• malcolmj

    New Species of Human Ancestor Discovered in Africa is “Rosetta Stone” of Genus Homo

    Archaeologists in South Africa have discovered a previously unknown species of human ancestor in the form of the 1.9 million-year-old partial skeletons of an adult female and a young male hidden deep in an underground cave outside Johannesburg. Theyre thought to represent a key period of evolutionary transition between ape and man. The find is believed to be so important that the lead scientist behind their research has described the species dubbed Australopithecus sediba as potentially being the Rosetta Stone that unlocks our understanding of the genus Homo. The find comes hot on the heels of the discovery of the…

  • sean-williams

    Torah without the Bora: The Living Torah Museum, New York

    The likes of the British Museum, Louvre and Metropolitan may get the lion’s share of publicity, artefacts and controversy, but small museums are the staple of any dedicated culture lover. And while meandering through the interweb I came across Brooklyn’s Living Torah Museum, one of New York’s quaintest collections. While its illustrious downtown neighbours are afforded giant beaux arts buildings, the Living Torah Museum is in a private home in Borough Park, 1601 41st Street. Its surroundings may not be as epic as most museums, but its collection is not to be sniffed at: since its inception curator Rabbi Shimon…

  • malcolmj

    Alex Reid to Play Intellectual Caveman in New BBC Historical Costume Drama

    Knuckle-dragging, bare-chested, monosyllabic men who once had to rely on violence and brute strength to get by arent as stupid as we think at least judging by the news that ex-cage fighter Alex ‘Mr Katie Price’ Reid is to try his hand at acting, in a new BBC historical costume drama called 200BC. Oh, and cavemen were quite clever too it seems. Reids role is going to be as a prehistoric intellectual in the show, which will be based on growing evidence that Homo sapiens actually lived relatively sophisticated lives, contrary to our idea of them as club-wielding simpletons little…

  • bija-knowles

    ‘Vanished Rome’ Turns up on Facebook

    A page on social networking site Facebook has been gathering and publishing historical photos of the city of Rome. Roma Sparita (‘Vanished Rome’) has so far clocked up more than 64,500 fans since January (it’s growing rapidly) and has more than 7,200 ‘vintage’ photos online. The site is becoming far more than its four administrators ever expected. Most of the photos show Rome throughout the 20th century (up until 1990) and there are plenty of iconic scenes of people in the 50s and 60s riding Vespas or in vintage Fiats. Some of the photos also date back as far as…

  • sean-williams

    Ancient Astronomy: The Mad Greek Myth of the Milky Way

    According to Thesaurus.com, ‘moo-juice’ is a valid synonym for milk, a term soon to enter my local pub’s lexicon. I was trying to find something snappy for the title of this blog, on one of the best ancient myths I’ve ever heard. ‘Mad’ will do. Our next Ancient World in London video homes in on ancient astronomy, featuring famed astronomer Paul Murdin. Paul gave a special HKlecture on his book Secrets of the Universe last month, catching up with me afterwards for a chat on camera. And while the 25,000-year-old Ishango Bone might just be my favourite-ever ancient artefact, a…

  • mary-harrsch

    Spartacus: Blood and Sand is Dripping With Blood, Gore and Sex

    “To get attention these days to penetrate the market, you’ve got to be pretty outrageous and prepared to go there!” exclaims Lucy Lawless, one of the stars of the new STARZ miniseries Spartacus: Blood and Sand. After watching ten episodes of the new series, I would have to agree that the word “outrageous” was one that certainly popped into my head! I had read that the network executives at STARZ had told series producers that they wanted a production with more sex and violence than any network had ever produced and from the looks of things, they pretty much got…

  • event

    Live DJ event March 7 in Heritage Key Virtual

    Please join us on Sunday 7th of March in the Welcome area of Heritage Key at 7pm London time for two hours of Live DJ music. Prad will be our wonderful DJ with his unique playlist and will be there to host for two hours of fun . If you are already a registered to Heritage Key please use the following link to meet us directly in the Welcome Area . Don’t worry if you are not registered but would like to join us then please follow the easy steps and create your avatar now . Once you are a…

  • bija-knowles

    New York’s Met Returns Looted Morgantina Treasure to Italy

    It’s not often that stories of looting have a happy ending, but at the weekend a collection of illegally excavated silverware from the third century BC went on display for the first time back in their home-country of Italy. The treasure of Morgantina, as the collection is known, has been returned to Rome by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been housed since 1982. How the pieces got to the Met is a dramatic and nebulous story of illegal antiquities smuggling and dodgy dealing. American antiquities dealer Robert Hecht sold the pieces to the Met in two…

  • owenjarus

    King Tut Stays Put: Toronto’s Tutankhamun Exhibit Extended Until May

    King Tut will be staying in Toronto for two more weeks. The Art Gallery of Ontario announced today that his departure will be delayed until May 2 due to demand for the exhibition. The shows next stop is Denver the start date of which remains unaffected. Visiting hours for the Toronto show have also been extended to accommodate the crowds. To accommodate weekend visitors, the Gallery has extended the exhibitions hours on Friday and Saturday evenings. Visitors will now be able to purchase tickets for entry at 4:30 pm, 5:00 pm, and 5:30 pm. The King Tut galleries will remain…

  • malcolmj

    Science Versus the Druids: Campaigners Lose Fight For Reburial of Charlie the Avebury Skeleton

    The 5,000-year-old skeleton of a young girl known as Charlie, found buried on a hilltop at Avebury in Wiltshire, will remain on public display at the nearby Alexander Keiller Museum where it has resided for 50 years.A campaign for its reburial by the Council of British Druid Orders (CoBDO) was defeated overwhelmingly by weight of government guidelines and expert and public opinion. The CoBDO argue that its disrespectful for the bones of our ancient ancestors to be stared at or stored in cardboard boxes in dark basements when not the immediate subject of study. In 2006 they selected Charlie who…