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 […]
Turkey
Preview: Rethinking the Islamic world
A fresh approach to a celebrated collection On 18 October 2018, the new Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World will open its doors to visitors at the British Museum. CWA was invited to take a look behind the scenes as installation of the objects was under way. How do you tackle a subject as […]
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How did Romans drive around their cities? While Classical authors had plenty to say about the coarse manners of the muleteers using the streets, they were less interested in setting down the rules of the road. Was it just a free-for-all? Subtle traces worn into the streets of Pompeii by passing carts suggest otherwise. Our […]
Byzantine Ephesus: Life in the city after Empire
The grand architectural monuments of Ephesus attest to its glory days as a sophisticated metropolis of the Roman Empire. But what happened when the Empire ended in the 4th century AD? Following recent excavation, Sabine Ladstätter and Michaela Binder reveal new evidence of life in the city during the turbulent days of Byzantine rule. Visitors […]
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At Pylos in Greece, archaeologists have uncovered that increasingly rare phenomenon: an untouched Bronze Age burial, replete with rich grave goods. But this Mycenaean princely tomb, discovered next to the Palace of Nestor, is causing a stir for another reason: many of the beautiful high-status burial gifts reflect the Minoan culture of the island of […]
NEWS: Death of a Byzantine Mother
An early 13th-century AD skeleton found on the outskirts of ancient Troy has yielded preserved bacterial DNA from a deadly maternal infection – an unparalleled find. The genetic material came from two calcified nodules located at the base of the chest of a 30-year-old pregnant woman discovered in a stone-lined grave by archaeologists affiliated with […]
From England to Turkey: Ancient Funerary Vessel Returns Home
In an era of widespread looting and illicit antiquities trade, it seems rarer and rarer that good-hearted people stand up for the cultural heritage of another country. But then again, there are people like Thelma Bishop of Gatley and Jason Wood of Studio Ceramics at Adam Partridge Auctioneers and Valuers in Macclesfield (both in north-west […]
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Crossing the Caucasus, Europe’s highest mountain range, is not for the faint-hearted, and nowhere is so bleak and so inhospitable as Dariali Gorge. It is here, legend tells, that Prometheus endured his cyclical punishment for stealing fire from the gods. And through here the Huns forced their way south to plunder the riches of the […]
Germanicia Mosaics
Aysegul Gurgezoglu Tuzun visits Kahramanmaraş Archaeological Museum in Turkey Germanicia, beneath the modern city of Kahramanmaraş in southern Turkey, played host to many civilisations during a long and illustrious lifetime that stretches back to the Stone Age. Hittites, Urartians, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and Seleucan kings have all ruled here, each conquering and renaming this important city, […]
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Metropolis, not Superman’s home town but the Ionian City of the Mother Goddess, was a major Classical city established in Anatolia during the 3rd century BC. Crowned by an acropolis, it lies above fertile plains on the road to Ephesus, its magnificent monumental architecture testament to the sophistication of its wealthy citizens. So why has nobody heard of it? Serdar […]
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The spectacular discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 brought the 18th Dynasty teenage pharaoh 20th-century celebrity status, and inspired generations of future Egyptologists. His stepmother, Queen Nefertiti, is equally famous: her limestone bust, found at Amarna and now at the Neues Museum in Berlin, is as recognisable the world over as Tutankhamun’s golden burial mask. But her tomb is yet […]
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The spectacular untouched tomb of Prince Liang Zhuang, favourite brother of the Ming emperor Xuande, has been hailed as China’s greatest discovery for a century. Not only was the treasure found in the burial chamber among the richest ever recovered, but the dazzling jewels that adorn the artefacts are evidence of expeditions undertaken by one of the most famous […]
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