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Discovered in Pakistan in 1985, the 6,000-year-old Mehrgarh amulet has long remained an enigma. Thanks to new analysis techniques, a team of researchers has managed to unveil the secrets of how this copper amulet was made, the first known object made using the lost-wax casting technique, fundamental in the history of the art of foundry.

In the forest of Plougastel-Daoulas, in Brittany, fragments of plates of schist have been discovered decorated with abstract and naturalist engravings. These pieces have been dated back to the ancient Azilian period, around 14,000 years ago. This Prehistoric age, about which we still know very little, marks the transition between the End of the Upper Palaeolithic and the Epi-Palaeolithic Eras. Although the function of these plates is yet unknown, studying them will be able to tell us more about how people lived during this period.

Discovered in 1902, the thousand-year-old Loropeni ruins represent the only evidence of fortified architecture in the African region of Lobi in Burkina Faso. An international research team has set up a multidisciplinary research process in order to try and cast light on the secrets which surround this archaeological site and its history.

Doctors in ancient Rome prepared oculist stamps, small stones etched with the names of the oculist and the remedies they used. Muriel Labonnelie is a specialist in ancient medicine who has studied these curious, seemingly insignificant pieces, which have allowed her to uncover extensive information on the history of Roman medicine.

Dominique Tardy and Jean-Jacques Malmary, members of the French Institute for Research on Ancient Architecture, have identified the origin of certain architectural blocks discovered in Bordeaux while the walls were being dismantled in the 19th century. These 400 pieces, a large part of which are preserved and exhibited in Aquitaine Museum, have been a mystery for a very long time, given the lack of historical context and the difficulty in establishing which monument they came from.

The recent discovery of a series of broken stalagmites placed in a circle in Bruniquel Cave in south-eastern France indicates that humans began to dwell in caves much earlier than previously believed. These anthropic structures are among the oldest in human history. Moreover, the remains of fire show that Neanderthals knew how to light up closed, dark spaces even before Homo Sapiens did.

The Jean Bérard Centre in Naples began a multidisciplinary study in 2012 to document the exceptional wall paintings found in a monumental tomb from Roman times discovered in 2006, at the site of Cumae (Italy). The results obtained over the last three years bring new perspectives giving the mausoleum a second lease of life. The challenge is to get the best solution for the protection and enhancement of this heritage. Official Section. Place: Amaia K.Z. (Irun)

The excavations carried out in 2009 on the Palatine Hill in Rome, by a French and Italian team of archaeologists, discovered the ruins of a building from the time of the Emperor Nero with some very special features. It is a circular construction that seems to have served as a support for some complicated machinery. It is believed to have been used to rotate the table in the main dining room of the emperor’s palace. In this documentary, based on the account from the historian Suetonius, the iconography present on coins and the archaeological dig, we are offered a hypothetical reconstruction of the mechanism.

At the key settlements of Campania (Italy), namely Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum, recent archaeological discoveries have given us further insight into the perfumes manufactured and used in antiquity. Archaeologists, philologists, epigraphers, chemists and perfumers are working together to recreate the fragrances of an ancient perfume, the perfume of the rose of Italy.

The Lady of Elche is more than just an extraordinary sculpture of Iberian cultural tradition, as is revealed by her popularity. The sculpture has had an eventful history between its discovery and eventual siting in the Museum of Archaeology of Madrid. This time, an alternative vision is offered, far removed from these iconic aspects, that takes us back to the quarrying of the stone used to carve this enigmatic, elegant and evocative female bust.

 

 

 

 

This documentary shows us the way of working of Jean-Claude Golvin, a well-known architect and archaeologist who was dedicated to the restoration of archaeological sites using a technique which combines scientific reconstruction and artistic talent.

After six centuries of existence, the tower of Vincennes, a medieval building which is unique in Europe, is going to be restored as part of a singular project. The film allows us to see all stages of the process, including the archaeological excavation prior to the intervention.

The burial mound of Péré, located in Deux-Sèvres (France) is a Neolithic burial ground dating back 6,500 years which has kept its funeral chamber intact, allowing the archaeologists Roger Joussame, Luc Laporte and Chris Scarre to study the funeral rituals of the time.