Top 300 Museum News Reviews, Resources, Services

• $1m challenge: ‘If the Turin Shroud is a forgery, show how it was done’ - "Expert on revered relic calls on British Museum to back up the results of its disputed carbon dating tests."
• $5 Million Reward - "FBI amd Gardner Museum Seeking Recovery of Stolen Art."
• 5 years after a $124-million museum heist shocked the world, recovered jewels returned home - "In November 2019, thieves stole pieces that contained more than 4,300 diamonds with an estimated value of over 113 million euros ($124 million), from the Gruenes Gewoelbe (Green Vault) museum in Dresden, in the eastern German state of Saxony."
• 7 Best New Museums in the World You Must Visit at Least Once - "From the Grand Egyptian Museum to a Japan's colourful Simose Art Museum and a museum dedicated to earthquakes in India, these new venues combine cutting-edge architecture with thought-provoking content."
• 7 Best UNESCO World Heritage Sites You Can Visit Without Leaving Home - "The coronavirus has brought travel to a standstill. The good news is that there are ways to indulge your wanderlust and exercise your mind without leaving the house. Thanks to Google and UNESCO, you can visit many of the world’s most awe-inspiring official World Heritage Sites without the crowds or the jet lag."
• 8 cultural artifacts the British Empire took from other nations - "From the Benin Bronzes to the Koh-i-Noor diamond. Governments and activists have since called for the repatriation of these cultural artifacts. Here are 8 of the objects the British took - and their contentious histories."
• 10 Ancient Technologies That Are Still a Mystery Today - "1. Antikythera, the Ancient Computer - 2. Timeless Durability of the Roman Concrete - 3. The Baffling Baghdad Battery - 4. The Incredible Precision ..."
• 10 best stately homes in UK - with number 1 once owned by King Charles - "With over 3,000 stately homes in the UK, we're spoiled for choice when it comes to visiting properties draped in finery and oozing grandeur. Here are 10 of the most unique residences."
• 10 good reasons to visit ChÂteau de Vaux-le-Vicomte - "The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte will astonish you! Find out why."
• 10 most misleading American historical sites - "Historical plaques are often anything but informative. Here are some of the worst offenders."
• 10 Must-See UNESCO Heritage Sites - "Google Arts & Culture."
• 10 of the world’s best virtual museum & art gallery tours - "The originals are out of reach for now, but you can still see world-class art - without the queues or ticket prices - with an online tour of these famous museums."
• 10 scenic & remote museums & galleries that are worth the trip - "Some museums require more than a plane and a taxi ride to be reached, but repay you with memories lasting a lifetime. CNN Style has picked some of the best, all nestled off the beaten track, offering stunning natural beauty and artistic value."
• 10 strangest artefacts in Australian museums - sorted - "From a hangman’s journal to ‘The Poo Machine’, here are some weird, unnerving and oddly touching objects in museums around the country."
• 10 tallest buildings in the world - "1. Taipei 101, Taipei. 2. Burj Khalifa, Dubai. 3. CITIC Tower, Beijing. 4. Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin ..."
• 10 times ancient Egyptian discoveries awed us in 2022 - "From mummies with gold-plated tongues to a pyramid built for a previously unknown queen, here are 10 spectacular discoveries about ancient Egypt from 2022."
• 10 virtual tours of the world’s most famous landmarks - "They’re closed for now but you can still take an interactive online tour, to gaze over the edge of Machu Picchu and marvel at the Pyramids from every angle."
• 13 ancient heritage sites ruined by vandals - The Telegraph.
• 17th Century Japanese Samurai Who Sailed to Europe, Met the Pope & Became a Roman Citizen - "We learn about intrepid Europeans who sought, and sometimes even found, trade and missionary routes to China and Japan during the centuries of exploration and empire. Rarely, if ever, do we hear about visitors from the East to the West, especially those as well-traveled as 17th-century samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga."
• 20 greatest modern landmarks on Earth - The Telegraph.
• 20 incredible new World Heritage Sites - The Telegraph.
• 20 Most Beautiful Museums in the World - Flavorwire.
• 24 most beautiful buildings in the world - "From the engineering genius of innovative new-builds to some of the planet’s oldest structures, here’s where to find the planet’s most incredible buildings: 1. Taj Mahal, India - 2. Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland - 3. The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt - 4. Fallingwater, USA - 5..."
• 25 amazing new World Heritage Sites for 2017 - The Telegraph.
• 25 Years After Gardner Museum Heist, Video Raises Questions - The New York Times.
• 42 incredible museums to visit in your lifetime - The Telegraph.
• 123 World Museums & Galleries List - the ultimate source of authentic and reliable information about the Museums and Galleries on the net.
• 360-degree virtual tours are easier to make with Insta360 and Matterport - "As the world continues to battle COVID-19, the likes of realtors, museums and galleries have been seeking alternative ways to serve their clients or visitors remotely. Matterport even claims that its platform helped create more than twice as many 360-degree virtual tours weekly between early March and mid-August, and it’s hoping to continue this momentum by expanding its list of compatible 360 cameras."
• $450 million Hong Kong Palace Museum opens with trove of Forbidden City treasures - "Beijing's Palace Museum, located in the heart of the Forbidden City, contains the world's largest collection of Chinese art, spanning nearly 5,000 years of history. Now, more than 900 of those treasures are on display at the new Hong Kong Palace Museum - a 'gift' from the central government to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule."
• 1,000 Years of Art at the Edge of the Gobi Desert - The New York Times.
• 2016 World Monuments Watch - features 50 sites in 36 countries that are at risk from the forces of nature and the impact of social, political, and economic change.
• 2019 WHC Session added 21 bringing the total to 1113 - World Heritage Site for World Heritage Travellers. Pictures, Info and Travel Reports.
• 3,000-year-old ‘lost golden city’ of ancient Egypt discovered - "Experts say Aten is the largest such city ever found and one of the most important finds since unearthing Tutankhamun’s tomb."
• 4,500-Year-Old Ramp Contraption May Have Been Used to Build Egypt's Great Pyramid - "Archaeologists have long wondered exactly how the ancient Egyptians constructed the world's biggest pyramid, the Great Pyramid. Now, they may have discovered the system used to haul massive stone blocks into place some 4,500 years ago."
• $42,000 way to experience Florence's Accademia art museum - CNN travel.
• 700,000 years of Egyptian history finds enormous new home - "The public has finally been allowed to visit part of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is the size of 80 football fields."
• A billion laser points helped bring Notre Dame back to life - "After a catastrophic fire five years ago, the Notre Dame Cathedral de Paris reopened this month looking almost the same as it did when it was first constructed in 1163. The massive reconstruction project was a testament not just to the hard work of the French people - but also to the lasers, drones and other advanced technology that gave rebuilders a window into the building’s past."
• A blue painted shrine is the latest discovery in Pompeii ‘treasure chest’ - "Archaeologists have unearthed an intricately decorated blue room, interpreted as an ancient Roman shrine known as a sacrarium, during recent excavations in central Pompeii in Italy."
• A glimpse behind the scenes of Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum - "Egypt’s vast, much-delayed museum is scheduled to open in 2020. But while Tutankhamun’s treasures are being readied for tourists, some critics see the building as a vanity project."
• A global first links 13 of Scotland’s Unesco cities and sites in a digital trail - "From Edinburgh to St Kilda, destinations in Scotland are being promoted as part of a sustainable tourism drive timed for COP26."
• A hidden part of Venice opens for first time - Never-before-seen Venice landmark opens to the public. The Procuratie Vecchie in St. Mark's Square - one of the most famous buildings in one of the world's most famous city spaces - has opened to the public for the first time in history.
• A now-dry branch of the Nile helped build Egypt's pyramids, new study says - "New evidence about the Nile bolsters a long-standing theory of how ancient Egyptians managed to build the massive pyramids of Giza thousands of years ago. Researchers led by geographer Hader Sheisha at Aix-Marseille University in France used paleoecological clues to help reconstruct what Egypt's Nile river might have looked like over the past 8,000 years."
• A Restored Painting Recalls the Colosseum’s Christian Past - "The restoration of a wall painting depicting an idealized Jerusalem is a reminder that the Roman monument, known best for gladiatorial combat, was a sacred Christian space for centuries."
• A secret site for the Knights Templar? - "Three centuries after it was rediscovered, Royston Cave remains one of Britain's most mysterious places."
• A secret world under a French castle - "Nearly 1,000 years ago, French lords designed an elaborate underground castle for a doomsday attack that never came."
• Acropolis now: Greeks outraged at concreting of ancient site - "Installation of new pathway and lift has been criticised by archaeologists and called ‘a scandal’."
• Acropolis: The Oldest Photograph of the Acropolis - "In the distant year of 1842, French photographer and draughtsman Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey took the first-ever photograph of the 'Holy Rock.' To be more precise, this photograph is a daguerreotype, and is actually one of the earliest surviving photographs of Greece."
• African heritage sites are under threat from rising seas, but there's still time to save them - "On the shores of North Africa, ancient cities have stood for millennia. The columns of Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia, are a reminder of the once bustling Phoenician and Roman port, and along the coast in what's now Libya, lie the majestic ruins of Sabratha's Roman amphitheater close - perhaps too close - to the sea. Extreme weather events and rising sea levels mean that all three - and around 190 other spectacular heritage sites that line Africa's coasts - will be at risk of severe flooding and erosion in the next 30 years, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change."
• After 350 years, sea gives up lost jewels of Spanish shipwreck - "Marine archaeologists stunned by priceless cache long hidden beneath the Bahamas’ shark-infested waters."
• After the deluge: A tourist visits flood-hit Venice - CNN travel.
• AI analysis of ancient handwriting gives new age estimates for Dead Sea Scrolls - "AI analysis of Dead Sea Scroll fragments suggests some of the ancient manuscripts are up to 100 years older than once thought."
• AI Recreates the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - "From the Statue of Zeus at Olympia to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, AI recreated the seven wonders of the ancient world."
• Alexander the Great’s Assassination & the Location of the Lost Tomb - "Archaeologists and scholars have spent nearly a century investigating what happened to Alexander the Great and where his tomb is located. Some argue that his tomb is in Macedonia, northern Greece, while others claim it is in Alexandria, Egypt, or even Babylon, but no one has been able to locate it. The tomb was most likely relocated more than once..."
• An App That Will Forever Change How You Enjoy Museums - Wired.
• America's most-visited museum may house over 1,000 items linked to alleged trafficking - "Over 1,000 objects in the Met's collection linked to alleged traffickers and looters, investigation finds."
• An Everyman Museum to Celebrate American Writers - The New York Times.
• An immense mystery older than Stonehenge - "Reshaping previous ideas on the story of civilisation, Gobekli Tepe in Turkey was built by a prehistoric people 6,000 years before Stonehenge."
• Ancient Egypt unleashed - "How the gods, pharaohs, monsters and murderers shattered their silence. Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt is at the British Museum, London, 13 October to 19 February."
• Ancient home shows evidence of how Pompeiians tried to shelter from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius - "Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that four people, including a child, in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii used furniture to block a bedroom door and shield themselves from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79."
• Ancient objects that reveal writing's roots - "An exhibition about Iran traces how some of the world's earliest scripts developed. They were as much about images as text."
• Ancient winery gave rich Romans a taste of winemaking - without the hard work - "Researchers speculate that an emperor and his courtiers could have visited the villa annually for the experience. A lavish 2,000-year-old winery uncovered in the ruins of a villa just outside Rome may have been used as an entertainment venue, providing a winemaking 'experience' for wealthy Romans."
• Antiquity - since 1927. Academic journal dedicated to the subject of archaeology. It publishes six issues a year, covering topics worldwide from all periods. Since 2015, the journal has been published by Cambridge University Press.
• Archaeologists are too scared to look inside the tomb of China's first Emperor - "The tomb complex of Qin Xi Huang is famous the world over, but archaeologists are too scared to look inside."
• Architect unveils striking proposal for 'green' Notre Dame - "The rebuilt Notre Dame could feature a futuristic glass design, solar power, and an urban farm that supports vulnerable and homeless Parisians, if one architecture firm's vision is realized."
• Arrowhead made from meteorite 3,000 years ago found near lake in Europe - "A Bronze Age arrowhead unearthed in Switzerland was made from a meteorite, a new study has found. Dating back to between 900 and 800 BC, the 39-millimeter-long (1.5-inch-long) arrowhead was found on a pile-dwelling site in Mörigen on Lake Biel, Switzerland, during excavations in the 19th century, according to the study conducted by a team of researchers at the Natural History Museum of Bern."
• art & artefacts destroyed by the world’s greatest museums - "A sitar that once belonged to George Harrison was broken at the V&A - and this was far from the first time a gallery has had to make an awkward apology."
• ART PROJECT - explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share your own collection of masterpieces. Powered by Google.
• Art, unlocked: Italy's museums quietly reopen - in pictures - "After Italy’s government loosened Covid-19 restrictions in much of the country - including Lazio, the region that contains Rome and Vatican City - newly reopened museums are offering local visitors the opportunity to enjoy artworks undisturbed by the usual crowds of international tourists."
• Arts & Culture - Google’s New App Brings Hundreds of Museums to Your Phone.
• Astonishing new finds in the ancient city of Pompeii - "Kitchen shrine serpents and more fascinating new Pompeii discoveries. A kitchen shrine adorned with serpents, a bakery, human skeletons, exquisite frescos, and yes, a picture of something that looks very much like pizza. These are among the new finds being turned up at the Pompeii Archaeological Park."
• AUGMENTED REALITY IS TRANSFORMING MUSEUMS - Wired.
• Austria is giving Hitler's birthplace a $5.6M facelift - "Austrian architects will transform Hitler's birthplace into a police station."
• Axe that killed Trotsky & waterboarding 'kit' stir up controversy. The dark side of Washington's spy museum - "The bugged shoes and poison brollies are fun and fascinating. But why are the sections about state-sponsored torture and assassination so uncritical?"
• Ayasofya: the mosque-turned-museum at the heart of an ideological battle - "Turkey’s decision to secularise the building was symbolic - so is Erdoğan’s support for reversing it."
• Babylon – how war almost erased ‘mankind’s greatest heritage site’ - The Guardian.
• Babylonian Map of the World: The oldest known map of the ancient world - "The ancient map offers a glimpse of how the Babylonians viewed the world thousands of years ago."
• Barcelona's famous Sagrada Familia will finally be completed in 2026 - more than 140 years after construction started, officials have confirmed. The construction of the last of six towers will mark the completion of the structure of the basilica, the organization responsible for managing the site announced last week.
• Bayeux Tapestry, a British Masterpiece, Returns to England After 900 Years - "The embroidered work, depicting the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, will go on display in London for the first time, on loan from France."
• Bayeux Tapestry: Archaeologists uncover ‘lost’ home depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry - "Bosham is named on the Bayeux Tapestry, but the exact location of Harold’s residence depicted on the embroidery has not been clear."
• Bayeux Tapestry to close to public for two years - "Visitors keen to see this legendary example of propaganda art will have to get their trip in before 7 p.m. local time on August 31, 2025, as the museum is set to close until October 2027 for a major renovation and conservation project."
• Benin bronzes: ‘Africa wants to speak for itself’ - "This year marks the 125th anniversary of the British Punitive Expedition, which saw thousands of sculptures and cultural artefacts stolen during the destruction of Benin City (in present-day Nigeria). Many items ended up in museums or in private collections mainly found in Europe and North America. The anniversary has reignited the call by Africans for the return of millions of objects looted across the continent during the colonial era."
• 'Bent' pyramid: Egypt opens ancient oddity for tourism - "Pharoah Sneferu’s structure marks key step in Egyptian architecture, as builders had to change the angle when it started to crack."
• BØrsen fire: Denmark endures its own Notre Dame devastation - "Alarm bells first rang out early on Tuesday morning as fire ripped through Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange building, Børsen. Within no time at all the inferno had gutted large parts of the 400-year-old structure and toppled the ornate spire known for its distinctive dragons."
• Britain's 32 best stately homes - "We’ve toured the British Isles to bring you 32 of Britain’s best stately homes, including Blenheim Palace and Highclere Castle: 1. Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. 2. Highclere Castle, West Berkshire. 3. Chatsworth, Derbyshire. 4. Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire. 5. Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire. 6. Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. 7. Stonor, Oxfordshire. 8. Castle Howard, North Yorkshire..."
• Britain's equivalent to Tutankhamun found in Southend-on-Sea - "Burial chamber of a wealthy nobleman in Prittlewell shows Anglo-Saxon Essex in new light."
• British Museum, London: China’s Hidden Century review - how opium & Christianity demolished a civilisation - "From Looty the stolen dog to the story of the last emperor, via glittering gowns and bloody rebellions, this show has a shock round every corner."
• British Museum receives donation of Chinese ceramics worth $1.27 billion - "The British Museum said on Wednesday it would receive 1,700 pieces of world-renowned Chinese ceramics worth around 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion), in the largest donation in its nearly 300-year history. The collection, which has been on loan to the British Museum since 2009, has been donated by the Percival David Foundation."
• CIA museum: Inside the world's most top secret museum - "It is the perhaps the most unusual - and exclusive - museum in the world, filled with artefacts that have shaped history. But its doors are firmly shut to the public. Located inside the US intelligence agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the collection has just been renovated to mark the agency's 75th anniversary."
• Colosseum reopens to tourists: 'With so few of us we can enjoy it more' - "Roman site begins admitting small groups as Italy scrambles to salvage its tourism sector."
• Copenhagen's historic stock exchange in flames - "Denmark's historic old stock exchange building in the centre of Copenhagen has been engulfed by fire."
• Danish Culture Canon - consists of 108 works of cultural excellence in eight categories: architecture, visual arts, design and crafts, film, literature, music, performing arts, and children's culture. An initiative of Brian Mikkelsen in 2004, it was developed by a series of committees under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Culture in 2006–2007 as "a collection and presentation of the greatest, most important works of Denmark's cultural heritage."
• Dead Sea scrolls study raises new questions over texts' origins - "Salts used on Temple scroll are not common to Dead Sea region, researchers find."
• Did the Great Wall of China work? - "Yes, but perhaps not in the way you might imagine."
• Did the romans really reach Scotland? - "Hadrian's Wall may be older, bigger, stronger and better known, but the Unesco-listed Antonine Wall was the real final frontier of the Roman Empire."
• Discovering King Tutankhamun's tomb - BBC.
• Discovery of scholar's notes shine light on race to decipher Rosetta Stone - "Thomas Young used cut-up method to treat translation of Egyptian relic as mathematical problem, papers show."
• Does a cave beneath Pembroke Castle hold key to fate of early Britons? - "Scientists hope wealth of prehistoric material in Wogan Cavern in Wales is well preserved enough to reveal what really happened to our most ancient ancestors."
• Dramatic discovery links Stonehenge to its original site - in Wales - "Find backs theory that monument was dismantled and dragged over 140 miles to Wiltshire."
• Dubai's next iconic landmark - "Dubai's Museum of the Future: A new world icon?"
• Dutch gallery removes racist artwork titles - The Telegraph.
• Easter Island moai statue destroyed by truck - "One of Easter Island's world-famous moai statues has been destroyed in an accident."
• Egypt archaeologists find 20 ancient coffins near Luxor - "Archaeologists have found more than 20 ancient wooden coffins near the Egyptian city of Luxor, the country's antiquities ministry says."
• Egypt celebrates reopening 3,400-year-old Avenue of the Sphinxes - "Egypt celebrated the reopening of the ancient Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor on Thursday night, a 2.7-kilometer (1.7-mile) road that connects two temple complexes in the area, the Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak."
• Egypt mummies pass through Cairo in ancient rulers' parade - "The lavish, multimillion-dollar spectacle saw 22 mummies - 18 kings and four queens - transported from the peach-coloured, neo-classical Egyptian Museum to their new resting place 5km (three miles) away."
• Egypt pharaoh's 'solar boat' moved to Giza museum - In pictures - "An impressive ancient Egyptian boat from the time of the pharaohs has been transported to its new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza due to open this year near the Pyramids."
• Egypt's Great Pyramid: The New Evidence - Daily Mail.
• Egyptian Officials Claim They’ve Found Alexander the Great’s Tomb - "An Egyptian official has claimed that he has evidence that Alexander the Great’s tomb is in Siwa, Egypt, the Egypt Independent reported on Friday. The report says that Mohamed Omran, the director of Siwa’s Tourism Department, 'announced evidence suggesting the potential discovery of the tomb of alexander the Great might be in the Marai area.'"
• Eiffel Tower reopens to visitors after strike by workers who complained of rust - "Paris attraction was closed for six days after union criticised operator for seeking ‘short-term profitability’. The Eiffel Tower has reopened to visitors after a six-day strike by employees demanding changes to the landmark's business model and better maintenance of the 330m (1,083ft) structure, which is showing widespread traces of rust."
• Elgin's casts of Parthenon marbles reveal details since lost from statues - "Findings could shine fresh light on some of the most celebrated monuments in classical art."
• European Heritage Days - European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. It aims to widen access and foster care for architectural and environmental heritage. These events are also known as Doors Open Days and Open Doors Days in English-speaking countries.
• EUROPEANA - since 2008. "Think Culture." Currently provides access to over 50 million objects from European libraries, museums, archives, galleries, and audiovisual collections. More than 3,500 heritage institutions contribute cultural content in Europeana. Their number and geographic coverage are steadily growing.
• Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius Wasn't Pompeii's Only Killer - "While the volcano’s eruption was deadly, research shows that many people in the ancient Roman city died in building collapses from the earthquake associated with the outburst."
• EVERY WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN ONE HOLIDAY - 962 UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE sites - VeryFirstTo.com.
• Exceptionally well-preserved snack bar unearthed in Pompeii - "The frescoed thermopolium, a Roman-era fast-food stall, is the first to be fully excavated."
• Experience The Met, Anywhere - 5,000 years of art online. How do you want to experience it today? The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
• Farnese collection - the classical sculptures in the Farnese Collection, one aspect of this large art collection, are one of the first collections of artistic items from Greco-Roman Antiquity. It includes some of the most influential classical works, including the sculptures that were part of the Farnese Marbles, their collection of statuary. The works are now displayed in the Naples National Archaeological Museum in Naples and the British Museum in London.
• fountains that make up to a MILLION dollars a year from loose change thrown in the water - Daily Mail.
• French museum discovers half of its collection are fakes - The Telegraph.
• German library pays £2.5m for 'friendship book', 400 years after it first tried to buy it - "Philipp Hainhofer’s Das Große Stammbuch, signed by influential 17th-century Europeans, acquired by Herzog August Bibliothek."
• Getty Search Gateway - allows users to search across several of the Getty repositories, including collections databases, library catalogs, collection inventories, and archival finding aids.
• GLAM - acronym for "galleries, libraries, archives, and museums".
• GOOGLE ART PROJECT - "Powered by Google". Online compilation of high-resolution images of artworks from galleries worldwide, as well as a virtual tour of the galleries in which they are housed.
• Google’s New App Brings Hundreds of Museums to Your Phone - Wired.
• Hadrian’s Wall is revealing a hidden side of Roman history - "While most of us think of Pompeii and Herculaneum if we’re thinking of everyday objects preserved from ancient Rome, this outpost in the wild north of the empire is home to some of the most extraordinary finds."
• Hadrian’s Wall Path - "Follow in the footsteps of Romans and trek alongside an ancient monument on a coast to coast walk across northern England."
• Hagia Sophia: Former Istanbul museum to open for Muslim worshippers - "Friday prayers are to be held at Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia building for the first time since the celebrated museum was turned back into a mosque."
• Happiness Museum looks at brighter feelings in uncertain times - "Why some countries are happier than others."
• Historical Hitler Sites - "This website gives information about the exact locations of historical Hitler sites. The places Adolf Hitler grew up, the houses he lived in, the trips he made and the halls he spoke in: most of them can be found back on the Hitler Pages."
• Hoard of silver coins dating from Norman Conquest is Britain’s most valuable treasure find ever - "The 2,584 silver pennies date from around 1066-1068, spanning one of the most turbulent periods in English history as the country was successfully invaded for the last time during the Norman Conquest."
• Hong Kong's richest man opens $380M Buddhist museum - "Hong Kong's richest man is opening a multi-million-dollar Buddhist art museum at a monastery in the territory."
• How a long dead language was decoded from a broken slab of stone - "Much of what we now take for granted about this world of mummies, pyramids and tombs had for centuries remained shrouded in silence until French soldiers stumbled upon a broken slab of an inscribed stone in 1799."
• How are Rome's monuments still standing? - "Nearly 2,000 years on, how are the Colosseum and the Pantheon still standing despite earthquakes, floods and military conflicts?"
• How did ancient Egyptians stack those heavy stones of the oldest pyramid? Scientists float new theory - "The Step Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt's oldest pyramid, could have been built using hydraulic lift technology, according to a new study."
• How does a UNESCO World Heritage rating affect a tourist destination? - "The will-they-or-won't-they tug of war between Australia and UNESCO over the latter's discussion of whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to the official list of 'sites in danger' turned into a full-on soap opera, complete with ambassadors going on a press junket."
• How King Tut exhibitions became a multimillion-dollar industry - "In 1922, Howard Carter made the most exciting archaeological discovery of the 20th century. Working with backing from George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, the Egyptologist uncovered a tomb just west of Luxor and the Nile River, in the Valley of the Kings."
• How Notre Dame was restored - in pictures, videos & maps - "From piles of rubble and soot, the centuries-old cathedral has re-emerged five years after the fire thanks to an army of skilled workers led by a retired general. Here’s how they did it."
• How science is uncovering the secrets of Stonehenge - "If you see the majestic stones on Salisbury Plain as an emblem of England, think again. A major new British Museum exhibition connects them to many points and cultures across Europe through 1,500 years of immigration."
• How to Navigate Paris's Louvre Museum Like a Pro - "The World's Greatest Museum Is Also the Most Intimidating - Here's How to Navigate the Louvre Like a Pro. A Paris-based art lover offers advice on how to explore the world's greatest museum."
• Human remains in tomb are best-preserved ever found in Pompeii - "Former slave who rose through the social ranks was interred at necropolis of Porta Sarno before AD79."
• Hundreds of Roman gold coins found in basement of old theater - CNN style.
• Iceland's tiny museums - and the joy of niche collections - "Landmark galleries are great, but there’s a fascination and immediacy about the small, offbeat museums scattered across the Icelandic countryside."
• ID-Art mobile app - Interpol - "Our first-ever app, called ID-Art, uses cutting-edge image-recognition software to help identify stolen cultural property, reduce illicit trafficking, and increase the chances of recovering stolen items."
• If the Queen has nothing to hide, she should tell us what artefacts she owns - "The royal family has a history of acquiring looted objects, so its exemption from a law protecting cultural heritage raises questions."
• Incredible Alternate-Angle Shots Of Historical Moments That Will Change How You See Them (33 Pics) - "So, today we're shining a light on these pictures of various historical events that are so under-appreciated that only very few people saw them."
• Incredible treasures washed up on beaches - "From the classic shipwrecks and buried treasure chests to the slightly more unusual 'whale vomit' and a civil war cannonball, read on to see some of the amazing treasures that have been found washed up on the world's beaches."
• Inside the $128 million heist that shocked the world & the police chase that followed - "It took at least nine hard blows from an ax to smash the glass case in Dresden's historic Green Vault. Once the glass shattered, the two masked thieves grabbed 21 priceless diamond-studded artifacts and disappeared."
• International Committee of the Blue Shield | ICBS - founded in 1996 "to work to protect the world's cultural heritage threatened by wars and natural disasters". It has been described as the "Cultural Red Cross", and its name derives from the usage of the blue shield as specified in the 1954 Hague Convention on Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict.
• International Museum Day (IMD) - since 1977. International day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year to reflect the basis of the international museum community's preoccupations. Each year, all museums in the world are invited to participate in IMD to promote the role of museums around in the world, creating unique, enjoyable and free activities around a theme discussed within the ICOM community for this special day.
• Iran's sites of cultural importance In pictures - "Following the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, US President Donald Trump has threatened to respond to any Iranian retaliation by attacking Iranian cultural sites. There are hundreds of such sites with historical significance in Iran, more than 20 with Unesco World Heritage status. Here is a selection of some of the most important."
• Iraq’s ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change - "Iraq is known as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that agriculture was born, some of the world’s oldest cities were built. Water shortages leading to rising salt concentrations and sandstorms are eroding world’s ancient sites."
• Ireland's priceless treasure hidden by monks - "One of the most exciting archaeological finds in the history of Irish art was unearthed on Tipperary's Derrynaflan Island by a man and his son using metal detectors."
• iron pillar in India has been exposed to the elements for over 1,600 years. So why hasn’t it ever rusted? - "Iside New Delhi’s UNESCO-listed Qutb Minar complex - a collection of historic monuments and buildings built in the early 13th century in the city’s southern Mehrauli district - one mysterious structure stands as a testament to this very enigma."
• 'Irreplaceable' artifacts worth more than $1.4 million stolen from English castle - "Among the stolen artifacts were coronation cups and the gold rosary beads carried by Mary, Queen of Scots when she was executed in 1587 by order of her English cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Police said the rosary beads are an 'irreplaceable' piece of national heritage."
• Israel unveils parts of Herod's palace Herodium buried by Judean king - "Herodium, a hugely popular tourism destination, is near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank but falls in an area where Israel exercises full military and civilian control."
• It's time for museums to return their stolen treasures - "No less than 90% of African cultural property resides in European museums, according to a report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has decided that much of it must be returned. However, the British Museum has refused to give back to Greece the half of the Parthenon Marbles stolen by Lord Elgin."
• Italian court blocks loan of Leonardo's famed 'Vitruvian Man' to Louvre - "Culture and heritage group Italia Nostra argued that Leonardo's "Vitruvian Man" sketch was too fragile to be transported to the Louvre, where it was expected to be included in an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of the artist's death."
• Italy's new ruins: heritage sites being lost to neglect & looting - "Overgrown and weathered, many historical monuments are disappearing as public funds for culture fail to match modern Italy’s inheritance."
• Italy's plan to save Venice from sinking - "Venice is at risk of succumbing to its sinking foundations and rising sea levels. To avert disaster, the city is making changes."
• Japan's best castles to visit at least once - "During Japan's Sengoku "Warring States" era (1467-1615), castles were constructed, bolstered and fortified all across the Japanese archipelago, resulting in approximately 5,000 individual keeps."
• Julius Caesar: Square where Julius Caesar was killed will open to public in Rome - "Tourists in the city will be able to examine the spot where the Roman dictator was said to have been murdered."
• King Tut Died Long Ago, but the Debate About His Tomb Rages On - "Maybe the walls are disguising the undiscovered burial chamber of Nefertiti. Or 'maybe it’s Al Capone’s safe.'"
• Large Roman fort built by Caligula discovered near Amsterdam - "Fortified camp for thousands of soldiers thought to have been used by Emperor Claudius during conquest of Britain in AD43."
• Leaning Tower of Pisa loses some of its tilt - "The Leaning Tower of Pisa has slowly started defying its name, losing four centimeters of its tilt over the past 17 years."
• Legion: life in the Roman army - one of 'the most powerful' British Museum exhibitions - "This 'gripping' new exhibition explores how Rome built its vast empire 'on military might'. The only complete surviving legionary long shield on display."
• Leonardo da Vinci five centuries on: Louvre in Paris opens long-awaited exhibition - "It took more than a decade to prepare and was almost thwarted by a diplomatic row. Now, one of the world's most expensive art exhibitions - to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death - is finally opening to the public."
• LIST OF LANDMARKS - a comprehensive list of major landmarks around the world.
• LIST OF MAGIC MUSEUMS - Wikipedia.
• List of monuments historiques in Paris - "The term monument historique is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, garden, bridge, or other structure, because of their importance to France's architectural and historical cultural heritage. Both public and privately owned structures may be listed in this way, as well as also movable objects."
• LISTS OF THE WORLDS MUSEUMS BY COUNTRY - Wikipedia.
• London museum to return 72 Benin treasures to Nigeria - "Horniman museum is first government-funded institution to hand back artefacts looted by British forces in 1897."
• London's blue plaques - since 1866. "Across the capital over 950 plaques, on buildings humble and grand, honour the notable men and women who have lived or worked in them." Permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker.
• London's 'lost' palaces - "A royal tour of London's best palaces and parks with historian Tracy Borman. From hidden spots at the Tower of London to the 'lost' and little-known Jewel Tower, Tracy Borman shares her tips and tricks for getting the most out of London's royal sites."
• Long-lost jewelry from King Tut's tomb rediscovered a century later - "Some of this jewelry may have been taken out of Egypt by Howard Carter, the British archaeologist who led the excavation that uncovered the tomb."
• Looted landmarks: how Notre-Dame, Big Ben & St Mark's were stolen from the east - "They are beacons of western civilisation. But, says an explosive new book, the designs of Europe’s greatest buildings were plundered from the Islamic world - twin towers, rose windows, vaulted ceilings and all."
• Louvre debuts its biggest ever Leonardo exhibition - "Biggest Leonardo da Vinci show ever opens (But without two key paintings)."
• Louvre museum shuts its doors as staff say they are overwhelmed - "The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and a global symbol of art, beauty and endurance, remained shuttered Monday - not by war, not by terror, but by its own exhausted staff, who say the institution is crumbling from within."
• Lucy at 50: How the world’s most famous fossil was discovered - "Lucy, a fossilized skeleton unearthed 50 years ago this month, transformed scientists’ understanding of human evolution, offering proof that ancient hominins were able to walk upright on two feet 3.2 million years ago - a trait once thought to have evolved more recently in tandem with big brains and tool use."
• Lutetian Limestone - a variety of limestone particular to the Paris, France, area. It has been a source of wealth as an economic and versatile building material since ancient Roman times and has contributed markedly to the unique visual appeal of the “City of Light”. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Lutetian limestone was extracted by tunneling through hill-sides south of Paris. The stone comprises many of the grandest Paris buildings from the 17th century onwards, including parts of the Louvre, the Place de la Concorde and Les Invalides.
• Machu Picchu: Inca site ‘has gone by wrong name for over 100 years’ - "Peruvian historian and US archaeologist say the pre-Columbian town was called Huayna Picchu by the Inca people."
• Mapped: All the world's 1,031 World Heritage Sites - The Telegraph.
• Marie Antoinette's Versailles apartments on display - "After three years of renovation, French Queen Marie Antoinette's apartments are to reopen to the public at the Château of Versailles."
• MEMORY OF THE WORLD - UNESCO's programme aiming at preservation and dissemination of valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide.
• Metal detectorists find 2,000-year-old Iron Age gold treasure in Welsh first - "The 15 coins, which have been declared treasure, are known as staters. They were found the Welsh island of Anglesey, off the northwest coast of the country’s mainland. Struck between 60 BC and 20 BC, the coins belonged to the Corieltavi tribe, who at the time inhabited the geographical area that is now England’s East Midlands, according to a National Museum Wales press release."
• METRO MUSEUMS - an international list of metro / subway, railway and tram museums.
• ‘Moai designs are getting lost’: extreme weather chips away at Easter Island statues - "Experts call for conservation action as the features on Rapa Nui’s famous monoliths are eroded by fire and rain."
• Mona Lisa is moving - what does it take to keep her safe? - "She's one of the world's most recognisable faces, with a smile that's been printed on mugs, bags and T-shirts across the globe. But she's only left her country a handful of times, and has stayed in the same room for 14 years."
• Mona Lisa to Get Her Own Room as the Overcrowded Louvre Expands - "President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to alleviate crowds at the Paris museum and to charge higher fees for visitors from outside the European Union. Also, the Louvre Museum in Paris will move the Mona Lisa to a newly created exhibition space."
• Monuments of Slave Traders, Genociders & Imperialists Are Becoming Flashpoints in Global Anti-Racism Protests - "Protesters in Bristol pulled down an Edward Colston statue—and now there's a movement to get rid of other monuments that serve as reminders of racial injustice."
• most overrated tourist attractions based on TripAdvisor reviews - INSIDER.
• mummies' secrets uncovered in Egypt - The Guardian.
• museum culture: take your time - "The crowds being hurried through galleries too often miss out on the experience they came for - but opportunities remain."
• Museum’s CCTV shows moment visitor broke artwork by sitting on it - "A crystal-covered chair inspired by one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings was seriously damaged when a tourist sat on it while posing for a photograph, according to the Italian museum where the artwork is on display. The museum has reported the incident to the police, it told CNN Monday, adding that the identities of the people involved are not currently known."
• Museums Are Cashing In on NFTs - "There’s money to be made, though most institutions are wary of getting involved."
• Mystery of why Roman buildings have survived so long has been unraveled, scientists say - "They found that white chunks in the concrete, referred to as lime clasts, gave the concrete the ability to heal cracks that formed over time. The white chunks previously had been overlooked as evidence of sloppy mixing or poor-quality raw material."
• Naples' new tourist site rewrites ancient history - "Opening in June, the Ipogeo dei Cristallini - Hypogeum of Cristallini Street - is part of an ancient cemetery, located just outside the walls of Neapolis, as the city was called 2,300 years ago."
• Nefertiti still inspires, 3,300 years after she reigned - "The bust of Nefertiti at the Neues Museum in Berlin. The figure of the ancient Egyptian queen was presented to the public for the first time in Berlin in 1924, having been discovered 12 years earlier during excavations in Egypt."
• Nefertiti’s Undiscovered Tomb May Be Near Tutankhamun’s Burial Place, Former British Museum Curator Says - "Speaking to the Guardian, Nicholas Reeves, who formerly worked in that London institution’s Egyptian antiquities department, argued that Nefertiti may have buried in a hidden area near the burial chamber of her stepson Tutankhamun. His suggestion is still only just a theory, however, as radar scanning failed to prove it as the truth."
• New discovery throws light on mystery of pyramids' construction - "Egyptologists stumble across ramp that helps explain how huge blocks of stones were hauled into place."
• New Palmyra - "Join us in making #NEWPALMYRA reality!"
• New sphinx uncovered in Egypt - CNN travel.
• NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD - Wikipedia.
• New York City's 9/11 Tribute Museum closes its doors for good, citing financial losses during the pandemic - "The museum opened in 2006 and provided information about 9/11 and the 'unprecedented rescue and recovery operations and the rebuilding of both Lower Manhattan and of people's lives,' according to their website."
• New York’s Arts for All - "A library card opens the door to culture in New York."
• Norway’s Sverresborg castle: Scientists say skeletal remains found in castle well belong to figure from 800-year-old saga - "Researchers have connected the identity of skeletal remains found in a well at Norway’s Sverresborg castle to a passage in a centuries-old Norse text. The 800-year-old Sverris saga, which follows the story of the real-life King Sverre Sigurdsson, includes the tossing of the body of a dead man - later known as 'Well-man' - down a well during a military raid in central Norway in 1197."
• Not Your Average Autograph Collection - The New York Times.
• Notre-Dame Cathedral on track to reopen in 2024 - "The Notre-Dame Cathedral is on track to open its doors to worshippers and the public in 2024, says France's culture minister. The 13th Century Paris monument caught fire in April 2019, sparking a vast outpouring of emotion. Since then, a huge restoration project has been carried out aiming to restore it to its previous design."
• Notre Dame: Cathedral's spire will be restored to 19th Century design - "The spire of Notre Dame cathedral, which was destroyed in a fire last April, will be restored according to the original Gothic design. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the decision, putting an end to speculation that the spire would be rebuilt in a modern style."
• Notre Dame: Coronations, protests & tightrope artists: Iconic images from Notre Dame’s history ahead of reopening - "For hundreds of years, Notre Dame was the backdrop to some of French history’s defining moments. On Friday, the cathedral itself will play the lead role as France’s President Emmanuel Macron visits the building ahead of its official reopening the following weekend. It will be the first glimpse inside the gothic church returned to its former glory, after a devastating fire five years ago and a $700 million euro ($738 million) restoration project."
• Notre-Dame fire lead pollution endangered life, lawsuit claims - "Parisian authorities are facing legal action over the health threat from toxic lead particles released during the fire at the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Hundreds of tonnes of lead within the cathedral's roof melted during the blaze in 2019. It released toxic particles into the air, which settled in the local area."
• Notre Dame rector: Fragile cathedral might not be saved - "The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there’s a '50% chance' the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year’s fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument."
• Notre-Dame: The story of the fire in graphics & images - "An investigation has begun into the fire that swept through the medieval cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, destroying its roof and spire. Much of the roof was covered in scaffolding as part of a big renovation programme, which is being investigated as a possible cause of the blaze."
• Oldest buildings in UAE discovered, dating back 8,500 years - "Archaeologists in the United Arab Emirates have uncovered the country's oldest known buildings, dating back at least 8,500 years. This is more than 500 years older than the previous record-breaking discoveries, according to Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism in a press release Thursday."
• On a Remote Mountain, the ‘Sistine Chapel of Socialism’ Awaits Its Fate - "An enormous monument to the Communist Party in Bulgaria is now a decrepit ruin. The country is wrestling with how to deal with a symbol of an unwanted and, in many ways, deeply ugly past."
• On the Trail of a Lover Boy in the Age of Enlightenment - "Seducer, scammer, courtier: Giacomo Casanova hovers like a governing spirit over the art of the 18th century in a sumptuous new show at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts."
• Open Content Program - The Getty. "The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images (approx. 4,600) to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required."
• Oracle of Delphi, Greece - "The Oracle of Delphi, the Pythia, who was also referred to as the sibyl, was a priestess who would prophesy from the tripod in the sunken adyton of the Temple of Apollo. The god himself was believed to speak through this oracle."
• Origins of the 30000-year-old Venus of Willendo solved - "The Venus of Willendorf is a 4.4-inch Venus figurine, found in 1908 at a Palaeolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria. In a new study published by the University of Vienna in collaboration with Vienna’s Natural History Museum, researchers applied high-resolution tomography, suggesting that the Venus originates from a region in northern Italy."
• Over 100 previously unknown Iron Age settlements found north of Hadrian's Wall - "The 134 sites correspond to Indigenous settlements that date to Roman occupation. A study detailing the findings published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity."
• Paris' Eiffel Tower is reportedly badly in need of repairs - "The Eiffel Tower is riddled with rust and in need of full repairs, but instead it is being given a cosmetic 60 million euro paint job ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to confidential reports cited by French magazine Marianne. The wrought-iron 324-meter (1,063 ft) high tower, built by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century, is among the most visited tourist sites in the world, welcoming about six million visitors each year."
• Parthenon: Colourful beauty of Parthenon marbles revealed in scientific analysis - "Innovative scanning techniques show painting of sculptures was potentially as intricate as their carving. Though the Parthenon marbles were admired for centuries for their stark white brilliance, it has long been known that the sculptures were originally brightly painted, before millennia of weathering, cannon bombardment, rough handling and overenthusiastic cleaning scoured them clean."
• Perfectly preserved ancient Roman mosaic floor discovered in Italy - "A beautiful and remarkably well preserved mosaic floor from ancient Rome has been discovered by archaeologists in northern Italy."
• Peru opens Machu Picchu ruins for one tourist - "Japanese tourist waited almost seven months to enter Inca citadel while trapped in country during coronavirus pandemic."
• Pompeii: Archaeologists uncover tiny house in Pompeii with intact elaborate frescoes - "Archaeologists have uncovered a tiny house in Pompeii that is filled with elaborate - and sometimes erotic - frescoes, further revealing the ornate way in which Romans decorated their homes."
• Pompeii: Breathtaking new paintings found at ancient city - "Stunning artworks have been uncovered in a new excavation at Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried in an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Archaeologists say the frescos are among the finest to be found in the ruins of the ancient site."
• Pompeii dig unearths fighting fresco in 'gladiators' tavern' - "Well-preserved find on wall beneath stairwell is latest discovery at Regio V site."
• Pompeii is limiting its daily visitor numbers - "Authorities at Pompeii in southern Italy are introducing a daily limit of 20,000 visitors as part of efforts to protect the ancient site. The measure, which will come into force from November 15, will see the introduction of personalized tickets bearing the name of each visitor, according to a statement from the Pompeii archaeological park published Friday."
• Pompeii ruins show that the Romans invented recycling - "Excavations reveal that rubbish left outside the city walls wasn’t just dumped. It was being collected, sorted and resold."
• Pompeii victims aren't who we thought they were, DNA analysis reveals - "An ancient-DNA analysis of victims in Pompeii who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption reveals some unusual relations between the people who died together."
• Pompeii's destruction date could be wrong - "Vesuvius eruption may have been later than thought."
• Pompeii's House of Lovers reopens to public after 40 years - "Jewel of ancient Roman city was severely damaged by destructive earthquake in 1980."
• pozzolanic concrete: We Finally Know Why Ancient Roman Concrete Was So Durable - "The ancient Romans were masters of building and engineering, perhaps most famously represented by the aqueducts. And those still functional marvels rely on a unique construction material: pozzolanic concrete, a spectacularly durable concrete that gave Roman structures their incredible strength."
• Rare example of Roman crucifixion unearthed in UK - "Archaeologists have unearthed what they believe is the first example of a crucifixion in northern Europe. The skeleton of a man with a nail through his heel was discovered in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, east England, by experts from Albion Archaeology, it was revealed Wednesday."
• Reconstruct Saint-Cloud! - Reconstruisons Saint-Cloud - "The château of Saint-Cloud was built during the second half of the 17th century, a few years before Versailles, by King Louis XIV’s only brother, the Duke Philippe of Orléans. It was a part of the royal Orléans family property for more than a century. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French army shot its cannons towards the Prussian-occupied grounds of Saint-Cloud to make the German soldiers retreat. During the assault, an explosive shell fell on the château and set it on fire, burning it to the ground. The remaining ruins were demolished in 1891 when the decision was made not to reconstruct the building."
• RED TOURISM - definition & explanation.
• Restored Pompeii house offers extraordinary glimpse into life in Italy's ancient city - "A Pompeii house most likely owned and filled with ancient art by two freed slaves is open to the public after 20 years of restoration."
• Roman creations that still amaze us today - "Rome might not have built ancient history's biggest empire - a shout out to Genghis for that one - but it was undoubtedly the most enduring and influential. That's because Roman passions for outrageous, oversized architecture went hand in hand with detailed record-keeping and relentless imperial PR. As a result not only have a huge number of landmark sites survived to this day, but we also know a lot about them."
• Roman Empire: Why are men obsessed with the Roman Empire? - "History expert says it’s a ‘very American thing’. NatGeo's Amy Briggs says men are compelled by the era due to interest in engineering and military: 'Full of good stories'."
• Roman ruins around the world: 10 spectacular sites that aren't in Italy - Traveller.
• Rome authorities tackle Colosseum rat infestation - "Tourists have posted videos on social media showing the rodents roaming close to the ancient amphitheatre."
• Rome city council & Church row over coins from Trevi fountain - "A row has broken out between the mayor of Rome and the Roman Catholic Church over what should happen to coins retrieved from the Trevi fountain."
• Rome’s Colosseum to gain hi-tech arena floor - "Retractable floor will allow visitors to see the ‘majesty of the monument’ from its centre, says culture minister."
• Rome's Future Is a Walk Through Its Past - "City officials kicked off a new project to create a monumental, pedestrian-friendly, archaeological area downtown, but some critics worry the plans puts tourists before residents. 'Italy is working to make the most of what is arguably the most important concentration of history, archaeology, art and nature in the world.'"
• Russia's "eighth wonder of the world" - "Coveted by Russian royalty, the jewel-studded Amber Room disappeared during World War Two. But two clues gave it new life."
• Scientists may have solved mystery behind Egypt's pyramids - "Scientists believe they may have solved the mystery of how 31 pyramids, including the world-famous Giza complex, were built in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago. A research team from the University of North Carolina Wilmington has discovered that the pyramids are likely to have been built along a long-lost, ancient branch of the River Nile - which is now hidden under desert and farmland."
• Scientists Solve Mystery of High Quality Sound at Theater of Epidaurus - "The ancient mystery of the great sound quality at the ancient Greek theater of Epidaurus has finally been solved, researchers posit in a recent study."
• Seeing a Cash Cow in Museums’ Precious Art - The New York Times.
• 'Sensational' Egypt find offers clues in hunt for Cleopatra’s tomb - "She was the fabled queen of ancient Egypt, immortalised over thousands of years as a beautiful seductress. But, despite her fame, Cleopatra’s tomb is one of the great unsolved mysteries."
• Silk Roads review - mesmerising show turns world history upside down - "The British Museum's mesmerising Silk Roads does, by showing how Asia, Europe and north Africa shared their cultures more than a millennium ago."
• Sinking city: how Venice is managing Europe's worst tourism crisis - "Venice’s booming tourism industry is threatening the city’s very survival. But grassroots initiatives are making a difference - and may even help other cities."
• ‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds - "Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations."
• Stendhal syndrome: The travel syndrome that causes panic - "Affecting travellers every year, this bizarre phenomenon sees visitors to Florence suffer psychological breakdowns after being overwhelmed by the city's abundance of great art."
• Stonehenge: DNA reveals origin of builders - "The ancestors of the people who built Stonehenge travelled west across the Mediterranean before reaching Britain, a study has shown."
• Stonehenge megalith came from Scotland, not Wales, ‘jaw-dropping’ study finds - "In a discovery described by one of the scientists involved as 'genuinely shocking', new analysis has found that the largest 'bluestone' at Stonehenge was dragged or floated to the site from the very north-east corner of Scotland - a distance of at least 466 miles (about 750km)."
• Stonehenge: Rare lunar event to shed light on Stonehenge’s links to the moon - "The rising and setting of the sun at Stonehenge, especially during the summer and winter solstices, continues to evoke joy, fascination and religious devotion. Archaeologists and astronomers to study Wiltshire site’s lesser understood connection to the moon."
• Stonehenge tale gets ‘weirder’ as Orkney is ruled out as altar stone origin - "Weeks after revelation that megalith came from Scotland, researchers make surprise discovery."
• Strange Metal From Beyond Our Planet Found in Ancient Treasure Stash - "A dull bracelet and a rusted hollow hemisphere decorated with gold are forged, researchers have found, not out of metal from beneath the ground, but with iron from meteorites that fell from the sky."
• Stunning footage shows restoration work on Notre Dame - "Two years after a fire devastated the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, CNN's Melissa Bell goes inside the cathedral to uncover the hard restoration work going on behind the scenes?"
• Surprise! The world's oldest mummies are not in Egypt - "Oldest mummies found in driest place on Earth."
• Table of World Heritage Sites by country - Wikipedia.
• Take a Virtual Tour of the World’s Largest Circular Tomb, Augustus’ Mausoleum - "The Roman landmark will reopen in 2021 after a 13-year restoration."
• The American who bought London Bridge - "The bridge that crossed an ocean."
• The Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo - "The interment of a ship at Sutton Hoo represents the most impressive medieval grave to be discovered in Europe."
• The best of ancient Egypt - "Egypt's ancient discoveries keep coming."
• The Brazil Museum Fire: What Was Lost - "Some items in the collection are irreplaceable to science, as well as the country’s national memory."
• The Cultivist - "The world’s only global arts club offering uniquely privileged access to every aspect of the art world." With a single card, you glide through museums, galleries and art fairs worldwide: no tickets, no bookings, no complications.
• The Cultivist’s Top 12 International Hidden Art Gems - The New York Times.
• The Da Vinci mystery: why is his $450m masterpiece really being kept under wraps? - "When the unveiling of the long-lost Salvator Mundi was cancelled last month, there were cries of fake. But is there more to the controversy surrounding the world’s most expensive painting?"
• The grim truth behind Britain's stately homes - "Many of these country estates are indelibly linked to brutal legacies of slavery and colonialism. And while their grim origins may have been previously overlooked, they're now facing a new level of scrutiny that - amid raging debates over how Britain reckons with its imperial past - has exploded into its own cultural conflict."
• The hidden history of Versailles - "Louis XIV's iconic "bachelor pad" is one of the most-visited palaces in the world. But to understand his vision for the place, leave the crowds, head outside and hop on a bike."
• The Knight Templar's secret tunnels - "The 'Vatican' of the Templars? Hidden within sight of a Unesco-inscribed Templar castle, this tiny church may just be one of the world’s most important - if overlooked - haunts of the mysterious order."
• The London secrets sunk in the Thames - "'Mudlarks' play a vital role in preserving London’s history by picking up objects washed out of the River Thames’ mud, from woolly mammoth teeth to Roman lamps to Tudor rings."
• The London Tunnels: What it’s like inside the secret World War II tunnels set to become a huge new tourist attraction - "The London Tunnels: A mile-long series of tunnels under Chancery Lane tube station in London is set to be turned into a major tourist attraction."
• The Most Stolen Artwork of All Time - "When an entire cathedral has been searched six times and its floor x-rayed 10 meters deep to try and find a stolen painting, you know it's an important work of art that's gone missing."
• The museum of everything: do you have time to look at 150,000 exhibits? - "In a world first, Rotterdam’s Boijmans museum has put its entire collection on display in a mammoth new warehouse. As the V&A considers a similar experiment, is this ‘open storage’ model the future?"
• The mystery of the human sacrifices buried in Europe's bogs - "Uncannily well-preserved bodies from the ancient world occasionally surface Northern Europe's bogs. Stranger even than their remarkable preservation is the disturbing manner of their deaths."
• The mystery that still surrounds the Shroud of Turin - CNN travel.
• The ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ - The New York Times.
• The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years - "When visitors walk into the Pantheon in Rome and encounter its colossal dome, they may experience the same theatricality as its guests nearly 2,000 years ago."
• The race against time to save Pompeii - "What visitors often don't realize is that only two thirds (44 hectares) of ancient Pompeii have been excavated. The rest - 22 hectares - are still covered in debris from the eruption almost 2,000 years ago. And while it's long been agreed in the international community that it's best to leave the rest untouched - funds are better spent on the upkeep of what has already been excavated - in 2017, archaeologists began to excavate a new section."
• The Rothschild Archive - established in 1978 by Victor, 3rd Lord Rothschild.
• The real story behind some of America’s most iconic places - "Mount Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty: Story behind iconic places."
• ‘The scent of eternal life’ resurrects an ancient Egyptian aroma - "Some of our strongest memories can be rooted in scents and sounds. However, opportunities to connect with bygone sounds or smells have been more rare - until now."
• The secret to skipping the queues at the world's most crowded attractions - The Telegraph.
• The secret underground bunker which helped win World War II - "Some 73 feet below the traffic and bustle of London's Piccadilly lies a silent warren of corridors and pitch-black rooms, rarely seen, rarely visited, but which played a vital role in the course of 20th-century history. Now, the opportunity has come round again to slip behind the door of the abandoned Down Street Tube station and descend by torchlight into the World War II hideaway from which campaigns such as the D-Day landings and the Dunkirk evacuation were coordinated."
• The secrets of London's most famous bridges - CNN travel.
• These are the world’s most beautiful museums - "Return to travel by seeing 14 architectural marvels, from a building that tracks the sun to a donut-shaped cultural center."
• This 4,500-Year-Old Ramp Contraption May Have Been Used to Build Egypt's Great Pyramid - "Archaeologists have long wondered exactly how the ancient Egyptians constructed the world's biggest pyramid, the Great Pyramid. Now, they may have discovered the system used to haul massive stone blocks into place some 4,500 years ago."
• This is what ancient statues really looked like - "'Gods in Color' returns antiquities to their original, colorful grandeur."
• This is what Thomas Cromwell's 16th-century London mansion might have looked like - "The luxurious 16th-century London mansion that belonged to King Henry VIII of England's notorious chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, has been recreated for the first time."
• Titanic: 3D scan of Titanic sheds new light on doomed liner’s final moments - "A new documentary reveals the incredible results of a project to create 3D underwater scans of the doomed ocean liner RMS Titanic, which sank 113 years ago."
• Titanic: Rarely seen Titanic artefacts kept in secret warehouse - "A handbag made from alligator skin and tiny vials of perfume that still release a potent scent are just some of the precious artefacts recovered from the world’s most famous shipwreck - the Titanic."
• Top Monuments to See at the Acropolis of Athens - "Thought to be inhabited as far back as 5,000 BC, the Acropolis and its monuments largely remain in suitable condition to this day. Archaeological ruins at the Acropolis include temples, statues, sanctuaries, altars, theaters, and even fountains. If you visit, it's well worth taking the time to appreciate some of the more remarkable sites."
• Tourist snaps the toes off 19th-century statue while posing for photo - "The 200-year-old plaster cast model of Antonio Canova's statue of Paolina Bonaparte was damaged in the incident on July 31 at the Gipsoteca Museum in Possagno, northern Italy, Treviso Carabinieri, the local law enforcement agency, told CNN."
• Treasures found by the British public - in pictures - "The British public have discovered hundreds of thousands of archaeological objects, and the British Museum has revealed that the number recorded by its Portable Antiquities Scheme has hit a milestone 1.5m. These finds have radically transformed what we know about life through time on the British Isles."
• Triple-decker: how the Mary Rose had room for 500 men - "A new book shows how, to house its massive crew, Henry VIII’s favourite warship had one more deck than was originally thought."
• Tube of Ancient Red Lipstick Unearthed in Iran - "New research suggests the nearly 4,000-year-old cosmetic may be among the oldest discoveries of its kind."
• Tutankhamun's inspiring 21st Century afterlife - "'Everywhere the glint of gold.' This is how the British archaeologist Howard Carter infamously recalled his first impression of the dazzling, treasure-filled tomb of Tutankhamun."
• Tutankhamun's last legacy emerges near the pyramids - "Inside the final resting place of Tutankhamun's treasures."
• Tutankhamun's tomb: Evidence grows for hidden chamber - BBC News.
• UNESCO Just Added 24 New World Heritage Sites for 2024 - "Including remarkable archaeological sites in South Africa and Brazil's stunning Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. In total, there are 1223 properties on the list spanning nearly 170 nations."
• UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE LIST - "As of July 2024, a total of 1,223 World Heritage Sites (952 cultural, 231 natural and 40 mixed cultural and natural properties) exist across 168 countries. With 60 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites, followed by China with 59, and Germany with 54."
• V&A Storehouse East: The new museum that lets you get up close with 250,000 artifacts - "The V&A Storehouse East - a new museum-grade storage facility turned exhibition and research space in London - is a project over 10 years in the making, and one that aims to reframe the traditional museum experience. V&A East Storehouse, opening 31 May 2025."
• Vatican's Secret Archives no longer officially secret after renaming - "Pope says new name for trove of priceless papers will be the Vatican Apostolic Archives."
• Venice is under water. Can its landmarks be saved? - "Venice is flooding -- what lies ahead for its cultural and historical sites?"
• Via Francigena - common name of an ancient road and pilgrim route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France to Rome and Apulia, where there were the ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. The route passes through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. In medieval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul.
• Villa Windsor: Inside the opulent home of abdicated British King & his wife - "French home of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson to become a museum. The run-down Villa Windsor in the Boulogne woods of western Paris will open as a museum next year to coincide with the Paris Olympics, following a multi-million euro renovation."
• Voice of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy reproduced by 3-D printing a vocal tract - "The team were able to accurately reproduce a single sound, which sounds a bit like a long, exasperated 'meh' without the 'm.'"
• Waqra PukarÁ: Peru's mysterious 'horned fortress' - "Peru's unknown site to rival Machu Picchu. With January 2024 seeing the start of even bigger crowds at Machu Picchu, savvy travellers may be wise to head to the stunning edifice that barely anyone has heard of: Waqra Pukará."
• Want to See All the Vermeers in the World? Now’s Your Chance - "Meet Vermeer, a new augmented-reality app from the Mauritshuis museum and Google, is a virtual museum containing images of all authenticated Vermeer paintings."
• What makes a message live forever? - "The messages that survived civilisation's collapse. The Sumerians, Maya and other ancient cultures created texts that have lasted hundreds and even thousands of years. Here's what they can teach us about crafting an immortal message."
• When your home becomes a tourist attraction - "When private homes - and the people who live in them - become tourist attractions, clashes can occur. In more rural areas, people can put up fences or other barriers to access, but when these private homes are on public streets in some of the world’s busiest cities, what’s a resident to do?"
• Who really discovered Tutankhamun's tomb? - "Howard Carter lead the team of archaeologists in finding Tutankhamun's tomb, but not much is said about the Egyptians who helped him. On the 100th anniversary of the discovery, an exhibition at the University of Oxford in the UK showcases some forgotten stories."
• Why do so many Egyptian statues have broken noses? - "The ancient Egyptians, it's important to note, ascribed important powers to images of the human form. They believed that the essence of a deity could inhabit an image of that deity, or, in the case of mere mortals, part of that deceased human being's soul could inhabit a statue inscribed for that particular person. These campaigns of vandalism were therefore intended to 'deactivate an image's strength,'.
• Why India has been ordered to save the Taj Mahal - Lonely Planet.
• Why is the Taj Mahal crumbling? - "The Taj Mahal is India's most famous building, attracting millions of tourists. But a combination of neglect and pollution is threatening its existence."
• Why returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece would be madness - The Telegraph.
• Why the church known as 'God's Lantern' still shiness - "Metz Cathedral at 800: The extraordinary art and architecture of 'God's Lantern'."
• Why the myths of Troy are still being told today - "The story of the epic war fought over a woman has been told many times. It now lies at the heart of an ongoing exhibition at the British Museum."
• Wonders of the World - Wikipedia.
• world’s 50 best museums - The Times.
• World's biggest dinosaur skeleton unveiled in New York - The Guardian.
• world's greatest monuments - the wrong way round - The Telegraph.
• World’s Greatest Places of 2021 - "100 extraordinary destinations to explore." TIME Magazine.
• world's largest churches - The Telegraph.
• World’s most beautiful castles - "'What makes a castle a castle is that it combines the functions of defense and dwelling — it’s a fortification and a stately home rolled into one. Creating a building which is both comfortable and defensible is difficult. The ingenious ways in which castle-designers reconciled this balance is always intriguing.'"
• World's most popular museums in 2018 - CNN travel.
• 'World’s Next Giant Rises in the Desert' - "Foster and Partners’ Saudi Tower Will Shatter Every Height Record Ever Set. Saudi Arabia has unveiled plans for the Rise Tower, poised to become the world's tallest skyscraper and a symbol of the nation's architectural ambition."
• World’s top 500 sights revealed in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist 2015