Dionysus

From the Richelieu Collection at the Louvre. 2nd century CE. Arms and legs heavily restored.

Persepolis

Naghsh-e-Rustam

Relief of Ardeshir I.

Nefertari

From her tomb in the Valley of the Queens.

Stenness

Standing stones o' Stenness
Originally uploaded by hexadecibel.

West Torr Passage Tomb, Ireland

west-torr-passage-tomb
Originally uploaded by minipixel.

Carnac

Megaliths - Carnac, France - July 16th 2006
Originally uploaded by law_keven.

Too Hot In Wales

Recent hot weather in Wales has caused fried grass and inadvertantly revealed a lot of things that hadn't been noticed before. Look at THIS .

Breakdown

I can't post photos to Blogger at the moment. I've been told this is a frequent problem. Will post when they fix it.

Water Damage

Record rainfalls in India over the last three years threaten to damage Buddhist cave paintings of the 2nd century BCE. For more, click HERE

This Just In

The Bulgarian National Museum announced the discovery of a Thracian dagger made of an alloy of gold and platinum. For the article and a photo click HERE .

Eros of Lysippos

Roman copy of a Greek original.

Stonehenge

(Photo Credit)

Boitiner Steintanz

Part of a stone circle in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Roche-Feutet

A dolmen near Carnac. (Photo Credit)

Medallion of Eros

A hellenistic hair ornament, second half of the 3rd century BCE.

Busy Day

I may be able to post more this afternoon, but maybe not.

Zeus And Ganymede

From the tomb of the Royal Scribe Menna, Thebes, c1422-1411BCE.

Murals From The Neues Museum, Berlin

The Temple of Hathor at Dendera, by Carl Graeb
Philae, by Karl Eduard Biermann

Welcome Mat

According to the BBC , a dig at an Iron Age settlement in Wales has been opened to the public. Click to read the story.

Should Have Left It There To Begin With

According to this ARTICLE , the Temple of Mithras, in London, is to be removed to make way for development. Ordinarily, I'd be furious at this. However, they moved the thing from its original location back in 1962 and made some mistakes in reconstructing it. They're going to move it back where it came from, along the Walbrook, and do it right this time. I'm all for it.

In My Own State

Archaeologists from Wright State University have found evidence of a circle of wooden posts, 200 feet in diameter, at Fort Ancient, in Warren County, Ohio. The posts are sunk a meter into the ground and each is supported by rocks. The structure may be from the Hopewell culture. Read the article HERE

The Rollright Stones, in Warwickshire. (Photo Credit)

Swinside Stone Circle in the Lake District of Cumbria. (Photo Credit)

The Seven Sisters, Lisseyveggeen, County Kerry. (Photo Credit)

Almendres, near Evora, Portugal. Originally this had more than 100 stones. 92 survive, making it the largest megalithic site on the Iberian Peninsula.

Ardgroom Stone Circle, also called Confea, on the Beara Peninsula, County Cork. (Photo Credit)

Antinous Aristaeus, at the Louvre. Aristaeus was a god of gardens. Good combination here. This was in Cardinal Richelieu's collection.

The "Adonis of Centocello" at the Ashmolean. Actually, it's probably Apollo with his bow. Mid 2nd century CE.

Hadrian's Wall, near Housesteads.

From the Papyrus of Ani, c1300 BCE.

Looks Different, Doesn't It?

I changed the template. It will take me an hour or so to get all the links back. Sorry for the inconvenience.

An Uninhibited Interview

This ARTICLE has to be savored. Peter Jones on Roman baths.

Lycean Apollo. Roman copy. Louvre.

The Ramesseum at Luxor.

An Etruscan bucchero chalice. Early 6th century BCE. Louvre.

Devils Arrows, Boroughbridge, Yorkshire

Devils Arrows, Boroughbridge, Yorkshire
Originally uploaded by Doc Rock.

Callanish

Tursachan Chalanais - 2
Originally uploaded by cjcampbell.

Ales Stenar

ales stenar
Originally uploaded by movitz.

Near Ystad, Sweden.

Avebury Stones in Summer

Avebury Stones in Summer
Originally uploaded by richardr.

Balquain Stones

Balquain Stones
Originally uploaded by polaris37.

Oldest Inscription

A Bulgarian archaeologist is touting what he claims "could be the prototype of a script." The incised decorations on the stone tablet include five distinct signs that, claims Nikolai Ovcharov, may be the oldest known example of writing. The tablet, and two similar ones previously discovered, dates to the 5th millenium BCE. It belongs to a "private collector" who unearthed it about twenty years ago. I'm no expert, but it looks like a simple geometric pattern to me.

The Emperor's Grandmother

Archaeologists in China believe a large tomb recently excavated about 19 miles southwest of that of Qin Shihuang was the burial place of his grandmother. For further information see HERE

More posts and comments are on the way, as soon as I have time.

Menhirs at Carnac (Photo Credit)

The Hermes Ingenui, a 2nd century BCE copy of a Greek 5th century original. Pio-Clementine Museum, Vatican.

Darius I

Busy Morning

I have several items to post, but they will have to wait until this afternoon. Check back after 3PM.

KV64?

An interview with Nicholas Reeves, of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, released by Archaeology Magazine reveals that the Project's radar survey, which suggested the existance of KV63, also indicates a possible tomb 15 meters to the north. Read the full interview, linked above, and further information at the Project's WEBSITE.

Callanish At Sunset

Callanish Stones 4
Originally uploaded by Iguana Jo.

Pentre Ifan, Wales

Pentre Ifan Megalith
Originally uploaded by stitch witch.

Paestum, an 1890's photograph by Wilhelm von Plueschow.

Funeral stele of Aristonautes, son of Archenautes, from the Kerameikos. c350-325BCE National Archaeological Museum, Athens (Photo Credit)

Egyptian Glass

The Toledo Museum of Art will be opening its new Glass Pavilion later this month. On display will be the museum's world-class collection of glass. Watch for a report and review. (Photo Credit).

The Theseus Ring

Scientists at the Democritus Institute, after six months of testing, have pronounced the Theseus Ring genuine. The gold, 2.7x1.8cm, 15th century BCE, signet ring bears an image of a bull leaping scene flanked by a lion and a tree. The National Archaeological Museum at Athens had wanted to buy the ring but the sale was delayed by accusations that the ring was a forgery. The price is 75,000 euros, about half its estimated worth. According to the ring's owner, it was found by her father-in-law in the Plaka area of Athens in the 1950's and kept hidden in a chicken coop. For more on the story see HERE and HERE . Thanks to Ernest Gill for the tip.

Technology To The Rescue

Scientists are using x-ray flourescence to recover texts by Archimedes from a previously undecipherable 10th century palimpsest. The manuscript is especially interesting since it includes several different works, including the only known Greek copy of On Floating Bodies. Read the full article HERE . It will be interesting to see if this can be used on other palimpsests. No telling what might turn up.

What The Hell Am I Doing?

I'm not sure yet, myself. But hang around and watch for developments as I turn this thing into something worth seeing. Later in the week, when I have time to put a few things together, we'll kick things into high gear. Right now, I'm laying the groundwork by checking out more useful links and sources of information. If you have any suggestions or just want to make a snotty remark, just click on "comments."

The Ring of Brodgar, in Orkney. I've always been interested in megaliths, so you can expect regular news and photos. For the photo credit see HERE

Greece and Rome will be well represented. You can expect Alexander to be a regular feature, along with the Graeco-Roman gods and heroes.

The Warren Cup, 30BCE-20CE, at the British Museum. If you take a close look, you'll be able to figure out another probable topic of discussion.

You'll find an occasional interesting, off-topic item that just happens to strike my fancy. Aren't these damn things amazing?

An alabaster statue of Khafre, 4th dynasty, Egyptian Museum. You'll find news, photos, and commentary about Egypt, China, the Americas, and anywhere something interesting turns up.

Busy Day

I have too much to do. Will post in the morning, if not tonight.