What is a ‘House of a God’?
Ancient Near Eastern temples are frequently described as a ‘house of a God’? But what can we learn when temples do not resemble houses?
A Calendar in Stone: Hittite Yazılıkaya
All cultures have calendars. Some also make stone monuments. Hittites’ stone calendar included depictions of some of their thousands of gods.
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
Vanilla in the Middle Bronze Age: New Findings from Megiddo
There were many kinds of fragrances and flavors available in the second millennium BCE. But the recent finding of vanilla residues at Megiddo takes the idea of exotic to a whole ne
What’s in a Style? Minoanizing Paintings in the Eastern Mediterranean
Do similarities in style mean a shared set of styles, craftsmen, or a network? The mid-second millennium BCE case of Minoan-like paintings in Near Eastern palaces shows the problem
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
Northern Exposure: Tel Abel Beth Maacah after Six Seasons of Excavation
The northernmost major site in Israel has been excavated for six seasons, bringing to light remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages. The project directors present a summary of some o
Sunlight and Shade in the First Cities – A Sensory Archaeology of Early Iraq
There are two periods of about five days each, in the Spring and in the Autumn, when the weather in southern Iraq is quite nice. Otherwise it’s cold, windy and rainy, or roasting
The Current State of Ugaritic Studies
The coastal Syrian city of Ugarit was only discovered in 1929. Since then it has been the most important source for tablets that reveal the history and culture of the late second m