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This Week in the Ancient Near East: Daily Summaries Delivered
by thisweekintheancientneareast
The podcast that takes archaeology precisely as seriously as it deserves. Two real professors of archaeology and one guy from a fake institution discuss cutting edge archaeological discoveries at a high professional level using technical knowledge and stuff. A scholarly podcast for the discerning listener, it’s handmade, artisanal, and bespoke! Critics say, “A cheeky and irreverent take,” and “the good kind of shenanigans.” Other critics say, “damaging to archaeology,” and “deeply discreditable.” High-level discourse informed by neo-Brechtian, Deleuzian, or post-post processual theory, or just more BS from a couple of bored, middle aged hacks? You be the judge! The Panelists JP Dessel is the Steinfeld Associate Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is the author of Lahav I. Pottery and Politics The Halif Terrace Site 101 and Egypt in the Fourth Millennium B.C.E. (2009). Rachel Hallote is Professor of History and coor
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- 6 days ago40 min
A Judean Pillar Figurine Industry Grows in Jerusalem, or, My Mold Made Head is Up Here Buddy
The discovery in Iron Age Jerusalem of a mold for the heads of voluptuous Judean Pillar Figurines has us wondering, like, hello, idolatry? After all there are hundreds of these things. Or with a figure like that, is something else going on? Also, who does her hair? Wait, she has hair?
- 3 weeks ago42 min
The Case of the Middle Bronze Age Siege That Took Like Ten Days, or War, What Is It Good For, Archaeology (Say It Again)
A new excavation in northern Iraq at a site with the terrific name of Kurd Qaburstan has revealed evidence of siege warfare. But we sort of knew this already from the stele of King Dadusha of Eshnunna who said that he had conquered the site. In ten days. As always the destruction itself, bad for the locals, good for the archaeologists. But how big was it, really? Maybe the ten days thing wasn’t just Dadusha doing a bit. With special shout outs to Steven Spielberg and a man called Creekmore!
- Aug 3, 202640 min
Odyssey? Shmoddesy?, or, The Gang Goes to the Movie
A low budget art film recently came and went from the theaters. You may have heard of it, The Odyssey? What’s all the fuss about? Is it a deep if selective exploration of Homer’s difficult to understand text or a 21st century sword and sandals epic? Not surprisingly, our contestants disagree, this time in rather epic fashion.
- Jul 21, 202638 min
The Roman Mummy Who Swallowed the Iliad, or, Take 1186 Ships and Call Me in the Morning
A Roman mummy from the fabulously named site of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt has tested positive for the Iliad. But why put a snippet of Homer’s tale on a mummy, especially a fairly dull list of ships and places? Maybe it was to audition for a Christopher Nolan movie?
- Jun 30, 202641 min
Home on the Range at Iron Age Hazor, Isotope Edition, Or, The Cows Come Home Regardless of Your So-Called Borders, Humans
Iron Age Hazor sat in the middle of a complicated geo-political situation: Aram-Damascus to the north, the Phoenicians to the northwest, and Israel to the south. This made no difference to cows, who were taken to graze all over regardless of what the map said. Of course, they couldn’t read maps. Except maybe cow 5754. Suspicious. With a host of bovine reminiscences from your hosts!
- Jun 9, 202659 min
Sennacherib’s Throne Room of Doom, or Hezekiah Can See His House from Here
The Assyrian king Sennacherib’s throne room depicted gruesome scenes of warfare and visitors got the message that he was not to be defied. But now it seems that at the end of all the scenes of siege, torture and exile, there’s Judean king Hezekiah, standing alone. So what’s the real message? You don’t want to be the star of an Assyrian relief.
- May 18, 202639 min
Seeing the Writing on the Wall at Pompeii (Thanks to New Photographic Techniques), or, More Graffiti about Sex and Gladiators
New photographic techniques have shown that that walls in Pompeii were covered with graffiti, including pictures of gladiator fights, lewd poetry, and inscriptions in non-local languages like Safaitic. So sort of like New York City subways in the 1970s. Who says the past doesn’t repeat itself?
- Apr 20, 202648 min
The Archaeology of Grumpy Old Men (and Women) in the Judean Iron Age, or, Grandpa, That’s a Cooking Pot Not a...
A new study suggests that Iron Age Judean grandparents lived on the ground floor. Sure, it’s not like they were going up and down the ladder to the roof. But did they get their own suites and hey hey stop that, that’s a cooking pot!
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About This Week in the Ancient Near East
The podcast that takes archaeology precisely as seriously as it deserves. Two real professors of archaeology and one guy from a fake institution discuss cutting edge archaeological discoveries at a high professional level using technical knowledge and stuff. A scholarly podcast for the discerning listener, it’s handmade, artisanal, and bespoke! Critics say, “A cheeky and irreverent take,” and “the good kind of shenanigans.” Other critics say, “damaging to archaeology,” and “deeply discreditable.” High-level discourse informed by neo-Brechtian, Deleuzian, or post-post processual theory, or just more BS from a couple of bored, middle aged hacks? You be the judge! The Panelists JP Dessel is the Steinfeld Associate Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is the author of Lahav I. Pottery and Politics The Halif Terrace Site 101 and Egypt in the Fourth Millennium B.C.E. (2009). Rachel Hallote is Professor of History and coor
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