Smithsonian Magazine
A Mystery Fit For A Pharaoh
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
The first tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings since King Tut's is raising new questions for archaeologists about ancient Egypt's burial practices.It is barely 7:30 a.m. in the Valley of the Kings, and tourists are already milling just beyond the yellow police tape like passersby at…
Andrew Lawler on "Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?" (December 2009)
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
By Megan Gambino Smithsonian.com, December 18, 2009 Andrew Lawler has written for newsletters, newspapers and magazines about topics such as astronomy and zoology. He has been a Washington reporter covering Capitol Hill and the White House and a Boston correspondent for a science magazine writing about universities. Currently, he is…
City of the Imagination
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
Andrew Lawler, author of "Raising Alexandria" talks about the hidden history of Egypt's fabled seaside capital * By Amy Crawford You say that Jean Yves Empereur looks like a literary figure from Forster's day. In your last story for us you described Egyptologist Otto Schaden as a neo-Victorian. Does archaeology…
Down to Earth
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
Anthropologist Amber VanDerwarker is unraveling the mysteries of the ancient Olmec by figuring out what they ate Courtesy of Smithsonian website Starting around 1200 B.C., in southern Mexico, the Olmec created what most scholars agree was the first New World civilization, building large cities with monumental architecture, carving reliefs of…
Isfahan: Iran's Hidden Jewel
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
Once the dazzling capital of ancient Persia, Isfahan fell victim to neglect, but a new generation hopes to restore its lost luster Courtesy of Smithsonian website The courtyard is coated in a fine brown dust, the surrounding walls are crumbling and the flaking plaster is the same monotonous khaki color…
Lost City of Powhatan
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
More than 2,000 years after Alexander the Great founded Alexandria, archaeologists are discovering its fabled remains Trudging through swamp mud on a cold February day in 1608, Capt. John Smith and a small band of armed men approached a rickety wooden bridge. On the other side of a sluggish creek…
Raising Alexandria
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
More than 2,000 years after Alexander the Great founded Alexandria, archaeologists are discovering its fabled remains Courtesy of Smithsonian website There’s no sign of the grand marbled metropolis founded by Alexander the Great on the busy streets of this congested Egyptian city of five million, where honking cars spouting exhaust…
Rebellious Son
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
Amenhotep III was succeeded by one of the first known monotheists Not long after Amenhotep III died, in 1353 B.C., masons entered his mortuary temple and methodically chiseled out every mention of Amun, the god said to have fathered the great pharaoh. Astonishingly, the order to commit this blasphemy came…
Reconstructing Petra
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
Two thousand years ago, it was the capital of a powerful trading empire. Now archaeologists are piecing together a more complete picture of Jordan's compelling rock city "Donkey, horse or camel?" The question from my Bedouin guide reminds me of a rental car agent asking, "Economy, full-size or SUV?" I…
Rocking The Cradle
Written by Andrew Lawler
Published in
Smithsonian Magazine
AIn Iran, an archaeologist is racing to uncover a literate Bronze Age society he believes predates ancient Mesopotamia. Critics say he may be overreaching, but they concede his dig will likely change our view of the dawn of civilization. Swathed modestly in a black head scarf and wearing black sunglasses…
