When imagining the ancient city of Petra, it is the awe-inspiring façade of the monument known today as the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) that…
Somaliland is not Somalia. Somaliland is in the northern part of Somalia, occupying the area of a former British colony. After gaining…
In the morning of 15 July 1099, the starving knights of the First Crusade broke through Jerusalem’s defences and stormed the Holy…
About ten years ago a collector of ancient Indonesian art contacted my husband and me to ask our opinion on a group…
Most people today probably think Marathon has something to do with the Ancient Greek Olympics. In fact, there was no marathon race…
Rome had a problem. The Tiber River is too shallow for maritime craft. So Roman vessels plying the Mediterranean routes had to…
The story of the rise of Rome is best studied not in the city itself, but in the area surrounding it. It…
Should you be caught in a heavy rain storm in modern Ercolano, you will understand why the local residents talk about ‘lava’…
Rome is an iconic city. From Grand Tour etchings to nocturnal portraits of the cityscape, Rome’s monuments have become familiar images. Yet…
In his writings, Strabo explains that the city of Metropolis is 120 stadia from Ephesus - and indeed it lies about 35km…
The site has become famous partly for its large size (about 5,000-8,000 people lived there) and long occupation (the site is Neolithic…
Laodicea is well sited on a high plateau and surrounded by the rivers Lycos, Kapros and Asopos. Little wonder the city has…
From one iconic archaeological site to another, we end this round-up at Troy, on the western coast of Turkey. The site was…