Archaeology - January-February 2020

Archaeology - January/February 2020

English | 74 pages | True PDF | 64.6 MB



FEATURES

24 TOP 10 DISCOVERIES OF 2019

ARCHAEOLOGY magazine reveals the year’s most exciting finds

32 JAPAN’S SACRED ISLAND

For centuries, rituals performed on an isolated island played a key role in the emergence of Japan BY ERIC A. POWELL

38 TEMPLE OF THE WHITE THUNDERBIRD

Excavators in southern Iraq have uncovered the long-lost home of the powerful Sumerian warrior god BY DANIEL WEISS

46 FRIEND? ROMAN? COUNTRYMAN?

A rare Iron Age burial in southern England reflects the close connections between Britain and Gaul two millennia ago BY MARLEY BROWN

48 INCA POWER POLITICS

Ruins of a half-built Andean capital are evidence of how the Inca controlled their vast empire—until the Spanish arrived BY ROGER ATWOOD

DEPARTMENTS

4 EDITOR’S LETTER

6 FROM THE PRESIDENT

8 LETTERS

The witching hour in Lancashire, when the Bible learned English, a cherished nightly ritual, and re-creating ancient brews

9 DIGS & DISCOVERIES

Prague Castle’s mystery man, a Roman bath buddy, the historian’s sunken ship, Maya total war, and the walrus vanishes

22 AROUND THE WORLD

Rapa Nui moai farmers, the world’s oldest pearl, a rowdy Scottish tavern, and what ancient Assyrian stargazers saw

68 ARTIFACT

The formula for success

LETTER FROM IRELAND

55 THE SORROWS OF SPIKE ISLAND

Millions were forced to flee during the Great Famine—some of those left behind were condemned to Ireland’s most notorious prison BY JASON URBANUS



Cover: The newly discovered Old Kingdom tomb of Khuwy, Saqqara, Egypt

PHOTO: COURTESY MOHAMED MEGAHED