Biblical Interpretation in the Age of Superheroes
Is Superman Kryptonian or American, a hero, demi-god, or messiah? Or is he a Biblically inspired Moses or Jesus? After more than 80 years, his fans are still unsure.
Monkey Business: New Evidence for Aegean-Indus Exchange
The Aegean is over 6000 kilometers from the Indus Valley. So how did these two centers of ancient civilization come into contact, and why were monkeys involved?
The Sound and the Fury: The Passion for Chariot Racing in Imperial Rome
The Circus Maximus in Rome could have held as many as 250,000 spectators. The attraction of an edge-of-your-seat, high-speed spectacle is familiar, but the experience was much more
Myth and Marvel: Medieval Muslim Writings on Ancient Egypt
Medieval Muslim scholars could not read ancient Egyptian writing. They therefore understood the past through the lenses of literary genres, myths, and the Quran.
An Exceptional Discovery at Pompeii: A Victim’s Vitrified Brain Remains
Human remains are common on archaeological sites. But Mount Vesuvius’ sudden eruption preserved bodies in unique ways, including turning rarely seen parts to glass.
A Desert Revolution – Transformations in Northwestern Arabia and the Arid Southern Levant in the Late 2nd Millennium BCE
Archaeology speaks frequently about revolutions, but arid zones are left out of the discussion. But new evidence shows that deserts experienced their own momentous, if slower movin
The Archaeology of Clothing in the Ancient Near East
Everyone wore clothes in the ancient Near East but direct evidence is sparse in the archaeological record. Can new methods and a careful look at art bring us closer?
The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is a key feature in the Genesis stories. So why are there so few references in later ancient Near Eastern and in Biblical texts and imagery?
#MeToo-potamia (or systemic gender inequality in Mesopotamia)
The contributions of Mesopotamian women must be pieced together from texts. The evidence indicates more than two thousand years of increasing marginalization.
Max von Oppenheim and His Tell Halaf
Born into a prominent banking family, Max von Oppenheim seemed destined to study law. But his real contribution was to uncover an Iron Age city in north Syria.