Cover Story
Bronze Age China: Phoenix Kingdoms The Bronze Age kingdoms of China have long been overshadowed by the Qin, who replaced them with a unified empire. Fan Jeremy Zhang explores the spectacular discoveries that have been helping two of them, the Zeng and Chu, rise from… Features
Visions of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt has provided endless inspiration for artists and designers, whether ancient or modern. Benjamin Hinson and Anna Ferrari, curators of a new exhibition on Egypt’s artistic legacy, investigate this… 
The elusive cave writing of Lascaux When Jean-Luc Champerret explored the Lascaux caves soon after their rediscovery, he saw not paintings but ancient writing. With the publication of his extraordinarily imaginative interpretation, Simon Coppock revisits the… 
The Mysteries of Mithras Sculpted scenes of the youthful Mithras slaying a bull have been found across the Roman Empire, offering an image of a god that is unlike other deities in the Roman… 
Exploring myth and legend with Janina Ramirez Historian Janina Ramirez tells Diana Bentley about her latest work delving into stories of celebrated archaeological discoveries and the people behind them, and of the medieval women all-too-often overlooked by… News
New finds from the famous shipwreck off Antikythera A significant discovery comes in the form of the marble head of a bearded man, which researchers believe belongs to the headless Herakles in Athens' National Archaeological Museum . 
Exciting discoveries at Sir John Soane’s Museum and a cobalt mine in Cheshire Two recent discoveries in very different sites in England are offering close connections to unknown workers of the 19th and 20th centuries. In Sir John Soane’s Museum, in London, restoration… 
A prehistoric goddess? Archaeologists unearth unique Iron Age clay figurine Archaeologists unearthed the figurine in a prehistoric gully near a Hallstatt period settlement occupied in the 8th-6th century BC. 
Mountain fortress in Iraq could be the royal city of Natounia, researchers suggest Based on the architectural association between Rabana-Merquly’s rock reliefs, fortifications, and settlements, and some specific types of pottery, the team have tentatively dated the site’s main building phase to the… 
Early Chimú carving unearthed in Peru Parts of a necklace of nectandra seeds and small bag were also found with the sculpture. 
Roman sanctuary revealed in the Netherlands As well as the remains of the temple buildings, many votive altars, and sculptures, archaeologists also unearthed fire pits with vestiges of sacrifices. Views
Pangu and divine intervention Ideas Pangu was born in the midst of an egg-like chaos. After 18,000 years, the two muddled parts separated, and the Yin (which represents the negative, feminine, cool, dark, and wet)… 
Halet Çambel Comment, People This ruined city had richly carved monumental gateways and, even more significant, an 8th-century BC stela that, bearing the same text in both the Phoenician alphabet and Luwian hieroglyphics, gave… Exploring myth and legend with Janina Ramirez Feature, People Historian Janina Ramirez tells Diana Bentley about her latest work delving into stories of celebrated archaeological discoveries and the people behind them, and of the medieval women all-too-often overlooked by… Reviews
How to Build Stonehenge Review by Susan Greaney. This elegant new volume is the first book for over 60 years to focus specifically on how the world-famous Neolithic monument of Stonehenge was constructed. The… 
The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium Review by Diana Bentley. Few episodes in antiquity are more gripping than the epic struggle for political supremacy and survival between Octavian, heir of Julius Caesar; his rival, politician and… 
Pearl of the Desert: A History of Palmyra Review by Jennifer A Baird. Palmyra has long been considered the jewel of Syria. In recent years, the site – which is internationally well-known for its monumental remains – has… 
From the editor
Think of ancient China and it is probably the impressive Terracotta Army of the first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, that springs to mind. And that is what the Qin, China’s first empire, might well have wanted. They destroyed the records of their vanquished and wrote gloriously of their own deeds, sidelining some of the numerous states that thrived and created intricate ritual bronzes and luxurious lacquerwares for centuries before the Qin came to dominate. Among China’s long overshadowed Bronze Age kingdoms are the Zeng and Chu, whose rulers and rich culture are being revealed through exciting archaeological discoveries. As some of these wonders get ready to go on display in an exhibition in San Francisco in October, Fan Jeremy Zhang guides us through the astounding material culture of the Zeng and Chu kingdoms in our cover feature.
Like the forgotten Zeng, the reputation of the god Mithras – or at least of his followers – was greatly influenced by writers with an agenda. Christian authors of late antiquity disparagingly described brutal initiations as well as purifying rituals with water that they saw as a ‘diabolical imitation’ of baptism. The picture of what actually went on in Mithraic sanctuaries across the Roman Empire is much murkier, as Marguax Bekas and Pascal Capus explain.
Next, we explore some fascinating ways of engaging with the ancient world. Benjamin Hinson and Anna Ferrari delve into art’s enduring play with ancient Egypt and consider its role in contemporary Egyptian art. Then, Simon Coppock combs through some intriguing notebooks discovered in France. Recently published in English translation, these pages document one man’s attempt to interpret marks on the walls of the Lascaux caves as a form of prehistoric poetry. What can creative approaches like these tell us about our desire to connect to the past?
Finally, Diana Bentley speaks to Janina Ramirez, a familiar face from television documentaries, to hear about her latest work: bringing the stories behind some of the best-known archaeological discoveries and all-too-often overlooked women of the medieval period to wider audiences.
