From the bison of Lascaux to the intriguing figures from the Sahara, the prehistoric rock art of Europe and Africa is  undeniably alluring. But what about ancient rock art from other parts of the world? Although it tends to be forgotten,  outheast Asia boasts a unique corpus of material, and almost as much rock art [...]

Pintia was a thriving Iron Age city in North Central Spain. At its dawn, around the 5th century BC, it was part of the Vaccean culture, an Iron Age people with Celtic links whom scholars believe crossed into Spain from Central Europe. In the 3rd century BC, the area came under attack from Hannibal, and [...]

New discoveries from Okinawa and the Ryukyu Archipelago  

Egyptian glass is among the finest of the ancient world. Yet how did the ancient Egyptians make it? New work, at the world’s earliest-excavated glass making factory in Tell el-Amarna, is unravelling the mysteries. Here Paul Nicholson delves into the archives of the late great Egyptologist, Flinders Petrie, who excavated at Tell el-Amarna in the [...]

The Treasury of Atreus – also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon – is the largest and most impressive of the nine tholos tombs at Mycenae. The location of the Atreus Tomb has intrigued archaeologists for many years but by studying the landscape, the courses of the ancient roads and the various lines of sight at [...]

Biblical sites were highly sought after by some of our earliest and greatest archaeologists. One such site, Carchemish, was the famed city of the Hittite Empire. It attracted the attention of T.E. Lawrence and Woolley, pioneers of British Near Eastern Archaeology, who excavated there just before the First World War. Then came the crashing calamity of [...]

It is longer than Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall taken together. It is over a thousand years older than the Great Wall of China as we know it today. It is of more solid construction than its ancient Chinese counterparts. It is the greatest monument of its kind between central Europe and China and it [...]

The enigmatic Cycladic figurines, the abstract figures found in the Cyclades islands, have had enormous influence on modern art. They first came to notice at the same time as modern art was beginning to go abstract, and their stark abbreviated geometric forms persuaded modern artists to do likewise. But when exactly did they flourish and [...]

The highlands of Northern Jordan are cave country. In nearby Israel, such caves produce a rich archaeology – especially of late prehistoric Copper Age burials. Are there similar cave burials in Jordan? Unfortunately, exploring caves is not included in the standard archaeological syllabus. CWA reports Here on how archaeologists linked up with caving professionals to [...]

How a Roman amphitheatre really worked "Roll up! Roll up! Roll Up! There will be a magnificent spectacle at the amphitheatre today, and you mustn't miss it! Magerius is giving it. Of course, you all know Magerius who has just finished his term of office as mayor. He's a pompous old ass but he thinks [...]