Archaeology Odyssey

It is not known whether Vitruvius visited any of these temples on his military campaigns. But their designs were based on rational principles that could be conveyed through the treatises Vitruvius read. Moreover, some of these buildings were as well known then as the Eiffel Tower is today.

The Hittites, who never met a god they didn’t like, had their own version of the storm god: In Hittite state religion, Teshub became the Weather God of Hattusha, who presided over the Great Temple and whose cult was linked specifically to the capital city.

Luwian is an Indo-European language that was spoken in western Anatolia and is closely related to Hittite.

See “The Oasis of Amun Siwa, Egypt,” Destinations, AO 03:01.

Our excavations are made possible by a grant from the Society for Libyan Studies, in London; publication of the Daniels archive is funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust.

Some scholars have recently suggested it may be even older, as early as the 3rd Dynasty (2649–2575 B.C.), but these claims are still being investigated.

See “Archimedes Takes Center Stage,” Field Notes, AO 02:04.