Last week I visited the ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ exhibition in Manchester with Mary-Ann Craig (video), and well… saw wonderful things, and everywhere, the glint of gold. The moment I marvelled at the recreation of the set-up used to remove Tutankhamun’s sarcophagi from his tomb, any doubts still left about the power of replicas disappeared, and I would strongly suggest you visit the touring exhibition before it leaves the UK. Yet, if you want an expert opinion the matter (as well as a great introduction to your visit), watch our Heritage Key video with Robert Partridge, editor of…
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New research on a 2,400 year old star table shows that the Ancient Egyptians kept close tabs on the Big Dipper, monitoring changes in the constellations orientation throughout the course of an entire year. The Big Dipper is composed of seven stars and is easily viewable in the northern hemisphere. Its shape looks like a ladle with a scoop attached. Ancient Egyptians represented it as an oxs foreleg. If a personwere to observethe constellationat the exactsame time every night they would see it gradually move counter-clockwise each time they saw it. Professor Sarah Symons, of McMaster University in Hamilton Canada,…
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Archaeologists today discovered the upperportion of a statue of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III at Luxor, Egypt. The find part of a double statue featuring King Amenhotep III with the falcon-headed sun god Re-Horakhti was made at the pharaoh’s funerary temple, locatedon the west bank of the Nile. In a press statement, Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny said that the discovery was made during routine excavations at Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple carried out by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The dig issupervised byDr. Zahi Hawass, who thinks of the newly discovered statue as one of the best of the…
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Acrobats from Burma, workers from Central or West Asia, and a mausoleum design inspired by work in the Middle East – the Mauseoleum of China’s First Emperor was a cosmopolitan place says Dr. Duan Qingbo, the man in charge of excavating it. The mausoleum was created about 2,200 year ago and served as a tomb for Qin Shi Huang – the first emperor of China. While the emperor’s tomb is largely unexcavated, archaeologists have found thousands of life-size terracotta figures nearby. It’s believed that this army was created to serve the emperor in the afterlife. Dr. Duan (Duan is his…
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Acrobats from Burma, workers from Central or West Asia, and a mausoleum design inspired by work in the Middle East the Mauseoleum of Chinas First Emperor was a cosmopolitan place says Dr. Duan Qingbo, the man in charge of excavating it. The mausoleum was created about 2,200 year ago and served as a tomb for Qin Shi Huang the first emperor of China. While the emperors tomb is largely unexcavated, archaeologists have found thousands of life-size terracotta figures nearby. Its believed that this army was created to serve the emperor in the afterlife. Dr. Duan (Duan is his family name)…
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Archaeologists excavating the 5,000-year-old Tirnony Dolmen at Maghera, Northern Ireland say the best find of the dig so far a Neolithic flint blade suggests the ancient burial site is undisturbed. The Tirnony Dolmen or portal tomb is a single-chamber megalithic tomb, estimated to be about 5,000 to 6,000 years old. In April this year, the ancient tomb’s massive capstone fell off, severely damaging one of the supporting stones. Now, the necessary repair works offer archaeologists from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency the chance of a lifetime excavating the ancient burial monument. The 4.5cm long, 1cm wide knife blade made from…
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We think the way we do because Socrates thought the way he did, writes Bettany Hughes at the start of The Hemlock Cup, her brand new biography of ancient Greeces greatest philosopher. Two-and-a-half millennia of history might separate us from the age when Socrates roamed the streets of ancient Athens, formulating and articulating his philosophies to the people. But many of his words and ideas ring just as true in the 21st century as they did back then. (For a run-down of ten great Socrates quotes to reflect upon, check out Owen’s blog here). From his beliefs on philosophical ethics…
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King Tut’s treasures are returning to the UK, as ‘Tutankhamun His Tomb and His Treasures’ opened this weekend at Manchester’s Museum of Museums. Over 1,000 faithful replicas offer visitors the opportunity to look through Howard Carter’s eyes and experience the greatest discovery of all time for themselves. The entire world is familiar with ancient Egypt’s ‘piece de resistance’, the symbol of Egyptology King Tut’s golden death mask (slideshow). Yet, fewer people know that when Carter and Carnarvon discovered the pharaoh’s final resting place in 1922, it contained so many treasures that it was almost impossible to enter. It would take…
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After more than ten years of excavation and restoration, the ancient well-house at the Royal Palace of Qatna, Syria, has been officially opened to the public. It is the first phase of an ambitious project that will see the entire palace site opened for international tourism. The ancient city of Qatna is located at Mishrifeh in western Syria, about 18 km north-east of the city of Homs and 200km from the modern-day Syrian capital Damascus. Bronze Age Qatna was strategically located at a the now vanished lake of Mishrifeh. In the 2nd millennium BC, itbecame the capital city of the…
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Archaeologists from the Northern Ireland Environment started excavating the 5,000-year-old Tirnony portal tomb near Maghera – an extraordinary ‘archaeological treat’ – and the public is invited to drop by, with an ‘open dig’ every Friday. Quick update: Neolithic knife find hints at undisturbed burial The Tirnony Portal Tomb, also known as the Tirnony Dolmen, is a single-chamber megalithic tomb, estimated to be about 5,000 to 6,000 years old. The capstone is – or rather, was – supported by three of six upright stones, two of which form the portal. In April this year, the burial tomb’s massive capstone fell off, severely damaging one…