The Dirt Diaries

Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! We are staying in the realm of mythology, meeting reality as we talk about the famed Nike of Samothrace. This goddess announced victory in the past, but which battle was immortalized in marble on the Aegean island of Samothrace? We're diving in! Be sure to bring your chisels to get the drapery just right, as we talk about the Hellenistic masterpiece also known as the Winged Victory. -Stay curiousTravel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tenn

Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! I hope you brought a mirror or a reflective shield, because we are heading to the edge of the world to take a peek inside Medusa's lair. Her image was found at the base of a pillar of Heracles a few years ago. So what was the image of a gorgon doing in a place connected to mythology? Who put her here and why?At world's end, we are looking for the answers!-Stay curiousTravel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tenn

Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! It is finally the time you all have been asking for: we are delving into the era of ancient Greek heroes and examining the helmets and shields available to Bronze Age warriors in the Aegean.
And now that the full trailer is out, it's time we chatted about what we could have had. From me to you, I wish you all could see how incredible this time period is, and maybe one day we will get the epic armor we deserve. So what shields did they have? Do we have any surviving armor, and, more importantly, does it even offer protection?
Grab your translations of Homer's work and get ready to be a warrior of the mind because we're talking about dressing a Bronze Age hero.
-Stay curious
Travel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tenn

Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! We are back in the tombs today to see what we have for three female rulers of Egypt: a mother who ensured Egypt would be there for her son to rule, a woman at the end of her family line, and one who has often been vilified for taking too much power from her step-son. Yes, we are talking about Merneith (dynasty I), Sobekneferu (dynasty XII), and Hatshepsut (dynasty XVIII).What do we have? What do we know? And what do we still have to uncover?-Stay curiousTravel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tenn

Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! With baseball back, we are talking about how the ancients ensured their teams and favorite athletes would win. It's not just rally hats and cursing like a sailor; the ancients took it a step further by involving their gods when they wrote curse tablets to bind their competitors. What did they write? How graphic were these? And more importantly, did they work? Grab your snacks and defense signs, because today we are cursing the competition. -Stay curiousTravel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tennResearch mentioned: Folmer, M., & Elitzur-Leiman, R. (2023). A Jewish Aramaic Circus Curse Tablet from Antioch. Aramaic Studies, 21(1), 64-111.Daniel, R., & Porath, Y. (2018). A Greek Curse Tablet from the Eastern Circus at Caesarea Maritima (pp. 167–174). 'Atiqot, 92(1), 11.See also: Gager, J. G. (Ed.). (1999). Curse tablets and binding spells from the ancient world. Oxford University Press, USA.