NewsThe Year in Review 2019
From trafficked treasures to the ravages of climate change: the heritage headlines of 2019
We look back at the biggest stories of the year
NewsRestitution
Archaeologist launches private bid to retrieve priceless Egyptian treasures from European museums
Zahi Hawass, former Egyptian minister of antiquities, corrals international team of experts to press institutions for return of important artefacts
NewsRepatriation
Penn Museum hands over fragments of 387 ancient clay tablets to Iraqi Embassy
Archaeologists say the tablets, unearthed nearly a century ago, are akin to receipts
PreviewExhibitions
Troy meets world: London show reconciles myth and reality of ancient city
British Museum exhibition will display work inspired by epic stories alongside artefacts from 19th-century archaeological excavations
NewsEgypt
Egypt cracks down on 'thuggish acts' against antiquities and archaeological sites
A new article implements harsher fines and imprisonment for abusing archaeological sites and museums and smuggling antiquities out of the country
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Opening new galleries and showcasing its sphinx, Penn Museum rebrands its image
Museum at the University of Pennsylvania will open 10,000 sq. ft of reimagined spaces
NewsArt market
Abuse of diplomatic privilege? How missing art has been linked to embassy officials
Recent cases involving stolen art have raised questions over the behaviour of diplomats
FeatureMedia
From 'piecemealing' medievalist to TV darling: how Janina Ramirez is championing slow media about culture
The shows Raiders of the Lost Past and Handmade in Bolton on the BBC and the scholar's popular podcast reflect a thirst for in-depth knowledge
PreviewAntiquities & Archaeology
Invoking his own great-grandfather, an artist considers the fragmented history of Syrian artefacts
A Met exhibition explores fraught acquisitions in museum collections with the aim of kickstarting new conversations
NewsExhibitions
King Tut show on track to become one of the most popular art exhibitions ever in the UK—and the most expensive
Peak adult tickets for the travelling exhibition opening at the Saatchi Gallery in London this week will cost £37.40
NewsPompeii
Fresco of two fighting gladiators discovered in Pompeii
Italy's culture minister Dario Franceschini says the find shows the site is an "inexhaustible mine for archaeological research"
NewsMusée du Louvre
Louvre director plots great collections reshuffle
Jean-Luc Martinez reveals his big plans for the museum and why 250,000 objects must leave Paris
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Park Service report warns that Trump's border fence could harm archaeological sites
Experts worry that artefacts would be in peril if a 30-ft-high steel barrier is built
InterviewPolitics
Drawing with the ashes of Isis-ravaged buildings: Piers Secunda on the art of destruction
Artist’s works on iconoclasm in Mosul are currently on show at the Imperial War Museum in London
NewsSmuggling
Stolen artefacts from 'prolific art smuggler' returned to India
Objects are reportedly linked to antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor who is facing criminal charges in the US
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Historians bake sourdough bread with yeast that could date to ancient Egypt
The loaf, made with yeast extracted from an artefact at the MFA Boston, could provide valuable insight into ancient civilisations
NewsMuseums & Heritage
For its centennial, Oriental Institute weds ancient artefacts with contemporary art
Three artists enter a dialogue with Middle Eastern antiquities at the University of Chicago
PreviewExhibitions
Ashmolean Museum show unearths doomed Pompeii's culinary life
The exhibition in Oxford, which contains loans that have never before left Italy, includes a (possible) Roman version of a chamber pot
AnalysisAntiquities & Archaeology
A Getty lifeline for classical mosaics in the Middle East and North Africa
As the Getty winds down its decade-long Mosaikon project, it leaves behind a legacy of expertise in a region threatened by looting and political unrest
NewsTroy
British Museum to finally display treasures of Troy in major exhibition—after failing to buy them 150 years ago
The Trojan antiquities went to Berlin after the London museum rejected an offer to acquire them
ReviewPetra Museum
Petra's rich heritage goes on show for all to see in new museum
Nearly a decade after the Arab Spring scared off tourists, the Petra Museum is poised to welcome back visitors—and open up access for locals
ReviewBooks
Book review | Recent archaeological finds on Keros bring new authoritative scholarship on Cycladic art
Excavation campaigns on the Greek island have raised questions about our knowledge of Cycladic art and culture
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Possible unmapped chambers discovered near Tutankhamun’s tomb
Researchers have found two anomalies in Egypt's Valley of the Kings
NewsHeritage
Exhibition of Gormley’s figures repopulates a Greek island’s ancient ruins
Life-size "bodyforms" are positioned amid ancient grottoes, agoras and sculptures
CommentLeaders
Gilded coffin gives Met a golden opportunity
To prevent similar high-profile losses in the future, the Met should hire a permanent, full-time provenance curator
NewsBrazil
Archaeological trove discovered beneath zoo heads to Rio de Janeiro’s National Museum
More than 30,000 imperial artefacts were found in the nearby RioZoo last week
NewsOpenings
Basrah Museum unveils three new galleries in Saddam Hussein's former palace
Sumer, Assyria and Babylonia rooms open with support from UK government's Cultural Protection Fund
NewsObituaries
Obituary: Lamia al-Gailani, the archaeologist who brought new life to the looted Basrah museum
She was a key figure in the post-war re-establishment of Iraq’s antiquities museums
NewsSyria
Berlin's Pergamonmuseum reveals the crowdsourced archive preserving Syria's war-torn heritage
New exhibition presents documents that lay the foundations for reconstruction of Aleppo and other sites ruined by civil war
NewsControversies
Tory peer involved in controversial sale of Iraqi antiquities
Reliefs from Ashurnasirpal II’s Nimrud palace, fixed to the walls of a Scottish mansion, have been removed, stripped and sold abroad
CommentAntiquities & Archaeology
The Met’s antiquated views of antiquities need updating
The new Greek and Roman curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum should rejuvenate its displays with honest, better stories
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Herculaneum’s museum of relics finally opens its doors, 44 years on
Inaugural show presents jewels and precious objects excavated in the early 20th century alongside more recent discoveries
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Grand Egyptian Museum pushes full opening to 2020
Egyptian government hopes vast museum near Pyramids of Giza will win back international tourists
PreviewExhibitions
Assyrian warrior king Ashurbanipal rides into London with treasures in tow
Exhibition at the British Museum includes carved ivories and a recreation of his huge library of cuneiform tablets
NewsArt market
A record-setting $30.1m sale of an Assyrian relief at Christie's raises red flags
The 31 October sale has prompted calls for repatriation and criticism of the seller, highlighting the gap between art ethics and law
NewsQatar
Qatar dynasty’s collection of jewels and antiquities will be shown in the heart of Paris
The Al-Thani collection to be displayed at revamped Hôtel de la Marine over 20 years, in a deal that will help fund the building’s restoration
NewsFakes & copies
Museum of the Bible says that five of its Dead Sea Scroll fragments are apparently fakes
Tests by German institute show "characteristics inconsistent with ancient origin"
CommentIvory
The UK’s imminent law against the trade in ivory is a serious threat to liberties, says former Lord Chief Justice
Civilians will be allowed to enter your house, break open containers and use “reasonable force”
PreviewExhibitions
Berlin blockbuster: from the world's oldest figurative art to sculptures bombed during the war
Survey at Martin-Gropius-Bau boasts a staggering 1,000 exhibits discovered over the past 20 years in Germany
NewsArt market
Chinese art and antiquities spared from Trump’s tariffs
Auction houses and art dealers express ‘relief’ even as the US-China trade war escalates
ReviewVideo, film & new media
Gael García Bernal’s new film Museo turns Mexico’s biggest art heist into a madcap caper
The Spanish-launguage movie follows two middle-class flunkies who somehow pulled off one the largest antiquities thefts in modern-day history
News
British Museum’s basement of treasures to remain off-limits
Hidden underground galleries closed since 2006 still house £100m Assyrian relief
NewsArt market
Swiss prosecutor returns 'Mesopotamian' terracotta animal made by dealer's 11-year-old-daughter—along with 5,000 seized antiquities
A further 6,000 items belonging to Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art are still held by authorities in Geneva
NewsExhibitions
Art made from Isis bullet hole damage goes on show for first joint UK project between Iraq and Kurdistan
Piers Secunda’s exhibition on destroyed ancient Assyrian objects is part of ongoing attempts to bring peace to a divided region
NewsConservation & Preservation
Syria's Palmyra to be ready for tourists by summer 2019 as cost to rebuild Homs reaches $2bn
Authorities says they have received "good offers from the world powers" to help conserve ancient sites
ReviewBooks
Henry I of Haiti: the little-known story of a king and his amazing building spree
A short but fascinating book about a man immortalised through architecture
NewsConservation & Preservation
Conservation starts on Liverpool’s Neolithic stones
The Calderstones are being studied, recorded and restored before their reinstallation
ReviewBooks
Potty about pictures: ancient Athenian vases are an important historical resource—but this book fails to deliver
Large gaps in the material and a lack of thorough explanation make this volume less useful than it could be
NewsConservation & Preservation
Turkey's Göbekli Tepe: is this the world’s first architecture?
Scholars say the organisation needed to build the 12,000-year-old temple may mark the beginnings of class society and patriarchy
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Cologne archaeologists unearth oldest library in Germany
The foundation walls contain niches used to store scrolls
NewsDisasters & destruction
Syrian museums seek Russian expertise to restore destroyed Palmyra sculptures
Ancient city occupied by Islamic State was retaken by Syrian army with Russian support in 2017
NewsConservation & Preservation
World Monuments Fund gives $1m for post-quake restoration of Mexican archaeological site
Monte Albán, the ancient capital of the Zapotec people, was damaged by earthquakes in 2017
NewsLaw
Top experts dispute Italian police claims about seized ‘antiquities’
“I cannot imagine where a terracotta life-size horse head could come from in antiquity,” a specialist says
News
Getty says it will appeal Italian court order to return Victorious Youth
An Italian judge has found that the work was discovered in Italian water, despite decades of rulings to the contrary
NewsConservation & Preservation
Eight World Monuments Fund watchlist sites get $1m in grants from American Express
In many cases, the funding will be used to help prevent future damage, including public outreach and scientific research
NewsIndia
Indian supreme court verdict could spark new wave of sectarian riots between Hindus and Muslims
Leader of powerful Hindu organisation has threatened nationwide protests if long-awaited ruling "goes against Hindus' faith"
NewsArt market
Sotheby's sues Greece over its claim to ancient bronze horse
A case of man bites dog: auction house turns the tables on Greek government after it was forced to withdraw the figure from New York sale in May
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Google and the World Monuments Fund highlight Iraqi heritage under threat
Using drone footage, 3D models and videos, the tech giant is working with cultural institutions to make preservation efforts accessible to a larger public
CommentSaudi Arabia
Letter to the Editor: Saudi Arabia will collaborate with the world, not only France, to make its cultural heritage accessible
Al-Ula, the most important cultural heritage site in the north-west of the kingdom, will benefit from international standards in heritage preservation and planning
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Man decapitated while fleeing volcano’s destruction of Pompeii
Excavation tells a poignant story of an unfortunate Roman
News
Can a brand new museum boost ancient Nîmes’s Unesco bid?
Musée de la Romanité, dedicated to the city's Roman history, cost almost €60m to build
NewsDiscoveries
Emperor Constantine's giant finger found in the Louvre
Ancient object—initially believed to be a toe—perfectly fits the hand of ancient bronze statue in Rome's Musei Capitolini
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Return Persian antiquity to Iran, New York district attorney says
The dealer it was seized from knew it was stolen, a motion filed with the State’s supreme court alleges. The dealer categorically denies this
NewsComment
Why the French can sell arms and culture to Saudi Arabia, but the US and UK only arms
France's latest deal with the Kingdom reveals the close connection between culture and foreign affairs
NewsCultural policy
The blueprint for Saudi Arabia's multi-billion-euro project with France
We exclusively reveal the details of the plans for a “historic” collaboration
FeatureLost art
Lost art: Homer’s Troy and Priam’s Treasure
Noah Charney on how epic histories became mythical stories
NewsLooting
Scotland Yard joins global crackdown on looted pharaonic antiquities
The initiative, which involves governments and the art world, will set up a public database of objects
NewsThefts
Chinese antiquities stolen in raid on Bath museum
Haul includes precious gold and jade artefacts, which police say may have been stolen to order
News
Antiquity gets a fresh twist at revamped Getty Villa
New displays draw out connections between Graeco-Roman world and ancient Middle East
NewsCultural policy
France to help build a 'new Petra' in Saudi Arabia with estimated $20bn development deal
The country is due to sign a massive contract with the kingdom to turn Mada’in Saleh and the Al-Ula region into a cultural tourism destination
NewsPolitics
Palmyra, ancient city or deadly missile? In Russian vote, it was almost both
In an online competition devoid of irony, the archaeological site threatened by destruction was a strong contender for the name of Putin’s new weapon
NewsLaw
Terror victims cannot seize Iranian antiquities, US Supreme Court rules
A 2008 amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not open a foreign nation's assets to claimants, the justices unanimously decided
NewsDisasters & destruction
'A loss as great as Palmyra': Syrian temple of Ain Dara severely damaged by Turkish forces
Iron Age structure was targeted in campaign against Kurdish separatists
CommentArt market
The Trump administration’s tariffs will not hurt China but they will hurt the US art trade
Art organisations join other US businesses at a series of hearings this week in Washington, DC on the proposed 25% tariff on $300bn worth of Chinese goods
Peter K. Tompa