Cover Story
A life less wealthy: The ordinary lives of Nabataean Petra Petra is renowned for its extraordinary tomb architecture, but little is known about the builders of these mausolea. George H Nash, Genevieve von Petzinger, Lina Alrabab’h, and James Nash examine this funerary landscape and the traces of those who made… Features
Small rings, great power: Assessing the Vimose mail coat An extraordinary survival plucked from a Danish bog sheds light on the technical virtuosity available in the Roman Iron Age. Olympia Bobou, Ilaria Bucci, and Rubina Raja examine the significance… 
The changing faces of Easter Island: Revealing the secrets of shape-shifting figurines Easter Island did not just produce monumental stone sculptures. It was also home to talented woodcarvers making an extraordinary range of figurines. Paul Horley, Rafal Wieczorek, Catherine Orliac, and Paul… 
Pylos: From princes to a palace in Messenia Over the last century, Messenia in Greece has produced an extraordinary range of archaeological riches. Together, these finds showcase sumptuous burials and flourishing settlements, and shed vivid light on life… News
Analysing an ancient Egyptian genome A recent study has successfully carried out full genome sequencing of a person from ancient Egypt for the first time. 
An ancient solar observatory Iván Ghezzi, Alcides Alvarez, and Cecilia Camargo discuss the unique site of Chankillo in Peru. 
Violent victory celebrations Recent analysis has shed new light on the circumstances surrounding a pair of unusual Neolithic mass graves in north-east France. Around a decade ago, two late Middle Neolithic burial pits… 
New Kingdom fortress found in Egypt Excavations by an Egyptian archaeological mission at the site of Tell el-Kharouba in North Sinai have discovered a large military fortress dating to the New Kingdom period, c.1550-1070 BC. Initial… 
New Neolithic faces A c.12,000-year-old stone pillar decorated with a human face has been found at the archaeological site of Karahan Tepe in Turkey. Karahan Tepe is a Pre-pottery Neolithic ritual complex that… 
Ritual platforms in China Earthen platforms uncovered at a site in eastern China are believed to reflect efforts by early states to use ritual events as a way to unify their expanding territories. The… 
Silver treasure in Sweden A large silver hoard dating to the medieval period has been discovered near Stockholm, Sweden. The treasure was unearthed by a member of the public digging for worms near his… Views
Corinth’s greatest treasure Travel In the first of a two-part piece, Richard Hodges visits Corinth for a conversation with its legendary excavator Charles K Williams. 
Redrawing the family tree Comment Human beings may have suddenly doubled their age thanks to some recent research on a group of fossilised skulls from China, known as Yunxian 1 and 2. Previously classified as… 
Kea: Settlement and sculpture on a Cycladic island Travel A visit to Kea allows Martin J P Davies to dip into the archaeology of a charming island. 
Mother of invention Comment If you happen to be among the many people who are born and raised in the countryside, chances are that you have found yourself at some point in your life… 
The longue durée at Dion Comment On 1 August 1960, I visited Mycenae for the first time. In my diary I described it as a terribly moving experience, seeing the shaft graves and the famed treasuries… 
Bronze warrior figurine Objects The statuette… is intricate and highly detailed… What is it? This small, bronze figurine, which measures 7.5cm tall and weighs 55g, depicts a warrior standing in a lunging pose. He… 
CWA 134 crossword, and answers to crossword #133 Competitions Across 8 US state containing the Last Supper Cave archaeological site (6)9 Persian dynasty founded by Ardashir I (8)10 US state, location of the Hell Island archaeological site (8)11 Military… 
Understanding Karnak’s origins The Picture Desk Recent research at the Karnak temple complex near Luxor, Egypt, is offering new insights into the site’s origins and the development of the surrounding landscape over its 3,000 years of… Reviews
Corinth’s greatest treasure In the first of a two-part piece, Richard Hodges visits Corinth for a conversation with its legendary excavator Charles K Williams. Kea: Settlement and sculpture on a Cycladic island A visit to Kea allows Martin J P Davies to dip into the archaeology of a charming island. 
In the Seine An exhibition in Paris explores the history of the city through the objects recovered from the river at its heart. 
Reframing the ‘Desert Frontier’: studies in the ancient Near East and northern Arabia in honour of David Kennedy REVIEW BY MATTHEW SYMONDS This volume honours Professor David Kennedy, a pioneering scholar of ancient Arabia and Rome’s eastern frontier, by bringing together 21 scholarly contributions examining both the archaeology… 
Ice Age art now REVIEW BY OSCAR MORO ABADIA This publication was created to accompany the British Museum Partnership Exhibition Ice Age art now, held at Cliffe Castle Museum in summer 2025. The exhibition… 
Between Two Rivers: ancient Mesopotamia and the birth of history REVIEW BY TIMOTHY MATNEY The academic world inhabited by Sumerologists and Assyriologists is highly specialised and largely inaccessible for even the hardiest lovers of history. The texts themselves are fragmentary,… 
From the editor
The monuments carved into the rose-red rock faces at Petra can be counted among the most renowned archaeological remains on the planet. Yet, for all their familiarity, we know comparatively little about those who laboured to create both these masterpieces and the architecture of Petra more widely. Traces of their endeavours can still be found, though, in the shape of quarries, graffiti, and weathered memorials. Our cover feature goes in search of their Petra, and sheds light on the world that made such grandiose elite funerary architecture possible.
On Easter Island, it is the statues that are famous. As well as the celebrated stone figures, though, Rapanui artisans also crafted a range of rather smaller wooden figurines. Not only is the quality of the workmanship simply exquisite, but research is suggesting that there can be more to these figurines than immediately meets the eye. Rather than presenting a single face to viewers, some display a shape-shifting quality that allows their appearance to change – to dramatic effect.
The renown of Pylos, in Greece, was preserved in the pages of Homer. His words inspired several attempts to find a Bronze Age palace in Messenia. Success was achieved in 1939, when a vast royal complex was discovered. An exhibition is currently setting the finds from the palace alongside those from excavations carried out in its hinterland. Chief among them are the astounding contents of the grave of the Griffin Warrior, which was discovered in 2015. Together, these artefacts shed light on a pivotal period for the Mycenaean world.
At Vimose, in Denmark, it is a fine set of Roman Iron Age chain mail that has been under scrutiny. Study of the armour itself reveals the skill of the ancient metalworkers, while digital modelling is shedding new light on how the chain mail would have performed during use.
In our travel section, Richard Hodges speaks to Charles Williams about the legendary excavations he conducted at Corinth. Meanwhile, Martin Davies has been visiting ancient sites on the island of Kea.
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