Pictures of Restraint: Hunting Carnivores on Mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine Periods
Many cultures hunt with animals. Roman mosaics give us insights about different techniques for restraining animals but also about the ideologies of their patrons.
From Sinner to Model Ancestor: King David in Post-Biblical Jewish and Christian Literature and Art
King David was a sinner, but post-Biblical Jews and Christians transformed him into a hero. These changes tell us as much about competition between the two as they do about evolvin
Trees and Power in Aegean Art
Every society has symbols of leadership, and in a surprising number of Mediterranean and Near Eastern societies these are trees. A look at tiny examples of Aegean art gives some hi
Rock Art in Central Sahara: From Analogue to Digital
There are hundreds of thousands of examples of rock art in the Sahara, dating from the present back to over 10,000 years ago. But with access currently difficult thanks to unrest,
The Golden Pome: The Pomegranate from its Deepest Roots to Modern Culture
Pomegranates are renowned as health food but that association is very ancient. And it should not be surprising that pomegranates are also associated with powerful deities across th
The Bearded Figure Who Might be King
Figurines appear in the Iron Age Levant but very few are made of the material called faience. Fewer still can be plausibly interpreted as representing an actual king.
The Cross: History, Art and Controversy
The Christian cross is a ubiquitous symbol today, but actual images of the cross were uncommon in Christian iconography before the mid-4th century.