A precious Roman wall painting, stolen from the site of an ancient villa near Pompeii, has been returned to Italy, after 12 years circulating on the nebulous antiquities market. The fragment of plaster fresco originally came from a Roman villa at Boscoreale, just outside Pompeii, and was reported stolen from…
- Part 62
Zahi Hawass Visits London’s British Museum (and ‘Doesn’t’ Mention Rosetta Stone)
The British Museum’s Egyptian Sculpture Gallery was packed last night, as hundreds of dignitaries flocked to see The World’s Most Famous Archaeologist (copyright all bloggers) Dr Zahi Hawass, speaking ahead of the release of his latest book A Secret Voyage. Cameras in hand, Heritage Key was there to witness Dr…
King Tut Virtual Photography Contest Extended
Virtual Photography can be very stunning as you can see in the slide show above. Our Flickr Contest has a pool of some top notch photography so far and I have received great interest to extend the deadline to accommodate some late participants. We have decided to extend the submission…
Pompeii Exhibition Hits New Zealand
The National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has four months of Roman festivities planned to tie in with its blockbuster Pompeii exhibition in Wellington. A Day in Pompeii opens in the museums showcase Visa Platinum Gallery on December 19 and runs until April 25. Te Papas acting chief…
How to Cook the Perfect Christmas Dinner – Ancient Style
As an experimental archaeologist and independent researcher, I’ve spent the last 30 years investigating the eating habits of ancient civilisations – including their ancient Christmas dinners. Here are some tips and recipes for the perfect xmas dinner that I’ve collected along the way. I use a technique that I’ve developed…
Guardian Reader Poll: Majority Wants Rosetta Stone to Stay in England
Dr Zahi Hawass’ quest for the Rosetta Stone is gathering pace. And with the SCA chief set to visit the British Museum tonight to promote his latest book and holding a repatriation conference next March, it’s an issue which could become a lot more incendiary in the coming weeks. Hot…
The King and I(deology)
Although there is copious evidence for the Egyptian kings statues, huge depictions on temple walls, stelae the actual reality of the day-to-day work and personal authority of these individuals is often ignored in favour of discussions of divinity, art and ideology. There is good reason for this. Despite the extensive…
Dust, Damp and Doters Damaging King Tut’s Tomb, Say Getty Institute
The tomb of Tutankhamun is one of the world’s most famous ancient spots. Yet spots are precisely what are causing the decay of its beautiful wall paintings. The US-based Getty Conservation Institute have been drafted in to help mend the murals, but have been finding it an uphill struggle in…
Sandro Vannini’s Photography – Tomb of Seti I (KV17): The Crypt’s Side Chamber
In 2008, an archaeological team found that the Tomb of Seti I (KV17) was in fact larger than originally thought. Where the original discoverer,Giovanni Battista Belzoni had found the tomb to be 100 metres long when he entered in 1817, recent archaeological excavations overseen by the Supreme Council of Antiquities’…
Grunts From the Front: From Roman Tablets to Army Blogs
Humans have always fought each other, but the written narrative of warfare begins about 6,000 years ago with documents detailing a conflict between Elam and Sumer (modern-day Iran and Iraq). Since then military history has been dominated by the official story of leaders and their strategic political and military decisions….