All upcoming Archaeology programs

In Plato’s time the South of Italy was known as “Greater Greece,” the beautiful land settled in the centuries after 800 B.C.E. by colonists from the Greek mainland. Author Ross King examines how these settlers brought trade and prosperity as well as their religion, customs, alphabet, and language. They also nurtured on Italian soil the political, philosophical, and artistic foundations that would influence and support the world of the Ancient Romans and, much later, that of the Italian Renaissance.

A lost mitten. Names carved into spindle whorls. A carefully mended dress laid to rest in a grave. These small, evocative traces open a window into the everyday lives of Viking Age women—lives often missing from the historical record. Historian and broadcaster Eleanor Barraclough draws on archaeological discoveries to reveal the skills, relationships, and identities of women who helped shape the Viking world.

In the year 74, Masada, a steep, diamond-shaped plateau overlooking the Dead Sea and Judean Desert, was the site of the last stand of Jewish rebels against Rome. They famously chose mass death rather than surrendering to the hated Romans according to the author of the single historical source. But what really happened? Historian Barry Strauss highlights how decades of research by archaeologists and historians, including exciting recent work, has helped unravel the mystery.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have long captured the world’s imagination. Within that tradition of extraordinary human achievement, archaeologist and historian Darius Arya turns a Roman lens on the innovations that transformed an empire and continue to influence the modern world. From the Pantheon in Rome to the Alcántara Bridge in Spain, Arya reveals the evolution of Roman engineering and the impact of ancient solutions that still shape the world.

For more than 150 million years, dinosaurs ruled the Earth, evolving from humble beginnings into an astonishing diversity of species before a catastrophic extinction. Drawing on the latest discoveries and his own expedition experience, paleontologist Steve Brusatte follows the dinosaurs’ journey from their origins in the Triassic period through their dominance of the Jurassic and Cretaceous worlds to the asteroid impact that brought their reign to an end. He shares fascinating new findings, from feathered predators and giant carnivores to the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and modern birds.

From prehistoric cave paintings and the monuments of the ancient world to the churches and cathedrals of medieval Europe, artists created works that reflected the beliefs, values, and societies of their time while establishing traditions that continue to shape art today. In a two-part series, art historian Janetta Rebold Benton offers a broad overview of the major works of architecture, sculpture, and painting created in the Western tradition before the Renaissance, from prehistoric art and the ancient world through Early Christian, Byzantine, and medieval traditions, exploring how historical, social, and religious forces shaped these masterpieces. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

Historian Colin Elliott argues that, by Roman elite standards, Claudius should never have become emperor. Mocked for his physical disabilities, excluded from politics, and portrayed by hostile writers as a fool, his accession after his nephew Caligula’s assassination shocked many. Yet during 13 years in power, Claudius improved aqueducts, harbors, the grain supply, and conditions for slaves, while overseeing the conquest of Britain. Despite his eccentricities and insecurities, says Elliott, he proved a capable ruler whose practical reforms benefited much of the empire.