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Researchers said on Saturday they had discovered a frescoed thermopolium or fast-food counter in an exceptional state of preservation in Pompeii.
The ornate snack bar, decorated with polychrome patterns and frozen by volcanic ash, was partially exhumed last year but archaeologists extended work on the site to reveal it in its full glory.
— The Guardian
The astonishingly well preserved and nearly 2,000-year-old snack bar, or Thermopolium, in Pompeii's Regio V has re-emerged in its entirety, along with food residues, animal bones, and victims of the AD 79 volcanic eruption, following a lengthy excavation effort. View this post on Instagram A post... View full entry
A stunning 3D virtual tour from the Egyptian Tourism Authority takes viewers deep into the heavily detailed tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Named Tomb KV9, the underground structure has a long corridor leading down to the now-broken sarcophagus, and both walls and the ceiling are inscribed with writings from ancient Egyptian texts and astronomical renderings. — Colossal
If you're ready for some archaeological adventure but find yourself pandemic-trapped at home and unable to make it to Egypt's ancient Valley of the Kings right now, try the virtual tomb tour of Pharaoh Ramses VI who reigned in the 12th century BC. Take a look at some screenshots of the ruler's... View full entry
A Roman mosaic floor has been discovered under a vineyard in northern Italy after decades of searching.
Surveyors in the commune of Negrar di Valpolicella north of Verona published images of the well-preserved tiles buried under metres of earth.
According to officials, scholars first found evidence of a Roman villa there more than a century ago.
— BBC
A note posted on the Facebook page of Negrar di Valpolicella, the Northern Italian town where the historic mosaic was discovered, stated: "After countless decades of failed attempts, part of the pavement and foundations of the Roman Villa located north of the capital, discovered by scholars over a... View full entry
Archaeologists have unearthed about 70 mammoth-bone structures across Eastern Europe. But this one is the oldest on the Russian plain thought to be made by modern humans. Most of the previously identified structures were small, leading researchers to conclude they were most likely used as winter dwellings on a nearly treeless landscape. But the researchers said this circle was too large for a roof, which might suggest it was used for a different purpose. — NYT
Nicholas St. Fleur provides an update on what scientists and researchers have been learning from a 25,000-year-old mammoth-bone circle, first discovered in 2014, 300 miles south of Moscow. h/t @The Ice Age View full entry
“Trajan's Hollow” is a new book by Joshua G. Stein — founder of Radical Craft and co-director of the Data Clay Network — that sheds new light on the historic Trajan's Column, one of ancient Rome's great monuments that has been obsessively documented by archaeologists and historians... View full entry
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is celebrating a milestone in its ongoing work at the Angkor archaeological park in Cambodia: the completion of a decade-long $4.8m conservation effort on the eastern side of Phnom Bakheng, one of the site’s oldest temples. — The Art Newspaper
Restoration work on the eastern half of the ancient temple is now complete. Image courtesy of WMF."WMF’s work at Angkor began with a 1989 field mission to evaluate the damage it had suffered following 20 years of civil strife and international isolation," explains the World Monuments Fund... View full entry
Among the Inca archeological sites that abound in Peru, none draw nearly as many tourists as the famed citadel of Machu Picchu. [...]
Now, in a move that has drawn a mixture of horror and outrage from archaeologists, historians and locals, work has begun on clearing ground for a multibillion-dollar international airport, intended to jet tourists much closer to Machu Picchu .
— The Guardian
"In an effort to manage growing visitor numbers, Peru has tightened entry requirements to the site, limiting visits to morning and afternoon shifts after Unesco threatened to place Machu Picchu on a list of world heritage sites in danger," reports The Guardian. View full entry
At around 12,000 years old, Göbekli Tepe in south-east Turkey has been billed as the world’s oldest temple. It is many millennia older than Stonehenge or Egypt’s great pyramids, built in the pre-pottery Neolithic period before writing or the wheel. But should Göbekli Tepe, which became a Unesco World Heritage Site in July, also be regarded as the world’s oldest piece of architecture? — The Art Newspaper
T-shaped limestone pillars. Image: Wikipedia.Archaeological research of the ancient Göbekli Tepe ruin site in present-day Turkey suggests that the impressive monolithic structures, believed to date back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic era (10th–8th millennium BCE), might in fact be the first... View full entry
The Great Wall of China receives an average of more than 27,000 visitors every single day. This fall, eight lucky people will win a night at the Great Wall with 13,000 miles of history all to themselves.
In an effort to raise awareness for heritage site protection and cultural exchange, Airbnb is partnering with the Beijing Tourism Development Committee to host the first-ever overnight stays at the modern world wonder.
— Travel+Leisure
Ever wanted to have a sleepover at one of the seven wonders of the world? Here's your chance. "Four lucky winners and their chosen guests will have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to stay the night in a custom-designed home situated on the ancient Great Wall," explains Airbnb's website. Courtesy of... View full entry
Southern England has been particularly parched, enjoying the driest June on record, but the hot weather has lead to an array of unlikely discoveries across the British Isles. Outlines of ancient and historic sites are being revealed – some of which haven’t been seen in living memory. — The Telegraph
"As the grass and crops dry out in the fields, the remains of wood and stone features are being spotted. The effect is caused by soil building up above the foreign material left in the ground over centuries in a way that makes the live material react to the conditions at a different rate to that... View full entry
The Taj Mahal in Agra could be closed unless the Indian government steps in and saves the neglected landmark, says India’s Supreme Court. “Either we shut down the Taj or demolish it or you restore it,” the two-judge committee told state officials last week. [...]
The Supreme Court says that it will monitor the situation on a day-to-day basis from 31 July.
— The Art Newspaper
Frustrated with the slow response from officials in charge of restoring the deteriorating Taj Mahal, India's highest court demanded swift action to stop the ongoing discoloration of the iconic Unesco World Heritage site caused by pollution and millions of tiny insects, saying: "We want you to... View full entry
The House of the Beautiful Courtyard at Herculaneum and the House of the Cryptoporticus in Pompeii will each be the site of a new installation by artist Catrin Huber, as part of a Newcastle University project designed to create a new dialogue between contemporary art, Roman wall painting and archaeological remains. — Apollo Magazine
Expanded Interiors at Herculaneum. Photo: Amedeo Benestante."By investigating two distinctive Roman houses, our project sets out an exchange of knowledge between old and new," the Expanded Interiors project website explains. "We are exploring what Contemporary painting and site-specific fine-art... View full entry
India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday faulted the country’s archaeological conservation body for failing to protect the Taj Mahal from discoloration, dirty feet and green slime emitted by millions of mosquito-like insects.
Since 2015, the body, the Archaeological Survey of India, has overseen a restoration project at the Taj Mahal, with workers scaling scaffolding to remove grime from the 17th-century tomb [...].
— The New York Times
After decades of slowly turning dull and yellowish from smog and pollution, the Taj Mahal's formerly white facade has now taken on an unattractive green discoloration. Archaeological experts suspect swarms of tiny bugs to be the perpetrators, but India's highest court isn't pleased with the slow... View full entry
The destruction of Syria’s heritage over the past eight years is the subject of a significant show due to open at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha later this year. The exhibition, entitled Syria Matters (opens 23 November), aims to explore the country’s centuries-old “extraordinary cultural heritage” against the backdrop of the raging conflict that has seen the destruction of six Unesco world heritage sites under President Bashar al-Assad. — The Art Newspaper
In what’s being hailed as a “major breakthrough” in Maya archaeology, researchers have identified the ruins of more than 60,000 houses, palaces, elevated highways, and other human-made features that have been hidden for centuries under the jungles of northern Guatemala.
Using a revolutionary technology known as LiDAR (short for “Light Detection And Ranging”), scholars digitally removed the tree canopy from aerial images of the now-unpopulated landscape [...]
— National Geographic