Andante Travels

Another chance to book on this wonderful tour exploring the fantastic riches of Bulgarian archaeology. Early October is the perfect time to visit Bulgaria: the crowds have gone from the Black sea coast, while the weather remains pleasant (and certainly much warmer than an English autumn!). The tour follows the same itinerary as our September Bulgaria Tour and is led by Katya Melamed, a professional archaeologist who works for the Bulgarian National Institute of Archaeology, and has directed many local excavations. Katya is a fluent and very confident English speaker with a clear tone that’s very easy on the ear!

At the Eastern edge of Europe, Bulgaria is a country whose history is as spectacularly varied as its landscapes. From the extraordinary Neolithic houses of Stara Zagora, to a beautiful Byzantine monastery set high in the Rila Mountains. During the tour we visit no less than 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We also have special access to the Thracian Tomb of Kazanluk, with its astonishing 4th century BC frescos. While the Black Sea is now a popular destination, Bulgaria’s rural interior remains gloriously un-touristy. Many archaeological sites are remarkably intact, nestling in remote valleys and on hillsides – just waiting to be discovered.

Congratulations to our Guide Lecturer Tony Wilmott, who has been nominated for Current Archaeology’s Archaeologist of the Year Award 2012.  Now in their third year, the awards recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to British (and world) Archaeology. The overall winner is decided by online vote and the final result will be announced in the April.

A Senior Archaeologist at English Heritage, Tony is a leading authority on Roman Britain. He has directed excavations all over the UK and published widely. His latest book, The Roman Amphitheatre in Britain, was praised by the Association for Roman Archaeology as “a very informative and attractive introduction for the general reader”. Tony also has an enduring (and highly infectious) enthusiasm for naval and maritime history, and has crewed tall ships all over the world.

Still relatively new to Andante, Tony began as a Guide Lecturer on our Wales and the West Tour – introducing guests to the spectacular Roman remains at Chester, where he himself directed excavations. This year, Tony is Guide Lecturer on two further tours: Pompeii, Herculaneum and Classical Campania in May, and England’s Southern Defences in September. He is also running two Maritime Portsmouth Study Days. So, plenty of opportunities to meet the great man and find out what all the fuss is about! Meanwhile, why not pop over to the Current Archaeology website, and cast your vote…

We are delighted to announce we are now running a second South-East Turkey Tour – arranged after the first tour sold out in record time! The tour will follow exactly the same itinerary as the September South-East Turkey Tour exploring the spectacular, and hugely important, ancient sites situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

We’re very lucky to have Dr Geoffrey Summers acting as guide leader on this tour. Recently awarded an MBE for services to archaeology, Geoffrey has spent many years living and working in Turkey. He was Assistant Director of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara for 8 years, and directs on-going fieldwork at the site of Kerkenes in central Turkey.

This year we’ve introduced some “new and improved” features into the South East Turkey Tour. Excitingly, the tour now includes an extended visit to the brand new (and by all reports stunning) Museum in Gaziantep, which houses the spectacular Zeugma Mosaics – rescued from the (in)famous flooded dam sites on the Euphrates.

The enduring popularity of the South-East Turkey tour is testament to the truly outstanding archaeology of this region. As a guest on last year's tour put it:

“Gobekli Tepe was a highlight, but then to have a picnic by the Tigris and lunch by the Euphrates; to stand on a terrace at Mardin and look out over the Great Mesopotamian plain stretching out to infinity – each day brought a new gem.”

We’re pleased to announce our new Albania Tour is now up and running. Scheduled due to popular demand, the tour follows the same itinerary as the Albania - Land of the Eagles Tour: exploring over 2000 years of (largely untouched) archaeological heritage, set in spectacular unspoilt landscapes.

The tour will be led by Carolyn Perry, a new addition to the Andante Team. Carolyn is an archaeologist with long experience of the Mediterranean World having excavated widely in Italy, particularly at Gravina in Puglia and Lomello. She lectured in Greek History and Mythology for the University of London and was formerly Education Officer of the British Museum’s Arab World programme where she led one of the first UK groups to visit Saudi Arabia. She is now Director of Development at the College of St. George, Windsor Castle. Carolyn has led several tours to Albania and describes the country as "a really fascinating and beautiful place with some fantastic sites: Illyrian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Communist era – it has something for everyone.”

We have been delighted with the popularity of our Albanian Tours (which were recently recommended in the Telegraph travel round-up. We hope very much that this latest addition to our schedule allows even more people to discover this wonderful, relatively unexplored, corner of Europe.

The tour runs from 14^th-22^nd September 2012 with flights direct from Gatwick to Tirana.

The question as to whether Neanderthals and modern humans coexisted in Europe before the extinction of the Neanderthal race around 30,000 years ago has long been debated.  It has even been suggested that competition from our species was partly responsible for their extinction.   New light has now been shed on this relationship by Oxford University researchers who have now provided important new radiocarbon dates for two milk teeth and a jawbone, suggesting a new date for when the first modern humans arrived in Europe.

The techniques of Radiocarbon are long established, measuring the known rate of decay of the Carbon 14 isotope.  The new dates, established by the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, at Oxford University, are hugely significant as they suggest that modern humans arrived in Europe much earlier than previously believed. This means that anatomically modern humans are likely to have co-existed with Neanderthals in this part of the world for several thousand years.

Dr Katerina Douka is part of the international research team re-examining the two infant teeth excavated from a prehistoric cave in Italy.  A new shell preparation technique she developed has allowed this early modern human site in Italy to be re-assessed.
If you sign up to the Andante Travels Study Days on 3 April or 20 August 2012 you will get the chance to see the unit where this and other pioneering work has been undertaken.  We are very privileged to have Dr Douka, along with Dr Mike Dee and Dr Richard Staff, lead these Study Days in 2012.

Come and see the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator. An exciting opportunity to spend the day in the labs with these experts, and gain an insight in to their workplace!

Please follow this link to read the full article:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2011/110311.html

Carbon Dating

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Monday 20 August 2012

Places are limited, so if you would like to book please contact Andante to find out more, and make a reservation.

Pharaoh: King of Egypt is a blockbuster exhibition from the British Museum coming to Dorset County Museum in autumn 2011.  It is the largest ever UK loan of Egyptian objects from the British Museum.

Part of a national tour, the exhibition tells the story of the ancient kings of Egypt, showcasing the splendour and power of the pharaohs and providing insights into their complex civilisation.  Pharaoh: King of Egypt includes over 130 amazing objects, many of which have never been seen outside London, from a life-sized royal tomb guardian from the Valley of the Kings, to intricate gold jewellery, granite statues, papyrus documents and 5,500 year-old bread.  Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum said that “this exhibition is a fantastic example of collaboration between the British Museum and its partners across the UK.”

The exhibition opens on 15 October and runs until 22 January 2012.

Pharaoh: King of Egypt

Exhibition dates: Saturday 15 October 2011 to 22 January 2012

Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm

Admission charges apply

Dorset County Museum, High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset. DT1 1XA

Tel: 01305 262735

www.dorsetcountymuseum.org

New Andante Travels 2012 Brochure out now. Order your copy by clicking here, or view it online below.

Price £110 | Max 20 Guests
Sat 14 July 2012 Available Click here to book
Sat 18 August 2012 Available Click here to book
with David Tomalin

If the Study Day you require is full please do contact us with your details, as we will run further tours if there is sufficient interest.

Since the Isle of Wight became separated from mainlaind Britain about 7000 years ago, it has been an important part of the story of southern England, yet a little bit apart, developing in its own way. The archaeology is abundant in all periods: Brook Down Barrows with fine views, Brading and Newport Roman villas (the former recently redisplayed to great effect and with more work continuing there) and the evocative Newport deserted town. A full programme requiring an early start!

Price £130 | Max 24 Guests
Sat 19 May 2012 Available Click here to book
Sat 7 July 2012 Full
Wed 18 July 2012 Full
with Dr Paul Bahn

If the Study Day you require is full please do contact us with your details, as we will run further tours if there is sufficient interest.

We run tours to study the art of our earliest ancestors from Chile to Australia - paintings, carvings and artefacts of great antiquity which, unusually, remain in exactly the place they were created. In Britain Paul Bahn was responsible for the discovery of one of the most significant finds of art on the walls of the caves and shelters at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire, and this is the chance to see it with him. Meet and disperse at Sheffield railway station. Max 24 ( 2 groups of 12) guests.