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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2022 • ISSUE 197
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12 PHOENIX KINGDOMS Since the spectacular discovery of the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in China in 1978, excavations of more tombs filled with bronzes, jades, lacquerwares, and silks have been shedding light on the Zeng, a Bronze Age state written out of history. Fan Jeremy Zhang reveals what these riches tell us about the Zeng, their contemporaries the Chu, and China before the Qin empire.
24 THE MYSTERIES OF MITHRAS Many details about the worship of Mithras in ancient Rome remain unclear, yet as the wide spread of sculptures of the god and cavern-like sanctuaries devoted to him show, his cult was a popular one. Margaux Bekas and Pascal Capus examine what we do and don’t know about Roman Mithraism.
36 VISIONS OF ANCIENT EGYPT The lasting appeal of ancient Egypt in culture is a familiar concept, perhaps best exemplified by the flurry of Egyptian motifs in Art Deco designs in the wake of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. But how have artists responded to ancient Egypt in the century since? Benjamin Hinson and Anna Ferrari explore.
46 THE ELUSIVE CAVE WRITING OF LASCAUX In 1940, a local poet surveyed the Palaeolithic painted caves of Lascaux. The marks JeanLuc Champerret encountered there fuelled an intriguing creative response that, Simon Coppock argues, reveals our deep desire to connect with our prehistoric predecessors.
52 EXPLORING DEEP AND WIDE Diana Bentley catches up with Janina Ramirez to find out more about her wide-ranging approach to studying and presenting history, from remarkable women of the medieval period to famous archaeological discoveries.
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september/october 2022
