How did Egypt build the pyramids? It is a question that has excited the imagination of scholars and visitors for millennia. Now papyri documenting work on the Great Pyramid are revealing fresh insights into construction work. Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner told Matthew Symonds how combining text and archaeology can…
A rare example of Upper Palaeolithic portable art has been found at an open-air site in south-eastern France. Bellegarde, located between Nîmes and Arles, was discovered in 2015 by Inrap archaeologists. Excavations across c.2,000m2 of the multi-phase site have produced evidence of occupation at many intervals throughout history, from the…
A recent study has determined that a leather saddle found in north-western China may be the oldest surviving example currently known. Exactly when horse-riding and the use of saddles began is still a subject of some debate, but the latest research suggests that at least some people were riding horses…
Archaeological surveys in the Carangas region of highland Bolivia have identified a previously unrecognised concentration of religious sites built by the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the area, including one site with characteristics currently unique in the Andes. The survey identified 135 circular sites located on hilltops, each defined by concentric walls…
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological discoveries from across the globe.…
Analysis of pottery from the Caribbean island of Isla de Mona, part of the Puerto Rican archipelago, is shedding new light on food and drink practices on the island at the time of its early colonisation, including what may be the earliest evidence of wine-drinking in the Americas. Isla de…
In 2018, a rusty lump of more than 400 fragments of iron was discovered in Germany at Kalkriese, the site of the Varus Battle, where a catastrophic defeat was inflicted on Rome in AD 9 (see CWA 104). In the five years that have passed since this material was found,…
More still to uncover at Pompeii While investigations at Pompeii have been ongoing for centuries, much of the site remains unexplored, and new excavations have recently begun in one such previously unexamined section. This new project aims to uncover an area of around 3,200m2 – roughly the size of a…
In the 4th to 6th centuries AD, Persia was under attack from the north by the ‘White Huns’ and other powerful groups of steppe warriors. Persia’s response was to create a massive fortification belt – unsurpassed in scale anywhere in the ancient and medieval world, with only the possible exception…
• Rethinking the role of Persian and Greek luxury
• Investigating the transition to settled and farming lifestyles on the Konya Plain
• Exploring Persia’s northern defences in late antiquity
• The archaeological gems of Greece’s forgotten highlands
• Grama Bay: a crossroads in the Mediterranean…
This year’s overall winner is Nickolas Warner’s photo of the West Cemetery of Meroë, Sudan.…
The image was chosen as the winner of the CWA Photo of the Year 2023 Competition (sponsored by Ace Cultural Tours).…
Who was the Ancient Egyptian god of the sun?…
The way these features changed in size and shape across ancient human species can provide important information about how their skulls changed over time…
A round-up of some of the latest archaeological discoveries from across the globe.…
The Konya Plain presents an extraordinary glimpse of what the shift from a mobile existence to Neolithic lifestyles could mean for individuals. Douglas Baird, Ian Hodder, and Michele Massa share some exciting results from the long-running investigations of a set of sites in central Anatolia.…
Review by Matthew Symonds When we think of Alexander the Great, it is his exploits as an adult that spring to mind. He is the audacious leader who landed an army in Asia at the age of 21 in a bid to bring down the Achaemenid empire. Breathtaking victories and…
Archaeologists have discovered a settlement site belonging to the builders of some of Europe’s earliest Neolithic monuments.…
The archaeological gems on show in a neglected region of Greece help to shed light on the success of Alexander the Great, as Alex Rowson reveals.…
We all know that the finer things in life can transmit messages about wealth and status. In the epic struggles between the Persians and Greeks in the 1st millennium BC, though, luxury came to mean so much more, as Jamie Fraser told Matthew Symonds.…
The excavations are only in their early stages, but already signs of the upper parts of ancient buildings are beginning to emerge.…