Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites

by Eric H. Cline (Lecturer)

Listening Length: 12 hours and 41 minutes

The work of archaeologists has commanded worldwide attention and captivated the human imagination since the earliest days of exploration, with groundbreaking discoveries such as the treasures of ancient Egypt, the lost kingdoms of the Maya, and the fabled city of Troy. Archaeology brings us face-to-face with our distant ancestors, with treasures of the past, and with life as it was lived in long-ago civilizations.

Despite the fascinating and often romantic appeal of archaeology, many of us have little idea of what the field actually involves. What, exactly, do archaeologists do? What takes place on an archaeological dig? And how does the reality of the work differ from what we see in Indiana Jones movies?

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites, taught by renowned archaeologist and National Geographic Explorer Eric H. Cline, answers these questions and more in rich and provocative detail. These 24 thrilling lectures, produced in partnership with National Geographic, introduces you to over 20 of the most significant and enthralling archaeological sites on the planet, providing both in-depth looks at the sites themselves and an insider's view of the history, science, and technology of archaeology. Prepare yourself for a vivid and detailed exploration of archaeology's most magnificent discoveries in the company of an expert archaeologist with decades of experience in the field.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Archaeology, Science, Ancient History, The World

13 pages, Audible Audio

Published May 27, 2016

About the author

DR. ERIC H. CLINE is the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and current Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University. A National Geographic Explorer, NEH Public Scholar, and Fulbright scholar with degrees from Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania, he is an active field archaeologist with 30 seasons of excavation and survey experience in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Crete, and the United States, including ten seasons at the site of Megiddo (biblical Armageddon) in Israel from 1994-2014, and seven seasons at Tel Kabri, where he currently serves as Co-Director. A three-time winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society's "Best Popular Book on Archaeology" Award (2001, 2009, and 2011) and two-time winner of the American School of Archaeology's "Nancy Lapp Award for Best Popular Archaeology Book" (2014 and 2018), he is a popular lecturer who has appeared frequently on television documentaries and has also won national and local awards for both his research and his teaching. He is the author or editor of 20 books, almost 100 articles, and three recorded 14-lecture courses. His previous books written specifically for the general public include "The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age" (2000), "Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel" (2004), "From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible" (2007), "Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction" (2009), "The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction" (2013), "1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed" (2014), “Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology" (2017), and “Digging Up Armageddon” (2020). He has also co-authored a children's book on Troy, entitled "Digging for Troy" (2011). For a video of his "Last Lecture" talk, go to http://vimeo.com/7091059.

Reviews

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites by Eric H. Cline - The Great Courses
Rating: 3.5 stars
Read date: 17 May 2024

Archaeologist Eric H. Cline provides some information on the actual practice of archaeology - where to dig, how to dig, methods and tools, how to date the finds and that sort of thing, all while taking the listener on a whizz of a tour through all the famous archaeological sites (and their history) all over the globe: starting in the Near East and the Mediterranean, to China and Africa, and then the Americas. Interesting and entertaining, but just note that this really is an introduction and not an in-depth treatment of the subject.

[Bill Dauster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cline is a serious professor and archeologist, and this course is good and on an interesting subject. I particularly like his concluding chapter on how future archeologists may find the remains of our current culture. But this course is packed with trivia, myth debunking, tour guides, and popularizing. Cline is overly anecdotal, self-referential, and pitches the course too low. Folks who have listened to, for example, Bob Brier’s The History of Ancient Egypt or Jodi Magness’s Holy Land Revealed, both also from the Great Courses, will find this discussion shallow and light on new information per lecture by comparison.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very pleasant listen. Would rec.

[Ana Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful audio collection of lectures about archaeological! It covers a wide range or topics, sites and cultures. Very informative and a nice refresher for a former archaeological undergrad.

[Yaaresse · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, I'm rounding up my rating because this is a case of "It's probably not you; it's probably me." I think I would have enjoyed this GC series had I not already made it through the more in-depth GC series on most of the places mentioned. Compared to those, this felt almost remedial. If I were homeschooling a high school student and needed a good overview of archeology's most famous sites, however, this would fit the bill.

The most interesting parts for me where when the lectures turned to the areas of Dr. Cline's specialty: Megiddo, Tel Kabri, and Masada. His familiarity with the details of those digs -- not to mention his stash of personal photos -- added a spark to those specific lectures. I suspect I'd find his books more interesting than this particular GC series, although I admit I'm not particularly interested in biblical archeology.

[Steve Agland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and engaging. A little too much personal anecdote and would have preferred more coverage of the world such as Asia, Australia and Africa. But overall a really good introduction to archaeology as an endeavour and profession, and a compelling history of the discoveries at some intriguing sites. Definitely worth it if you dig Mediterranean and Middle-eastern history. Get it? Dig.

[Juan Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you first study your subject that you have never studied, you only discover: your ignorance, everything you need to know and some false conceptions that you had ....

Very Good Course: "Archeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites" published by The Great Courses with Professor Eric H. Cline.

It made me realize that there are many places I would like to visit, including some in Mexico but also especially Petra and Xian.

I take away misconceptions about how an archaeologist works and various legends, including that of Atlantis and Tutankhamen.

Although the author is an archaeologist who has worked primarily in Europe and the near East, he describes his work and that of many archaeological sites in such a way that you fall in love with archeology.

Highly recommend.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one! Professor Cline has lots of good stories and he's very easy to listen to. I wasn't sure at first how things were organized, as the lectures about different sites are interspersed with lectures about archaeology in general, but I got the hang of it.
It's a SUPER interesting course, definitely recommend.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this course and I liked listening to Professor Cline talk. My initial thought about his voice is that he has that sort of stereotypical nerd guy voice--that poindexter thing where you can picture a skinny white guy with weird hair, suspenders, glasses, you know. It's nasally.

But then I started listening to Classical Mythology by Elizabeth Vandiver, and she has that nasally nerd voice too, but in a woman? And then I put it together that they both just sound very slightly stuffy all the time, and I guess that's a stereotypical nerd thing too, right? Allergies. How did we make allergies a nerd thing? Pollen has no idea how smart you are. Pollen hates us all indiscriminately.

I don't have much to say about the content of the course apparently, I thought it was good and it was helpful to get a rundown of how field archaeology is actually done and what a dig is like. I plan to listen to his book Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology and I'll be interested to find out how much overlap there is. I don't know if he narrates that one. Would allergy pills help or is there just some sort of septum issue going on?

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Review of the Audiobook

Published in 2016 by The Great Courses.
Read by the author, Eric H. Cline.
Duration: 12 hours, 37 minutes.
Unabridged.

Eric H. Cline is a well-respected and highly experienced archaeologist who is a professor at George Washington University. He has excavated at several sites for a total of 30 seasons, doing everything from being an inexperienced newbie to being Co-Director of well-established sites.

Turns out that Cline is also a very likable guy who does a good job of explaining archaeological techniques. He tells about a number of sites that he worked on and some of the most famus digs in history (King Tut's tomb, Troy) in the first half of the book. It was a bit frustrating for me because they were all within 100 miles of the Mediterranean Sea.

In the second half of the book, Cline tells about other digs around the world - Machu Pichu, the Terracotta soldiers, Teotihuacan and more.

On the whole, this was a pleasant if not particularly riveting listen as an audiobook. I rate it 4 stars out of 5.

https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2021...

[Jeff Beardsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an avid subscriber to The Great Courses lecture series, and have completed quite a few of them now. This particular course, Archaeology: An Introduction to the World's Greatest Sites, by Eric H. Cline, has truly been one of my favorite. I zipped through the 24-lecture series in record time. Cline completes multiple tasks in this series: 1) Introducing students to the fundamentals of Archaeology as a science, 2) Guiding students through many of the world’s most important archaeological sites, 3) teaching key aspects of the discipline such as where and how to dig, and 4) discussing the history and future of archaeology. All of this, combined with his energetic and engaging style, made for a simply enjoyable series of lectures. Far beyond the world of Indiana Jones (though not minimizing its sometimes positive effects to the field), this course will open the real world of archaeology to its participants. It did for me, and I highly recommend it.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know I probably should've started my decent into archeological history books with this one. Archeology: An Introduction into the world's Greatest sights is a great courses plus lecture turned into an audiobook that's available on Audible!

Archeology: An Introduction into the world's Greatest sights was excellent at providing information on a variety of different sights across the world from different points in history. The lecturer, Dr. Eric H. Cline, has been to many of these sights and was able to provide a personal as well as a professional examination of each sight.


I thought this lecturer did a great job. He would interspace the information with jokes, to help prevent the information from becoming overwhelming.

Not only are the famous sights discussed during this lecture, but so are the techniques used to find the sights. It was great to get to know the different ways sights are discovered, examined, recorded and dated.

[Gummih · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an “Introduction to the World’s Greatest Sites” this doesn’t perform so well. It does a few sites justice but other sites it just glazes over, like the Machu Picchu coverage which can be rephrased as “I haven’t been, but I hear it has some very advanced masonry, maybe it was a palace?”. Instead the lecturer spends way too much time talking about his own work - and frankly, I don’t feel like that “very large vine cellar” and the “north staples” constitute as the World’s greatest sites. On the other hand, also not devoted to the greatest sites, but something that I quite liked was his descriptions of how the work of archeologists is performed.

The lecturer repeats himself a bit throughout the program. If you were taking this course over a whole semester then that would be fine. But when listening to it in just a few days it’s annoying. To conclude, the parts where he really provided detail on the great sites were very good.

[Mary Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the course -- not only did Prof. Cline cover many of the major sites the general public is interested in, he also gets into the details of what's involved in excavation, how they date artifacts, and the general approaches archaeologists take. I especially loved how he detailed that technological advancements have made it easier to detect certain items... and all the mysteries still unsolved in archaeology (and may never be solved).

I highly recommend this for newbies (like me!) who want to know how archaeologists do what they do, as well as have a taste of the wonders uncovered. After listening to these lectures, now I want to go volunteer on an excavation, too!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of lectures is primarily for laymen with an interest in the science of archaeology or possibly for those who wonder what exactly does an archaeologist do. It is also a travel log with suggestions for sites to visit. There is also a lot of Mr. Cline's work history; going over the sites he has worked at and the people he has worked with. Overall it is a mixed bag that could have used more focus. Cline's narration was very easy to listen to. Library edition.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!

What an outstandingly amazing set of lectures! I thought they might be dry, but not at all. I was most enthralled to learn about Tel Megiddo, which had somehow escaped my attention until now.
The lectures were especially interesting as Professor Eric Cline leads internationally renowned archaeological digs himself, so there is real passion and knowledge when he speaks. I am planning to read his books now.
Highly recommended!

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good overview of the major sites that influenced archeological method and perspectives, largely presented in chronological order by a professor with absolutely first-hand knowledge of the field and of many of the sites, as well as showing a strong easy fluency with the literature. I thought this was pitched at the right level for someone with a moderate amount of reading in popular archaeology but who has never taken a university-level overview.

[Julia Lundman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure that audio lectures really count for my reading goals this year. Even so I enjoyed this series and learned a lot of interesting facts. One tidbit I didn't know was that Tutankhamen died about ten years before the Trojan War. I previously thought the Trojan Wars were long before then.
Professor Cline is a good lecturer and provides not only easy to follow information but also about his personal interests in archaeology. A great intro course. Looking forward to finding some good books now on the subject.

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very reluctant to download this book from Audible. I have always been interested in Archeology. I’m glad I did. This was informative as well as interesting. The lectures were diverse and covered many sites I know about. Usually listened to the book while cooking. Each lecture is about 30 minutes long.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great course with only a few criticisms. Nothing serious. This is obviously an audio track of a video presentation. Occasionally the professor will say "Look at this" but he describes it well enough that one can imagine, and in fact, I have seen some of the things he is describing.

I'd be glad to listen to this audio course again and again.

[Anne Cupero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This archaeologist is terrific - read his other books - but I guess I should have known that this was just a survey. I just wanted more. I think Great Courses should do general courses like this and then get more on the smaller topics within. Since they don’t need to produce CDs any more, the overhead should be way down.

[Brendan Steinhauser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, digestible book on archaeology. It is the companion book to the Great Courses lectures given by Dr. Eric Cline, a practicing archaeologist and professor at George Washington University. The book covers many of the most famous and interesting sites, as well as some basic information about the discipline of archaeology. I also appreciate the great bibliography, which lists dozens of books on the archaeological sites covered in this book.

[Lamadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was inspiring in many different ways. The professor is enthusiastic and really makes you enjoy these lectures. They vary, with some being about specific sites, and others about the work of archaeology, but all of them are fantastic. I'm definitely going to relisten to this one.

[Nykki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this one on Audible. I thought the book was a really informative, and fun peak into the world of archeology. The author Eric Cline is also the narrator and his passion for the topic comes through in such an engaging way.

[Courtney Umlauf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but it would have held my attention better with more contextual historical information regarding the sites discussed. Still recommended if you enjoy history and/or archaeology.

[Karlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

audiobook

[Lori Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview if you need one.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the publisher called the lectures "thrillling" - I'll give them credit for being interesting, but not more.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lecture really made me think.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and entertaining course. Easily understandable without dumbing it down.