• owenjarus

    Was King Tut killed by a hippo? The father of Egypt’s New Kingdon executed? Week of Egyptian events kicks off in Toronto

    Toronto is the place to be this week for fans of ancient Egypt. Especially if youre interested in the gruesome ways that two of its pharaohs might have died. King Tut: Death by Hippo? This Wednesday, at 7 pm at theU of Tcampus, Dr. Benson Harer of California State University at San Bernardinowill argue that King Tutwasmauled to death by a hippo his lecture istitled”What really killed King Tut: The Hippo Heresy.” Dr. Harer is a medical doctor and adjunct professor of Egyptology atCalifornia State so he brings a unique perspective to this issue. Indeed, the death of King Tut…

  • Ann

    Melbourne Museum brings ‘Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of The Pharaohs’ to Australia

    Treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun will be seen in Australia for the first time, when the Melbourne Museum hosts ‘Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of The Pharaohs’, startingApril, 2011. Up to 700,000 people are expected to visit the exhibition, which will feature more than 130 artefacts from Tut’s tomb and the gravesand temples of his ancestors from Egypt’s 200-year ‘Golden Age’. Six months ago,Frank Howarth, director of Sydney’s Australian Museum, said the show’s $10 million price tag for six months, and its size were too big for Australian institutions to handle. In stead, the Australian Museum hosted the…

  • malcolmj

    US Army Sergeant Creating Map of 1200 Archaeological Sites in Iraq

    The US military has been heavily criticised for its disregard for Iraq’s heritage sites since invading the country in 2003 – ancient minarets have been bombed, precious artefacts allegedly looted at the National Museum, and a full scale camp, including a helipad, constructed slap bang on top of Babylon. As part of a recent drive to demonstrate renewed sensitivity for the Cradle of Civilization’s venerable past, a US Army sergeant has set about creating a detailed map accurately pinpointing as many of Iraq’s estimated 1,200 archeological hotspots as possible. Sgt. Ronald Peters is a geospatial analyst with Multi-National Corps-Iraq C-7,…

  • Ann

    Silbury Hill’s true story – construction process was more important than design

    Standing 30 metres high and 160 metres wide, Silbury Hill in England is one of the world’s largest man-made prehistoric mounds. It was constructed in the Neolithic, about 25 kilometres north from Stonehenge. Silbury Hill Construction It is estimatedtheconstruction of Silbury Hill involved half a million tonnes of material and around four million man-hours of work equivalent to about ten years for a crew of a hundred people working 7/7 for more than ten hours a day. New and more precise dating of materials found inside the hill nowsuggests the main construction happened in about 100 years, involving some three…

  • Ann

    Bracken Tor – Murder mystery set in Bronze Age Cornwall

    Right in time for Halloween, Shadow Tor Studios have released the first (and spooky) trailer for horror adventure game ‘Bracken Tor: The Time of Tooth and Claw’, which will hit the UK late November. The point-and-click PC game is set in a Bronze Age environment, based on prehistoric Cornwall. Beyond Barrow Hill Bracken Tor also tagged ‘Adventures beyond Barrow Hill’ after its predecessor ‘Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle’ is the latest title from the Shadow Tor Studios and produced with assistance from the ‘Mysterious Beasts Research Group’ (fictional) and Cornwall Archaeology Society (possibly the real one). Amongst the…

  • meral-crifasi

    Addison Lee The Driver Challenge Winner Announced

    The “Meet the Driver” competition has been a great success, with many registered users completing our short quest to be able to win 1,000 worth of travel with Addison Lee in and around London. We closed the entry to the competition on Thursday the 30th of September. As we have promised we put all the entered names into a hat and and pulled out a lucky winner, here in our office in Shoreditch, London. As we were selecting the winner for the big prize and two runners up we have taken some wonderful photos to record the moment. We will…

  • owenjarus

    Chief Archaeologist: New discoveries show First Emperor’s Mausoleum influenced by foreign ideas

    Acrobats from Burma, workers from Central or West Asia, and a mausoleum design inspired by work in the Middle East – the Mauseoleum of China’s First Emperor was a cosmopolitan place says Dr. Duan Qingbo, the man in charge of excavating it. The mausoleum was created about 2,200 year ago and served as a tomb for Qin Shi Huang – the first emperor of China. While the emperor’s tomb is largely unexcavated, archaeologists have found thousands of life-size terracotta figures nearby. It’s believed that this army was created to serve the emperor in the afterlife. Dr. Duan (Duan is his…

  • owenjarus

    Chief Archaeologist: New discoveries show First Emperor’s Mausoleum influenced by foreign ideas

    Acrobats from Burma, workers from Central or West Asia, and a mausoleum design inspired by work in the Middle East the Mauseoleum of Chinas First Emperor was a cosmopolitan place says Dr. Duan Qingbo, the man in charge of excavating it. The mausoleum was created about 2,200 year ago and served as a tomb for Qin Shi Huang the first emperor of China. While the emperors tomb is largely unexcavated, archaeologists have found thousands of life-size terracotta figures nearby. Its believed that this army was created to serve the emperor in the afterlife. Dr. Duan (Duan is his family name)…

  • Ann

    Neolithic knife find at Tirnony Dolmen excavations hints at undisturbed burial

    Archaeologists excavating the 5,000-year-old Tirnony Dolmen at Maghera, Northern Ireland say the best find of the dig so far a Neolithic flint blade suggests the ancient burial site is undisturbed. The Tirnony Dolmen or portal tomb is a single-chamber megalithic tomb, estimated to be about 5,000 to 6,000 years old. In April this year, the ancient tomb’s massive capstone fell off, severely damaging one of the supporting stones. Now, the necessary repair works offer archaeologists from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency the chance of a lifetime excavating the ancient burial monument. The 4.5cm long, 1cm wide knife blade made from…

  • malcolmj

    10 Reasons Why Socrates is Still Relevant Today

    We think the way we do because Socrates thought the way he did, writes Bettany Hughes at the start of The Hemlock Cup, her brand new biography of ancient Greeces greatest philosopher. Two-and-a-half millennia of history might separate us from the age when Socrates roamed the streets of ancient Athens, formulating and articulating his philosophies to the people. But many of his words and ideas ring just as true in the 21st century as they did back then. (For a run-down of ten great Socrates quotes to reflect upon, check out Owen’s blog here). From his beliefs on philosophical ethics…