Working at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, André Veldmeijer and Salima Ikram came across an old photograph illustrating a forgotten collection of ancient Egyptian leather horse-trappings belonging to the same museum. Suddenly, they had a new and exciting challenge on their hands.
Smyrna
In Hellenistic and Roman Anatolia, Ephesus and Smyrna (modern Izmir) vied with each other. Ephesus became the more important city but Smyrna’s past is every bit as illustrious as that of its neighbour.
Ephesus
A jigsaw puzzle where 90% of the pieces survive, but there are 120,000 of them – and most the same colour.
Clazomenae
The early history of Ionian city-states remains an enigma of Anatolian archaeology, but here at Clazomenae archaeologists are uncovering evidence for the very beginnings of Ionian civilisation.
What’s new in Pompeii
January 7, 2012
Filed Under: Issue 51, Celebrating World Heritage, Features, Issues, Italy
Pompeii and its neighbour Herculaneum are among the oldest archaeological sites in the world, but today they risk destruction by exposure to the elements, tourist traffic, and time. Yet these are not new problems. As early as the 18th century, excavators applied varnish to wall-paintings in an attempt to prevent their decay; different types of conservation work have taken place on site ever since. The challenge now is to ensure the preservation of these sites while continuing investigations into the town, its inhabitants, and its history. How can we preserve Pompeii’s past for our future? And what more is there to learn?
France: la Glacerie
La Glacerie in Cherbourg, Normandy, is the first WWII Prisoner of War camp for German soldiers to be excavated and studied. How does living memory measure up to archaeological research? Robert Early compares the hard evidence with the witness accounts.
Aegae: Capital of Macedonian Kings
January 7, 2012
Filed Under: Issue 51, Celebrating World Heritage, Features, Greece
In 1855, the young French archaeologist Léon Heuzey found the remains of a magnificent palace, concealed under a ruined chapel. The village nearby was called Palatitsia, a name that hints at its former regal glory. Could this be the palace of the ancient Macedonian kings? In issue #50 Andrew Selkirk told the story of how the tomb of Philip II of Macedon – father to Alexander the Great – was discovered here. Now, he returns to examine the rest of the site and shares its secrets with us.
Italy: Portus
Imperial Rome’s mighty maritime gate at Portus was revealed in CWA 42. Now, Simon Keay reports on an exciting new discovery that may hold the key to the nature of this port: the giant military shipsheds of the Emperor’s fleet.
Turkey: Domuztepe
The popular image of Neolithic communities is of small hamlet-sized groups. Excavation at the vast settlement at Domuztepe has turned this notion on its head. What rules or rituals could have bound such a huge community together? Alexandra Fletcher and Stuart Campbell believe a macabre ‘death pit’ and mysterious red-clay terrace hold the clue.
India: Hampi
January 7, 2012
Filed Under: Issue 51, Celebrating World Heritage, Features, India
The former capital of one of the greatest and wealthiest empires of the Indian subcontinent for 300 years until its destruction in 1565 is facing a new and very modern danger: bulldozers. Paul Woodfield visited the site.
Vergina: Discovering a king’s tomb
Taking a bulldozer to open an ancient monument is not usually recommended. But, in 1977, that is exactly what Manolis Andronikos did. After considerable debate, he had come to the conclusion that the Great Mound at Vergina was actually the site of Aegae, the religious capital of Macedonia where Philip II, father of Alexander the [...]
Tigris Basin: before the flood
In the last 10 years, a flurry of archaeological excavation ahead of the completion of the Ilısu Dam on the River Tigris has surprised everyone with the sheer quantity and diversity of material uncovered. The Ziyaret Tepe Team reassess this little understood but soon to be lost region before it is too late.
Angkor Wat: Temple of Boom
November 7, 2011
Filed Under: Issue 50, Cambodia, Celebrating World Heritage, Features
The ancient temples of Angkor have endured nearly a millennium of conflict and warfare, but will this new visitor boom, asks Tom St John Gray, be the most deadly threat to their survival? The capital of a flourishing empire between the 9th and 15th centuries, Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South- east Asia. This year Cambodia invited visitors from around the world to enter the ‘Kingdom of Wonder’, and tourists responded in their millions.
Rouffignac rock art
A sequence of clear, parallel lines stands out brightly against the red clay wall at the entrance to Chamber A1 in Rouffignac Cave – about a metre off the floor, and drawn without the aid of torchlight. There has been much speculation as to the symbolic meaning and purpose of these fluted lines. Now, Leslie Van Gelder and Jessica Cooney believe they were made by a five-year-old girl, whose marks appear throughout the complex.
Patagonia: first people of Patagonia
Patagonia at the end of the Ice Age was not a pleasant place to live: it was a time of great climatic and environmental fluctuations, and, despite the thaw, much colder than today. Yet, into these uninviting conditions at the southern tip of the Americas, came the first early human societies. How did they survive such a bleak environment? Ariel Frank believes three sites in Patagonia have the answers.
Japan: Tidal Wave
Following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in Spring this year, archaeologist Simon Kaner insists there is much to celebrate about the country’s heritage – and much to mend.
Japan: Surviving the tsunami
The deadly wave that engulfed the northeastern coastline of Japan devastated many archaeological sites and museums. Prehistoric settlers along the coast chose higher ground for their sites, perhaps passing on knowledge of the danger from earlier tsunamis from generation to generation. CWA looks at a handful of these ancient sites.
Tagajo and Sendai
At first glance Japanese castles appeared to have weathered the centuries unscathed, but looks can be deceptive. Here Stephen Turnbull contrasts Sendai Castle’s picture- book fragility with the rather tougher existence in the earlier fort of Tagajo.
Iran: Persian Splendour
Three opulent palaces sit within a stone’s throw of each other, built when Persian kings ruled the greatest empire in the world, and destroyed when Alexander the Great swept through Persia. Who made them, and why? Hassan Karimian examines the evidence.
Water
Water is our most precious resource. Its scarcity and overabundance have determined our survival and shaped our society around the world throughout the ages. In his new book Elixir: a human history of water, Brian Fagan discusses the complex relationship between humans and water, and how the past provides valuable lessons for our future.
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