Tag Archives: archaeology

Earthquakes and archaeology: the case of Christchurch, New Zealand

Posted on: February 16, 2015 by Rosemary Baird

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 that struck the city of Christchurch on 22 February 2011. It caused widespread destruction of buildings and 185 deaths. A national state of emergency was declared. Today, almost four years later, […]

An archaeologist’s view

Posted on: December 10, 2014 by Nina M. Neuhaus

Have you ever wondered what archaeologists think about illegal excavations and looting – and how best to tackle them? Well I did and so I asked Kathryn R. Morgan, a staff member at the University of Chicago’s Neubauer Expedition to Zincirli and the University of Pennsylvania’s Gordion project. Kathryn is a Ph.D. student at the […]

ISIS in Iraq: How much looting?

Posted on: August 26, 2014 by Alexander Herman

A few recent articles have reported on the looting of antiquities from the areas of Syria and Iraq controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS): in The Guardian in June, The Sunday Times in July and the International Business Times. It is unclear from the sources whether such looting is actually being perpetrated by members of ISIS or […]

Statuette of Tutankhamun’s sister found

Posted on: December 15, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry has announced that a priceless statuette of the sister of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun has been found in Cairo, though few details as to precisely how it came to be recovered have been released.  The statuette, which was the highlight of the museum in the city of Mallawi (near the archaeological remains […]

Heritage at risk in Syria

Posted on: November 15, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper

Following reports of widespread damage and looting at cultural heritage sites in Syria, ICOM (the International Council of Museums) has published the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk with the aim of helping art and heritage professionals and law enforcement officials identify Syrian objects that are protected by national and international legislations. In […]