Both of these monumental pieces of sculpture are beautiful, both portray good overcoming evil and the greatness of civilised man over barbarians. The Parthenon itself is awe-inspiring. If you haven’t managed to see it yet (a perfect opportunity for a holiday in Athens!), when you get up to the Acropolis and walk around, look at the Parthenon frieze, the pediments, the metopes, and then you should get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor! It is honestly one of the most magical buildings that I have ever seen. Everything about it proclaims the glory of Athens – it’s…
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I will soon be visiting Scotland for a exciting archaeological event. No, it won’t involve traipsing around soggy fields looking for cup and ring marked stones. Instead, I will be finding out about one of Egyptology’s most respected figures, William Flinders Petrie. In the Footsteps of Petrie is a study day dedicated to the life of Petrie, founder, along with Amelia Edwards, of the Petrie Museum. The event will be held at the exquisite Burrell Collection in Glasgow, and will explore Petries life of excavation and collecting. A lineup of Egyptologists from across Britain’s museums will offer lectures, a film…
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Archaeology and Landscape in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia is an ambitious project designed to provide the first ever in-depth survey of the cultural landscape of one of the most remote regions of the world. The Altai Mountains are on the western edge of Mongolia, wedged along the borders of China and Russia, and home to archaeological marvels such as engraved standing stones and rock art. We spoke to project leader Esther Jacobson-Tepfer, a Professor of Asian Art at the University of Oregon, whose first visit to the Altai (or Altay) Mountains in 1994 became the catalyst for the project,…
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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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The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China is known for its divinations, oracle bone inscriptions and large urban centres. Now archaeologists have a new mystery to ponder. A team of researchers excavating a 3,300 year old Shang Dynasty palace-temple complex at the ancient city of Huanbei have discovered that it was burned down after only 50 years of use. Making it more enticing is that it wasnt burnt down by an invasion force, but by the citys own rulers. They stripped the complex of all its goods before committing the act. The only thing they left behind were human sacrifices at…
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Archaeologists have discovered a colossal statue of the ancient Egyptian god Thoth at the north-western side of King Amenhotep III’s funerary temple at Luxor. The red granite statue depicting Thoth, the ancient Egyptian deity of wisdom, is 3,5 metres tall and 140 cm wide. In a statement, Dr Zahi Hawass said that evidence found at the excavation suggests more colossi could be found here still. The first traces of these large statues were uncovered during works aiming at controlling the subterranean water level on Luxor’s west bank. Only months ago, the head of 2,5 metres high statue depicting Pharaoh Amenhotep…
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Dr. David Silverman is delighted at the thought that visitors to Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, one of two King Tut exhibitions touring North America right now, would come away as I did – with an itching interest in Akhenaten, who was almost certainly King Tuts father. Hes also enthused at the idea that viewing the vast exhibition at the Discovery Time Square Exposition, with 130 significant objects from King Tuts tomb and the 100 years preceding the boy kings life, will spur people to go take a look at King Tuts funerary urns up at the…
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Archaeologists are uncovering troves of cultural artifacts from an ancient Chinese vessel still sitting at the bottom of the sea. The sunken merchant vessel is located off the coast of China, near the city of Shantou. Called Nanao One, the ship is dated to be from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Archaeologists have been carrying out a salvage operation since September, but it wasn’t until this Monday that they were able to enter the cabin of the ship, and extract the relics inside. Here are some of the first pictures of the artefacts discovered. In total, more than 1,000 artifacts have…
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Some 400,000 years ago, Neanderthals diverged from the primate line that led to present-day humans. The Homo neanderthalis died out 30,000 years ago, while we managed to evolve into the handsomely built, technically skilled, and somewhat reasonable animal we are today. Research into Neanderthal DNA now shows that our extinct relatives did leave their mark in the genomes of some modern humans, leading researchers to believe that our species ‘paired up’ with our less evolutionary successful cousins when we were both living in the Middle East, about 100,000 to 50,000 years ago and before we left to populate Europe and…
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The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City has just opened a new Egyptian gallery that features the coffin, cartonnage and shabtis of an Egyptian noblewoman who died around 2,300 years ago. Her name was Meretites which means beloved by her father. Her funerary artefacts date to some point between 380-250 BC. This date means that she may well have been contemporaneous with Alexander the Great and witness to a remarkable period of Egyptian history. Alexander the Great advanced into Egypt in 332 BC, taking over power from the Persians. He would go on to conquer an empire that stretched…