The First Emperor lived quite a ‘full’ life: becoming King at age 13, uniting China, constructing the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, finding a cure for Death, avoiding being assasinated, waging a few wars, executing people, …and so forth. So congratulations to Ian D.Piirtola, who succeeded at capturing all…
- Part 116
Vindolanda Tablets Head for Home
Early Roman Texts to be Sent Back to Vindolanda Roman soldiers based at Vindolanda, the Roman fort and settlement at the coldest extremity of the Roman Empire, were not so different to modern Britons. While they had a job to do in maintaining order and control of the north western…
Excavations on the Terracotta Army Site, Xi’an starting again
Chinese archaeologists started the third of a series of excavations at the famous terracotta army site on Saturday, hoping to find more clay figures and unravel some of the mysteries left behind by the “First Emperor“. Archaeologists hope they might find a clay figure that appeared to be “in command”…
What Did Stonehenge Look Like?
Think of Stonehenge and it immediately conjures up a number of strong visual images the huge, iconic sarsen stone trilithons, naked hippies at summer solstice, weird druid guys with big hoods and a legendary scene from This Is Spinal Tap. But what did it actually look like in its day?…
Virtual Globe-Trotting For Beginners
Lots of us would love to explore the ancient world, but we can’t always travel as much as we’d like. A variety of things – disabilities, lack of money, fear of flying – can get between you and your globetrotting dreams. As you can imagine, while working for Heritage Key…
Stonehenge: Reloaded
A Flint Michigan ex-construction worker with too much time on his hands has solved a 5,000 year old conundrum by proving how it was possible for Neolithic man to erect with nowt but his bare hands, gravity and a lot of patience Stonehenge. Well, sort of. The appropriately named Wally…
A Lion, a Turkey And a load of Marbles
Lord Elgin isn’t the only Brit taking the blame for removing some of ancient Greece’s greatest marble treasures – and the Parthenon is far from the only place raided by a zealous Brit in a bid to bring the ancient world to the smoggy streets of London. During an extensive…
The Eighth King of Rome
If I told you a story about the eighth king of Rome, the clever ones among you might notice that something doesn’t quite add up. Your minds might start whirring, scanning the memory for facts about early Roman history… way back when, before the Republic even. And then you remember:…
Race to Preserve Nero’s Golden House
The Domus Aurea, also known as the Golden House, was the emperor Nero‘s grand palace, with more than 150 rooms gilded, frescoed and clad in marble. Spanning an area of eight hectares, it was built over the Oppio, Celio, Palatine and Esquiline hills in Rome in 65 AD, following the…
Dr. Zahi meets President Obama – Video
One can’t ‘tour’ the Middle East and visit Egypt without having seen the pyramids.And if you happen to be the President of the United States of America, you get the VIPtreatement: Dr.Zahi Hawass as a guide for an exclusive guided visit in the pyramids and tombs. A comment by Kate…