Calling all budding historians and amateur archaeologists, this one’s for you. Gone are the days convincing family members history tours of Italy are better than fly and flops on the Amalfi Coast. Thanks to a new and exclusive partnership between Original Travel and Past Preservers – a global network of renowned archaeologists, historians and authors – you can have both. Once only available to production companies for TV and films like the Discovery Channel’s What on Earth and Channel 4’s Great British Dig, Past Preserver’s little black book of experts is now available to all Original Travel clients. Whether it be access to off-limit areas, hands-on experiences or private tours of some of the world’s most fascinating sites, you can rest assured that no stone will be left unturned on an Original Travel and Past Preservers trip.
Egypt
Think you know Egypt? Think again. With a Doctor of Egyptology from the University of Cambridge by your side, you’ll be in perfect hands to learn all about contemporary Egypt, from the 2011 revolution all the way back to the 1952 equivalent. If you prefer your history a little more ancient, a wander around the Step Pyramid of Djosser – the first ever built – with a leading Egyptologist is sure to do the trick. Divers can even take an underwater tour of Alexandria to Cleopatra's Underwater City, which abounds with submerged sphinx statues and Roman columns, and the protected, ancient Pharos Lighthouse – one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, that was only rediscovered in 1994.
Portugal
Visitors to Portugal should look beyond Lisbon and the Algarve, and visit idyllic wine towns along the Rio Douro, UNESCO protected valleys along the Spanish border and prehistoric petroglyphs. Head to Penascosa to watch cave art come to life (with the help of a dazzling lightshow) or join the site director and archaeological research team at the Roman, Late Iron Age and Copper Age site of Castelo Velho de Safara. Get your hands dirty as you assist digs of ancient structures and streets, exposing age-old floors and sieving for, labelling and recording historic artefacts. And what better way to toast your finds than with a glass of under-rated local wine on a sunset vineyard tour of the Douro and Coa valleys.
Zimbabwe
Some places you can figure out for yourself, others, like Great Zimbabwe, demand a guide. The eponymous country is a patchwork of highlights, from the mighty Victoria Falls to 107-animal-species-strong Hwange National Park , but the UNESCO world heritage-listed Great Zimbabwe ruins feel like Africa’s little archaeological secret. Fortunately, with the help of local Past Preservers expert, you’ll be in just the right hands to get in on it. Join an emerging scholar from Great Zimbabwe University to explore southern Africa's largest medieval capital, Great Zimbabwe, and keep your eyes peeled as you explore its 1100 CE Royal Palace, Hill Complex and Great Enclosure. Don’t forget about your ears too as you listen to stories and folktales from local shamans.
Italy
If there was just one country to make you feel like a local almost instantly, we reckon it’s Italy. Home to benevolent nonnas, homemade pasta and la dolce vita, Italy’s history with homecooked hospitality runs deep. It’s obvious from its hundreds of archaeological excavations, such as the Santa Maria di Agnano in Ostuni – the only place in the world with more than 30,000 years of continuous human attendance – where you can join experts to uncover secrets of its Middle Age burials and relationship with the Greek goddess Demetra. Further north in Rome, an Original Travel and Past Preservers tour will have you excavating stratigraphically (layer by layer) at the Horrea Agrippiana (an imperial storage building dating to the reign of Augustus 27 BC-14 AD) and learning everything there is to know about Roman architecture. If you’re after a souvenir to take home, we have you covered. Visit a mosaic lab and create your own masterpiece, using time-held traditions of ancient mosaicists.
Greece
Ancient and sun bleached, Greece is easily one of the best places to enjoy an Original Travel and Past Preservers adventure. Start with a tour of the acropolis of Mycenae, legendary home of Agamemnon, with the President of the Mycenaean Foundation. Stop to admire the view at the top before heading to the usually off-limits areas of the Cult Temple, underground cistern and less-visited Tholos Tombs. And if that’s not enough, a visit to the recently excavated Lower Town and private tour of the Mycenae Museum can also be arranged.
Header image by Faustine Poidevin