Got a metal detector? Into archaeology? Lost your, ahem, manhood? Then the Manhood Search and Recovery Society is for you a newly-formed body promoting conscientious metal detecting in the West Sussex area of England, as well as the important role it can play in archaeology and, with it, local history. In the long term, the society aims to swell its ranks to the point where it can assistant in major archaeological digs. Responsible metal detectorists play a big part in our understanding of the region and our place, organisation founder Steve Lawrence told the Midhurst and Petworth Observer. Our first…
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If you want to keep up with celebrity news a Toronto newspaper is a good place to get it. The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing, with its long list of celebrities and accompanying red carpet antics. But theres one story in particular that might be of interest to archaeology fans out there. Michael Moore (of Fahrenheit 9/11 fame) is out with his new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. He held a 45 minute press conference in Toronto to publicize it and hes given a number of media interviews about his ideas. The movie, from what Ive read,…
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Three Roman-era figurines of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, have been unearthed at an archaeological site east of the sea of Galilee in Israel. Sussita, known as Hippos to the Greeks on account of the horse’s head-shaped hill on which it was built, was a Greco-Roman town that became one of the 10 cities (the Decapolis) in Coele-Syria that were granted some independence when Pompey conquered in 63 BC. (Other Decapolis cities include Qanawat and Jerash.) It is thought that the figurines, measuring 23cm high, date from the fourth century AD a time when Constantine the Great laid out the…
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One of the most impressive and startling structures in the world is the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, yet the construction of it remains the subject of much debate and discussion to this very day. Dr Mark Lehner, an archaeologist at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and Harvard Semitic Museum, has given an exclusive video interview to Heritage Key in which he explains what he and his team are doing in their latest excavation. Dr Lehner wants to know the answer to a question that rarely gets asked – Where and how did the workers who…
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One of the best preserved and most decorated tombs in the Valley of the Kings is that of Seti I, adorned with hieroglyphics and colourful paintings on every passageway and chamber wall. In this first post on the Seti I tomb, we look at stunning photography by Sandro Vannini taken in the First Pillared Hall section of the tomb. Years of archaeological excavations have damaged the tomb and as a result, it has now been closed to the public. That means the only way to enjoy the beauty of Tomb KV17 is through photography, and who better to send down…
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As if Stonehenge itself wasn’t impressive enough yet – the sarcen stones vary in weight from 20 to 50 tonnes – we are being told over and over it’s part of a bigger whole, a ‘ritual landscape’ including the Avenue, the Durrington Walls, the Stonehenge Cursus, and Woodhenge. Using LiDAR – airborne 3D scanning – data Tom Goskar for Wessex Archaeology has created a stunning 3D animation of Stonehenge’s current day landscape, showing the Winterbourne Stoke Barrows and that the Avenue is still clearly visible today. Add to that a virtual reconstruction of the Amesbury Archer’s skull and a 3D visualisation of…
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Attribution: Mollow2 Anuradhapura Sri Lanka Key Dates Singhalese capital by 380 BC Abandoned after invasion in 993 AD The Sacred City of Anuradhapura was established around a cutting from the “tree of enlightenment” and was the Singhalese capital by 380 BC. At its heart is the Sacred Bo tree which is said to date back to 245 BC. It was a flourishing religious capital for 1300 years until it was abandoned in 993. Anuradhapura is said to be the capital of the Rakshasa King Ravana in the Hindue epic Ramayana. The ruins of Anuradhapura consist of bell-shaped dagobas, monastic buildings and pokunas…
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Heritage Key has posted a new video of Dr. Zahi Hawass by Sandro Vannini and Nico Piazzadiscussing the current excavations in the Central Valley area of the Valley of the Kings,or what we like to call the Quest for KV64.While the photography of Sandro Vannini alone makes the clip worth viewing, lets face itwhat we are looking for is news of the next tomb. Dr. Hawass has been closing in on what he hopes will be the tomb of Ramesses VIII, but regardless of whose name will eventually adorn the entrance, KV64 is the goal.If his team is successful, theevent…
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Another carved stone figurine has been discovered at the Neolithic site of atalhyk in Turkey, adding to an already large collection of over 2,000 pieces that has raised conflicting theories among scholars about their prehistoric purpose. The find, made last week, is of a six inch-tall reclining man with a large beard and oversized nose. Back in the 1960s, it was speculated that the prevalence among the carvings of females with big breasts and bellies (similar to the likes of the much older Venus of Hohle Fels, found recently in Germany) were indicative of a cult of worshipping mother goddesses…
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There are nearly 1,000 prehistoric stone circles in Britain and Rupert Soskin – together with producer Michael Bott – has visited over 100 of them, making an astonishing documentary about these magnificent Neolithic and Bronze monuments, focussing on a lot of the lesser known prehistoric stone monuments from megalithic Britain. Barrows, henges, borrows, cists, thrilitons and solitary megaliths, Soskin covers them all. ‘Standing with Stones’ wants to take the viewer beyond Stonehenge – that all-too familiar icon of Stone Age Britain – on an incredible journey of discovery that reveals the true wealth and extent of Neolithic and Bronze Age…