• Ann

    Giza 3D – Giza Archives Project and Dassault Systemes team up in Virtual Reality

    The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and 3D software company Dassault Systèmes have announced they will join forces in a partnership that aims to bring the power of industry as well as experimental 3D to the domain of archaeology. The MFA’s Giza Archives Project digital database will be “the first to benefit from the power of interactive, immersive and multi-platform 3D experiences” as the team intents to create new possibilities for the visualisation of archaeological data for both the scientific community and the general public. (preview video 1 – preview video 2) Visualisation of Archaeological Data for Education and Research…

  • exhibition

    Treasures from Medieval York: England’s other capital

    ‘Treasures from Medieval York: England’s other capital’ is a temporary exhibition in Room 2 of the British Museum, aiming to showcase some of the most stunning treasures of the Yorkshire Museum, which is currently closed for redevelopment. During the Middle Ages, York was one of England’s greatest cities, rivalling London both in size and importance. The display features swords, jewellery and coins from the Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods. Highlight objects include the beautiful Middleham Jewel, the York Helmet, the remarkable Gilling Sword, and the magnificent Vale of York Hoard. The exhibition is also a showcase for the particpation between the…

  • Ann

    Top 10 Archaeology Pranks & Hoaxes (April Fools’ Day Special)

    Emperor Constantine had quite a splendid sense of humour for a Roman, but he couldn’t stand criticism. When in the fifth century one of his court jesters boasted that fools and jesters of the court could rule the empire better than the Emperor himself, Constantine decreed that the fools would get their chance at proving this claim. The ruler set aside one day in the year upon which a fool would reign the great Roman Empire. The first year, Constantine appointed a jester named Kugel as rule, who immediately ordained that only the absurd would be allowed on that day.…

  • malcolmj

    10 Best Ancient World Exhibitions Coming up in 2010

    In 2009, we saw the Terracotta Warriors tour America, racking up record attendance figures, while King Tut exhibitions criss-crossed the globe and the Staffordshire Hoard went on show in London just months after being unearthed in a West Midlands field by an avid metal detectorist. 2010 looks set to be equally as big a year for heritage exhibitions around the world. The iconic and controversial Lewis Chessmen will be reunited in Scotland for the first time in over 150 years in Edinburgh this May. The massive Shanghai World Expo will open around the same time, with a number exhibits themed…

  • meral-crifasi

    Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 4:Sex, Guns and Education ?

    So how do we create virtual entertainment that’s meaningful where there are no guns and no sex and still fun and educational? Is it possible? This is the subject of this week’s Bloggers Challenge, and your chance to have your say on this fascinating issue. Kids are exposed to so much violence in their daily entertainment that it becomes an acceptable norm for them and while using anything virtual or online they expect the same level of excitement that they get from games. When we were doing some user testing with high school kids as part of the production of…

  • Ann

    Top 10 Minoan Treasures to See at the British Museum

    With Bettany Hughes’ documentary ‘Atlantis: The Evidence’ set to première on BBC Two, what better way to prepare than to explore the Aegean Bronze Age treasures of the British Museum?  If the Minoan civilisation was indeed home to the Atlantis legend, what better way to get to know the Atlanteans than through what they left behind? And, lets face it, visiting London’s most famous museum is far easier than getting a permit to dig beneath the sphinx. 😉 Though not that many items excavated by Arthur Evans can be found at the British Museum – I probably should have visited the…

  • malcolmj

    First Pictures of Britain’s Oldest Shipwreck

    South West Maritime Archaeological Group (SWMAG) have sent us some of the first pictures of the remarkable finds recovered from the site of Britain’s oldest shipwreck – a 3,000 year old Bronze Age trading vessel that sunk off the coast of Devonshire in southwest England around 900 BC. We blogged about its discovery on Tuesday. The wreck was located in just a few metres of water at the bottom of Wash Gully near Salcombe. When it went down, the boat was on its way back from the continent with a precious cargo of tin and copper ingots – key raw…

  • Ann

    3,300-year-old tomb of Ancient Egyptian official Ptah Mes discovered at Saqqara

    Archaeologists have discovered the 3,300 year-old tomb of Ptahmes, 19th Dynasty army leader and royal scribe, at Saqqara. The discovery of the tomb – dated to the second half of the 19th Dynasty (1203-1186BC) – by the Archaeological Faculty of the Cairo University was announced today, putting an end to a 300-year-old archaeological riddle. Ptahmes’ tomb is 70 metres long and contains numerous chapels. Dr Zahi Hawass commented its design is similar to that of the tomb of Ptah Im Wiya, a royal sear bearer who lived during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, discovered in 2007 by Dutch archaeologists. As…

  • event

    Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2010

    Each year on the 21th of June visitors from around the world gather at Stonehenge overnight to mark the summer solstice and to see the sunrise above the stones. (We’re attending as well, go here for live updates and pictures from the Solstice: first photographs from the solstice.) At dawn the central Altar stone aligns with the Slaughter stone, Heel stone and the rising sun to the north-east. The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is certainly the ‘ancient history’ summer event in Britain to attend. Summer Solstice Info & Thing to Do Pictures from the Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2010 – The Ancestor, the Druids…

  • review

    Hadrian’s Wall

    by Derry Brabbs Frances Lincoln (2008) 7/10 Derry Brabbs is a well known UK photographer who has published nine books as photographer and author. He has also collaborated on 18 other books with other writers as photographer in his 25-year career to date. He is particularly interested in blending the story of England’s heritage with its landscape. Brabbs worked with the inimitable fell walker, Alfred Wainwright, on many books and told Heritage Key in December 2009 that he started to photograph Hadrian’s Wall in his first assignment along the Roman frontier with Wainwright in 1984. Brabbs’ Hadrian’s Wall can be…