Unrolling a papyrus (without destroying it) is an expensive and complicated process. How do you do it without causing the whole thing to crumble into unintelligable flakes? Well, last year the Royal Ontario Museum unrolled a Book of the Dead that had long been in their collection, which dated back to ca. 320 BC, the early Ptolemaic period. And they also made a cool video about how it was done. A group at the ROM called, Friends of Egypt, financed the project. A language expert and specialized conservators were brought in. The book was mounted, and, at the beginning of…
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New research suggests the giant step pyramids of the ancient Mayas may in fact have been used to make music on a colossal scale. Experts were already aware of the ‘raindrop’ sounds made by the footsteps of those ascending Chichen Itza‘s famous El Castillo pyramid. Yet the comparison of El Castillo’s sonic phenomenon with another of Mexico‘s Maya structures has led two scholars to conclude that creating ‘rain music’ was the pyramids’ main function. Jorge Cruz of the Professional School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Mexico City and Nico Declercq of the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA compared the…
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Anyone who has visited the ancient ruins of great civilizations can appreciate the difficulty of visualizing the buildings at their peak. Today’s visitor to the British Museum can see structures of the Aztecs, thanks to one professor’s research into the ancient architecture that served as the center stage of Aztec ceremonial life, combined with an ultra-modern electronic digital modeling process. Antonio Serrato-Combe, professor of architecture at the University of Utah, has spent decades bringing the ancient structures of the Aztecs into focus. His work is now the basis for a new British Museum exhibition ‘Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler,’ exploring the power…
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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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As any true seeker of ancient wisdom knows, it ain’t found in a Dan Brown novel. This is despite the bold claim in the preface to his latest epic, The Lost Symbol: “FACT: In 1991, a document was locked in the safe of the director of the CIA. The document is still there today. Its cryptic text includes references to an ancient portal and an unknown location underground. The document also contains the phrase ‘It’s buried out there somewhere.’ “All organizations in this novel exist, including the Freemasons, the Invisible College, the Office of Security, the SMSC, and the Institute…
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An incredible ancient settlement off Britain‘s south coast that could ‘rewrite the history books’ is in danger of being swept away, unless archaeologists secure enough funding to launch full-scale excavations by next year. Experts have been astounded by the discovery of 24 worked timber fragments found on underwater diving expeditions to an underwater cliff of Bouldner, on the north coast of the Isle of Wight. Hundreds of objects such as flint, charcoal, hazelnuts, string and the remains of a longboat have been found alongside the fragments, which many feel are the remnants of a huge structure built over 8,000 years…
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Hot on the heels of Scottish Archaeology Month comes the Highland Archaeology Festival, from October 3-18 a fortnight of over 100 events, activities and open days, most of them free, giving the public a great chance to get hands on with the picturesque northern regions abundant heritage. As well as the archaeology of the Highlands, the festival will also celebrate its history, landscape and culture, through all from guided walks to family events, self-guided trails, archaeological surveys, evening lectures and exhibitions. Highlights will include an archaeology in action session at the famous Eilean Donan Castle in Skye and Lochalsh, a…
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Crushed teeth, sore eyes and itchy skin. Sound bad? This was the fate that befell central Europeans 13,000 years ago, according to new research. A study released by Aarhus University’s Felix Riede and Jeffrey Wheeler of the University of Cambridge suggests that particles shot into the sky by a huge supervolcano eruption were about twice as hard as human teeth. This led to widespread devastation of the region’s plant and animal life, and would have left local human tribes stranded to face the wrath of the volcano’s destruction. The explosion came from Laacher See (Lake Laach), central Europe’s only caldera,…
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The mouth of the river Thames has been the site of several Roman and Iron Age discoveries in recent weeks bringing to light evidence of early industrial activity in Britain. The structures include a fourth century Roman kiln used for processing salt water as part of the Roman salt-producing industry, as well as a Roman-era salt-house, boathouse and roundhouse. These structures were uncovered during a series of excavations near Mucking Creek and Coryton in Essex, which are taking place before the area is prepared for the new London Gateway port Britain’s first deep-sea container port and logistics centre. Salt would…
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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…