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

This Week in the Ancient Near East

#History #thisweekintheancientneareast

25:13

After taking a four year break on his Oklahoma ranch, Blake Shelton is back on the road and riding the high of his new album, For Recreational Use Only . After 29 number one hits, and a detour into Hollywood, Blake’s scorching hot single “Texas” proves he’s still got it. Country Thunder CEO Troy Vollhoffer recalls meeting Blake Shelton during a crazy storm that really put the “thunder” in Country Thunder. After 23 seasons on The Voice , Blake opens up about spreading himself thin and making the choice to be “a TV guy or a touring guy.” The two reminisce about Toby Keith and why being a road dog is the best way to learn how to entertain a crowd. Blake reveals how his worst on-stage “ass-kicking” taught him how to be himself in front of a crowd. After taking so much time away from the spotlight, Blake shares that it was Post Malone who reminded him that he’s still a country singer at heart.…

about a year ago 46:17

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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 Doug Esse!

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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

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

101 episodes

#History #thisweekintheancientneareast

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This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

9 days 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 is washing over whom?…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

23 days 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 terrific smile.…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

5 weeks 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?

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

7 weeks ago46:17

46:17

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

9 weeks 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?…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

11 weeks 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?

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

13 weeks 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?…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

15 weeks 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!

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

17 weeks 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.

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

19 weeks 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?…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

21 weeks 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.

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

23 weeks 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?…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

25 weeks 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.

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

27 weeks 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.com/watch?v=LUxFzh8r384…

This Week in the Ancient Near East

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

29 weeks ago40:56