Beltane was an ancient Celtic festival which welcomed in the summer, celebrated before the Romanisation of Britain. It was honoured with fires, livestock breeding and marriage ceremonies. Today’s Beltane Fire Festival takes place on the 30th April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, and while a paean to the ancient traditions of the nation, is nothing more than a supposed resurrection of what happened all those years ago. The festival consists mainly of an incendiary procession whereby mytical characters like the Mary Queen, Green Man and Red Man are summoned, burned and resurrected. A fire arch and special bonfire are also…
-
-
Five years ago an archaeological team broke news of a major find that forever changed our views about the history of the Middle East. Researchers from the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, and the Department of Antiquities in Syria, announced in a press release that they had found the “earliest evidence for large scale organized warfare in the Mesopotamian world.” They had discovered that a city in Syria, named Hamoukar, had been destroyed in a battle that took place ca. 3500 BC by a hostile force. Using slings and clay bullets these troops took over the city, burning…
-
The cemetery at Saqqara is one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt. Over six kilometres long, it boasts thousands of underground burial sites, as well as the six-step Djoser pyramid – Egypt’s oldest pyramid. The ruins at Saqqara have long attracted the interest of explorers, grave-robbers and local people. Travellers first reported evidence of antiquities at Saqqara in the 16th century. The Djoser Pyramid and the smaller pyramids around it were hard to miss – but the size of the necropolis only became apparent with the advent of excavations in the 19th century. It was not until Napoleon…
-
by Christopher Kelly The Bodley Head (2008) 10/10 Attila the Hun, the ‘Scourge of God’, has become a byword for terror. Between 435 and 453, Attila established and maintained a large empire in central Europe, but he is best known for his campaigns against the Romans. By the 5th century, the Roman Empire – by then divided into east and west – was assailed from all sides. To the north, waves of migration had placed the empire’s frontiers under increasing strain. Attila took full advantage of the Romans’ predicament. The Huns launched devastating raids into Roman territory; burning cities, slaughtering…
-
Imagine getting your hands on King Tut’s mummy? Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have created a new – relatively – low-cost virtual reality device that allows users not only to see a three-dimensional image, but to ‘feel’ it too (watch the video). From the same two California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2) engineers who created the VR system NexCave comes a new and ‘affordable’ solution for handling three-dimensional virtual objects. Tom Defanti and Greg Dawe’s heads-up virtual reality device (HUVR in short) combines a consumer 3D HDTV panel with a half-silvered mirror to project any graphic image…
-
In 1972, the intact tomb of a noble lady of the Han dynasty was discovered at Mawangdui in the eastern outskirts of Changsha, China. Although eclipsed by the discovery of the life-sized terracotta warriors of Qin Shi Huang-di two years later, the Mawangdui tomb is still considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century and provided important insight into the lifestyle of the rich and famous of early Western Han society. The tomb was filled with food offerings and household items that Xin Zhui, the wife of the Chancellor or “Marquis” of the state of Changsha,…
-
People of the Earth An Introduction to World Prehistory by Brian Fagan The 13th edition of this internationally renowned text provides the only truly global account of human prehistory from the earliest times. Written in an accessible way, People of the Earth shows how today’s diverse humanity developed biologically and culturally over millions of years against a background of constant climatic change. Brian Fagan is one of the leading archaeological writers in the world and an internationally recognised authority on world prehistory. He studied archaeology and anthropology at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and then spent seven years in sub-Saharan Africa working in…
-
Dr Stephen Quirke is a lecturer of Egyptology at University College London, and curator of the Petrie Museum, named after the famous archaeologist William Flinders Petrie. Dr Quirke has written several books on Ancient Egypt; his main areas of interest being history of the state/institutionalisation; gender; Egyptian language; museology; and ethics in archaeology and anthropology. Heritage Key caught up with Dr Quirke to discuss the recent Egyptological Colloquium, the merits of smaller museums such as the Petrie, and his own fascination with the area. HK: What initially attracted you to the study of Ancient Egypt? SQ: The monumental displays in…
-
The Roman Forum by David Watkin A radically new look at the ruins of the centre of ancient Rome. The Roman Forum may be a highlight of the tourist route in Rome, but many visitors still find it a baffling and unwelcoming place. There can be few more historic places in the world. Caesar was cremated there. Charles V and Mussolini rode by it in triumph. Napoleon celebrated his Festival of Liberty there. David Watkin’s Forum is the site as it was famous for centuries, celebrated in the romantic views of the Grand Tour, not the archaeologists’ building site it…
-
Key Dates Tikal was at its height between 200 and 900 AD Tikal Guatemala Tikal, in the jungles of Guatemala is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-columbian Mayan civilization and was at its height between 200 and 900 AD. The park contains 222 square miles of jungle, and the residential area of Tikal itself covers 23 square miles encompassing 1000s of structures of which very few have been excavated. The University of Pennsylvania took 13 years to uncover 10 square miles of architectural remains, so there are most likely a number of structures in…