Fort Rashid: The find-spot of the Rosetta stone.
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the site where the Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799.
Travel
Giove: In Jupiter’s shadow
I first came to the Umbrian hilltop village of Giove half a lifetime ago. I was seeking sanctuary in the real Italy as I navigated potential closure of the British School at Rome (where I was director) at the hands of Mrs…
The Grand Egyptian Museum
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith pays a return visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum to view the new galleries.
Homage to Gallarus Oratory
Fifty years ago, one of the most daring expeditions in modern times left Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. Tim Severin set out with a crew of three in a curragh – a skin-boat shaped like a banana – from Brandon Creek to…
From the fringes of the Roman Empire: Locally crafted empires
In our high-speed modern world, it can be easy to forget that the ancient world was experienced at a slower speed. Rubina Raja shares the insights that can spring from exploring the edges of the Roman world on foot.
Amarna (Part 2)
Continuing his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, Karl Harris presents the second part of his visitor’s guide to Amarna.
Crossing to Inis Cealtra
Firsts. I first went to Inis Cealtra – Holy Island in County Clare – with my first girlfriend, Leigh, in 1973. From County Antrim, a northerner, she had an esprit de vie that I always associate, like the constant drizzle,…
Amarna (Part I)
Continuing his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, Karl Harris presents the first part of his visitor’s guide to Amarna.
A Mediterranean Valley redux
My son looked at me askance and muttered ‘more nostalgia’. I smiled, recognising he was right. My Mediterranean journey really began in this unlikely valley and its off-the-beaten-track places that I have dreamed of revisiting. For two full days, my…
Discovering Denmark: From prehistoric burials to Viking Age power architecture and beyond
Denmark is home to many archaeological marvels, including both renowned sites and world-class museums. Olympia Bobou, Ilaria Bucci, and Rubina Raja are our guides to the wealth of heritage that the country has to offer.
The Graeco-Roman museum in Alexandria
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the archaeological museum in Alexandria, now reopened after a long period of renovation.
Charles Williams and the Corinth Roman Painting Project
In the second – and final – part of his interview, Richard Hodges talks to Charles K Williams about the remarkable Roman frescoes he discovered in Corinth.
Phaselis: A city and the sea
The ruins of ancient Phaselis occupy a striking setting on the Mediterranean shore. Matthew Symonds visited to find out more.
Corinth’s greatest treasure
In the first of a two-part piece, Richard Hodges visits Corinth for a conversation with its legendary excavator Charles K Williams.
Kea: Settlement and sculpture on a Cycladic island
A visit to Kea allows Martin J P Davies to dip into the archaeology of a charming island.
Meir
Karl Harris continues his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, discovering the ‘Art of Cusae’ in Middle Kingdom tombs at Meir – accompanied by a local snake charmer.
Byllis and the end of the Roman Empire
When I think of spring, one of the first images that comes to mind in the depth of winter is the carpet of flowers at Byllis, high above the Vjosa valley. This is, in all but name, arcadia. No crowds.…
The temple of Qasr el-Sagha
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits an isolated temple in the desert north of the Fayum.
Cosmic psychopomps and apotropaic pentagrams: A pot with a difference
Archaeology essentially illuminates human entanglement with things, James Deetz pointed out 50 years ago in his classic book In Small Things Forgotten. ‘Don’t read what we have written; look at what we have done’, Deetz concluded in a clarion call…
Hidden treasures
Karl Harris continues his ‘Travels in an Antique Land’ with visits to the First Intermediate Period Tomb of Ankhtify at Mo‘alla, and a multi-era temple complex dedicated to the god Montu at Tod.
Apsaros Roman fort: Guarding a distant shore
The Roman frontier in Georgia follows the edge of the Black Sea. Matthew Symonds visited the remains of Apsaros fort to find out more.
Ashby and Strong: A golden partnership and its end
Dedicated to the memory of Amanda Claridge In 1925, thanks to Winston Churchill, Britain returned to the gold standard; Italy slipped into a dictatorship under Benito Mussolini after a speech to the Chamber of Deputies on 3 January; the USA…
The Grand Egyptian Museum: Visiting the Main galleries
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith pays a second visit to the new Grand Egyptian Museum.
Master of Actium
Richard Hodges introduces the Emperor Augustus’ city of victory at Actium and interviews its renowned excavator, Kostas Zachos.
Cycling Around Malqata
Karl Harris sets off on two wheels to visit the site of Amenhotep III’s palace on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor.
Saving Saranda
Strictly speaking Saranda cannot be saved. When I first came here in September 1993, a year after Albania became a democracy, it was a blissful Ionian seaport. Many of its citizens had left for Greece, so it felt empty, yet…
The Hurghada Museum
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith visits the antiquities museum in Hurghada and comes face to face with the ‘White Queen’.
Bomarzo and its Pyramid
In a deep valley below Bomarzo’s Orsini palace lies the so-called ‘Monster Park’ – the Sacro Bosco, a Mannerist gem from the later 16th century. It is surely one of the most remarkable Renaissance gardens in Italy, if not Europe.…
The temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith travels to Sinai to visit a temple dedicated to Hathor, ‘Lady of Turquoise’.
In the footsteps of N G L Hammond
On a cold March day in 1995, fortune blessed me. I had written to the ancient historian N G L Hammond to see if he might meet me. He was 87, so it was a long shot. Not only did…
Lights, Camera, Action!
Continuing his series of articles entitled ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, independent traveller Karl Harris guides us round four Theban tombs recently opened to the public.
Bluetooth’s Kingdom
I have embarked on an odyssey to revisit Viking Denmark decades after I first became familiar with it through editing Klavs Randsborg’s landmark book The Viking Age in Denmark (1980). Randsborg’s book was regarded as heresy at the time, but…
The Temple of Hibis at Kharga Oasis
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith goes off the beaten track to explore an unusual Late Period temple.
Being ‘a Greek spy’ back at Butrint
I was in Greece, rolling off a ferry at Kyllini, about to visit its mighty castle, when I received the text message accusing me of being a Greek spy. Almost at once, I got an avalanche of emails from angry…
Travels in an antique land: Mud-brick, mud-brick, glorious mud-brick
Each issue, AE magazine goes off the beaten track to explore some of Egypt’s lesser known sites, new museums, and newly opened monuments, with tips to help the independent traveller. In this issue, Karl Harris explores two under-visited sites at Abydos.
The apogee of Monte Cassino
In the second of a two-part feature examining Monte Cassino, Richard Hodges examines how the monastery developed from the late 9th century onwards.