In an effort to share more of our favourite ancient objects from around the world, Ancient History Encyclopedia staff have taken a closer look at some really amazing objects or structures. Today’s Object in Focus is the Meroe Head of Augustus.
While we think Ancient History etc is one of the best Ancient History Blog out there. We also acknowledge there are many other places our readers might enjoy getting their history fix. That is why we have put together this list of recommended blogs that the team of AHetc follow in their spare time. Ancient Foods Since the dawn of time, we have always thought about our next meal. Ancient Foods is a blog that studies what we ate back in ancient times and how we caught or cooked it. Dirty, Sexy History This blog explores some of the issues that have continued to be controversial over time such as marriage, rebellion, health and slavery. Classics Confidential As the tagline of this blog suggests, each post contains a vodcast on various topics relating to the classics Greek and Roman eras. The vodcasts about ancient Literature and Music are a particular favourite of the Ancient History Etc team. Heritage Trust The Heritage Trust blog is a space to examine heritage sites, artefacts, skills and …
So many people contribute amazing posts to AHetc about their travels around the ancient world. I recently went through them all and found some posts that feature places I want to visit someday. I’m hoping, that like me, you find some inspiration and ideas looking through them too. To view the posts, click on the accompanying image. Our Rome visit in Photos Everyone loves to see the photos you took when travelling, which is why I adore this post. Earlier this year two of the AHE team, Jan and James, visited Rome to present at a conference. They kindly took a bunch of photos of this ancient world for those of us that couldn’t go with them.
At a lecture hosted by the Friends of ANU Classics Museum (Canberra, Australia) in September, I learnt about the Villa of the Papyri. Imagine a villa so big that parts of it haven’t been uncovered yet and big enough to house over 90 sculptures and other artefacts. This villa can be found in what was once the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum, and today is in a half-excavated dig site near the Gulf of Naples. Rough floor plan of the Villa of Papyri. Drawn by Karl Weber.
When I heard the British Museum’s exhibition A History of the World in 100 Objects was coming to Canberra, Australia I could not stop smiling. Since its arrival, I have visited three times and plan more visits in the near future. In this post, I’m going to take you on a short tour of the exhibition, showing off my favourite objects.
Here at Ancient History Encyclopedia, we have been discussing what inspires us and decided our readers might be interested in the conversation as well. With that in mind, have a read of what inspires some of AHE’s key figures to do what they do! Jan van der Crabben CEO and Founder Changing the world; no less! I believe that we can make a real difference to society by helping students get interested in history, so that they learn more about it on their own. Too often schools fail to create an interest in our past, but it’s our past through which we understand our present. If you know your history, it’s hard to be xenophobic, racist, or nationalist…understanding how we’re all connected and share our history is an important step in creating a better world.
Are you looking for some ancient history information and Google is not being specific enough to satisfy you? The following are some online resources I have found useful for my own research over the years. My interests lie mostly in the Roman world and these resources reflect that. However, as an advocate of life-long learning, I encourage you to share any reputable resources about ancient cultures you know of with everyone else in the comments below.
Cuneiform is considered the single most significant legacy of the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia. It was developed c. 3500-3000 BCE, is considered the first written language created, and was used for well over 1000 years. The oldest-dated cuneiform tablets mostly contain records of business transactions. However, over the centuries, cuneiform tables covered various different topics such as affairs of state, religion, magic, history, contracts, and were used for personal and professional communication (letters). [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OC_kpFyfT0[/embedyt]
Jade Koekoe, Blog Editor of Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE), recently spoke with novelist Dr. Roger Kenworthy, to discuss his series Memoirs of Nathanial Kenworthy. Roger writes historical fiction covering topics such as ancient history, adventure, reincarnation, time travel that is based on a variety of ancient cultures.
Ancient art and archaeological remains have provided archaeologists and historians today with clues to how the ancients practiced their sexuality and their overall attitude toward sex. To the causal observer, it seems the ancients were more open about their sexuality then we are today. In ancient Rome there were artworks in living rooms or studies depicting erotic images of lovers performing various sexual acts and in ancient Mesopotamia mass-produced terracotta plagues would show couples having sex. The Secret Cabinet For the Romans, sex was a part of their everyday lives, state affairs, religious rites, myths, even warfare, and featured prominently in their art. One of the most famous collections of erotic art from Roman culture is the artwork featured in the secret cabinet (gabinetto segreto). The secret cabinet collection is now part of the Naples National Archaeological Museum. It is said when King Francis I of Naples visited with his wife and daughter in 1819 he was so shocked by the contents of the collection he had them locked away. A brick wall was even …
