Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in June 1981, inaugurating a series of films about a daredevil, anti-Nazi and somewhat cowboy archaeologist. The character is a hodgepodge of authentic archaeologists who are sometimes just as diehard as he is. Scene from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark (rele
Passionate about techniques, physics, mathematics and innovations in all fields, the Emperor - whose death is commemorated on May 5, 2021 - will grant a special place to scholars throughout his reign. Physicist Alessandro Volta presented his electric battery to Napoleon in 1801. This article is f
New demographic models and analyzes confirm for the first time that the city of Angkor, in the current Kingdom of Cambodia, was in the 13th century, at its height, one of the largest inhabited complexes in the world. Daily life in the heart of the city of Angkor, in the 12th century. It is enoug
The medievalist Alban Gautier (University of Caen) was live on the Twitch channel of Sciences et Avenir Thursday, May 20, 2021 between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. An interview to review in video on our site. Alban Gautier, professor of medieval history at the University of Caen, was the guest of the Twit
A vast program of the National Research Agency provides for the next online publication of all the Gallic inscriptions collected to date. Gallic inscription of the Cartouche of Martialis (1st century AD):martialis dannotali ieuru ucuete sosin celicnon etic gobedbi dugiiontio ucuetin in Alisiia; o
On the slopes of the Helmand River in southern Afghanistan lie the ruins of a thousand-year-old royal city. But archaeologists are worried about the future of this exceptional complex, now occupied by hundreds of people displaced by the surrounding fighting. The ruins of the 11th century Qala-e-Ko
Press review Germany:Germany will return the bronzes of Benin, emblematic pieces of looted African colonial art, to Nigeria from 2022. This decision, described as historic, is the first result of a vast debate around the restitution of objects brought back to Germany in the context of colonization.
Art historian Laurence des Cars has just been appointed president of the Louvre in Paris, the most visited museum in the world. Laurence Des Cars at the Musée dOrsay (Paris) on March 24, 2021. At 54, art historian Laurence des Cars, general heritage curator, specialist in 19th and early 20th cen
A new examination of skeletons found in southern Egypt indicates that the first episodes of violence would not have been exceptional events. For specialists, the sharing of the same environment between several cultural groups would have favored conflicts. Archival photograph illustrating the doubl
A new study looks back at the ritual sacrifices of Inca children carried out in the 15th century at the top of the Ampato and Pichu Pichu volcanoes, in Peru. Mummy n°2 from the Ampato volcano, Peru, and its x-ray showing silver jewelry ornaments called tupu. All the peoples of the world have been
Egyptian culture permeated the burial practices of successive conquerors of the country. Witness the sublime portraits that adorn the mummies found in the oasis of Fayoum. Interview with Françoise Dunand, professor emeritus of the history of religions at Marc-Bloch University in Strasbourg. Mummy
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is distinguished by the profusion of works it contains, in particular the mask of Tutankhamun. But four major European institutions also house spectacular collections of pharaonic art. In Paris, Turin, London or Berlin... follow the guide! The Great Sphinx of Tanis on
Bulls, rams, crocodiles, cats, but also snakes, shrews and hawks... Few animal species escaped the hands of the embalmers of ancient Egypt. Cat mummy from the Late Period (664-332 BC). Paris, Louvre Museum. The embalmed bodies of the Apis bulls in Memphis, Boukhis in Hermontis or even Mnevis in H
Poppy plants were already growing in the Swiss Alps in the 6e millennium before our era. Opium poppy flower and capsule. When discussing the cultivation of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L. ), it is the images of immense fields of colorful flowers dotted across the vast plains of Afghanistan
The project to renovate the Acropolis, the famous sacred rock of Athens listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is coming up against many critics, the Greek government being accused of damaging an invaluable heritage. Tourists visit the Parthenon on June 4, 2021 in Athens Main object of this ange
The use of animal tooth pendants in rituals more than 8,000 years ago could have encouraged prehistoric hunters to dance, thanks to the sounds produced by the movements of the body. Reconstruction of an adult man found in tomb 76a of the prehistoric cemetery of Yuzhniy Olenliy Ostrov, northwestern
In the early 11th century, one of the Viking warriors died in England from head wounds and was buried in a mass grave in Oxford. The other died in Denmark. Two skeletons of Viking warriors at the National Museum of Denmark on June 9, 2021 in Copenhagen Separated for 1,000 years, two Viking warrio
Political, religious, security... The reasons that presided over the evolution of the pyramids, then their abandonment in favor of the hypogeums, remain hypothetical for Egyptologists. Step Pyramid at Saqqara (Egypt). This article is from the Special Issue of Sciences et Avenir n°197 dated April-
The village of Deir el-Medina housed the workers of the funeral sites as well as their families. The archaeologists were able to reconstruct their daily life... right down to the reasons for their work stoppages! Overview of the walls of the houses of the craftsmens village of Deir el Medina (Deir
By analyzing, in situ , the chemical composition of Egyptian colours, researchers are renewing understanding of the artists technique and the symbolism of these spellbinding images. Copy of a fresco from the Temple of Memnon at El Kab in Egypt. This article is from the Special Issue of Sciences e
Archaeologists investigating the site of Vryokastraki, an islet in front of the ancient city of Vryokastro on the island of Kythnos in the Cyclades archipelago, for two years, found inscriptions that confirm the story told in previous finds in Athens, about a 4th century BC pirate The islet, on whi
Archaeologists found a bronze vessel last October during excavations of a 2,000-year-old tomb in Luoyang, China. Inside the vessel was 3.5 liters of a yellowish liquid that, at first, they thought might have been rice wine, due to its strong smell of alcohol. Remains of similar liquids have been fo
Political, religious, security... The reasons that presided over the evolution of the pyramids, then their abandonment in favor of the hypogeums, remain hypothetical for Egyptologists. Step Pyramid at Saqqara (Egypt). This article is from the Special Issue of Sciences et Avenir n°197 dated April-
The Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods exceptionally opened its doors to us in Nanterre, near Paris. Diving into the heart of very sensitive investigations. Police Commander Jean-Luc Boyer, deputy head of the OCBC, in the room that houses cultural property recently