses depicted much more, a representation of the cosmos moving t
Housewives, Weavers and Businesswomen: Assyrian Women from Assur and Kanesh
In the 19th century BCE men from Assur traveled a thousand kilometers to the northwest to conduct trade. But archives show that their wives kept the households together and were ke
The Art of Conservative Rebellion: A Short Introduction to the First Sealand Dynasty
Until recently, almost nothing was known of the “kings of Urukug” – better known as the Sealand. New tablets and excavations are now revealing this small southern Babylonian
![Picture of the Theodotus Inscription from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel: “Theodotus—son of Vettenus, priest and the ruler of the synagogue, son of the ruler of the synagogue, and grandson of the ruler of the synagogue—built this synagogue, which his ancestors, the elders, and Simonides laid the foundation of, for the reading of the Law and the teaching of its commands. [He built] the guest-chamber, the rooms, and the plumbing for the lodging of those who are in need from a foreign country” (Hannah M. Cotton et al., Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae: A Multilingual Corpus of Inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad [Berlin: de Gruyter, 2008], I.1.9; © and translation by D. Clint Burnett).](https://anetoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Image-6.jpg)
The Geography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
may 2021 | Vol. 9.5 By Ariel M. Bagg The Neo-Assyrian Empire was constructed over a period of about 300 years from the late 10th to the late 7th centuries BCE by powerful kings. It
Monotheism or Monopoly? Akhenaten and His Religious-Political Reform
Few ancient personalities excite as much interest as Akhenaten. Was he an enlightened religious leader and an idealistic politician, or was he mentally ill and physically frail?
Mesopotamian Sculpture in Color
Like other ancient sculpture, Mesopotamian statues were painted. Small traces can now be analyzed with scientific techniques and help explain Mesopotamian concepts such as “posit
Glass: Lapis Lazuli from the Kiln
Like other ancient sculpture, Mesopotamian statues were painted. Small traces can now be analyzed with scientific techniques and help explain Mesopotamian concepts such as “posit