Art
Why Did Roman Baths Disappear?
New research contests the myth that it was Christianity's opposition to public nudity that led to the decline in large-scale bathing in the late Roman Empire.
Sarah Bond
Sarah E. Bond is an associate professor of history at the University of Iowa. She blogs on antiquity and digital humanities, and is the author of Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire (Yale University Press, February 2025).
Art
An Iowa Museum Renowned for Its Pollock Emerges From a Flood With a More Inclusive Mission
At the newly opened Stanley Museum, formerly the University of Iowa Museum of Art, White artists like Jackson Pollock and Grant Wood are no longer the focus of its collection.
News
Archaeologists Say They Discovered Ancient Gladiator Tombs in Southern Turkey
The Roman-era burial ground is located in Anazarbus (modern Anavarza) in the country’s southern Adana province.
News
Holy Sepulchre Church Excavation Unearths Constantine-Era Rock Layers
The findings constitute pivotal evidence for reconstructing the building methods and mosaic decorations in churches in the late Roman Empire.
News
Massive Head of Hercules Pulled From Historic Shipwreck
Marine archeologists made the findings while working on the Roman-era Antikythera shipwreck.
Art
Intermingling Ancient Greek and West African Mythologies to Tell New Stories
Harmonia Rosales: Entwined brought together multiple departments and resources to accentuate the global power of mythology and center Black women.
Art
The Top Archaeological Discoveries of 2021
During 2021, thousands of archaeologists worked tirelessly to continue to excavate, explore, publish, and keep the field alive across the globe.
History
Ancient Rome and the Myth of the Black Avenger
Long before Black Panther, early modern Europeans embraced a different kind of Black avenger, one largely constructed by White abolitionists.
Books
What Does God Even Look Like?
The author, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, pushes back against a later theological worldview that the southern Levantine deity was always a singular, unchanging entity.
Books
Why the Hell We Are Obsessed with Hell
Hell Hath No Fury provides fundamental clues as to why it seems that we cannot escape reincarnations of hell in either Dante or on Netflix.
Art
Can Mummified Cats Help Unravel the Mysteries of Ancient Dyes?
The intricate patterns and strategic colors of the linens used on mummified remains have only begun to be understood by humanists, museum specialists, and chemists working together.
History
What Can Shackled and Beheaded Skeletons Reveal About Roman Servitude?
The mere mention of slavery continues to grab attention, even if the evidence is inconclusive.