The Thracians made a keen impression on both their neighbours and the archaeological record, but how much do we really know about…
China’s Han Empire was brought to its knees by powerful nomadic tribes. But just when defeat seemed inevitable, an ingenious new approach…
The house-proud Neolithic inhabitants of Çatalhöyük inadvertantly frustrated archaeologists by keeping their homes clean. Now Lisa-Marie Shillito examines an aspect of…
Packed in a crate with artefacts from the Middle East, the eery figures arrived in Montreal, Canada, in the mid 1950s. A…
Recent excavations have shown Medieval ruins in the Russian republic of Tuva were monastic and reminiscent of China’s ‘Forbidden City’. Por-Bajin –…
When first discovered in 2001 by the archaeologist William Saturno of Boston University, the mural-covered room at San Bartolo, a remote and…
First ‘unequivocal proof for pre-Clovis occupation of America’ has been found by researchers at Texas A&M University. Flint knife blades, chisels, and…
From the imposing stelae at Axum to the churches at Lalibela carved out of solid rock, Ethiopia has an incredibly rich heritage.…
Thirty years ago my career took a memorable new turn. I had been trained in settlement archaeology and the theory and practice…
The most avidly acquired antiquities of the New World during the last 50 years have been Maya relics from Mexico and Central…
Herculaneum’s destruction is a familiar story. On the 24 August AD 79 Vesuvius erupted, sending superheated mud cascading though the town, killing…
The Abbeville tools – in context – proved the antiquity of human beings…
The British Museum has just launched a major exhibition on Afghanistan. In a world exclusive, curator St John Simpson reveals the inside…