Ancient World
KV5: Tomb of the Sons of Ramesses II in the Valley of the Kings
A family tomb for the king's sons became the largest known tomb in the valley, revealed in 1995 to have well over 100 chambers.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Abu Simbel Temples: Ramesses II's Monuments in Nubia
Two rock-cut temples proclaimed Ramesses II's power in Nubia; in the 1960s they were cut up and moved above the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam.
Ancient World
Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty (1259 BC): The Treaty of Kadesh
Egypt and the Hittites agreed lasting peace, mutual defence and the return of fugitives, ending their long war over Syria.
Ancient World
Tomb of Nefertari: The Finest Tomb in the Valley of the Queens
Nefertari's tomb survived with its paintings largely intact and, after major conservation in 1986-1992, is regarded as the most beautiful tomb in Egypt.
Ancient World
Chogha Zanbil: The Great Elamite Ziggurat in Southwest Iran
A religious city and ziggurat of the Middle Elamite kingdom, listed by UNESCO in 1979 as one of Iran's first World Heritage Sites.
Ancient World
Yazilikaya: The Rock Sanctuary of the Hittite Gods
Yazilikaya became the most important surviving Hittite sanctuary and has been part of the Hattusa UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
Ancient World
Tollense Valley Battlefield: Europe's Oldest Known Battle Site
The site provided the first direct evidence of a large-scale battle in Bronze Age northern Europe, with remains of at least 140 people recovered.
Ancient World
Treasury of Atreus (c. 1250 BC): The Great Tholos Tomb of Mycenae
The largest and finest Mycenaean tholos tomb; its dome remained the widest in the world for more than a thousand years.
Ancient World
Mycenae and the Lion Gate (c. 1250 BC): Citadel of Agamemnon
The most powerful Mycenaean centre gave its name to a civilisation; its palace burned c. 1200 BC and the town was destroyed by Argos c. 468 BC.
Ancient World
Shang Dynasty Oracle Bones: The Earliest Chinese Writing
The inscriptions confirmed the existence of the Shang kings and are the earliest substantial body of Chinese writing, ancestral to the modern script.
Ancient World
Merneptah Stele: Earliest Mention of Israel (c. 1208 BC)
A royal victory hymn that preserved the oldest known reference to a people called Israel in Canaan.
Ancient World
Late Bronze Age Collapse: The End of an Interconnected World
The Hittite empire, Mycenaean palace states and many Levantine cities collapsed, Egypt and Assyria were weakened, and the region entered the early Iron Age.