At www.miragenews.com/approaching-ancient-assyria-through-archaeology-leads… … which is to do with the imperial nature of the Assyrian state. The author actually compares the Assyrian empire to the British empire – in so far as different countries and regions experienced different ways of governance (to blend in with local beliefs and traditions). The post is really a sort of a review of a book, 'The Imperialisation of Assyria: an archaeological approach', Cambridge University Press:2020, by Bledo During. What was the secret of their success, she asks. She claims Assyriology is dominated by scholars that can read the texts. However, these sources are to do with the elite class of Assyria, and concern the court and the king. The texts are basicallly propaganda and only provide a partial picture of what was happening. Archaeology, it is hoped, can open a floodlight – or at least, a torch of some kind.
At www.heritagedaily.com/2020/03/pyramids-kingdom-kush/118369 … the kingdom of Kush was located upstream from Egypt, in Nubia (modern central Sudan to southern Egypt).
… It is recognised there were three phases of Kush – i) the Kerma based Kush (2600-1520BC) which was the first centralised state with an indigenous architecture. ii) The Napata phase, dated 1000 to 300BC, and iii) Meroe, 300BC-AD300. In the 8th century King Piye invaded Egypt and estabished dynasty 25, uniting a region from Napata in the south to the delta in the north. These pharaohs also built or restored temples and monuments right along the Nile Valley. The construction of the pyramids in Nubia was also a major part of the Napata kings strategy, a reversion to an archaic tradition in Egypt. Around 255 pyramids were built in Nubia.
At https://en.vietnamplus.vn/largescale-excavation-conducted-at-cat-tien-ar… … Cat Tien is located in the Vietnam highlands and is said to be the Holy Land of the Brahmin religion – going back to the 4th and 5th centuries AD. It stretches 15km along the Dong Nai river.
At https://egov.eletsonline.com/2020/03/bagan-archaeological-marvel-of-myan… … Myanmar, or Burma in old money, and the temple of Bagan, located four miles inland from Mandalay. Bagan goes back to the 2nd century AD – and was fortified in 849AD (possibly as a result of unsettled conditions at the time).
… Bagan later became the capital of the Pagan Kingdom (9th or 13th centuries AD) and witnessed the construction of 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monastries in what was the Medieval Warm Period (but coming to an end just as the climate deteriorated – as it did in Britain and Ireland).