Oriental Institute

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Tell Edfu

OI marks 100 years of discovery in ancient Middle East

Robert Ritner gestures to markings inside a tomb

Robert K. Ritner Jr., eminent Egyptologist and beloved teacher, 1953–2021

Grotesque wearing a face mask

What we’ve learned from a year of COVID-19

Norman Golb sitting at his desk

Norman Golb, renowned scholar of medieval Jewish history, 1928‒2020

Liquid Crystals

Ten cool research stories you might have missed this year

The ancient city of Persepolis in present-day Iran

How AI could help translate the written language of ancient civilizations

Pale stone block with faint inscriptions, half submerged in water

Oriental Institute archaeologists help discover lost kingdom in ancient Turkey

close-up on the face of a cracked plaster statue of a Buddha, with part of its cheek missing

Shattered Buddhist statues restored with help from the OI

Trump’s threat to attack 52 Iranian sites draws criticism, concern


WTTW

Michael Rakowitz exhibit

Artist reimagines ancient Middle Eastern artifact in vivid color

Christopher Woods

The Politics of Archaeology In Iraq With Christopher Woods (Ep. 31)

The director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago explains how archaeological investment becomes a form of diplomacy.