The small size of the Cycladic island of Delos belies its significance in the ancient world, both as a major sanctuary and as a thriving port. According to myth, it was on this remote and rocky pocket of land in the Aegean that Leto, pregnant by Zeus and persecuted by his wife Hera, took refuge […]
Issues
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Object Lesson: Serabit Sphinx
What is it? This small Egyptian figure, carved out of red sandstone around 1800 BC, depicts a familiar mythical creature: the sphinx. It was perhaps a votive offering to the goddess Hathor; Egyptian hieroglyphs inscribed on the sphinx’s right shoulder read ‘beloved of Hathor, mistress of turquoise’. The nose is broken, the head has been […]
The Palpa figures
Survey near the town of Palpa, Peru, has revealed a wealth of geoglyphs. Are they older than their celebrated neighbours at Nasca? And were they aimed at a very different audience?
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The mysterious images on the Nasca plateau, Peru, have captured countless imaginations. But where did this tradition of planting pictures in the earth come from? A curious congregation of figures and beasts, clustered around the nearby city of Palpa, seems to have been crafted before their famous neighbours. As new survey reveals further examples of […]
Travel: Discovering Spain
Launching the Palarq Award CWA’s editor-in-chief Andrew Selkirk takes us behind the scenes of a new archaeological award ‘Would you like to be a judge for a new Spanish archaeological award?’ I was asked. ‘The judging will be held in Barcelona, the award will be presented in Madrid, and we will fly you out and […]
Richard Hodges: The Battle of Monte Cassino
Driving past Monte Cassino many years ago with the late Mark Pluciennik, professor at Leicester University and one of the most cerebral archaeologists I have known, I pointed out the Benedictine monastery. Mark replied with words I’ve never forgotten: My father was with the Poles who captured the monastery, and my uncle, his brother, as […]
Review: Pompeii, a different perspective
Pompeii, A Different Perspective: via dell’Abbondanza – a long road, well travelledJennifer F Stephens and Arthur E StephensLockwood Press, £40ISBN 978-1937040789Review by: Lucia Marchini The ruins of Pompeii are among the most familiar sights of the ancient world, and the longest street in the Roman city – via dell’Abbondanza, which runs from the forum to […]
Review: Connected Communities
Connected Communities: networks, identity, and social change in the ancient Cibola worldMatthew A PeeplesUniversity of Arizona Press, $60ISBN 978-0816535682Review by: Deborah L Huntley Matthew Peeples opens his book with a question that nearly every archaeologist has heard at one time or another when engaging the public at a site visit: ‘Who were the people who […]
Review: 24 Hours in Ancient Egypt
24 Hours in Ancient Egypt: a day in the life of the people who lived thereDonald P RyanMichael O’Mara Books, £12.99ISBN 978-1782439110Review by: Matthew Symonds Ancient Egypt still exudes an aura of mystery. Visitors have been enchanted by its monuments for millennia, but the culture that created them can be harder to bring into focus. […]
Easter Island: where to build a monument
A new study proposes links between the locations of Easter Island’s famous ahu and moai and freshwater sources. Robert J DiNapoli discusses the results and their implications. Easter Island, called Rapa Nui by its inhabitants, represents one of the most remarkable cases of ancient monument construction known in the world. Around the 13th century AD, […]
Art meets archaeology
A fresh perspective on Pompeii and Herculaneum In the wake of the highly successful Expanded Interiors exhibition at Pompeii and Herculaneum, Catrin Huber and Ian Haynes reflect on what contemporary fine-art practice can reveal about Roman decoration. For many visitors, a trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum is all about the art. Countless ancient cities were […]
CWA Photo of the Year Competition 2019 – Winners Announced
This year’s photo competition has seen an outstanding range of archaeological images from around the world flood into the CWA office. We’ve found ourselves transported to remote excavations, magnificent monuments, and spectacular sites near and far through the talented work of our well-travelled readers. Our judge, renowned archaeological photographer Adam Stanford of Aerial-Cam, has cast […]
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