• Ann

    Queen Cleopatra: More than Egypt’s Sex Kitten

    The exhibition ‘Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt’ premired this weekend at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Blogs and major newspapers have been in awe about the exhibition, featuring the amazingphotographs from the underwater excavations by Franck Goddioand articles about Cleopatra’s glamour and quite disastrous – love life. There’s nothing but praise for the ‘beautiful queen’ and mass coverage on the two quests for her tomb, where she rests with lover Mark Antony. But a true must-read before visiting the exhibition is Rosemary Joyce’s critical blog entry on how we perceive the last Queen of Egypt. She…

  • sean-williams

    ‘World’s Only Well-Preserved Gladiator Cemetery’ Discovered in York

    Around 80 gladiators have been discovered in what experts are calling the world’s only well-preserved gladiator cemetery, in the northern British town of York. The grisly find, made ahead of modern building works since 2004, includes the skeletons of men who had been killed with swords, axes and hammers – and one who had been bitten by a tiger. Other telltale signs the 1st-3rd century AD men were gladiators are their arm asymmetry, testament to years of training with heavy weapons, and seemingly ritual decapitation. Though most losing gladiators were killed by a stab to the throat, the practice may…

  • Ann

    ‘The Curse’ by Josh Ritter – A Mummy & Archaeologist Love Story

    When you see Dr Bob Brier lecturing about mummies, there is no doubt he’s passionate about them. The same goes for Dr Salima Ikram and all kinds of animal mummies (watch the video). But actual love between an archaeologist and a mummy? That’s something reserved solely for B-movies, until now: Musician Josh Ritter chronicles the love between an archaeologist and a mummy she discovers in Egypt, on new album ‘So Runs the World Away’. Aptly named ‘the Curse’, the song is accompanied by an enchanting puppet music video. When they are on their way from Egypt to New York by…

  • Ann

    Prehistorical Burial Mounds and WWII Defense Systems Mapped at New Forest

    A Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) pilot survey at the New Forest National Park has revealed previously unknown features to archaeologists. The data, from a a 34 square kilometres section of the New Forest between Burley and Godshill, has allowed researchers to identify a wide range of features, from Iron Age field systems and Bronze Age burial mounds (known as barrows) to anti-glider obstacles, a practice bombing range and a searchlight position from World War II. Normally archaeologists rely on lengthy and labour-intensive field surveys to uncover such features, but airborne Lidar helps speed up the process. Tom Dommett, carrying…

  • sean-williams

    Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt Opens at Franklin Institute, Philadelphia

    Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute plays host to the world premiere of Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt this Saturday (June 5). The exhibition, which runs until January 2 2011, promises to be a spectacular affair, combining over 150 artefacts relating to the famous queen, and visits the archaeology that is unearthing her amazing world day by day (click here for an interview with the Institute’s Troy Collins). The show is organised by National Geographic, the same brains behind the Terracotta Warriors’ recent trip across North America. The exhibition’s showcase treasures include statues, jewellery and everyday items from Cleopatra’s…

  • world

    The Palace of Knossos – Discovery and Renovation

    Excavating physical remains that confirm the existence of a civilization only described in legend: it’s the dream of every archaeologist, and Sir Arthur Evans is one archaeologist for whom the dream came true. The year was 1900; the location was the outskirts of the modern day city of Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete. The ruins Evans extracted from its baked earth were those of the Palace of Knossos, a spectacular Bronze Age citadel from which the dapper British antiquarian was able to begin uncovering and piecing together the forgotten history of one Europe’s first advanced civilizations. He christened…

  • wadders

    Battle of the Titans: Ancient Sites vs Mass Tourism

    Throughout the ages theyve survived intense battles, powerful natural disasters, adverse weather and incompetent archaeologists. Fascinating, beautiful, but surprisingly fragile, ancient sites are now under a new kind of attack mass tourism. Gone are the days of the Victorian explorer discovering magnificent ancient sites half buried by sand or jungle. Cheap airfares together with a plethora of guide and travel books, not to mention the Internet, encourage us to follow in the footsteps of historical figures and see ancient sites for ourselves or, in some cases, take advantage of the sunny weather and cheap booze – with a bit of…

  • Ann

    Rivaling Atlantis? The Top 10 Submerged Cities Around the World

    It’s the kind of myth that has always had the power to fascinate people: a beautiful, wealthy and sophisticated ancient city is swallowed up by forces beyond man’s control, destroyed by the sea and earthquakes. There are examples around the world of these mythical submerged cities. We not only have Atlantis somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, but in Taiwan there’s the legend of the submerged Mudalu, in Wales there is a drowned city called Cantre’r Gwaelod and a similar story tells the tale of Ys, a drowned city off the coast of Brittany in France. They are all myths that…

  • bija-knowles

    Colosseum to Open its Underground Corridors to the Public

    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…

  • exhibition

    Secrets of the Silk Road (Houston)

    The Houston Museum of Natural Science will be continuing the “Secrets of the Silk Road” exhibit currently being held at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. From August 27 to January 2 2011, visitors of the Houston Museum of Natural Science will be able to view the exhibit, which includes three Tarim mummies. 150 ancient artifacts from institutions in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region will also be on display as well, reavling surprising details about the people who lived along the ancient Silk Road. The display of the Tarim mummies marks the first time they have been shown in America.…