PODCAST

This Week in the Ancient Near East

thisweekintheancientneareast

The podcast that takes archaeology exactly as seriously as it deserves.

history

All Episodes

29:47

The Tale of the Egyptian Scribes and their Bad Knees,...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/09/16

Old Kingdom scribes kneeled or sat on the floor so their knees, backs and hips were as screwed up as ours. But did they have a trusted firm of personal injury lawyers pushing through the red tape to get them the Worker’s Comp benefits they were owed? Let’s hope so.

31:42

A Deepwater Late Bronze Age Shipwreck or, Down to the...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/09/02

A Late Bronze Age shipwreck 90 kilometers off the coast of Israel has us asking, what were they doing way out there and if your ship sinks, how do you make an insurance claim without texts? Anyway, why are there are no Canaanite sea shanties? No, really.

45:19

Horsing Around the Ancient Near East in the Third...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/08/19

New evidence suggests horses were domesticated over a thousand years later than previously thought, around 2200 BCE, which would mean they caught on pretty fast with wealthy Near Easterners. Still, who wouldn't love a pony? Who wouldn't love a person that had a pony? With touching childhood memories of horsemanship!

48:41

A Waxy Buildup at Iron Age Horvat Tevet, Or, Does...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/08/05

Horvat Tevet was a village in the early Iron Age Galilee. Caananite, Israelite, who knows? They liked beeswax though. Make of that what you will. With a shoutout to The Bangles and a completely incongruent Lightning Round!

53:35

Welcome to Çatalhöyük, Population ? Or, Does Size...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/07/22

Today we’re talking about research suggesting Çatalhöyük was way less populous than once thought, like, hundreds and not thousands of people. How many people does it take to get stuff done anyway, and what’s up with all the frescoes and cow heads? Come for the Neolithic, suffer through a deep dive with Patrick McGoohan, Mayberry, and Lake Wobegone!

33:59

The Case of the Missing Branch of the Nile That...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/07/08

New research shows that a long vanished branch of the Nile came right up to the pyramids at Giza, which made it easier to make deliveries. You’d think someone would have noticed that a branch of the river vanished but what do we know. Maybe it was one of those slowly, then all at once situations.

52:45

And Now Even Iron Age Jerusalem Gets Radiocarbonated!...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/06/24

A new collection of radiocarbon dates from Jerusalem has clarified the westward expansion of the city in the Iron Age and helped archaeologists overcome the Hallstadt Plateau. You know, that dull and listless part of the radiocarbon curve? So why are we arguing so much? It’s a regular three ring circus, but with a shoutout to the real king of Jerusalem, B.B. King!

40:53

For Fuller, Redder Bronze Age Lips, or, It's That...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/06/10

This week we’re talking about the discovery in Iran of a carved stone tube containing glittery red lipstick. Was it for women or men? Was it for fancy people or regular folks? Was it garish or tasteful? Who are we to judge? One way or another, pop is the word of the day!

47:13

A Tale of Two Cities, Which Happen to be from the...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/05/27

Today we’re talking about the possibility that the famous site of Dura Europos – you know, the giant Hellenistic multicultural walled city with a synagogue, church and temples etc., had a twin, just six kilometers down the Euphrates River. A twin in Bucks County, Pennsylvania would be more surprising but you take what you can get.

50:52

That Sunny Little Temple at Tel Azekah, or, The...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/05/13

The Late Bronze Age temple at Tell Azekah in the Judean Shephelah has us wondering, why does it face the sun, why is it so small, how often was it used, and how could you possibly have a wedding there? Not that we’re looking for a place, mind you. With an obvious and well deserved shoutout to Timbuk 3!

37:01

The Love Call of the De-Extincted Mammoth, or, Ethics...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/04/29

Today we’re talking about efforts to recreate woolly mammoths, apparently in order to 1) combat climate change, 2) cure cancer, and 3) re-wild the tundra. Our first reactions are, what? But our second reactions are a deep dive into the ethics of paleo-genomic research. Finally, there’s a shoutout to everyone’s favorite giant armadillo tank, Tarkus, and a rare reference to Tasha Yar. So there’s something for everyone.

37:35

The Case of the Roman Medical Instruments from...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/04/15

A Roman medical office in southwestern Turkey has us talking medicine. Were the same instruments used for cataracts and hemorrhoids? What kind of insurance did gladiators have anyway? Our contestants are concerned about sanitary conditions, however. With an inevitable shoutout to Theodoric, Barber of York.

44:27

How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in Antiquity, or...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/04/01

What was sleep like in antiquity and was it really that different from today? Aside from all the sheep next to you, the guy knapping flint at midnight, and having to climb a ladder and run across the rooftops in order to go to the bathroom, that is.

43:22

Remember That Time When Alexander the Great Became...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/03/18

A temple dedicated to Alexander the Great at the Mesopotamian site of Girsu has us asking questions. Was this the meta-crossover event of the century or just some guys in an office making some plaques for a foreign chump passing through? Our contestants disagree but give a special shoutout to Molly Pitcher, heroine of the New Jersey Turnpike!

52:43

How to Decorate a Philistine Temple, or, Flower Power...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/03/04

Plant remains from the Philistine temples at Tell es Safi (aka Gat) have us asking questions. Sure they’re lovely seasonal items but were they tastefully displayed? How about those strong parallels in Greece? And for the very first time the listener stops by with an unexpected tale of a visit to tunnels beneath Nineveh, newly liberated from ISIS!

47:40

Dog Days of Domestication, or, Humans and Canines...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/02/19

Today we’re talking about what it means when dogs wags their tails, and then working backward about 15,000 years to the question of their domestication. Sure dogs help, herd and guard us humans, but in the process did they help us learn to love? If Scooby and Shaggy are any indication, then the answer is clear. With a special shoutout to Tucker, ace goldendoodle of the Upper West Side!

38:21

Hello Assyriological Computer, Or, Artificial...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/02/05

The growing ability of Artificial Intelligence to transliterate and translate Mesopotamian texts has us asking questions. Will AI be a force for good, putting texts into the hands of the people or will it throw folks out of work and let charlatans push out nonsense? You're asking us? Anyway, as a bonus, our contestants offer touching memories of their first encounters with Assyriologists!

44:42

Listening to Ancient Greek Sanctuaries, Or, The Past...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/01/22

Psychoacoustic search at the Sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Lycaion shows that the builders constructed an entire site around sound. You could hear everything from the cheap seats, but was the experience really social rather than acoustic? With special shoutouts to The Who, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Boston area favorite, Human Sexual Response!

29:25

The Neolithic Canoes of Capri, Or, Have Obsidian,...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2024/01/08

Like most people, the find of an obsidian core on the seafloor off Capri has us asking, how did a chunk of the Neolithic period’s favorite shiny stone get to the bottom of the Mediterranean and, was a sunken canoe involved? After answering “who knows,” our (non-sailing) contestants are left to ponder the bravery of those who sailed in the Neolithic and ask, was it such a big deal?

40:17

Iron Age Gezer gets Radiocarbonated, or, From...

This Week in the Ancient Near East ·

2023/12/25

In our triumphant return we’re laser focused on new radiocarbon dates from destructions at Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Gezer in Israel. These destructions might be the doing of better dated Egyptian kings like Merneptah, and could link back to events described in the Bible. So not really like a laser, more bouncing around like a ping pong ball.

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This Week in the Ancient Near East

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