A date has now been set for the return of some of the Vindolanda Tablets to the museum at Vindolanda in Northumberland, following an announcement this week that the UK’s Heritage Lottery Fund is to donate £4 million towards the costs. The date now set for some of the tablets to be housed at the Vindolanda museum is spring 2011 – they will come on loan from the British Museum for a period of five years, after which the loan can be renewed. The tablets – a collection of 1,600 documents etched on thin wooden boards – represent the earliest…
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Channel 4’s Time Team has been excavating in the graveyard of a church in the village of Castor, Cambridgeshire and has come up with some compelling evidence that confirms the presence of a large Roman building. Known as the praetorium, the third century building is thought to have been the second largest Roman building in Britain. While the Time Team have not yet reached their conclusions, they have found a Roman mosaic pavement, the foundations of a very large building or set of buildings, which include Roman baths, as well as signs of Saxon occupation after the Romans withdrew from…
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An iPhone application that will provide information, ticketing and itineraries for the 40 most visited museums and sites in Italy is to be launched on 1 July. Released by Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (known in Italy as MiBAC), ‘i-MiBAC Top 40’ is the first of a series of free apps produced by the Italian ministry dedicated to Italy’s heritage sites and museums. In both English and Italian, it will initially be available for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, but will soon be made available for smartphones too. According to MiBAC’s press release, the application will available on…
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The Colosseum may be almost 2,000 years old, but it’s certainly not letting the grass grow under its feet. New initiatives are continuing to draw tourists to the Flavian Amphitheatre, the most recent of which is the restoration of the corridors beneath the amphitheatre, where wild animals, slaves and gladiators would have waited prior to being lifted onto the the arena floor. According to this BBC report, the sum of 23 million euros is being spent on restoring the Colosseum and preparing the network of underground tunnels, which will be opened to the public later this year. The network of…
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Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered a tomb inside a pyramid belonging to a king or high priest who died as many as 2,700 years ago. Three other bodies a woman also of high social status, a baby and young male adult were also found in the tomb inside the pyramid in the Chiapa de Corzo archaeological site in Chiapas district in southern Mexico. It is the earliest evidence of a Mesoamerican pyramid used as a tomb, rather than as a temple. The remains of the man, thought to be aged about 50 years and decorated in precious stones, were found…
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Ever wondered what lies beneath some of London’s biggest religious buildings? Cathedrals and other religious structures are often built on ancient sites that have had temples or churches built on them time and time again since early Roman times. They are urban landmarks, similar to roads and boundaries, which tend to retain their position throughout the ages, with modern town planners rebuilding on the same spot. They have been focal points for many major historical events, such as the invading Vikings burning down an early church at the site of St Paul’s, or in epoch-making events such as London’s Great…
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As a wise man once said, “Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.” The first part of the maxim isn’t so true any more as online resources and information proliferate, making it free and easy for everyone to learn online if they want to. There are now a number of courses online on Roman history and architecture too and they’re from respected universities, given by well known experts in their field. Brought to my attention by the Free Technology for Teachers blog, Yale offers its online course Roman Architecture 252, a series of 24 lectures available to download to…
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Augustus may have been a political genius but he was far from being a swaggering military hero like other famous leaders from history. He was a sickly, pale youth, yet he had the staying power and resilience to enable him to outlive his rivals and found the Roman empire. Read on to find out why Augustus was the best leader of all times and deserves to win the Heritage Key Fantasy General Election 2010! He reigned for 41 years and is best remembered as a ruler with extraordinary vision but also as a moderate man committed to peace and family…
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The Royal Armouries in Leeds is holding a series of Roman events this bank holiday weekend and, with the emphasis on arms, there is plenty of action for children and adults. The activities to get involved with include workshops on gladiatorial sword fighting, a chance to meet two Roman legionaries (Stilicho and Quintus) as well as arts and crafts sessions on how to make Roman swords and helmets. The aim of the events is to teach children of all ages about life (and particular the army) in Roman times as well as to showcase some of the Royal Armouries’ huge…
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A collection of Roman sculptures that was due to be sold at Bonhams auction house in London yesterday has been withdrawn amid concerns that the statues may have originally been illegally excavated. The concerns were raised by Cambridge researcher and archaeologist, Christos Tsirogiannis and Dr David Gill, reader in ancient history at Swansea University. Bonhams’s lot 137 a first or second century AD Roman marble figure of a youth was sold at Sotheby’s in 1986, as stated by Bonhams in the object’s collecting history. In his Looting Matters blog, Dr Gill compares a polaroid photo taken of one of the…