The 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East will be held at the British Museum in London in April, 2010. It will be organised by the Department of the Middle East, The British Museum and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
There are five main themes:
– Mega-cities and mega-sites
– Ancient and modern issues in cultural heritage
– Colour and light in architecture, art and material culture
– The archaeology of consumption and disposal – Landscape, transport and communication
We set the task of nominating London’s most influential invaders and talking-up the Big Smoke’s most important ancient sites in the first two rounds of our Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge, and got some fantastic responses from the blogosphere. In round three we’re posing a new question, to again be answered in blog form in competition for prizes both real and virtual. It’s sure to prove contentious:
Should the British Museum return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?
Round three of the Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge poses a question that's sure to prove contentious: should the British Museum return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt?
As ever, all you need is a blog and an opinion to enter, and compete for a prize of five books of your choice from the current Thames & Hudson catalogue, as well as enter the running for the AWiL grand prize of a holiday in Turkey. The deadline for entries is midnight, GMT on 25th March 2010.
Read more about Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 3 here.
2010 marks the 1600th anniversary of the end of Roman Britain in AD 410 and one of the greatest turning points in British history. Archaeological finds make clear that at that point in time, the country was in a state of economical decline. But was it fire and sword, barbarian raids, peasant risings and tribal warfare, or did the change from Roman to Anglo-Saxon rule happen more gradually? These questions will be the focus of 'The End of Roman Britain', a national two day conference at the British Museum taking place this weekend.
This two day conference on the end of Roman Britain - The Roman Society and the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum - features at least 20 speakers from several countries, including Martin Henig, Tony Birley, Kenneth Painter, Andrew Breeze and Michael Jones.
The topics covered range from linguistic and historical to archaeological and numismatic, in addition to some papers on relevant Continental subjects. It is intended that proceedings will be published. There will be a reception on Saturday evening to launch the book AD 410 - The Year that Shook Rome.
The conference (which Ann is attending) is part of a broader programme of events being held in 2010 which concern the end of Roman Britain.
23-year-old Kate Harding from Ludlow, Shropshire last week became the first person prosecuted under the Treasure Act in Britain for not reporting the discovery of a significant historical artefact to the Coroner, reported the Mail Online.
The offending find is a 700-year-old silver coin-like item called a piedfort, marking Charles IV’s ascension to the French throne in 1322.
Thicker than normal coins from the period, piedforts are thought to have been used not as currency but as guides for mint workers or reckoning counters for officials – therefore qualifying the object as potential Treasure under the Treasure Act 1996.
Only three other such items have ever been found in Britain.
This head is from one of the largest statue's of Amenhotep III found in his mortuary temple on the West Bank of the Nile in Thebes. The head formed part of a statue which stood between two pillars on the west side of the temple. The head shows the King wearing the red crown, the symbol of Lower Egypt. A number of statues in the temple also show the King wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt reflecting his influence in both regions. His face holds the typical style and characteristics of Amenhotep III with big lips and almond shaped eyes.
Hundreds of sculptures were commissioned by King Amenhotep III for his mortuary temple in Thebes such as this granodiorite seated statue of Amenhotep III. Statues which depicted the King in a seated position were thought to be intended to function as offerings and prayers to the King. The sculpture holds the plant symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt representiung the union of both lands, and Amenhotep as King who holds the union together.
Submitted by Nick Gilbert on Tue, 03/02/2010 - 15:20
Tutankhamun has always captured popular imagination, and been a major draw for museums. The British Museum's 1972 exhibition of artefacts from his tomb smashed all expectations in the box office, drawing over 1.6 million visitors over its nine month duration. The pharaoh nicknamed 'King Tut' has been the source of more speculation, satire and popular culture references than any other male king of Egypt. Last week pathologists announced the results from their studies into the genetic relationship of eleven mummies from the Egyptian New Kingdom (mid 16th to early 11th centuries BC), including those of the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun.
2010 marks 
23-year-old Kate Harding from Ludlow, Shropshire last week became the first person prosecuted under the Treasure Act in Britain for not reporting the discovery of a significant historical artefact to the Coroner, reported the 
