Ancient wall paintings were discovered in northern China in a 1,400-year-old royal tomb found during the construction of one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects, a national water transport system. The detailed frescoes found in the tomb in Cixian county in Beijing’s neighbouring Hebei province depict honour guard officials from the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577), the report said. The tomb itself had belonged to Gao Xiaoxu, the male heir of an emperor in the Qi, archaeologists told the agency. The intricate images, painted on the walls of a 15-meters long passage, will prove useful in the study of the escort…
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Continuing the Google Earth Tours here at Heritage Key, which have so far covered Rome, Athens and London, this week’s tour looks at Ancient sites across the historically rich nation of Egypt. An ancient civilisation which boasts some of the most famous relics in the world, such as The Great Pyramid of Giza and the Temple at Thebes. By bringing together aerial photography with 3D virtual environments, we can use Google Earth to scan across the surface of Egypt and see the sites and relics that remain of this great civilisation. This tour is complete with those clickable Heritage Key…
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Over the past five weeks two new studies have been released that are giving scholars new clues as to how leprosy became a global scourge. The first, and most dramatic, find came out at the end of May and reported on the analysis of a 4,000 year old skeleton from the site of Balathal, a Harappa site, in India. The analysis detected the presence of leprosy, making it, by far, the oldest case known. (For comparison the next oldest cases date to nearly 2,500 years ago) This study means that the troops of Alexander the Great might well have spread…
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Wookey Hole Caves, is planning to bring its ancient history to life by hiring a resident witch to live in the caves and teach tourists about their history and craft. Hours are seasonal, but this is no pocket money summer job the owners of the caves are offering 50k (pro rata) for the right witch. The original Wookey Witch is thought to have lived in the caves during Britains Dark Ages, and put a curse on a local romance, before being turned into a stallagtite in return. The Dark Ages are thought to have begun when the defeat of the…
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A young boy peers out of the doorway in the Chinese province of Kashgar, where days of rioting have left the area in a state of fear. The tensions between two ethnic groups have led to the recent violence, with the Uighars campaigning for independence from the Chinese government. The Chinese Government recently announced plans to demolish a vast majority of this ancient city, in favour of more modern and earthquake proof buildings. This defies the wishes of the Uighari people, who would lose the culture in the old city. Additionally, they believe the Chinese Government has alterior motives for…
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The UCLA team creatingand updating a virtual model of Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves, have now released free photos and videos of their work, which are now available to view and download from their website. Their project started in 2005 and has been continuing ever since,adding new archaeological information as it comes along. It includes a number of photos, and short videos which you can watch in high definition on their site, or on youtube. The main aim of the project is not to bolster any one theory on how Qumran, or the…
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Qumran excavator Yuval Peleg (YP) was in Toronto last Thursday to lecture about his recent Qumran findings. Although he had to give two back to back lectures (on the same night) he generously made some time to talk with Heritage Key. I asked him about his theory that Qumran started off as a military site. I alsoquestioned himon his idea that the Dead Sea Scrolls were deposited in the Qumran caves by refugees who were fleeing the Roman army after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Here’s a transcript of our interview: OJ: One thing I found intriguing is…
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London is a massive metropolis, buzzing with energy and bags of history to boot. Well now you can see the city’s top ancient sights, all handily presented in our custom Google Earth flyover. For there’s plenty more to London than its monstrous museums – though they’re all pretty good too – and this map gives you the chance to plan a first-time visit, tell a friend or just take a day out to explore London’s proud heritage. There’s no shortage of events either; check our calendar page for the pick of the city’s listings, which include this year’s British Archaeology…
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The Foro Romano is a stunning relic of Roman architecture that remains in Rome, and is beautifully captured on High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging film by jaqudo who uses the technique to capture the details and perfect the shading in the photograph. Combined with an angle which accentuates the lines and structure of this iconic piece of Roman history. The Roman Forum was the home of the Senate and venue to large public meetings, and was located in the centre of Rome and thus the heart of the Roman Empire. It was here where the economic, political and judicial systems…
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Last week I used Google Earth to show you a tour around the ancient relics of Rome, flyover over the city and looking at all the 3D models with clickables to get extra information from Heritage Key. This week, I’ve decided to spruce up Jon’s tour of the Acropolis of Ancient Greece so you can have a look at one of the most magnificent relics from the ancient age, as well as the New Acropolis Museum. Again, the tour utilises aerial photography with 3D models to give a realistic and innovative look at how the ancient world still exists in…