SAFE (Saving Antiquities for Everyone) is an organization dedicated to raising public awareness about the irreversible damage to the study of history and culture that results from looting, smuggling, and trading illicit antiques. Advocating cultural preservation and educational outreach, SAFE is on the vanguard of delineating the necessity of ethical practices in relation to historical and cultural objects. Recently, SAFE published this interview with Omara Khan Massoudi, Director of the National Museum of Afghanistan. Massoudi comments on his hopes for the future and why cultural preservation is so essential in Afghanistan.

We just wanted to invite (and reiterate) to all of our contributors and users that we are on LinkedIn! Follow us and keep up to date with the latest news and events regarding our growing community. Also, please be sure to join or visit the Ancient History Group. Here you can network, read more articles, and interact with other ancient history enthusiasts. To access the company profile page or the group, please click on the LinkedIn icon, located on the left-hand side of our homepage, and follow the link(s). Remember,  you can follow us on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit too!

The name “Lucius Septimius Flavianus Flavillianus,” probably does not mean anything to you but it certainly did to the inhabitants of Oinoanda, a Roman city located in present-day southwest Turkey, around the year 200 CE. A recent translation from Greek reveals that he was something of a superstar in the world of sports; apparently, Flavillianus excelled in wrestling and pankration. Aside from being a star athlete and local hero, Flavillianus was also a recruiter for the Imperial Roman army. Please click here to read this unusual but entertaining news piece from Live Science.

The Greek Reporter has published an interesting article about the town of “Empúries” (in Catalan) or “Emporion” (in Ancient Greek). For those of you that know Spain well, please be aware that the town had also been called “Ampurias” (in Castilian Spanish) until recent times. Established by Greek fisherman, merchants, and settlers from Phocaea in c. 575 BCE, Empúries was the most westerly ancient Greek colony documented in the Mediterranean and retained a distinct cultural identity for nearly a thousand years. Interest is growing in the remarkably well preserved ruins as a record number of tourists are visiting the area. Please click here to read about this curious place and also be sure to check out the homepage of the Iberia Graeca Centre.

If you should find yourself in Prague, Czech Republic, later this year, you might be interested in attending a planned exhibition on ancient Thrace. Although the details have been kept to a minimum, you can find more information by reading this article from the Prague Daily Monitor. When we have more details, we promise to pass them along to you.

We wanted to alert our readers and users in the United States about a very interesting documentary: “Quest for the Lost Maya.” It aired on PBS last night (in most locations) and is available online as a streaming video. This documentary follows three archaeologists–George Bey, Bill Ringle, and Tomás Gallareta Negrón–exploring the remains of a forgotten Mayan kingdom in the Puuc region of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Although it has been usually assumed that the northern Mayan kingdoms of the Yucatán were inferior in wealth and culture when compared to the southerly kingdoms based in what is present-day Guatemala, new research is suggesting just the opposite. This documentary surveys the northern Mayan experience and apogee, from the Pre-Classic era (c. 800 BCE) to the collapse of the Classical era (c. 900 CE). Please click here to access the program’s homepage and be sure to watch the film!

For those of you who visit our site from Scandinavia, please be aware that the gilded treasures of Tutankhamen are heading your way this fall. From September 15, 2012 to January 1, 2013, the “Tutankhamun” exhibition will be on view at the Malmö Expo Center, in Malmö, Sweden. This international show has already delighted crowds in Oceania, Europe, Asia, and North America. With elaborate reconstructions and over 1.000 objects, this is an exhibition not to be missed! Please click here for further details about the show.

The ancient Celts were known for their fierce warriors, their druids, and their art. They were also quite fashionable–in some sense–and keen on parties. Science Daily recently featured an article on recent excavations in Germany, which have revealed the “partying” culture of the Pre-Roman Celts. To read more, please click here to access the article.

A British scholar, Barbara Watterson, has just written a book on the varied experiences of women in ancient Egypt: Women in Ancient Egypt, published by Amberley Press, traces the experiences of women from the very high (Nefertiti and Nefertari) to the very low (peasants and prostitutes). Along the way, Watterson peppers her work with little known facts and portraits of long-forgotten figures. Please click here to read this rather humorous book review from the UK’s Daily Mail.

How did the ancient Hawaiians catch their fish? Better question: how many did they catch on average? Blessed with natural resources, it might be assumed that the ancient inhabitants of the Hawaiian islands would have over-fished the pristine waters of the Pacific Ocean. This article, recently published in the New York Times, challenges that assessment. Please click here to access and read it.