Heritage

Reconstruction of legendary Sutton Hoo ship takes shape

The seventh-century Anglo-Saxon burial ship is due to take to the water in May 2027, following a lengthy reconstruction process working from decayed remains

Unesco urged to investigate after Israeli forces trigger explosions near Lebanon’s World Heritage-listed Beaufort Castle

Experts fear the explosions’ proximity to the site has caused damage, but cannot assess this while the area remains under Israeli occupation

Japan’s 400-year-old Kumamoto Castle damaged by 7.1 magnitude earthquake

The quake has caused damage and disruption to more than a dozen other cultural sites in the Kumamoto Prefecture

English Heritage debuts daily prize draw for ‘private time’ at Stonehenge this August

Winners and their booking group will receive ‘a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stand within the ancient stones with no one else around’ before opening hours

Sites in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine among 25 new additions to Unesco’s World Heritage List

Three new properties were inscribed under emergency procedures and simultaneously placed on the World Heritage in Danger List

Unesco adds ancient Greek city Tauric Chersonese in Crimea to World Heritage in Danger list

The decision comes after calls by Ukraine to protect the archaeological site, which is now managed by a Russian Orthodox cleric appointed by Vladimir Putin

Filmnews

Viking centre that loaned ship for ‘The Odyssey’ says that it has not been compensated by Universal for repairs

The Värmlands Vikingacenter in Sweden has reportedly not been able to sail its replica ship this summer due to $6000 worth of damages; Universal disputes the non-payment claims

Tower of London’s architectural archive to be opened up to public as part of planned £70m revamp

A new Archive Study Centre will open as part of a multi-year programme by Historic Royal Palaces

Unesco reviewing controversial ‘black cube’ project in Florence amid outrage

The high-impact redevelopment of the former Teatro Comunale opera house has attracted widespread criticism and a criminal investigation

World Monuments Fund spotlights ten heritage sites for the US’s 250th

The organisation’s new Irreplaceable America programme nods to the importance of the Watts Towers, Black Mountain College and the entire city of New Orleans

Stoke-on-Trent—the UK's home of ceramics—seeks emergency funds for crumbling heritage

Without urgent action, “the unique value of the landscape could be lost forever”, city council’s chief executive warns

Gaudí’s Sagrada Família finally shakes off its ‘incompletable’ tag, as Pope prepares to inaugurate its tallest tower

Long considered forever unfinishable due to its extreme complexity and the loss of its architect’s original plans, the Barcelona basilica’s 14th tower has now been completed

Yemennews

Yemen deals with cultural heritage challenges after years of civil war

Renewed momentum is helping to alleviate the issue­—and women are playing a key role

French project uses AI to visualise how climate change will affect heritage sites

The tool in development analyses photographs and audio as well as meteorological and material data to create an augmented reality model

‘Lost forever, all because of this new tax’: fears for UK church heritage as VAT relief ends

The end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme leaves churches facing sudden cost increases, forcing vital repairs to be delayed or abandoned and placing artworks—from medieval carvings to rare murals—at growing risk

'A work of conceptual art': Belmond launches new Art Deco-inspired train dining car

The film director Baz Luhrmann and his wife, production designer Catherine Martin, have designed the lavish interior

British MPs face Hobson’s Choice for restoration of the crumbling, unsafe Palace of Westminster

It is crunch time for the home of the UK Parliament—after decades of neglect, it is structurally unsound and barely fit for purpose. But even the most basic option for fixing it will cost billions and take decades

Pioneering British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron honoured with a blue plaque in London

Descendants of the 19th-century photographer, who captured Tennyson and Darwin, celebrated her life and work at the unveiling

Oldest astronomical observatory in the Americas discovered in Peru

The Caral civilisation used the structure thousands of years ago to track the sun, moon and stars to determine conditions for fishing and gathering shellfish

Barbados's slavery museum and memorial faces major delays

Designed by Adjaye Associates and first announced in 2021, work on the Barbados Heritage District continues with an expanded scope—but a completion date has yet to be announced

Restored Victorian greenhouse links Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery to its living neighbours

Opening this weekend, the Green-House incorporates a historic 1895 cast-iron and glass structure and serves as the “new front door” to the famed burial ground

Lebanon appeals to Unesco to intervene amid fears protected citadel has been destroyed

The country’s ministry of culture has written to the UN body for “immediate and swift intervention to protect” the Chama' Citadel after reports of damage by Israeli forces

Barcelona museum refuses to return Sijena murals to monastery

Despite a supreme court ruling, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya insists removal could damage the “Sistine Chapel of Romanesque art”

More than 200 cultural figures sign statement criticising international response to destruction of Iran’s heritage

A joint letter, published by the Society for Iranian Archaeology, condemns the “irreversible damage” to cultural sites caused by US-Israeli missile strikes

1,000-year-old Toltec altar with four human skulls found in Mexico

Archaeologists discovered the site during salvage operations for the new Mexico City-Querétaro passenger rail line

Gods, emperors and eagles restored in Blenheim Palace roof-rescue mission

The crumbling roof of Winston Churchill’s birthplace has been fixed in a £12m conservation project that the restorers hope will preserve the 18th-century country house for the next 300 years

Heritagefeature

Arts organisation enlists celebrities in fight to save Manhattan church

The Center at West Park has been marshalling support from famous actors led by Mark Ruffalo to stop the demolition of West Park Presbyterian Church

Unesco grants enhanced protection to 39 Lebanese heritage sites as war escalates

The cultural body has also unlocked more than $100,000 in emergency funding for urgent operations on the ground

Heritagecomment

In a month of war, Iran’s cultural heritage has suffered huge damage

Some of the country’s most precious historic sites and buildings are in need of major repair following bombing by Israel and the US

Sussan Babaie

Comment | How do we protect heritage in wartime in an era of ‘tepid legality’?

The convention that prevents parties from direct attacks against cultural property is qualified by imperative “military necessity”