ANE TODAY VOL II n9 (2014)

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September 2014

Vol. 2, No. 9
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol II, No. 9! This month, we focus on two cultures from the heartland of the ancient world: Israel and Mesopotamia.

We lead off with ancient Israel. Carly Crouch asks the question of when Israelite identity emerged, while Ronald Hendel describes a new project to create a critical edition of the Hebrew Bible.

Ancient and modern violence in Mesopotamia is a concern addressed as Jordi Vidal reviews the problem of violence against non-combatants in the ancient Near East, while Daniel Schwermer looks at the question of witchcraft. Michael Danti recounts recent fieldwork in Kurdistan, sometimes undertaken within earshot of the unfolding war. Finally, Kurt Prescott gives an overview of ASOR’s new project to document and preserve Syrian heritage that is being destroyed by war.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

When were the Israelites? Understanding Israelite Identity in the Pre-Exilic Period

By C.L. Crouch

Scholars have long asked, “Who were the Israelites?” Less frequent is the question, “Whenwere the Israelites?” Indeed, traditional discussions of Israelite identity have focused overwhelmingly on two periods: the emergence of Israel sometime between the twelfth and tenth centuries BCE and the experience of exile in the sixth century.

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The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition – Toward a New and Improved Version

By Ronald Hendel

Textual criticism — the comparison of ancient texts of the Hebrew Bible — has been revitalized by the riches of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The latest outcome is a new project that will construct an improved edition of the Hebrew Bible.

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Kurdistan 2014: Archaeology amid Uncertainty

By Michael Danti

War seemed at the doorstep of Kurdistan, but the ASOR-affiliated Rowanduz Archaeological Program (RAP) conducted its second field season of archaeological excavations, surveys, and geophysical prospection in northeastern Iraqi Kurdistan in May and June 2014.

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Witchcraft in Ancient Mesopotamia

By Daniel Schwemer

Belief in witches was as widespread in Mesopotamia as it was in Europe. Incantation and ritual texts preserved on cuneiform tablets provide a vivid image of witchcraft in second and first millennium Mesopotamia. But a closer look reveals fundamental differences between Babylonian witches and their European counterparts.

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Horrors of War in the Ancient Near East

By Jordi Vidal

War in the Middle East seems ever-present. But the study of war has been neglected, no more so than in the ancient Near East, and especially its impact on noncombatant populations. After the Second World War, military history became a marginal discipline within academia.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL II n10 (2014)

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October 2014

Vol. 2, No. 10
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 10! This month we travel from the threats to archaeology and heritage in the present, back to the fourth millennium BCE, with stops at Ugarit and the Netherlands.

We begin with a report by Kyrstin Husz on the efforts by the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield to stem the destruction of antiquities and heritage in the Middle East. From there, Thomas Bolin looks at the history and archaeology behind some of the Bible’s lesser-studied books, Ezra and Nehemiah. Gregorio del Olmo Lete reviews some of the most interesting and important new discoveries in the study of Ugaritic language and culture, while Lucas Petit reviews the significant Dutch contribution to ancient Near Eastern studies. Andrea Polcaro and Juan Muniz bring us news from their excavations at the threatened Early Bronze Age site of Jebel al-Mutawwaq in northern Jordan. Finally, we’re pleased to bring you an assortment of recent reports by students supported by ASOR scholarships.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

The 1954 Hague Convention at 60 – a Report on the Joint Annual Meeting of the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield

By Krystin Husz

The tragic events unfolding in Syria and Iraq are taking an immense human toll. But the costs to culture are also mounting. The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield (USCBS) is a nonprofit organization committed to the protection of cultural property worldwide during armed conflict.

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What’s New with Ezra-Nehemiah

By Thomas M. Bolin

What’s new with Ezra-Nehemiah? This might not be the most exciting discussion on the Bible you can think of, but give me the chance to convince you otherwise. Granted, the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple after the Babylonian Exile has not been the stuff of great biblical epic or Hollywood blockbusters.

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The Current State of Ugaritic Studies

By Gregorio del Olmo Lete

No other language and culture of Northwest Semitic – the family of languages and cultures used in the Levant including Hebrew, Phoenician, and Aramaic – prior to the appearance of the Hebrew Bible has offered a similar corpus of linguistic and mythological material as Ugaritic.

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The Dutch and the Ancient Near East

By Lucas Petit, National Museum of Antiquities

Cheese, windmills, and the sweet smell of marijuana in the city of Amsterdam have become famous icons of the Netherlands, a small country in Europe. But this is a very limited description of one of the most densely populated countries of the world, and one that has long been a leader in ancient Near Eastern studies.

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The Early Bronze Age I Site and Necropolis of Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Jordan

By Andrea Polcaro and Juan Muniz

Much of the archaeological landscape of the ancient Near East is rapidly disappearing. This is especially true for pre and protohistoric sites that lack the imposing size of tells. Features such as dolmens, aboveground stone tombs, are being especially hard hit and are under constant threat from stone quarries and modern farming.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL VII n02 (2019)

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February 2019

Vol. 7, No. 2
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The Post-2002 Fragments and the Scholars Who Turned Them Into Dead Sea Scrolls

By Årstein Justnes and Josephine Munch Rasmussen

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 and fully published by 2001. But the next year fragments began appearing on the antiquities market, ready to satisfy eager collectors.

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Salt in Mesopotamia: A Blessing and A Curse

By Sebastian Fink

Salt was common in Mesopotamia; Assyriologists tend to ignore it. A closer look shows Mesopotamian writers were concerned with salinization and that salt was an integral part of diet, industry, and magic.

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The Golden Pome: The Pomegranate from its Deepest Roots to Modern Culture

By Federica Spagnoli

Pomegranates are renowned as health food but that association is very ancient. And it should not be surprising that pomegranates are also associated with powerful deities across the Mediterranean.

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Translating the Bible Against the Ancient Near Eastern Background

By Robert Alter

Translators try to understand the language of ancient texts and the world view of the writers. Doing so requires going beyond the literal text to try and capture the poetic meanings and structures.

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ANE TODAY VOL II n11 (2014)

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November 2014

Vol. 2, No. 11
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 11! This month we take you from childhood through adulthood and from the challenges of publishing an old excavation to the problems of studying the Middle East in conflict.

We begin with David Ben Shlomo on his experiences publishing the Tell Jemmeh excavations, many years after they concluded. William den Hollander brings new perspectives on Flavius Josephus: traitor, survivor, or something else? Kristine Garroway asks an unusual question: why haven’t children in antiquity been more thoroughly studied? Robin Jensen looks at how ancient baptisteries connected that rite with the Christian symbolic world. Finally, we’re again pleased to bring you an assortment of reports by students supported by ASOR scholarships.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Publishing the Tell Jemmeh Excavations, 40 years later

By David Ben-Shlomo

Opportunities arise in unusual ways. But the opportunity to help publish a major excavation is by definition unusual. During the summer of 2008, while I was towards the end of a postdoctorate term at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, working on computerized archaeology, I was approached by Prof. Amihai Mazar.

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Josephus Reconsidered

By William den Hollander

In the early summer of the year AD 67, during the early stages of the Jewish revolt against Rome, the city of Jotapata (Yodfat) in lower Galilee fell to the besieging Roman army. In the ensuing chaos, the general in charge of the fortified city, a priest from Jerusalem named Yosef ben Mattityahu.

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Children in the Ancient Near East

By Kristine Garroway

JFK called them “the world’s most valuable resource,” and Whitney Houston claimed they “are our future.” Just as children are recognized as important members of contemporary households, so too were they in the ancient world.

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A New Look at Baptism

By Robin Jensen

Countless Christians are familiar with the rite of baptism. But Christian baptism was one of the most complicated of ancient initiation rituals insofar as it served many and varied objectives.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL II n12 (2014)

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December 2014

Vol. 2, No. 12
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today, Vol. II, No. 12 – the last issue of 2014! In this month’s issue, we take you from cursing in the past, to priestly attire, with look at the problem of being a kingdom on the Euphrates, and recent results of archaeology in Iraq and Qatar.

We lead off with Joan Taylor’s discussion of what Jewish priests from the Second Temple wore. Adam Miglio reviews the modern-sounding politics of Zimri-Lim’s kingdom on the Central Euphrates. After that, Anne Marie Kitz looks at ancient curse formulas and what they really mean, and Sultan Muhesin and Faisal Al Naimi review recent archaeological work in Qatar. Finally, Jason Ur’s plenary lecture from the 2014 Annual Meeting highlights the renewed archaeological research in Iraq.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

What did Jewish Priests Wear?

By Joan E. Taylor

In antiquity, as today, ritual experts of various kinds were distinguished by dress that marked them off as engaged in sacred duties. In ancient Rome a priest of the imperial cult, the flamen, wore flame-coloured clothing with a remarkable apex-pointed skullcap.

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Political Landscapes along the Central Euphrates River, Then and Now

By Adam Miglio

Headlines across media outlets of all types remind us of the troubling events in Syria and Iraq. Yet when reading the stories behind the headlines, it quickly becomes apparent that modern geo-political boundaries are of secondary significance to understanding these current events.

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Cursing in the Ancient Near East

By Anne Marie Kitz

All families fight and sometimes what sound like harsh words are used. But what is really meant when someone asks their deity to “inflict a curse and evil”? In the ancient Near East curses and blessings were a fundamental aspect of the relationship between human beings and their deities.

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Notes on Archaeological Discoveries from Qatar

By Sultan Muhesen and Faisal Al Naimi

Qatar was once best known for pearls. In the twentieth century this gave way to oil. But the archaeological heritage of this state on the northeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula is swiftly being brought into the twenty-first century.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL IV n01 (2016)

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January 2016

Vol. 4, No. 1
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Volume IV, No. 1! In this issue we travel from Iraq to Egypt, with a dive off the coast of Israel.

We begin with Ehud Galili and Sarah Arenson, who look at the challenges of managing Israel’s underwater archaeological resources. Next, Helen Malko describes an important project to document Mesopotamian monuments, from ancient sites to early modern buildings. From our sibling publication, Near Eastern Archaeology, we’re pleased to present a version of Renate Müller-Wollermann’s discussion of crime and punishment in ancient Egypt.

We’re also pleased to highlight a video of Susan Alcock’s important plenary talk from ASOR’s 2015 Annual Meeting, and scholarship reports from ASOR-supported students.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Israel’s Marine Archaeology Treasures – An Endangered Cultural Resource

By: Ehud Galili and Sarah Arenson

The Maritime cultural heritage of Israel is an integral part of human history, from the Neolithic revolution to the first Empires as well as the foundation of monotheistic religions. Responsibly preserving that heritage is an immense challenge.

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Preserving the Past: the Mapping Mesopotamian Monuments Project

By: Helen Malko

Since the appearance of the so-called Islamic State or Daesh in Syria and Iraq, the world has been faced with a vicious attack on cultural heritage aimed at erasing the rich and diverse history of the people in this region.

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Crime and Punishment in Pharaonic Egypt

By: Renate Müller-Wollermann

In ancient Egypt crimes are acts against other persons or the state. Punishments are official, not private sanctions against persons who committed crimes. The term for “crime” is bt3. A capital crime is bt3 ‘3 (n mwt), “great crime” (worthy of death). Egyptian sources for crimes and punishments are extremely diverse but are primarily texts such as royal decrees.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL IV n02 (2016)

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February 2016

Vol. 4, No. 2
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Vol. IV, No. 2! In this issue we take you from the topic of head injuries in ancient Mesopotamia, to Egyptian archaeology, and to the imaginary worlds of virtual reality and fake inscriptions.

We begin with Ed Greenstein’s post-mortem for the much-discussed Jehoash tablet. Next, Arkadiusz Sołtysiak discusses the intriguing pattern of head injuries and warfare in ancient Mesopotamia. That’s followed by a revealing interview with leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass. Peter Herdrich then describes the new Nimrud Rising project, which recreates the site using virtual reality. Finally, we present links to the latest ASOR fellowship reports, podcasts, and videos from the Protecting Our Shared History in Syria Summit.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

The So-Called Jehoash Inscription: A Post Mortem

By: Ed Greenstein

Three millennia of documented history of Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria are dominated by the accounts of war, and violence seems to have been present in the everyday life of all Mesopotamians. What do the bodies of ancient Mesopotamians tell us about this violence?

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Head Injuries in Ancient Mesopotamia: What do we Really Know?

By: Arkadiusz Sołtysiak

Three millennia of documented history of Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria are dominated by the accounts of war, and violence seems to have been present in the everyday life of all Mesopotamians.

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Interview with Zahi Hawass

By: Alex Joffe

Few individuals are so closely identified with Egypt – and ancient Egypt – as Zahi Hawass. Formerly Minister of State for Antiquities, Hawass has been Chief Inspector and Director of the Giza Plateau, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and has excavated at numerous sites throughout Egypt.

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Nimrud Rising: An Immersive Virtual Reality Recreation of a Lost Site

By: Peter Herdrich

In March, 2015, reports from the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed that agents of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had attacked the ancient Assyrian capital city of Nimrud in northeastern Iraq, just eighteen miles southeast of Mosul.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL IV n03 (2016)

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March 2016

Vol. 4, No. 3
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Vol. IV, No. 3! In this issue, we go from the names of the Biblical period to the plains of southern Turkey, with stops to consider Mesopotamian prayers and the history of Biblical Archaeology.

We begin with Mitka Golub’s consideration of Biblical names while Eric Meyers takes a look at famed Israeli archaeologist Yigal Yadin’s final visit to America. From there, Alan Lenzi discusses the nature of Akkadian prayers, and Minna Silver introduces us to the enormous site of Harran in Turkey. We’re also pleased to have two podcasts, with Robert Kawashima and Kerry Muhlestein, on crime, punishment, and violence in the ancient Near East. Finally, we present links to the latest ASOR fellowship and Cultural Heritage Initiative reports.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Unearthing the Past at Ancient Harran and the Wells of Paddan-Aram

By Minna Silver

Many know Harran from the biblical story of Abraham and his family’s wanderings. Today the huge tell of Harran, the mound of the ancient city, measures over one kilometre across and is surrounded by ancient walls.

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Akkadian Prayers in Ancient Mesopotamia

By Alan Lenzi

Prayer is ubiquitous in human societies, including ancient Mesopotamia, but it often appears alien or distant to our modern sensibilities. A closer look shows that this seemingly arcane topic tells us much about Mesopotamian hopes, fears, rituals, and history, sometimes in deeply human ways.

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What names teach us about Iron II society in the Land of Israel

By Mitka Golub

Names send messages about identity. Today, many African-Americans have first names that are totally different from those of white Americans. But until the early 1970s there was a great similarity between the two communities. Scholars who studied this phenomenon.

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Yigael Yadin’s Last Night in America: ASOR and the Biblical Archaeology Movement

By Eric M. Meyers

In light of the sharp decline in enrollments in the humanities in colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, I thought it might be helpful to share a story about Yigael Yadin’s last day in America, the day before he died.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL IV n04 (2016)

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April 2016

Vol. 4, No. 4
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Vol. IV, No. 4! In this issue we travel from the security services of Roman Judea to the toilets of ancient Mesopotamia, with stops to consider the Iron Age in Jordan and the relationship of the Bible and archaeology.

This month, Augusta McMahon looks at the seemingly modern problems of sanitation and waste disposal in ancient Mesopotamia. Mary Rose Sheldon considers how Roman intelligence professionals would have perceived Jesus. Tristan Barako reviews excavations at the important site of Tell er-Rumeith in northern Jordan. Louis de Figueiredo interviews noted Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, on the always challenging relationship between the Bible and archaeology. We’re also pleased to have two podcast interviews with authors featured in a recent special Near Eastern Archaeologyissue on crime and punishment in the Bible and the Near East. Finally, we present the latest update to the situation in Palmyra from ASOR’s Cultural Heritage Initiatives.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Jesus as a Security Risk: Intelligence and Repression in the Roman Empire

By Rose Mary Sheldon

Intelligence personnel tend to have a view of events that differs from historians, even other people in government, and certainly from the general public. They are often accused of being realpolitikers or just plain cynical. Although crude jokes are made about the lack of morality in the intel game (the world’s second oldest profession.

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Trash and Toilets in Mesopotamia: Sanitation and Early Urbanism

By Augusta McMahon

Sanitation is something we in the West take for granted. We shouldn’t. The recent celebration of World Toilet Day in November 2015 shone a spotlight on the variety of modern sanitation systems. Some 35% of the world’s population has no access to clean, safe toilet facilities; 14% simply defecates in the open.

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The Role of Biblical Archaeology in Exegesis: An interview with Professor Israel Finkelstein, Part 1

By Louis C. de Figueiredo

“If the historical faith of Israel is not founded in history, such a faith is erroneous, and therefore, our faith is also.” So wrote Father Roland de Vaux, the French Dominican archaeologist who excavated Qumran and the first editor-in-chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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Reconstructing Tell er-Rumeith

By Tristan Barako

In the spring of 1967, a team of archaeologists led by the late Paul Lapp concluded excavations at the small Iron Age site of Tell er-Rumeith in northern Jordan. Nearly 50 years later, his widow, Nancy Lapp, and I published the final report of Rumeith in the ASOR Archaeological Report Series.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

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ANE TODAY VOL IV n05 (2016)

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May 2016

Vol. 4, No. 5
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Vol. 4, No. 5! In this issue we go from the skies above Joshua’s battle with the Amorite kings, to fundamental questions of the Bible and history, with a stop to look at the most popular widescreen version of the Exodus.

Learn how to promote your dig or research with 5 easy tips from ASOR. Mark Chavalas looks at the texts behind the story of how Joshua stopped the moon and the sun. Next, we present the second part of Louis de Figueiredo’s interview with Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein on the relationship between the Bible and archaeology. Then, Alex Joffe takes a look back at the iconic 1956 film The Ten Commandments and its uniquely American version of the Exodus. Finally, we present a video from the 2015 ASOR Annual Meeting on the journey of the Cyrus cylinder.

As always, we encourage you to send The Ancient Near East Today articles to family and friends, post links to Facebook and Twitter, and to be in touch with the editor. Remember, being a Friend of ASOR is free, so please spread the news![/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”0″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

Does the Bible Claim that the Sun and Moon stopped in their Tracks?

By Mark Chavalas

The sun and moon have been in the news lately; Pastor John Hagee has claimed that recent blood moons (a popular phrase for a total lunar eclipse) have biblical significance of cataclysmic proportions concerning modern day Israel. A discussion of what the Bible actually says of the movement of heavenly bodies is therefore in order.

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The Role of Biblical Archaeology in Exegesis: An interview with Professor Israel Finkelstein, Part 2

By Louis C. de Figueiredo

This is part 2 in the two part interview with Professor Israel Finkelstein. Please click here to read, “The Role of Biblical Archaeology in Exegesis: An interview with Professor Israel Finkelstein, Part 1.”

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“So it is Written, So it Shall be Done:” The Ten Commandments at 60

By Alex Joffe

Who was Moses and what was the Exodus? The Book of Exodus contains 40 chapters but the very human desire to express these narratives in imagery has been evident for millennia.

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[/vc_column_text][mk_divider thickness=”1″ margin_top=”10″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.

READ THIS ISSUE
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