Robert Cargill (Ph.D., Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA, 2008) joined the University of Iowa in 2011 as part of the Public Humanities in a Digital World faculty cluster. He is the author of The Cities that Built the Bible (HarperOne) and Qumran through (Real) Time (Gorgias). He has written many articles on Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Aramaic Targums, digital humanities, and the use and misuse of archaeology for religious purposes.

Cargill has made numerous appearances as an expert on TV documentary series such as CNN’s Finding Jesus, History Channel’s Bible Secrets Revealed and Ancient Aliens, Discovery’s Biblical Mysteries Explained, and hosted Writing the Dead Sea Scrolls on National Geographic. He has gained notoriety for debunking outrageous archeological claims and his public commentary on issues pertaining to religion in politics.

Related stories:

https://now.uiowa.edu/2017/04/cargill-touts-value-public-scholarship-humanities

https://now.uiowa.edu/2019/02/ui-faculty-tout-benefits-working-media-promote-research