JULY/AUGUST 2011 VOLUME 64, NUMBER 4 CONTENTS features 24 Rebuilding Beirut As the modern city rises, evidence of its complex history and changing fortunes is being uncovered BY ANDREW LAWLER 30 Digging Into Technology’s Past “Digital archaeologists” excavate the microprocessor that ushered in the home computing revolution BY NIKHIL SWAMINATHAN 34 The Nok of Nigeria Unlocking the secrets of West Africa’s earliest known civilization BY ROGER ATWOOD 39 Assisi’s Roman Villa A surprise discovery under a medieval Italian town square BY MARCO MEROLA 44 Australia’s Shackled Pioneers A fresh look at the convict era— when tens of thousands of exiled criminals helped lay the foundation of a modern nation BY SAMIR S. PATEL 39 Under the medieval town hall in Assisi, Italy, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of an impressive ancient Roman villa. Cover: A woman welcomes the deceased to the next world in this fresco from an extremely well-preserved Song Dynasty tomb. Photo: Zhao Peng/Xinhua/Landov ARCHAEOLOGY • July/August 2011