By Eberhard Zangger, Daniel Sarlo and Fabienne Haas Dantes
A hand-sized silver goblet from an Intermediate Bronze Age tomb near Ramallah has long been read through a late Babylonian creation epic, Enūma Eliš. Reconsidered against earlier Mesopotamian, Anatolian, and Egyptian comparanda, its paired scenes point instead to a visual cosmology: the birth of the sun and the daily maintenance of order by gods who raise a Celestial Boat. The goblet thus documents an early, Levantine version of a shared Near Eastern grammar of separation, renewal, and control – less a single victory than a perpetual task.
Archaeologists uncover pair of unusually rich graves from the Assyrian period in the Jezreel Valley. Read more at Haaretz.
Kuwaiti-Danish archaeological team unearths 4000-year-old temple on Kuwait’s Failaka island, associated with the ancient Dilmun civilization. Read more at the Greek Reporter.
A misreading of a 14th century Arabic tale led to historical misunderstandings about the spread of the Black Plague, scholars argue. Read more at phys.org.
Scholars dismantle the belief that Tel el-Amarna, the ancient Egyptian capital founded by the controversial king Akhenaten, was depopulated due to plague. Read more at Artnet.com.
A well-preserved New Kingdom-era military fortress with unusual zigzag walls was uncovered at Tell el-Kharouba in the northern Sinai, not far from the coast, with finds including fossilized bread and volcanic rock from the Aegean islands. Read more at Live Science.
Earliest winepress every found in Israel uncovered at the foot of Tel Megiddo, along with later artifacts of Canaanite religious practices, including a zoomorphic juglet shaped like a ram. Read more at Haaretz or watch on YouTube.
For the first time in 20 years, you can gaze upon the Parthenon in Athens without scaffolding. Read more at Artnet.com.
A Dam Grows in Iron Age Jerusalem, Or, When the Levites Break (This Week in the Ancient Near East)
Fall of Babylon (The Ancients on History Hit)
Restitution after Reuse: How 21st Dynasty Egyptian Rulers Healed the Harms Done to Royal Coffins and Mummifed Kings (Ancient/Now)
Where did the first people come from? The case for coastal migration from southern Africa, over at The Conversation.
Some Observations on the “Siloam Dam” over on Approaching Jerusalem.
Learn maths like an Egyptian: the secrets of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (British Museum)
Ancient Middle East: Explore the Hidden Wonders of Jordan and Iran with Christopher Clark (Get.factual)
Rare Ancient Egyptian Artefacts (History Hit)
Minoan Crete: Myth Versus Reality (Kings and Generals)
Join Friends of ASOR for an unforgettable journey across Tunisia, where the legacies of Phoenician traders, Roman conquerors, early Christian communities, and Berber kingdoms intertwine. Learn more and reserve your spot here!
Attending ASOR’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Boston? Stop by the Friends of ASOR desk anytime to say hello! Or join us for the “Teaching with ANE Today” Roundtable on Thursday at during lunch. Have an article you want to pitch? The ANE Today Editor, Jessica Nitschke, will be holding office hours at the FOA desk from 11-12 on Thursday, November 20 (or email her to set up a meeting: anetoday@asor.org).
By Andrew Shortland
Like other ancient sculpture, Mesopotamian statues were painted. Small traces can now be analyzed with scientific techniques and help explain Mesopotamian concepts such as “positive” and “negative.” Read more here.
Are you in the greater Washington D.C. area? Professor Ryan Fitzgerald (George Mason University) will discuss the role of Mary Magdalene in the New Testament as well as the archaeology of the Galilean town of Magdala to offer some possible context for Mary’s background. This luncheon-lecture event will be held on Sunday, November 16, 2pm ET, at Tandoori Restaurant in Fairfax, VA. Find more details here.
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Published with the assistance of The Lanier Theological Library and Stevan Dana
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