Features

King Midas: From Myth to Reality
The man with the golden touch actually ruled an Iron Age kingdom in central Anatolia By G. Kenneth Sams

Over the past half century, archaeologists have uncovered dozens of burial tumuli near the ancient site of Gordion, about 60 miles southwest of modern Ankara, Turkey. Built of earth over single-chambered wooden tombs, these mounds probably housed the remains of royal 016families who ruled from the Phrygian capital of Gordion during the first […]

When We Arrived
From Homo erectus to modern man, our ancient ancestors took eons to arrive on the scene By Susan McCarter

Around 90,000 years ago, modern humans appeared in the Near East. They weren’t the first humans to make this journey, and as they moved north and west, they encountered earlier immigrants. In some places, the newcomers settled right next to their archaic cousins, living in close proximity for tens of thousands of years. Then […]

Excavating the Land of Sheba
Archaeology reveals the kingdoms of ancient Yemen By T. J. Wilkinson

To most people, Yemen is an obscure part of southwest Arabia that appears to have escaped major currents of history. Yemen’s greatest claim to fame is that it is known as the birthplace of the queen of Sheba and that it was once the center of a series of fabulous kingdoms that developed along […]

Departments

Editors’ Page: Why Publish Porn?
Because it isn’t (and because it was) By Jack Meinhardt
Past Perfect: On a Cook’s Tour
Presented by a “willing and devoted servant of the travelling public.”
Destinations: Gateway to Africa
The early Islamic town of Sijilmasa, in modern Morocco, once glittered at the edge of the Sahara Desert. By Susan Ludmer-Gliebe
Ancient Life: Roman Haute Cuisine
Fried flamingo, anyone?
The Forum
The AIA revisited, and a vexed debate over Alexander’s motives in his eastern campaigns.