Jessica Nitschke
@jessnitschke.bsky.social
Archaeologist and Historian. Editor of The Ancient Near East Today. https://anetoday.org/. Japanophile. Lives in Cape Town.
New article up at The Ancient Near East Today. We often imagine the ancient Egyptians as obsessed with death and the afterlife, but what if the familiar story of judgment and salvation owes more to modern ideas than ancient ones? Prof. Rune Nyord tells us more. #ancientbluesky #Egyptology
The European Invention of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife - The Ancient Near East Today
We often imagine the ancient Egyptians as obsessed with death and the afterlife. But what if the familiar story of judgment and salvation owes more to modern ideas than ancient ones?
anetoday.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
New article up at The Ancient Near East Today. We often imagine the ancient Egyptians as obsessed with death and the afterlife, but what if the familiar story of judgment and salvation owes more to modern ideas than ancient ones? Prof. Rune Nyord tells us more. #ancientbluesky #Egyptology
So important. aeon.co/essays/gener...
Generative AI has access to a small slice of human knowledge | Aeon Essays
Huge swathes of human knowledge are missing from the internet. By definition, generative AI is shockingly ignorant too
aeon.co
October 16, 2025 at 7:12 AM
So important. aeon.co/essays/gener...
Reposted by Jessica Nitschke
📰 Archaeologists uncover "one of the most complete and undisturbed Late Bronze Age tombs ever found in Canaan" at the port of Yavneh-Yam
🏺 #AntiquityResearch #ArchaeologyNews via @heritagedaily.bsky.social
www.heritagedaily.com/2025/10/elit...
🏺 #AntiquityResearch #ArchaeologyNews via @heritagedaily.bsky.social
www.heritagedaily.com/2025/10/elit...
Elite Bronze Age burial complex unearthed at Yavneh-Yam
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a Bronze Age burial complex during excavations at Israel’s coastal port of Yavneh-Yam.
www.heritagedaily.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
📰 Archaeologists uncover "one of the most complete and undisturbed Late Bronze Age tombs ever found in Canaan" at the port of Yavneh-Yam
🏺 #AntiquityResearch #ArchaeologyNews via @heritagedaily.bsky.social
www.heritagedaily.com/2025/10/elit...
🏺 #AntiquityResearch #ArchaeologyNews via @heritagedaily.bsky.social
www.heritagedaily.com/2025/10/elit...
New article up at The Ancient Near East Today: "Imagining the Ark of the Covenant, From Exodus to Indiana Jones" by Kevin McGeough. Scholars disagree about what it is and what it does, but the Ark remains one of the most famous artifacts in the Bible. Check it out! anetoday.org/imagining-th...
Imagining the Ark of the Covenant, From Exodus to Indiana Jones - The Ancient Near East Today
The Ark of the Covenant is an ancient biblical artifact that is easy for people to imagine. Because its function is ambiguous, there is a rich and diverse interpretive history of the object that is as...
anetoday.org
October 3, 2025 at 8:15 AM
New article up at The Ancient Near East Today: "Imagining the Ark of the Covenant, From Exodus to Indiana Jones" by Kevin McGeough. Scholars disagree about what it is and what it does, but the Ark remains one of the most famous artifacts in the Bible. Check it out! anetoday.org/imagining-th...
this week in lecture we took a close look at the remarkable statue of Rameses II in the Turin museum. The museum photos are really impressive - and free to use! I'm really grateful. It so much easier to teach ancient art when there are good photos available. #egyptology #ancientbluesky
April 27, 2025 at 7:56 AM
this week in lecture we took a close look at the remarkable statue of Rameses II in the Turin museum. The museum photos are really impressive - and free to use! I'm really grateful. It so much easier to teach ancient art when there are good photos available. #egyptology #ancientbluesky
I'm giving a free webinar on the Alexander Sarcophagus! There will be many pretty pictures! #ancientbluesky #archaeology
FOA Webinar: Jessica Nitschke - American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)
Friends of ASOR Webinar - Dr. Jessica Nitschke presents: "Why is Alexander on the Alexander Sarcophagus? Rethinking a Funerary Monument from Sidon" on March 5, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET.
www.asor.org
March 4, 2025 at 6:40 AM
I'm giving a free webinar on the Alexander Sarcophagus! There will be many pretty pictures! #ancientbluesky #archaeology
The Ancient Near East Today is now on Substack! ancientneareasttoday.substack.com. This is where you'll find our bi-weekly newsletter. Our main website is still anetoday.org, where we publish our feature articles.
#ancientbluesky, @asor-research.bsky.social
#ancientbluesky, @asor-research.bsky.social
January 25, 2025 at 12:54 PM
The Ancient Near East Today is now on Substack! ancientneareasttoday.substack.com. This is where you'll find our bi-weekly newsletter. Our main website is still anetoday.org, where we publish our feature articles.
#ancientbluesky, @asor-research.bsky.social
#ancientbluesky, @asor-research.bsky.social
New article over at ANE Today about Samsi, Queen of the Arabs! #ancientbluesky. anetoday.org/samsi-queen-...
Samsi, “Queen of the Arabs”, and Her Fight Against Assyria - The Ancient Near East Today
The women referred to in Assyrian inscriptions as “Queen of the Arabs” have been a passing footnote in Neo-Assyrian history — until now. Here is the story of one of them.
anetoday.org
November 17, 2024 at 8:57 PM
New article over at ANE Today about Samsi, Queen of the Arabs! #ancientbluesky. anetoday.org/samsi-queen-...
Back home visiting my parents…mom and I just finished this rather challenging 1500 piece puzzle of endangered species! now just need to identify all the species…
November 17, 2024 at 8:49 PM
Back home visiting my parents…mom and I just finished this rather challenging 1500 piece puzzle of endangered species! now just need to identify all the species…
The Penn Museum posted part of their collection on Google Arts & Culture, allowing me to discover this delightful object: a silver cosmetic box with carved lid made of shell and lapis lazuli, from Ur (Mesopotamia), ca. 2450 BCE. #AncientBlueSky
October 11, 2024 at 11:21 AM
The Penn Museum posted part of their collection on Google Arts & Culture, allowing me to discover this delightful object: a silver cosmetic box with carved lid made of shell and lapis lazuli, from Ur (Mesopotamia), ca. 2450 BCE. #AncientBlueSky
Reposted by Jessica Nitschke
Archaeologists shed light on the Tartessos culture's sustainable construction skills - phys.org/news/2024-10...
Archaeologists shed light on the Tartessos culture's sustainable construction skills
An international team of researchers have conducted groundbreaking research at the Casas del Turuñuelo site in Guareña, Badajoz, Spain. Their work is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
phys.org
October 4, 2024 at 6:56 PM
Archaeologists shed light on the Tartessos culture's sustainable construction skills - phys.org/news/2024-10...
I continue to enjoy how Egyptians during the Ptolemaic period used to send their trivial complaints such as disputes with their neighbours straight to the king. Also cool here is the first known use of the ethnonym 'Judeo-Egyptian'. #AncientBlueSky #Egypt www.haaretz.com/archaeology/...
A Judeo-Egyptian complains to King Ptolemy about his neighbor
***
www.haaretz.com
October 4, 2024 at 11:21 AM
I continue to enjoy how Egyptians during the Ptolemaic period used to send their trivial complaints such as disputes with their neighbours straight to the king. Also cool here is the first known use of the ethnonym 'Judeo-Egyptian'. #AncientBlueSky #Egypt www.haaretz.com/archaeology/...
Reposted by Jessica Nitschke
James Fraser presents "Man-Hunting in the Desert: The Ill-Fated Palmer Sinai Expedition of 1882" on Wed Oct 9 at 2:00 eastern. Registration is free and you'll receive a link to the recording if you can't watch it live.
Man-Hunting in the Desert: The Ill-Fated Palmer Sinai Expedition of 1882
Friends of ASOR Webinar - Dr. James Fraser presents: "Man-Hunting in the Desert: The Ill-Fated Palmer Sinai Expedition of 1882" on October 9, 2024 at 2:00 pm ET.
www.asor.org
September 30, 2024 at 2:27 PM
James Fraser presents "Man-Hunting in the Desert: The Ill-Fated Palmer Sinai Expedition of 1882" on Wed Oct 9 at 2:00 eastern. Registration is free and you'll receive a link to the recording if you can't watch it live.
Reposted by Jessica Nitschke
Scythian on horseback: A 2,400-year-old gold sculpture of a warrior heading into battle | Live Science - www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Scythian on horseback: A 2,400-year-old gold sculpture of a warrior heading into battle
The Scythians were a nomadic group known for creating elaborate gilded artworks.
www.livescience.com
September 30, 2024 at 6:22 PM
Scythian on horseback: A 2,400-year-old gold sculpture of a warrior heading into battle | Live Science - www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Medical remedies in antiquity weren't always so effective, so many people turned to the divine for help, and they were often willing to try anything, even if it was something from a different belief system. Find out more in this week's article from ANE Today! anetoday.org/person-place...
Person, Place, and Object: Ritual Healing in Roman and Late Antique Palestine - The Ancient Near East Today
Malaria, battle wounds, pregnancy, scorpion stings, sciatica: these are just a few of the medical concerns that appear in ancient sources. How did people from different religious communities address t...
anetoday.org
October 4, 2024 at 9:09 AM
Medical remedies in antiquity weren't always so effective, so many people turned to the divine for help, and they were often willing to try anything, even if it was something from a different belief system. Find out more in this week's article from ANE Today! anetoday.org/person-place...