• Ann

    Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2010 – Where, When, What?

    With Summer Solstice 2010 near, we’re starting to prepare for our trip to Stonehenge to – hopefully – see the sun rise above the heel stone. (Go here for live updates from the Solstice celebrations or photos from the 2010 Solstice.) We can’t command the weather (only in our Stonehenge Solstice Virtual, where it is never cloudy), but we can supply some information and tips to make sure you get the most out of your Stonehenge Summer Solstice visit. Read on for tips on how to get to Stonehenge, what (not) to bring and wear. If you’re going, let us know in…

  • michael-kan

    Top 10: Most Important Archaeology Finds in China… Ever

    According to archaeologist Liu Qingzhu, trying to name the most important discoveries in China is like facing another, albeit seemingly more simple, question — which one tastes better: dumplings or rice? “Southerners from China will say rice is better, but northerners will say dumplings,” Liu said. “Then Westerners will say they like French food and that bread is good.” Listing the most important archaeological discoveries faces similar difficulties, he added. One finding may have had more relevance for one region of China, while not affecting the other. China’s history is also long and not so easy to cover. Still, Liu…

  • rome

    Fourteen years of Madness and Murder

    One of the earliest descriptions we have of Nero is particularly unflattering. It comes from the Roman writer and historian Suetonius in his work The Twelve Caesars, a biography of 12 of the Roman empire’s rulers, from Augustus to Domitian. He gives a physical description of Nero as “about the average height, his body marked with spots and malodorous, his hair light blond, his features regular rather than attractive, his eyes blue and somewhat weak, his neck over thick, his belly prominent, and his legs very slender.” Body odour, acne and skinny legs? Surely those are not the macho attributes…

  • General

    Heritage Key on the Web

    Nowadays being part of the ‘web’ isn’t limited to having an interesting website, but also means doing a genuine effort to reach out, being part of the community as well as inviting others to take part in your website. Heritage Key is doing exactly that, so you can find us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, iTunes, … as well as subscribe to our feeds to get a daily overview of all the new articles and blogs posted to Heritage Key. You’re welcome to join us on: Twitter Follow Heritage Key’s latest tweets – and REtweets – or reach out to…

  • malcolmj

    Ancient World in London Bloggers Challenge 2: The Most Important Site in London

    Last week’s inaugural Ancient World in London Blogger’s Challenge called for opinions to be cast on the subject of which invaders had the most historical impact on Britain’s venerable capital, sparking shouts for all from rats to Roman traders, Scandinavian raiders and even a band of (admittedly made-up) Roman warrior-pigeons. I’ll today kick off round two – which again gives entrants the chance to win prizes both real and virtual – by posing a brand new question: What’s the most important ancient site in London? As a city, the Big Smoke has origins stretching back at least as far as…

  • event

    The Extraordinary life of Amelia Edwards

    The Petrie Museum is celebrating International Women’s Day by honouring Amelia Edward’s contributions to Egyptian archaeology and the Petrie Museum with the new installation of her bust against an image of her study, followed by a one-woman show written and performed by the actress Kim Hicks. Kim Hicks has enjoyed a wide-ranging career, on radio, TV, film and stage. She was inspired to bring Amelia Edwards back to life in celebration of her 175th birthday. This event is organised by the Friends of the Petrie Museum to celebrate the life of Amelia Edwards and support the world-class museum of Egyptian…

  • Ann

    Unique Iron Age Hoard goes on display at Ipswich Museum

    From May 3rd until June 10th, the Ipswich Museum is hosting a free sneak preview of 2,000-year-old Iron Age gold coins once belonging to Boudicca’s Iceni tribe. The 200 coins on display are part of the Wickham Market hoard, discovered in 2008. The Wickham Market hoard consists of 840 Iron Age gold coins which makes it the largest the largest hoard of its type found in Britain since 1849 (and is featured in our Top 10 Metal Detector Discoveries). Almost all of the coins belong to the Iceni tribe but five of them were ‘issued’ by a neighbouring tribe from…

  • nigel-hetherington

    Missing the revolution but making the party!

    I have spent the majority of the last 6 years working between Egypt and London; during this time my archaeological career has changed track somewhat from working on heritage protection strategies in Luxor to assisting media production companies in producing documentaries set in the historical realm. The journey from archaeologist to televising producer has enabled me to travel both metaphorically and physically between the worlds of the media and archaeology while attempting to be part I hope of both, a sometimes difficult undertaking. Generally I spend most of the year, some eight or nine months in Egypt during the archaeological…

  • nigel-hetherington

    Nigel Hetherington’s blog

    I have spent the majority of the last 6 years working between Egypt and London; during this time my archaeological career has changed track somewhat from working on heritage protection strategies in Luxor to assisting media production companies in producing documentaries set in the historical realm. The journey from archaeologist to televising producer has enabled me to travel both metaphorically and physically between the worlds of the media and archaeology while attempting to be part I hope of both, a sometimes difficult undertaking. Generally I spend most of the year, some eight or nine months in Egypt during the archaeological…

  • michael-kan

    110,000-year-old Chinese Fossil Poses Challenge to ‘Out of Africa’ Theory

    Dating back to 110,000 years ago, a human fossil found in China could provide evidence disputing the theory that all modern day humans originally came from Africa. Last week, China’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology announced the discovery. Comprising of a human jawbone fragment, the fossil was found a year ago in southern China’s Guangxi pronvince. Jin Changzhu, a researcher with the institute, said the find was especially important since very few human fossils from this evolutionary period have been found in China. He added that the jawbone is that of an early modern human, but it also bears…