Archaeology News Online

No site in the world has been continually excavated for so long as Pompeii, the city that lay buried after being destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted, until its accidental discovery over 1,700 years later. Project Director Rebecca Benefiel uses an iPad to take a photograph of a drawing in Herculaneum  [Credit: Ancient Graffiti Project] Not far away lies Herculaneum; buried in the same eruption, it is less well known among tourists but just as much of a treasure trove for archaeologists and historians. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the cities are well preserved. The eruption may have wiped out their inhabitants, but it also ensured that they were kept alive in historical memory, thanks to the metres of ash that shielded the ruins and remains from the elements. Historians have therefore had access to details which in other cities they can only guess at. This is particularly true in Herculaneum, which was buried by volcanic ash from the ground up rather than being bur...

In the image of Volterra, Italy’s original Etruscan arch, every detail of the facade was clear — the stone arch and three heads chiseled into the rock that watched from overhead. Footage of 3-D models of the historic site, created from drone photography in Autodesk ReCap  [Credit: Autodesk, Inc. and Volterra-Detroit Foundation] But this wasn’t a photo of Porta all'Arco, the highlight of the medieval walled city’s gateway. It was an expertly produced 3D model of the Tuscan town’s architectural darling from the 4th century B.C., known as one of the last standing Etruscan arches in the world. The photo and the model look strikingly alike, which is exactly the purpose of the expedition. Technology and historical preservation collided as part of the International Reality Capture Workshop — a collaboration between Carnegie-based software company Case Technologies , the Volterra-Detroit Foundation, East Liberty-based Autodesk and the municipality of Volterra itself to document the town’...

A fragile river god by Michelangelo has been restored after lying neglected in a basement storeroom below Casa Buonarroti in Florence for some 50 years. Restored model of river god by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1526-1527, Casa Buonarroti, Florence  [Credit: Academy of Art and Design] The statue, whose bronze coating was removed and deteriorated earthenware structure was restored to its original marble over three years, will soon be displayed in a major Renaissance show at Palazzo Strozzi before finding a home at Florence's Academy of Art and Design . The restoration was led by Rosanna Moradei and took place at Florence's elite restoration workshop, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. It was funded by some 32,000 euros from the not-for-profit foundation Friends of Florence. Source: ANSA [July 14, 2017]

The copper from Ötzi’s axe comes from Southern Tuscany. In September 2016, Professor Gilberto Artioli from the University of Padua had already announced this when presenting his first research findings on the occasion of the Bolzano Mummy Congress which had been jointly organised by the Eurac Institute for Mummies and the Iceman and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to commemorate the 25th anniversary of finding Ötzi’s remains. The copper axe of the Iceman [Credit: © South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology] Finding out about the origin of the copper was a complete surprise, as up till now archaeologists had assumed that the copper used in the Alpine region came from Alpine deposits or the Balkan region. What has not yet been ascertained is whether the Iceman acquired the copper from Tuscany as raw material or as a ready-made blade. Artioli’s publication furthermore establishes links to coeval metallurgical activity in Tuscany. Future research projects aim to retrace trading routes ...

New rooms have been discovered in the domus (house) of Empress St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, in the bowels of the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, officials said Friday. Restoration work carried out in the Domus of the Empress Helena [Credit: Repubblica] "These are nothing less than the living quarters of Helen's court ladies," said superintendent Francesco Prosperetti. "We have shed more light on the main entrance into the domus and better established the divisions between the various rooms," said archaeologist Anna De Santis. Restoration work carried out in the Domus of the Empress Helena [Credit: Repubblica] The Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme or Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and titular church in the Esquilino district of Rome. According to tradition, the basilica was consecrated circa 325 to house the relics of the Passion of Christ, including parts of th...

No site in the world has been continually excavated for so long as Pompeii, the city that lay buried after being destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted, until its accidental discovery over 1,700 years later. Project Director Rebecca Benefiel uses an iPad to take a photograph of a drawing in Herculaneum  [Credit: Ancient Graffiti Project] Not far away lies Herculaneum; buried in the same eruption, it is less well known among tourists but just as much of a treasure trove for archaeologists and historians. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the cities are well preserved. The eruption may have wiped out their inhabitants, but it also ensured that they were kept alive in historical memory, thanks to the metres of ash that shielded the ruins and remains from the elements. Historians have therefore had access to details which in other cities they can only guess at. This is particularly true in Herculaneum, which was buried by volcanic ash from the ground up rather than being bur...

In the image of Volterra, Italy’s original Etruscan arch, every detail of the facade was clear — the stone arch and three heads chiseled into the rock that watched from overhead. Footage of 3-D models of the historic site, created from drone photography in Autodesk ReCap  [Credit: Autodesk, Inc. and Volterra-Detroit Foundation] But this wasn’t a photo of Porta all'Arco, the highlight of the medieval walled city’s gateway. It was an expertly produced 3D model of the Tuscan town’s architectural darling from the 4th century B.C., known as one of the last standing Etruscan arches in the world. The photo and the model look strikingly alike, which is exactly the purpose of the expedition. Technology and historical preservation collided as part of the International Reality Capture Workshop — a collaboration between Carnegie-based software company Case Technologies , the Volterra-Detroit Foundation, East Liberty-based Autodesk and the municipality of Volterra itself to document the town’...

A fragile river god by Michelangelo has been restored after lying neglected in a basement storeroom below Casa Buonarroti in Florence for some 50 years. Restored model of river god by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1526-1527, Casa Buonarroti, Florence  [Credit: Academy of Art and Design] The statue, whose bronze coating was removed and deteriorated earthenware structure was restored to its original marble over three years, will soon be displayed in a major Renaissance show at Palazzo Strozzi before finding a home at Florence's Academy of Art and Design . The restoration was led by Rosanna Moradei and took place at Florence's elite restoration workshop, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. It was funded by some 32,000 euros from the not-for-profit foundation Friends of Florence. Source: ANSA [July 14, 2017]