petra

World's Oldest Statue to go on Show in Rome

Submitted by Bija Knowles on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 20:10

Ancient artworks from Jordan – some of them never before seen outside Petra and Amman - are going on display today at Rome's Quirinal Palace. The star attraction at the exhibition is a statue found at the site of Ayn Ghazal near Amman dating from 7500 BC, one of the oldest surviving statues of its kind and size.

The exhibition has been organised by the President of the Italian Republic in honour of the state visit of the King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan. Sixty items will be on display in the 'Sale delle Bandiere' at the Palazzo del Quirinale and these will reflect the history of Jordan, from the Neolithic era to the end of the Ottoman empire.

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Jordan: a Crossroads of People and Culture

Sixty ancient artworks from Jordan – some of them never before seen outside Petra and Amman - are going on display at Rome's Palazzo del Quirinale between 23 October and 31 January 2010. The star attraction at the exhibition is a statue found at the site of Ayn Ghazal near Amman dating from 7500 BC, one of the oldest surviving statues of its kind and size.

The exhibition has been organised by the President of the Italian Republic in honour of the state visit of the King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Objects on display reflect the history of Jordan, from the Neolithic era to the end of the Ottoman empire.

Exhibits include a limestone bust of a male with a curly beard and hair wearing a pointed hat and a Roman-era pendent or cameo is also on display from the Jordan Archaeological Museum – this dates from the second or third centuries AD and is made of gold and gemstone.

Exhibition Details

Exhibition Venue:

The Quirinal Palace (Palazzo del Quirinale)

Exhibition Dates:

Friday 23 October 2009 to Sunday 31 January 2010 - ended

Exhibition Status:

past

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The World’s Heritage: A Complete Guide to the Most Extraordinary Places

Submitted by Lyn on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 16:15

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The World's Heritage: A Complete Guide to the Most Extraordinary Places

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The World’s Heritage: A Complete Guide to the Most Extraordinary Places is itself an extraordinary publication. Published by UNESCO, it pays homage to all that is great about the world’s historical, cultural and natural heritage. No less than 832 pages – try not to think about the rainforests – have been used to catalogue all UNESCO World Heritage Sites that were listed at the time of publication. That’s a lovely looking, well-designed telephone book for heritage-lovers, a manual for students, a reference tool for academics and a guidebook for armchair travellers the world over (though weighing in at over 1.6kg, it’s much too heavy for the average suitcase).

Keeping it all Digestible

About The Author

Lynette Eyb

Lynette Eyb is the books editor of Heritage-Key.com. She trained in Australia as a journalist before moving to London, where she wrote for and edited various magazines. She has travelled extensively, exploring the ancient wonders of China, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, the UK and Ireland along the way. Lyn lives in Bordeaux with her partner and their young daughter.

Last three pieces by this author: Did Ryszard Kapuściński Follow Herodotus' Example and Make Things Up?, Top 10 Ancient Sites in Syria, People Power Could Signal the End of Uluru Tourist Climb

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From Swastika to Circumpunct: Changing Symbols of The Ancient World

Submitted by wadders on Sun, 10/11/2009 - 22:54

From the black swastika in the old Microsoft Word logo, to an ‘all seeing eye’ in the Freemason insignia, ancient symbols are still being used, even if unwittingly, in the modern world. Spirals, triangles and crosses abound, and as societies developed, they took what they liked from other cultures, sometimes resulting in different meanings for the same symbol.

Although the meanings of symbols may change over time and cultures, it seems that there a core set of symbols, which have influenced all those that have followed.

Ankhs, crosses and whorls have all been translated over time, but it's the swastika that has had the most dramatic, and negative, makeover.

Highlighted Quote:

Images of swastikas can also be found on several church bells in Yorkshire, where they were used as charms to protect against lightning

About The Author

Annie Waddington-Feather

Annie partly satiated her travel lust and fascination with the ancients as a tour leader for an adventure travel company. She now lives in Australia and writes for a number of publications ranging from travel and martial arts to insurance and finance trade.

Last three pieces by this author: Camping Deluxe: Glamp Your Way Around the Ancient World, The Dating Method Stretches Back the Human History of Australia, Honey for my Honey: Ancient Aphrodisiacs

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The Acropolis' famous Parthenon is a temple built to which ancient Greek deity?

Submitted by Sean Williams on Tue, 06/02/2009 - 10:14

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Ancient Cities Brought to Life

Number of Pages:

224 pages

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Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

Burckhardt was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, and studied in Leipzig and Gottingen. In 1809 his proposal to launch an expedition to the source of the Niger was accepted by the African Association. He studied Arabic at Cambridge, to prepare himself for the journey, and furthered his knowledge of the language in Aleppo, Syria.

In the end, he never made the journey up the Niger - dysentery killed him just days before his caravan was due to depart from Cairo. But his travels in the Levant and Egypt, meticulously documented in his letters and journals, and his several books, advanced Western knowledge of the area. In particular, he is celebrated as the man who discovered the ruins of Petra.

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Ancient Cities Brought to Life

Submitted by AmyMac on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 21:15

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Ancient Cities Brought to Life

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The topography of ancient cities is a subject of fascination for archaeology enthusiasts and travellers alike. On encountering a ruin in an urban setting, whether it’s a crumbling fragment of a Roman wall in London or an unusually well-preserved building such as Rome's Pantheon, it can be challenging to picture its place in the original scheme of the city rather than standing shoulder to shoulder with a jumble of modern buildings. French antiquities expert Jean-Claude Golvin’s illustrations do just that; imagining panoramic vistas of ancient cities in over 100 watercolour illustrations. The slightly retro feel of this medium adds to the charm, as does its atmospheric qualities. The book’s scope encompasses sites in Britain and the rest of western Europe, the Middle East, Egypt and north Africa.

The Art of the Ancient World

About The Author

Amy Macpherson

Amy Macpherson is a London-based web editor and writer. She has a keen interest in art, history, different cultures and travel.

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Mada'in Saleh

Attribution:

izxxd

Key Dates

Some inscriptions found in the area date back to the 2nd millennium BC.

Most of the architecture are dated between 100 BC and 200 AD.

A prominent dig was carried out by the University of London in 1968.

Mada'in Saleh is an ancient city carved into red cliffs, 22km from the Saudi town of Al-Ula. As a sister city of Petra in Jordan, the city offers spectacular architecture dating from between 100 BC and 200 BC - most famously 80 rock-cut tombs which held prominent members of the Nabateans; a wealthy people situated along the trading roads between Mesopotamia, Greece and Egypt. They maintained their wealth along the frankincense route by issuing large caravan tolls in their region, where water was abundant. Unlike its Jordanian sister, Mada'in Saleh was never colonised by the Roman. In ancient times the city was known as Hegra.

Today the tombs remain in very good shape, and are one of Saudi's few well-known tourist sites. Interestingly, the way the tombs have been carved indicates they were built from top to bottom.

Related Structures

Petra, Jordan

Petra

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Petra

Attribution:

klvinci

Key Dates

Petra was constructed about 100 BCE but the site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812. In 1985 Petra was designated a World Heritage Site and in 2007 was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Key People

The Nabateans, Aramaic-speaking Semites, constructed Petra as their capital city about 100 BCE. According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where his brother, Aaron, is buried.

The site was introduced to the West by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan that is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. It is also one of the New Wonders of the World. The Rose City of Petra has been described by Unesco as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage".

The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge called the Siq, a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, The Treasury or 'Al Khazneh', hewn into the sandstone cliff.

Related Structures

The Treasury is one of the most elaborate buildings in Petra. It was carved out of a sandstone rock face with classical Greek-influenced architecture. A little further from the Treasury is a massive theatre that been cut into the hillside and above the city is the impressive Monastery, which has a facade similar to that of the Treasury.

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