A set of unusually well preserved human and other organic remains discovered in the Highlands of Scotland wrapped in animal hide or furs, with a wicker basket curiously encasing the skull have been described by archaeologists as an extremely rare and valuable find that have the potential to tell a great deal about contemporary life and burial practice in the Bronze Age. They were uncovered last February by landowner Jonathan Hampton, while digging peat with heavy machinery at a farm at Strath Oykel, in Sutherland. Local police were first on the scene and according to an angry Hampton made a…
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Forget Stonehenge – the Autumn/Winter megalithic collection is in, and it’s green. Loughcrew, in County Meath, Ireland, is one of the country’s most important heritage sites, and twice yearly crowds flock from far afield to see its most famous feature, when the equinox sun shines directly on the Cairn T chamber’s beautiful backstone. While there weren’t 36,500 people in attendance, or the grandiose policing policies that go with Stonehenge on the solstices, visitors to the megalithic complex on Sunday morning were treated to an intimate and touching experience. As these photos and video from Newgrange.com show, those who donned their…
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Heritage Key has posted the latest video clip from Dr. Zahi Hawass regarding current excavations at the Valley of the Kings and surrounding areas. In New Discoveries in Drabu el Naga, Dr. Hawass brings us up to date with his excavations at this promising site on the West Bank of the Nile, close to Luxor and directly across from Karnak.There are about 80 numbered tombs at Dra Abu el-Naga, some of which are royal tombs dating from the Seventeenth Dynasty, with other New Kingdom tombs belonging to Theban priests and privileged court officials. The site suffers from modern encroachment, with…
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The dust may be yet to settle over Giza’s supposed ‘tube’ network, but it seems Egypt isn’t the only ancient site in which to find subterranean wonders. Archaeologists in Sri Lanka have recently embarked on a proposed four-year project to uncover a ‘hidden city’ lurking below the famous sacred site of Anuradhapura. Director-General of the country’s Central Cultural Fund, Dr Siran Deraniyagala, will be joined by archaeologists from Berlin University to unshroud the secrets of one of Sri Lanka’s famous ancient capitals. Anuradhapura is one of Sri Lanka’s holiest sites As yet no archaeological team has conducted a complete exploration…
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Renowned photographer Sandro Vannini has spent several years capturing beautiful images of the treasures held at the Cairo Museum in Egypt, and Heritage Key brings the results exclusively on the internet. Although it was the Golden Mask of Tutankhamun which captivated the world when KV62 was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, Tutankhamun’s tomb was adorned with several thousands of other artefacts including the External Trappings of the Mummy, sewn into the linen bandages. But why make that expensive trip to Cairo when you can see Sandro’s beautiful photography of them, or even view them in 3D in our King…
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The way animals were worshipped in Ancient Egypt has long been one of the empire’s most vivid features. Cats, crocs and even goldfish got the mummification treatment – and the culture’s myriad gods plied their divine trade in the image of some of the region’s most iconic creatures. In this exclusive video, the American University at Cairo’s Salima Ikram shares the secrets of Egypt’s enduring animal adoration. The divinity of animals was a key part of religious belief in Egypt. Evidence of it appears as far back as the First Dynasty – some feel it started even before then –…
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Archaeologists have made an amazing discovery in Mexico, which could hold the key to one of history’s enduring enigmas. Two pyramids and nine palaces have been found hidden in the jungles of the Puuc region of Mexico’s Yucatan, the birthplace of the famous Maya culture. Experts have described the incredible haul, located at the ancient site of Kiuic, as a ‘Maya Pompeii’ – and believe its sudden abandonment could unlock the mystery of the Mayas, whose highly advanced civilization suddenly imploded around a thousand years ago. The project, led by Mexico‘s National Institute of Archaeology and History, unearthed an intriguing…
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The fight goes on for the repatriation of Australian Aboriginal remains stored in museums across the world, with two artworks now added to the list of artifacts campaigers want returned Down Under. A delegation from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in Hobart is in the UK this week to lobby institutions among them the Wellcome Trust, and Oxford and Cambridge universities to return the skulls, bones and other Aboriginal remains held in their collections. This follows their success earlier this month in having the remains of a skull from a Tasmanian Aborigine returned to Australia from the National Museum of Scotland.…
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Attribution: clare_and_ben Swinside England Key Dates The date of the Swinside stone circle is unknown. The Swinside stone circle is a nearly perfect, 29m diameter circle located in the small hamlet of Swinside, in Cumbria, England. The circle is also referred to as Sunkenkirk, a reference to the devil who — as legend has it — cast the stone into the ground to derail plans to build a church. The circle is largely isolated and is embedded in the land miles from the nearest farm track. Though many of the stones remain standing today, several have been bent inwards —…
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A possible connection has been established between the tiny, 5,000-year-old carved figurine discovered last month at Links of Noltland on Orkney and a lintel stone found on the nearby remote islet Holm of Papa Westray. Archaeologists identified a potential correlation between the distinctive heavy, curved eyebrows and dotted eyes on the so-called Orkney Venus which is thought to be Scotlands earliest representation of the human face and markings that theyd earlier seen etched into the lintel rock, which lies inside a large chambered Neolithic burial cairn. Mike Brooks, of the Historic Scotland photographic unit, was dispatched to Holm of Papa…