The Naked Archaeologist | Couchpile

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The Naked Archaeologist | Couchpile

Season 1 poster

Season 1

26 Episodes

E01

Delilah's People

·60m

The Philistines were a highly cultured people who left behind a rich legacy. We examine the tribe of Delilah and Goliath, their fertility cults, a temple like the one Samson may have destroyed with his bare hands, see some surprising artifacts and get the scoop on who the Philistines really were.

E02

Who Invented the Alphabet?

·60m

Everyone assumes the Greeks invented the alphabet, but what are its real origins? Archaeological finds tell us that it originated in Egypt where Hebrew slaves began the process of turning hieroglyphics into a series of symbols which convey sounds that can be used to form words.

E03

Jerusalem and The Black Prince

·60m

It's been an enduring mystery for two thousand years; what stopped the brutal Assyrian army from sacking Jerusalem in 701 BCE? The army was poised outside the walls of Jerusalem - imagine the US Army against the Saskatoon police force - but at the last moment, according to the Bible, "an angel of God" intervened and the Assyrians were defeated.

E04

What Killed Herod?

·60m

One of the most brutal and brilliant leaders of ancient times, the first century King died with worms crawling from his flesh before he expired. On the one hand he was famous for impressive public works and architecture; on the others, for the Biblical slaughter of the firstborn sons of Israel and extraordinary cruelty including murdering his own family.

E05

Real or Fake? and Fame & Forgery? - Part One

·60m

The antiquities market has always been plagued by fakes and forgeries. But current controversies over the James Ossuary and Jehoash Stone are plagued by politics, making a proper assessment of their authenticity nearly impossible. Can science actually prove what's real and what's fake - and how did it all get so political?

E06

Real or Fake? and Fame & Forgery? - Part Two

·60m

The antiquities market has always been plagued by fakes and forgeries. But current controversies over the James Ossuary and Jehoash Stone are plagued by politics, making a proper assessment of their authenticity nearly impossible. Can science actually prove what's real and what's fake - and how did it all get so political?

E07

Accidental Archaeology

·60m

In North America it would be pretty unusual to have a bulldozer hit anything besides a hidden gas line or cable...but in Israel the cumbersome building tool often unearths ancient treasure. While digging a foundation for a new home, it's not uncommon to find the remains of an ancient city.

E08

Biblical Food

·60m

The Bible is full of references to the kinds of food ancients ate - but there are no recipes. Simcha learns what archaeology tells us about what people ate in ancient times; shops in Jerusalem for ingredients noted in the Bible and attempt to cook a meal fit for a king.

E09

Jesus: The Early Years

·60m

The Gospels sometimes contradict each other in their descriptions of Jesus' early years and not much is known about how he spent his childhood. Now archaeology can help uncover some clues about his early influences and even his birth.

E10

John the Baptist

·60m

New archaeology has revealed what may be the cave where St. John baptized new converts to Christianity.

E11

True Blue and Return of the Hillazon - Part One

·60m

Why is a debate about a color so intensely important to some Orthodox Jews? How did the recipe for the true Royal Blue become lost? What is the Hillazon Does archaeology have the answers?

E12

True Blue and Return of the Hillazon - Part Two

·60m

Why is a debate about a color so intensely important to some Orthodox Jews? How did the recipe for the true Royal Blue become lost? What is the Hillazon Does archaeology have the answers?

E13

The Last Man Standing

11/28/2005·60m

The first century historian, Flavius Josephus, is the most frequently quoted scholar when it comes to the history of Jesus' time. But are his views accurate? We get a profile of the controversial historian.

E14

Crucifixion

12/5/2005·60m

In ancient times, thousands of people's lives ended, excruciatingly, on the cross. Despite the fact that so many were crucified, little physical evidence of it remains. We investigate why there is so little archaeological proof and visit the only known artifact - a foot with a nail through it - in an Israeli museum.

E15

King David

12/12/2005·60m

The Bible paints a picture of King David as a mighty hero, but for decades archaeologists have been struggling to find evidence of David's mighty kingdom.

E16

Jezebel: Bible Bad Girl

12/19/2005·60m

How did this Phoenician princess become one of the Bible's best, or worst, femme fatales? Jezebel married Israelite King Ahab. But the Israelites new queen didn't move into the bridal chamber alone.

E17

The Oldest Leper

12/26/2005·60m

Ancients suffered from hundreds of ailments, some of which still plague us today. Leprosy is mentioned in the Bible frequently, and now archaeology has uncovered what may be the bones of the oldest leper. Scientists studying those bones can now tell us more about the disease than we may ever want to know.

E18

Joshua

1/2/2006·60m

Joshua is one of the Bible's greatest generals who conquered Canaan, the land God promised the Israelites. From Joshua came Israel, from Israel Jesus, from Jesus, Christianity and much of the Western World. But did the Old Testament's fiercest warrior even exist?

E19

Masada

1/9/2006·60m

After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, legend has it that a group of about 1,000 politicized Jews committed suicide rather than be taken into slavery by Rome. Archaeological evidence has proven the legend to be real.

E20

Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?

1/16/2006·60m

n the 1950s a Bedouin shepherd's sheep stumbled upon some ancient scrolls in a cave on the shores of the Dead Sea. This accidental find would prove to be the greatest archaeological discovery of the twentieth century.

E21

Holy Hot Spot

1/23/2006·60m

For Jews, Christians and Muslims the Temple Mount or Al-Haram al-Sharif, is one of the holiest places on the planet. What does archaeology reveal about this holiest piece of the Holy Land?

E22

Biblical Epicenter

·60m

For Jews, Christians and Muslims the Temple Mount or Al-Haram al-Sharif, is one of the holiest places on the planet. What does archaeology reveal about this holiest piece of the Holy Land?

E23

The Mother of Archaeology

·60m

St. Helena was the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. She convinced him to establish Christianity as the official state religion in the 4th century. She was also the first Christian pilgrim. Simcha visits some of the holiest Christian sites to find out how accurate St. Helena was.

E24

Who Wrote the Bible?

·60m

The Bible is made up of dozens of books, but tradition has it that the first five books were dictated to Moses, by God. But could Moses have really written down the words that God spoke, including the Ten Commandments?

E25

Where is The Real Mount Sinai? - Part One

·60m

For thousands of years people have wondered which peak in the Sinai Peninsula is the legendary mountain where Moses is supposed to have received the 10 commandments.

E26

Where is The Real Mount Sinai? - Part Two

·60m

For thousands of years people have wondered which peak in the Sinai Peninsula is the legendary mountain where Moses is supposed to have received the 10 commandments.

Season 3 poster

Season 3

14 Episodes

E01

Moses vs Akhenaten

·60m

The Bible says that Moses was the first person to bring the idea of Monotheism – the worship of one God and one God only – to the ancients. But Sigmund Freud has a different idea. The famous psychoanalyst wrote a book crediting a little known Pharaoh named Akhenaten with the idea. He says Moses heard about it from Akhenaten, not directly from God. But it all depends on timing. Simcha investigates who came first: Moses or Akhenaten?

E02

Ancient Glass

·60m

A giant slab of glass is discovered in the middle of an ancient cemetery where important Rabbis are buried. What’s it doing there? Simcha has a theory that it was an unsuccessful attempt at making a window for Herod’s temple renovation in the late 1st century BCE – and therefore Holy. That’s why Rabbis would want to be buried near it. But as he tries to figure out if his theory is correct, he follows the glass trail and discovers that glass may have been invented in Israel – not Egypt, as is commonly believed.

E03

Biblical Beauty Secrets

·60m

The Naked Archaeologist investigates how important looking and smelling good was in Biblical days, So Simcha learns the secrets from Nefertiti to Queen Esther--and, in the process, learns how to make his own line of Ancient Beauty Products

E04

The Bath That Changed History

·60m

Many questions are raised by the Biblical love triangle of King David, Bathsheba and her husband Uriah. Simcha sets out to find evidence of the events that led to the union of David and Bathsheba, which began the Messianic line. It all begins when the king “saw her bathing on the roof”, and Simcha is on a quest to find the place where it happened

E05

The Hairy Show

·60m

The Bible is not a picture book so even though it's chock full of references to hair we have no idea what ancient Israelite hair-dos looked like. Did women braid or cover their hair? And did men sport long hair and long beards or just Elvis style sideburns? The Naked Archaeologist goes on a quest to find out.

E06

Rebuilding the Temple

·60m

Over two thousand years ago, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, but now it is being rebuilt in some surprising places. Simcha travels from Texas to Jerusalem to London to visit model builders obsessed with discovering what Solomon’s Temple looked like. For decades, they have studied all the evidence and are making spectacular models of computer and clay. But why do they do it?

E07

Gone Fishing

·60m

The Gospels tell us Jesus was a 'tekton' or a builder but there's not a single stone mason or carpenter among his disciples. Why were fishermen so important to Jesus’ ministry and why did he choose to spread his word among the fishing culture of the Sea of Galilee?

E08

Naked Letters

·60m

Simcha answers letters sent in to The Naked Archaeologist. Viewers’ questions take him from Israel to Egypt to Istanbul, as he investigates ancient sports, Biblical sex quandaries, and we learn fascinating things about our forbearers, everything from their fashion sense to where their bones ended up.

E09

Lilith: Queen of the Night

·60m

According to a rabbinical interpretation of the Book of Genesis, Adam's first wife wasn't Eve, but a woman named Lilith. But where did the rabbis get the idea of Lilith from? Tracking backwards in time, The Naked Archaeologist uncovers evidence that Lilith was actually a child-killing demon who first shows up in Ancient Babylon.

E10

Bethsaida and the Cross

·60m

A cross has just been found in a town in the Galilee where Jesus and his disciples hung out, and archaeologically dated to that time. But the cross did not become a symbol for Christianity for another three centuries. The Naked Archaeologist investigates what this cross is doing here, and what its original meaning might have been, which could change our understanding of the Jesus movement.

E11

Queen Esther and Purim

·60m

The Book of Esther tells us that a 5th Century bad guy named Haman wanted to kill all the Jews in Persia. He relied on a game of chance to select the day. But which game of chance was it? The Naked Archaeologist goes on a hunt to uncover archaeological clues that will unravel this ancient mystery.

E12

Apostles & Spies, Part 1

·60m

Simcha follows a spy checklist to see if St. Paul was a secret agent, working for the Romans to infiltrate the Jesus movement. Paul hits every item on the list, and archeology shows that James, the brother of Jesus, may have gotten short shrift in the Gospels, thanks to Paul’s espionage tricks.

E13

Apostles & Spies, Part 2

·60m

A letter addressed to a royal found in the Dead Sea Scrolls sheds light on an apparent rift between the message of St. Paul and the message of James, brother of Jesus. The Scrolls letter leads Simcha to a stunning archeological site in Jerusalem, where walls of what appears to be a royal palace points to an early convert to a version of Christianity that is all James, not Paul’s.

E14

Tracking the Tribe

4/2/2012·60m

Simcha investigates the separation between the Jewish and Christian faiths.

Season 2 poster

Season 2

26 Episodes

E01

The Would-be Messiah

·60m

One hundred years after Jesus was crucified, a warrior hailed by rabbis as the Jewish messiah led a massive rebellion against Roman occupation in Israel. Who was this would-be messiah? This is the story of the rabbis' best kept secret.

E02

The Search for St. Peter

5/23/2008·60m

Host Simcha Jacobovici tracks down the last footsteps of St. Peter.

E03

A Nabatean By Any Other Name

5/30/2008·60m

The Nabateans, an ancient and mysterious people, are responsible for the construction of the hidden city of Petra.

E04

Chasing the Temple Booty – Part 1

·60m

Part 1 of 2. New clues take host Simcha Jacobovici around the world on a hunt for the treasures of King Solomon's Temple.

E05

Chasing the Temple Booty – Part 2

·60m

Part 2 of 2. Searching for the treasures of King Solomon's Temple; host Simcha Jacobovici.

E06

The Legacy of King Solomon – Part 1

·60m

King Solomon has been the source of great debate in recent years: Was he, or wasn't he, a real historical figure? Taking clues from the Bible, the Naked Archaeologist attempts to separate fact from fiction and figure out what legacy King Solomon left behind

E07

The Legacy of King Solomon – Part 2

·60m

In part two, the Naked Archaeologist takes his investigation of King Solomon up a notch, and makes some amazing discoveries that just might prove that Solomon really was the King of Israel in the 10th Century BCE.

E08

Decoding Ezekiel's Vision

·60m

Since the beginning of time, man has searched the heavens for answers to the meaning and purpose of life. But what did the ancients know about the make-up of the universe? And what archaeology is out there that can tell us how they mapped the stars?

E09

Jewish Rome

·60m

The Catacombs, the Vatican, the Churches--to much of the world Rome IS Christianity. But with the oldest European Jewish community in the world, is there another story under Rome? Starting in the historic streets of the Jewish Ghetto and ending in the rarely seen Jewish Catacombs, the Naked Archaeologist digs down to an older, deeper layer of Rome--one that predates Christianity by centuries.

E10

The Giants of Genesis

·60m

Archaeology helps explain the origins of biblical giants; host Simcha Jacobovici.

E11

All in the Family

·60m

If the Bible was rated the way movies are, it wouldn’t even get close to a family rating. But even by that standard the story of Lot and his daughters is racy. Few people remember that Lot had a drunken fling with his daughters after his wife was killed as they all escaped from Sodom. But why is Lot venerated as a Saint. And more to the point, what were they doing in Sodom that was so bad it makes incest look good? The Naked Archaeologist is on a quest to find evidence of ancient Sodom, find out what really went on there and to find out if the story of Lot and his daughters is true

E12

The Curse of the Macabee Tomb

·60m

Everybody knows Chanukah: that holiday in mid December that doesn’t involve reindeer. But where does it come from? The Naked Archaeologist explores the “miracle of the oil” and the Maccabees, who freed the Temple in Jerusalem and without whom we wouldn’t celebrate Chanukah. But he’s also on a mission: the tomb of the last king of the Maccabee dynasty was found recently in Jerusalem. Now the Naked Archaeologist is determined to find the tomb of the founders of the dynasty.

E13

The Search for King David's Harp

·60m

The instrument and music of the biblical king of Israel, King David.

E14

Hangin' with Judas

·60m

Tracking down whether Judas Iscariot really betrayed Jesus or was a scapegoat.

E15

The Miracle Workers of Galilee

·60m

A miracle is a concrete example of divine intervention and proof of the supernatural power of God. The Christian Bible tells us that Jesus performed at least 36 miracles in his lifetime, most of them in the Galilee. But was Jesus the only miracle maker of his time? What if we look at the Jesus miracles through the lens of first century Judaism? Can the archaeology of this time illuminate the phenomenon of 1st century miracles and tell us why the Galilee was miracle central?

E16

The Collector

·60m

Shlomo Moussaieff has one of the most impressive, and most controversial collections of antiquities in the world. We profile this fascinating character and get a rare look at artifacts that are rarely seen. From 2500-year-old magic bowls to erotic temple cult objects, the Naked Archaeologist is hands on with the Moussaieff collection…and he starts a collection of his own.

E17

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

·60m

Who was Pontius Pilate? Was he a brutal dictator with a habit of crucifying dissenters, or just an easy-going guy who had a fetish for keeping his hands clean? Following the latest evidence and talking to leading experts the Naked Archaeologist is determined to find out.

E18

What Happened to the JC Bunch? Part 1

·60m

Part 1 of 3 - Two thousand years ago there were no lines drawn between Jewish and Christian. The earliest Christians were in fact Jews - essentially, a Jewish sect of Jesus followers. They followed Jesus and respected his teachings as if he were much like a modern-day rabbi. And they adhered to the laws of Moses - which means they circumcised, ate Kosher, and respected Saturday as the Sabbath. So why is there such a separation between Judaism and Christianity today? What happened to make these two faiths so different?

E19

What Happened to the JC Bunch? Part 2: Tracking the Tribe

·60m

Part 2 of 3 - Two thousand years ago there were no lines drawn between Jewish and Christian. The earliest Christians were in fact Jews - essentially, a Jewish sect of Jesus followers. They followed Jesus and respected his teachings as if he were much like a modern-day rabbi. And they adhered to the laws of Moses - which means they circumcised, ate Kosher, and respected Saturday as the Sabbath. So why is there such a separation between Judaism and Christianity today? What happened to make these two faiths so different?

E20

What Happened to the JC Bunch? Part 3: The Early Christian Underground

·60m

Part 3 of 3 - Two thousand years ago there were no lines drawn between Jewish and Christian. The earliest Christians were in fact Jews - essentially, a Jewish sect of Jesus followers. They followed Jesus and respected his teachings as if he were much like a modern-day rabbi. And they adhered to the laws of Moses - which means they circumcised, ate Kosher, and respected Saturday as the Sabbath. So why is there such a separation between Judaism and Christianity today? What happened to make these two faiths so different?

E21

Babes, Brothels and Baths

·60m

Prostitution: the world’s oldest profession. The Hebrew Bible mentions prostitution in lots of places. But the juiciest sex story involving a prostitute is the one about Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38—where prostitution is the lynch pin to the whole plot. So how do you go from prostitution and non-marital sex not prohibited in the Bible, to the prudery of the New Testament. Is there anything archaeology can tell us about this shift?

E22

The Beloved Disciple

·60m

Who was the Beloved Disciple? Mentioned five times in the gospel of John, but never named, scholars have speculated about the identity of the “disciple whom Jesus loved” for centuries. Could it be John himself, or Peter, or even Mary Magdalene? Or is it a code for a disciple whose identity had to remain secret? It’s a two thousand year old mystery, and the Naked Archaeologist is on the case.

E23

Who Were the Danites

·60m

There’s a curious sentence in Judges 5:17, “and Dan remained in ships.” In this episode of the Naked Archaeologist we try to determine whether some of the Dan took to the sea and became part of a Mediterranean confederation of Sea Peoples. Are the Danoi, a people mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, really the Dan? Is there any light archaeology can shed on the age old mystery of why Dan remained in ships?

E24

Coat of Many Colors

·60m

Can ancient rags and roots and herbs lead us to the famous coat of many colours that the Bible tells us Joseph wore? Well, pretty close...The Naked Archaeologist takes a CSI look at remnants of ancient material, brews up some dyes made of roots and plants, and gives viewers a pretty accurate look at the coat that made Joseph's brothers so jealous.

E25

Bilaam: The Story of a Talking Donkey

·60m

A talking donkey, an angel of the lord, and a curse against the Children of Israel. These are just a few of the clues that the Naked Archaeologist investigates as he uncovers archaeology about Balaam, the pagan prophet who tried to stop the Jews from entering the Holy Land.

E26

Holy Threads

·60m

The Bible instructs men to wear fringes on the corners of their garments as a constant reminder of God. Can we trace these holy threads back to ancient times and learn more about their significance? One of the threads of these fringes is supposed to be a particular colour blue - made from the blood of a shellfish. In this episode Simcha and chemist Zvi Koren try to track down the dye using ancient clues and tests them with modern science.