The rise and fall of great cities

Zabid studied by Canadians

The Canadian Archaeological Mission in Yemen began its program of activity in 1982 after receiving a favourable response from Qadi Isma’il al-Akwa’ who was then the director of the Organization for Antiquities, Manuscripts, and Libraries.

Our request was for permission to study the archaeology of Zabid and its surrounding territories between Bayt al-Faqih to the north, Hays to the surrounding territories between the sea and the mountain foothills.

The reason for choosing Zabid was because of the city’s reputation that attracted students from many parts of the Islamic world for study. We wanted to see what evidence there was for other kinds of contact within Yemen, as well as abroad, to take a real measure of Zabid’s importance.

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Stone towers make up oldest observatory in Peru

A line of 13 stone towers that top a coastal hillside in Peru are in fact the Western Hemisphere's oldest solar observatory, researchers said on Thursday. The 2,300-year-old site points to a sophisticated culture that used the dramatic alignment of the sun and the structures for political and ceremonial effects, the researchers said. The site, called the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, precisely spans the annual rising and setting arcs of the sun when viewed from two specially constructed observation points. Link