Penn Museum | Penn Today

Yaroub Al-Obaidi stands in front of a sign reading Middle East Galleries inside the Penn Museum.

‘Building bridges’: Iraqi Global Guide offers tours, personal insight

Yaroub Al-Obaidi, an Iraqi artist and scholar who settled in Philadelphia in 2016, gives Penn Museum visitors an insider’s view of the Middle East Galleries and creates connections with U.S. Iraq War veterans.

Ancient restaurant highlights Iraq’s archaeology renaissance

An international archaeological mission led by a Penn team has uncovered the remnants of what is believed to be a 5,000-year-old restaurant or tavern in the ancient city of Lagash in southern Iraq.

Raise a toast in honor of the world’s oldest known beerhall!

A team of researchers from Penn and the University of Pisa, led by Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum, have excavated a site in Iraq that could contain the oldest tavern ever discovered.

World’s oldest bar? Archaeologists find a nearly 5,000-year-old tavern

Ancient refrigerator, beer recipe, and tavern among the latest discoveries at Lagash, Iraq

A team of archaeologists from Penn and the University of Pisa have discovered the remains of a 5,000-year-old tavern and an ancient beer recipe in the ruins of ancient Lagash in Iraq.

Archaeologists digging in Iraq have located the remains of a 5,000-year-old tavern—as well as a ‘beer recipe’

Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum and colleagues have uncovered the remains of a public eating space dated to 2700 B.C.E. in Lagash, an ancient city site in southern Iraq.

Iraq dig uncovers 5,000-year-old pub restaurant

A joint U.S.-Italian archaeological team led by Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum has uncovered the remains of a nearly 5,000-year-old tavern in southern Iraq.

Francisco Diaz at the Penn Museum in front of a carved stone pillar

Who, What, Why

Who, What, Why: Francisco Díaz on anthropology and the modern Maya

Francisco Díaz studies Maya contributions to archeology at a time when Indigenous people were viewed as little more than laborers. His research shows that Indigenous people were archaeologists in their own right, working season after season with specialized skills to excavate the past.

5,000-year-old tavern uncovered in Iraq

Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum and colleagues have uncovered a public eating space dated to 2700 B.C.E. in Lagash, an ancient city site in southern Iraq.

At a southern Iraq site, unearthing the archaeological passing of time

When Holly Pittman and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Pisa returned to Lagash in the fall of 2022 for a fourth season, they knew they’d find more than ceramic fragments and another kiln.

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