We, as modern humans, tend to look at ancient art with a 21st-century mindset. It is all too easy to stare (in…
Paul Zanker’s Pompeii: public and private life (Harvard, £15.95) is another book in the same vein. The German author is an archaeology…
Interpreting Pompeii Many of the older studies of Pompeii seem rather dry today. Architecture, mosaics and frescoes were classified into types. Houses…
The crisis in Vesuvian archaeology runs deep. Pompeii is fast degrading, with walls crumbling, frescoes erased by the sun, plaster dropping off…
The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt Ed. Bill Manley, Thames and Hudson, £24.95 Were the pyramids built by slaves? Did the…
The Archaeology of Christianity in Africa Niall Finneran (Tempus £19.99) The Archaeology of Christianity in Africa covers a wide span. It begins…
Lost Civilisations looks at some 20 archaeological sites from around the world. The author has a wide selection, with five from America,…
Origins of Ancient Egypt How did ancient Egypt reach the point of take-off? In Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New discoveries that…
The Chauvet Cave The discovery of the Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche valley in the south of France has proved to be…
The decipherment of Minoan Linear B by architect Michael Ventris is one of the great dramas of 20th century archaeology. But who…
What is the biggest leap forward ever to have taken place in the history of humanity? Steven Mithen, Professor of Early Prehistory…
How many Egyptian gods and goddesses were there? In The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Richard Wilkinson, Professor at the…