Ancient Treasures

Nick Hunter

Description

'Ancient Treasures' examines the hunt for ancient treasure troves and hoards, whether they contain gold and jewels, or important artefacts that offer us a window on to the past. Part of the Treasure Hunters series, 'Ancient Treasures' offers a cross-curricular mix of science & technology and history, with a fun, dramatic approach. Treasures covered in the book include the Roman Hoxne Hoard, the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, the extraordinary discoveries of the Rosetta Stone and Dead Sea Scrolls, and the South American treasures of Lake Guatavita. The book also looks at the motives for these searches, and the importance of responsible archaeology: were the treasure hunters driven by personal greed or glory, or did they embark on their quest with a historical interest and a desire to preserve the lost treasures?

Sujets

• Ancient World
• Ancient history

Informations

• Publié par: Capstone Global Library
• Date de parution: 17 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781406264555
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 23 Mo

Extrait

 Ancient Treasures

NICK HUNTER

Raintree is an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales having its registered office at 7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB – Registered company number: 6695582

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Text © Capstone Global Library Limited 2013 First published in paperback in 2013 The moral rights of the proprietor have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS (www.cla.co.uk). Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission should be addressed to the publisher.

Edited by Laura Knowles, Adam Miller, Harriet Milles, and Helen Cox Cannons Designed by Victoria Allen Original illustrations © Capstone Global Library Ltd 2013 Illustrated by Martin Bustamante Picture research by Tracy Cummins Originated by Capstone Global Library Ltd. Production by Alison Parsons Printed and bound in China by Leo Paper Products Ltd

ISBN 978 1 406 24966 8 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Hunter, Nick. Ancient treasures.  (Treasure hunters) 930.1dc23 A full catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce photographs: Alamy pp.5 bot (©North Wind Picture Archives), 7 bot (©Philip Game), 22 (©Picture Contact BV), 32

(©Peter Horree), 34 (©Robert Harding Picture Library Ltd); AP Photo p.14 (David Jones/PA Wire); Art Resources pp.23 (©The Trustees of the British Museum), 30 (bpk, Berlin/Kunstbibliothek, Staatliche Museen); British Museum p.13 (©The Trustees of the British Museum); Corbis pp.15 (©Eddie Keogh/Reuters), 24 (©Alfredo Dagli Orti/The Art Archive), 25 (©Radius Images), 28 (©West Semitic Research/Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation), 31 (©Bettmann); Getty Images pp.5 top (J.D. Dallet), 7 top (NYPL/Science Source), 26 (DEA PICTURE LIBRARY/De Agostini), 35 (MAURICIO DUENAS/AFP), 37 (Stock Montage), 40; istockphoto p.38 (©Evgeny Bashta); National Geographic p.17; Newscom pp.10 (akgimages), 16 (Photoshot), 20 (Jules Annan / Retna Pictures); Rex USA p. 11 top; Shutterstock pp.1 (Jiri Vaclavek), 4 left (Konstanttin), 4 right x 2 (Gordana Sermek), 4 right (I. Pilon), 6 (Anneka), 8 (David Hughes), 9 (Stocksnapper), 11 bot (Krivosheev Vitaly), 12 (Catalin Petolea), 21 top (kstudija), 21 bot (afoto6267), 27 (RYGER), 29 (Ella Hanochi), 3233 (Santiago Cornejo), 36 (Juri), 39 (Ozerov Alexander), 41 bot (Tom Nance), 41 top (jamie Thorpe); Superstock p.43 (©Robert Harding Picture Library); THE KOBAL COLLECTION LUCASFILM LTD/PARAMOUNT p.42. Design features: Shutterstock.

Cover photographs reproduced with permission of Shutterstock Balefire/creativedoxfoto/inxti/ Marques/Sergey856.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to the publisher.

All the Internet addresses (URLs) given in this book were valid at the time of going to press. However, due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or sites may have changed or ceased to exist since publication. While the author and publisher regret any inconvenience this may cause readers, no responsibility for any such changes can be accepted by either the author or the publisher.

Expert consultant We would like to thank Dr Michael Lewis for his invaluable help in the preparation of this book. Dr Lewis is Deputy Head of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum, London.

C O N T EN T S

The search for treasure ....................................................... 4

Roman riches ...................................................................... 8

Amazing Anglo-Saxon discovery .......................................14

Secrets of the ancients........................................................24

Treasures of the New World................................................30

Undiscovered treasures......................................................38

Finding treasure.................................................................42

Timeline.............................................................................44

Glossary ............................................................................45

Find out more.....................................................................46

Index..................................................................................48

4

T H E S E A R C H F O R T R E A S U R E History is full of stories of people searching for treasure and other precious objects from the past. History’s treasure hunters range from the robbers who stole gold and other valuables from the tombs of ancient Egyptian kings, to modern people using metal detectors to find artefacts buried hundreds of years ago.

From the 1400s onwards, European explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Francis Drake sailed across oceans to find new lands. These pioneers were exploring for a reason. They wanted to find riches, for themselves and those who sponsored them. Some found huge wealth and fame, others died trying. The pursuit of treasure also destroyed whole civilizations, such as the Aztecs and Incas of Central and South America.

F E E L I N G L U C K Y ? Sometimes treasure hunters find what they are looking for, but at other times the treasures remain hidden – perhaps never to be found! Some people spend their lives searching for amazing finds that will give them a glimpse of how people lived in the past. Amazingly, people who weren’t even looking for them sometimes find the greatest treasures.

Ideas about treasure change over time. For European explorers in the 1500s, spices from the East were highly valued. In the days before refrigerators, spices could be used to make rotten meat taste a bit better!