Podcast

This Week in the Ancient Near East

Author: thisweekintheancientneareast
Feed episode count: 142
Official site: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com
RSS: https://feed.podbean.com/thisweekintheancientneareast/feed.xml
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Summary

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! Why not check out this index of our back episodes? You can search by topic! https://airtable.com/app4eECJAuksSYpBP/shr7BSxqWQSYLmMnE/tblXQSGflnYHvVgcE/viwtg2OTzwxogcQ7G Who are 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 coordinator of the Jewish S…

Episodes

Jul 21, 2026 · not_requested

The Roman Mummy Who Swallowed the Iliad, or, Take 1186 Ships and Call Me in the Morning

Duration seconds: 2291
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-roman-mummy-who-swallowed-the-iliad-or-take-1186-ships-and-call-me-in-the-morning/

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Jun 30, 2026 · not_requested

Home on the Range at Iron Age Hazor, Isotope Edition, Or, The Cows Come Home Regardless of Your So-Called Borders, Humans

Duration seconds: 2487
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/home-on-the-range-at-iron-age-hazor-isotope-edition-or-the-cows-come-home-regardless-of-your-so-called-borders-humans/

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Jun 9, 2026 · not_requested

Sennacherib’s Throne Room of Doom, or Hezekiah Can See His House from Here

Duration seconds: 3584
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/sennacherib-s-throne-room-of-doom-or-hezekiah-can-see-his-house-from-here/

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May 18, 2026 · not_requested

Seeing the Writing on the Wall at Pompeii (Thanks to New Photographic Techniques), or, More Graffiti about Sex and Gladiators

Duration seconds: 2398
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/seeing-the-writing-on-the-wall-at-pompeii-thanks-to-new-photographic-techniques-or-more-graffiti-about-sex-and-gladiators/

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Apr 20, 2026 · not_requested

The Archaeology of Grumpy Old Men (and Women) in the Judean Iron Age, or, Grandpa, That’s a Cooking Pot Not a...

Duration seconds: 2911
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-archaeology-of-grumpy-old-men-and-women-in-the-judean-iron-age-or-grandpa-that-s-a-cooking-pot-not-a/

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Apr 6, 2026 · not_requested

The Case of the Elephant Bone in Third Century BCE Spain, or, Babar Says, You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry

Duration seconds: 2163
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-case-of-the-elephant-bone-in-third-century-bce-spain-or-babar-says-you-wouldn-t-like-me-when-i-m-angry/

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Mar 23, 2026 · not_requested

Please Don’t Eat the Halafian Daisies, or Plant Based Mathematics in Prehistory?

Duration seconds: 2545
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/please-don-t-eat-the-halafian-daisies-or-plant-based-mathematics-in-prehistory/

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Mar 9, 2026 · not_requested

For Quick Energy, Mamluks Choose Sugar! or, The Archaeology of 13-16th Century CE Sugar Mills in Israel

Duration seconds: 2293
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/for-quick-energy-mamluks-choose-sugar-or-the-archaeology-of-13-16th-century-ce-sugar-mills-in-israel/

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Feb 23, 2026 · not_requested

The Opium Trail from Egypt to Persia, or Putting Your Hope in Dope, Ancient Edition

Duration seconds: 2293
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-opium-trail-from-egypt-to-persia-or-putting-your-hope-in-dope-ancient-edition/

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Feb 9, 2026 · not_requested

The Case of the Very Different Iron Age Shipwrecks at Dor, or, Underwater Insurance Adjusters, Assemble!

Duration seconds: 2458
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-case-of-the-very-different-iron-age-shipwrecks-at-dor-or-underwater-insurance-adjusters-assemble/

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Jan 26, 2026 · not_requested

A Prehistoric Figurine of Problematic Possibilities, or Or, Mythogram for Mother Goose

Duration seconds: 2181
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/a-prehistoric-figurine-of-problematic-possibilities-or-or-mythogram-for-mother-goose/

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Jan 12, 2026 · not_requested

Dear Judah, This is Not a Bill, Except It Really Is, Signed, Assyria; or, The Iron Age Tax Man Cometh

Duration seconds: 2291
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/dear-judah-this-is-not-a-bill-except-it-really-is-signed-assyria-or-the-iron-age-tax-man-cometh/

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Dec 29, 2025 · not_requested

The Great Nubian Gold Rush (of the Second Millennium BCE?), or, Gold Bugs of the Bronze Age

Duration seconds: 2469
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-great-nubian-gold-rush-of-the-second-millennium-bce-or-goldbugs-of-the-bronze-age/

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Dec 15, 2025 · not_requested

All I Want for Chanukah is a New Hasmonean Wall in Jerusalem, or, Shameless Holiday Tie In Edition

Duration seconds: 2162
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/all-i-want-for-chanukah-is-a-new-hasmonean-wall-in-jerusalem-or-shameless-holiday-tie-in-edition/

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Dec 1, 2025 · not_requested

Does Anybody at Iron Age Arad Really Know What Time It Is? Or, If You Can Write the Weekly Invoices, Can You Write the Bible?

Duration seconds: 2496
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/does-anybody-at-iron-age-arad-really-know-what-time-it-is-or-if-you-can-write-the-weekly-invoices-can-you-write-the-bible/

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Nov 17, 2025 · not_requested

To Live and Die at Late Bronze Age Yavne Yam, or, I Dream of a Gini with a Jar Full of Opium

Duration seconds: 2471
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/to-live-and-die-at-late-bronze-age-yavne-yam-or-i-dream-of-gini-with-the-jar-full-of-opium/

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Nov 3, 2025 · not_requested

A Dam Grows in Iron Age Jerusalem, Or, When the Levites Break

Duration seconds: 2408
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/a-dam-grows-in-iron-age-jerusalem-or-when-the-levites-break/

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Oct 20, 2025 · not_requested

The Puzzling Case of Children’s Rattles in Early Bronze Age Syria, or, Here Kid, Shake This, Mom and Dad are Working

Duration seconds: 2441
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-puzzling-case-of-children-s-rattles-in-early-bronze-age-syria-or-here-kid-shake-this-mom-and-dad-are-working/

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Oct 6, 2025 · not_requested

Banking on Silver Hoards in the Bronze Age Levant, or “Baby You are So Money You Don't Even Know it.”

Duration seconds: 2570
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/banking-on-silver-hoards-in-the-bronze-age-levant-or-baby-you-are-so-money-you-dont-even-know-it/

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Sep 22, 2025 · not_requested

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

Duration seconds: 2348
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/does-a-tiny-find-sort-of-illuminate-a-biblical-figure-and-judean-bureacracy-or-yedayahu-we-hardly-knew-you/

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Sep 8, 2025 · not_requested

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)

Duration seconds: 2382
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-talesancient-scriptscantellif-we-could-only-decipher-them-like-the-south-arabianscript-aguy-actually-did-decipherrecentlyorlovelanguageslostand/

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Aug 25, 2025 · not_requested

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

Duration seconds: 2557
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/the-two-faces-of-hatshepsut-s-statues-or-studies-in-the-archaeology-of-iconoclasm-and-pothole-repair/

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Aug 11, 2025 · not_requested

Roman Pigs in Judea, or Close Encounters of the Swinish Kind

Duration seconds: 2142
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/roman-pigs-in-judea-or-close-encounters-of-the-swinish-kind/

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Jul 21, 2025 · not_requested

How Phoenicians Turned Into Carthaginians But Forgot Their Genes, or, The Other Phoenician Scheme

Duration seconds: 2394
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/how-phoenicians-turned-into-carthaginians-but-forgot-their-genes-or-the-other-phoenician-scheme/

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Jul 7, 2025 · not_requested

Bronze Age Tin From Cornwall to the Carmel, or How Tinny was My Valley

Duration seconds: 2474
Source: https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/bronze-age-tin-from-cornwall-to-the-carmel-or-how-tinny-was-my-valley/

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