Heritage Key blogs

Pompeii's 2,000 Year-old Cafe Opens to the Public

Bija Knowles — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:36:01 +0000

Like many people, the offer of food is always enough to tempt me to visit somewhere new – and I suspect that the publicity machine of Pompeii's archaeological site are fully aware of this, as they promise an authentic Roman snack to the 300 randomly selected individuals who will take part in a one-off tour of the site this Sunday.

The event marks the restoration and re-opening of one of the Roman town's thermopolia (cafés), after having undergone an excavation and preservation process.

The Secret of Kells - An Illuminated Animation Film

Ann — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:27:57 +0000

In these times, who would make an animated movie that was intentionally two-dimensional? Deflated and only minorly shaded, but visually ravishing. Flat, but filled with ancient swirls and Celtic knots. And who would have thought such a film would become a major hit? 'The Secret of Kells', a spirited retelling of the provenance of one of Ireland’s most cherished artefact, the Book of Kells, was a success in Irish, French and Belgian cinemas alike, got an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film and is now well on its way to conquering the United States of America. It is also the most fabulous animation film I've seen in ages*.

Join Heritage Key Live from Stonehenge Spring Equinox

Sean Williams — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:41:27 +0000

This Saturday sees Stonehenge's inner circle opened to the public on one of only four occasions a year, at the Spring Equinox. Around four thousand people are expected to turn up, braving the bitter British weather to celebrate at Britain's best-known ancient landmark.

Will Virtual Reconstruction of Çatalhöyük be Abandoned Due to High Rent Rates in Second Life?

Mary Harrsch — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:59:49 +0000

Virtual Çatalhöyük is one of the most well-researched and painstakingly executed ancient world reconstructions in Second Life. But with the rent due, and funding tight, can the researchers keep the environment alive? I spoke to creator Colleen Morgan about the problems of creating reconstructions for high-rent platforms.

Arbil Iraq Discovery Could be Earliest Evidence of Humans in the Region

willhunt — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:33:49 +0000

Czech archaeologists have excavated remains of a prehistoric settlement in Arbil, north Iraq, which could date back as far back 200,000 years, placing it among the earliest evidence of hominid activity in the region.

The expedition, led by Dr. Karel Novacek from the University of West Bohemia in Plzen, unearthed clusters of stone artifacts at the bottom of a 9-meter-deep pit dug just outside the tell, or citadel, in Arbil.

Novacek recently explained to Heritage Key that the excavated stone tools, comprised of flakes, scrapers and cores, can be traced back to the Late Middle Paleolithic Age (200,000-40,000 years before present). These discoveries align with excavations carried out by Americans in the 1950s in the nearby plains between Kirkuk and Suleymaniya.

University of Sussex Cutbacks: Protests, Riot Police and Strike Action

MalcolmJ — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:07:50 +0000

Students and staff at the University of Sussex have united in angry protest against proposed cutbacks at the Brighton and Hove institution. The cutbacks will include a complete scrapping of the study of English history before 1700, a move leading historians have warned “puts in peril the public function of history,” and risks “entrenching the ignorance of the present.”

A one day strike by staff is planned for today – strike action which students insist they are “right behind”. For almost a week, a group of around 300 students have been staging a sit-in protest in a university lecture hall.

It follows ugly scenes two weeks ago, when students stormed a university administration building, and clashed violently with riot police on campus.

Tutankhamun's Funeral - A New King Tut Exhibition at New York's Met

Ann — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:14:58 +0000

In 1908, more than a decade before the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, American retired lawyer and archaeologist Theodore Davis made a remarkable discovery. While excavating in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, he unearthed about a dozen large storage jars. Their contents included broken pottery, bags of natron, 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 significance of the find was not immediately understood, and the objects entered the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a mystery. It was only several years later, after further excavations and study, that the Museum’s Herbert E. Winlock was able to identify them: the small cache contained the remains from the embalming and funeral of King Tut. These objects now get their own exhibition - Tutankhamun's Funeral - which runs at New York's Met until November 6th.

How to Look Ten Years Older: Photos From the Scanning of a Mummy in Porto

veigapaula — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:23:06 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to take part in the scanning of a female mummy from ancient Egypt, and to take photos to document the experience. This young girl was only around 25 at the age of death, and survived in relative peace for thousands of years. In the last century, however, she's been used as a bargaining tool by the Germans, survived attacks by torpedos and fires, and even suffered physical traumas.

Virtual Heritage Key Photo Contest

Meral Crifasi — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:13:46 +0000

We want to see your best high resolution photos taken in Heritage Key Virtual, and will reward the most sublime shots with non-virtual cash. Heritage Key Grid - running on OpenSim with some extra magic added to it - and shows ancient Egypt, the Valley of the Kings, the treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb and most recently added the Stonehenge. It is easy to REGISTER and have a look at what we have created, an area well worth of 'snapshotting'.

Taking good, quality, high-resolution photographs anywhere in the metaverse takes quite a bit of time, effort and creative genius, so we are offering 100$ for the most fabulous high resolution shots taken in King Tut Virtual. Here are the rules:

Celebrate St. Patrick's by Visiting Loughcrew for Spring Equinox

Sean Williams — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:33:32 +0000

Some of you, like us, may be visiting Stonehenge for this Saturday's Spring Equinox celebrations (see event listing here). Yet I suspect a fair few more of you will be sinking pints of Guinness in homage to Saint Patrick tonight, staggering home wearing a green top hat which looked oh-so-cool a few hours ago.

But if you're going to be on the Emerald Isle this weekend, why not combine the two, by visiting Loughcrew, Ireland's best-known megalithic cairn. At the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, Loughcrew's cairn T is bathed in light, and the sun symbols on its back chamber can be seen in their full glory.