Professor Charles Higham will be a familiar figure to CWA readers. Not only does he write a regular column for the magazine, but he is also a world authority on the archaeology of Southeast Asia. When COVID shut down international…
This discovery shows that the strategy of concealing the bodies of murder victims inside existing tombs has been in use for centuries.
The Japanese surge between December 1941 and June 1942 – between, that is, Pearl Harbor and Midway – created a huge Far Eastern empire comparable with that of the Nazis in Europe. But at that point Japan’s capacity for expansion…
James Kelly Morningstar describes the Philippine resistance to the Japanese occupation during WWII.
Ancient Mesopotamian literature, written in cuneiform from around 3000 BC, is haunted by omens and ghosts. Most of the sources on ghosts come from the 1st millennium BC, written in Akkadian, but some texts and ideas hark back to even…
David Porter charts Japan’s heady ascent from secluded feudal dictatorship to Pacific superpower in less than a century.
The contents of those two pits amaze. They include some of the most remarkable bronzes from the ancient world: human face-masks with protruding eyes, thought to depict Cancong, the mythical first king of Shu.
Excavations in the city of Yavne in Israel have discovered a vast 1,500-year-old industrial complex thought to be the largest wine production centre known from the Byzantine period. The factory complex encompasses five large wine presses, each covering an area…
David Porter analyses the Japanese surprise attack on the US Pacific fleet.
The suit was made in around 1830 in the Japanese province of Kaga, an important centre of armour production
Each of the bodies showed signs of serious injury and were buried with swords, maces, and arrows.
'Armageddon’ came to English, via Greek, from Hebrew har megiddo, meaning ‘mountain of Megiddo.’
How many Imperial Japanese aircraft took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941?
Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered the largest complex of Byzantine winepresses ever found. The industrial estate, where around 2 million litres of wine were produced every year, was recently unearthed in the city of Yavne and dated to c.1,500 years ago.
The investigations targeted the acropolis of the city, which was occupied from the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC).
Due to changing coronavirus measures, the dates listed below may have changed since we went to print, and museums and galleries may close. Check the websites and social-media accounts of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
In 1933, the first season of excavations at Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish), south-west of Jerusalem, came to end. The remains of a building from the late 5th-4th century BC, described as a governor’s residence, had been unearthed and the defences of…
‘Neolithic communities repeatedly returned to the Camel Site, meaning its symbolism and function was maintained over many generations’
Current Archaeology rounds up some of the latest discoveries across the globe, including the world's oldest shark attack victim found in Japan, a scene of honey-gathering from a cave in Spain, and the analysis of a previously unknown ancient hominin species.
All eyes were on Tokyo this summer, as the world's most populous metropolitan area (home to an astonishing 37 million people) finally played host to the postponed 2020 Olympic Games. With its gleaming skyscrapers and ultramodern stadia, the Japanese capital made a suitably impressive backdrop for the planet's biggest sporting event.
Preparations for the 2020 Olympics saw excavations under way at numerous sites in Tokyo. Simon Kaner reflects on what archaeology tells us about activity in the area before and after the birth of a great city.
Some of the world's earliest pottery was produced in Japan around 13,000 BC. By what name is this period known?
Each of the bodies showed signs of serious injury and were buried with swords, maces, and arrows.
Brief summaries of important archaeological discoveries, including the world's oldest coin mint, ancient Mayan parks, and a cave painting scene of honey-gathering.
Individual 24 was found to have at least 790 wounds made at around the time of death
Just how much can ancient diet tell us about past lives? Shyama Vermeersch considers what cuisine reveals about the southern Levant in the Bronze and Iron Ages.
The Archaeology of Medieval Towns is an interesting proposition: a book which aims to act as a bridge between the medieval worlds of Europe and Japan, introducing each to the specialists of the other. The editors are careful to make…
For many thousands of years, humans have inscribed their presence on the landscape. They drew or pecked images of the fanciful, representational, or sacred on the walls of caves, rock shelters, rock faces, and boulders, as well as on structures,…
Eight glass vessels which were destroyed in the Beirut port explosion in Lebanon, 4 August 2020, are currently being restored by the British Museum, with the support of The European Fine Art Foundation.
The fossil human cranium, thought to belong to a male about 50 years old, was found in 1933
Graham Goodlad surveys the remarkable career of ancient history’s most successful warlord.
Neil Faulkner analyses one of history’s greatest tactical triumphs.
The latest stories in archaeology from around the world, including the discovery of the oldest monumental landscape, new evidence of early human behaviour in South Africa, and the analysis of the Shigir Idol.
The history of the Mesopotamian city of Babylon had a powerful legacy even within antiquity. Today, many are familiar with the city, situated in modern Iraq, for its numerous appearances in the Bible and for the fabled wonder of the…
The oldest of the Mogao Caves temples that survive date from around AD 420. Among them is Cave 275, built during the Northern Laing period (AD 420-439).
The findings indicate the mint began operating between c. 640 and 550 BC.