Cartouches: Field Guide and Identification Key

REVIEW BY SG Being able to identify the kings by name can unlock the mysteries of monumental inscriptions and scenes. Thus a handy reference to help the beginner identify kings by their cartouches would be really useful. There are such books already – and a growing number of apps for…

Ramesses The Great: Egypt’s Kings of Kings

REVIEW BY CATHIE BRYAN Ramesses II is notorious for his self-promotion and propaganda, rather than being famous for his many achievements and cultural advances. To adjust the balance, Wilkinson addresses what Ramesses, the only king of Egypt known as ‘the Great’, did to deserve this epithet. He infers what might…

Medicine and healing practices in Ancient Egypt

REVIEW BY J PETER PHILLIPS In contrast with previous works on this subject, which have focused exclusively on the remedies available to ancient Egyptian medical practitioners, this work also considers the subject from the viewpoint of the patient – a more people-based approach. The authors are uniquely qualified for the…

Current Archaeology Live! 2024

In partnership with: We are pleased to announce the latest details of our upcoming conference: Current Archaeology Live! 2024 will be held on Saturday 24 February, returning to University College London’s Institute of Education near Russell Square, and run in partnership with the UCL Institute of Archaeology. We hope you…

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Horizon of Khufu

A new virtual-reality experience in London transports visitors to the Great Pyramid of Giza, allowing them to explore its interior and immerse themselves in the world of ancient Egypt. Carly Hilts tried it for herself.…

The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales

REVIEW BY IAN RALSTON This monograph on Welsh hillforts is by a man who knows them well. It builds on Driver’s innovative doctoral examination of those in Ceredigion, and his general book on Cardigan Bay, to consider the entirety of the Welsh evidence. His scope extends backwards to the late…

Castles of Kent through Time

REVIEW BY AB It is easy to think of castles as a static part of the historical landscape, towering relics of a bygone era, but these buildings have rich stories, many of which are still being written. In Castles of Kent through Time, John Guy traces the changing fortunes of…

Yorkshire’s Prehistoric Monuments

REVIEW BY PETER HALKON This book aims to provide a guide to the main sites of prehistoric Yorkshire that remain above ground and are possible to either visit or to view from a distance. It begins with an introduction to the basic terminology and chronology of the Neolithic to later…

Dogs, Past and Present: an interdisciplinary perspective

REVIEW BY KK This volume brings together the current evidence of dogs in the past: from their evolution from wild animals to domesticated pets, to their presence in the archaeological record, through to their importance in myths and legends. Combining the expertise of geneticists, zoologists, archaeologists, and historians, the book…

The Year 1000

It is often thought that AD 900-1100 was a time when nothing much happened in the area that is today the Netherlands; many overviews of Dutch history have a tendency to skip straight from the Romans to the later Middle Ages. However, the RMO’s latest exhibition, the culmination of a…

The Golden Age of the Kingdom of Georgia

The Caucasus is a region where nations have often found themselves sandwiched between competing great powers. Christoph Baumer examines the political intrigues and military struggles that led to the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Georgia, while taking in some of the key monuments from the era.…

In praise of Tating Ware (and high-definition archaeology)

Fifty years ago, I received a life-changing letter. David Peacock, my tutor at Southampton University, offered me a doctoral scholarship to study the imported Frankish pottery from Hamwic, the 7th- to 9th-century emporium at Southampton. The newly formed Southampton Archaeological Research Committee (SARC) had released the funds in order to…

Life and Afterlife in Ancient China

REVIEW BY BRYAN SITCH This authoritative work by one of the UK’s leading sinologists explores the early history and archaeology of China through 12 tombs and discoveries, some already well known in the West – including Sanxingdui with its otherworldly bronze figures and the astonishing terracotta army of the First…

Megaliths of the World: Volume I

REVIEW BY GEORGE NASH The burial monumentality associated with the Neolithic is very much a global phenomenon. This desire to bury the dead in an artificial cave covered with an earthen or cairn mound occurs over at least six millennia. Indeed, there are even places around the world where such…

In Search of Ancient Tsunamis: A Researcher’s Travels, Tools, and Techniques

REVIEW BY GINA L BARNES As an archaeologist, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book – a personalised adventure into the science of detecting tsunami deposits in the sedimentary record. This detective story begins with investigations into geological tsunami deposits, then turns to the human cost of those disasters. Without providing…

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