If you were planning on including a bit of Roman heritage in your Summer travel plans, then it’s worth bearing in mind that you don’t have to make the trip all the way to Rome to see something as impressive as the Colosseum. South eastern France was annexed by the Romans as early as 125 BC and the region is rich with a wide variety of monuments dating from the empire that brought it aqueducts, villas, wine and roads more than 2,000 years ago. Here is a look at some of the main Roman heritage sites to discover in the…
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You know something’s in vogue when it pops up on The Onion, the world’s best-known satirical newspaper. And so it was this week that immortality-seeking First Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang made the grade following the ‘discovery’ beneath Disney World in Orlando of a “legion of terra-cotta Mouseketeers”. According to the spoof article which was kindly sent to us by one of our Heritage Experts, Ethel Davies a Disney World maintenance crew discovered more than 8,000 ‘Mouseketeers’ underneath Cinderella Castle. The statues were thought to date back to 300BC. It was likely constructed during the Pre-Eisnerian period, one of…
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Good news for Maya fans feeling the pinch of recession – Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology (INA) has brought the enigmatic 7th century AD city of Palenque into everyone’s homes with an exciting new online virtual experience. Located in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, Palenque has long been a place of mystery; its majestic buildings, wrapped in a harlequin layer of vines and other flora, evoking dreams of adventure and romance. You almost want to slap on a fedora and crack a whip when you look at the unhinged magnitude of the Temple of Inscriptions, or the crumbling beauty…
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It may once have funded the most famous ever excavation in Egypt. But the modern-day plight of Berkshire’s Highclere Castle couldn’t be further from the dripping opulence of King Tut’s tomb. For the stately manor, once home to Howard Carter‘s esteemed cohort Lord Carnarvon (orGeorge Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon to give him his full name), needs a staggering level of funding if it is to survive the most difficult period in its history. No less than 12 million pounds are needed to repair the building’s sagging treasures – and its current occupant, the Lord’s great…
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A video depicting the damage done to the Parthenon over the centuries on display at the new Acropolis Museum was censored following protests by the Greek Orthodox Church. The fragment from a film by Costa-Gravas gives an overview of the ‘vandalism’ to the Parthenon starting at the Germanic warriors in 267 ADto the removal of a large part of the freize by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the 19th century. As such, it also contains a scene from the early Byzantine period showing figures clad in black climbing up ladders and destroying part of the Parthenon frieze. Some damage was…
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Ever wondered how a 7th century temple complex must have looked like?You can now find out, as the USBerkeley’s Architecture Department has launched what they call a ‘Digital Model of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage’ of one of Cambodia’s earliest Khmer temple complexes. The team used a 3Dgame engine to bring their models of Sambor Prei Kuk alive, allowing you to walk amongst digital reconstructions of ancient ruins – they pre-date Angkor Wat by several centuries – whilst reciting your prayers. Architecture Professor Yehuda Kalay – head of the Virtual Sambor Prei Kuk project – is convinced that this project…
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Torre de Hrcules – or it’s English name – Tower of Hercules, is a 55m Roman lighthouse which has stood at the La Corua harbour in north-western Spain since the first century AD. With the HDRskill and beautiful lighting that only a talented photographer can bring together, Pablo Charln has created this stunning image which brings drama and power to this magnificent relic. There are myths that Hercules fought with the giant Geryon at this site for three days and three nights, and upon victory Hercules built this Tower on top of his bones.The tower remains the oldest Roman lighthouse…
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Burial grounds dating back to the sixth century BC are usually taken pretty good care of and considered important national heritage sites – or at least you would have thought so. This wasn’t the case recently in Puglia, where an archaeological site from at least 500 BC was used as an illegal dumping ground. It is reported that 135 tons of dangerous waste – including building materials, disused wagons and other heavy-duty items from the state railways, as well as out-dated pneumatic machines and vehicles was left at three sites near the town of Martina Franca, near Taranto in southern…
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There has been no shortage of sad stories surrounding the economic hardship of those living in the former Soviet Union. Nearly all of its satellite states, as well as the Russian homeland, have suffered an economic black hole after the Berlin Wall came down, where a tremendous chasm swells between the monied Mafioso and super-rich oligarchy, and the rural peasantry and jobless. And in Bulgaria, a country hiding millennia of prosperity beneath its soil, the tragedy has extended below surface level – as thousands of people loot national treasures to make ends meet. Prehistoric and Neolithic tribes, Ancient Thracians, Greeks,…
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A blog by Bija Knowles got me thinking about travel to ancient destinations. In particular, Bija talks about Libya and its move towards promoting itself more as a tourist destination. Libya has long been one of the Holy Grails of travel writing because it’s been so difficult to get into (and to get around) it independently until now. This story by Jim Keeble has more on how the country is finally opening up to tourism. It’s the same in countries along the old Silk Road routes, which are more tourist-friendly than ever. This encourages more people to discover the historic…