• malcolmj

    How did King Tut die? Cause of Death Established

    Hes the most famous figure in ancient Egyptian history, but theres still plenty of mystery surrounding King Tut. Who better to clear up a few of them for us than Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities? In part one of King Tut Revealed a four part video interview exclusive by Sandro Vannini Dr Hawass broaches the tricky and controversial subject of how the Boy King, whose tomb KV62 was famously discovered in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter in 1922, met his premature end in 1323 BC at just 19 years of…

  • site

    Taposiris Magna

    Attribution: Troels Myrup Abousir Egypt Key Dates The town was inhabited during the Predynastic era. Napoleon’s scholars recorded the town’s monuments in 1801. Key People Cleopatra, the famous queen of Egypt whose tomb is rumoured to be housed in Taposiris. Ptolemy II, who built a prominent tower at the site. Cleopatra Ptolemy II Philadelphus The ancient town and temple of Taposiris Magna is located on the banks of Lake Mariut, just west of Alexandria. In modern times the town was swallowed up by the metropolitan area of the city, and is now officially within the Alexandrian suburb of Abousir. In…

  • graecyn

    Preview: Terra Cotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC

    Last night, I had the amazing opportunity to join other fellow bloggers and photographers at the sneak-preview of the Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor exhibit. It is an amazing and awe-inspiring collection of detailed weaponry, life-size figures, limestone armor, and intricate details I’ve never had the priviledge to see first-hand before. I was immediately taken by the sheer size of the figures. On first entering the exhibit, you’re immediately met by a massive horse and calvary man that looms large in the entry room. The entire exhibit is bursting with the essence of ancient China from the…

  • owenjarus

    More Politics for Treasures of Afghanistan, but Ottawa Hopeful of End to Strike

    UPDATE – Chantal Schryer just emailed me. She says that, as of November 15 (three weeks into the exhibit) 7,711 people have seen the show. In an email she said. “It is important to note that November is a slower month in terms of visitors ship.It is like that every year. Regardless of that fact, as I told you yesterday, the exhibition is very popular and so far, thousands of people have come to see it and we expect many more. It is in fact the most popular exhibition right now.” —- As Heritage Key reported yesterday, it has been…

  • lyn

    10 Ways to Get Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

    The UNESCO World Heritage List is possibly the best known list, of anything, anywhere on Earth. One of UNESCO’s core projects, it is intended to identify and safeguard the world’s natural and cultural treasures. Listing by UNESCO is the ambition of many sites, large and small, around the world because it not only brings prestige and tourist dollars, but it also brings with it the clout of UNESCO and and expertise in the preservation and conservation of sites. Jethro Lennox is the publishing manager responsible for UNESCO‘s new The World’s Heritage: A Complete Guide to the Most Extraordinary Places, which features every UNESCO World Heritage…

  • images

    Satellite Image: The Roman Ruins of Leptis Magna

    Leptis Magna, which was opened to the public in 2005, represents some of the finest ruins of the Roman age. London-based professional photographer Herb Schmitz recently visited the area and took some fantastic images, and you should watch Heritage Key’s fascinating video interview with Herb as he shares some of his thoughts on his visit to this Libyan treasure. A view you most certainly don’t get to see very often is the satellite view, looking down onto these impressive Roman remains, and the town that has built nearby it. Thanks to Geoeye who have kindly contributed this amazing high resolution…

  • brian-dolan

    Brian Dolan’s blog

    Thirty years in the making, the 130 million euro New Acropolis Museum is a stunning, if controversial, addition to Athen’s famous architectural landscape and at the same time a provocative statement of intent by the Greek people. In a fascinating talk in Dublin last night, Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the new museum took an enthralled audience on a tour of the history, architecture and intentions of the spectacular building.

  • brian-dolan

    Controversy Present and Absent: Dimitrios Pandermalis Introduces the New Acropolis Museum

    Thirty years in the making, the 130 million euro New Acropolis Museum is a stunning, if controversial, addition to Athen’s famous architectural landscape and at the same time a provocative statement of intent by the Greek people. In a fascinating talk in Dublin last night, Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis, President of the new museum took an enthralled audience on a tour of the history, architecture and intentions of the spectacular building. The talk, entitled ‘Collections Present and Absent at the New Acropolis Museum, Athens‘ was hosted by the National Museum of Ireland, organised by the Irish Museums Association and was attended…

  • sean-williams

    Is Repatriation Good for Archaeology? Zahi Hawass’ Quest for Egypt’s Antiquities

    The opening of Berlin’s Neues Museum and its ceremonial re-unveiling of the Bust of Nefertiti has provided a stark contrast to the recent climate on the repatriation of ancient artefacts. At the forefront of the debate is Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA): marauding worldwide with dossiers in hand, strong-arming museums into giving Egypt back its most prized possessions. Dr Hawass even sent one of his antiquities droogs to Berlin this month with a letter for the Neues‘ director. One can imagine it won’t be a shining eulogy to his work. Dr Hawass’ Famous Five “We…

  • bija-knowles

    Vampires of Volterra: The Etruscan Roots of The Twilight Saga

    This week the film The Twilight Saga: New Moonis being released, fuelling vampire mania around the world. While teenagers go completely nuts over the film’s hunky vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) one wrote ‘bite me’ on her face as she queued with 5,000 others to see him in London last week other die-hard fans of the Twilight books, written by Stephenie Meyers, are also descending on the small hill-top town of Volterra, in Tuscany, where some of the action of the film is set (even though filming actually took place in Montepulciano, 70 miles away). As a result, hordes of teenagers…