The Neues Museum will reopen on 17 October after being closed for more than 70 years. It will be a great moment in German history as well as a major milestone for world culture. The collection of ancient world objects is outstanding, and their presentation helps place them in the context of their original era, whilst adding to our understanding of the world in which we now live. The renovation of the 8,000 square meter museum cost about 220 million (about $328 million and a lot more than the brand new build the New Acropolis Museum, which reportedly cost $200…
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An unheralded Cretan quarry could be the site of the legendary labyrinth in which Theseus killed the Minotaur, says an Anglo-Greek team of experts. The group claims the stone quarry, located just outside the tiny town of Gortyn, is just as likey to be the scene for one of Greek mythology‘s most famous tales as the better-known Palace of Knossos 20 miles away. 600,000 people pass through the palace ruins each year; nearly all of whom are told it is the place where King Minos built his fabled maze to house the fearsome Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature who feasted…
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Who hasn’t watched Gladiatorand then wondered why you don’t meet men like that down the local pub? The same goes for those bulging muscles of antiquity that we see in classical art galleries they’ve often made me think that, well, they don’t make ’em like they used to. Now it turns out that what we thought all along that men in ancient times were a darn sight fitter than their modern descendants – is actually true. What’s more, it seems that ancient man was also better looking and more intelligent. This is the controversial argument that Australian author Peter McAllister…
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Footprints left by the artists and workers who made the largest and most beautiful Roman-era mosaic in Israel 1,700 years ago have been discovered in the plaster underneath the mosaic. Archaeologists were in the process of conserving the famous Lod Mosaic when they found the imprints of bare feet and sandals shown clearly in the plaster bed onto which the mosaic was later laid. The conservation experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority were detaching each piece of the 180 square-metre mosaic before taking it to conservation laboratories in Jerusalem. Jacques Neguer, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s conservation branch, said:…
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As a child growing up in Turkey, belly dancing was a big part of the ‘dress up and play’ life of every little girl, and most girls learnt how to dance either from their mums or other women in the family. At gatherings such as weddings and parties, women would rush to show off their talents to the rhythm of the drum-based oriental music. Even now, many young women practice the ancient dance, often in modern guise. Perhaps modern divas like Shakira have something to do with it. Described as the ‘world’s oldest dance’, over the years, belly dancing has…
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When KV63 was discovered in 2006, it represented the first tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 80 years, since the famous explorer Howard Carter uncovered the treasures of the Tomb of King Tutankhamun. It restored hope that there is still more mystery to uncovered in the region which was said to contain no more secrets, and even today the hunt continues to find what is hidden in the next tomb – KV64. Sandro Vannini, the venerable Egyptology photographer, took many photographs from the latest excavations, including one of the most interesting finds – seven wooden…
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Scotland is to welcome home some of its most iconic relics from the British Museum next May, in a loan deal that sees the famous Lewis Chessmen toured around the country for two years. Yet politicians hailed the move as a ‘step sideways’, as the BM all but ruled out their permanent repatriation. Members of the Scottish National Party have been claiming a cultural victory this week, as it was confirmed on the weekend that 24 of the BM’s 82 charismatic 12th century carvings would be winging their way to four Scottish museums next year. Eleven of the 93 pieces…
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While the fate of Afghanistan as a military project for the United States continues to hang in the balance today, as President Barack Obama mulls whether to deploy 40,000 more troops in this “graveyard of empires,” there was a rare piece of good news from Kabul: Hundreds of looted artefacts are back where they belong, in the National Museum, Kabul. You may remember that Afghanistan has managed to distinguish itself by managing to hold onto a huge portion of its cultural and artistic heritage in the form of artefacts dating back as far as 2,000 BC. It’s a wonderful tale…
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Its hard to imagine that anyone could have once lived on the Gilf Kebir, an arid, remote, desolate sandstone plateau the size of Switzerland, located in the far southwest of Egypt. Yet, as we discover in an exclusive new Heritage Key video report by Nico Piazza, around 10,000 years ago water, and with it vegetation and animal and human life, once ran through the barren land Egyptians today call the Great Barrier. This long-forgotten prehistoric civilization that once called Gilf Kebir home left their mark in the form of cave paintings and other forms of rock art, in locations such…
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Every great king has a throne from upon which he rules, and King Tutankhamun was no exception with the Golden Throne which is one of the finest pieces of royal furniture ever created. With web-exclusive photography of this breathtaking artefact by world class photographer Sandro Vannini, we can see that this was one chair that is definitely fit for a king! Sure, there are other expensive chairs around in Egypt at the moment, but the beauty of the Golden Throne of King Tutankhamun outshines the many chairs throughout time! On display as a treasure of the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, (as…