Museum agrees to care for stelae dating from second half of first millennium BC until it is safe to return them
The V&A is to look after four ancient carved funerary stones that were found by police in a shop in east London in a historic agreement with Yemen.
The stelae, which date from the second half of the first millennium BC, come from necropoli that have been looted in recent years.
Continue reading...Local archaeologists dedicate their lives to protect priceless artefacts from smugglers, Hamas and Israeli attacks in a land at history’s crossroads
There is considerable debate over the origin of the name Gaza. Some etymologists trace it back to azaz, which means “strong” in Semitic languages; other accounts believe it derives from the Persian word ganj, which means “treasure”.
It’s true that you almost can’t move for ancient treasures in the tiny blockaded strip. Fishers, farmers and construction workers regularly uncover elements of Gaza’s 5,000-year-old past in the course of a day’s work.
Continue reading...Former head of V&A has suggested Parthenon marbles could be shared with Greece
A former head of the V&A Museum, who previously suggested the Parthenon marbles could be shared with Greece, has been put forward as the interim director of the British Museum.
Sir Mark Jones will replace Hartwig Fischer, who quit after it emerged thousands of objects had been stolen from the museum’s collection. A police investigation is under way regarding the reported thefts.
Continue reading...Warrant issued in investigation into smuggling of antiquities looted from Turkey and trafficked through US
A headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius has been seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities investigating antiquities looted from Turkey.
A warrant signed by a judge in Manhattan on 14 August ordered the seizure of the statue, which the museum acquired in 1986 and had been a highlight of its collection of ancient Roman art.
Continue reading...Votes invited for the public’s top 10 resorts and experiences, from beach huts and lidos to the Blackpool Tower
The British seaside may be derided by some for being as tacky as the candyfloss stuck to the side of your mouth. Yet tackiness is fundamental to its charm, according to campaigners who say that seaside heritage sites should be protected as fiercely as castles and stately homes.
The Seaside Heritage Network (SHN) says amusement parks, lidos and scenic railways are all part of the UK’s role in the creation of modern tourism and should be cherished.
Continue reading...Fischer to step down after blunders prompt international embarrassment and questions about systemic failures
The head of the British Museum has resigned and his deputy has stepped back over its handling of the suspected widespread theft of artefacts following a string of blunders that have prompted international embarrassment and questions about systemic failures.
Hartwig Fischer said on Friday he accepted responsibility for the museum’s failure to properly respond to warnings about the suspected thefts of thousands of objects in 2021.
Continue reading...Group guards bricks until morning as local people tell of ‘major lack of trust’ over what could happen next
As large building machinery started arriving on the site of the Crooked House pub on Monday night, fears for the remains of the much-loved building grew – with locals wondering what might happen to it under the cover of darkness.
But one group of people used to staying up all night – the Black Country Paranormal Society – stepped in to guard the site perimeter and make sure all remaining bricks made it to the morning.
Continue reading...De-aged image offers likelife image of how prince may have looked during unsuccessful Jacobite rising of 1745
The face of Bonnie Prince Charlie has been recreated using death masks that depict him as he would have looked during the Jacobite rising of 1745.
The prince, who was renowned for his good looks, has captivated a new generation of interest through the TV show Outlander.
Continue reading...Fate of Black Country pub could serve as catalyst for campaigns to preserve a flawed but colourful past
When Paul Turner started an online petition calling for his local pub in the Staffordshire village of Himley to be saved after it was sold to new owners, he was expecting only a few hundred signatures. Then the Crooked House pub burned down, making headlines around the world.
“I expected it to be just a few names, but we’re approaching 16,000 signatures now,” said Turner. “It has turned into something completely different. The amount of support we’ve had has been unbelievable.”
Continue reading...Call for government to act amid anger over demolition of Crooked House pub in Staffordshire
The UK risks losing a vital part of its heritage unless planning laws are changed to protect historic pub buildings, campaigners have said.
Greg Mulholland, the director of Campaign for Pubs, said the growing anger over the fire and demolition of the Crooked House pub in Staffordshire must act as a “catalyst for change” in the approach to protecting historic pubs.
Continue reading...Hamish Ogston’s donation will fund up to 2,700 apprenticeships in crafts to preserve historic buildings
A British philanthropist has given almost £29m to heritage skills training, breathing new life into dying crafts and addressing the chronic shortage of specialists who can prevent historic buildings from deteriorating beyond repair.
Hamish Ogston’s donation, which has been made through his charitable foundation, will be announced on Thursday.
Continue reading...Research shows our imaginations grow richer with age so the charity is giving grownups a chance to have fun
Parents are used to watching their children eagerly dress up as a knight or a gladiator before going bananas when they visit castles, forts and stately homes.
But English Heritage believes adults will also get more out of visiting their sites if they leave their inhibitions aside and don a Roman toga or medieval chainmail for the day.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts – home of the 1889 Tenterfield oration – to close in a fortnight
The first museum included on the National Trust register will close its doors at the end of the month, leaving its century-old artefacts of federation locked behind glass until further notice.
The Sir Henry Parkes memorial school of arts is the site of the five-time premier’s famous Tenterfield oration in 1889, regarded as the first direct appeal to the public for an Australian nation-state to unite the colonies.
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Continue reading...With cruise ships decanting thousands of tourists in Athens, tough new controls have been imposed at the country’s most visited site
It’s official: more than 25 centuries after it was built and nearly 200 years after it began attracting tourists, the Acropolis will adopt crowd control policies to ease the very modern plague of soaring visitor numbers.
Unprecedented queues at the foot of the site, a dramatic rise in sightseers since the Covid-19 pandemic and unruly scenes at the gateway to the sanctuary have spurred the Greek government to take action.
Continue reading...West Lindsey council votes down proposal to relocate dog, named after a racial slur, to Norfolk airbase
Councillors have rejected proposals to exhume and relocate a dog buried at the former base of the Dambusters put forward amid concerns about the suitability of the grave’s location once the site is repurposed as accommodation for asylum seekers.
During an extraordinary planning meeting on Wednesday evening, West Lindsey district councillors unanimously voted down an application by RAF Heritage to relocate the dog to an airbase in Norfolk.
Continue reading...Italy’s culture minister has called for the man who defaced the site with ‘Ivan+Hayley 23’ to be identified and prosecuted
Italian police are on the hunt for a young tourist who carved his and his girlfriend’s names into a wall of the Colosseum, sparking widespread condemnation.
The English-speaking tourist was filmed by an onlooker using keys to engrave “Ivan+Hayley 23” into the wall of the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre on Friday afternoon.
Continue reading...Ancient painting includes fruit that looks like a pineapple – although it is almost certainly something else
A striking still life fresco resembling a pizza has been found among the ruins of ancient Pompeii, although the dish seems to lack two essential ingredients – tomato and mozzarella – and includes an item that looks suspiciously like a pineapple.
The fresco, which dates back 2,000 years, emerged during excavations in the Regio IX area of Pompeii’s archaeological park, which is close to Naples, the birthplace of pizza. The painting was on a wall in what is believed to have been the hallway of a home that had a bakery in its annexe.
Continue reading...Technology will allow conservators to use fluorescence to identify and remove ageing varnish with total accuracy
Scientists have developed technology that will revolutionise the restoration of historic works of art by allowing conservators to identify and remove ageing varnish with total accuracy.
A team at King’s College London’s department of physics has harnessed the power of fluorescence to bring “unprecedented clarity” to the conservation process, said Prof Klaus Suhling.
Continue reading...Object from mid-bronze age, in ‘extraordinary’ state of preservation, was found in grave in Bavaria
A bronze sword more than 3,000 years old , which is so well-preserved that it “almost still shines”, has been unearthed in southern Germany, officials say.
The Bavarian state office for the preservation of historical monuments (BLfD) said the sword, which is believed to date back to the end of the 14th century BC — the middle of the bronze age — was found during excavations last week in Nördlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart.
Continue reading...Playful takes on cautionary Ministry of Works signs encourage visitors to have a sensory experience
Fifty years ago, heritage sites in England were covered in signs saying don’t do this, don’t do that, beware coming closer, danger here, keep your children under control and the dreaded we will prosecute you.
Those doom-laden Ministry of Works signs are making a comeback. Or a sort of comeback, as English Heritage announces plans for new signs that will have a more mindful spin.
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