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

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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.

Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! We are staying in Ur this week to discuss the oldest crash out we have on record! What happened to cause this? What broke the camel's back? And is this, in fact, an image of Ea-Nasir?

We are talking all things hate mail and votive stares today, so bring your finest clay tablet as we talk the copper complaint of Ea-Nasir. -Stay curious!

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Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! We are going on an ancient tour of sorts today as we analyze the evidence from the 16 graves at the Cemetery of Ur that Woolley termed royal. Who was buried here? Who were these tombs intended for? And what was found? Grab your shovel and notes, it's time to dig deeper into the Royal Cemetery of Ur.

-Stay curious

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Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! We are analyzing the infamous words of the last pharaoh of Egypt. Did Cleopatra actually state that no man would find her tomb? Is this legit or a legend? And if so, when did it come about? We are trying to get to the bottom of this rumor that has seemingly become bigger than Cleopatra VII herself...But what do you think?-Stay curiousTravel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tenn

Welcome back to Season 3 of the Dirt Diaries! Today, we are looking at what the 1999 cinematic masterpiece starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz got right in terms of ancient history, Egyptology, and more! From the curse of the Hom Dai, Imhotep, and the Book of the Dead, we are covering it all!-Stay Curious!

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Welcome back to the Dirt Diaries! In this final episode of the season, we are going over some of my top finds of the year before we shut the tomb of 2025! From ancient tattoos, new Mesopotamian myths, a sanctuary to Odysseus, and a new Egyptian prince, we are covering it all here! Out of all of them listed, which was your favorite? If it wasn't mentioned, drop it below! Of course, after I filmed this, more news and reports have come out, but that gives us more to talk about next year!-Stay curiousTravel with me, my socials, and more!https://beacons.ai/dirtdiaries.tennFor more information on the finds, see: House of Helle and Phrixus: M. Rispoli, M. Tartari, G. Zuchtriegel, Disastri stratificati: nuovi dati dalla Casa di Hele e Frixo – Regio V, insula 6, civico 10. E-Journal Scavi di Pompei 30.04.25Mesopotamian Myth: Matuszak, J. (2024). Of captive storm gods and cunning foxes: New insights into early Sumerian mythology, with an edition of Ni 12501. Iraq, 86, 79–108. doi:10.1017/irq.2024.19Ancient Tattoos: Caspari, G., Deter-Wolf, A., Riday, D., Vavulin, M., & Pankova, S. (2025). High-resolution near-infrared data reveal Pazyryk tattooing methods. Antiquity, 1–15. doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10150