Laurence Earle

Taken in the 1940s, Kersting’s powerful black-and-white pictures document life among the much-persecuted Yazidi community in what is now the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. They include captivating portraits of individuals as well as stunning architectural views

These days, the rugged and beautiful Caucasus Mountains – which stretch almost 800 miles between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea – are sadly perhaps most closely associated with the vicious series of ethnic and territorial disputes that have flared up along Russia’s troubled southeastern border since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Very often, the stories we tell about archaeology are of objects being dug up, excavated, or otherwise unearthed. Sometimes, however, little actual digging is required, because the object being searched for has been there all along – right in front of the eye, hiding in plain sight, just waiting to be discovered.

As the UK’s most famous ancient monument, it is a sight familiar to millions around the world. But despite its popularity both as a tourist attraction and as an icon of Britishness, there is a sense in which Stonehenge has always felt strangely isolated.

With sea levels predicted to rise by as much as +2.0m by 2100, a recent UN study found many of the Mediterranean’s greatest archaeological sites to be at serious risk of damage or loss. This week on The Past, we look in detail at how one site – the magical Graeco-Roman city of Butrint in Albania – is planning to confront the challenges posed by our fast-changing environment.

Halfway between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, the Syrian desert city of Palmyra was once known as the ‘Venice of the sands’ – a name which reflected not only the magnificence of its architecture but also its importance as a trading centre for the camel caravans which for many centuries carried the riches of East and West along this stretch of the Silk Road.

Throughout history, military commanders have employed new tactics and groundbreaking technologies to gain an edge over their opponents. This week on The Past, we learn about the game-changing impact of the English longbow, as used to devastating effect against the French in the early part of the Hundred Years’ War.

Almost half a century before the ownership of slaves was finally outlawed across most of the British empire, a devout young student at St John’s College, Cambridge, entered an essay competition and

These days, John Craxton is perhaps best known for the vibrant, sun-drenched illustrations he produced as book jackets for his close friend, the travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor. As a young painter in the 1940s, however, he was a leading figure in the post-war British art scene, alongside Graham Sutherland, John Piper and Lucian Freud.

It is an argument that has become as traditional as turkey and mince pies. Where did the annual festival held primarily on 25 December and now celebrated by billions of people around the world really come from?