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…
Excavations have uncovered a significant section of the site’s necropolis, which the archaeologists are calling ‘The Gallery of the Elite Craftsmen’.…
The fossilised remains, which date to between 31,000 and 30,000 years ago, were found during excavations at Liang Tebo. Previously, the earliest known evidence of surgical amputation came from a farmer in France c.7,000 years ago…
In the middle of Louisiana State University’s campus stand two earthen mounds, each c.5.5m tall. The LSU Campus Mounds have long been known to be among the c.800 mounds created by ancient indigenous communities in this region, but archaeological investigations recently published in the American Journal of Science (https://doi.org/10.2475/06.2022.02) have…
The title of this book is perhaps rather misleading. Although a hundred objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun (among which are counted two scenes from the walls of its burial chamber) are indeed listed, mentioned, and illustrated, they are arguably not the vehicle for structuring the narrative that one might…
The beautiful and mysterious signs adorning ancient monuments across Egypt have excited speculation for centuries. The tale of how their meaning was finally rediscovered is just as long, and takes in many twists and turns. Success came 200 years ago, and with it a staggering insight into ancient Egyptian history,…
The excavations revealed at least 50 burials dating to the Roman period, including inhumation graves, cremation urns, and signs of funerary pyres.…
On 19 September 1991, two hikers made an alarming discovery high in the Alps. Travelling off the beaten track, they saw a human corpse in a gulley, and imagined they had stumbled across an ill-fated mountaineer. Instead, this was just the latest twist in an extraordinary murder mystery. Investigators soon…
The study aims to improve our understanding of the social identities of people living in this region between c.9,000 and 7,500 years ago by exploring what their burials can tell us about their relationships with the animals in the world around them.…
A new exhibition at the British Library explores the 2,000-year history of storytelling and myth-making surrounding Alexander the Great.…
War, Spectacle, and Politics in the Ancient Andes by Elizabeth N Arkush provides a well-organised analysis of the external/environmental and internal/psychological factors that shaped pre-contact Andean warfare. More specifically, the key argument is that Andean conflict was entwined with the internal politics of local societies and groups. Arkush is a…
Thousands of votive objects have been found buried in ritual deposits at a hilltop sanctuary in southern Italy. Cristina Boschetti, Jan Kindberg Jacobsen, Gloria Mittica, Eva Mortensen, and Rubina Raja take us to the excavations at the summit of Timpone della Motta and tie the findings together with the archaeology…
The site, known as La Torre- La Janera, covers an area of c.600ha near the Guadiana River in the province of Huelva.…
An exhibition at the Musée Saint-Raymond explores the Roman cult of Mithras. Gillis Kersting visited to find out more about this enigmatic religion.…
Recent debate about women’s roles in the Ice Age raises questions about how much can be said about everyday lives in this era. Elle Clifford and Paul Bahn examine the evidence for who did what in the Palaeolithic.…
Experimental archaeologists have recreated a famous ancient Egyptian perfume known as the Mendesian in a lab, using ingredients mentioned in Classical sources.…
• Japan’s stone circles: secrets from mysterious monuments
• Lost cities of Bolivia: discoveries in the Amazon
• Hunters and gatherers? Re-examining women’s lives in the Ice Age (out on The Past soon)
• France: Narbonne’s new archaeological museum
• Italy: First World War echoes at Sexten…
Crossword, cartoon, and more…
Send us your best heritage-themed photos for the chance to win first prize in our annual CWA Photo Competition and have your work showcased in the magazine.…
A new study is using Indigenous pottery to find out more about travel between the islands of the Caribbean throughout history.…
A round-up of some recent archaeological news stories from across the globe.…