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?
Sheshonq (Shishak) in Palestine: Old Paradigms and New Vistas
April 2021 | Vol. 9.4 By Felix Höflmayer and Roman Gundacker Pharaoh Sheshonq I (c. 943-923 BCE) is traditionally viewed as the founder of the 22nd Dynasty, which, due to the king
A Cosmic Impact and the Beginning of Farming at Abu Hureyra in Syria
March 2021 | Vol. 9.3 By Andrew M.T. Moore Towards the end of the last Ice Age a group of hunter-gatherers settled at Abu Hureyra in the Euphrates Valley in what is now Syria. The
The Enigmatic Tablets from Late Bronze Age Deir ‘Alla
January 2021 | Vol. 9.1 By Michel de Vreeze On April 1, 1964 Henk Franken and his Leiden University based team stumbled upon two clay tablets. Two days later a third tablet was fou
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
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.
The Dolmen Tour and House of Heritage in Menjez (Akkar – North Lebanon)
Megaliths like dolmens are common around the world, including in northern Lebanon. A recent project worked with the local community to study, conserve and develop dolmens as a tour
“Terminate and Liquidate”: How the Megiddo Ivories were Almost Not Discovered
Money and local politics are always the bane of archaeological projects. For the Megiddo project in the late 1930s, these problems were so dire that they almost brought the end jus
The Genesis of the Near Eastern Pig
Pigs are among the very oldest domesticated animals in the Near East with evidence going back past 9000 BCE. But unlike Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Europe, pig popularity in the
A Week in the Life of the Mousterian Hunter
Human sacrifice was never very common, but it occurred around the world. And as with many things, what mattered what who was doing the sacrificing.