The mouth of the river Thames has been the site of several Roman and Iron Age discoveries in recent weeks bringing to light evidence of early industrial activity in Britain. The structures include a fourth century Roman kiln used for processing salt water as part of the Roman salt-producing industry,…
- Part 87
Gods Versus Giants: Scenes From Gigantomachy, the Pergamon Altar at Berlin’s Museum Island
The Pergamon Altar,also called the Zeus Altar, in Pergamon Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island, is a must see for anyone serious about understanding the ancient world. The scenes of the ‘Gigantomachy’, depicting the battle of the Greek gods against the giants is one of the most spectacular examples of Hellenic…
Exhibition Review: Stunning Realism at Rome – The Painting of an Empire
The exhibition Roma: La Pittura di un Impero, which opened this week in Rome at the eighteenth century Scuderie del Quirinale exhibition space, may come as a bit of a shock to afficionados of the classic Roman style. These ancient realist paintings look more like the works of 18th century…
Latest Metal Detector Haul: ‘Unique’ Norman Coin Cache
Metal detecting enthusiasts are enjoying a halcyon period this week, as four extremely rare Norman coins have been unearthed in Gloucestershire dating back to the reign of William the Conqueror. The coins, which were discovered by an as-yet unnamed finder, are believed to have been minted in Gloucester between 1073…
Ritual Pottery Find at Terrace of the Great God at Abydos
When Egyptologist Kei Yamamoto excavated The Terrace of the Great God at Abydos he came across a collection of curiously-fashioned goblets. Were these bottomless vessels evidence of the builders’ reverence to a remarkable place of ancient worship? 3,800 years ago, during the Middle Kingdom period in Egypts history, there was…
New ‘Nazca’ Lines found in Kazakh Mountains
Kazakhstan has become the latest hotbed of UFOspeculation, as experts announce the discovery of a set of geoglyphs in a remote mountainous region of the huge central Asian county. The huge lines, created either by removing topsoil or by decorating with various stones, have been spotted in the country’s southern…
Blonde Bombshell: Scandinavians Descended From Stone Age Immigrants
If youre wondering where Scandinavians got their blonde hair and impressive bone structure from then you can tick hunter-gatherers who inhabited the region at the end of the Ice Age off your list. It seems that an immigrant people from the Eastern Baltic region, who drifted into modern Scandinavia in…
Research On Sex Lives of Ancestors Hints At Why Monogamous Humans Out-Competed Neanderthals
A research team from the University of Liverpool, led by Evolutionary Anthropology PhD student Emma Nelson, reckon theyve made some tenuous inroads into establishing just how much early human-like primates liked to play the field when it came to sex. With it, they may have found some clues as to…
Is this Mastodon a victim of an ancient comet explosion?
Two ancient mastodons recently discovered in Northern America suggest that the Clovis people of the region, thought to have brought about their own extinction, may have been blasted by a massive exploding comet from outer space. The mastadons – one from a site in Upper New York State, the other…
Tonight’s Lecture… the Oldest City in the Americas
I’m so excited! I’m going to a lecture held by the Archaeological Institute tonight in New York City, that promises to be very interesting. It’s about the city of Caral in Peru, which many experts now believe is the oldest city in the Americas, dating back as far as 2,600…