Art

Statue of Aztec maize goddess seen in Tomb Raider 1

Arte-Factual: Tomb Raider 1: Aztec Maize Goddess

When I first played Tomb Raider 1 back in 1996, I never realized how many real-life Pre-Columbian (and other) artefacts could be spotted throughout the game’s Peru levels. Some of them, such as the Chimú bird carving, were already familiar to me as I had studied Peruvian art and archaeology for a GCSE art project. But it wasn’t until I started working on this blog and replaying this 1996 classic that I began to notice that the ... [Continue Reading]

11/07/2020 // 0 Comments

Photo Gallery: Jean Michel Thery’s Tomb Raider Models

If you’ve been visiting the Archaeology of Tomb Raider Facebook page recently, you may have seen some photos of an Ancient Egyptian-themed Tomb Raider model. This beautiful work of art was created by Jean Michel Thery and since he doesn’t have his own blog or website, I offered to share his photos on this blog. Jean Michel was born and raised in Lille, France, and now lives in Belgium. He retired a few years ago and devotes most of ... [Continue Reading]

13/12/2020 // 5 Comments

Arte-Factual: Buddhist Symbols of Barkhang Monastery (Part 2)

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for another edition of Arte-Factual! And this time around, we’ll be making the trek back to Barkhang Monastery (Tomb Raider 2) to look at some of the other Buddhist symbols that can be found throughout the fictional monastery. The Wheel, or “Dharmachakra”: The Buddhist wheel, or dharmachakra, is one of the oldest and most recognizable motifs in Buddhist art and was once used to represent ... [Continue Reading]

24/11/2020 // 2 Comments

Arte-Factual: Buddhist Symbols of Barkhang Monastery (Part 1)

Those of you who have known me for a while will probably know that Tomb Raider 2: The Dagger of Xian is (and most likely always will be) my favourite Tomb Raider game. You might also know that I was interested in archaeology and ancient civilizations long before Ms Croft appeared on the game scene in 1996. But did you know that my interest in Tibetan culture was triggered by Tomb Raider 2? Before TR2 was released, Tibet was, in my younger, ... [Continue Reading]

18/09/2020 // 16 Comments

Arte-Factual: Tomb Raider I: Chimú Bird Carving

In the last edition of Arte-Factual, I looked at the Toltec Atlantes pillars that could be found in and around Qualopec’s tomb in the original Tomb Raider. In this edition, I will re-visit Qualopec’s tomb and examine another Pre-Columbian motif that can be seen on the walls of the fictional Atlantean king’s tomb: a Chimú bird carving. Lara explores Qualopec’s tomb (Photo credit: Tombraidergirl.Com) When the ... [Continue Reading]

11/04/2020 // 11 Comments

The Archaeology of Tomb Raider

Exploring Art & Archaeology Through the Tomb Raider Series

Art

Arte-Factual: Tomb Raider 1: Aztec Maize Goddess

Photo Gallery: Jean Michel Thery’s Tomb Raider Models

Arte-Factual: Buddhist Symbols of Barkhang Monastery (Part 2)

Arte-Factual: Buddhist Symbols of Barkhang Monastery (Part 1)

Arte-Factual: Tomb Raider I: Chimú Bird Carving

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