Those who open this book with little prior knowledge of Pompeii and its history may find it a frustrating read at times. It has the design finesse and lush photography of a coffee-table tome, while sometimes assuming a level of existing knowledge in its readers that would be more suited to a scholarly work. Not that such a book can’t be both aesthetically pleasing and academically rigorous, but there is something of a disconnect – the introduction, for example, concludes by stating how the "sublime verses of Giacomo Leopardi" beautifully express the intertwined nature of life and death as recognised by the ancients, but no examples of Leopardi’s verse are provided to illustrate this. To an English-speaking audience at least, the 19th century Italian poet’s work is unlikely to be well-known. Perhaps this is something for the translators of the original Italian text to keep in mind for future editions.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 10:02
Archaeologists exploring the lost Maya city of El Mirador claim they've found the world's biggest pyramid. The massive structure, called La Danta (The Tapir), may have its summit hidden beneath Guatemala's jungle canopy. Yet its volume is reckoned to be larger than that of the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt's Giza Plateau. The city itself, dubbed the 'Maya Cradle of Civilization', is the size of a modern metropolis; bigger than downtown Los Angeles. And experts believe there are thousands more pyramids yet to be found.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Thu, 07/30/2009 - 09:45
By the middle of the 13th century, Dunwich was a prosperous coastal city with a fearsome royal flotilla, extravagant priories and thousands of happy inhabitants. It was a genuine rival to London, and the envy of Europe. But just two hundred years later the city lay in ruins, torn to shreds by the tyrannical tides of the East Anglian coast; its once-illustrious ramparts reduced to ruins at the bottom of the North Sea. Today the town remains a stunning coastal retreat, and the shattered pieces of its greyfriars' abbey broods beatifully across the beach. But now a team of experts believe new technology will allow them to observe the sunken remains of Dunwich, through the thick silt of its watery grave.
Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 07/15/2009 - 14:47
Atlantis – it's one of the few ancient legends that can still get modern imaginations running. From Patrick Duffy and his webbed hands, to Captain Nemo's self-aggrandising discovery, it seems everyone's had a bite at the Atlantis cherry in popular culture. But hidden beneath the deluge of disaster TV and computer games, how did the concept of Atlantis come to be? And is there any truth to the myth?
Origin
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It is important to bear in mind that, while many were partial to Plato's storytelling, a large portion of the populous viewed Atlantis with about as much incredulity as today
Submitted by Sean Williams on Wed, 07/15/2009 - 09:47
Plato first mentioned the lost city of Atlantis around 2,400 years ago. But now a team of American archaeologists are unearthing the secrets of a 3,500-year-old partially submerged city lying in the Saronic Gulf of Greece.
Lying 60 miles southwest of the modern capital Athens, 'Korphos-Kalamianos' is just miles away from the ancient city of Mycenae and was most likely built between 1400 - 1200 BC.
Florida State University professor Daniel J. Pullen and the University of Pennsylvania's Assistant Professor of Classical Studies Thomas F. Tartaron discovered the site whilst conducting an initial 2007 study.
The ruined city of Nan Madol lies off the east coast of Pohnpei, an island state of Micronesia. It is made up of 92 small man-made rock islands, or inlets, linked by canals (it is sometimes referred to as the 'Venice of the Pacific'). Some inlets had special purposes, such as canoe making, mortuary services or food preparation. Tombs are located on the islands of Lemenkou, Karian, Nandauwas and Peinkitel.
Nan Madol is is believed to have been the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until about 1500 AD, but may have seen human activity as early as the first century AD. The population of the settlement was unlikely to have ever grown beyond 1,000.
A massive metropolis in its heyday, excavation work on the site of ancient Anyang has yielded stamped earth foundations for over fifty temples and palaces, the largest over which measures 230 feet in length. Evidence of carvings and work with jade has been found in historic workshops and residential areas, as have bronze artifacts and sculotures and jewellery made out of bone.
Tortoise shells were found carved with words, indicating that the Shang people had a well-structured system of written signs. These shells were used to predict the future by exposing them to flames and then interpreting the cracks that appeared. A similar practice is carried on today with bamboo strips at certain temples.
The remains of the ancient city and the artifcats found can be seen today at the Yinxu Museum, 2 km outside modern-day Anyang.
