Roman amphitheatre found in Switzerland
The Kaiseraugst amphitheatre was discovered in the Rheinfelden district at a site known to have been the location of a Roman quarry
World Archaeology
Archaeological study of human habitation in space launched
January 2022 saw the launch of a new phase in the first ever archaeological study of a human habitat in space. The project, which began in 2015, is led by Dr Alice Gorman at Flinders University and Dr Justin Walsh…
Religious Practice and Cultural Construction of Animal Worship in Egypt from the Early Dynastic to the New Kingdom: ritual forms, material display, historical development
Review by Salima Ikram. This book, based on a PhD thesis, focuses on Egyptian ‘animal worship’ from the 3rd to the 2nd millennium BC. In the introduction, the author states that the work aims to use multiple theoretical perspectives and…
Ostrich eggshell beads shed light on ancient social networks across Africa
These beads are some of the world’s oldest fully manufactured ornaments
Archaeologists in Peru find 500-year-old human spines threaded on to posts
The vertebrae-on-posts, which have been found at indigenous burial sites around the Chincha Valley, are believed to be connected to ideas about bodily integrity after death
The Golden Fleece paradox
The Caucasus were home to some of the world’s earliest and most proficient goldsmiths. Despite an association between this metal and the mountains that became so strong it was woven into mythology, gold artefacts more or less disappear from a large part of the region for a period of some seven centuries. Nathaniel Erb-Satullo investigates why.
Unwrapping Amenhotep I
A team of scientists have used CT (computed tomography) scans to ‘unwrap’ Amenhotep I digitally and learn more about the mummy and its contents.
The House of the Harpist
A remarkable group of luxurious wall paintings has been discovered at a rich Roman residence called the House of the Harpist in Arles, southern France. The house was discovered beneath an 18th-century glassworks factory in the Trinquetaille district, on the…
Rock Art Studies: News of the World VI
Review by George Nash Prehistoric rock art is very much a world phenomenon, with assemblages found in every corner of the globe. To the expert eye, each region has its own unique style, engraving or painting technique, and chronology. Since the…
Sunken ship found off Swedish coast
It is one of the oldest cogs ever found in Europe.
Olympia: a cultural history
Review by Paul Christesen Olympia is not an especially large archaeological site (the entire excavated area measures less than 1km on a side), but it is nonetheless a particularly complex one. Activity at the site began in the 4th millennium…
From landscape to latex: recording rock art in the Tagus River Basin
In the 1970s, prehistoric rock art was found in the Tagus River Basin, just as a dam project was set to raise water levels. In a race against time, archaeologists sought to find a way to record thousands of images before they were submerged. Now the results have been carefully studied using a variety of new technological approaches. Sara Garcês and George Nash tell the remarkable story of one of Europe’s principal rock-art areas.
Rare chalk sculpture found in Britain
Radiocarbon dating of a bone from the Burton Agnes burial suggests that all of these objects were created approximately 500 years earlier, c.3000 BC.
881: a 9th-century feudal calamity
In the first of a two-part piece, Richard Hodges explores the story of San Vincenzo al Volturno.
Sutton Hoo lyre has Central Asian connection
The instrument from Dzhetyasar closely matches the 7th-century lyre discovered in the 1930s at Sutton Hoo.
Confronting Climate Change at Butrint
A new report spells out the risks that rising sea levels pose to some of the world’s greatest archaeological sites. Richard Hodges and David Prince consider the situation at Butrint.
Facing the Palmyrenes: exploring life and death in a desert city
What can an extraordinary group of sculptures commemorating the dead reveal about ancient life in Palmyra? Thousands of ancient inhabitants’ portraits once graced lavish family tombs in cemeteries just beyond the desert city. Studying this artistry can reveal much about wealth, power, family, and even the balance between local tradition and outside influences in a major trading hub, as Eva Mortensen and Rubina Raja reveal.
Ancient Greeks: Science and Wisdom
For Ancient Greeks, the natural world was a source of wonder and inspiration. Philosophers pondered sundry subjects, seeking the secrets of the night sky or what makes for a satisfying tune. Such questing curiosity inspired technological advances that we are only fully appreciating today, as Jane Desborough and Matthew Howles told Matthew Symonds.
A Maya Universe in Stone
A Maya Universe in Stone delves deeply into the imagery, inscriptions, and political and social contexts of several ancient Maya carved limestone lintels made in the late 8th century AD, likely in Guatemala’s Department of Peten. Eminent epigrapher and archaeologist…
CWA Letters – Janurary 2022
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