Gold tongues and Homer
A Spanish mission working at the ancient site of Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa, in Minya) has found a Roman tomb containing wooden coffins and a number of mummies, three with gold tongues, and one with a tongue of copper. Some of the…
homer
World news
Iron age mining rituals in Germany Evidence of Iron Age ceremonial activity associated with quartz mining has been discovered at the Bruchhauser Steine, a prominent rock formation in the Sauerland region of western Germany. This natural landmark comprises four massive…
Homer: The Very Idea
Some time in the 8th century BC, with the Greek alphabet just decades old, two monumental poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, were committed to writing and so became the first great works of Western literature. We call their author Homer,…
Roman villa and mosaic depicting Homer’s The Iliad discovered in Rutland
The stunning mosaic depicts the concluding scene of the Trojan War, in which Greek hero Achilles battles Hector, the leader of the Trojans.
Trojan War: the archaeology of a story
Many cities have fallen to subterfuge, fire, and the sword over the millennia, so why does our fascination with Troy remain so keen? Perhaps it is because Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey have become potent examples of the power of words. These tales of derring-do and destructive depravity coloured the Greek, Roman, medieval, and modern worlds so vividly that they have created a richer archaeological legacy than many real events. Lesley Fitton and Victoria Donnellan led Matthew Symonds through the twists and turns of a tale that changed the world.