Jerusalem: archaeology and rival histories

Article from the online edition of the Smithsonian Magazine explores the complex history of the Temple Mount and the fraught nature of archaeology on the site as "ancient history inflames modern-day political tensions"

Medieval Islamic courtyard at New York's Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is reconstructing a medieval Maghrebi-Andalusian courtyard as the centre-piece of its extensively remodeled Islamic art galleries.
Read a report from the New York Times on the Met's multi-million dollar project

Treasures of Afghanistan exhibition

Two reports published in connection with the British Museum's latest major exhibition "Afghanistan: crossroads of the ancient world", which opens today (3rd March) and runs until 3rd July

"The hill of gold" - article by Peter Thonemann from the Guardian (Saturday 21st February) looks at the historical background to the treasures, in particular the Tillya Tepe hoard

"Karzai opens London show of rescued Afghan treasures" - report from Reuters by Stefano Ambrogi (2nd March) on the opening of the exhibition and how the artifacts were saved for posterity.

Journal of Near and Middle Eastern Studies: open-access journal

The Journal of Near and Middle Eastern Studies is a new annual, open-access publication from the Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Students' Union at the University of Toronto.
It showcases undergraduate academic papers on all aspects of the history and culture of the region from ancient Mesopotamia to the present day.
Content of the 2010 issue ranges from "Death and the netherworld in ancient Mesopotamian thought" (Nisa Soeherman) to "The duality of structure between the IDF and Israeli society" (Matthew Ianucci)

The Crusades and the Near East -cultural histories : Book review

Dr Jonathan Harris (Department of History, Royal Holloway College, University of London) reviews The Crusades and the Near East: cultural histories in the Institute of Historical Research's online Reviews in History
The book, edited by Dr Conor Kostick of Trinity College, Dublin, explores the cultural history of the Crusades and how they shaped European identities.

SOAS Library has copies at NB909.07 / 736679

Trading post excavated in Qatar: Gulf Times article

The town of al-Zubarah flourished briefly as a pearl-fishing and trading town between the mid-18th and early 19the centuries. This article from the Gulf Times reports on the excavations at this important site

Wilfred Thesiger photographs (Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford)

The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford has been digitizing its collection of photographs by the explorer and writer, Wilfred Thesiger (1910-2003)
Click here to view some of his iconic photographs taken in Africa, the Middle East, India and Pakistan from the 1930s onwards - and buy copies if you like.