• michael-kan

    What is an Avatar? Creators Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer Trace the Ancient Roots of the Latest Buzzword

    Blue aliens with cat-like faces might first come to mind when one hears the word avatar, now that James Camerons latest sci-fi flick has become the top grossing movie of all time. But the box-office hit film is just the latest medium to popularize the word avatar, an ancient religious term thats taken on a new meaning in modern times. Aside from the movie, many people are likely familiar with the word avatar as an expression of the self (or the alter ego) in a virtual world. Participation in video games, internet forums and Heritage Keys own King Tut Virtual…

  • helen-atkinson

    Vacation in Varanasi: Seeing in the New Year in the Oldest City

    A trip to India with my photographer husband, Tim, found us celebrating the New Year in Varanasi, India. There’s actually almost nothing physically ancient in what claims to be the oldest continually inhabited city on earth. The city was once ruled by King Ashoka, but the Moguls, who invaded from the North and ruled India for nearly two hundred years ending 1707, made rubble of the place, and so you look in vain for anything built before the 18th century (although check out the ancient Dhamek Stupa – one of the few surviving ancient sites – if you visit). However,…

  • owenjarus

    The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army Exhibition at the ROM – Full Details

    News of this exhibit has been leaking out in bits and pieces for weeks. But today the official announcement of it was made and full details have been released. The exhibit will be hitting the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto Canada starting in late June. The precise exhibition start/end dates are being arranged. As reported earlier the exhibit will be stopping at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the Royal BC Museum in Victoria BC. A stop in Montreal was announced several months back. Also, as hk previously reported, this will be the biggest Terracotta Warriors exhibition ever to hit…

  • bija-knowles

    Film-makers Uncover Trajan’s Hidden Roman Aqueduct

    Two British film-makers have discovered what they believe to be the source of the 1,900-year old aqueduct built by the emperor Trajan in the early second century AD. The underground chambers were found and filmed after some years of research into Roman hydraulics by the documentary-makers Ted O’Neill and his father Michael O’Neill. According to Ted, it took some perseverance to find the location, which was hidden beneath a disused church some 30-40km north-west of Rome. Despite difficulties and delays in getting access to the site, the O’Neills were finally able to enter the underground chambers of the church in…

  • publication

    Roman Britain: A New History

    Roman Britain A New History by Guy de la Bédoyère In this lively, authoritative account of a crucial period in Britains history, Guy de la Bédoyère puts the Roman conquest and occupation within the larger context of Romano-British society and how it functioned.With nearly 300 illustrations and dramatic aerial views of Roman sites, and brimming with the very latest research and discoveries, Roman Britain will delight and inform all those with an interest in this seminal epoch of British history. Thames & Hudson (22 Feb 2010) 288 pages

  • veigapaula

    Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous… Egyptians

    The rich and famous people of ancient Egypt lived a decadent lifestyle with fine wine, sex, high fashion, and plenty of partying. How do they compare with their equivalents today – the modern western celebrity set? The main differences might be regarding who were the richest people then, and who are the richest people now. In ancient Egypt the pharaoh was at the top of the pyramid and his family, noble people who owned land, and the priests came after. Scribes, architects and doctors were well off, and skilled craftsmen also had many privileges. Peasants and unskilled workers were low…

  • owenjarus

    The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army Exhibition: Toronto, Calgary and Victoria Look Likely Venues

    The official announcement is coming a week today (January 27) but news continues totrickle out about the exhibition of the Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, set to hit Toronto in June. Officials have been tight-lipped about this exhibit so what we’ve been hearing has been in drips and drabs. Last week we learned that the Toronto show is going to be the largest Terracotta Warrior’s showever to hit North America. We also learned that it will likely be one of four Canadian stops -with Toronto coming up first. There will be a Canadian tour, Montreal has…

  • Ann - Articles & Blogs

    Queen Berenike’s Bastet Temple Discovered in Alexandria

    The remains of a temple of Queen Berenike – wife of King Ptolemy III – have been discovered by archaeologists in Alexandria, Egypt. Dr. Zahi Hawass said the remains discovered are 60 meters by 15 meters, and extend under Ismail Fahmy street. About 600 Ptolemaic statues – amongst which are beautiful depictions of the cat goddess Bastet – were also unearthed. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, Head of Antiquities of Lower Egypt, said that the mission excavating at Kom el Dikka on property of the Alexandria Security Forces included 18 skilled excavators and restorers. The large collection of Bastet statues indicates…

  • images

    Sandro Vannini’s Photography – The Ritual Figures of King Tutankhamun

    Discovered inside the Tomb of King Tutankhamun, inside black resin-covered wooden shrines which were accessible via double doors, were 34 ritual figures. Of significant importance during the ritual ceremony, these statuettes are believed to assist the King Tut’s passage to the afterlife. Upon discovering the shrines in KV62, the great explorer Howard Carter found only one of the boxes had been raided by tomb robbers, with the rest laying undisturbed since antiquity. The ritual figures are now housed inside Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and have been captured on film by Sandro Vannini, who has photographed Egypt’s greatest treasures including the famous…

  • site

    Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III

    Attribution: Masterplaan Thebes Egypt Key Dates The temple was built in the reign of Amenhotep III, which lasted from around 1391 to 1353 BC. Since 1998, it has been on the World Monument Fund’s list of the planet’s 100 most endangered monuments. Excavation at the site began in 2004, and is expected to be ongoing until around 2027. Key People The temple was built as a funerary monument for Amenhotep III, the most powerful, rich and influential pharaoh in Egyptian history. Research at the site is being headed by German-Armenian Egyptologist Dr Hourig Sourouzian. Dr Hourig Sourouzian Amenhotep III The…