• sean-williams

    Lord Norwich and History’s Greatest Cities

    We’ve already heard Lord Norwich‘s warnings about the perilous future of his beloved Venice (watch this video). But throughout human history, what have been the planet’s greatest cities – and how did they come to be? Lord Norwich’s latest book, The Great Cities in History (see more info here) attempts to explain that over 300 pages of exquisite photography and expert opinion on 70 of man’s greatest settlements. Famed writers such as Simon Schama and Bettany Hughes lend their views on cities from Nineveh to New York, with forewords on the ancient world and beyond by Lord Norwich himself. Primordial…

  • wadders

    Take Only Photos (But Ask First!): World Monuments Fund Guidelines

    Having been a tour leader for an adventure travel company, I was interested to read the recently published World Monuments Fund (WMF) guidelines for sustainable tourism, all of which have been inadvertently followed for years by conscientious tourists and tour companies. Getting the Messages Across But what is blindingly obvious to some, it is definitely news to others. I do distinctly remember seeing in Karnak a large group with a very attractive young lady whose attire was more suited to a swimwear catwalk rather than viewing an ancient monument in Egypt. Whilst I watched with some bemusement at her rippling…

  • Ann

    Looted Iraqi Treasures? Covered up report reads Britain must return Schoyen Incantation Bowls

    An archaeological mystery may have come to an end, after an enquiry into the origin of 654 Aramaic incantation bowls from the Schyen Collection was finally made public. The report – recently placed in the House of Lords Library – states that bowls currently finding themselves in Britain were likely to have illegally been looted after the Gulf War and should be returned to Iraq. Commissioned by the University College in London in 2005, the results of the enquiry are that the bowls were stolen from the historical site of Babylon some time after the 1991 Gulf war, and that…

  • malcolmj

    How To Make A Mummy

    Want to know how to mummify a body but don’t know where to start?Well, you’ve come to the right place. Following on from our video featuring Dr Zahi Hawass, in which he gives Heritage Key a fascinating insight into how mummies are made (see the video embedded below), and an enlightening interview with Bob ‘Mr Mummy’ Briers on mummification, we’ve condensed millenia of wisdom into 7 not-so-easy and certainly not pleasant steps. Egyptian embalmers were masters of their craft, and while we possess a lot of clues about the long and laborious procedure they went through in order to ensure…

  • sean-williams

    Rock Art is ‘Ancient Doodling’, says Expert

    A leading language expert claims man’s first forays into the art world may be nothing more than ‘ancient doodles’. Dr Ekkehart Malotki, a professor at Northern Arizona University, told an audience at Deer Valley Rock Art Centre on Saturday the true meanings behind the world’s earliest images etched onto rocks will remain a mystery forever – and that they may have been spurred by nothing more than an inane desire to create. Malotki has laid out his theory in a book entitled ‘The Rock Art of Arizona: Art for Life’s Sake’. “The act of making the image was more important…

  • owenjarus

    Exclusive: New Discoveries at Snefru’s Pyramid at Seila

    The three day Egypt symposium, last weekend in Toronto, yielded a number of interesting finds. As Heritage Key has reported, researchers unravelled evidence showing that the husband of Djedmaatesankh, a mummy in the Royal Ontario museum, is now located in Chicago. Also, a large amount of info was presented on the discovery of an Amarna era fortress at Tell el-Borg. A detailed article on this can be seen here. Another key piece of research, released at the symposium,is an excavation project at the Seila pyramid. Professor Kerry Muhlestein, of Brigham Young University, delivered an update last weekend on research going…

  • Ann

    China’s Inner Mongolia: Han Dynasty ruins discovered and Great Wall under threat

    Ruinsfrom a Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) cityhave been discovered in Wuyuan County, Hetao Plain, Chinas Inner Mongolia. Its said that the scale of the city ruins is rarely seen in Hetao Plain. In a mean while, the gold mining company is been investigated over irreparable damage done to 100 metersof theGreat Wall in their quest for the precious metal. A new Han City discovered in Wuyuan County Thenewly discovered city ruins are located in Taal Town of Wuyuan County, Bayannaoer City in Chinas Inner Mongolia and were once covered with grassland. The city wall was about 2…

  • owenjarus

    Exclusive: New Discoveries at Snefru’s Pyramid at Seila

    The three day Egypt symposium, last weekend in Toronto, yielded a number of interesting finds. As Heritage Key has reported, researchers unravelled evidence showing that the husband of Djedmaatesankh, a mummy in the Royal Ontario museum, is now located in Chicago. Also, a large amount of info was presented on the discovery of an Amarna era fortress at Tell el-Borg. A detailed article on this can be seen here. Another key piece of research, released at the symposium, is an excavation project at the Seila pyramid. Professor Kerry Muhlestein, of Brigham Young University, delivered an update last weekend on research going…

  • sean-williams

    Dam Floods Threaten Radar-Revealed Lost Syrian City

    An ancient Mesopotamian city discovered recently in Syria could be lost forever, experts fear. The circular city, dating back 4,500 years in the enclave of Tall Qabr, was found using cutting edge geo-lasertechnology. Its location along the Euphrates River means it may hold the key to boundaries between the Mari Kingdom and its southern Babylonian neighbours, in modern Iraq. Yet the city may be lost forever, thanks to flooding from a modern dam. Its Spanish discoverers, from the universities of Coruna and Vigo, have hastily prepared a report for UNESCO in the hope that it can send scores of archaeologists…

  • images

    Satellite Image: The Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza

    The Pyramids of Giza at the Giza Plateau, Egypt, are one of the most famous sights in the world. It’s probably photographed from every possible angle from the ground, but often do you see it from above?Sure, Google Earth might give you an insight into aerial photography, but GeoEye has kindly given Heritage Key amazing satellite imagery at a high resolution, allowing us to see the pyramids as if we were in the space shuttle (or an alien space craft). Giza is, of course, home to the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza. Towering at 138.8 metres, it is the only…