Eric H. Cline facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eric H. Cline
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Cline speaking at the 2014 National Book Festival
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| Born | September 1, 1960 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College; Yale University; University of Pennsylvania |
| Known for | Excavations and field work at Tel Megiddo and Tel Kabri |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology |
| Institutions | George Washington University |
Eric H. Cline (born September 1, 1960) is an American author, historian, and archaeologist. He is also a professor at The George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C.. There, he teaches about ancient history and archaeology.
Professor Cline helps students who are studying archaeology. He also used to lead a department at GWU. From 2014 to 2020, he helped edit an important archaeology magazine called the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research.
Contents
Learning and Education
Eric Cline studied at several top universities. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), from Dartmouth College in 1982. He focused on Classical Archaeology, which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman cultures.
Advanced Studies
After Dartmouth, he went to Yale University. In 1984, he earned his Master of Arts (M.A.) degree. He studied Near Eastern Languages and Literatures there.
Later, in 1989, he received a special scholarship called a Fulbright scholarship. This allowed him to study in Greece. In 1991, he earned his Ph.D. (doctorate degree) from the University of Pennsylvania. His Ph.D. was in Ancient History.
Professor Cline has also been a leader in important archaeology groups. He served on the boards of the Archaeological Institute of America and the American Schools of Oriental Research.
Exploring Ancient Sites
Eric Cline is a very active archaeologist. He has spent more than 30 seasons digging and exploring ancient sites. These sites are in places like Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, and the United States.
Digging at Megiddo
For ten seasons, he worked at a famous site called Megiddo in Israel. This place is also known as biblical Armageddon. He was a co-director of the excavations there.
Discoveries at Tel Kabri
Currently, he helps lead new digs at Tel Kabri in Israel. These excavations started in 2005. One exciting find by Cline and his team was the oldest wine cellar in the Near East. This discovery tells us a lot about ancient life.
Awards and Special Recognition
Professor Cline has received many awards for his work. He was even considered for a Pulitzer Prize in 2014. His books have won awards six times.
Book Awards
He has won the "Nancy Lapp Popular Book Award" from the American Schools of Oriental Research twice. He also won the Biblical Archaeology Society's "Best Popular Book on Archaeology" Award three times. Another book he helped edit won the "G. Ernest Wright Award."
Teaching Awards
Eric Cline is also known for his excellent teaching. He has won national and local teaching awards. These include the "Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching" Award from the Archaeological Institute of America. At GWU, he received the "Morton Bender Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching" Award.
He is the first professor at GWU to win both of their highest awards. These are the "Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award for Teaching Excellence" and the "Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award for Faculty Scholarship." In 2024, he received the GWU OVPR Distinguished Career Award.
Other Honors
In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Muhlenberg College. He was also named a Public Scholar by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This award helped him write his book, Digging Up Armageddon. In 2018, he became an honorary member of the first archaeology fraternity, Delta Iota Gamma.
Books Written by Eric Cline
Eric Cline has written or edited more than 20 books. Many of his books have been translated into 19 different languages. This means people all over the world can read his work.
Some of his well-known books include:
- Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: International Trade and the Late Bronze Age Aegean (1994)
- 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)
- The Ancient Egyptian World (2005), written with Jill Rubalcaba
- 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)
- Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology (2017)
- Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon (2020)
- Digging Deeper: How Archaeology Works (2020)
- 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (2014, revised 2021)
- 1177 B.C.: A Graphic History of the Year Civilization Collapsed (2024), with Glynnis Fawkes
- After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations (2024)
Television Appearances
Professor Cline has appeared in many documentaries on television. He shares his knowledge of ancient history and archaeology with a wider audience.
He has been on channels like ABC News, the National Geographic Channel, the Discovery Channel, the BBC, PBS, and the History Channel.
Some of the documentaries he has appeared in include:
- Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour (ABC News)
- King Solomon's Mines (National Geographic Channel)
- Biblical Plagues (National Geographic Channel)
- Jerusalem: Center of the World (PBS)
- Countdown to Armageddon (History Channel)
- Mysteries/Science of the Bible (National Geographic Channel)
- Secrets of the Aegean Apocalypse (Mystery of the Sea Peoples) (History Channel)
- Is It Real: Atlantis (National Geographic Channel)
- The Truth of Troy (BBC)
- Joshua and the Battle of Jericho (Discovery Channel)
- Lost Cities of the Trojans (PBS)
