Metropolis, not Superman’s home town but the Ionian City of the Mother Goddess, was a major Classical city established in Anatolia during the 3rd century BC. Crowned by an acropolis, it lies above fertile plains on the road to Ephesus, its magnificent monumental architecture testament to the sophistication of its wealthy citizens. So why has nobody heard of it? Serdar Aybek intends to change all that: his excavation is bringing this fabulous city back into the light, so I advise you to visit before it becomes the major tourist attraction it deserves to be.
Who lies behind the Neolithic plastered skull of Jericho? This macabre object, discovered by Kathleen Kenyon in 1953, was recently subjected to modern scanning techniques – with surprising results.
Two hundred years ago, Napoleon Bonaparte squared up to the Duke of Wellington for a battle that changed the course of European history. To commemorate the anniversary, a team of archaeologists that included current and former soldiers took to the battlefield to uncover what remains of that momentous encounter.
We also investigate two Coptic manuscripts that form part of a new exhibition at the British Museum. They give a tantalising glimpse of life and Christian faith in medieval Egypt.
Richard Leakey is an extraordinary man, who has achieved extraordinary things: as a palaeontologist, a wildlife campaigner, and a politician in the Kenyan government. The son of Louis and Mary Leakey, famed for their work on early hominid fossils, Richard continued the family tradition by significantly advancing our knowledge and understanding of human evolution. We met ahead of a conference held in his honour by the Royal Society in association with the British Academy in London, to chat about his life, his ideas, and his unique contribution to the study of our ancestral origins.