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Digging Up Armageddon
- The Search for the Lost City of Solomon
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
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Publisher's summary
A vivid portrait of the early years of biblical archaeology from the acclaimed author of 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed
In 1925, James Henry Breasted, famed Egyptologist and director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, sent a team of archaeologists to the Holy Land to excavate the ancient site of Megiddo - Armageddon in the New Testament - which the Bible says was fortified by King Solomon. Their excavations made headlines around the world and shed light on one of the most legendary cities of biblical times, yet little has been written about what happened behind the scenes. Digging Up Armageddon brings to life one of the most important archaeological expeditions ever undertaken, describing the site and what was found there, including discoveries of gold and ivory, and providing an up-close look at the internal workings of a dig in the early years of biblical archaeology.
The Chicago team left behind a trove of writings and correspondence spanning more than three decades, from letters and cablegrams to cards, notes, and diaries. Eric Cline draws on these materials to paint a compelling portrait of a bygone age of archaeology. He masterfully sets the expedition against the backdrop of the Great Depression in America and the growing troubles and tensions in British Mandate Palestine. He gives listeners an insider's perspective on the debates over what was uncovered at Megiddo, the infighting that roiled the expedition, and the stunning discoveries that transformed our understanding of the ancient world.
Digging Up Armageddon is the enthralling story of an archaeological site in the interwar years and its remarkable place at the crossroads of history.
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Critic reviews
"Enjoyable, fascinating, and engaging. Digging Up Armageddon is an extremely well written and lively account of perhaps the most important excavations ever conducted in Israel. Cline has, once again, written an excellent book." (Aren M. Maeir, coeditor of The Shephelah During the Iron Age: Recent Archaeological Studies)
"We often hear of grand archaeological discoveries, but we rarely hear about the drama between the men and women behind them. Lively and eye-opening, Digging Up Armageddon reveals the reality-show level of human relationships on archaeological excavations at one of the world's most extraordinary sites, Megiddo, and just how little archaeology has changed in a hundred years. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know how archeological magic truly happens." (Sarah Parcak, author of Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past)
"Megiddo is the mother of all ancient mounds, the cradle of biblical archaeology, a place related to great historical figures such as Thutmose III, Solomon, and Josiah. The excavations at Megiddo were the largest and most romantic in the history of Near Eastern archaeology. Thanks to them, unparalleled monuments from biblical times - gates, palaces, temples, and water systems - were unearthed. But Megiddo has also become the focus of every problem in the archaeology of the region, from questions about the beginning of urbanism to the historicity of a united monarchy of David and Solomon. In this deeply researched, beautifully written, and engaging book, Eric Cline writes the history of the dig at Megiddo, and by doing so, he sheds light on the entire history of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Levant, including that of ancient Israel." (Israel Finkelstein, coauthor of David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible’s Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition)
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- William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1793 William Smith, a canal digger, made a startling discovery that was to turn the fledgling science of the history of the earth - and a central plank of established Christian religion - on its head. He noticed that the rocks he was excavating were arranged in layers; more important, he could see quite clearly that the fossils found in one layer were very different from those found in another. And out of that realization came an epiphany.
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Who knew rocks could be so deceptive?
- By Jody R. Nathan on 11-09-04
By: Simon Winchester
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The Path Between the Seas
- The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The Path Between the Seas tells the story of the men and women who fought against all odds to fulfill the 400-year-old dream of constructing an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a story of astonishing engineering feats, tremendous medical accomplishments, political power plays, heroic successes, and tragic failures. McCullough expertly weaves the many strands of this momentous event into a captivating tale.
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No Stone Unturned
- By Tim on 06-25-13
By: David McCullough
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Secret Treasure of Oak Island
- The Amazing True Story of a Centuries-Old Treasure Hunt
- By: D'Arcy O'Connor
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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It started on a summer afternoon in 1795 when a young man named Daniel McGinnis found what appeared to be an old site on an island off the Acadian coast, a coastline fabled for the skullduggery of pirates. Ever since that summer day, the possibility of what might be hidden in the depths of a small island off the south coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, has made it the site of the world's longest, most expensive, and most perplexing treasure hunt. Author D'Arcy O'Connor recounts the fascinating stories and amazing discoveries of past and current treasure seekers who have sought Oak Island's fabled treasure for over 200 years.
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very informative
- By David on 03-12-19
By: D'Arcy O'Connor
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The Riddle of the Labyrinth
- The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code
- By: Margalit Fox
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of Simon Winchester and Dava Sobel, The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code tells one of the most intriguing stories in the history of language, masterfully blending history, linguistics, and cryptology with an elegantly wrought narrative. When famed archaeologist Arthur Evans unearthed the ruins of a sophisticated Bronze Age civilization that flowered on Crete 1,000 years before Greece's Classical Age, he discovered a cache of ancient tablets, Europe's earliest written records.
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Discovery and Translation of Linear B Script
- By Sires on 01-11-14
By: Margalit Fox
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The Curse of Oak Island
- The Story of the World's Longest Treasure Hunt
- By: Randall Sullivan
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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The Curse of Oak Island is a fascinating account of the strange, rich history of the island and the intrepid treasure hunters who have driven themselves to financial ruin, psychotic breakdowns, and even death in pursuit of answers. And as Michigan brothers Marty and Rick Lagina become the latest to attempt to solve the mystery, as documented on the History Channel’s television show The Curse of Oak Island, Sullivan takes listeners along to follow their quest firsthand.
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The ultimate Osk Island show add on
- By Amazon Customer on 03-27-19
By: Randall Sullivan
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Discovering the City of Sodom
- The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City
- By: Dr Steven Collins, Dr. Latayne C. Scott
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The fascinating, true account of the quest for one of the Old Testament’s most infamous cities. Like many modern-day Christians, Dr. Steven Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history - a crisis of faith that inspired him to put both his education and the Bible to the test by embarking on an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology.
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What a wonderful accidental discovery!
- By W on 07-22-13
By: Dr Steven Collins, and others
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The Earl and the Pharaoh
- From the Real Downton Abbey to the Discovery of Tutankhamun
- By: The Countess of Carnarvon
- Narrated by: The Countess of Carnarvon
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Bestselling author the Countess of Carnarvon tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun on its centennial, and explores the unparalleled life of family ancestor George Herbert—the famed Egyptologist, world-traveler, and 5th Earl of Carnarvon behind it—whose country house, Highclere Castle, is the setting of the beloved series Downton Abbey.
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Plodding Family History…Akin to Listening to Paint Dry
- By J. Willis-Opalenik on 10-31-23
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Panama Fever
- By: Matthew Parker
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, William Dufris
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The building of the Panama Canal was one of the greatest engineering feats in human history. A tale of exploration, conquest, money, politics, and medicine, Panama Fever charts the challenges that marked the long, labyrinthine road to the building of the canal. Drawing on a wealth of new materials and sources, Matthew Parker brings to life the men who recognized the impact a canal would have on global politics and economics.
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Good book, marginal narrator
- By CmH - HB, CA on 06-02-08
By: Matthew Parker
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Jungle of Stone
- The True Story of Two Men, Their Extraordinary Journey, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of the Maya
- By: William Carlsen
- Narrated by: Paul Michael Garcia
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1839 rumors of extraordinary yet baffling stone ruins buried within the unmapped jungles of Central America reached two of the world's most intrepid travelers. Seized by the reports, American diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and British artist Frederick Catherwood sailed together out of New York Harbor on an expedition into the forbidding rainforests of present-day Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. What they found would rewrite the West's understanding of human history.
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Unsung Explorers at the Heart of History
- By thomas on 01-10-17
By: William Carlsen
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The Sign and the Seal
- The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 21 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The fate of the Lost Ark of the Covenant is one of the great historical mysteries of all time. The Bible contains hundreds of references to the Ark's power, but the Ark itself mysteriously disappears from recorded history sometime after the building of the Temple of Solomon. After 10 years of searching through the dusty archives of Europe and the Middle East, Graham Hancock has succeeded where scores of others have failed. This intrepid journalist has tracked down the true story behind the myths and legends - revealing where the Ark is today, how it got there, and why it remains hidden.
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Ridiculous.
- By D. MacNair on 11-09-19
By: Graham Hancock
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The Buried Book
- The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh
- By: David Damrosch
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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One day in 1872, self-taught Assyriologist George Smith was sifting through a pile of clay tablets when he realized he was reading about "a flood, storm, a ship caught on a mountain, and a bird sent out in search of dry land". This is the riveting story of the discovery of the world's first literary epic, the "Epic of Gilgamesh".
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interesting- but not for everyone
- By J Michael on 07-16-08
By: David Damrosch
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The Lost Book of Moses
- The Hunt for the World's Oldest Bible
- By: Chanan Tigay
- Narrated by: Chanan Tigay
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
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In the summer of 1883, Moses Wilhelm Shapira - archaeological treasure hunter and denizen of Jerusalem's bustling marketplace - arrived unannounced in London claiming to have discovered the world's oldest Bible scroll. When news of the discovery leaked to the excited English press, Shapira became a household name. But before the British Museum could acquire them, Shapira's nemesis, French archaeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau, denounced his find as a fraud.
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Fascinating!
- By Deborah on 07-27-17
By: Chanan Tigay
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Water to the Angels
- William Mulholland, His Monumental Aqueduct, and the Rise of Los Angeles
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
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The author of Last Train to Paradise tells the story of the largest public water project ever created - William Mulholland's Los Angeles aqueduct - a story of Gilded Age ambition, hubris, greed, and one determined man whose vision shaped the future and continues to impact us today.
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Water challenges never end
- By John Matel on 04-10-15
By: Les Standiford
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What listeners say about Digging Up Armageddon
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-23-20
Disappointment and defective recording
First: When I played this it unexpectedly quit about 45 min. from the end. I downloaded and transferred it again to my ipod with the same result.
Second: I write this review with regret. I am a bit of a fangirl of Cline's. I have enjoyed several of his books, audio and video courses and live lectures, This one not so much. I was looking forward to a description of the discoveries at Megiddo. Instead, I got a description of the intrigues, jealousies and doings in the private and professional lives of the people involved in the pivotal years of discoveries in the 20s and 30s. In this account the archeology was almost secondary to the drama (not so dramatic) going on with the staff. Maybe stories of when so and so came and then went and did this and that afterward is fascinating to archaeologists who have had similar experiences in their lives, but to an amateur fan, less so.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mason S. Garard
- 05-08-20
Remarkable.
The story of Megiddo is one of drama, suspense, dedication and scientific rigor. To hear it from a primary source (not to mention a familiar face to many archaeologists) is a real treat. I highly recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in the history and archaeology of the region.
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- Jeffrey L. Smith, PE
- 01-23-22
Archeology has office politics!
In case you were wondering, every job has office politics, even if the office is a dig site in the desert!
I realize that Dr Cline found a treasure trove of old correspondence. But, this felt like the archeological equivalent of every “and some guy begat some other guy” from the Old Testament.
It’s too heavy on the every twist and turn, and doesn’t do enough for the archeology and history of the site. I saw the other reviews saying much the same thing, and yet I was still disappointed.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-13-21
DISAPPOINTING
If you are looking for archeological findings this may not be the book you are looking for. This was focused more on the logistics and difficulties in administering the dig. Not much substance in the results of the archeology of the dig site. Author has a fascination with personnel and administrative issues.
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- Unhappy CAmper
- 03-22-21
Disappointed
As someone interested in archeology and history I found this a baffling and disappointing book. It’s just not about these subjects, but rather a deep deep dive into the bureaucratic and interpersonal evolution of the dig at Megiddo. It goes into interminable detail about the personalities involved, their letters, antagonisms, gossip, prejudice, height, drapes, hat styles s etc — topics of minor interest in “Great Men” biography, but these are all undistinguished and justifiably forgotten figures. Apart from a peek into 1930’s Anglo American society, its just plain boring.
Further, this is another cautionary example of why authors should not read their own works. A dull performance in galumphing cadences punctuated by continuing tones of astonishment that seem totally misplaced.
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- D. Van Den Elzen
- 09-15-20
Disappointing
The book largely consists of gossip and quabbles between the staff digging up Megiddo.
The narrator constantly emphasized parts of phrases, suggesting there’s something truly remarkable to pay attention to. There isn’t.
Unintersting material, substandard annoying performance.
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- Shane
- 05-09-22
Not really about Armageddon
I enjoyed Mr.Cline's book, 1177, truly a remarkable book. Sadly I am unable to give this book, "Digging Up Armageddon", a positive review. This might be more due to unmet expectations stemming from both the description of the book and the wealth of information provided by 1177. This book is not about Armageddon, I learned nothing about the city, its importance, history, etc, but rather the drama of the actual dig, spanning from the 1920's until modern times. I hate to give Eric Cline a low rating, but I will say if you haven't read 1177, it's an amazing book. I've listened to it a number of times over the years since it's publication.
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- Melanie S. Kline
- 07-25-20
not enough digging, too much gossip
I'm a fan of this author and have really enjoyed his other books. This one can't hold my interest. Too little about the dig itself with way too much information about the people who are supposed to be digging! Apparently Professor Cline thought recounting all the personal relationships and their dramas would interest his reader. NO ! It doesnt. It's boring.
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- Joseph Hellstern
- 12-24-20
Nothing to do with the actual history
This book is truly miserable. It's merely inside politics of an archeological dig. I bought it because generally the author is a good lecturer on historical topics. I don't really care about the personalities of the dig. I care about the history. It's gotta be the most boring book I've ever listened to
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-18-22
Not what I thought it'd be and bad for what it is
This review serves two purposes: 1. To let off some steam about my disappointment in this book, and 2. To dissuade potential buyers from getting something other than what they want (like me).
Writing a bad review is a sad undertaking because I really loved Eric Cline's 1177 and Great Courses entry and so was excited for this, but when I started listening it turned out that the book isn't about the history of Magedo or the site really as much as it is the story of the DIG at Magedo a hundred years ago. The title kind of says it I know, but I thought that was a creative flourish. After all, why would an archeologist who mainly writes great bronze age history write about people that lived a hundred years ago digging up a hill in Israel?
It's clear that Mr. Cline, or is it professor, really loves the story and subject matter, but the story is told in the most boring way possible. He doesn't really know how to tell a story about humans is the issue I think. All the of the really good stuff is glossed over in favor of chronologically reporting the drama instead of exploring it. There's a lot there - interesting characters, tawdriness, and more but none of it is given any meat so as to interest the reader at all.
It's like he thought simply writing a list of things that happened and letting the reader fill in the blanks is enough... it's not.
At one point he talks about an unrequited gay crush one man had for another, but he talks about it for maybe a few sentences, and then moves on to something completely boring and mundane like the permits or latrines or something. There's also a very lengthy entry about how the dig team had to go to England to get the permission of a lady there because she technically owned the hill. Over there's a lot of attention given to documents in this book, very boring documents, that don't move the story forward at all.
WHO CARES ABOUT THAT STUFF?!?! Most don't I would think, especially when there was something interesting they could have bitten into immediately prior.
Anyway, if you think you'd like that kind of thing, or you're a bureaucrat, then this book is definitely for you. However, if you're like me and wanted some bronze age history or at least a breezy and interesting story about people trying to make it through harsh times, you won't find it here sadly.
Oh boy.
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