The deviant dead of ancient Mesopotamia
Beheaded, bound, or partially burnt – Leif Inselmann examines irregular burials from the ancient Near East.
Near East
Lost cities: the unpublished words
Rubina Raja & Søren M Sindbæk on archives and urban archaeology
Assyria: The rise and fall of the world’s first empire
REVIEW BY JONATHAN VALK Assyria stands out in history as the fountainhead of empire. It was perhaps the first state to subdue the bulk of its world, extending in every direction until its frontiers consisted almost entirely of sand, sea,…
Coastal erosion threatens archaeological sites in Libya
The study suggests that the archaeological sites of Apollonia, Ptolemais, and Tocra are at risk of extensive erosion.
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 elongated oval that stretched either side of the Nile from…
Neolithic monument in northern Arabia yields evidence of ritual activity
‘It looks like cattle, goats, and gazelles were brought to the site, potentially slaughtered there and then presented to what is probably a stone representation of an unknown deity.'
Early example of cranial surgery identified in late Bronze Age tomb
This discovery represents the earliest example of its kind found in the ancient Near East.
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East
Review by Diana Bentley The ancient Near East has not always attracted the popular attention it deserves, especially in comparison with other cultures of the surrounding area, like Greece, Rome, and Egypt. This latest work by Amanda H Podany, Professor…
Petra in the Accounts of Western Travelers: Selected Narratives from the Nineteenth Century
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…
Meat stews were on the menu in Mesopotamia, study finds
Analysis of Beveled Rim Bowls excavated from a Late Chalcolithic site in Iraq has challenged traditional interpretations that they were used for distributing cereal rations to state-dependent labourers.
Glass fragments highlight Islamic connections in late medieval Scotland
Discovered at Caerlaverock Castle, the glass fragments are believed to have been part of a vessel made in modern-day Syria, Iraq, or Egypt during the late medieval period.
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 become infamous after those remains were targeted for destruction, casualties…
Kurdistan Quiz
Between which five present-day countries is the roughly defined geo-cultural territory of Kurdistan mostly now divided?
Facing the Palmyrenes: exploring life and death in a desert city
What can an extraordinary group of sculptures commemorating the dead reveal about ancient life in Palmyra? Thousands of ancient inhabitants’ portraits once graced lavish family tombs in cemeteries just beyond the desert city. Studying this artistry can reveal much about wealth, power, family, and even the balance between local tradition and outside influences in a major trading hub, as Eva Mortensen and Rubina Raja reveal.
The City of Babylon: A History, c.2000 BC – AD 116
The history of the Mesopotamian city of Babylon had a powerful legacy even within antiquity. Today, many are familiar with the city, situated in modern Iraq, for its numerous appearances in the Bible and for the fabled wonder of the…
Remains of 4,000-year-old ancient city revealed in Iraq
The first excavations began in April 2021, and were focused entirely upon Tell al-Duhalia, which is home to hundreds of archaeologically significant sites, such as the Great Ziggurat of Ur.
‘World’s oldest war memorial’ identified in Syria
Archaeologists have stated that a monument at the Banat-Bazi complex is over 4,000 years old.
Baalbek Reborn: Temples
A new app offers an opportunity to experience an ancient site in its Roman heyday.
Jerash: revealing a ‘peripheral’ part of an ancient city in northern Jordan
In AD 749, the ancient city of Jerash was hit by a devastating earthquake. Excavating private houses that collapsed during the disaster has revealed a wealth of information about the Umayyad city. These, though, are just some of the finds encountered during recent archaeological work in the north-western part of the site, as Achim Lichtenberger, Eva Mortensen, and Rubina Raja reveal.
Esfahan, Iran
Esfahan is little known in the West, but it has some of the world’s great architecture – not only mosques, but also its palaces, its gardens, and last but not least, its fine bridges.
Pasargadae: seeking the origins of a garden palace
On the plain of Pasargadae, Cyrus the Great founded a spectacular garden palace. Nothing like it had ever been seen in the region before, raising questions about where the idea came from, how the garden was maintained, and even where the inhabitants lived. Recently, an Iranian-French team under Rémy Boucharlat went in search of the answers, as Andrew Selkirk reveals.
Iran
It was a splendid tour: we stayed in 9 different hotels over 16 days, which meant that we were always on the move. But this was just what we wanted, for we explored the heart of the historic country and saw – if briefly – most of the best-known archaeological sites.