By Patrick Hunt – Seldom has ancient literature been so psychologically riveting as the biblical peripety of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel II and following to the conclusion of the book with David’s diminished end. King David’s multiple mistakes with Bathsheba – adultery and the requested murder of her […]
Artifacts of Material History
Moroccan Berber Rugs – A Brief Compendium
By P. F. Sommerfeldt – I know how lucky I am, having just returned from a fabulous tour of Morocco, exploring Rabat, Fes, Meknes, Arfoud, Merzouga, Toubkal and Marrakesh (March, 2023), staying in wonderful riads and scouring three medinas (Rabat, Fes, Marrakesh) for exotic items generally unavailable in San Francisco […]
“Eccentric” British Museum Favorites
By P. F. Sommerfeldt – I spend a fair amount of time in museums, perhaps too much, but I usually don’t need a deep reason to enter a museum whether I’ve been there often or not to revisit favorite objects or works. Because a museum is literally a “House of […]
Possible Chinese Silk in Bronze Age or Iron Age Jericho: the “Babylonish” Garment from Shin’ar in Joshua 7 ?
By Patrick Hunt – One of the more intriguing passages of the Hebrew Bible, Joshua 7: 10-23 & ff. describes the sin of Achan and his “accursed” secret purloined material spoliation after the taking of Jericho by the Israelites, a narrative with controversial historicity. Regardless of when it can be […]
Memory, Meaning and Leaving a Mark: Eagle Pub, Cambridge
By Timothy Demy – You can’t help but look up. The ceiling is covered with decades-old graffiti. It is not the profanity or pop art so often seen today on buildings, fences, and other public and private places. It’s not even the famous “Kilroy was here.” It is the names […]
African Paleolithic Artifacts: Questions with Quartzite Tools from Northcliff, South Africa
By Garth C. Hall – This paper addresses the African stone age somewhat myopically, focusing on artifacts and not much on the hominins who made and used them. It also focuses geographically on South Africa, yet, at least in the Early and Middle Stone Ages, the literature indicates that the […]
Sicily: Cradle of Civilization and Wine Island
By Patrizia Passerini – Sicily is a fascinating and mysterious land, with a history and culture of very ancient origins. Its beauty is sometimes wild, amazing and complex due to the overlapping and mixing of cultures that have alternated over the centuries. Rich in history and art, bright colours and […]
Dogs through the Ages – a History of Canine Material Culture
By Andrea M. Gáldy – Whether one likes dogs or not, the current exhibition Treue Freunde: Menschen und Hunde (“True Friends: Humans and Dogs”) at the Bayerische Nationalmuseum in Munich is a must-see. It charts the cultural history of the relationship between humans and dogs back to the earliest times when tame […]
Umbria: culture of wine in Torgiano
by Patrizia Passerini – A green heart in the centre of the peninsula, like a treasure chest protected by valleys and hills that follow one another across long distances. Umbria is an Italian region that welcomes visitors with its beauty, rich landscapes and an ancient and amzing history. Once you […]
Paleopathology and the Destruction of Sennacherib’s Army Besieging Jerusalem in II Chronicles 32, II Kings 19
By Patrick Hunt – Historians know disease often stalks armies in history. [1] The specter of invisible pathogens haunting ancient warfare may have at times seemed instead like a punitive deity taking sides. Sometimes it’s merely a much simpler question of contagion and the inability to protect against it. While […]