Dozen Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic Sea

STOCKHOLM.- A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany.
The oldest wreck probably dates back to medieval times and could be up to 800 years old, while the others are likely from the 17th to 19th centuries, Peter Norman of Sweden’s National Heritage Board said Tuesday.
“They could be interesting, but we have only seen pictures of their exterior. Many [...]

Sotheby’s to Exhibit in Doha Treasures from Its Forthcoming “Arts of the Islamic World” Sale

DOHA.- Sotheby’s will stage an exhibition in Qatar of highlights from its bi-annual London sale of Arts of the Islamic World. The highlights will be on view to the public at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Doha from 11am to 8pm on Sunday, March 14, 2010. The exhibition will showcase an exceptional array of around 35 fine and rare works of art that will be available for collectors and connoisseurs to acquire at the Sotheby’s London auction on Wednesday, April 14, [...]

More than 100 Works from the Thaw Collection Showcase Artistry of Cultures Across Millennia

CLEVELAND, OH.- Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection, a major traveling exhibition, developed by the Fenimore Art Museum, making its debut at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) in March 2010, explores Native North American art from the Eastern Woodlands to the Northwest through more than 140 masterpieces spanning 2,000 years. The exhibition provides visitors with a broad understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic accomplishments and cultural heritage of this country’s first peoples. Art of the American Indians [...]

Important Antiquities Sale to be Held at Christie’s in April

LONDON.- As part of the specialised sales on offer in South Kensington, Christie’s announced the upcoming Antiquities sale, to be held on 29 April 2010. The first Christie’s sale composed by Georgiana Aitken since her appointment as head of the Antiquities department in November 2009 is set to excite international collectors and connoisseurs as well as institutions with many important, rare and museum quality pieces. The sale will comprise approximately 350 lots, including sculpture, vases and bronzes as well as [...]

King Tut Unwrapped

United Kingdom. – World-renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass leads an unprecedented forensic investigation into the life and times of King Tut that reveals for the first time the identity of Tut’s parents and grandparents, his cause of death and new details of his reign in a two-night UK premiere, King Tut Unwrapped, airing on Discovery Channel Wednesday, March 3rd at 9pm and Thursday, March 4th at 9pm (For when to watch in your region, please see below).
Papers published on Wednesday, February [...]

Massive Head of Famous Pharaoh Amenhotep III Unearthed in Egypt

CAIRO.- Archaeologists have unearthed a massive red granite head of one Egypt’s most famous pharaohs who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities announced Sunday.
The head of Amenhotep III, which alone is about the height of a person, was dug out of the ruins of the pharaoh’s mortuary temple in the southern city of Luxor.
The leader of the expedition that discovered the head described it as the best preserved sculpture of Amenhotep III’s face found to [...]

Splendour and Everyday Life in the Byzantine Empire Explored at Exhibition in Bonn

BONN.- Presenting more than 600 magnificent and historically meaningful exhibits and important artefacts from collections and archaeological excavations the exhibition shed light on many aspects of the history, archaeology and art of the Byzantine Empire.
It will offer an overview of the “Byzantine Millenium” (from the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 324 A.D. to the conquest by the Ottomans in 1453), but will concentrate above all on the prospering of the Empire from the time of Justinian I [...]

Tutankhamun’s Funeral Exhibition at the Met will Explore Materials and Rituals

NEW YORK, NY.- In 1908, while excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, American archaeologist Theodore Davis discovered about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sulphate, and sodium chloride that occurs naturally in Egypt), bags of sawdust, floral collars, and pieces of linen with markings from years 6 and 8 during the reign of a then little-known pharaoh named Tutankhamun. The Metropolitan Museum [...]

Tests Show King Tutankhamen Died from Malaria Infection, Study Says

CHICAGO.- King Tutankhamen, the teen-aged pharaoh whose Egyptian tomb yielded dazzling treasures, limped around on tender bones and a club foot and probably died from malaria, researchers said on Tuesday.
There has been speculation about the fate of the boy king, who died sometime around 1324 BC probably at age 19, since the 1922 discovery of his intact tomb in Egypt’s Valley of Kings.

Women look at one of the coffins of King Tutankhamun at the Egyptian museum in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt’s [...]

Exhibition Explores the Egyptians’ Beliefs about Life and Death and the Afterlife

BROOKLYN, NY.- Through more than one hundred objects drawn from the Brooklyn Museum’s world-renowned holdings of ancient Egyptian art, including some of the greatest masterworks of the Egyptian artistic heritage, “To Live Forever” explores the Egyptians’ beliefs about life and death and the afterlife, the process of mummification, the conduct of a funeral, and the different types of tombs—answering questions at the core of the public’s fascination with ancient Egypt. The exhibition will be on view February 12 through May [...]

Main Road of Jerusalem, from 1,500 Years Ago, is Exposed

JERUSALEM.- Madaba Map – an ancient mosaic map in a church in Jordan from the sixth-seventh century CE, which depicted the Land of Israel in the Byzantine period, explicitly showed: the entrance to Jerusalem from the west was via a very large gate that led to a single, central thoroughfare on that side of the city.
Various evidence of the important buildings in Jerusalem that appear on the map has been uncovered over the years or has survived to this day [...]

The Inspirational World of the Ancient Greeks Revealed at World Museum

LIVERPOOL.- A new display reveals the inspirational world of the ancient Greeks whose influence is still felt in the modern world.
This culture provided the foundations of Western civilisation and inspired the Renaissance while also paving the way for the Islamic Golden Age in north Africa and south west Asia.
The Roman Empire, which conquered Greece in 146 BC, was also powerfully influenced by the Greek civilisation which has dominated all aspects of cultural life from politics and philosophy and science to [...]

Bonhams to Sell Roman Bust that Links Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

LONDON.- A lovely Roman marble bust that film director, Franco Zeffirrelli gave as a wedding gift to friends who worked with him on the filming of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ will be sold at Bonhams next Antiquities Sale in London on April 28th.
Dating from the second century AD the Roman herm head traditionally used on the top of a pillar, is estimated to sell for £7,000 to £9,000. A wonderful photo of the bride and groom taken at their [...]

Wall with Maya Seignior Glyphs Discovered at Archaeological Zone

MEXICO.- A wall with a rich glyphic text that includes the complete name of the ruler that founded one of the most important Maya military seigniories was discovered in Tonina Archaeological Zone, in Chiapas. Epigraphists point out that the finding will bring in new information regarding Maya grammar, since it shows linguistic features yet to be deciphered.
The discovery adds up to the sarcophagus recently uncovered by specialists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The wall dated in [...]

Egypt’s Antiquities Chief Unveils Renovations at Oldest Monastery

ZAAFARANA.- Egypt’s antiquities chief on Thursday unveiled the completion of an 8-year, $14.5 million restoration of the world’s oldest Christian monastery, touting it as a sign of Christian-Muslim coexistence.
The announcement at the 1,600-year-old St. Anthony’s Monastery came a month after Egypt’s worst incident of sectarian violence in over a decade, when a shooting on a church on Orthodox Christmas Eve killed seven people.
The attack raised heavy criticism of the Egyptian government abroad and at home, by critics who say it [...]