Posted on: June 10, 2020 by Charlotte Dunn
A UNESCO-backed research project into the illicit trade in cultural property in Germany has recently released its final report. The ‘ILLICID Project’, launched by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aimed to increase understanding of illicit trafficking networks and financial flows linked to organised crime and terrorism. However, the findings of the final […]
Posted on: February 25, 2020 by Paul Stevenson
Media reports this month claim that almost four centuries after the ill-fated galleon Nuestra Señora del Juncal (“the Juncal”), a Spanish naval vessel, sank off the Mexican coast in a storm in October 1631, researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History and Spain’s National Museum of Underwater Archaeology are to undertake a 10-day […]
Posted on: March 27, 2019 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds
Searching for treasure and discovering new archaeological sites like Indiana Jones is every child’s dream. And this is exactly what Cadbury’s latest Freddo campaign sought to do. The relevant webpage listed a series of known archaeological sites in England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland where “treasure is fair game”, and encouraged children to […]
Posted on: March 4, 2019 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds
Laws and guidance notes are rarely retrospective as this would go against fairness and justice. As regards laws such as the Treasure Act 1996 and guidance notes dealing with human remains and archaeological excavation, however, many archaeologists, Anglo-Saxon specialists and museum curators probably wish that they could be. Hansons Auctioneers recently announced it would be […]
Posted on: October 5, 2018 by Rebecca Hawkes-Reynolds
Bosworth, the battle that killed the last of the Plantagenets, Richard III, and saw the start of one of the greatest ruling dynasties – the Tudors – may soon be the location of a £26m driverless car testing facility. Councillors from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council approved the planning proposal by Japanese-owned Horiba Mira by 12 […]
Posted on: July 10, 2018 by Lucie Lambrecht and Zacharias Mawick
In 2017, according to an article appearing in The Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur footballer and Belgian World Cup team member, Mousa Dembélé, discovered archaeological objects of significant financial and archaeological value in the cellar of a historic building in the Flemish city of Antwerp. The footballer bought the 700-year-old listed building to open a luxury hotel, […]
Posted on: February 5, 2018 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes
The Nazca Lines in southern Peru are possibly one of the most mind-boggling archaeological sites in the world. Filled with various geoglyphs, they are about 2,000 years old and cover an enormous area of roughly 450 square kilometres. They are an icon of Nazca culture and have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. […]
Posted on: July 1, 2015 by Alexander Herman
Last night BBC 4 aired a programme hosted by journalist Dan Cruickshank entitled Civilisation Under Attack, charting the impact of the Islamic State (or ISIS) on antiquities in regions under the group’s control in Iraq and Syria. The programme covered the destruction of the site at Nimrud and of objects in the Mosul Museum, and included a […]
Posted on: March 17, 2015 by Rosemary Baird
As reported in my last post, on 4 September 2010 an earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It was followed by thousands of aftershocks, including one of 6.3 magnitude on 22 February 2011 which caused widespread destruction and 185 deaths. Since the earthquakes, the people and institutions of Canterbury have been recording their experiences. […]
Posted on: March 9, 2015 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
There has been a slew of media coverage in the UK and elsewhere on the reported destruction by agents of the Islamic State (ISIS) of the unequalled archaeological site of Nimrud in Iraq. While many of the reliefs, wall paintings and a number of the mythical winged bull gatekeepers are kept out of harm’s way […]