The Red-Haired Archaeologist

Amanda Hope Haley

Join Amanda Hope Haley--Harvard-trained biblical archaeologist, whimsical storyteller, and sunscreen advocate--as she explores the archaeology of Israel and Egypt and learns how ancient objects and history impact our understandings of Scripture and each other.

  1. Where Was Abram's Ur?

    10/16/2025

    Where Was Abram's Ur?

    Summary: In this episode, you’ll learn how archaeological discoveries from the Middle Bronze Age shed light on Abram’s world and travels across Mesopotamia and Canaan. By reexamining evidence, scholars now suggest that Abram’s birthplace may have been near Haran in northern Mesopotamia—not the distant Sumerian Ur—highlighting how imprecise headlines have sometimes misled biblical geography. Episode links: Code of Hammurabi: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010174436 “Ur, Iraq,” Online Collection at the Penn Museum: https://www.penn.museum/collections/highlights/neareast/location/ur.php "A Spectacular Discovery." Expedition Magazine 60, no. 1 (May, 2018): -. Accessed October 09, 2025. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/a-spectacular-discovery/ Objects from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Online Collection at British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x32510 Sanlıurfa Museum: https://www.turkishmuseums.com/museum/detail/2227-sanliurfa-museum/2227/4 Amanda Hope Haley, “Big Digs, Bad Detectives” in Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/03/big-digs-bad-detectives/ Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Book: https://stonesstillspeak.com Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv.

    25 min
  2. Antiquated Antediluvian Interpretations

    10/09/2025

    Antiquated Antediluvian Interpretations

    Summary: In this week’s episode, we will explore the Bible’s use of metaphorical language (such as symbolic numbers) to convey meaning rather than timelines. You’ll also learn how the word yom in Genesis can mean either “day” or a longer period of time, showing that creation and the flood narratives are written to teach theological truths, not to serve as scientific accounts. Episode links: Nashville Rising: Our Story of the 2010 Flood: https://maps.nashville.gov/npl_2010FloodStory/ Samuel Noah Kramer, "Reflections on the Mesopotamian Flood," Expedition Magazine 9, no. 4 (July, 1967): 15. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/reflections-on-the-mesopotamian-flood/ Map: Kingdom of Urartu: https://www.asor.org/resources/photo-collection/maps/mid000036 Amanda’s blog post about the Ark Encounter: https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/arkencounter/ Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: First Friday Freebie: https://redhairedarchaeologist.myflodesk.com/firstfridayfreebie Website: ⁠https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/amandahopehaley/⁠ Book: https://stonesstillspeak.com Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv

    20 min
  3. The Persian Reversal

    01/25/2024

    The Persian Reversal

    During this episode of the Red-Haired Archaeologist® Podcast, learn about the Neo-Babylonians’ defeat by the Persian Empire and how that changed all exiles’ lives; understand the differences between the terms “Hebrew,” “Israelite,” and “Jew”; and consider why Chronicles is critical to the re-development of Jerusalem in the 6th and 5th centuries. Episode links: Tablet from the Marushu Archive, Penn Museum: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/372377 “cylinder,” British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1880-0617-1941 “Cyrus Cylinder,” Livius: https://www.livius.org/sources/content/cyrus-cylinder/ Jackson Landers, “How a German Archaeologist Rediscovered in Iran the Tomb of Cyrus,” Smithsonian Magazine (16 Feb 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-german-archaeologist-rediscovered-tomb-cyrus-180958142/ “Bisotun,” UNESCO World Heritage Convention, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1222/ “naos; door,” British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA37496 Living in Exile Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3JAfqQvQ8U3kk6rKpnGAGz?si=69d5d722ab4845e4 Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/free https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/ https://www.instagram.com/redhairedarchaeologist/ https://amandahopehaley.square.site/ Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv.

    35 min
  4. Zedekiah and Nebuchadnezzar

    01/18/2024

    Zedekiah and Nebuchadnezzar

    During this episode of the Red-Haired Archaeologist® Podcast, learn how both Egypt and the Southern Kingdom fell to Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, what ancient documents help us to better understand the biblical narrative of ancient Israel’s fall, and where some traditions locate the Ark of the Covenant today. Episode links: “Why the brick lions that protected the streets of Babylon feel alive” The Met Museum, https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/videos/2013/10/babylonian-striding-lions-art-explained Tower of Babel Stele: https://www.schoyencollection.com/history-collection-introduction/babylonian-history-collection/tower-babel-stele-ms-2063 The Mesopotamian Chronicles: https://www.livius.org/sources/about/mesopotamian-chronicles/ The Lachish Letters at the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIB996 Paul Raffaele, “Keepers of the Lost Ark? Christians in Ethiopia have long claimed to have the ark of the covenant” Smithsonian Magazine (December 2007): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/keepers-of-the-lost-ark-179998820/ Amanda Hope Haley, “When Did We Lose the Ark?” https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/when-did-we-lose-the-ark-2/ Red-Haired Archaeologist® links: https://redhairedarchaeologist.com/free https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/ https://www.instagram.com/redhairedarchaeologist/ https://amandahopehaley.square.site/ Learn more about my fabulous video editor, Tanya Yaremkiv, by visiting her website at ⁠https://tanyaremkiv.com⁠ and listening to her podcast, Through the Bible podcast with Tanya Yaremkiv. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram @tanyaremkiv.

    32 min

Trailers

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

Join Amanda Hope Haley--Harvard-trained biblical archaeologist, whimsical storyteller, and sunscreen advocate--as she explores the archaeology of Israel and Egypt and learns how ancient objects and history impact our understandings of Scripture and each other.