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…
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Attribution: _oriana.italy_ Moscow Russia Key Dates The museum opened on May 31, 1912. On May 31, 1923, the museum ceased to be a subordinate of the University of Moscow. In 1937 it got its current name. Key People Alexander Pushkin, the poet after whom the museum was named. professor Ivan Tsvetaev founded the museum. The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, which incidentally has no ties whatsoever to the famous poet after whom it is named, is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, Russia. Since its inception in 1912 it has been one of the country’s foremost exhibitors of…
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There are over 800 tombs in the Theban Necropolis, scattered across the hills of El Qurna. Only a handful of their decorations has survived centuries of floods, storms and decay – and of course the destructive effects of man. At present, around a dozen tombs are open to the public. The others can only be accessed for research purposes by applying for a permit. Many of these have not been opened for years, and are now completely covered in a thin layer of dust. To begin, I have made surveys of all these tombs, to check the state of conservation…
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The second day of Moscow’s ‘Achievements and Problems of Modern Egyptology‘ was characterised by a biting cold, thanks to heating problems. But the topics being discussed certainly helped warm up proceedings. The first lecture of the day was given by the British Museum‘s Nigel Strudwick, who focused on the interaction of of tourists and local inhabitants at Luxor and the main historical monuments at Thebes, and the challenges facing archaeologists to carry out meaningful research in a modern environment. Dr Strudwick attempted to resolve some of the issues facing the city, and to reconcile the necessity of tourism to the…
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Scottish Minister for Culture Mike Russell is expected to announce today that the Lewis Chessmen a collection of 93 individually hand-carved walrus-ivory chess pieces dating from the 12th century, found on the Isle of Lewis in 1831 are to be reunited again. A proportion of the 82-piece set belonging to the British Museum in London will arrive home on loan, to join up with the 11 other artefacts currently held by the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Theyll go on tour around the country in coming months, taking in destinations including Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. The Lewis…
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An architect and a classical archaeologist have come together to give a new perspective on one of Rome’s ancient roads, via Tiburtina. The result is a book just published, Via Tiburtina – Space, Movement and Artefacts in the Urban Landscape, which examines the constantly changing urban space of the road. The project involved six years of studying almost every inch of the ancient road and takes an interdisciplinary look at the road through the ages and from various angles, including its history during antiquity, the Renaissance and up to its continued use today. The origins of via Tiburtina date back…
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Ever seen the Terracotta Warriors? Did you feel a bit peckish when you saw them; couldn’t help thinking the First Emperor’s Mausoleum would be made so much better if you could take a bite out of each handcrafted treasure? If the answer’s yes to both these questions – and I truly hope it’s not – you may want to book a flight to the Chinese capital next year: Beijing officials have announced plans to build the ‘World Chocolate Dream Park’, a Willy Wonka-style attraction aimed at the Chinese people‘s love of, well, chocolate. The full-size tasty Terracotta Warriors will be…
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Attribution: Tom Blackwell Yorkshire Britain As well as an outstanding view, walkers on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, are treated with an ancient enigma. The Swastika Stone, situated at the Northern edge of the moor has many people pondering its existence. This unusual carving is made up of four spiral arms, one of which has a further appendage. There is a cup in the loop of each arm, and one in the outer ring of each arm. With the cup in the centre of the design, the cups themselves form a 5×5 cross figure. The cups in the swastika align north-south…
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For many years, people said the Valley of the Kings had revealed all its secrets.. but then came KV63. In 2006, a team from the University of Memphis, headed by Dr Otto Schaden, were excavating the Tomb of King Amenmesse (KV10) when they accidentally uncovered something new. Noticing white stone fragments near where material was being removed, the team uncovered the first tomb to have been found in the last 80 years, since Howard Carter’s startling discovery of KV62 – the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Excavations at the tomb continue to this day, as does the hunt for KV64, and…
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The Pergamon Altar,also called the Zeus Altar, in Pergamon Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island, is a must see for anyone serious about understanding the ancient world. The scenes of the ‘Gigantomachy’, depicting the battle of the Greek gods against the giants is one of the most spectacular examples of Hellenic art and is presented in an impressive quasi-reconstruction. The backstory of how the the Pergamon Altar is even in Berlin is also a great drama – a drama that bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Elgin Marbles. The Pergamon Altar was originally from Bergama, Turkey, where remains of…