Persians

Archaeologist and historian Ross Burns knows Syria better than most, having lived there (and in Lebanon) for many years. He is the author of The Monuments of Syria: A Guide and Damascus: A History.

Ross, who is currently preparing a doctorate on the archaeology of the Roman provinces of the Eastern Empire, has lectured at a range of institutions in Australia. He also leads study tours to Syria and Jordan for British and Australian travel companies.

He explains why narrowing Syria's ancient treasures down to a top 10 proves such a challenge:

My recent travels in India took me to Ajanta, about two hours' drive outside of Aurangabad, in the Indian state of Maharashtra (where they're making perfectly drinkable wine these days, by the way).

The nearby small town of Ajanta gives its name to the collective of 29 caves carved out of a sheer wall of rock in a horseshoe-shaped river canyon, completed in the period 200BC to 500AD in the name of Buddhism. Several are temples, but most are dormitories originally built for temporarily housing Buddhist monks, as well as travellers and itinerant spice traders. The spice route passed through here on the way from Southern India, where they still grow wonderful black pepper, on its way to the main port at what is now Mumbai, where spices were loaded for shipment on to Arabia and Europe. I had read about the caves in guide books, and had to wrangle a little with my husband to make the time to see them during our woefully short visit to India, but despite a complex and long journey, they were thoroughly worth it.

The ancient Egyptians were well aware of the properties of Frankincense, and used it to treat phlegm, asthma, throat and larynx infections that bleed, and for calming down vomiting. The inhalation of the melted stem relieves both bronchitis and laryngitis. But new research by immunologist Mahmoud Suhail suggests that it may contain properties that could cure cancer. Could the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians be scoured to revolutionise cancer treatment today?

Frankincense is grown in green valleys, on the other side of the Dhofar Mountains that catch India's summer monsoons, making the area a paradise in the Arabian Peninsula. Boswellia sacra was produced there as far back as 7000 BCE, locals say. Almost as long ago, the ancient Egyptians began importing the substance. The journey from what is now Oman to ancient Egypt must have been made millions of times by ancient caravanserai.

Who is the man in this picture? How did this fellow, whose maternal ancestry is East Asian, end up in a modest grave in southern Italy about 2000 years ago?

It’s an enticing question and one that has been in the news ever since Heritage Key announced the story of this man’s discovery.

Just a quick recap; a team of scientists based at McMaster University in Hamilton Canada have found that this man, buried in a Roman cemetery at Vagnari, in southern Italy, is of East Asian ancestry on this mother’s side.

They determined this through mitochondrial DNA testing. 

Iran has followed through on its threat, lodged in October 2009, to sever ties with the British Museum in London over the Cyrus Cylinder.

The British Museum had agreed to lend the artefact – a 6th century Babylonian treasure, regarded as the world’s first declaration of human rights – to the National Museum of Tehran back in September, but then delayed the cylinder’s transfer citing the “political situation” in post-election Iran. Last week, the British Museum declared its intention to delay the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder once again, until the summer in order to complete research, sparking an outraged reaction from Iran’s state cultural organisation.

Before Herodotus, travel writing didn’t exist - nor did journalism. No-one had ever travelled anywhere with the sole intention of finding something out and writing it all down “so that human achievements may not become forgotten in time”. Travel writing was not so much a road less travelled, but a road never travelled at all. Not only did Herodotus change all that - but he set an extremely high benchmark for future writers of the genre, who are still struggling to beat his best-seller, The Histories. 

There can be few books – the Bible is perhaps one – that have proven a more popular travelling companion than The Histories. Herodotus would have been a modern publisher’s dream, an ancient literary sensation akin to morphing Hemingway, Kapuscinski, Theroux and Palin (Michael, not Sarah...), and one who could generate sales (and arguably as much fiction) to rival Dan Brown.