The ancient history of Iran is one of the richest in the world. Skirting the Fertile Crescent which nurtured the cradle of civilization, the turbulent nation has seen the rise and fall of the Medians, Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids – until their history was usurped by the Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD. Yet the incendiary movements of the past century, not least the latest political turmoil to hit Tehran, have been somewhat passed over by the world’s archaeologists. Now a leading expert from Britain’s University of Leicester is leading a project to discover just what impact Iran’s White…
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Now, this must be the dream of every starting archaeologist: no longer hot – or worse, rainy – dig seasons, no more spending ages meticulously noting down every find’s smallest detail and never again being send to locations where they won’t even serve you a decent chilled pint. This is your chance to escape them all, as History Channel is looking for the next Top Archaeologist (or an anthropologist will do too). Regardless if you crawl out of a dig somewhere in Egypt, toss aside those recently finished final papers or want a break away from your students, this is…
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Ancient wall paintings were discovered in northern China in a 1,400-year-old royal tomb found during the construction of one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects, a national water transport system. The detailed frescoes found in the tomb in Cixian county in Beijing’s neighbouring Hebei province depict honour guard officials from the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), the report said. The tomb itself had belonged to Gao Xiaoxu, the male heir of an emperor in the Qi, archaeologists told the agency. The intricate images, painted on the walls of a 15-meters long passage, will prove useful in the study of the escort…
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Key Dates The earliest record of Nineveh is around 1800 BC. It was captured by the Assyrians in the 14th century BC. It was sacked and razed in 612 BC. The Arab conquest of 637 AD meant Mosul effectively became Nineveh incarnate. Key People King Ninus, the semi-mythological Persian king on whose name Nineveh is based. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who built most of Nineveh’s legendary landmarks – including its palace. Nineveh has come to be something of a legend of the Near East; a symbol of the ancient civilization of Assyria and the marauding tribes of Mesopotamia. Located in…
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They claim the crisis affects us all, but did it influence the funding of archaeological excavations, conservation and research? The BBCreports it does, stating the consequences will be felt as far as property development: “The job losses in archaeology could threaten the start of recovery for the building industry as any site with historic significance has to be excavated before development can begin.“ To get an overview of the effect ‘the credit crunch’ has on archaeology, ACE(Archaeology in Contemporary Europe) has opened a webpage dedicated to ‘Archaeology and the Crisis’: “Major changes in the global economy have affected and will…
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The Secrets of Stonehenge: A Time Team Special by Tim Taylor Channel 4 (2009) It’s Britain’s favourite monument and has been attributed to Phoenicians, Romans, Vikings and even visitors from other worlds. But a fascinating new programme by Channel 4’s Time Team claims to reveal the real secrets of Stonehenge for the first time. A Special Team The Secrets of Stonehenge: A Time Team Special is the televised culmination of six years of dedicated work by a huge team of archaeologists. They began digging not only the prehistoric focal point itself but, crucially, the surrounding landscape. The hour-long programme is…
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Have you ever wondered how a gladiator might have felt waiting in the wings of the Colosseum, ready for his turn to fight? Or what it might have been like to live in a Roman apartment block, with its claustrophobic corridors, precarious steps and cool marble floors? Visitors come to Rome with all sorts of expectations but it’s hard to get a feel for life 2,000 years ago when you’re competing for camera space with hoards of fellow tourists. Of course many visitors to Italy’s capital have got different ideas of what makes a good trip. Last week 67,000 football…
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Attribution: Peter Mattock Donore Ireland Key Dates Newgrange was built between 3300 and 2900 BC, and was a focus of ceremonial activity throughout the Neolithic period. New monuments were progressively added to the site – timber circles were built and a free-standing circle of stones was erected to circle the mound. It wasn’t until the 17th century that Newgrange was discovered. Excavation and restoration took place 1962-1975 under the supervision of the University of Cork Archaeology Department’s Professor Michael J O’Kelly, the first person to witness the winter solstice from within the mound. During the excavation, the remains of five…
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Interesting conference debating the inter-relationship between archaeology and the tourism industry. Details below: Organizer: Dr. Noel B. Salazar (University of Leuven) In a bid to obtain a piece of the lucrative global tourism pie, destinations worldwide are trying to play up their local distinctiveness. This is sometimes done by borrowing from traditional ethnology an ontological and essentialist vision of exotic cultures, conceived as static entities with clearly defined characteristics. Ideas of old-style colonial anthropology and archaeology objectifying, reifying, homogenizing, and naturalizing peoples are widely (mis)used in international tourism by individuals and organizations staking claims of identity and cultural belonging on…