Movies We Dig | Film, Antiquity and Everything in Between

Men will rob ancient tombs with no qualms, but the second a woman starts accessing ancient magical powers then they start caring about morality. Yes, we watching Blood from the Mummy's Tomb, the 1971 Hammer horror about an ancient sorceress possessing a modern London woman. Joining us to discuss this cult classic are our good friends, the Ancient History Fangirls, Genn McMenemy and Jenny Williamson. We talk Bram Stoker, Egyptology, the anxieties over female liberation throughout the 20th century and why Freud might have really vibed with this movie. Also, if a corpse bleeds continuously from a severed hand for over 3,000 years, how much blood would it produce?You can read and hear more from Genn and Jenny over at Ancient History Fangirl as well as on their socials (Genn; Jenny). Be sure to check out Women of Myth and Enemy of My Dreams.

It's May, so you know what that means? It's time to celebrate all those wonderful Mummies in film! With the help of return guest and Egyptologist, Dr. Julia Troche, we travel back in time to unravel the humble beginnings of the entire Mummy movie franchise. For a film nearing 100 years old, it has some surprisingly progressive takes on archaeology, colonialism, and female sexuality. It's a dangerous venture, and not all of us will make it to the end (of the podcast). But since when has that ever stopped a curious archaeologist/librarian?To learn more about Julia's work with The American Research Center in Egypt Missouri Chapter visit ARCEMO.org. You can also stay up-to-date with her research by following @profjuliatroche on Instagram. If you would like to check out some of Dr. Troche's writing, here's an article on Letters to the Dead. Or if you would like to check out her book, Death, Power, and Apotheosis in Ancient Egypt, use this link.And if you interested in the topic of Egyptomania, check out the webpage for the International Society for the Study of Egyptomania at www.issegyptomania.com. To check out the Michelle Keeley-Adamson's article on Omm Sety referenced in the episode, visit victoriansinegypt.substack.com.

We wish we had our own magic time-traveling sands as we review 2010's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Is it a creative re-imagining of a popular game? No. Is it a fun action-adventure with comedic tones? Also no. Does Alfred Molina run an illegal ostrich-racing circuit? Yes he does.We could have been watching Prince of Egypt...

It's been well over a year (and season) since we last checked in on Wiros and Yemos (AKA Romulus and Remus) to see how their little city of Rome is managing. While both brothers are still alive, they are definitely not prepared to handle the wildcard that is Titus Tatius, King of the Sabines and Son of Sancus. Helping us to separate the original founding myth from an imaginative modern retelling are The Partial Historians, Dr. Rad and Dr. G! We discuss the Sabine Women, masculinity in the ancient world, and just how seriously everyone takes religion in this series. Come for the archaic Latin, stay for the great honey bath debate!If you like this episode and want to listen to the Movies We Dig and The Partial Historians react to the first episode of Romulus Season 2, check out our YouTube Channel and look for our Romulus Watch Party!To learn more about The Partial Historians, be sure to visit their website for podcast episodes and books on ancient Rome or check out their socials at Instagram or Bluesky. And if you like what you hear and want to support their work, check out their Patreon page!

We're back and this time untethered from history with a new season of your (but not Colin's) favorite gladiator show: Spartacus: House of Ashur (2025). Also helping us rewrite history in some pretty radical ways is Dr. Monica Cyrino. We talk gladiators, sex, crucifixion and more, everything a growing ludus needs. What does a gladiator-turned-aspiring-nouveau-riche-fight-promoter have to do to get any respect in this town? Who's the worst GM in NFL history? Is love real? Has anyone checked to see if Caesar's alive? Find out the answers to all that and more here on Movies We Dig!You can find work from Dr. Cyrino here on Linktree, including books, audiobooks, YouTube, papers and more! And if you are interested in more scholarly work on Classical reception, check out the new American Journal of Classical Reception published by Johns Hopkins University Press!

Maybe, like, the fourth or fifth best entry in the Transformers series? Yes we're talking Gods of Egypt (2016) a... film. Joining us is extra special guest, Dr. Julia Troche, who is here to help educate us on ancient Egyptian mythology and the many hidden benefits of lettuce. We talk gods, Egypt, robots, forced-perspective, arm workout routines and much more. Listen now or you'll need to spend money to get into the afterlife and a giant cosmic snake will devour your soul!To learn more about Julia's work with The American Research Center in Egypt Missouri Chapter visit ARCEMO.org. You can also stay up-to-date with her research by following @profjuliatroche on Instagram. If you would like to check out some of Dr. Troche's writing, here's an article on Letters to the Dead. Or if you would like to check out her book, Death, Power, and Apotheosis in Ancient Egypt, use this link.In unfortunate news, the University of Iowa recently proposed that the Classical Languages major--a major focused on the study of Ancient Greek and Latin--be eliminated later this year. If, like us, you care deeply about the study of Ancient Greek and Latin and want the University of Iowa’s proud tradition of teaching these languages to continue, join us in demanding that the University of Iowa abandon its proposal to eliminate the Classical Languages major. If you would like to help support the campaign to save Classical languages at the University of Iowa, please do so at here via the Change.org petition.