Month: January 2015
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The Fratricide and Architecture: The Cendere Bridge
In the southeast of Turkey, not far from the city of Adiyaman, there lies a Roman bridge. It is one of the best preserved Roman structures in Turkey. The restoration was done in 1997, but even before that, the bridge was still in use by vehicles. Today there is a modern bridge that serves the…
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The Byzantine “Bird Mosaic” from Caesarea, Israel
A stunning mosaic floor referred to as the “Bird Mosaic” was uncovered by accident in 1955 on the outskirts of Caeserea in Israel, outside the walls of the ancient settlement. With no budget available for its preservation, it was covered over again until the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Director of the Caesarea Antiquities Preservation…
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The gems of Palazzo Altemps
The National Roman Museum is of course situated in Rome, but the collection is divided among different buildings around the city. One of the branches of NRM is situated in the Palazzo Altemps. Designed in XV century, this building passed from hand to hand of many well-off families, until 1997 when it became a part of…
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Roman frescoes on show in Toulouse (France)
Last weekend I travelled to Toulouse to visit the fabulous exhibition on Roman frescoes being held at the Musée Saint-Raymond. The exhibition entitled ‘L’Empire de la couleur – De Pompéi au sud des Gaules’ (which translates as ‘Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul’) opened last November and runs through March 2015. The…
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Survey for a new Magazine
Ancient Warfare magazine is looking into starting a new magazine about ancient history in general. They are running a survey to better understand what their audience wants, which will help them to decide on whether they should launch the magazine or not. This is, of course, right up our alley… so we thought you might…
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Visiting the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
I was attending an international neurology conference in Istanbul, Turkey. I had two days left, and I thought to myself: “How about shooting some artifacts in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums?” I visit Istanbul every now and then and this museums’ neighborhood is one of my favorite spots. It’s on a hill in the same complex…
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Bronze statue of Hadrian from the legionary camp at Tel Shalem (Judaea), Israel Museum
A magnificent bronze statue of Hadrian, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, was found by chance by an American tourist in Tel Shalem (Beth Shean Valley, Israel) on 25th July 1975 while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Tel Shalem was once occupied by a detachment of the Sixth Roman…
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7 Impressive Greek Bronze Statues
Greek Sculpture from 800 to 300 BCE took early inspiration from Egyptian and Near Eastern monumental art, and over centuries evolved into a uniquely Greek vision of the art form. Greek artists would reach a peak of artistic excellence which captured the human form in a way never before seen and which was much copied. Greek…
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Defining Beauty Exhibition
The British Museum in London has just announced an upcoming exhibition that’s right down our alley: Defining beauty – the body in ancient Greek art. The exhibition is on from 26 March to 5 July 2015. Tickets are priced rather heftily at £16.50 (children and museum members go free, discounted tickets are available). Pre-booking is already available,…
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Nimrud Ivories at the Sulaymaniyah Museum
On October 4, 1961, the Sulaymaniyah Museum received several artifacts, part of the so-called “Nimrud Ivories.” The package was sent from the Iraqi Museum at Baghdad and authorized personnel delivered it. The accompanying documents were written in the Arabic language and very briefly and superficially describe each and every item. I was able to get…
