Turkey
My latest travelogue is Pinara in ancient Lycia. 
Pinara is famous for its rock tombs – thousands of them cut into the surrounding landscape – many of which are on a vertical rock face and appear impossible not only to reach but to carve into the hillside.
It’s now just passed the first anniversary since I returned from Turkey and this project has taken much longer than I expected.
These travelogues become more difficult with each one and Pinara, yet again an ancient city with very little historical data available, has been a real headache. Thankfully there is light at the end of the tunnel with the final three Turkey travelogues – they are all fairly straightforward in comparison with recent ones. Famous last words…

https://www.stephenmaybury.co.uk/travelogue/21-pinara/

 

**Breaking News**
England
A Roman Briton found in Leasowe in 1864 has been brought back to life by computer technology.
Originally thought to be 4,000 years old, the skeleton turned out to be a rare Roman-era man – the only Roman skeleton found in Merseyside.
I wonder if he spoke Latin with a Scouse accent? 😀
Either way, he certainly looks like an interesting individual.

* not literally

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-35892795

Egypt
Yes, I am a bit behind the news right now but I will soon catch up… 
The world’s oldest dress has been revealed in Egypt. Dating to more than 5,000 years ago, the dress shows incredible craft work and design, and is the oldest woven garment ever found in the whole world.
Textiles very rarely survive past a certain time period due to atmospheric conditions. The best garments I have ever seen are located in Peru, mostly belonging to the Nazca and other cultures, but these are generally no more than 2,000 years old. For a garment to survive for more than 5,000 years is a minor miracle.
If this garment appeared in a modern clothing shop I don’t think anyone would notice the difference between this dress and today’s clothing.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160218-oldest-dress-egypt-tarkhan-archaeology/

France
The oldest Muslim graves ever discovered in Europe have been found in southern France.
Dating to the 8th Century, the three skeletons are all facing Mecca and DNA results show the individuals came from North Africa. They were likely “Berbers integrated into the Umayyad army during the Arab expansion in North Africa”, says the report, although that’s yet another far-fetched conclusion based solely on DNA evidence. I wouldn’t be surprised if next they tell us the names of their parents…

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/24/archaeologists-discover-oldest-muslim-graves-ever-found-in-europe?CMP=fb_gu

**Breaking news**
Italy
Scrolls found relatively well preserved in Pompeii have shown that metal was used in ink at least 400 years earlier than previously thought.
Scientists are attempting to read the words on the scrolls by using X-rays “100 billion times brighter” than those used in hospitals. I bet no one is standing in the way when that machine is turned on!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35865470

I’m now on Twitter!
I have always refused to use this platform as I just don’t want to be using every social device known to man, but due to recent events I have had to think about using another social format to bring traffic to my work and my website.
Being an author of books is one thing, but the amount of work and effort I am putting into my travelogues without any kind of “reward” is quite demoralising. Now, I am not talking about any kind of financial reward, so let’s make that clear. I am writing and publishing my travelogues for free, but what I am not receiving is a wide enough audience for the travelogues, and now my previous YouTube channel is shut down I require a new social format to promote my work.
So, come and “follow me on Twitter”!
Oh Lord, I hoped I would never have to say that phrase, but there you go :-/

https://twitter.com/mayburyauthor

United Arab Emirates
I have luckily visited one of only a few archaeological sites in the UAE, back in 2014. The Jumeirah Archaeology Site, an ancient Islamic city, dates back a thousand years, to the 10th and 11th centuries, and is the jewel in the crown of the UAE when it comes to archaeology sites.
The Ad-Dour temple, however, appears to surpass Jumeirah on many levels, but mostly because of its antiquity.
Found in the 1980s its importance has always been known and a team of conservationists, scientists, archaeologists and architects have been brought together to save the temple before it is finally destroyed by natural forces.
The 2,000-year-old temple was a shrine dedicated to the sun god Shamash, a deity revered by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians, and other cultures in the region.

http://athar-centre.org/?p=5696

Honduras
I’m more than a month late with this report, but it’s well worth the wait.
As previously stated I have been somewhat preoccupied of late, mostly for personal reasons, but those reasons that are professional will be explained in due course. Hopefully things will get back to normal in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, in the jungles of Honduras, excavations are continuing at the site known as the “City of the Jaguar”. That’s quite a name for a city, don’t you think? Certainly better than “Grimsby”, although no offence is meant to anyone who has any connection to that wonderful northern English town.
The City of the Jaguar was discovered in 2012 using LiDar, and probably dates to between 1000-1520 AD, although that seems like a pretty wild guess for the time being.
Although the site has not been related to any particular culture, there is no doubt its location means the people who lived there were either Maya or had direct contact with the Maya. Certainly some of the artefacts look Maya, but then there’s something a little odd about them that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Certainly this site is extremely intriguing and I hope more news will come soon about this amazing discovery.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160209-honduras-lost-city-archaeology-discovery-jaguar-sculptures-photos/?utm_content=bufferc9efd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer

**Breaking News**
France
I have had a very close relationship with the story of Joan of Arc since I was a very young boy. It has shaped my life in many aspects and has had a huge influence on me. In fact I would not be the person I am today if it was not for the countless books I read about her as a child.
I was spellbound – in fact I still am – about the mystery that surrounds the strange voices she heard and the instructions she was given by “angels”, but more so how a 17-year-old peasant girl managed to convince the French aristocracy to give her an entire army to fight the English. That second statement isn’t normally comprehended by most people – it’s a bit like a 17-year-old, uneducated farm girl, not only getting access to the queen in the first place, but convincing the queen to give her an entire British army to fight Islamic State in Syria. It’s about as bizarre as it can be, and something clearly magical took place in France between 1428 and 1430 – the two years it took for Joan to be seen by the royal court and her eventual capture by the English… and by then her intended deeds has been fully carried out.
Joan – real name Jehanne – won every battle she fought in and even immensely strong English soldiers fled the battlefield at the mere sight of her. The English were utterly terrified of her. The power she exuded during the Hundred Years’ War clearly shows she had some kind of mystical power – a combination of an ancient oracle, a master of trickery, a convincing charmer and an adept military strategist.
It’s almost impossible to believe, after reading the above, that she was dead by the age of just 19.
This story speaks for itself, and I am extremely happy an important legacy has been returned to its rightful home.
As a side note, because of her influence on my life, Joan has found herself a large part in my second novel – The Guru – which I am currently writing.