Welcome to the first edition of CWA for 2006. We start the year in true style with Qatna, a Syrian site that defies imagination. There, archaeologists have made the once-in-a-lifetime find, uncovering untouched royal tombs concealed beneath a Bronze Age palace. The tombs boast splendid gold, precious jewellery, and other ancient treasures, which have lain hidden since the day of their abandonment following the destruction of the palace – probably by the Hittites in 1340 BC.
From royal tombs in Syria, we turn up the heat and move south to look at the civilisation most famed for its tombs: Ancient Egypt. Here, Egyptologist Nigel Strudwick draws on his excavation at the Theban tomb of a high official, Senneferi, to explore exactly how