The future of Britain’s only chariot racetrack is looking a lot brighter this week, as the public funding needed to save Colchester’s Roman circus was reached yesterday. The 200,000 raised by Colchester Archaeological Trust and Destination Colchester will join 30,000 from the local council and 550,000 in loans and grants. The total will go towards buying the Sergeant’s Mess, a Victorian building which stands upon the circus’ gates. To see an in-depth blog on the campaign itself, click here. Campaign spokesperson Wendy Bailey tells the BBC this funding is merely one of many obstacles the team faces, if Colchester is…
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23-year-old Kate Harding from Ludlow, Shropshire last week became the first person prosecuted under the Treasure Act in Britain for not reporting the discovery of a significant historical artefact to the Coroner, reported the Mail Online. The offending find is a 700-year-old silver coin-like item called a piedfort, marking Charles IVs ascension to the French throne in 1322. Thicker than normal coins from the period, piedforts are thought to have been used not as currency but as guides for mint workers or reckoning counters for officials therefore qualifying the object as potential Treasure under the Treasure Act 1996. Only three…
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Colchester can lay claim to a bevy of titles: some impressive, some not so. For instance, you might not know that it’s the first-ever town in Britain, founded as a Roman soldiers’ outpost shortly after Claudius‘ 43AD landing. You may also be unaware that it’s the home of Mary Whitehouse, Colchester United and Darren Day. A mixed bag, admittedly. But there’s no denying Colchester’s history runs deep, and the wealth of ancient history lurking above ground could put central London to shame. Walls, churches, castles and priories are the lasting evidence of a town which became the capital of England…
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A French archaeological team digging at Saqqara has discovered the burial chamber of 6th Dynasty Queen Behenu, wife of either Pepi I or Pepi II. The burial chamber was revealed while the team was cleaning the sand from Behenu’s pyramid in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I. The burial chamber uncovered by the French mission is badly damaged, apart from two inner walls which contain engraved Pyramid Texts. Those texts were widely used in royal tombs carved on walls as well as sarcophagi – during the 5th and 6th Dynasties (circa…
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An article in the most recent issue of Newsweek magazine that basically constitutes an invitation to pause in wonder at the fantastic age of the Gbekli Tepe – or “potbelly hill” – site in southeastern Turkey, believed to be 11,500 years old, is a great reminder that, the further back in time an event occured, the easier it is to talk preposterous rot about it. The Newsweek feature, which is admirable at least in the sense that it dedicates a whole three pages (in full colour, too) in a major mainstream magazine to an archaeological subject, nevertheless talks a lot…
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Tutankhamun has always captured popular imagination, and been a major draw for museums. The British Museum’s 1972 exhibition of artefacts from his tomb smashed all expectations in the box office, drawing over 1.6 million visitors over its nine month duration. The pharaoh nicknamed ‘King Tut‘ has been the source of more speculation, satire and popular culture references than any other male king of Egypt. Last week pathologists announced the results from their studies into the genetic relationship of eleven mummies from the Egyptian New Kingdom (mid 16th to early 11th centuries BC), including those of the legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun. The…
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The remnants of a royal palace built by the family of ancient Romes legendary tyrant king, Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud), have been unearthed at Gabii, an ancient site 12 miles south of Rome, according to reports from archaeologists on Thursday. Excavators believe that the palace, which dates back to the 6th century BC, was the home of Tarquinius Superbuss son, the notorious prince Sextus Tarquinius. Recovered fragments of the palaces terracotta roof display an image of the minotaur, a family emblem of the Tarquins, which has led archaeologists to suggest that it was home to many generations of Tarquins.…
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Using the latest techniques in forensic archaeology, the University of Reading has revealed a new image of multi-cultural Roman Britain. New research demonstrates that 4th century ADYork had individuals of North African descent moving in the highest social circles. The research conducted by the University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology used modern forensic ancestry assessment and isotope (oxygen and strontium) analysis of Romano-British skeletal remains such as the Ivory Bangle Lady’, in conjunction with evidence from grave goods buried with her. The ancestry assessment suggests a mixture of ‘black’ and ‘white’ ancestral traits, and the isotope signature indicates that she…
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A multi-national team of Egyptian and European archaeologists excavating at the site of Amenhotep IIIs enormous funerary temple in the Kom El-Hettan area of Luxors West Bank have uncovered the 3,000-year-old head of a massive statue of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh, the king of Egyptian kings, whom DNA testing has recently proven was Tutankhamuns grandfather. The find made by the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project was announced on Monday by Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni. Measuring 2.5 metres, made from solid red granite and depicting Amenhotep III wearing the Upper Egyptian white crown, it has been…
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At 5:30am, the ancient town of Pingyao is a black mass that disappears in the darkness. There are no signs of street lights, save for the few red lanterns that dangle outside these still sleeping homes. The alleys here seem more like one long labyrinth, a giant shadow the seeable destination. Very quickly, I wonder where I am and if I might get mugged. A few hours later, Pingyao begins to awake. And soon I find that nothing here resembles the modern China I know. There are no high-rises in sight. No bustling shopping malls within town. In fact, theres…