Archaeology Odyssey, May/June 2002
Features
The Shaft Tombs of Abusir
Deep beneath the desert, archaeologists found the first undisturbed Egyptian tomb in half a century
Intact tombs from ancient Egypt are extremely rare, so high are the rewards of grave-robbing. Even the most famous tomb of all—that of King Tutankhamun (1336–1327 B.C.), opened by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922—was robbed in antiquity. The last intact tomb was...Read more ›
The Iconography of Power
Reading late Bronze Age symbols
During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 B.C.E.), much of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East was carved up among a group of civilizations: Egyptians in the south, Babylonians and Assyrians in Mesopotamia, the Mittani in northern Syria, Hittites in Anatolia, and Mycenaeans in Greece and Crete. Many...Read more ›
Climbing Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius sleeps quietly today, overlooking the brilliant blue waters of the Bay of Naples. Yet over the millennia its eruptions have again and again destroyed (and sometimes preserved) towns lying near its slopes—including the prosperous ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. ...Read more ›
Iphigenia & Isaac
Saved at the altar
Iphigenia and Isaac, an unlikely pair. Yet both were almost sacrificed—one to a Greek goddess and the other to the universal Israelite God. Both Iphigenia and Isaac were innocent of any wrongdoing. In the end, both were saved when the deity relented and an animal ...Read more ›