When the British Museum is explaining why they should not return the Elgin Marbles – and how they acquired them in the first place – they often offer two old letters as proof of their entitlement on the Parthenon Friezes: a copy of letter written by Philip Hunt talking about…
- Part 99
I Bet That Tut Looks Good on the Dancefloor
Lost for moves? Tired of busting out the same old body popping/moonwalk/drunk-uncle-at-a-wedding? You could take your dancing lines from Jacko, Wade Robson or even Michael Flatley (if you don’t mind being alone for the rest of your life). But how about Tutankhamun? The boy-king may be making waves in stateside…
Laser Scanning gets Underway at Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza
Dr Zahi Hawass and a huge team of experts have just finished laser scanning the Great Sphinx, and now the Pyramids of Giza are being surveyed using the latest laser technology. Dr Hawass, who reports on the project in his blog, has employed the services of the National Authority for…
Protesters Fighting over Native American Mound
Native American protesters are standing firm this week, over the ongoing destruction of an ancient sacred mound near Oxford, Alabama. Local tribes are disgusted at a building project, which is stripping the mound’s earth as ‘fill-dirt’ for a retail complex across the road. A Creek Tribal Elder tells NBC13 in…
Marathon Saved From Athens Wildfires, but Left to Burn says Mayor
It seems that while thousands of Athenians have lost their homes, and forests in the area have been reduced to ashes, one of Greece’s most famous ancient cities has avoided the flames. Yet as the inferno enveloping Marathon subsides, its mayor claims government authorities did nothing to protect it from…
Interactive Cahokia
The city of Cahokia is the latest ancient site to go virtual, thanks to a reconstruction and online map published. Ancient Cahokia was a Mississippian city that flourished between 1000 -1400 AD. At its peak, in the early 13th century, it had a population between 10,000 and 20,000and covered nearly…
Cypriot Cave Suggests Humans Hunted the Pygmy Hippo to Extinction
A cave containing the bones of hundreds of pygmy hippos has turned a long-held belief about the fate of these miniature creatures on its head. The cave is at the site of Akrotiri-Aetokremnos, on the southern tip of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and archaeologists in the past have generally…
Digging Begins Near Istanbul: ‘Minaret in the Lake’ Turns out to be Ancient Lighthouse of Bathonea
A team of international archaeologists have begun to investigate the existence of a Roman town partially submerged in a lake 20km outside stanbul. The excavation has started at Lake Kkekmece, a small inlet west of Turkey’s largest city, which is now believed to be the location of the ancient city…
The Bust of Nefertiti – A Century-Old Archaeological Detective Story Nearing an End?
In his August 7th, 2009, interview with Heritage Key, Zahi Hawass revealed that the Supreme Council of Antiquities was gathering evidence regarding the illegal appropriation of the bust of Nefertiti by the Altes Museum in Berlin. I will reveal [the evidence] in October when I write the letter to the…
Gold and Silver Worthless? Just Ask Nebuchadnezzar
From the shimmering death mask of King Tut to the swinging penile replacements of 50 Cent, Gold and silver have been as staple pursuits of humanity as food, drugs and celebrity gossip. But while the dripping opulence of the ancient world may not seem a million miles away from the…