Cover Story
The Great Maya Aquifer: exploring a hidden world beneath the Yucatán Peninsula Southeast Mexico is rich in caves. This extraordinary underworld has influenced human activity for thousands of years. Now a project dedicated to understanding and preserving this realm is shedding new light on the archaeology of the Yucatán Peninsula, as Guillermo… Features
Let’s go on a pub crawl around Pompeii! Join Andrew Selkirk for a trip around the bars in Pompeii and find out where to go with your loved one for a slap-up meal. 
Dedicated followers of fashion: what did the Romans ever do for Athens? Ancient Rome’s enthusiasm for all things Greek is well known, and archaeological echoes of these influences can be found across the Empire. Looking in the other direction, though, what traces… 
Johannes Østrup’s journey of discovery: exploring the value of centuries-old scientific records Dig into archive records. Leaf through forgotten research in books that were written in foreign tongues. Centuries-old observations can provide important perspectives on the archaeological record, as Eva Mortensen and… 
David Attenborough, What in the World? and Mortimer Wheeler A letter in the Penn Museum archives sets Richard Hodges and Alessandro Pezzati on the trail of a memorable moment in the pioneering days of archaeological broadcasting. 
Divine or demonised? The many faces of feminine power How has female authority been expressed through belief? Examining goddesses, demons, and spiritual beings from around the world exposes the true scope of feminine power, as Belinda Crerar told Matthew… News
America’s oldest ochre mine identified Artefacts made of non-local materials indicate that the quarry may have been the source of much of the ochre found across the American midcontinent 
Life and death in an early South Australian colony Information about the health of early migrants to South Australia was obtained through analysis such as micro-CT scanning of their teeth. 
New study reveals Bronze Age daggers were not status symbols, but used for animal processing New research finally answers the question of what Bronze Age daggers were used for, as Isabella Caricola and Andrea Dolfini reveal. 
Assyrian art found in underground complex Between c.900 and 600 BC, the Neo-Assyrian empire expanded across south-eastern Anatolia, establishing rule over many Aramean city-states, and using Assyrian art to express and consolidate their power. 
Palaeolithic people created art by firelight, new study suggests The research focused on a collection of 50 limestone plaquettes from the rock-shelter site of Montastruc in southern France, which was occupied in the Magdalenian period (23,000-14,000 years ago). Views
CWA 114 Crossword, and answers to 113 Competitions Across 6 Ancient Greek historian and geographer (6)8 Emperor whose return to Rome from campaigns in Spain and Gaul was honoured by the building of the Ara Pacis (8)10 Member… 
The Temple of Khnum The Picture Desk Conservators working in the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper Egypt, have uncovered new details of the building’s colourful ceiling frescoes. Construction on the temple began in the Ptolemaic period… 
Bronze figurine Objects What is it? This small female figurine made of bronze is 14.7cm tall and weighs 155g. The figure has an egg-shaped head with a prominent nose, and a flat body… 
Tutankhamun: excavating the archive Museum, What's on A century after Tutankhamun’s tomb first captured the world’s attention, a new exhibition at the Bodleian Library offers fresh insights into the famous discovery through archival material. Amy Brunskill visited… 
Exploring a Roman house in VR Ideas In order to explore how this lavish home was experienced by Roman viewers, researchers first used 3D-modelling software to create a reconstruction of the house. This 3D model was based… 
The Congress of Roman Frontier Studies Comment Discussions were prematurely halted by the receipt of a coded telegram from the War Office summoning Birley home to join Military Intelligence, to which he had previously been recruited owing… Johannes Østrup’s journey of discovery: exploring the value of centuries-old scientific records Feature, People Dig into archive records. Leaf through forgotten research in books that were written in foreign tongues. Centuries-old observations can provide important perspectives on the archaeological record, as Eva Mortensen and… 
Rise of the elites Comment ... you can peer down into a deep square where Bronze Age burials are left in the ground following an earlier Thai excavation. Your eyes alight on the grave of… David Attenborough, What in the World? and Mortimer Wheeler Feature, People A letter in the Penn Museum archives sets Richard Hodges and Alessandro Pezzati on the trail of a memorable moment in the pioneering days of archaeological broadcasting. Reviews
Athens at the Margins: Pottery and People in the Early Mediterranean World Review by Robin Osborne. Thirty-three years ago, I attempted to push 7th-century BC Athens and Attica into the limelight. I managed to stimulate critical engagement from Anna-Maria D’Onofrio and James… 
Qatar: Evidence of the Palaeolithic Earliest People Revealed Review by George Nash. The visible prehistoric sites of the Arabian Peninsula are all too clear to see, with burial-ritual and settlement sites of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and, in… Tutankhamun: excavating the archive A century after Tutankhamun’s tomb first captured the world’s attention, a new exhibition at the Bodleian Library offers fresh insights into the famous discovery through archival material. Amy Brunskill visited… 
The Red Sea Scrolls: How Ancient Papyri Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids Review by Miroslav Bárta. The Old Kingdom papyri count among the rarest of finds. For several decades, the Abusir papyri archives from the pyramid complexes of the Fifth Dynasty kings… 
From the editor
Below the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico lies a submerged world of extraordinary beauty. Caves once created a subterranean labyrinth that the earliest human settlers seemingly associated with magic. After these passageways flooded at the end of the last Ice Age, they created reservoirs that proved essential for the success of Maya cities. Now a fascinating project is revealing the remarkable range of archaeology preserved in this underworld.
Goddesses and spiritual beings also display an impressive range, in this case of powers. There can be a tendency for modern audiences to focus on a single attribute – Venus as the goddess of love, for instance – but this obscures the remarkable breadth of gifts they could bestow on worshippers. An exhibition examining the nature of feminine power provides an opportunity to consider the divine and the demonised.
Of the many treats on offer in Pompeii, its varied selection of eateries and hostelries was surely particularly prized by ancient inhabitants. From purveyors of fast food to more-refined dining, and of course a wealth of options for liquid refreshment, there was something for everyone. What can taking a tour of these establishments reveal about Roman retail?
When Johannes Østrup set off from Denmark on a tour in the 19th century, he had the Syrian desert in his sights. Over the course of many adventures, he visited Palmyra, and was the first to record some of the ruins in its hinterland. Looking back at his exploits today offers a reminder of the importance of examining archive accounts of ancient sites.
In our travel section, Carly Hilts asks what the Romans ever did for Athens, while Richard Hodges takes us behind the scenes of a memorable crossover between two immensely popular archaeology television shows.
