Deep underground, the ancient inhabitants of what is now China built remarkable houses and palaces. But these dwellings were not homes for the living. Instead, the dead would be laid there, not to rest, but to live out their afterlife in comfort. The objects and attendants that accompanied them shed…
The Cornish Buildings Group recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Dedicated to preserving and improving Cornwall’s built heritage, the Group has marked its half-century by publishing a short history of its achievements and a volume of conference proceedings that address the question: what defines Cornish buildings? Among the factors…
The Knights Hospitaller were forged in the fury of the Crusades, providing protection, hospitality, and medical care for travellers in the Holy Land, and building fundraising communities back in Britain. Few of these sites have been excavated in detail, but Time Team have been investigating a Shropshire example. Carly Hilts…
How did water go from being something to fear to a place of privilege in Greece and Rome? Karen Eva Carr plunges into the cultural history of swimming.…
Many metalworkers and ceramicists in Renaissance Europe seemingly had no qualms about killing a lizard – or other animal – for their art. Pamela Smith investigates the intriguing practice of life-casting that turned nature into art, and why artisan authors recorded practical knowledge in words.…
From the worship of local Syrian protector gods to Christianity, many different religions flourished in the cosmopolitan crossroads city of Dura-Europos. Jen Baird brings us face to face with the diverse divine through the art of this ancient site.…
Animal art over thousands of years paints a picture of the ways we live with and study different species, from Roman hunting hounds to swarms of bees, as Lucia Marchini investigates.…
In early Christian art, Mary Magdalene was a key figure in the Resurrection of Christ, as first witness and ‘apostle to the apostles’. Diane Apostolos-Cappadona explores how her significance was set in stone, tiled on walls, and carved in wood and ivory.…
Eleusis – modern Elefsina – is in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture. Dalu Jones visits its ancient remains to enter the realm of the Eleusinian Mysteries, secret rites honouring the renewal of life.…
Andrew Fulton investigates the ancient Egyptian myth that tells how humanity
was saved by red-coloured beer.…
Visitors to stately homes and minor museums will frequently come across isolated ancient Egyptian artefacts with little or no explanation of their provenance.…
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones begins a new series exploring the lives and legacies of the Cleopatras of Egypt.…
In the second of his series focusing on remarkable people of their period, Wolfram Grajetzki introduces us to an important official whose tomb has recently been discovered.…
Following his articles in AE 127 and AE 135 exploring Predynastic sites in Egypt’s Western Desert, Julian Heath now looks at archaeological evidence for occupation of the Nile Delta during the Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods…
Roger Forshaw explores the transgressions of the ancient Egyptian priesthood.…
As Hadrian’s Wall is a protected World Heritage Site, opportunities to excavate across the line of the Roman fortifications are rare. In the summer of 2021, however, planned development works in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle upon Tyne offered the possibility to do just that – and Pre-Construct Archaeology’s investigations…
Medieval monasteries and their communities have been (and continue to be) well studied, but not so the structures associated with those who chose a more solitary route to salvation: hermits and anchorites. Dr Simon Roffey’s new book, An Archaeological History of Hermitages and Eremitic Communities in Medieval Britain and Beyond,…
As CIfA’s code of conduct states, ‘fuller understanding of the past provided by archaeology is part of society’s common heritage and it should be available to everyone’. So, how can we make sure that archaeology is accessible to as many people as possible? Lisa Westcott Wilkins considers the future of…
Having recently celebrated its 50th birthday, the York Archaeological Trust manages one of the oldest commercial units operating in the UK today, as well as several heritage-themed attractions within its home city, including the famous JORVIK Viking Centre. David Jennings explores some of the key projects that the Trust has…
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…
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.…