Lost cities / archaeology / ancient history

I have Collapse and it's damn good. Guns, Germs and Steel should be mandatory reading for everyone on the planet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/31/mes-aynak-afghanistan-buddhist-treasure

This site is thought to be the location of ancient Hecatompylos, one of the capitals of the vast Parthian empire.

There are some impressive mounds of mud-brick ruins.

http://www.livius.org/he-hg/hecatompylos/hecatompylos.html

Enjoyed these, obviously early doors but it's still amazing how few people are there.

Recently, aerial photographer Jason Hawkes was on an assignment in Libya, with access to a Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter, He flew along the Mediterranean coastline, photographing Tripoli and several ancient Roman sites from above, including Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The result is a collection of images of Libya rather unlike most recent photos from the region, showing a continuity of more than 2,000 years of human habitation along the coast of North Africa.

Aerial view of the almost intact ancient Sabratha Theatre located in Sabratha, Libya, on the Mediterranean coast. The site was originally a Phoenician trading-post, but became part of the Roman Empire, and its monuments were built in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. View on Google Maps. (© Jason Hawkes)

Overview of ancient Sabratha, with some of the buildings of modern Sabratha in the background. View on Google Maps. (© Jason Hawkes)

The Amphitheater of Leptis Magna, a former quarry, converted into an arena. View on Google Maps. (© Jason Hawkes)

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/05/over-libyas-coast/100523/

I was lucky enough to survey some of that ^^ as a student. Ah them were the days - my 'assistant' was the daughter of the Protestant Bishop of Montevideo. Bonkers.

In Prehistoric Atlantic history news:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jun/04/eight-prehistoric-boats-bronze-age

Isn't this SteveO's area?

I know it's not quite the theme of the thread but thought it may fit here as on the previous page...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22770959

Hm ... perhaps we need an 'Extinct species/living fossils' thread ... :)

I'll start one.

Archaeologists are preparing to show some of the objects found submerged in the Med at what is thought to be Heracleion

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2336723/Ancient-Egyptian-city-lost-1-200-years-begins-reveal-secrets.html

I find this sort of thing unbelievably fascinating:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/18/lasers-lost-city-angkor-wat-cambodia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahendraparvata_%28ancient_city%29

A civilisation which perhaps collapsed because of deforestation (where today there is dense jungle again)--man-made or caused by other factors, or both?

"Mountain of the Great Indra"

Hrm.

Some cool shit here;

http://archive.org/details/TheVoynichManuscript

Mysterious 15th century text in an unknown seemingly coded language. Illustrations of "imaginary" plants and other oddness.

The site has other ancient texts, all open source.

More on the Cambodian investigation:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2013/jun/28/cambodia-lost-city-archaeological-discovery-angkor

It's undoubtedly being talked up by the people involved to attract funding, but by any reckoning it sounds like an amazing discovery through the new methodology.

Not again!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/04/pyramid-peru-torn-down-el-paraiso

This shit is so horrendously fucked up.

Also RIP Mick Aston.

thought of you and this thread when i saw that story Oliver!

Yes, it obviously happens all the time, but it seems that it's rarely this blatant--even looters just tend to try to loot and not destroy everything. A bloody shame, this looked like a very interesting pyramid. There's obviously enough still left for archaeologists to have centuries of work ahead of them, but it does feel like an irretrievable loss.

I imagine that the timing of this publicity may be intended to delay the start of building works more:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2013/jul/08/medieval-ruins-discovered-somerset

An interesting article. I've always thought that we must underestimate ancient populations and the extent to which people travelled, e.g. for trade, and the cultural influence that has.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/jul/11/ancient-greece-cultural-hybridisation-theory

Incan terraces at Choquequirao:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/peru-tram-incan-refuge-choquequirao

Incan terraces at Wiñay Wayna:

So much that's lost still waiting to be re-discovered ...

check out sigyria rock fortress in sri lanka
another castle atop a rock outcrop equally as precarious getting up there

not photo's of the day though

.

That's amazing.

Been up that, it's fantastic. There are some amazingly well-preserved paintings on the way up too, and another massive complex below.

iirc, it was built by a king as protection from his brother. When his brother came back, the king went out with his army, straight into a swamp and got massacred.

Wow ^^^