Cover Story
The rise of royalty in prehistoric Europe Extraordinary burials discovered in south-eastern Europe marked out individuals even at a time of egalitarian societies. Attila Gyucha and William A Parkinson guide us through spectacular finds from eleven countries that show how the elite grew their power in prehistory. Features
In the lap of luxury: decadence in the ancient Persian and Greek worlds A new exhibition at the British Museum delves into drinking and decadence in the ancient Persian and Greek worlds. Henry Bishop-Wright tells Lucia Marchini how elements of luxury could be… 
Siena’s medieval monuments As the Tuscan city of Siena grew in prosperity, its citizens made their mark through magnificent art and architecture, from aristocratic towers to allegorical frescoes. Historian Jane Stevenson takes us… 
Wooden wonders of Herculaneum An astonishing array of wooden objects has survived from Herculaneum, carbonised by the volcanic eruption that destroyed the town. This invaluable material may be less showy than the celebrated marble… 
Face to face with Fayum mummy portraits The Fayum mummy portraits are masterpieces of ancient painting, but are they portraits? With an exhibition of these paintings and golden mummies on view in Manchester, Lucia Marchini speaks to… News
Gold and amber jewels revealed in Bronze Age tomb in Armenia Inside the cist tomb were the remains of a man and a woman, thought to have died in their 30s 
Oldest Odin inscription identified The inscription appears next to the image of a man – possibly a king or warlord named Jaga or Jagaz – on an early 5th-century bracteate 
Lost Sumerian palace uncovered in Iraq Known today as Tello, Girsu is one of the oldest cities in the world. 
New moai statue revealed at Rapa Nui Moai are monolithic stone statues with elongated human faces, thought to have been created by Rapa Nui’s ancestral inhabitants more than 500 years ago. 
Scotland’s oldest tartan goes on display Radiocarbon dating found that a date of c.1500-1600 was probable 
Empire’s new clothes? Study sheds light on Inca tunic design Elements were added by local weavers according to their own regional design traditions 
Beneath the cathedrals: discoveries at Notre-Dame and Leicester Cathedral At another English cathedral, that of Exeter, excavations have revealed Roman remains Views
Minerva’s April listings: exhibitions from around the world Museum, What's on The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings. 
Brigit: Irish goddess turned Christian saint? Comment, Ideas She is a goddess of poetry, medicine, and blacksmithing, but there is no mention of the fire that becomes associated with her sainted counterpart. 
Margaret Alice Murray (1863-1963) Comment, People These same people would not hesitate to wear a scarab-ring taken off a dead man’s hand… Their objections – their opinions even – are an offence to science. 
Jalame, 1963-1971 The Picture Desk Image: Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York Viewers of the Netflix competition series Blown Away will be familiar both with the mesmerising transformations that take place under extreme heat… Reviews
The Etruscans in the Modern Imagination Review by Lucy Shipley This book is very clearly a passion project, the result of a lifetime’s love for and engagement with the Etruscan past. It provides a rare opportunity… Minerva’s April listings: exhibitions from around the world The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings. 
Nubia: Lost Civilizations Review by Nigel Fletcher-Jones In recent years there has been increasing desire among travellers to visit the archaeological sites of southern Egypt and Sudan in search of ‘ancient Nubia’, an… Face to face with Fayum mummy portraits The Fayum mummy portraits are masterpieces of ancient painting, but are they portraits? With an exhibition of these paintings and golden mummies on view in Manchester, Lucia Marchini speaks to… 
Gods of Thunder: How Climate Change, Travel, and Spirituality Reshaped Precolonial America Review by Eric Singleton It is a welcome departure to see a scholar stepping outside their regionalised field of study to offer an interconnected view of North American history that… 
From the editor
Could the intriguing set of Neolithic figurines with chairs that grace our cover represent a pantheon of gods or members of a community? Both these interpretations have been suggested, and each highlights an important strand running through our first feature: ritual activity and community organisation. Attila Gyucha and William A Parkinson take us on a journey through some of the remarkable finds from hoards, cemeteries, and possible sanctuaries across south-east Europe that show how rulers grew their power around ritual, trade, warfare, and changing technologies, moving from the agricultural, egalitarian societies of the Neolithic to the elite warrior class of the Bronze and Iron Age.
Ancient Thrace was particularly rich in lavish burials, replete with the spectacular metalwork its elites valued. We return to Thrace elsewhere in this issue when we take a look at the Panagyurishte Treasure, found in Bulgaria, with Henry Bishop-Wright. This set of golden wine-drinking vessels combines ancient Greek and Persian form, function, and decoration – an eloquent example of the dynamic interplay that took place across the Mediterranean as motifs associated with power were adopted and adapted in high-end luxury goods.
Cultural fluidity can also be seen in mummies of Graeco-Roman period Egypt, with some featuring Greek inscriptions, Roman motifs in funerary paintings on wood, and pharaonic Egyptian imagery. We speak to Campbell Price, who argues that the costly funerary arts of gilded mummies and Fayum panel portraits enabled the deceased to become like the gods.
Wood is a rare survivor from antiquity, but Roman Herculaneum boasts many examples of wooden artefacts that offer an intimate look into the town’s domestic interiors, as Dalu Jones writes.
For our final feature, Jane Stevenson explores the art and architecture of medieval Siena. Aristocrats set up palaces with tall towers in this Tuscan city, but there was public spiritedness too, with great churches being built and adorned with paintings, and civic structures similarly furnished with rich allegorical frescoes that spoke back to Siena’s rulers.
Lucia Marchini
