Attribution: FatTireTour.org Corinth Greece Key Dates Founded in the Neolithic Age, circa 6000 BC; flourished as a Greek city from the 8th century BC before being levelled by the invading Romans in 146 BC, who refounded it in 44 BC. Under Byzantium rule, earthquakes hit Corinth three times, in 375, 551 and 856. Key People Julius Caesar refounded the city in 44 BC, shortly before his assassination. The Apostle Paul lived in Corinth for a year and a half. Julius Caesar Positioned on the Isthmus of Corinth, between the Peloponnesus and mainland Greece, Corinth has been right at the forefront…
-
-
Attribution: JoshTrefethen.com Rome Italy Key Dates The area of the forum was originally a grassy wetland, drained in the 7th century BC by the building of the Cloaca Maxima. In 600 BC Tarquinius Priscus traditionally had the area paved for the first time, and the forum was augmented with temples, basilicas, arches and other public buildings thenceforth – notable constributors being Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Julius Caesar, Augustus and the Flavians. Key People Pretty much anyone who was anyone in Rome can be connected to the Forum Romanum in some way. It was the heart of the city – especially in the…
-
Google Earth allows us here at Heritage Key to take your bog-standard map and bring it to life by flying over the still standing ancient wonders of the world, and allowing us to explore them through aerial photography and 3D models. Satellite imagery has proved to be invaluable in archaeology, used to locate features which may not be spotted from the ground. Such aerial images, when combined with models created by budding enthusiasts, allow for anyone to explore an environment with a real feel for the area and its historical features. Lets face it – your standard tourist map with…
-
Ever heard of mudlarking? No marks off if not, it’s the hobby of sifting through the muddy banks of a river in the search for lost treasure. Sound a bit messy? You betcha, and it used to be a lot worse. The past-time sprang up in the industrial revolution of 19th century Britain, as struggling workers and down-and-outs would resort to scrambling through the rubbish, rocks and excrement of the Thames in the vain hope they’d find something vaguely of value. The pressures of a cramped city overcome by desperate urbanisation meant that the Thames was invariably chock-a-block with all…
-
When it comes to museums, there’s no doubting London’s credentials as one of the world’s finest launchpads for the intrepid antiquarian. Huge, sprawling caverns of colonial collections and stunning curios line the magnificent colonnaded hallways of giants like the British Museum or the V&A, and no-one can deny that both have fully earned their status as truly wonderful exhibitors. Yet scratch below the surface and there’s a whole mini-museum microcosm just waiting to be explored – and you won’t have to shimmy past shoals of dough-eyed snappers to get a glimpse of some of the city’s most intriguing artefacts. Here’s…
-
After much heartache, and a building project which ran five years behind scedule, Saturday saw the doors of Athens’ New Acropolis Museum finally throw open its doors to the public in a triumphant blaze of pomp and ceremony. But Greek officials took the chance to highlight the country’s claim for the ‘stolen’ Elgin Marbles’ – 75 of the original 160 pieces of the magnificent marble friezes which once adorned the city’s famous Parthenon. The night itself was a glittering success, with hundreds of foreign dignitaries and celebrities flooding the museum’s floors to get a first glimpse at its myriad masterpieces…
-
This Saturday Athens’ stunning New Acropolis Museum throws open its doors in a $4.1million opening ceremony, following years of heady anticipation. Thousands of foreign dignitaries and heads of state are scheduled to arrive from all over the world – all except Britain. The opening of Greece’s most lavish museum has already thrown open the debate surrounding the 160m-long Parthenon marble friezes, taken by the British Lord Elgin in 1811. Britain has long since argued that Greece does not have a sufficient space in which to display the magnificent marbles – a claim Greek officials argue the New Acropolis Museum shatters.…
-
Thanks to being fenced off by English Heritage to much druidic chagrin, Stonehenge is now largely the preserve of sedate tourist visits. Yet four times a year – during both equinoxes and solstices – the great stones are opened to the public in order to celebrate the ties between Britain’s most famous prehistoric monument and the heavens. This Sunday on June 21, the summer solstice welcomes a whole host of druids, hippies and revellers to marvel at the giant megaliths – which many claim to have been an ancient temple to the sun. Last year some 30,000 foolhardy fun-lovers braved…
-
Desperate to figure out before the Summer Solstice 2009 what Stonehenge is all about, but you can’t decide which theory – sacrifices, calendar, discotheque, burial site, religious temple, neolithic art – to go with? Don’t panic!Worth1000.com‘s finest Photoshop artists present us with a few alternative – but very plausible – theories about the iconic stone circle’s construction, use, location and present state. Which of the options below do you deem to be most likely? Take the poll, let us know! Option 1: One Giant’s Game is Man’s Neolithic Monument Most scientists claim humans started piling up earth, wood and rocks…
-
An archaeological excavation in Jerusalem has revealed an ancient aqueduct that brought water to the Sultan’s Pool – a Herodian Reservoir that gets its name from Suleiman the Magnificent, who restored the site in the 16th century – and to the Temple Mount, supplying clean water to the city’s residents and visiting pilgrims for drinking and purification. Most Jerusalemites identify the Sultan’s Pool as a venue where large cultural events are held; however, from the Roman period until the late Ottoman period it was one of the citys most important water reservoirs. The excavation, directed by Gideon Solimany and Dr.…