• Ann

    Roman Food at the British Museum – Cooking the Apicius Recipes

    Nowadays nobody could imagine Italian cuisine without tomatoes, aubergine, potatoes, maize or pasta as we know it today. The ancient Romans had none of those ingredients available to them. Then what did they eat (besides flamingo)? I visited the ‘Feasting’ event at the British Museum to find out. In the early years of the ancient kingdom of Rome, dining habits were quite alike for all Romans, rich or poor: breakfast (or ientaculum) in the morning, a small lunch at noon and the main meal of the day, the cena, in the evening. Barely any food was roasted; instead the food…

  • site

    Phoebe A Hearst Museum of Anthropology

    Attribution: Martha Nell G Key Dates 1901 – The Phoebe A Hearst Museum of Anthropology was founded Berkeley United States Key People Phoebe A Hirst George Reisner The Museum was founded in 1901 by Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who also funded George Reisner’s exhibitions. Today, the Hearst houses the oldest and largest anthropological collection in the Western US, preserving and interpreting a global record of material culture as represented by more than 3.8 million catalogued objects, the largest of which are the California collections. The Hearst Museum has an extensive collection of approximately 20,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts, with a special emphasis on predynastic…

  • sean-williams

    University of Hamburg Fighting to Save Egyptology Department

    The University of Hamburg’s Egyptology department is facing a last-chance vote to avoid oblivion. The department, one of Germany’s most prestigious, is facing the axe for economic reasons. But a petition organised by protesters outside the city’s Tutankhamun: His Tomb and his Treasures exhibition has gathered over 66,000 signatures, meaning the department’s future is now in the hands of an internal vote. The department’s closure would be a body blow for Egyptology in Germany, which remains popular thanks to world-renowned museums like the Neues in Berlin, and great artefacts such as the Bust of Nefertiti, the home of which has…

  • review

    A Walk Along the Wall: A Journey Along Hadrian’s Wall

    by Hunter Davies Frances Lincoln (2009) 9/10 Hunter Davies has hit upon the right note as he strides along the path of Hadrian’s Wall for A Walk Along the Wall. Davies is a well-known writer, journalist and broadcaster who grew up in Carlisle, which forms part of the end of the Western section of the Wall. This is a revised edition of his original 1974 release, A Walk Along the Wall, which was the result of Davies’ walk along the wall, accompanied for much if it by an even earlier account called The History of the Roman Wall, published in 1802…

  • site

    Sir Robert Ho Tung Library

    Attribution: Patrick Yeung Key Dates Please fill in Macau China Sir Robert Ho Tung Library is a public library in Macau, China. It is located in St. Augustine’s Square in the Historic Centre of Macau, a UNESCO world heritage site. The building was constructed before 1894 and was owned by Dona Carolina Cunha. Later the mansion was purchased by Hong Kong businessman Sir Robert Ho Tung in 1918 as a retreat and he lived there between 1941 and 1945. He passed away in 1955 and the building was presented to the Government for conversion to a public library in accordance…

  • Ann

    ‘Atlantis – The Evidence’ with Bettany Hughes to air on BBC Two

    Historian Bettany Hughes will star in Timewatch Special ‘Atlantis: The Evidence’, to premire on BBC Two next week. She’ll be tracing the origins of the Atlantis myth and presenting evidence that the Thera eruption inspired Plato’s account of the mystical land. 2,400 years ago Greek philosopher Plato wrote of an ancient island civilisation of unparalleled wealth and splendour, which was struck by earthquakes and floods and was swallowed up by the sea in one grievous day and night. But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in…

  • michael-kan

    After Bowers Museums, Tarim Mummies move to Houston Museum of Natural Science

    One of the biggest archaeological discoveries ever made in China landed in America earlier this year. A trio of Tarim Mummies was brought to the United States for the first time in a special exhibit at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. The mummies are renowned for their unique appearance: while the ancient bodies were found well-preserved in Chinas western region, some of them bear more of a physical resemblance to early Europeans. People will have until July 25 to view the ancient bodies, but the American public will have two more chances to view the exhibit later this…

  • sean-williams

    Prehistoric Gilf Kebir Cave Paintings to Unlock Secrets of Ancient Egypt

    Prehistoric cave painters in the Sahara Desert gave rise to ancient Egyptian civilisation, according to a German archaeological team. The paintings in a caves in Gilf Kebir, a vast sandstone plateau near the Egyptian-Libyan border, may be over 400 miles from the River Nile. But the team claims it was once a thriving community which later spread east to create Egypt’s famous cities and landmarks. The plateau, a Martian landscape the size of Switzerland, is home to two famous caves, the ‘Cave of the Swimmers’ and the ‘Cave of the Beasts’ – Watch our amazing video of the caves and…

  • andrew-westbrook

    Uluru Rock Climb Claims Another Life

    Whether it has been called Uluru, Ayers Rock, or simply the Rock, Australias giant monolith has been the countrys spiritual heart for many thousands of years. But the death of a tourist on the site last month has reignited a heated controversy that just refuses to go away. The traveller was a 54-year-old man from the Australian state of Victoria. He collapsed and died while on his way down from the top of Uluru a steep, one-hour climb which is permitted by Australian but not Aboriginal law. Many myself included would argue that the death should not have happened at…

  • owenjarus

    Toronto G20 Summit: Terracotta Warriors to Guard ROM

    Its confirmed the Terracotta Warriors show will be opening on June 26at the RoyalOntario Museum, inToronto rightat the startof a G20 summit. It will be the largest Terracotta Warriors show ever to hit North America. Featuring 250 artefacts, including 16 human terracotta figures. While the Terracotta Warriors show will be opening many other venues will be closing. The CN Tower will be closed, the University of Toronto campus (which surrounds the museum) will be shut down and even the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team have moved their weekend home games to Philadelphia. A security cordon will also be in place…