Current World Archaeology 136
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Discovering Denmark: From prehistoric burials to Viking Age power architecture and beyond
Denmark is home to many archaeological marvels, including both renowned sites and world-class museums. Olympia Bobou, Ilaria Bucci, and Rubina Raja are our guides to the wealth of heritage that the country has to offer.
Surveying Falerii Novi: Rethinking the development of a Roman town
Surveying an ancient town in Italy has presented fresh insights into a key moment for Roman urbanism. Matthew Symonds spoke to Martin Millett about what can be learnt from studying an entire townscape.
Petra in the Accounts of Western Travelers: Selected Narratives from the Nineteenth Century
Review by David J Breeze John William Burgon’s description of Petra as ‘the rose-red city, half as old as time’ dates to 1845, well within the timeframe covered in this book. It
Seasons and the city
Even reputable observers like Pliny the Younger often ended up at the mercy of the competence of later scribes. As his writings only survive as copies, it may be no more than a scribal slip of the hand that immortalised August as the month when Pompeii met its fate.
Van Archeology and Ethnography Museum
A new museum in Van, Turkey, explores the rich history of the area. Nick Kropacek visited to find out more.
Under the Old Fort of Zanzibar: exploring the origins of Stone Town
Timothy Power and Mark Horton return to the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar, to discuss the site’s Swahili origins.
Conjuring Mongolian deer stones: biographical statuary of Bronze Age Central Asia and south Siberia
The enigmatic deer stones speckling the Mongolian steppe have long invited questions. Now fresh research is providing clues to why they were carved and what they may represent. William Fitzhugh and Richard Kortum, with Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav, share the story of these remarkable relics.
Genetic analysis shines new light on Neanderthal communities
Researchers conducted genetic analysis of bone and tooth remains from 13 Neanderthals from two sites in the foothills of the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia.
The man in the parcel: explaining a puzzling burial rite
The discovery of a burial in pride of place in Gårdby Church, Sweden, marked the beginning of an archaeological detective story. What could explain the unusual treatment of the man’s body? Caroline Arcini investigates.
Roman Aquileia: the impenetrable city-fortress, a sentry of the Alps
Review by Carolynn Roncaglia In AD 452, Attila the Hun led his forces over the eastern Alps into Italy. Straightaway they besieged the city of Aquileia, which for more than 600 years
Linguistics, genetic links, and a long-lost ‘emperor’
A long-lost Roman emperor. Who could resist such a headline? The media lapped it up. But how could anyone lose an emperor in the first place? It turns out that this emperor was self-declared, so he wasn’t really an emperor at all
Hominin footprints in Spain 200,000 years older than previously thought
New analysis has revealed that the layer containing the footprints dates to c.295,8000 years ago.
Ivory comb with rare Canaanite inscription
Until now, inscriptions found in the Canaanite alphabet have been limited to two or three words; this is the first meaningful Canaanite inscription found in Israel.
A Byzantine business district
Excavations in the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey have uncovered the remains of early Byzantine shops and businesses. Archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) working this year in Domitian
Funerary finds in Fayum
Inside the funerary structure, archaeologists found a number of rock-cut and stone-lined burial chambers containing a variety of burials, ranging from simple interments to examples of high-quality embalming.
Palaeolithic Rock Art of the Italian Peninsula
Review by George Nash Until relatively recently, European Palaeolithic rock art outside the Franco-Cantabrian area (south-west France and northern Spain) was considered a rare occurrence. This belief was partly based on harsh
Current World Archaeology 116
CWA 116 Crossword, and answers to 115
Across 8 Ancient Mesopotamian temple similar to a pyramid (8) 9 Legendary island where King Arthur was taken after his final battle (6) 10 Ancient Egyptian funerary god, one of the Four
CWA 116 Letters
Your observations, your objections, and your opinions: send them to cwaletters@world-archaeology.com
Decorated ivories
What is it? This collection of decorated ivory plaques found in Jerusalem was probably once inlaid in a piece of ornate wooden furniture. The plaques, which are believed to date to the
Pirates, Portuguese, and ladies in purdah: new discoveries at the Old Fort of Stone Town
Timothy Power and Mark Horton present some of the latest discoveries made during recent excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar.
World news in brief: Ancient octopus lures and Egyptian cheese
A round up of some of the latest archaeological news across the globe, including the discovery of 2,600-year-old remains of cheese at Saqqara, the oldest known octopus lures in the world, and the launch of Montenegro’s first maritime archaeology research unit.