Troy’s fall was partly due to environmental strain – and it holds lessons for today

By Stephan Blum, Research associate, Institute for Prehistory and Early History and Medieval Archaeology, University of Tübingen

Sometimes the seeds of collapse are sown in the very soil of prosperity. Beneath the ancient city of Troy’s shining walls, the earth quietly cracked under the weight of its ambition.

When we think of environmental destruction today, images of oil rigs, coal plants or plastic islands come to mind. But long before industry, ancient societies were already pushing their ecosystems to the brink.

One striking example comes from early bronze age Troy – a story of economic brilliance shadowed by lasting ecological cost. It is not merely a tale of innovation and success, but a cautionary…

Read complete article

~	Myanmar: Rights investigators reveal ‘systematic torture’, sexual violence

~	Dominican Republic: New penal code does not guarantee the rights of women and girls

~	Georgian journalist sentenced to two years in prison, sparking outrage at home and abroad

~	Succès Masra: how Chad’s opposition firebrand came to be sentenced to 20 years in prison

~	Monopoly, Catan and learning through play: how board games can teach us starkly different economic models

~	Five ways the UK can prepare for a hotter, riskier future

~	How Britain can beat the heat without becoming addicted to air conditioning

~	Family farmers say their way of life is an impossible dream when ‘the bread of life is worth less than rusty metal’

~	Why people reclaim words meant to insult them – and how this has become a powerful tool for protest

~	US force has been used against drug traffickers before – but Trump’s plan is a dangerous escalation