All upcoming Archaeology programs

Cleopatra would have been a social media star if she lived today. Known for charisma, she was more renowned for her intellect and her ruthless determination to rule. She embraced both Caesar and Mark Antony as protectors and lovers when the need arose and murdered siblings to gain power. Historian Barry Strauss highlights Cleopatra’s complex role as an absolute ruler at a crucial moment when Romans and Egyptians fought for domination.

Death is the one thing all humans throughout history have in common, and yet it is still a mystery. Robert Garland, a professor emeritus of classics, explores the death-related beliefs and practices of a range of ancient cultures and traditions, including Egyptian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman, early Christian, and Islamic. Garland puts himself in the sandals of ancient peoples and imagines how they sought—in ways that turn out to be remarkably similar to ours—to assist the dead on their journey to the next world and to understand life’s greatest mystery.

Galileo, Leonardo, Newton, and Tesla revered Archimedes of Syracuse—an engineer who defied the world’s most powerful army and a mathematician who knew more in 212 B.C.E. than all Europe would for the next 17 centuries. Novelist and science writer Nicholas Nicastro shines a new light on Archimedes’ life and work to reveal an ambitious, combative, and fiercely competitive man who is far from the aloof, physically inept figure of historical myth.

In our modern world, arms and armor reign supreme in the fantasy realms of pop culture. One of the world’s largest private collections of arms and armor holds more than 6,000 objects, spanning 6,000 years. It includes pre-Middle Age Viking swords, a rare ancient Greek iron breastplate, and one of the best examples in the world of a Chalcidian bronze helmet (ca. 450 B.C.E.). Nick Richey, “keeper of the arms,” introduces the collection and discusses avenues of preservation that range from traditional restoration to cutting-edge digitization for a burgeoning metaverse.

The island of Santorini boasts one of the most well-preserved archaeological sites of the Greek Bronze Age. It is often described as the “Pompeii of the Aegean” because around 1600 B.C.E., a cataclysmic volcanic eruption engulfed the island in layers of pumice and ash up to 60 yards deep. It was not until 1967 that systematic excavations began in earnest. Art historian Renee Gondek delves into the ancient site and discusses the colorful frescoes found in many of the preserved structures.

Whether around a campfire, in a café, or in a theater, storytelling is ubiquitous in human culture—suggesting that it has deep roots. It also raises the question of why humans find stories so compelling. Drawing on examples from cave art, archaeologist April Nowell presents evidence for storytelling and narrative in the Ice Age and considers the role it has played in human survival over the millennia.

From the tang of Roman fish sauce to the boom of medieval cannons to the clash of Viking swords, history often neglects the vivid sensory elements that were an intimate part of our ancestors’ lives. Sam Kean draws on his book Dinner with King Tut to reveal how a new generation of researchers are resurrecting these hidden details and pioneering the new discipline of experimental archaeology.

During an extraordinary 4,000-year history, the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Andean world created the earliest cities of the Western hemisphere, stupendous monumental architecture, magnificently crafted artifacts—and one of the most extensive empires the world has ever known, the Inca. In a full-day seminar, George L. Scheper, a senior lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, provides a cultural overview of these achievements.

In the heart of Los Angeles, geologic processes have conspired to create the richest Ice Age fossil site on Earth. For more than 50,000 years, underground crude oil has seeped to the surface, trapping plants and animals in the La Brea Tar Pits—and painting a picture of a lost world that may help plan for a climate-resilient future for the city. Emily Lindsey, associate curator of the site, leads a virtual tour spanning 20 million years from ancient seabed to LA’s modern car culture.

Discover the fascinating world of ancient Egypt in a 4-session series that explores the daily life, culture, and innovations of one of the world’s most influential civilizations. Scholar Shelby Justl of the Penn Museum in Philadelphia draws on the discoveries of ongoing archaeological explorations and experimental archaeology to bring to life the rich history of Egypt and its expanding role on the global stage. This session explores ancient Egyptian food and drink.