This unique book finally brings the extraordinary work of Jean-Claude Golvin to the English-reading public for the first time. Golvin’s mission is to breathe life into ancient sites through the liveliness of line and the evocative power of watercolour painting. There is, however, little of the whimsy in his reconstructions of the past — these powerful images are the result of a mind trained in architecture and stem from a working life devoted to archaeology and working with the leading exponents in their field. To critics who promote the power of computer-aided design, Golvin — himself a computer user — argues that the technology results in a lifeless starkness; what matters most to him is the colouring, the nuances of tonality and the beauty of the picture. A Golvin watercolour invites you to dream.
Collected in this book are images of the most important places from before 2500 BC to AD 500. Having enjoyed this book, visitors to archaeological sites will see their structural remains with completely different eyes. Antiquity Resurrected is a testament to the varied manner that mankind can build cities, temples, public spaces and living areas. It is nothing less than an invitation to rediscover antiquity.
About the author
Jean-Claude Golvin is a director of CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique). For ten years he led the French-Egyptian Centre for Research, the institute that restored Karnak, the world’s largest temple complex, situated at Luxor. He is currently engaged in scientific studies of the Roman sites of Tunisia, including amazing new discoveries at Carthage. For over 20 years, Golvin’s drawings have illustrated numerous academic publications, general reading and magazine articles. He has created more than 600 reconstructive illustrations.
Table of Contents
- Foreword by Frédéric Lontcho
- 1. The Middle East
Ur (Iraq) / Babylon (Iraq) / Persepolis (Iran) / Palmyra (Syria) / Baalbek (Lebanon) / Petra (Jordan) / Jerusalem (Israel) / Caesarea (Israel) - 2. Egypt
Aswan to Thebes along the Nile / Giza / Akhetaten / Thebes / West Thebes / Medinet Habu / Deir el-Bahari / Deir el-Medina / Alexandria / Edfu - 3. Greece
Delphi / Athens / Roman Athens / Corinth / Olympia / Knossos (Crete) / Delos (Cyclades) / Rhodes - 4. Turkey
Troy / Didymes / Hierapolis / Halicarnassus (Bodrum) / Ephesus (Selçuk) / Xanthos - 5. North Africa
Cyrene (Shahat, Libya) / Leptis Magna (Libya) / Carthage (Tunisia) / Uthina (Oudhna, Tunisia) / Thysdrus (Ej Djem, Tunisia) / Thamuhadi (Timgad, Algeria) / Lambaesis (Lambèse, Algeria) / Volubilis (Morocco) / Thamusida (Morocco) - 6. Italy and Dalmatia
Segeste (Sicily) / Paestum/Poseidonia / Rome, the Pantheon / Rome, city centre / Rome, imperial forum / Ostia-Portus / The Bay of Naples / Pompeii / Puteoli / Split (Croatia) Diocletian’s palace - 7. Spain and Portugal
Ampurias (Spain) / Tarraco (Tarragona, Spain) / Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain) / Conimbriga (Portugal) - 8. Germany
Augusta Treverorum (Trier) / Saalburg / Reinheim - 9. France
Martigues / Bibracte Le Mont-Beuvray / Alesia (Alise-Sainte-Reine) / Forum Julii (Fréjus) / Arelate (Arles) / Arausio (Orange) / Augustodunum (Autun) / Noviodunum (Jublains) / Andesina (Grand) / Lutetia (Paris) / Bliesbruck / Lugdunum (Lyon) / Vesunna (Périgueux) - 10. Britain
Londinium (London) / Viroconium (Wroxter) / Hadrian’s Wall / Housesteads - Glossary