Exploring the archaeology, myths, locations, cultures, and art of Tomb Raider.
Tomb Raider fans never cease to find creative new ways to celebrate their fandom and pay tribute to the games that inspire them, and Jason Chester is no exception. For the past few months, Jason has designed and created low-poly models of each of Tomb Raider I’s levels, which can be found in his ArtStation …
Jason Chester’s Low-Poly ‘Tomb Raider’ Models Continue Reading
Can you believe it’s been 23 years since Lara Croft made her debut in a little game called Tomb Raider? Over two decades later, this iconic heroine shows no real signs of slowing down and continues to entertain and inspire gamers, artists, writers, and cosplayers across the world. She may only play for sport but …
Fans Celebrate Tomb Raider’s 23rd Anniversary Continue Reading
Do you like learning about ancient history and faraway lands? Well, if you’re a regular visitor to this site, I think it’s safe to assume that you do. So let me point you in the direction of a phenomenal documentary series: History and Geography in Tomb Raider! History and Geography in Tomb Raider is the …
“History and Geography in ‘Tomb Raider'” Continue Reading
I’ve been a huge fan of Funko’s uber-cute aesthetic ever since a friend of mine introduced me to their range of Pop! vinyl figures a couple of years ago. What began as a one-off acquisition – a Scarlet Witch Pop! I received from said friend – has since grown into an eclectic collection of superhero and Star …
Review: Lara Croft Funko Pop! Figure Continue Reading
Repeat after me: Archaeologists do not dig dinosaurs. There’s such a wide misconception that archaeologists dig up fossils and dinosaur bones for a living that some musically-minded archaeologists have taken to YouTube to remind the public, in no uncertain terms, that they “don’t do dinosaurs” and that “digging up dinos is palaeontology”. So if it’s dinosaurs …
Lara Croft’s Jurassic World – Five Memorable Dinosaur Encounters Continue Reading
One of the greatest pleasures in video gaming is the discovery for “Easter eggs”, those little jokes, secret levels, or hidden messages that game developers insert in their games for the players’ amusement. With a back catalogue spanning almost two decades and across multiple platforms, the Tomb Raider series has had its fair share of …
15 Awesome Tomb Raider Easter Eggs Continue Reading
When I first played Tomb Raider 1 back in 1996, I never realized how many real-life Pre-Columbian artefacts could be spotted throughout the Peru sections of the game. Some of these were already familiar to me – such as the Chimú bird carving – as I had done some research on Peruvian art and archaeology …
Arte-Factual: Aztec Maize Goddess Continue Reading
Over the years, Lara Croft has visited dozens of archaeologically fascinating places but not all of them have been particularly glamorous. One such place that instantly springs to mind is the Cistern in Tomb Raider 1. When I first started playing Tomb Raider back in 1996, I bought myself a copy of the Prima official strategy guide …
Lara’s Travels: The Cistern Continue Reading
If you’ve been following my antics on Twitter, you’ll probably know that I’ve recently been revisiting the Greece levels of Tomb Raider 1, sniffing out material for a new edition of Arte-Factual. It had been years since I last played the 1996 classic so I’d almost forgotten how much real-life art is used throughout the …
Arte-Factual: Ancient Greek Wrestlers Continue Reading
Time for another blast from the past as we return once again to the original 1996 Tomb Raider for this new edition of Arte-Factual! If you’ve ever played the original game, you may have noticed that the game developers drew inspiration from real-life artworks and artefacts, such as the Toltec pillars at Tula in Mexico, the …
Arte-Factual: Minoan Dolphin Fresco Continue Reading
In the last edition of Lara’s Travels, I wrote about the island of Jan Mayen in the Arctic Ocean, one of the real-life locations featured in Tomb Raider: Underworld. This time, however, we’ll be going back in time to where it all began and look at one of the places Lara visits in the original …
Lara’s Travels: Meteora Continue Reading
Yesterday was World Cat Day so I thought I’d celebrate it by writing a post about one of the most recognisable artefacts seen in the original Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider Gold: Unfinished Business, the Gayer-Anderson cat statue. A replica of this famous and beloved statue could be found in the City of Khamoon. It was …
Arte-Factual: Egyptian Cat Statue Continue Reading
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: that of a Chimú bird …
Arte-Factual: Chimú Bird Carving Continue Reading
Sharp-eyed gamers may have noticed that the same colossal sculptures appear repeatedly throughout the Peruvian levels of the original Tomb Raider (1996), most notably in the Tomb of Qualopec. These sculptures are actually based on the real-life Atlantes – or Atlantean pillars – found at Tula, a Postclassic archaeological site in the Mexican state of Hidalgo.** The four …
Arte-Factual: Toltec Warriors Continue Reading
On 24th July 1911, the Yale archaeologist and intrepid explorer Hiram Bingham III caught his first glimpse of the remote Inca citadel of Machu Picchu during an expedition to find the lost city of Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the beleaguered Inca Empire. Although it’s now thought that the site had been visited – and …
The Rediscovery of Machu Picchu: Hiram Bingham and Modern-Day Explorers Continue Reading
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