Best thisweekintheancientneareast Podcasts (2025)

1
Does a Tiny Find Sort of Illuminate a Biblical Figure and Judean Bureacracy? or, Yedayahu, We Hardly Knew You 39:08

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5d ago39:08

39:08

An itsy bitsy seal impression with the name of a Biblical figure raises the perennial question, was Judah robust and bureaucratic, or was it tiny and only occasionally literate? How robust do little tiny statelets get anyway? More importantly, was king Josiah really the Brian Cashman of Levantine kings?…

1
The Tales Ancient Scripts Can Tell, If We could Only Decipher Them, Like the South Arabian Script a Guy Actually Did Decipher Recently, or, Love Languages Lost (and Found) 39:42

19d ago39:42

39:42

The recent decipherment of the South Arabian Dhofari script from the first millennium BCE reminds us that we don’t know as much about ancient peoples and languages as we think. And finding a completely new language in a Hittite text shows that they knew a lot more than us, which is sobering, since they didn’t have fancy degrees or iced pecan oat mi…

1
The Two Faces of Hatshepsut’s Statues, or, Studies in the Archaeology of Iconoclasm and Pothole Repair 42:37

30d ago42:37

42:37

Thuthmosis III had a difficult relationship with Hatshepsut, who was, after all, both his aunt and stepmother. And Pharaoh. But does that mean he had the faces on her statues smashed? Or did he just want them turned off so his guys could fill in a big pothole? Archaeology may have the answer!By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Roman Pigs in Judea, or Close Encounters of the Swinish Kind 35:42

1M ago35:42

35:42

Romans sure loved their pigs. Soldiers were even buried with pig jawbones at Legio in the Jezreel Valley after military feasts (which doesn’t sound kosher). They brought pig power to the Levant, but hey, what did the Romans ever do for us?By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
How Phoenicians Turned Into Carthaginians But Forgot Their Genes, or, The Other Phoenician Scheme 39:54

2M ago39:54

39:54

We like to think of the Carthaginians as the western extension of the Phoenicians, but Punic genetics suggest that they were primarily descended from local peoples. Did that create identity crises for them? How about for their elephants?By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Bronze Age Tin From Cornwall to the Carmel, or How Tinny was My Valley 41:14

3M ago41:14

41:14

Bronze is a metal so popular that it has an entire age named after. But to make bronze you need tin otherwise you have squishy copper tools and, well, no Bronze Age. We’ve looked high and low for the source and now it seems like it might have been Cornwall. That’s right, the area of southwest Britain famous for pirates, pasties and, um, tin mines?…

1
The Dead Sea Scrolls Computer Dating Service, Or, Sometimes Things Are Slightly Older Than They Look 1:02:30

3M ago1:02:30

1:02:30

New research combines radiocarbon dating and artificial intelligence to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which turn out to be a bit older than expected. Is this a big rewrite of history or small rejiggering? Anyway, one of us harbors grave doubts, the other is excited about 1 Maccabees, and the third just keeps shouting the word ‘disaggregatio…

1
Diving into the Mikvah at Ostia, Or, When is a Pool Not a Pool? 37:07

4M ago37:07

37:07

The discovery of a mikvah or Jewish ritual bath in a house at Ostia Antica, the port of Rome, shows that Jews brought their practices wherever they went. After all, a ritual bath leaves you spiritually clean on the inside and a dip leaves you refreshed on the outside. But the Romans and Christians were also crazy about the water, so whose influence…

1
Beads, Bangles, and Bowls in Iron Age Judah, Or, Tchotckes Make the Man (and Woman) 38:41

4M ago38:41

38:41

New research on Iron Age Judah has us asking questions, specifically about tchotckes. Just how elite does having an alabaster bowl make you as opposed to say, a bead? How about after you were pummeled by Assyrians? What was flair in the Iron Age anyway? Was fifteen the minimum? Brian, for example, has thirty seven pieces of flair, okay. And a terri…

1
Getting Blood From a Stone (Arrowhead), Or, Waging Peace, Unsuccessfully, in the Neolithic? 37:50

5M ago37:50

37:50

A new study of Neolithic arrowheads from the Negev shows they had human as well as animal residues on them. Like human blood and guts residue, not, oh I got a tiny little nick residue. Peaceful hunter-gatherers, amirite?By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Finally, Some Evidence of the Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo, or, How to Excavate in the One Tiny Spot on Your Site That’s Sort of Undisturbed and Find Cool Things 46:17

5M ago46:17

46:17

The Pharaoh Necho has finally turned up at Megiddo (well, his guys have), which isn’t so surprising since the Bible says he killed King Josiah there. But this raises questions like, do pots equal peoples? Why did so many Greeks become mercenaries? And why did Judean kings make so many bad decisions? With a shoutout to our late friend and mentor Dou…

1
New Excavations in the Church at the Navel of the World, or, How to Dig in Jerusalem Without Things Blowing Up (Again) 37:50

6M ago37:50

37:50

The new excavations at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have us asking questions. What’s it like digging in the holiest place in the Christian world? Is it as stressful as it sounds? How many phases could there be in a 1700 year old building anyway? And was the Crusaders’ North Atlantic cod fresh or frozen?…

1
The Case of the Late Iron Age Building in the Middle of the Desert Filled With Dead Young Women Probably Going to Yemen for Unclear and Possibly Unsavory Reasons, or Worst Vacation Ever? 34:47

6M ago34:47

34:47

A late Iron Age building in the Negev Desert has us asking questions. Why is it filled with dead young women? Who were they and what were their connections with Yemen? Why don’t we call it The Yemen any more? And what does frankincense really smell like anyway?By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Hezekiah Gets His Grooves Off, Or, Cult Consolidator or Cost Cutter? 39:12

6M ago39:12

39:12

Newly published excavations of cultic rooms cut into the living rock of the City of David have us asking questions. Why are there big grooves cut in the floor? Who was crushing olives and/or grapes and for what? Why was the standing stone so skinny? And why did Hezekiah put this funky little place out of business? Spring cleaning or something else?…

1
Carbs, The Lower Paleolithic Breakfast of Champions, Or, Pass the Acorns and Water Lillies, Please 37:38

7M ago37:38

37:38

New research shows that prehumans collected and prepared carb heavy foods around 780,000 years ago. So who says that processed foods are bad for you? After all, it made their brains bigger. With a shoutout to everyone’s favorite starch, the potato!By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
The Case of the Very Long Roman Legal Papyrus from the Judean Desert, Or, Do You Really Have to Pay Sales Tax on Slaves? 39:03

7M ago39:03

39:03

The publication of a really long Roman legal document from the Judean Desert has us wondering about crime. Is changing a location on a contract really forgery? How about a little light counterfeiting of silver coins? Ok fine, but there’s sales tax on slaves? That makes all this even worse.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
The Mysterious Giant Astronomical Observatory of Stone That Wasn't, or Rujm el-Hiri and the Spirit in the Sky 40:20

8M ago40:20

40:20

You know that giant prehistoric stone circle on the Golan Heights, Rujm el Hiri? Yeah, its not really aligned with the sun and stars and isn't the only big stone thing up there. So what is it? Beats us, but never underestimate the human need to get other people to pile up stones. And really, aren't we all aligned with the sun and stars?…

1
The Art of Cursing Your Rivals in Ancient Athens, Or, How to Say #$@#!&! in Greek 39:46

8M ago39:46

39:46

In 4th and 3rd century BCE Athens lead curse tablets were snuck into cemeteries so the dead could take the messages to the underworld. Asking the departed to help put a hit on a business or romantic rival seems like a lot of responsibility. Pretty good business if you were a living sorcerer though.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
The Early Alphabet (™) in Third Millennium Syria? Or, Spelling it Out, Lightly Baked Edition 54:24

9M ago54:24

54:24

Some lightly baked clay cylinders from a late third millennium tomb in Syria have alphabetic markings. They’ve got us thinking. Does this mean -the- alphabet originated hundreds of years earlier than we thought? What is -the- alphabet anyway? Why did we think we understood any of this? Who, in fact, is lightly baked in this scenario?…

1
Between Death and Taxes in the 8th Century BCE, or Hezekiah’s Beltway Politics 41:20

9M ago41:20

41:20

An excavation in southern Jerusalem revealed a tax office belonging to Hezekiah. This raises a question, was Jerusalem really a capitol district and not just a city? A more pressing question, however, is why Hezekiah thought rebelling against the Assyrians was a good idea in the first place.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
The Mesopotamian Map of Mystery, Or, From Babylon to the Boondocks and Back Again, Hopefully 39:55

10M ago39:55

39:55

A wonderful newish video about the famous 6th century Babylonian tablet showing a map of the world has us thinking. Sure, there are a bunch of Mesopotamian field and building plans, more of a zoning and taxes thing, but why aren’t there more maps? Maybe they knew that no matter where you go, there you are. See the video here! https://www.youtube.co…

1
How to Go from Spindle Whorls to Wagon Wheels in Just 6,000 Years, or Rotational Energy and the Wheel of Destiny 40:56

10M ago40:56

40:56

New studies on the origins of the wheel have us wondering, why did it take thousands of years to go from 10th millennium BCE spindle whorls in Israel to 4th millennium BCE wheels in the Carpathian mountains, were rollers and copper mining really involved, and how much rotational energy is really provided courtesy of Fred Flintstone’s two feet?…

1
Reading Eclipses for Fun and Profit, or from Divine Intervention to Priestly Protection Racket in the Old Babylonian Period 39:55

11M ago39:55

39:55

Some Old Babylonian tablets warn about lunar eclipses and their dire consequences. Drought! Famine! Lions! Surprisingly, the priests had rituals to prevent those consequences. Wait, you don’t seem surprised. With a shoutout to Madame Marie, seer of the Jersey Shore!By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
(How) Long Reign Hezekiah, or A 100th Episode for the Ages! 43:59

11M ago43:59

43:59

For our momentous 100th episode we’re talking about the age old question, does chronology matter? A bunch of tiny seal impressions seem to have solved the question of when our old friend Hezekiah reigned. Though definitely stolen, they might even be real, probably. Maybe. So we’ve got big problems of reality and morality going for us, which is some…

1
The Neolithic Shaman Girl from Çemka Höyük, or Terrapin Station in the Tenth Millennium 40:06

12M ago40:06

40:06

A Neolithic shaman burial at Çemka Höyük in southeastern Turkey? Why not! Somebody had to be a guide to the spirit world. But why are they always buried with tortoises? Aurochs, sure, weasels, um, ok. Our contestants are stumped and offer wild speculations. So business as usual.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
How to Dye a Fabric in the Middle Bronze Age, Or, See, I Told You Those Gross Little Bugs Were Good For Something 38:19

12M ago38:19

38:19

A red dyed textile from a Middle Bronze Age cave in the Judean Desert has us wondering, sure, boiled squished insects are colorful, but how did they go from, eww, gross, to, hey maybe I could dye some fabric with them and make myself pop? With psychologically revealing ruminations on our contestants’ favorite colors!…

1
The Tale of the Egyptian Scribes and their Bad Knees, Or, If You Can Build a Pyramid You Can Build a Table 29:47

1y ago29:47

29:47

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.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
A Deepwater - Like Really Really Deep- Late Bronze Age Shipwreck or, Down to the Sea in Sunken Canaanite Ships 31:42

1y ago31:42

31:42

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.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Horsing Around the Ancient Near East in the Third Millennium BCE, Or, Let Me Get You Off of That Kunga and onto a Brand New Palomino! 45:19

1y ago45:19

45:19

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!…

1
A Waxy Buildup at Iron Age Horvat Tevet, Or, Does This Beeswax Make me Look Canaanite or Israelite? 48:41

1y ago48:41

48:41

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!By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Welcome to Çatalhöyük, Population ? Or, Does Size Matter, Neolithic Edition 53:35

1y ago53:35

53:35

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!…

1
The Case of the Missing Branch of the Nile That Everyone Sort of Knew Had to be There Right Next to the Pyramids, or, You Can See a Lot of Cool Stuff from Space or Maybe With a Really Tall Ladder 33:59

1y ago33:59

33:59

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.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
And Now Even Iron Age Jerusalem Gets Radiocarbonated! Or, Hezekiah Climbs the Hallstadt Plateau 52:45

1+ y ago52:45

52:45

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 Jerus…

1
For Fuller, Redder Bronze Age Lips, or, It's That Lipstick from Iran 40:53

1+ y ago40:53

40:53

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!By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
A Tale of Two Cities, Which Happen to be from the Hellenistic Period and are Located on the Euphrates River Only a Few Miles from Each Other, or, Dura Europos and its One Sister 47:13

1+ y ago47:13

47:13

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.…

1
That Sunny Little Temple at Tel Azekah, or, The Temple’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades 50:52

1+ y ago50:52

50:52

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!…

1
The Love Call of the De-Extincted Mammoth, or, Ethics in Paleo-genomic Research (for Fun and Profit) 37:01

1+ y ago37:01

37:01

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,…

1
The Case of the Roman Medical Instruments from Southwest Turkey, Or, The Doctor Will See What’s Left of You Now 37:35

1+ y ago37:35

37:35

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.…

1
How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in Antiquity, or Sleeping with the Television on in the Ancient Near East? 44:27

1+ y ago44:27

44:27

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.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
Remember That Time When Alexander the Great Became Ningirsu? Or, Naming Rights in Mesopotamia 43:22

1+ y ago43:22

43:22

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!…

1
How to Decorate a Philistine Temple, or, Flower Power Tell es Safi Style 52:43

1+ y ago52:43

52:43

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!…

1
Dog Days of Domestication, or, Humans and Canines from Prehistory to the Present 47:40

1+ y ago47:40

47:40

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, ac…

1
Hello Assyriological Computer, Or, Artificial Intelligence and the Ancient Near East? 38:21

1+ y ago38:21

38:21

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 th…

1
Listening to Ancient Greek Sanctuaries, Or, The Past Was a Noisy Country 44:42

1+ y ago44:42

44:42

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!…

1
The Neolithic Canoes of Capri, Or, Have Obsidian, Will Travel? 29:25

1+ y ago29:25

29:25

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…

1
Iron Age Gezer gets Radiocarbonated, or, From Archaeology to Text, to Text, and Back Again to, Wait, What? 40:17

2y ago40:17

40:17

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.…

1
A Note to Our Listener 0:41

2y ago0:41

0:41

This Week in the Ancient Near East is taking a short break while one member of our plucky band recovers from a nasty illness. We’ll be back soon with all new episodes and the same old schtick!By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
The Prehistoric Spanish Cave of Drugs, Death and Fun! Or, the Clan of the Cave Hair? 43:16

2y ago43:16

43:16

A burial cave on the Western Mediterranean island of Minorca dating to 1000 BCE contained 200 individuals and wooden boxes of dyed human hairs. The hairs were full of drugs, which leads our contestants to ask just what kind of parties were going on down there and why we weren’t invited. A few flashbacks to the 1970s result.…

1
The Toilets of Iron Age Jerusalem, A View from Below, or, Dysentery and the Bible? 45:31

2y ago45:31

45:31

Excavation of Iron Age cesspits in Jerusalem has us thinking many things. These include 1) wow, they actually recovered protozoa that caused dysentery, how’d they do that, and, 2) umm, Jerusalem elites were really unhealthy. Our contestants try to keep the juvenile humor to a minimum.By thisweekintheancientneareast

1
The Copper Age Princess of Iberia? Or, I Want to Live With A Cinnabar Girl 41:57

2y ago41:57

41:57

A new article suggests that an elite Copper Age burial in southern Spain belonged to a young woman, not a man, and that society was a matriarchy. Our contestants are a little conflicted about reconstructing society starting with a single tooth, but it sounds a bit like Barbie Land, which is cool with us.…

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