It is understandable perhaps, here in Britain, that we have a somewhat partial understanding of Ancient Rome’s border defences – with most attention focused naturally on Hadrian’s Wall, the extraordinary fortified structure that is the largest Roman artefact anywhere in…
Deep in the Jordanian desert lies an extraordinary ruin. It is a Roman fort that can stake a claim to being the best-preserved example anywhere in the former empire. But this relic of imperial power is in urgent need of conservation work. David Breeze, Mark Driessen, and Fawzi Abudanah discuss why Qasr Bshir is special, and the challenges that lie ahead.
The cardboard sheets, photographs, and handwritten notes compiled by Harald Ingholt bear a wealth of information about Palmyrene sculpture and architecture. As his archive in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is reopened, Olympia Bobou, Eva Mortensen, and Rubina Raja reveal some of the secrets within.
The glass roof of the Orangery was installed in 1861, following a fire in an adjacent bakery which damaged the original structure
Detailed analysis of an elaborate 13th-century mosaic at Canterbury Cathedral has revealed a medieval masterpiece that may be unparalleled in either Roman or medieval Britain. Warwick Rodwell explains further.
The grounds of Craigievar will remain open to visitors whilst the work is being carried out, and a grand reveal of the new exterior is planned for spring 2024.
The mountains and forests of Epirus offer a dramatic backdrop for a tour through the theatres of the Greek region’s ancient cities. Diana Bentley finds stories of a famed oracle and a celebrated victory along the way.
The former palace of the Farnese family in Parma contains no fewer than five cultural institutions. Dalu Jones is our guide to the recently renovated Pilotta complex, where the dukes of Parma put art, archaeology, and theatre to use.
Finds of religious pottery vessels and fragments of reliefs suggest the hall dates to the Saite Period.
A 1.3 km tunnel has been discovered 13 metres beneath the Ptolemaic temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria. The massive 2 metre high structure appears to be similar to the Eupalinian Aqueduct on the island of Samos, and is…
An Egyptian team excavating at Gerza (ancient Philadelphia) in the Fayum has discovered a large Graeco-Roman funerary building with coloured tile floors, and a number of complete and partial mummy portraits. The team also found a number of anthropoid and…
St Paul's Cathedral was London's tallest building for more than 200 years. How high is it?
Review by David J Breeze John William Burgon’s description of Petra as ‘the rose-red city, half as old as time’ dates to 1845, well within the timeframe covered in this book. It remains an apt statement, underlined by the choice…
Timothy Power and Mark Horton return to the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar, to discuss the site’s Swahili origins.
A Grade I- and Grade II-listed building, designed by King Charles II and Sir Christopher Wren, the hospital was opened in 1692 as a retreat for veterans.
Harold James Dyos, late Professor of Urban History at the University of Leicester, wrote that London underwent three distinct periods of growth: an increasingly dense build-up of the population in the centre, its spill-over into the outer districts of London,…
Review by Kelly Kilpatrick The Picts first appear in written sources as a cultural entity to the north of the Roman frontier, and disappear from the written record before the turn of the 1st millennium. In combination with their still…
Review by CH This entertaining and adeptly written account traces the story of London’s private members’ clubs from the 18th century to the present day. Dr Seth Alexander Thévoz – historian, investigative journalist, and (since 2013) Librarian of the National…
Why not mark the start of the other calendric festivals and their associated deities with holidays?... Time to bring back bonfires, dancing at dawn, May Day frolics, and the dressing of rivers, springs, and wells.
While the chapel’s exact location remains unknown, it was probably situated on the south side of the 13th-century Lady Chapel, perhaps near St Mary’s garden.
This past summer, the team returned to explore other buildings on the site, in order to learn more about the complex as a whole.
The relief panels depict interactions between humans and the animal world.
Among the early Christian catacombs in northern Rome, beyond the walls of the ancient city, are those of the Sant’Agnese fuori le mura complex. It is here along the via Nomentana that St Agnes of Rome is said to have…
Sculptures of kings and princes and murals of delegations of ambassadors paint a detailed picture of the wealth, influences, and connections of Uzbekistan’s oasis cities. Lucia Marchini speaks to Yannick Lintz and Rocco Rante to find out more.
The reliefs depict details including mountains, grapevines, pomegranates, figs, palm trees, and warriors firing arrows in battle
Reconstruction of the collapsed stone vault in the north transept of the cathedral has now been completed.
Over the past few centuries of European history, we have grown used to the notion of the artist as celebrity. As far back as the Italian Renaissance, Leonardo and Michelangelo were famous in their own lifetimes. More recently, we can…
The temple is believed to date to around the end of the 6th or beginning of the 5th century BC.
They are sometimes said to be the nation’s real crown jewels: the various palaces, castles and other grand houses which for centuries have formed the backdrop to royal life in the United Kingdom – from Sandringham and Windsor in England…
Which king was the last to live at the Palace of Westminster?
Buckingham Palace has been the main London residence of the British monarch since 1837, when Queen Victoria chose it as her base, but St James’s Palace remains the official seat of the sovereign, as it has since 1698. Newly appointed ambassadors, therefore, are accredited to ‘the Court of St James’s’, and it is from there that the public proclamation of a new sovereign is first read. Despite this, a comprehensive account of the 800-year history of this royal palace has only just been published, as Chris Catling reports.
Your observations, your objections, and your opinions: send them to cwaletters@world-archaeology.com
Timothy Power and Mark Horton present some of the latest discoveries made during recent excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar.
The first phase of the project will include repairing the water damage to the Chapel's sandstone walls.
Non-conformist chapels and meeting houses have greatly enriched our townscapes, though we have been slow to recognise their merits. Indeed, the late Princess Margaret, when opening the Keele office of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of…
The presence of ancient Greece and Rome can be felt in many places in the early history of the United States of America. Lucia Marchini speaks to Sean Burrus and Emilie Johnson to find out how Americans like Thomas Jefferson were putting antiquity to use as a new nation was forged.