Across 7 Daughter of King Minos and wife of Theseus in Greek mythology (7)9 Legendary island where King Arthur was taken after his final battle (6)10 Roman poet whose major works include the Eclogues and the Georgics (6)11 Welsh island,…
The global video gaming industry – now more than 40 years old – generates more money than the music and cinema industries combined, and is extremely influential. But while there are many studies on ancient Egyptian influences in cultural media,…
When I began studying archaeology nearly 70 years ago, my professor illustrated his lectures with the aid of glass slides projected through an antediluvian machine known as an epidiascope
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 produced one of the most detailed archaeological archives ever created. Daniela Rosenow describes a new digital platform, the Tutankhamun Spatial Archive, developed by the University of Oxford’s Griffith Institute, which brings together this vast body of records, allowing researchers and the public alike to explore the tomb, its contents, and its excavation in entirely new ways.
Digitising Irish towns New technology developed at the University of Bradford has created digital twins of two historic walled towns on the island of Ireland: Kilmallock in Co. Limerick, Ireland (RIGHT), and Derry/Londonderry in Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This new…
Pompeii reoccupied after eruption Excavations at Pompeii have uncovered evidence that certain areas of the city were reoccupied after the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. This had been suggested before, but previous excavations focused on reaching Pompeii’s pre-destruction levels…
TOMB OF THE PHARAOHS This new 3D, immersive, and interactive experience of ancient Egypt recreates scenes of royal tombs including those of Ramesses IV, Sety I, Tutankhamun, and Nefertari, featuring more than 300 museum-grade replicas. CAIRNS AQUARIUM ANNEX, 122B Lake…
Until around 8,000 years ago, Britain and the European mainland were connected by a land bridge that today is known as Doggerland. Although now submerged beneath the North Sea, this lost landscape has been recreated in an interactive simulation by…
When it was excavated in the 1960s, Fishbourne Roman Palace generated an archive that, for the time, was incredibly structured and detailed. However, by today’s standards, little attention was given to distribution of artefacts across the site, or relative locations…
When Venice features in the media, the story is usually about the malign consequences of flooding, cruise ships, and tourism, which crowds out more positive news, like the development of the Venice Time Machine, due to be showcased at this year’s European Association of Archaeologists conference in Rome.
Recent photogrammetry work on Welwyn Roman Baths, Hertfordshire, hopes to aid conservation and enhance public engagement on the site. In March, experts Dr Kris Lockyear and Antonio Reis from UCL Institute of Archaeology conducted the project on the baths, which…
In last month’s ‘Sherds’ column, Chris Catling described the threat to the future of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), so we asked him to tell us more about the work of the Commission, as well as the heritage sector in Wales more generally. Here is his report.
Rubina Raja & Søren M Sindbæk on cognitive technologies
A round-up of some of the latest archaeology news from around the UK.
Throughout history, writers and artists have used their imaginations to tell stories from former times. From The Iliad to A Tale of Two Cities, and from The Last Supper to the Sistine ceiling, the results have inspired countless millions down…
Glyphs including a serpent amd anthropomorphic figures wearing regalia were revealed using photogrammetry.
The Celtic Coin Index is more technologically advanced than its predecessors.
Burials near Whitminster villa Ten human burials have been uncovered at a development site near Stroud in Gloucester (below), which Cotswold Archaeology is investigating ahead of the construction of new training pitches for Forest Green Rovers FC. Excavations at the…
Return to the Interactive Past offers a fascinating introduction to some of the key topics surrounding the intersection of video games / interactive media and heritage. This book, a follow-on to the 2017 publication, The Interactive Past, explores the many…
Across the UK, many heritage sites and museums are now welcoming visitors again, but if you’re still looking for activities and resources that you can take advantage of from home, there is an ever-growing supply of those too! Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of the options available, from virtual tours and online exhibitions to podcasts, TV shows, games, and activities, as well as a list of some of the places that are open once more.
‘Now, using digital photographs of pottery, computers can accomplish what used to involve hundreds of hours of tedious, painstaking, and eye-straining work by archaeologists, who physically sorted pieces of broken pottery into groups, in a fraction of the time and with greater consistency.’
Recently, researchers from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have used the latest in AI technology to study the Great Isaiah Scroll (known as 1QIsaa), an ancient manuscript dating to the 2nd century BC that is considered one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A new app offers an opportunity to experience an ancient site in its Roman heyday.
As we find ourselves back in lockdown, the vast quantity of resources available online seems more valuable than ever. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the many ways you can get involved in archaeology, history, and heritage from home, to help you explore the past until museums and heritage sites are able to open once more.
Available in English and Arabic, Fabricius is an enjoyable introduction to hieroglyphs, but also presents new approaches for professional Egyptologists.
When the UK locked down against COVID-19 last spring, many archaeologists were unable to work as normal – but Rob Wiseman found a silver lining. He brought together more than 100 furloughed archaeologists to create a volunteer task force that has shed light on sites all over the country, spanning prehistory to the present day. Here, he shares some of the project’s highlights.
A unique digital archive preserves a wealth of images spanning the history of photography, offering long-lost views and vivid insights into how the historic environment has evolved over time. Janice Kinory is our guide.