History & Heritage
Architectural history and heritage connect today’s cities to centuries of building culture, and this category keeps those stories alive. Read about ancient wonders, historic styles, preservation debates, and restoration projects that protect cultural identity. Each article explains why old buildings matter and how their lessons still guide modern design.
Bronze Seal Ring From the Sunken Palace of Antirhodos Shows the Lighthouse of Alexandria
Divers working with Franck Goddio's IEASM found the ring on Antirhodos in Alexandria's Eastern Harbour. Egyptian officials call it the first lighthouse image...
illustrarch Editorial Team2 Mins read
Clearing Beneath Hagia Sophia Reveals a Maze of Byzantine and Ottoman Tunnels
Cleaning under Hagia Sophia's vanished atrium removed about 300 tons of debris and exposed six connected structures, seven water lines in one vault...
illustrarch Editorial Team2 Mins read
Three-Room Thracian Temple at Balak Dere May Be One of the Last Pagan Sanctuaries in Western Thrace
Excavations at Balak Dere near Ivaylovgrad have exposed a 15-metre trapezoidal temple whose three rooms, for altar, sacrifice and offerings, run in a...
illustrarch Editorial Team2 Mins read
Edinburgh Approves Hotel Plan for Basil Spence’s Scottish Widows Headquarters
Seven of the twelve hexagonal modules of the 1970s Scottish Widows offices will become a hotel; the other five are being demolished for...
illustrarch Editorial Team1 Mins read
National Trust Launches $10M Historic Preservation Defense Fund
National Trust CEO Brent Leggs launched a $10M, three year fund to fight rollbacks of historic preservation protections.
illustrarch Editorial Team2 Mins read
French Culture Ministry Says Lutetia Wall May Mark Paris’s Birthplace
A charred wall found beneath Paris's Île de la Cité may confirm the city's origins as Gallic Lutetia, France's culture ministry says.
illustrarch Editorial Team2 Mins read
World Monuments Fund to Restore Diego Rivera Stadium Mural at UNAM
WMF and UNAM begin a multiyear project restoring Diego Rivera's unfinished stone mural at Mexico City's Olympic stadium.
illustrarch Editorial Team2 Mins read
Archaeologists Uncover Troy’s Oldest Agora Near Its Southern Gate
Archaeologists at Troy uncovered a 2,800 year old agora by the southern gate, showing the city was resettled soon after the Bronze Age.
illustrarch Editorial Team3 Mins read
