What Became of the Ancient Greek City they Found in Afghanistan

What was once essentially a completely Greek city in the depths of Afghanistan, was lost under the desert sands for almost 2,000 years, hidden from history until its sensational rediscovery in the 1960s. It was christened by archeologists as Ai-Khanoum, or ‘Lady Moon’, after an Uzbek princess who had lived on its rocky summit. But…

The Woman Who Opened the World’s First Museum in 500 BCE

The first-known public museum opened over 2,500 years ago – and it was curated by a woman. Her name was Ennigaldi-Nanna. She was a priestess and princess, the daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who was also an antiquarian and known as the first serious archaeologist in history. Encouraged by her…

A Brief Compendium of Egyptomania

Sphinxes, scarabs and obelisks, oh my! Egyptomania quite literally indicates a madness for anything Egyptian; a phenomenon most of us tend to associate with the 1920s when archeologists cracked open King Tut’s tomb and unleashed a new wave of excitement that penetrated every facet of mainstream western culture. But our fascination with ancient Egypt spans…

There’s a Lost Palace that Rivalled Versailles, Buried under Brussels

Coudenberg Palace was once the envy of all of Europe. It had everything you could want in an opulent royal residence; a monstrous banqueting hall that dazzled guests with its sublime décor, sumptuous apartments filled with works by important artists like Rubens, and extensive grounds and gardens where ladies and gentleman of the court could…

Ever Wondered Exactly How an Egyptian Temple Ended up at the Met?

During a visit to The Met in New York, the sight of a full-size Egyptian temple within its walls may no longer faze us amidst the amazing collections that we’re used to seeing in our museums these days. But as you stroll back out into the busy streets, perhaps you might also wonder, hang on…

Where are the Black Archeologists?

“Why are there so few Black American archeologists?” asked Maria Franklin in response to a landmark 1997 survey which found that only 2 out of 1500 Archeological respondents identified as Black. Years later, the status of her question posed in a paper published by the Cambridge University Press in 2015 – and its answer –…

Our Zoom Date with a Time Travelling Egyptologist

Somehow, she transported us to a balmy summer night down the Nile river in the middle of a pandemic. Our latest virtual fireside chat brought us to Dr. Colleen Darnell, a time-travelling 1920s fashionista and groundbreaking Egyptologist, who we’ve long admired here at Messy Nessy Chic. You might compare her to female “Indiana Jones” or…

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The Real Life ‘Indiana Jones’ Was Just as Cool as You Think.

He said he “was born under a lucky star”. Yet, Roy Chapman Andrews, that good ‘ole American chaser of bandits, dinosaur eggs and lost civilisations, was always the kind of man who made his own luck. He charmed a generation of daydreamers with his stories of the Gobi desert — and that hat —and while there’s…

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Diary of a Tomb Raider

Can you imagine being among the first to study an ancient site? How you would feel brushing your fingers against those ancient monoliths, untouched for thousands of years, hidden in the thick of the jungle. You would think the days for such an adventure are long gone; that there’s nothing left to discover nowadays– but…

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200 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Go Down to the Basement in Paris

Underneath the product aisles of a well-known Monoprix supermarket branch in central Paris, where I’ve often popped into myself to pick up a bottle of wine and some olives before attending parties nearby, the skeletons of up to 200 lost souls have been discovered buried in a mass grave. For some of us reading of course, this may very…

What Became of the Ancient Greek City they Found in Afghanistan

The Woman Who Opened the World’s First Museum in 500 BCE

A Brief Compendium of Egyptomania

There’s a Lost Palace that Rivalled Versailles, Buried under Brussels

Ever Wondered Exactly How an Egyptian Temple Ended up at the Met?

Where are the Black Archeologists?

Our Zoom Date with a Time Travelling Egyptologist

The Real Life ‘Indiana Jones’ Was Just as Cool as You Think.

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

Diary of a Tomb Raider

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

200 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Go Down to the Basement in Paris

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