Research Assistant
Arts and Humanities
UCL Museums and Collections
Scale 6 (£23,002 - £24,403 per annum) plus London Allowance of £2,572 per annum
Full time, 9 month contract due to funding.
E-Curator: 3D colour scans for remote object identification and assessment
This project draws on UCL's expertise both in curatorship and in e-Science. It takes advantage of the presence at UCL of world class collections across a range of disciplines and of a state of the art colour scanner, the quality of which is unequalled in the UK. The project aims to apply e-science technologies to museum work and artefact analysis, exploring the potential to capture and share in a secure and repeatable manner very large, detailed datasets about museum artefacts, thereby enhancing international scholarship and facilitating the safe movement of artefacts. The ability to share validated 3D colour data could facilitate object-tracking and condition checking, enabling curators and conservators to compare records collected at different institutions and stored remotely, or collected over a period of time under different conditions, in order to assess and monitor change. The project is jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
We are seeking a Research Assistant with a background in the Arts and Humanities, who will be responsible for organising formative, interim and summative evaluation of the project with curators and conservators. S/he will be trained in 3D colour scanning with Arius equipment and software in order to undertake object scanning with curators, will organise workshops, and will play a key role in publishing and disseminating the findings in appropriate professional contexts within the museum and heritage sector. S/he will work closely with a Research Assistant from a Computer Science background who is developing software tools for the project.
A full job description, person specification is available at www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/jobs.
Application forms can be downloaded from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs/.
Please email completed applications to Hannah Parton h.parton@ucl.ac.uk or post to Room 118, Chorley Institute, Pearson Building, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT.
Telephone enquiries - 020 7679 2462.
Interviews will be held on 26 November.
We regret that due to administration costs we are only able to respond to applicants whom we wish to interview. If you have not heard from us within one month after the closing date please assume you have been unsuccessful in your application for this post.
UCL Taking Action For Equality.
The closing date for applications is Friday, 9th November 2007.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Jobs at University of York
Lecturers
The Archaeology of the last 2000 years
Department of Archaeology
Ref: BA07434
Applications are invited for two lectureships to complement and consolidate existing departmental strengths. You should be specialists in the archaeology of historic or protohistoric periods, of Europe or beyond. You should also be able to demonstrate academic leadership, interest and ability in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and possess a clear research vision.
Both posts will be appointed on the lecturer scale, with a starting salary of £32,796 pa. Informal enquiries may be made to the Head of Department, Prof. Julian Richards (tel 00 44 (0)1904 433930, e-mail jdr1@york.ac.uk).
One post is available from 1 January 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter; the other from 1 October 2008.
Closing date for applications: 12.00 noon on Thursday 15 November 2007.
For further particulars and details of how to apply, please see our website at: http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/persnl/jobs/ or write to the Personnel Office, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, quoting reference number BA07434.
The University of York is committed to diversity and has policies and developmental programmes in place to promote equality of opportunity.
The Archaeology of the last 2000 years
Department of Archaeology
Ref: BA07434
Applications are invited for two lectureships to complement and consolidate existing departmental strengths. You should be specialists in the archaeology of historic or protohistoric periods, of Europe or beyond. You should also be able to demonstrate academic leadership, interest and ability in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and possess a clear research vision.
Both posts will be appointed on the lecturer scale, with a starting salary of £32,796 pa. Informal enquiries may be made to the Head of Department, Prof. Julian Richards (tel 00 44 (0)1904 433930, e-mail jdr1@york.ac.uk).
One post is available from 1 January 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter; the other from 1 October 2008.
Closing date for applications: 12.00 noon on Thursday 15 November 2007.
For further particulars and details of how to apply, please see our website at: http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/persnl/jobs/ or write to the Personnel Office, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, quoting reference number BA07434.
The University of York is committed to diversity and has policies and developmental programmes in place to promote equality of opportunity.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Συνεχίζονται στην Ολυμπία τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας της Νία Βαρντάλος
Source: in.gr
Στην Ολυμπία θα συνεχιστούν τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας My Life in ruins με πρωταγωνίστρια την Νία Βαρντάλος. Μαζί της συναντήθηκε ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού Μιχάλης Λιάπης εκφράζοντας την στήριξή του.
Τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας έγιναν τη Δευτέρα στη Ρωμαϊκή Αγορά, ενώ τα επισκέφθηκε και ο κ. Λιάπης. Ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού ενημερώθηκε για την εξέλιξη των γυρισμάτων και την παραγωγή και ευχαρίστησε την Νία Βαρντάλος για την προβολή της Ελλάδας με τις ταινίες της. Την προσκάλεσε επίσης να κάνει την πρεμιέρα της ταινίας στην Αθήνα.
Από την πλευρά της, η ηθοποιός δήλωσε ενθουσιασμένη που κάνει γυρίσματα στους αρχαιολογικούς χώρους της Ελλάδας.
Ο σκηνοθέτης Ντόναλντ Πέτρι δήλωσε, σύμφωνα με Τα Νέα, ότι «η ενέργεια, ο πολιτισμός που μεταδίδουν αρχαιολογικοί χώροι όπως η Ακρόπολη, οι Δελφοί, η Ολυμπία, σπάνια μπορούν να 'μεταδοθούν' στον θεατή μέσω μιας ταινίας, γι' αυτό εύχομαι η δική μας να καταφέρει να μεταδώσει έστω και μια αύρα της δύναμης που εκπέμπουν αυτοί οι τόποι».
Στην ταινία η Βαρντάλος υποδύεται μια ξεναγό, που «παρουσιάζει» την Ελλάδα σε ομάδα Αμερικανών τουριστών και ερωτεύεται τον Αλέξη Γεωργούλη.
Στην Ολυμπία θα συνεχιστούν τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας My Life in ruins με πρωταγωνίστρια την Νία Βαρντάλος. Μαζί της συναντήθηκε ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού Μιχάλης Λιάπης εκφράζοντας την στήριξή του.
Τα γυρίσματα της ταινίας έγιναν τη Δευτέρα στη Ρωμαϊκή Αγορά, ενώ τα επισκέφθηκε και ο κ. Λιάπης. Ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού ενημερώθηκε για την εξέλιξη των γυρισμάτων και την παραγωγή και ευχαρίστησε την Νία Βαρντάλος για την προβολή της Ελλάδας με τις ταινίες της. Την προσκάλεσε επίσης να κάνει την πρεμιέρα της ταινίας στην Αθήνα.
Από την πλευρά της, η ηθοποιός δήλωσε ενθουσιασμένη που κάνει γυρίσματα στους αρχαιολογικούς χώρους της Ελλάδας.
Ο σκηνοθέτης Ντόναλντ Πέτρι δήλωσε, σύμφωνα με Τα Νέα, ότι «η ενέργεια, ο πολιτισμός που μεταδίδουν αρχαιολογικοί χώροι όπως η Ακρόπολη, οι Δελφοί, η Ολυμπία, σπάνια μπορούν να 'μεταδοθούν' στον θεατή μέσω μιας ταινίας, γι' αυτό εύχομαι η δική μας να καταφέρει να μεταδώσει έστω και μια αύρα της δύναμης που εκπέμπουν αυτοί οι τόποι».
Στην ταινία η Βαρντάλος υποδύεται μια ξεναγό, που «παρουσιάζει» την Ελλάδα σε ομάδα Αμερικανών τουριστών και ερωτεύεται τον Αλέξη Γεωργούλη.
Aswan Obelisk Quarry more than meets the eye
Source: EurekAlert!
The unfinished Obelisk Quarry in Aswan, Egypt, has a canal that may have connected to the Nile and allowed the large stone monuments to float to their permanent locations, according to an international team of researchers. This canal, however, may be allowing salts from ground water to seep into what has been the best preserved example of obelisk quarrying in Egypt.
"Working deposits and surfaces exposed during excavation are being damaged by accumulation of salts," the researchers said at the Second International Conference on Geology of the Tethyr at the Cairo University. "These unique artifacts document quarry methods and should be preserved."
The granite quarry, located on the east bank of the Nile in the center of Aswan City, contains a very large unfinished obelisk that was not completed because of latent cracks. While the cracks were bad for the ancient Egyptian stone carvers, the unfinished monument provides the opportunity for archaeologists to understand how people worked hard stone quarries.
Excavations by the Aswan Office of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, began in 2002 to prepare the site for tourists. Among the discoveries made were a trench at least 8.25 feet deep. Archaeologists were unable to reach the bottom because of groundwater incursion.
"Some researchers suggested that this trench linked the quarry with the Nile," says Dr. Richard R. Parizek, professor of geology and geo-environmental engineering at Penn State. "Transporting huge granite monoliths by boat to the Nile during the annual flood would appear to be easier than having to transport these blocks overland from the quarry to the Nile." READ FULL STORY
The unfinished Obelisk Quarry in Aswan, Egypt, has a canal that may have connected to the Nile and allowed the large stone monuments to float to their permanent locations, according to an international team of researchers. This canal, however, may be allowing salts from ground water to seep into what has been the best preserved example of obelisk quarrying in Egypt.
"Working deposits and surfaces exposed during excavation are being damaged by accumulation of salts," the researchers said at the Second International Conference on Geology of the Tethyr at the Cairo University. "These unique artifacts document quarry methods and should be preserved."
The granite quarry, located on the east bank of the Nile in the center of Aswan City, contains a very large unfinished obelisk that was not completed because of latent cracks. While the cracks were bad for the ancient Egyptian stone carvers, the unfinished monument provides the opportunity for archaeologists to understand how people worked hard stone quarries.
Excavations by the Aswan Office of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, began in 2002 to prepare the site for tourists. Among the discoveries made were a trench at least 8.25 feet deep. Archaeologists were unable to reach the bottom because of groundwater incursion.
"Some researchers suggested that this trench linked the quarry with the Nile," says Dr. Richard R. Parizek, professor of geology and geo-environmental engineering at Penn State. "Transporting huge granite monoliths by boat to the Nile during the annual flood would appear to be easier than having to transport these blocks overland from the quarry to the Nile." READ FULL STORY
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The rising love of loot
Source: Athens News
In the first of two interviews on the ownership and display of antiquities,the newly installed director of the American School talks about the destructive effects of private collections
JOHN PSAROPOULOS
"AT THE University of Cincinnati we passed a resolution in our department, which is strongly focused on archaeology, that we would not accept the donation of any antiquities from private sources into our department, and that we would not accept funding for archaeological projects from collectors.
We all had been in situations where we had witnessed terrible looting of archaeological sites. Often the amount of devastation to an archaeological site is really disproportionate to the loot that's recovered. People will do huge damage to a site just to walk away with some coins, destroying sometimes the whole history of an area in an evening with a bulldozer. There's hardly a field archaeologist alive who hasn't seen that.
Some of us have been in situations where we've had to post guards with guns over archaeological sites at night, especially if we're digging in or around the cemetery. These things because there's a market, there's a demand for antiquities, and that market is largely fed through the introduction of new antiquities, which pass up in a chain of transmission from small farmers encouraged by higher level exploiters, who feed these finds into overseas networks.
I think we need to attack small-scale operations like eBay. You find thousands of hits for illegal antiquities on eBay every day. Those may not be coming out of Greece now, but they're coming out of certain Balkan countries; they're coming out of Russia, the Near East. The business in Iraq and Afghanistan led to a real flood of antiquities from those places into western markets.
An unbelievable range of things is now being collected that was never collected before, with huge values attached. Things that one used to be able to acquire for hundreds of dollars are now on sale for tens of thousands of dollars.
The antiquities laws in America are, in my view, ridiculous. They permit the private ownership of archaeological sites and the exploitation of those sites. If I am a farmer and I own an American Indian cemetery, something Late Mississippian, 13th or 14th century after Christ with beautiful artefacts, I can dig it. They're my property. I can sell them just as private property. There are no restrictions whatsoever.
So we do what we can do. We have a couple of organisations in the States that exist to raise money to buy private property on which archaeological sites are located - the Archaeological Conservancy. We buy sites and set them aside just to protect them for the future.
There's something of value in almost every place. In a country like Greece that's been occupied for thousands and thousands of years, it's impossible to dig and not find something. This is a matter for citizens and education and sociology, not for law enforcement. We each need to be educated and take ethical positions.
I remember when Jackie Kennedy started her Every Litter Bit Hurts in America campaign and I thought, "Yeah right, people are going to stop littering." And they did. It took a couple of decades, but they did. And that was through public awareness, constant bombardment of the public message.
I've read the documents from the 1820s when the [Greek] government was trying to organise the archaeological service. What they were doing - and it was somewhat successful - was appeal to national pride. It didn't work with everybody, but there were people sending antiquities to form the national collection established initially on Aegina.
At the same time, work on the other end of the equation - make it harder to sell by cracking down on law enforcement in the receiving countries. And that requires a change in American attitudes.
It used to be possible to take your antiquities into a local university department, talk to a professor and say, "What is this? Is this real?" We don't do that anymore. We tell them that we have no opinion. It's not our business. We refuse to partake in the process. This is a role a person like myself can play to make the process of commoditisation more difficult. I want a buyer to have doubts about the authenticity of [an object]. It's the official policy of the Archaeological Institute of America, which is the parent institution of the American School in Athens.
There's an argument to be made that it's better for an antiquity to stay in the country of origin through purchase by a private collector than for it to leave. At least you retain it in Greece. But that's different from what goes on in America and Britain.
Museums form support organisations - friends of the museum - and those are encouraged to collect to buy. The purpose is that the museum, rather than directly buying the objects, which they don't have the money to do anyway, can deny the responsibility for the acquisition because it's purchased by the buyer. And the private buyer then ultimately wills it or donates it to the museum and receives tax benefits for so doing. So, in effect, everybody feels good.
I think some of the most avid collectors are paying the highest prices and are fuelling demand; they're driving the market. I don't want to see archaeological sites destroyed. I want to learn as much about the past as possible.
My personal feeling is that antiquities are best held by people for whom they offer the most meaning. It's not just the Parthenon Marbles. Bulgarians have raised issues about silver plate that's held in Greece. A big issue for Albanians is the helmet of Skanderbeg held in Austria. Where is the helmet of Skanderbeg most naturally displayed - in Tirana or Vienna? You can make an argument that it's a part of the history of the Austrian empire and its expansion into the Balkans, but I think that it doesn't have the emotional charge that it has for the Albanians, and it seems a crying shame that there has to be a model of it in the museum in Tirana. Where do the Parthenon Marbles look best? Where do they derive the most meaning?
In the first of two interviews on the ownership and display of antiquities,the newly installed director of the American School talks about the destructive effects of private collections
JOHN PSAROPOULOS
"AT THE University of Cincinnati we passed a resolution in our department, which is strongly focused on archaeology, that we would not accept the donation of any antiquities from private sources into our department, and that we would not accept funding for archaeological projects from collectors.
We all had been in situations where we had witnessed terrible looting of archaeological sites. Often the amount of devastation to an archaeological site is really disproportionate to the loot that's recovered. People will do huge damage to a site just to walk away with some coins, destroying sometimes the whole history of an area in an evening with a bulldozer. There's hardly a field archaeologist alive who hasn't seen that.
Some of us have been in situations where we've had to post guards with guns over archaeological sites at night, especially if we're digging in or around the cemetery. These things because there's a market, there's a demand for antiquities, and that market is largely fed through the introduction of new antiquities, which pass up in a chain of transmission from small farmers encouraged by higher level exploiters, who feed these finds into overseas networks.
I think we need to attack small-scale operations like eBay. You find thousands of hits for illegal antiquities on eBay every day. Those may not be coming out of Greece now, but they're coming out of certain Balkan countries; they're coming out of Russia, the Near East. The business in Iraq and Afghanistan led to a real flood of antiquities from those places into western markets.
An unbelievable range of things is now being collected that was never collected before, with huge values attached. Things that one used to be able to acquire for hundreds of dollars are now on sale for tens of thousands of dollars.
The antiquities laws in America are, in my view, ridiculous. They permit the private ownership of archaeological sites and the exploitation of those sites. If I am a farmer and I own an American Indian cemetery, something Late Mississippian, 13th or 14th century after Christ with beautiful artefacts, I can dig it. They're my property. I can sell them just as private property. There are no restrictions whatsoever.
So we do what we can do. We have a couple of organisations in the States that exist to raise money to buy private property on which archaeological sites are located - the Archaeological Conservancy. We buy sites and set them aside just to protect them for the future.
There's something of value in almost every place. In a country like Greece that's been occupied for thousands and thousands of years, it's impossible to dig and not find something. This is a matter for citizens and education and sociology, not for law enforcement. We each need to be educated and take ethical positions.
I remember when Jackie Kennedy started her Every Litter Bit Hurts in America campaign and I thought, "Yeah right, people are going to stop littering." And they did. It took a couple of decades, but they did. And that was through public awareness, constant bombardment of the public message.
I've read the documents from the 1820s when the [Greek] government was trying to organise the archaeological service. What they were doing - and it was somewhat successful - was appeal to national pride. It didn't work with everybody, but there were people sending antiquities to form the national collection established initially on Aegina.
At the same time, work on the other end of the equation - make it harder to sell by cracking down on law enforcement in the receiving countries. And that requires a change in American attitudes.
It used to be possible to take your antiquities into a local university department, talk to a professor and say, "What is this? Is this real?" We don't do that anymore. We tell them that we have no opinion. It's not our business. We refuse to partake in the process. This is a role a person like myself can play to make the process of commoditisation more difficult. I want a buyer to have doubts about the authenticity of [an object]. It's the official policy of the Archaeological Institute of America, which is the parent institution of the American School in Athens.
There's an argument to be made that it's better for an antiquity to stay in the country of origin through purchase by a private collector than for it to leave. At least you retain it in Greece. But that's different from what goes on in America and Britain.
Museums form support organisations - friends of the museum - and those are encouraged to collect to buy. The purpose is that the museum, rather than directly buying the objects, which they don't have the money to do anyway, can deny the responsibility for the acquisition because it's purchased by the buyer. And the private buyer then ultimately wills it or donates it to the museum and receives tax benefits for so doing. So, in effect, everybody feels good.
I think some of the most avid collectors are paying the highest prices and are fuelling demand; they're driving the market. I don't want to see archaeological sites destroyed. I want to learn as much about the past as possible.
My personal feeling is that antiquities are best held by people for whom they offer the most meaning. It's not just the Parthenon Marbles. Bulgarians have raised issues about silver plate that's held in Greece. A big issue for Albanians is the helmet of Skanderbeg held in Austria. Where is the helmet of Skanderbeg most naturally displayed - in Tirana or Vienna? You can make an argument that it's a part of the history of the Austrian empire and its expansion into the Balkans, but I think that it doesn't have the emotional charge that it has for the Albanians, and it seems a crying shame that there has to be a model of it in the museum in Tirana. Where do the Parthenon Marbles look best? Where do they derive the most meaning?
Το νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης ενισχύει το αίτημα για επιστροφή των Γλυπτών
Source: in.gr
Το νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης αποτελεί την απάντηση στο βασικό επιχείρημα του Βρετανικού Μουσείου ότι η Ελλάδα δεν διαθέτει μουσείο ικανό να φιλοξενήσει τα Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, αναφέρουν τα διεθνή μέσα ενημέρωσης.
«Υπάρχει η ελπίδα ότι (το μουσείο) θα καταρρίψει το επιχείρημα ότι η σύγχρονη Ελλάδα δεν μπορεί να φιλοξενήσει σωστά τους θησαυρούς της χρυσής εποχής της» αναφέρει η εφημερίδα Guardian, με την ευκαιρία της εκκίνησης των διαδικασιών μεταφοράς των αρχαιοτήτων.
«Με την αναπαραγωγή στον επάνω όροφο του ναού του Παρθενώνα στις ακριβείς διαστάσεις του, οι υποστηρικτές του λένε ότι τα τα μάρμαρα μπορούν να παρουσιαστούν στην αρχική τους διάταξη και πλαίσιο, με έναν τρόπο που δεν θα μπορούσε ποτέ να γίνει στο Βρετανικό Μουσείο» συνεχίζει η εφημερίδα.
Ο Guardian αναφέρει επίσης ότι αν και οι δημοσκοπήσεις τα τελευταία δέκα χρόνια είναι υπέρ της επιστροφής των Γλυπτών στην Ελλάδα, το Βρετανικό Μουσείο αρνείται να συμμετάσχει στη διαμάχη.
Και o Independent αναφέρεται στη διαδικασία της μεταφοράς των αρχαιοτήτων προσθέτοντας ότι το Βρετανικό Μουσείο αρνείται επίμονα την επιστροφή τους.
Λίγες ημέρες νωρίτερα η Washington Post σε άρθρο με τίτλο «Οι Έλληνες κάνουν τα πάντα για την επιστροφή των Μαρμάρων» ανέφερε ότι το κτίριο έχει σχεδιαστεί για να διαπερνά την πολυπλοκότητα των επιχειρημάτων για την κλεμμένη τέχνη, θέλοντας να απευθυνθούν κατευθείαν στο συναίσθημα».
Στη συνέχεια η εφημερίδα αναφέρει ότι το τωρινό επιχείρημα του μουσείου (ότι εκεί επιτρέπεται να ειπωθεί η ιστορία των Γλυπτών, ανάμεσα σε άλλες, άλλων αρχαιοτήτων), διαφέρει από εκείνη που αναφέρει στην ιστοσελίδα του. Στη συνέχεια καταρρίπτει ένα- ένα τα επιχειρήματα του Βρετανικού Μουσείου.
Εν τω μεταξύ, ο Βρετανός πρέσβης στην Ελλάδα δήλωσε την Κυριακή ότι το μουσείο «είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακό, αλλά δεν μπορώ να πω περισσότερα από αυτό».
Ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού Μιχάλης Λιάπης επισήμανε ότι για πρώτη φορά ύστερα από 2.500 χρόνια μεταφέρονται τα Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα στο νέο Μουσείο.
«Επανέρχεται ως φυσικό επακόλουθο το αίτημα για την αποκατάσταση της ενότητας των Γλυπτών του Παρθενώνα» δήλωσε χαρακτηρίζοντας το αίτημα αυτό οικουμενικό και «ανάλογο εκείνου για ειρήνη στον κόσμο και για σεβασμό των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων».
Ερωτώμενος ο πρώην υπουργός Πολιτισμού της Γαλλίας Ζακ Λανγκ μετά τη συνάντησή του με τον Έλληνα πρωθυπουργό, εάν είναι καιρός να επιστρέψουν τα γλυπτά από το Βρετανικό Μουσείο στην Ελλάδα, εκείνος απάντησε: «Από την πρώτη μέρα υποστήριξα την πρωτοβουλία με την Μελίνα Μερκούρη και τον Ζυλ Ντασέν. Πιστεύω ότι είναι μια δίκαιη υπόθεση και ότι τελικά οι Βρετανοί θα πρέπει να το αποδεχθούν».
Το νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης αποτελεί την απάντηση στο βασικό επιχείρημα του Βρετανικού Μουσείου ότι η Ελλάδα δεν διαθέτει μουσείο ικανό να φιλοξενήσει τα Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, αναφέρουν τα διεθνή μέσα ενημέρωσης.
«Υπάρχει η ελπίδα ότι (το μουσείο) θα καταρρίψει το επιχείρημα ότι η σύγχρονη Ελλάδα δεν μπορεί να φιλοξενήσει σωστά τους θησαυρούς της χρυσής εποχής της» αναφέρει η εφημερίδα Guardian, με την ευκαιρία της εκκίνησης των διαδικασιών μεταφοράς των αρχαιοτήτων.
«Με την αναπαραγωγή στον επάνω όροφο του ναού του Παρθενώνα στις ακριβείς διαστάσεις του, οι υποστηρικτές του λένε ότι τα τα μάρμαρα μπορούν να παρουσιαστούν στην αρχική τους διάταξη και πλαίσιο, με έναν τρόπο που δεν θα μπορούσε ποτέ να γίνει στο Βρετανικό Μουσείο» συνεχίζει η εφημερίδα.
Ο Guardian αναφέρει επίσης ότι αν και οι δημοσκοπήσεις τα τελευταία δέκα χρόνια είναι υπέρ της επιστροφής των Γλυπτών στην Ελλάδα, το Βρετανικό Μουσείο αρνείται να συμμετάσχει στη διαμάχη.
Και o Independent αναφέρεται στη διαδικασία της μεταφοράς των αρχαιοτήτων προσθέτοντας ότι το Βρετανικό Μουσείο αρνείται επίμονα την επιστροφή τους.
Λίγες ημέρες νωρίτερα η Washington Post σε άρθρο με τίτλο «Οι Έλληνες κάνουν τα πάντα για την επιστροφή των Μαρμάρων» ανέφερε ότι το κτίριο έχει σχεδιαστεί για να διαπερνά την πολυπλοκότητα των επιχειρημάτων για την κλεμμένη τέχνη, θέλοντας να απευθυνθούν κατευθείαν στο συναίσθημα».
Στη συνέχεια η εφημερίδα αναφέρει ότι το τωρινό επιχείρημα του μουσείου (ότι εκεί επιτρέπεται να ειπωθεί η ιστορία των Γλυπτών, ανάμεσα σε άλλες, άλλων αρχαιοτήτων), διαφέρει από εκείνη που αναφέρει στην ιστοσελίδα του. Στη συνέχεια καταρρίπτει ένα- ένα τα επιχειρήματα του Βρετανικού Μουσείου.
Εν τω μεταξύ, ο Βρετανός πρέσβης στην Ελλάδα δήλωσε την Κυριακή ότι το μουσείο «είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακό, αλλά δεν μπορώ να πω περισσότερα από αυτό».
Ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού Μιχάλης Λιάπης επισήμανε ότι για πρώτη φορά ύστερα από 2.500 χρόνια μεταφέρονται τα Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα στο νέο Μουσείο.
«Επανέρχεται ως φυσικό επακόλουθο το αίτημα για την αποκατάσταση της ενότητας των Γλυπτών του Παρθενώνα» δήλωσε χαρακτηρίζοντας το αίτημα αυτό οικουμενικό και «ανάλογο εκείνου για ειρήνη στον κόσμο και για σεβασμό των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων».
Ερωτώμενος ο πρώην υπουργός Πολιτισμού της Γαλλίας Ζακ Λανγκ μετά τη συνάντησή του με τον Έλληνα πρωθυπουργό, εάν είναι καιρός να επιστρέψουν τα γλυπτά από το Βρετανικό Μουσείο στην Ελλάδα, εκείνος απάντησε: «Από την πρώτη μέρα υποστήριξα την πρωτοβουλία με την Μελίνα Μερκούρη και τον Ζυλ Ντασέν. Πιστεύω ότι είναι μια δίκαιη υπόθεση και ότι τελικά οι Βρετανοί θα πρέπει να το αποδεχθούν».
Israel to Resume Dig Near Temple Mount
Source: AP via Google News
By MATTI FRIEDMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel will resume archaeological excavations near a Jerusalem holy site that has often been a flashpoint for violence, Israeli officials said Sunday. The decision drew Palestinian charges that Israel is trying to scuttle next month's U.S.-sponsored peace conference.
Fearing an outbreak of violence, an Israeli Cabinet minister said he stalled construction for at least two weeks. But officials said they remained determined to push forward with the project.
The dig is located outside the Old City compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and is home to the gold-capped Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Israel captured the site from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and it has since served as a symbol of the two sides' competing claims to Jerusalem. Day-to-day administration of the site remains in Muslim hands.
When the dig began in February, it caused an uproar in the Islamic world, with some Muslims alleging that Israel was plotting to undermine the foundations of the site's mosques.
Israel termed those charges ludicrous, saying the dig was meant to clear the way for construction of a pedestrian walkway up to the compound, replacing one damaged in a 2004 snowstorm. But digging work at the site was quietly halted in June without explanation.
The government's Committee on Jerusalem Affairs voted two weeks ago to resume archaeological work at the site, Jacob Edery, a Cabinet minister and committee member, told The Associated Press. Edery said the dig had been held up since early summer for bureaucratic reasons related to planning permits.
"I'm sorry the work was held up at all, because the walkway was supposed to be almost finished by now," Edery said. He said some aspects of the plan have been modified, but no major changes were made.
After Edery's announcement, Raleb Majadele, the only Arab Cabinet minister, filed an appeal to block the project, which will halt progress for two weeks.
"I want the excavations delayed because it is very bad timing under the present political conditions," he said, citing an upcoming U.S.-hosted peace conference next month and the current Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
But Roni Dahan, a spokesman for Edery, said "the idea is definitely to continue excavations there."
When work began, Palestinians charged that Israel did not have the right to make alterations around the holy site, which houses Islam's third-holiest shrine.
Palestinian officials were outraged by Israel's latest decision, saying it endangered the U.S.-sponsored peace conference scheduled to be held in Annapolis, Md., next month.
"Always, whenever there is an important move toward peace, they do something to enrage Palestinians," said Adnan Husseini, an adviser on Jerusalem affairs to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
By MATTI FRIEDMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel will resume archaeological excavations near a Jerusalem holy site that has often been a flashpoint for violence, Israeli officials said Sunday. The decision drew Palestinian charges that Israel is trying to scuttle next month's U.S.-sponsored peace conference.
Fearing an outbreak of violence, an Israeli Cabinet minister said he stalled construction for at least two weeks. But officials said they remained determined to push forward with the project.
The dig is located outside the Old City compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and is home to the gold-capped Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Israel captured the site from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and it has since served as a symbol of the two sides' competing claims to Jerusalem. Day-to-day administration of the site remains in Muslim hands.
When the dig began in February, it caused an uproar in the Islamic world, with some Muslims alleging that Israel was plotting to undermine the foundations of the site's mosques.
Israel termed those charges ludicrous, saying the dig was meant to clear the way for construction of a pedestrian walkway up to the compound, replacing one damaged in a 2004 snowstorm. But digging work at the site was quietly halted in June without explanation.
The government's Committee on Jerusalem Affairs voted two weeks ago to resume archaeological work at the site, Jacob Edery, a Cabinet minister and committee member, told The Associated Press. Edery said the dig had been held up since early summer for bureaucratic reasons related to planning permits.
"I'm sorry the work was held up at all, because the walkway was supposed to be almost finished by now," Edery said. He said some aspects of the plan have been modified, but no major changes were made.
After Edery's announcement, Raleb Majadele, the only Arab Cabinet minister, filed an appeal to block the project, which will halt progress for two weeks.
"I want the excavations delayed because it is very bad timing under the present political conditions," he said, citing an upcoming U.S.-hosted peace conference next month and the current Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
But Roni Dahan, a spokesman for Edery, said "the idea is definitely to continue excavations there."
When work began, Palestinians charged that Israel did not have the right to make alterations around the holy site, which houses Islam's third-holiest shrine.
Palestinian officials were outraged by Israel's latest decision, saying it endangered the U.S.-sponsored peace conference scheduled to be held in Annapolis, Md., next month.
"Always, whenever there is an important move toward peace, they do something to enrage Palestinians," said Adnan Husseini, an adviser on Jerusalem affairs to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Acropolis Museum
Source: ekathimerini
YANNIS BEHRAKIS/REUTERS
A container with ancient artifacts inside is lowered from the Acropolis yesterday at the start of the process to transfer more than 4,000 antiquities from the sacred rock to the new Acropolis Museum some 400 meters away using three giant cranes. The beginning of the historic operation was watched by hundreds of onlookers, including protesters who want the government to halt plans to knock down two listed buildings that are partially blocking the view of the Parthenon from the museum, which is due to fully open to the public late next year.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Test for Acropolis move a success
Source: ekathimerini
A test run for an ambitious project to relocate thousands of treasured antiquities from the Acropolis to the new Acropolis Museum was completed successfully yesterday, officials said.
The exercise was in preparation for the real test on Sunday, when cranes will start moving the first of some 4,500 ancient artifacts into the museum designed by US-based architect Bernard Tschumi and due to open fully to the public late next year.
Yesterday’s operation lasted two-and-half hours and involved three 50-meter cranes slowly moving a 3-ton block of marble into the top floor of the museum.
“If we had put a cup of coffee on top of the crate, it would have stayed in place,” said Costas Zambas, the engineer supervising the move.
To ensure that no harm comes to the artifacts – insured for –400 million – they will be carefully padded and boxed and transferred extremely slowly, meaning the process will take several weeks. But officials were confident that the antiquities will all be in their new home by early next year.
“Within three months from today, the new museum will host the artifacts which will be moved for the first time in 2,500 years – at least the first time legally,” Culture Minister Michalis Liapis said, referring to the removal of pieces of the Parthenon by Britain’s Lord Elgin 200 years ago.
According to the director of the new museum, Dimitris Pantermalis, the absence of the Parthenon Marbles – in the British Museum since their removal by Elgin – “is the most eloquent way to present the problem.” “We want visitors to wonder where these artifacts are,” he said.
On Sunday morning, when the relocation project is set to begin, cranes are to move a 2,500-year-old marble block, weighing 2.3 tons, from the Parthenon frieze. Most of the artifacts date to the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
The entire move – described by Liapis yesterday as “an historic event of major national importance” – is expected to cost 1.6 million euros.
A test run for an ambitious project to relocate thousands of treasured antiquities from the Acropolis to the new Acropolis Museum was completed successfully yesterday, officials said.
The exercise was in preparation for the real test on Sunday, when cranes will start moving the first of some 4,500 ancient artifacts into the museum designed by US-based architect Bernard Tschumi and due to open fully to the public late next year.
Yesterday’s operation lasted two-and-half hours and involved three 50-meter cranes slowly moving a 3-ton block of marble into the top floor of the museum.
“If we had put a cup of coffee on top of the crate, it would have stayed in place,” said Costas Zambas, the engineer supervising the move.
To ensure that no harm comes to the artifacts – insured for –400 million – they will be carefully padded and boxed and transferred extremely slowly, meaning the process will take several weeks. But officials were confident that the antiquities will all be in their new home by early next year.
“Within three months from today, the new museum will host the artifacts which will be moved for the first time in 2,500 years – at least the first time legally,” Culture Minister Michalis Liapis said, referring to the removal of pieces of the Parthenon by Britain’s Lord Elgin 200 years ago.
According to the director of the new museum, Dimitris Pantermalis, the absence of the Parthenon Marbles – in the British Museum since their removal by Elgin – “is the most eloquent way to present the problem.” “We want visitors to wonder where these artifacts are,” he said.
On Sunday morning, when the relocation project is set to begin, cranes are to move a 2,500-year-old marble block, weighing 2.3 tons, from the Parthenon frieze. Most of the artifacts date to the 6th and 5th centuries BC.
The entire move – described by Liapis yesterday as “an historic event of major national importance” – is expected to cost 1.6 million euros.
The history of coins in the Schliemanns’ old home
Second floor of the Numismatic Museum open for visitors
By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini
The three-story building with a large courtyard built in a mix of neoclassical and Renaissance styles is a sight to admire on Panepistimiou Street. It was designed by Ernst Ziller, who was responsible for such fine buildings in Athens as the National Theater, the Stathatos Mansion, and the Church of Aghios Loukas on Patission Street. The former was the home of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Recently the building has been out of sight, hidden behind the conservators’ drapes during the refurbishment needed before the second floor was opened. When the last pieces of scaffolding were removed, the revamp was deemed a success. The balconies with their terracotta railings and the marble on the facade are bright again, while the metal railings have been gilded in the style of the era when the gate used to open every Thursday to admit the cream of Athens society.
Now that the refurbishment of the Iliou Mansion and its transformation into the Numismatic Museum are complete, and the permanent exhibition, “The History of Coins,” is in place, the museum is already open to visitors, before its official opening.
The work has revealed the building’s impressive decor. The frescoes by Slovenian painter Yuri Subic were done according to the owners’ wishes, with subjects taken from the villas of Pompeii. The mosaic floors were made by Italian master craftsmen, with decorative motifs inspired by or copied from finds excavated by Schliemann.
Conservators have worked wonders on the second floor, which had suffered damage when rented out to state services.
What used to be the home of Heinrich and Sophia Schliemann and their children is painted ocher, deep green, sweet red and blue and houses the museum’s collection of 500,000 items.
There is an elevator for people of limited mobility, and a modern cafe is an added attraction.
Yiorka Nikolaou, Panayiotis Tselegas and their assistants have created a period atmosphere with scales, lead seals, stamps and coins that have been made into jewelry and amulets.
Denarii, dirhams, ducats and even modern Greek drachmas are among the exhibits that trace the history of money.
The six ground-floor rooms present the evolution of ancient Greek coins, from the turtles of Aegina and owls of Athens, to coins used throughout the ancient world, such as the Athenian tetradrachm and the gold coin of Alexander the Great. On the same floor, which is associated with the social life of the Schliemann family, visitors can learn about the history of the museum and its major donors.
On the second floor, the journey into the world of coins starts with the Roman era. Visitors can see how coins were minted, what the images on them represent, bronze coins minted for local use, and a banner portraying the system of coins and their fluctuations in value.
You can see how much a meal at a hotel or a haircut cost, and what happens when coins go out of circulation and are used as amulets or jewelry.
Exhibits from the Byzantine era are in what used to be the Schliemanns’ bedroom. One point of interest is the lead seals that the patriarchs of Constantinople used to stamp correspondence and laws.
The 24-carat Byzantine coin weighing 4.5 grams lasted 10 centuries till 1040, according to the label.
Another highlight is an amusing game with prices. An adult eunuch slave cost 30-50 Roman solidos, a doctor’s fee was 8-12 solidos, while 72 solidos would get you a silk robe.
In what was once the bedroom of the Schliemanns’ son Agamemnon, the exhibits trace the transition from Byzantine to European coins from France, Russia and Germany, up to the 15th century. At that time the Venetian currency was the strongest. The modern coins are displayed in the former room of Andromache, the Schliemanns’ daughter, and the history of the drachma in the children’s playroom. A comparison of meat prices in modern times show that a kilo of meat cost 80 lepta in 1880, 20 drachmas and 40 lepta in 1931 and 70 drachmas 15 lepta in 1975. The library will be used for the museum’s temporary exhibitions, and currently holds old studies of numismatics, while the last room tells everything you might want to know about forgery and counterfeiting in the 19th century, when the forgery of ancient coins became common, as the museum’s director Despina Evgenidou explained.
By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini
The three-story building with a large courtyard built in a mix of neoclassical and Renaissance styles is a sight to admire on Panepistimiou Street. It was designed by Ernst Ziller, who was responsible for such fine buildings in Athens as the National Theater, the Stathatos Mansion, and the Church of Aghios Loukas on Patission Street. The former was the home of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Recently the building has been out of sight, hidden behind the conservators’ drapes during the refurbishment needed before the second floor was opened. When the last pieces of scaffolding were removed, the revamp was deemed a success. The balconies with their terracotta railings and the marble on the facade are bright again, while the metal railings have been gilded in the style of the era when the gate used to open every Thursday to admit the cream of Athens society.
Now that the refurbishment of the Iliou Mansion and its transformation into the Numismatic Museum are complete, and the permanent exhibition, “The History of Coins,” is in place, the museum is already open to visitors, before its official opening.
The work has revealed the building’s impressive decor. The frescoes by Slovenian painter Yuri Subic were done according to the owners’ wishes, with subjects taken from the villas of Pompeii. The mosaic floors were made by Italian master craftsmen, with decorative motifs inspired by or copied from finds excavated by Schliemann.
Conservators have worked wonders on the second floor, which had suffered damage when rented out to state services.
What used to be the home of Heinrich and Sophia Schliemann and their children is painted ocher, deep green, sweet red and blue and houses the museum’s collection of 500,000 items.
There is an elevator for people of limited mobility, and a modern cafe is an added attraction.
Yiorka Nikolaou, Panayiotis Tselegas and their assistants have created a period atmosphere with scales, lead seals, stamps and coins that have been made into jewelry and amulets.
Denarii, dirhams, ducats and even modern Greek drachmas are among the exhibits that trace the history of money.
The six ground-floor rooms present the evolution of ancient Greek coins, from the turtles of Aegina and owls of Athens, to coins used throughout the ancient world, such as the Athenian tetradrachm and the gold coin of Alexander the Great. On the same floor, which is associated with the social life of the Schliemann family, visitors can learn about the history of the museum and its major donors.
On the second floor, the journey into the world of coins starts with the Roman era. Visitors can see how coins were minted, what the images on them represent, bronze coins minted for local use, and a banner portraying the system of coins and their fluctuations in value.
You can see how much a meal at a hotel or a haircut cost, and what happens when coins go out of circulation and are used as amulets or jewelry.
Exhibits from the Byzantine era are in what used to be the Schliemanns’ bedroom. One point of interest is the lead seals that the patriarchs of Constantinople used to stamp correspondence and laws.
The 24-carat Byzantine coin weighing 4.5 grams lasted 10 centuries till 1040, according to the label.
Another highlight is an amusing game with prices. An adult eunuch slave cost 30-50 Roman solidos, a doctor’s fee was 8-12 solidos, while 72 solidos would get you a silk robe.
In what was once the bedroom of the Schliemanns’ son Agamemnon, the exhibits trace the transition from Byzantine to European coins from France, Russia and Germany, up to the 15th century. At that time the Venetian currency was the strongest. The modern coins are displayed in the former room of Andromache, the Schliemanns’ daughter, and the history of the drachma in the children’s playroom. A comparison of meat prices in modern times show that a kilo of meat cost 80 lepta in 1880, 20 drachmas and 40 lepta in 1931 and 70 drachmas 15 lepta in 1975. The library will be used for the museum’s temporary exhibitions, and currently holds old studies of numismatics, while the last room tells everything you might want to know about forgery and counterfeiting in the 19th century, when the forgery of ancient coins became common, as the museum’s director Despina Evgenidou explained.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
New Acropolis Museum...
HARRY VAN VERSENDAAL/KATHIMERINI
Workers clean the windows of the new Acropolis Museum, designed by US-based architect Bernard Tschumi, as it braces for the transfer of thousands of precious artifacts, starting Sunday. Three cranes will be used for the delicate operation that is expected to last at least 38 days. A test run is scheduled today. Controversy persists over plans to demolish two listed buildings on Dionysiou Areopagitou St, near the museum’s entrance, which partly block the view to the Parthenon.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Archaeologists in Portugal net haul of Roman coins
Source: AP via PR-inside.com
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Archeologists in Portugal have found more than 4,500 Roman coins bundled together inside the wall of a blacksmith's house dating from the fourth century.
Antonio Sa Coixao, who is leading excavations in Coriscada in northeastern Portugal, said Wednesday by telephone the 4,526 copper and bronze coins were inside a hollow wall and covered by dirt and tools. The coins had apparently been put in a sack which had mostly disintegrated, he said. «It looks like someone was trying to hide them, but they never went back to get them,» Sa Coixao said.
Archeologists excavating the site, which is believed to be a Roman village, came across the coins Friday, he said.
Sa Coixao said he expected to send the coins to the University of Lyon, France, to be cleaned and catalogued.
The excavation site, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) from Lisbon, also includes a spa and a large house with heated rooms and colorful mosaics, according to Sa Coixao. He expected the dig to last several more years.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Archeologists in Portugal have found more than 4,500 Roman coins bundled together inside the wall of a blacksmith's house dating from the fourth century.
Antonio Sa Coixao, who is leading excavations in Coriscada in northeastern Portugal, said Wednesday by telephone the 4,526 copper and bronze coins were inside a hollow wall and covered by dirt and tools. The coins had apparently been put in a sack which had mostly disintegrated, he said. «It looks like someone was trying to hide them, but they never went back to get them,» Sa Coixao said.
Archeologists excavating the site, which is believed to be a Roman village, came across the coins Friday, he said.
Sa Coixao said he expected to send the coins to the University of Lyon, France, to be cleaned and catalogued.
The excavation site, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) from Lisbon, also includes a spa and a large house with heated rooms and colorful mosaics, according to Sa Coixao. He expected the dig to last several more years.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Unearthing Rome's king
Source: Times Online
By Richard Owen
Italian archeologists have uncovered the ruins of a 2,700 year old sanctuary which they say provides the first physical evidence of Rome at the time of Numa Pompilius, Rome’s legendary second king, in the 8th century BC.
Numa Pompilius, a member of the Sabine tribe, was elected at the age of forty to succeed Romulus, the founder of Rome. He reigned from 715-673 BC, and is said by Plutarch to have been a reluctant monarch who ushered in a 40-year period of peace and stability. He was celebrated for his wisdom, personal austerity and piety.
Clementina Panella, the archeologist from Rome’s Sapienza University who is leading the dig, said Numa Pompilius was also known to have established religious practices and observance in the emergent city state, instituting the office of priest or pontifex and founding the cult of the Vestal Virgins. She said the temple or sanctuary her team had uncovered lay between the Palatine and Velian hills, close to the Colosseum, the Arch of Titus and Via Sacra, and had probably been dedicated to the Goddess of Fortune.
The dig began a year ago, with the help of 130 students and volunteers. The wall of the temple was found seven metres below the surface, together with a street and pavement and two wells, one round and one rectangular. Both wells were “full of thousands of votive offerings and cult objects”, including the bones of birds and animals and ceramic bowls and cups.
Dr Panella said there was no doubt that the objects dated from the period of Numa Pompilius. However there were no statues or figures because Numa forbade images of the gods in his temples, arguing that it was “impious to represent things Divine by what is perishable”.
Numa Pompilius is also credited with dividing Rome into administrative districts, and according to Plutarch organised the city’s first occupational guilds, “forming companies of musicians, goldsmiths, carpenters, dyers, shoemakers, skinners, braziers, and potters”.
Corriere della Sera said the unearthing of the temple proved there were still “remarkable discoveries” to be made in the Forum and Palatine Hill areas. Last year Andrea Carandini, Professor of Archeology at La Sapienza, announced that he had discovered the remains of a royal palace dating to the time of Romulus.
He said the palace, built around a courtyard, had a monumental entrance and ornate furniture and tiles, and was ten times the size of ordinary homes of the period.
Also last year Dr Panella, who has been excavating in the Forum for twenty years, discovered a sceptre which belonged to Emperor Maxentius, who ruled for six years until 312AD — towards the end of the Roman state.
Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle on the Milvian bridge against his brother-in-law, Constantine, who attributed his victory over Maxentius to divine intervention and converted the Roman empire to Christianity.
Maxentius’s supporters are thought to have hidden the sceptre after the defeat. It was found wrapped in silk and linen in a wooden box together with battle standards and lance heads.
By Richard Owen
Italian archeologists have uncovered the ruins of a 2,700 year old sanctuary which they say provides the first physical evidence of Rome at the time of Numa Pompilius, Rome’s legendary second king, in the 8th century BC.
Numa Pompilius, a member of the Sabine tribe, was elected at the age of forty to succeed Romulus, the founder of Rome. He reigned from 715-673 BC, and is said by Plutarch to have been a reluctant monarch who ushered in a 40-year period of peace and stability. He was celebrated for his wisdom, personal austerity and piety.
Clementina Panella, the archeologist from Rome’s Sapienza University who is leading the dig, said Numa Pompilius was also known to have established religious practices and observance in the emergent city state, instituting the office of priest or pontifex and founding the cult of the Vestal Virgins. She said the temple or sanctuary her team had uncovered lay between the Palatine and Velian hills, close to the Colosseum, the Arch of Titus and Via Sacra, and had probably been dedicated to the Goddess of Fortune.
The dig began a year ago, with the help of 130 students and volunteers. The wall of the temple was found seven metres below the surface, together with a street and pavement and two wells, one round and one rectangular. Both wells were “full of thousands of votive offerings and cult objects”, including the bones of birds and animals and ceramic bowls and cups.
Dr Panella said there was no doubt that the objects dated from the period of Numa Pompilius. However there were no statues or figures because Numa forbade images of the gods in his temples, arguing that it was “impious to represent things Divine by what is perishable”.
Numa Pompilius is also credited with dividing Rome into administrative districts, and according to Plutarch organised the city’s first occupational guilds, “forming companies of musicians, goldsmiths, carpenters, dyers, shoemakers, skinners, braziers, and potters”.
Corriere della Sera said the unearthing of the temple proved there were still “remarkable discoveries” to be made in the Forum and Palatine Hill areas. Last year Andrea Carandini, Professor of Archeology at La Sapienza, announced that he had discovered the remains of a royal palace dating to the time of Romulus.
He said the palace, built around a courtyard, had a monumental entrance and ornate furniture and tiles, and was ten times the size of ordinary homes of the period.
Also last year Dr Panella, who has been excavating in the Forum for twenty years, discovered a sceptre which belonged to Emperor Maxentius, who ruled for six years until 312AD — towards the end of the Roman state.
Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle on the Milvian bridge against his brother-in-law, Constantine, who attributed his victory over Maxentius to divine intervention and converted the Roman empire to Christianity.
Maxentius’s supporters are thought to have hidden the sceptre after the defeat. It was found wrapped in silk and linen in a wooden box together with battle standards and lance heads.
Τοιχογραφία του 11ου πΧ ανακάλυψαν αρχαιολόγοι στη Συρία
Source: in.gr
Μπροστά σε μια τοιχογραφία που ενδεχομένως χρονολογείται από τον 11ο π.Χ. αιώνα βρέθηκαν αρχαιολόγοι στη βόρεια Συρία, όπως μετέδωσε το επίσημο πρακτορείο ειδήσεων της χώρας SANA.
Ο επικεφαλής της ανασκαφής στην πόλη Αλέπο της Συρίας, τη δεύτερη μεγαλύτερη μετά τη Δαμασκό, δήλωσε ότι η τοιχογραφία έχει άσπρο, μαύρο και κόκκινο χρώμα με γεωμετρικά σχήματα, τετράγωνα και παραλληλόγραμμα.
Το εύρημα εντοπίστηκε σε οίκημα κοντά στον Ευφράτη. Το οίκημα πρέπει να χρησιμοποιείτο για θρησκευτικές τελετές και κοινωνικές εκδηλώσεις, ενώ η τοιχογραφία θεωρείται από τις παλαιότερες στον κόσμο.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Diyarbakır excavation reveals ancient tomb of young lovers
Source: Today’s Zaman
Archaeologists discovered the tomb of a young couple locked in an embrace during their work in Hakemi Use in the Bismil district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Saturday.
Archaeologists assert that the couple, who presumably died some 8,000 years ago, is likely to set a record as the oldest embracing couple in the history of archaeology. Diyarbakır was witness to an extraordinary discovery when archaeologists revealed the tomb of the couple near the township of Tepe in the district of Bismil. The shroud of mystery over the couple will be removed after anthropologists examine the skeletons.
The site at Hakemi Use, 70 kilometers east of Diyarbakır on the south bank of Tigris River, has been under excavation since 2001 by a team of archaeologists led by Halil Tekin of Hacettepe University. The team’s objective is to rescue artifacts at the site before the area is flooded by the Ilısu Dam. Salvage efforts were launched with the initiative of the government after the dam project was introduced in the region. The main site of excavation at Hakemi Use is a mound of 120 meters in diameter and four meters high dating from the Late Neolithic period.
The discovery of the tomb of the two lovers has sparked a wave of excitement among the team of archaeologists. Halil Tekin, head of the team, has indicated that the tomb is at least 1,000 years older than the one found last year in Verona, Italy. “The excavation work at the Hakemi Use site has been underway since 2001 with a group of archaeologists from Hacettepe University under the lead of the Diyarbakır Archeology and Ethnography Department. We have recently discovered a tomb bearing the skeletons of a 30-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman. The way they were buried signifies that they were lovers. An illness or even a crime of love may have been the cause of their death. We will learn much more about them after anthropologists in our university complete their examinations on the skeletons,” Tekin was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolia news agency.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Σε τελική ευθεία οι εργασίες για τη μεταφορά αρχαιοτήτων στο Νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης
Source: in.gr
Τις εργασίες για την προετοιμασία μεταφοράς αρχαιοτήτων στο Νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης επιθεώρησε ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού Μιχάλης Λιάπης. Η «μετακόμιση του αιώνα», όπως αποκαλείται, ξεκινά στις 14 Οκτωβρίου στις 10 το πρωί.
Την Πέμπτη 11 Οκτωβρίου θα γίνει η «πρόβα τζενεράλε» για τη μεταφορά των αρχαιοτήτων της Ακρόπολης. «Πρωταρχικό μέλημα όλων μας είναι η ασφαλής μεταφορά των αντικειμένων» δήλωσε ο κ. Λιάπης, ο οποίος επισκέφθηκε το Παλαιό Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης και επιθεώρησε τις εργασίες συντήρησης και συσκευασίας των εκθεμάτων.
Ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού δήλωσε επίσης ότι θα ληφθούν «τα απαιτούμενα μέτρα για τη διευκόλυνση των περίοικων και περιπατητών της Διονυσίου Αεροπαγίτου κατά την περίοδο της μεταφοράς».
Οι υπεύθυνοι λένε ότι η μετακόμιση θα ξεκινήσει «Θεού θέλοντος και καιρού επιτρέποντος» στις 14 Οκτωβρίου στις 10:00 π.μ.
Ερώτηση Φ.Κουβέλη
Την ίδια στιγμή ο βουλευτής του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ Φώτης Κουβέλης απηύθυνε στον υπουργό Πολιτισμού ερώτηση για την επανεξέταση της κατεδάφισης του χαρακτηρισμένου ως μνημείου κτιρίου επί της Διονυσίου Αεροπαγίτου 17.
Το ακίνητο πρόκειται να απαλλοτριωθεί και να κατεδαφιστεί «προκειμένου το νέο μουσείο Ακροπόλεως να έχει απρόσκοπτη οπτική επαφή με τον ιερό βράχο της Ακροπόλεως».
Το κτίριο αυτό, που κρίθηκε διατηρητέο το 1978, είναι έργο του αρχιτέκτονα Βασίλη Κουρεμένου και θεωρείται ένα από τα ωραιότερα δείγματα Art Deco στην Αθήνα, κοσμημένο με γλυπτά, ψηφιδωτά και ορθομαρμαρώσεις από κόκκινο και γκρίζο μάρμαρο.
Τις εργασίες για την προετοιμασία μεταφοράς αρχαιοτήτων στο Νέο Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης επιθεώρησε ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού Μιχάλης Λιάπης. Η «μετακόμιση του αιώνα», όπως αποκαλείται, ξεκινά στις 14 Οκτωβρίου στις 10 το πρωί.
Την Πέμπτη 11 Οκτωβρίου θα γίνει η «πρόβα τζενεράλε» για τη μεταφορά των αρχαιοτήτων της Ακρόπολης. «Πρωταρχικό μέλημα όλων μας είναι η ασφαλής μεταφορά των αντικειμένων» δήλωσε ο κ. Λιάπης, ο οποίος επισκέφθηκε το Παλαιό Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης και επιθεώρησε τις εργασίες συντήρησης και συσκευασίας των εκθεμάτων.
Ο υπουργός Πολιτισμού δήλωσε επίσης ότι θα ληφθούν «τα απαιτούμενα μέτρα για τη διευκόλυνση των περίοικων και περιπατητών της Διονυσίου Αεροπαγίτου κατά την περίοδο της μεταφοράς».
Οι υπεύθυνοι λένε ότι η μετακόμιση θα ξεκινήσει «Θεού θέλοντος και καιρού επιτρέποντος» στις 14 Οκτωβρίου στις 10:00 π.μ.
Ερώτηση Φ.Κουβέλη
Την ίδια στιγμή ο βουλευτής του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ Φώτης Κουβέλης απηύθυνε στον υπουργό Πολιτισμού ερώτηση για την επανεξέταση της κατεδάφισης του χαρακτηρισμένου ως μνημείου κτιρίου επί της Διονυσίου Αεροπαγίτου 17.
Το ακίνητο πρόκειται να απαλλοτριωθεί και να κατεδαφιστεί «προκειμένου το νέο μουσείο Ακροπόλεως να έχει απρόσκοπτη οπτική επαφή με τον ιερό βράχο της Ακροπόλεως».
Το κτίριο αυτό, που κρίθηκε διατηρητέο το 1978, είναι έργο του αρχιτέκτονα Βασίλη Κουρεμένου και θεωρείται ένα από τα ωραιότερα δείγματα Art Deco στην Αθήνα, κοσμημένο με γλυπτά, ψηφιδωτά και ορθομαρμαρώσεις από κόκκινο και γκρίζο μάρμαρο.
Remains of a Parthian Fort Discovered in Malayer
Source: The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies
LONDON, (CAIS) -- Following six months of continuous research, archaeologists have completed their studies on the post-Sasanian period in Kalan Dam in Malayer, Hamedan province and have started their work on recently discovered Parthian ruins at the site.
Announcing this, head of the excavation team involved in saving Patapeh Mound which will be submerged by the dam’s reservoir, Hassan Rezvani told Persian service of CHN that Patapeh is made up of different ancient layers from the pre-historic times up to the post-Sasanian period (637-850 E).
“Following the completion of studies on the post-Sasanian ruins, we came across architectural remains at the site date back to the Parthian dynastic era (248 BCE-224 CE),“ he said.
Earlier, discovery of a post-Sasanian fort at Kalan Dam in Malayer, Hamadan province, has paved the way for archaeologists to study 1,000 years of architectural developments in the area.
Archaeological studies on the fort reveal that the fort was in use from the Saljuq (1037-1187 CE) to Qajar (1781-1925 CE) periods and after various renovations, especially during the Ilkhanid era, it was transformed into glassworks in the period and an industrial center in the Zandieh era.
According to Rezvani, a three-meter wide wall made of bricks measuring 37 cm X 37 cm and mortar was also unearthed, demonstrating the strength of the fort in the Parthian period.
Patapeh, which is 25 meters high, is the highest mound which has so far been studied.
LONDON, (CAIS) -- Following six months of continuous research, archaeologists have completed their studies on the post-Sasanian period in Kalan Dam in Malayer, Hamedan province and have started their work on recently discovered Parthian ruins at the site.
Announcing this, head of the excavation team involved in saving Patapeh Mound which will be submerged by the dam’s reservoir, Hassan Rezvani told Persian service of CHN that Patapeh is made up of different ancient layers from the pre-historic times up to the post-Sasanian period (637-850 E).
“Following the completion of studies on the post-Sasanian ruins, we came across architectural remains at the site date back to the Parthian dynastic era (248 BCE-224 CE),“ he said.
Earlier, discovery of a post-Sasanian fort at Kalan Dam in Malayer, Hamadan province, has paved the way for archaeologists to study 1,000 years of architectural developments in the area.
Archaeological studies on the fort reveal that the fort was in use from the Saljuq (1037-1187 CE) to Qajar (1781-1925 CE) periods and after various renovations, especially during the Ilkhanid era, it was transformed into glassworks in the period and an industrial center in the Zandieh era.
According to Rezvani, a three-meter wide wall made of bricks measuring 37 cm X 37 cm and mortar was also unearthed, demonstrating the strength of the fort in the Parthian period.
Patapeh, which is 25 meters high, is the highest mound which has so far been studied.
Treasures from the Benaki Museum at the Gulbenkian
Source: ekathimerini
A selection from the permanent collection of the Benaki Museum is presented in “The Greeks: Art Treasures from the Benaki Museum, Athens” a survey exhibition on Greek history and civilization which has been organized by the Benaki and is hosted at Lisbon’s reputable Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.
The exhibition, which opened recently, includes 157 objects and follows the course of Greek civilization and history from prehistoric times to the country’s independence in the early 19th century.
It reflects the museum’s extroverted policy of loaning its collections internationally and its effort toward encouraging cultural exchanges with museums worldwide. After Lisbon, the exhibition will travel to Canada and, in 2009, to Chile.
A similar exhibition was organized by the Benaki in Sydney two years ago.
Works from the Benaki Museum collection have traveled to Lisbon before. In 1999, the Velimezis collection was presented at the Mosteiro des Jeronimos. The Benaki has collaborated with the Gulbenkian Museum in the recent past: The “Glass of the Sultans” exhibition that was hosted at the Islamic art branch of the Benaki Museum included holdings from the rare collection of Islamic art owned by the Portuguese museum. A large exhibition on this well-known collection is scheduled for 2009 at the Benaki Museum.
A selection from the permanent collection of the Benaki Museum is presented in “The Greeks: Art Treasures from the Benaki Museum, Athens” a survey exhibition on Greek history and civilization which has been organized by the Benaki and is hosted at Lisbon’s reputable Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.
The exhibition, which opened recently, includes 157 objects and follows the course of Greek civilization and history from prehistoric times to the country’s independence in the early 19th century.
It reflects the museum’s extroverted policy of loaning its collections internationally and its effort toward encouraging cultural exchanges with museums worldwide. After Lisbon, the exhibition will travel to Canada and, in 2009, to Chile.
A similar exhibition was organized by the Benaki in Sydney two years ago.
Works from the Benaki Museum collection have traveled to Lisbon before. In 1999, the Velimezis collection was presented at the Mosteiro des Jeronimos. The Benaki has collaborated with the Gulbenkian Museum in the recent past: The “Glass of the Sultans” exhibition that was hosted at the Islamic art branch of the Benaki Museum included holdings from the rare collection of Islamic art owned by the Portuguese museum. A large exhibition on this well-known collection is scheduled for 2009 at the Benaki Museum.
Work of archaeologist Sir John Boardman celebrated in Athens
Artist Nicholas Egon (right) with Sir John Boardman (left) at the Colloquium on Classical Archaeology held in Athens last week to celebrate Boardman’s work.
HELBI-ekathimerini
On September 26, the Greek students of Sir John Boardman celebrated his 80th birthday with a Colloquium on Classical Archaeology at the Faculty Club of Athens University. John Boardman is a professor emeritus at Oxford and the most distinguished classical archaeologist of our times. He has published many books on Greek art encompassing a wide range of subjects, such as vase painting, gems and cameos, as well as sculpture. He has also published widely on the diffusion of Greek art beyond the borders of Greece. He has taught students from different countries, especially Greece, the United States and Germany. He remains an active scholar and is preparing the publication of the gem collection that was once in the possession of the Duke of Marlborough. The papers in the colloquium were all given by Boardman's former pupils who are now academics at Greek and British universities. The keynote paper was presented by Boardman himself. It was organized by Professor Olga Palagia of Athens University and sponsored by Mistra Estates - Ladopoulos. The speakers were Irene Lemos of Oxford University, Nota Kourou of the University of Athens, Stavros Paspalas of the Australian Archaeological Institute, Maria Pipili of the Athens Academy Research Center, Anna Lemos of the University of Athens, Stephi Korti-Konti of Thessaloniki University, Anthi Dipla, Bettina Tsigarida, Eleni Zimi, Olga Palagia and Dimitris Plantzos.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Malta: Government starts destroying archaeological site
Source: maltaStar
Wasteserv, government’s waste management company, ordered excavators to start digging up and clearing away an archaeological site at Tal-Kus, Gozo, to make way for the foundations of a waste transfer station.
On Friday a large excavator arrived on site, in Xewkija, and started digging down the rocky surface on which the archaeological remains lie. The Xewkija Local Council asked the court to intervene and stop the destruction, but the Wasteserv contractor only stopped for a few hours, and continued late in the afternoon of the same day.
On Saturday morning the contractor returned to the site with the excavator and continued cutting rocks on the archaeological site. When local councillors tried to stop him, the contractor walked away, only to return a few minutes later and continue working. Eventually police had to be called in to enforce the court order and put a stop to the contractor’s abuse.
Dr Monica Vella, the Xewkija mayor, explained that in July, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, issued a detailed report to reconfirm that the importance of the site in question, and of the precious archaeological remains found in it. Yet, despite all this, Wasteserv persisted in its plans to build a Waste Transfer Station to process all of Gozo’s domestic waste.
In order to stop the excavators contracted by Wasteserv, the local council asked the Gozo Courts to issue a prohibitory injuction and stop Wasteserv from destroying the site. The courts temporarily accepted the request and asked the government company, and its contractors, to refrain from “carrying out excavation works, rock cutting, cleaning or other construction works in the Waste Transfer Station project.” The court will take a final decision on whether or not to uphold the prohibition of works, in the coming days.
In the meantime, maltastar.com is informed that officials from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage are expected to visit the site in the coming days to inspect the damage.
Wasteserv, government’s waste management company, ordered excavators to start digging up and clearing away an archaeological site at Tal-Kus, Gozo, to make way for the foundations of a waste transfer station.
On Friday a large excavator arrived on site, in Xewkija, and started digging down the rocky surface on which the archaeological remains lie. The Xewkija Local Council asked the court to intervene and stop the destruction, but the Wasteserv contractor only stopped for a few hours, and continued late in the afternoon of the same day.
On Saturday morning the contractor returned to the site with the excavator and continued cutting rocks on the archaeological site. When local councillors tried to stop him, the contractor walked away, only to return a few minutes later and continue working. Eventually police had to be called in to enforce the court order and put a stop to the contractor’s abuse.
Dr Monica Vella, the Xewkija mayor, explained that in July, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, issued a detailed report to reconfirm that the importance of the site in question, and of the precious archaeological remains found in it. Yet, despite all this, Wasteserv persisted in its plans to build a Waste Transfer Station to process all of Gozo’s domestic waste.
In order to stop the excavators contracted by Wasteserv, the local council asked the Gozo Courts to issue a prohibitory injuction and stop Wasteserv from destroying the site. The courts temporarily accepted the request and asked the government company, and its contractors, to refrain from “carrying out excavation works, rock cutting, cleaning or other construction works in the Waste Transfer Station project.” The court will take a final decision on whether or not to uphold the prohibition of works, in the coming days.
In the meantime, maltastar.com is informed that officials from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage are expected to visit the site in the coming days to inspect the damage.
Egypt to put Tutankhamun mummy on display in tomb
Source: Reuters
By Cynthia Johnston
CAIRO, Oct 2 (Reuters Life!) - Egypt will put the mummy of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun on display next month inside his tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, allowing visitors to see his face for the first time, Egypt's chief archaeologist said on Tuesday.
Zahi Hawass, head of the High Council for Antiquities, said he would place the mummy in a climate-controlled glass showcase in the tomb and cover the body with linen. Tutankhamun's bare face would be visible.
"You will enter the tomb and see for the first time the face of Tutankhamun ... This is the first time in history that anyone will see the mummy (in public). This will continue the magic of Tutankhamun," Hawass told Reuters in an interview.
Tutankhamun, who died on the cusp of adulthood, ruled Egypt between about 1361 and 1352 BC. The 1922 discovery of his intact tomb, whose treasures included a now famous gold funerary mask, stunned the archaeological community.
Although the artefacts from Tutankhamun's burial tomb have toured the world, the mummified body of the king has been examined only a handful of times in detail since the tomb was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
Hawass said Tutankhamun's mummy was currently resting in a sarcophagus inside the tomb covered by a gilded coffin, but that the humidity caused by the breathing of thousands of visitors threatened to damage it.
"I thought that this will help tourists and at the same time help preserving the mummy. I think a mummy like this, the golden boy, it is time that people should really see it," he said.
Tutankhamun came to the throne shortly after the death of Akhenaten, the maverick pharaoh who abandoned most of Egypt's old gods in favour of the Aten sun disc and brought in a new and more expressive style of art.
NO DATE SET YET
During Tutankhamun's reign, advocates of the old religion were regaining control of the country and turning their backs on Akhenaten's innovations.
Tutankhamun was buried along with many other pharaohs of the period in the Valley of the Kings near the modern town of Luxor.
Hawass had not yet set a date to display the mummy, but said he expected it to be shortly before a mid-November exhibit on Tutankhamun in London that is to include the pharaoh's royal crown but not the gold mask, which is too delicate to travel.
Hawass described Tutankhamun as having "buck teeth", and pictures of the mummy show a face with high cheekbones and blackened, cracked skin and an intact nose.
Hawass was also planning to shortly open 16 jars from Tutankhamun's tomb that were rediscovered in a storage area in Luxor. The jars were originally found by Carter but were forgotten about over the years.
He said he expected the jars would contain food, grain, beer and wine, items the king would have been expected to need in his afterlife. The jars were part of caches of artefacts whose rediscovery was announced last month.
Mystery has surrounded Tutankhamun ever since 1922. Lord Carnarvon, Carter's sponsor and among the first to enter the tomb, died shortly afterward from an infected mosquito bite.
Newspapers at the time said Carter had unleashed a pharaonic curse that killed Carnarvon and others linked to the discovery. Scientists have in the past suggested that a disease lying dormant in the tomb may have killed the British aristocrat.
By Cynthia Johnston
CAIRO, Oct 2 (Reuters Life!) - Egypt will put the mummy of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun on display next month inside his tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, allowing visitors to see his face for the first time, Egypt's chief archaeologist said on Tuesday.
Zahi Hawass, head of the High Council for Antiquities, said he would place the mummy in a climate-controlled glass showcase in the tomb and cover the body with linen. Tutankhamun's bare face would be visible.
"You will enter the tomb and see for the first time the face of Tutankhamun ... This is the first time in history that anyone will see the mummy (in public). This will continue the magic of Tutankhamun," Hawass told Reuters in an interview.
Tutankhamun, who died on the cusp of adulthood, ruled Egypt between about 1361 and 1352 BC. The 1922 discovery of his intact tomb, whose treasures included a now famous gold funerary mask, stunned the archaeological community.
Although the artefacts from Tutankhamun's burial tomb have toured the world, the mummified body of the king has been examined only a handful of times in detail since the tomb was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter.
Hawass said Tutankhamun's mummy was currently resting in a sarcophagus inside the tomb covered by a gilded coffin, but that the humidity caused by the breathing of thousands of visitors threatened to damage it.
"I thought that this will help tourists and at the same time help preserving the mummy. I think a mummy like this, the golden boy, it is time that people should really see it," he said.
Tutankhamun came to the throne shortly after the death of Akhenaten, the maverick pharaoh who abandoned most of Egypt's old gods in favour of the Aten sun disc and brought in a new and more expressive style of art.
NO DATE SET YET
During Tutankhamun's reign, advocates of the old religion were regaining control of the country and turning their backs on Akhenaten's innovations.
Tutankhamun was buried along with many other pharaohs of the period in the Valley of the Kings near the modern town of Luxor.
Hawass had not yet set a date to display the mummy, but said he expected it to be shortly before a mid-November exhibit on Tutankhamun in London that is to include the pharaoh's royal crown but not the gold mask, which is too delicate to travel.
Hawass described Tutankhamun as having "buck teeth", and pictures of the mummy show a face with high cheekbones and blackened, cracked skin and an intact nose.
Hawass was also planning to shortly open 16 jars from Tutankhamun's tomb that were rediscovered in a storage area in Luxor. The jars were originally found by Carter but were forgotten about over the years.
He said he expected the jars would contain food, grain, beer and wine, items the king would have been expected to need in his afterlife. The jars were part of caches of artefacts whose rediscovery was announced last month.
Mystery has surrounded Tutankhamun ever since 1922. Lord Carnarvon, Carter's sponsor and among the first to enter the tomb, died shortly afterward from an infected mosquito bite.
Newspapers at the time said Carter had unleashed a pharaonic curse that killed Carnarvon and others linked to the discovery. Scientists have in the past suggested that a disease lying dormant in the tomb may have killed the British aristocrat.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Archaeologists...
Source: ekathimerini
Archaeologists prepare artifacts from the Acropolis for their transfer to the new Acropolis Museum some 400 meters away. Culture Minister Michalis Liapis said yesterday that the removal of the antiquities is due to begin on Sunday, October 14.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The Scythian rider-nomads' enigma
Source: Athens News
HANNS NEUERBOURG
In ancient Greece, the Scythians were at first known as mysterious "milkers of mares". To Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet, the Scythian mounted archers crossing Palestine to raid Egypt were "midnight people".
Detailed reports about the rider-nomads came only some 2,500 years ago from the widely travelled Greek historian Herodotus. Now a major archaeological exhibition offers an exhaustive overview of the life and history of the enigmatic tribes that ruled the steppes in Eastern Europe and Asia for more than 500 years BC and had a little-known but highly developed culture.
Museums and institutes in eight European and Asian countries worked together in preparing the impressive show at Berlin's Martin Gropius building. Many objects on display have never been shown in the West, among them magnificent samples excavated only in recent years.
The show's title, Under the Sign of the Golden Griffin: the Royal Graves of the Scythians, refers to Herodotus' claim that they originated in a "Land of the Gold-Guarding Griffins". The griffin, a mythological animal with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, can be seen on many artefacts recovered by archaeologists.
However, Herodotus made scarce mention of the enormous amounts of gold, silver, bronze and electrum (a gold and silver alloy) that the Scythians wore and used, and which are now fascinating exhibition visitors.
The show was triggered by a sensational find made by a German-Russian team between 2001 and 2003 on a southern Siberian plain popularly known as the Valley of the Kings. In one of untold burial mounds in the region, the team excavated the grave of a royal couple in a chamber 10 feet deep containing a vast amount of gold objects.
It was a unique discovery because grave robbers, known to have been active since antiquity, obviously abandoned search of this mound after uncovering other chambers that were empty.
Many of the artefacts from this find are on view at the exhibition. They range from a neck ring weighing 1.5 kilograms (a little over 3 pounds) to more than 5,000 tiny golden figurines of panthers decorating the capelike mantles of the prince and his wife.
The German Archaeological Institute compared the importance of the find to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 near Luxor, Egypt, in what is also known as the Valley of the Kings.
Research established that the prince died of prostate cancer in the 7th century BC. The much younger and healthy wife showed no traces of violence. But given the Scythians' horrifying funerary ritual described by Herodotus, she hardly died of natural causes. That ritual demanded that the widow, aides and servants must immediately follow the prince or king into death. The same applied to the horses.
The skeletons of 41 slain men and women and the remains of 14 horses, all strangled or killed with battle axes, were found in other chambers of the burial mound. The funeral ceremony also included the smoking of marijuana, according to research verifying an observation already made by Herodotus.
Last year, a German-Russian-Mongolian team made another spectacular find in the permafrost of the Mongolian side of the Altai Mountains, near the Russian border. In a stone-covered mound, the archaeologists discovered the frozen remains of a Scythian warrior who died some 2,500 years ago. The partly mummified, completely clothed warrior is also displayed at the exhibition, his armament and other equipment well preserved.
The man wore a sable-rimmed fur coat and woolen trousers and his legs were stuck in boots made of felt similar to the grey blanket on which he was lying. His headdress, still to be restored, was decorated with wooden animal figurines originally covered with gold foil. The excellent preservation of the clothing permits detailed scientific research.
The "Golden Man of Issyk", discovered in the 1970s in Kazakhstan, is also a main attraction at the show. It is the life-size reconstruction of the clothing of a youth whose corpse was literally strewn with jewellery and thousands of plates and platelets of gold.
A golden pectoral of compelling beauty found in 1971 and lent by the Ukrainian National Museums is sure to be an eye-catcher, too. A photograph of it makes the cover the detailed exhibition catalogue.
The show gives proof of the fabulous wealth the Scythians amassed by controlling important east-west trade routes. But it leaves unanswered the question how such highly detailed golden masterpieces could be created with simple hand tools.
The Golden Comb from the fabled "Siberian Collection" of Peter the Great at St Petersburg's Hermitage Museum is a dazzling example of such masterly goldsmithing. The Russian Czar was the first among European Royalty to appreciate Scythian art and begin an important collection in the early 18th century. This started a bit of archaeological research which was scientifically intensified only some 50 years ago.
The show will move to Munich next month and then to Hamburg in 2008. Several major items, including the famous golden comb, will return to the lenders at the end of the Berlin run.
HANNS NEUERBOURG
In ancient Greece, the Scythians were at first known as mysterious "milkers of mares". To Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet, the Scythian mounted archers crossing Palestine to raid Egypt were "midnight people".
Detailed reports about the rider-nomads came only some 2,500 years ago from the widely travelled Greek historian Herodotus. Now a major archaeological exhibition offers an exhaustive overview of the life and history of the enigmatic tribes that ruled the steppes in Eastern Europe and Asia for more than 500 years BC and had a little-known but highly developed culture.
Museums and institutes in eight European and Asian countries worked together in preparing the impressive show at Berlin's Martin Gropius building. Many objects on display have never been shown in the West, among them magnificent samples excavated only in recent years.
The show's title, Under the Sign of the Golden Griffin: the Royal Graves of the Scythians, refers to Herodotus' claim that they originated in a "Land of the Gold-Guarding Griffins". The griffin, a mythological animal with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, can be seen on many artefacts recovered by archaeologists.
However, Herodotus made scarce mention of the enormous amounts of gold, silver, bronze and electrum (a gold and silver alloy) that the Scythians wore and used, and which are now fascinating exhibition visitors.
The show was triggered by a sensational find made by a German-Russian team between 2001 and 2003 on a southern Siberian plain popularly known as the Valley of the Kings. In one of untold burial mounds in the region, the team excavated the grave of a royal couple in a chamber 10 feet deep containing a vast amount of gold objects.
It was a unique discovery because grave robbers, known to have been active since antiquity, obviously abandoned search of this mound after uncovering other chambers that were empty.
Many of the artefacts from this find are on view at the exhibition. They range from a neck ring weighing 1.5 kilograms (a little over 3 pounds) to more than 5,000 tiny golden figurines of panthers decorating the capelike mantles of the prince and his wife.
The German Archaeological Institute compared the importance of the find to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 near Luxor, Egypt, in what is also known as the Valley of the Kings.
Research established that the prince died of prostate cancer in the 7th century BC. The much younger and healthy wife showed no traces of violence. But given the Scythians' horrifying funerary ritual described by Herodotus, she hardly died of natural causes. That ritual demanded that the widow, aides and servants must immediately follow the prince or king into death. The same applied to the horses.
The skeletons of 41 slain men and women and the remains of 14 horses, all strangled or killed with battle axes, were found in other chambers of the burial mound. The funeral ceremony also included the smoking of marijuana, according to research verifying an observation already made by Herodotus.
Last year, a German-Russian-Mongolian team made another spectacular find in the permafrost of the Mongolian side of the Altai Mountains, near the Russian border. In a stone-covered mound, the archaeologists discovered the frozen remains of a Scythian warrior who died some 2,500 years ago. The partly mummified, completely clothed warrior is also displayed at the exhibition, his armament and other equipment well preserved.
The man wore a sable-rimmed fur coat and woolen trousers and his legs were stuck in boots made of felt similar to the grey blanket on which he was lying. His headdress, still to be restored, was decorated with wooden animal figurines originally covered with gold foil. The excellent preservation of the clothing permits detailed scientific research.
The "Golden Man of Issyk", discovered in the 1970s in Kazakhstan, is also a main attraction at the show. It is the life-size reconstruction of the clothing of a youth whose corpse was literally strewn with jewellery and thousands of plates and platelets of gold.
A golden pectoral of compelling beauty found in 1971 and lent by the Ukrainian National Museums is sure to be an eye-catcher, too. A photograph of it makes the cover the detailed exhibition catalogue.
The show gives proof of the fabulous wealth the Scythians amassed by controlling important east-west trade routes. But it leaves unanswered the question how such highly detailed golden masterpieces could be created with simple hand tools.
The Golden Comb from the fabled "Siberian Collection" of Peter the Great at St Petersburg's Hermitage Museum is a dazzling example of such masterly goldsmithing. The Russian Czar was the first among European Royalty to appreciate Scythian art and begin an important collection in the early 18th century. This started a bit of archaeological research which was scientifically intensified only some 50 years ago.
The show will move to Munich next month and then to Hamburg in 2008. Several major items, including the famous golden comb, will return to the lenders at the end of the Berlin run.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Museum for Alexander the Great
Source: ekathimerini
Greece will dedicate a museum to Alexander the Great in the northern town of Pella, his birthplace and the seat of the Macedonian kingdom that ruled an empire from Europe to India, an official said yesterday.
Expected to be ready by late 2008, the new museum will house mosaics, weapons, jewelry and other finds from a 20-year excavation of the Pella archaeological site, an official at the Culture Ministry’s museums department told AFP.
“The finds, mainly from temples, show how these people lived... we even found a curse which shows that the Macedonians spoke Doric, an ancient Greek dialect, from the 5th century BC,” the official said. “This is very important, also in political terms,” she added.
In recent years, Greece has faced a challenge from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the “intellectual rights” to Alexander’s heritage and has been at pains to stress that the ancient Macedonians were Greek.
But the tiny Balkan nation, which became independent after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, has staked a claim as it lies in what was once part of ancient Macedonia.
Greece has refused to recognize its neighbor under its constitutional name of Macedonia because that is also the name of the northern Greek province of Macedonia.
Athens has threatened to block Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO unless it changes its name, and efforts by the UN to resolve the 15-year dispute have so far proved fruitless.
Skopje last year infuriated Athens by officially renaming its capital’s main airport after Alexander the Great.
Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander conquered the Persian Empire and much of the world known to ancient Greeks before dying in Babylon in 323 BC. (AFP)
Greece will dedicate a museum to Alexander the Great in the northern town of Pella, his birthplace and the seat of the Macedonian kingdom that ruled an empire from Europe to India, an official said yesterday.
Expected to be ready by late 2008, the new museum will house mosaics, weapons, jewelry and other finds from a 20-year excavation of the Pella archaeological site, an official at the Culture Ministry’s museums department told AFP.
“The finds, mainly from temples, show how these people lived... we even found a curse which shows that the Macedonians spoke Doric, an ancient Greek dialect, from the 5th century BC,” the official said. “This is very important, also in political terms,” she added.
In recent years, Greece has faced a challenge from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the “intellectual rights” to Alexander’s heritage and has been at pains to stress that the ancient Macedonians were Greek.
But the tiny Balkan nation, which became independent after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, has staked a claim as it lies in what was once part of ancient Macedonia.
Greece has refused to recognize its neighbor under its constitutional name of Macedonia because that is also the name of the northern Greek province of Macedonia.
Athens has threatened to block Skopje’s bid to join the European Union and NATO unless it changes its name, and efforts by the UN to resolve the 15-year dispute have so far proved fruitless.
Skopje last year infuriated Athens by officially renaming its capital’s main airport after Alexander the Great.
Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander conquered the Persian Empire and much of the world known to ancient Greeks before dying in Babylon in 323 BC. (AFP)
Friday, September 28, 2007
Free journal issues
Electronic Antiquity Volume X, Number 2 (May 2007)
Aegean Archaeology Volume 7 (2006). Feature article A. VAN DE MOORTEL and E. ZACHOU, 2004. Excavations at Mitrou, East Lokris.
Classics Ireland Volume 12 (2005)
Rosetta Issue #02. Spring 2007.
Aegean Archaeology Volume 7 (2006). Feature article A. VAN DE MOORTEL and E. ZACHOU, 2004. Excavations at Mitrou, East Lokris.
Classics Ireland Volume 12 (2005)
Rosetta Issue #02. Spring 2007.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Polish atomic physicists study Egyptian frescoes
Source: naukawpolsce.pl
Thousands of years ago, Egyptians knew many complicated methods of producing dyes. They used them to create many magnificent frescoes, which cover the walls of temples, royal palaces and tombs. Time and atmospheric factors have caused the paintings to lose their initial colours. The chemical reactions have modified the chemical content of the pigment. Thus, the colours we see today, are very distant from the pieces created by their ancient painters.
This is why scientists, with the help of modern knowledge, are looking for ways of recreating these processes to restore the creations of the Egyptian masters and craftsmen to their former glory. According to Dr Marek Pawłowski the spokesman for Andrzej Sołtan Institute for Nuclear Studies in Świerk, this study is a bit like a fascinating detective adventure.
Modern atomic physics provides a valuable research tool. Samples of the plaster covered in ancient dyes are radiated with beams of speeding protons, so that through analysing the radiation emitted from the radiated sample it is possible to establish its chemical and particle content. This way, one can collect the “pieces of the puzzle”, which tell us, what the initial colour of the painting was.
For the past few weeks, a scholarship holder of the Egyptian government – Shaaban Abd El Aal is running research on the ancient dyes, under the eye of Prof. Andrzej Turos. He is applying Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), which means that characteristic X radiation, emitted from atoms as a result of ionisation of the inner atom layers, is registered on the beam of protons from the electrostatic Van de Graaff accelerator. The energy of the registered radiation provides information on the type of particles, while the intensity indicates its concentration in a given sample.
“Work on this has only started and it is difficult to predict its results. However, we have very high hopes” – Pawłowski explained.
Thousands of years ago, Egyptians knew many complicated methods of producing dyes. They used them to create many magnificent frescoes, which cover the walls of temples, royal palaces and tombs. Time and atmospheric factors have caused the paintings to lose their initial colours. The chemical reactions have modified the chemical content of the pigment. Thus, the colours we see today, are very distant from the pieces created by their ancient painters.
This is why scientists, with the help of modern knowledge, are looking for ways of recreating these processes to restore the creations of the Egyptian masters and craftsmen to their former glory. According to Dr Marek Pawłowski the spokesman for Andrzej Sołtan Institute for Nuclear Studies in Świerk, this study is a bit like a fascinating detective adventure.
Modern atomic physics provides a valuable research tool. Samples of the plaster covered in ancient dyes are radiated with beams of speeding protons, so that through analysing the radiation emitted from the radiated sample it is possible to establish its chemical and particle content. This way, one can collect the “pieces of the puzzle”, which tell us, what the initial colour of the painting was.
For the past few weeks, a scholarship holder of the Egyptian government – Shaaban Abd El Aal is running research on the ancient dyes, under the eye of Prof. Andrzej Turos. He is applying Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), which means that characteristic X radiation, emitted from atoms as a result of ionisation of the inner atom layers, is registered on the beam of protons from the electrostatic Van de Graaff accelerator. The energy of the registered radiation provides information on the type of particles, while the intensity indicates its concentration in a given sample.
“Work on this has only started and it is difficult to predict its results. However, we have very high hopes” – Pawłowski explained.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Out of storage and into the courtyard in Thessaloniki
A small archaeological park in the pipeline for museum grounds
By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini
The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki has found a way to make the most of its outdoor space and to realize, though on a smaller scale, a longstanding ambition.
Alongside building improvements, new workshops and storerooms, as well as new fencing that will create a natural wall and enhance the greenery, there are plans for a small archaeological park.
The open-air exhibition will include 70 sarcophagi, 53 altars and Greco-Roman mosaic floors from Thessaloniki that will be taken from the museum's storerooms for the purpose.
«The archaeological park will start with the reconstruction of an ancient cemetery road running parallel to Stratou Avenue,» said the museum's director, Christina Zarkada. The study, which has already been approved, places the sarcophagi on either side of the road, and the altars in the area surrounding the museum.
There will be a reconstructed, actual-size villa from Roman Thessaloniki (2nd-4th century AD), with the typical layout of spaces around a peristyle.
The 70 sarcophagi will be grouped into five categories, depending on whether they are of local origin, adorned or unadorned, with or without inscriptions, reliefs and garlands, or from the Assos workshop. The 53 altars on display will also be grouped.
The exhibits will be shown in their natural surroundings, as Zarkada noted. The mosaics have been chosen for their durability.
One part of the study is still pending, that part which involves linking the environs of the Archaeological Museum and of the Museum of Byzantine Culture (in addition to the shared ticket which visitors can already choose).
Approval for a proposed 12-meter underground passage that would link the two museums and also provide space for temporary exhibitions will be discussed at a future meeting.
The revamping of the museum and the new outdoor exhibition space, budgeted at just over 5 million euros, are expected to boost the number of visitors to a museum which offers an acquaintance with the world of ancient Macedonia.
By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini
The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki has found a way to make the most of its outdoor space and to realize, though on a smaller scale, a longstanding ambition.
Alongside building improvements, new workshops and storerooms, as well as new fencing that will create a natural wall and enhance the greenery, there are plans for a small archaeological park.
The open-air exhibition will include 70 sarcophagi, 53 altars and Greco-Roman mosaic floors from Thessaloniki that will be taken from the museum's storerooms for the purpose.
«The archaeological park will start with the reconstruction of an ancient cemetery road running parallel to Stratou Avenue,» said the museum's director, Christina Zarkada. The study, which has already been approved, places the sarcophagi on either side of the road, and the altars in the area surrounding the museum.
There will be a reconstructed, actual-size villa from Roman Thessaloniki (2nd-4th century AD), with the typical layout of spaces around a peristyle.
The 70 sarcophagi will be grouped into five categories, depending on whether they are of local origin, adorned or unadorned, with or without inscriptions, reliefs and garlands, or from the Assos workshop. The 53 altars on display will also be grouped.
The exhibits will be shown in their natural surroundings, as Zarkada noted. The mosaics have been chosen for their durability.
One part of the study is still pending, that part which involves linking the environs of the Archaeological Museum and of the Museum of Byzantine Culture (in addition to the shared ticket which visitors can already choose).
Approval for a proposed 12-meter underground passage that would link the two museums and also provide space for temporary exhibitions will be discussed at a future meeting.
The revamping of the museum and the new outdoor exhibition space, budgeted at just over 5 million euros, are expected to boost the number of visitors to a museum which offers an acquaintance with the world of ancient Macedonia.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Resumption of Archeological Excavations in Cyrus Palace
Source: CHN
Soudabeh Sadigh
Tehran, 24 September 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) – By allocating a budget by Boushehr’s Governor Office, the fifth season of archeological excavations is going to be picked up in a near future in Borazjan palace which is denoted to Cyrus the Great, the founder of Achaemenid dynasty (550-330 BC).
Announcing this news, Hamid Zareie, archeologist, further said that the exact time for resuming the fifth season of excavations have not been clarified yet. However, since the weather of Boushehr province is still very hot, they have to postpone excavations until the weather make the attendance of archeologists in the region possible.
Based on archeological evidence, construction of this half-constructed palace was started by order of Cyrus the Great, and architectural evidence show that it was very similar to those implemented in Pasargadae palace. However the construction of the palace must have been stopped following the death of Cyrus the Great and it was never residential.
Prior archeological excavations conducted under supervision of Ali Akbar Sarfaraz, resulted in discovering some architectural remains including parts of the pedestals scattered over the area. Archeologists are determined to identify the origin place of the columns to reorganize them. However all these discoveries reveal the importance of this historical evidence and the necessity for continuing archeological excavations in the area.
Archeologists are also determined to increase security measures in the region in order to protect the area and what have been unearthed so far.
Discovery of such a magnificent monument which is unique in its own kind and the delicate artistic works implemented in it was never seen elsewhere even in Persepolis, which was the main seat of Achaemenid kings, have faced archeologists with new questions which have still remained unknown.
Anyway discovery of this wonderful palace in coastal area of Boushehr brings into light that the power of Iranians in Persian Gulf region goes back to 2500 yeas ago. However, despite all its importance this historic palace has been somehow neglected by cultural heritage authorities so far and was abandoned for centuries.
The palace covers a 50x50 square meters area and archeological researches indicate that the huge stones which were implemented in construction of the palace were brought from Tangjir quarry.
Soudabeh Sadigh
Tehran, 24 September 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) – By allocating a budget by Boushehr’s Governor Office, the fifth season of archeological excavations is going to be picked up in a near future in Borazjan palace which is denoted to Cyrus the Great, the founder of Achaemenid dynasty (550-330 BC).
Announcing this news, Hamid Zareie, archeologist, further said that the exact time for resuming the fifth season of excavations have not been clarified yet. However, since the weather of Boushehr province is still very hot, they have to postpone excavations until the weather make the attendance of archeologists in the region possible.
Based on archeological evidence, construction of this half-constructed palace was started by order of Cyrus the Great, and architectural evidence show that it was very similar to those implemented in Pasargadae palace. However the construction of the palace must have been stopped following the death of Cyrus the Great and it was never residential.
Prior archeological excavations conducted under supervision of Ali Akbar Sarfaraz, resulted in discovering some architectural remains including parts of the pedestals scattered over the area. Archeologists are determined to identify the origin place of the columns to reorganize them. However all these discoveries reveal the importance of this historical evidence and the necessity for continuing archeological excavations in the area.
Archeologists are also determined to increase security measures in the region in order to protect the area and what have been unearthed so far.
Discovery of such a magnificent monument which is unique in its own kind and the delicate artistic works implemented in it was never seen elsewhere even in Persepolis, which was the main seat of Achaemenid kings, have faced archeologists with new questions which have still remained unknown.
Anyway discovery of this wonderful palace in coastal area of Boushehr brings into light that the power of Iranians in Persian Gulf region goes back to 2500 yeas ago. However, despite all its importance this historic palace has been somehow neglected by cultural heritage authorities so far and was abandoned for centuries.
The palace covers a 50x50 square meters area and archeological researches indicate that the huge stones which were implemented in construction of the palace were brought from Tangjir quarry.
New discovery in Tutankhamun's tomb
Source: Digital Journal
Intact clay pots sealed with cartouches of King Tutankhamun and eight baskets have been discovered in his treasure room in the Valley of the Kings, the Egyptian culture minister said Monday.
Farouk Hosni said the discovery was unearthed by the first Egyptian excavation team to work in the Valley of the Kings near the city of Luxor in southern Egypt.
The Valley of the Kings was used for burials for around 500 years from 1540 BC onwards.
Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawas, explained that inside the Tutankhamun treasure room the team discovered eight baskets filled with almost 60 cartouches printed with the king's stamp.
Cartouches are oval or oblong in shape and typically contain the Egyptian hieroglyphs for a monarch.
Hawas said those cartouches had previously been found by Howard Carter in 1922 but he left them inside the treasure room.
"It is the first time ever to find such cartouches," said Hawas, adding that Egyptian archaeologists would start documenting them and open the clay pots to know what they contain.
Hawas thinks the pots may contain seeds and drinks.
Intact clay pots sealed with cartouches of King Tutankhamun and eight baskets have been discovered in his treasure room in the Valley of the Kings, the Egyptian culture minister said Monday.
Farouk Hosni said the discovery was unearthed by the first Egyptian excavation team to work in the Valley of the Kings near the city of Luxor in southern Egypt.
The Valley of the Kings was used for burials for around 500 years from 1540 BC onwards.
Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawas, explained that inside the Tutankhamun treasure room the team discovered eight baskets filled with almost 60 cartouches printed with the king's stamp.
Cartouches are oval or oblong in shape and typically contain the Egyptian hieroglyphs for a monarch.
Hawas said those cartouches had previously been found by Howard Carter in 1922 but he left them inside the treasure room.
"It is the first time ever to find such cartouches," said Hawas, adding that Egyptian archaeologists would start documenting them and open the clay pots to know what they contain.
Hawas thinks the pots may contain seeds and drinks.
Friday, September 21, 2007
The 12th INTERNATIONAL AEGEAN CONFERENCE
The 12th INTERNATIONAL AEGEAN CONFERENCE will be held at the university of Melbourne, 25-29 March 2008
on the theme
DAIS
The Aegean Feast
The context of feasting includes the use of courts and palaces, tombs, elite houses, extra-urban sanctuaries, and other special buildings that served as feasting centers, interpretations of feasting representations and feasting as metaphor in iconography as well as in Bronze Age texts, paraphernalia, and deposits - including floral, faunal and residue remains as well as pottery and discussions of consumption patterns. There is also interest in the symbolic, religious (such as sacrifice & warfare), economic (mobilizing resources), social (forming relationships or identity), ethnic identity (Aegean consumption practices abroad, such as Mycenaean IIIC1b feasting ware), and ideological aspects (legitimation of elite identities or promotion of community bonds) of feasting.
The Conference is being organized by the University of Melbourne and the University of Liège. The proceedings of the conference will be published in Aegaeum. Annales d'archéologie égéenne de l'Université de Liège .
Organizing Committee :
Louise HITCHCOCK (University of Melbourne)
Robert LAFFINEUR (Université de Liège)
Janice CROWLEY (Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens)
List of participants
on the theme
DAIS
The Aegean Feast
The context of feasting includes the use of courts and palaces, tombs, elite houses, extra-urban sanctuaries, and other special buildings that served as feasting centers, interpretations of feasting representations and feasting as metaphor in iconography as well as in Bronze Age texts, paraphernalia, and deposits - including floral, faunal and residue remains as well as pottery and discussions of consumption patterns. There is also interest in the symbolic, religious (such as sacrifice & warfare), economic (mobilizing resources), social (forming relationships or identity), ethnic identity (Aegean consumption practices abroad, such as Mycenaean IIIC1b feasting ware), and ideological aspects (legitimation of elite identities or promotion of community bonds) of feasting.
The Conference is being organized by the University of Melbourne and the University of Liège. The proceedings of the conference will be published in Aegaeum. Annales d'archéologie égéenne de l'Université de Liège .
Organizing Committee :
Louise HITCHCOCK (University of Melbourne)
Robert LAFFINEUR (Université de Liège)
Janice CROWLEY (Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens)
List of participants
Thursday, September 20, 2007
New monuments discovered near Luxor temple
Source: Monsters and Critics.com
Luxor/Cairo - A collection of new kingdom pillars, lintels and reliefs were accidentally found by Egyptian restorers from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny said Thursday.
The monuments were discovered within the internal walls of Abul Haggag El Loxory mosque, built on top of the open court of Luxor temple during restoration operations, Farouk added.
SCA Secretary General Zahi Hawas said the collection dated back to the reign of King Ramses II.
Among the most important reliefs were those featuring Ramses II while offering god Amun Re' two obelisks to be installed at the temples front facade. One of the obelisks is now at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
The second relief shows three statues of Ramses II wearing his formal suit and white crown and another shows a type of ancient Egyptian writing known as iconography.
Luxor/Cairo - A collection of new kingdom pillars, lintels and reliefs were accidentally found by Egyptian restorers from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny said Thursday.
The monuments were discovered within the internal walls of Abul Haggag El Loxory mosque, built on top of the open court of Luxor temple during restoration operations, Farouk added.
SCA Secretary General Zahi Hawas said the collection dated back to the reign of King Ramses II.
Among the most important reliefs were those featuring Ramses II while offering god Amun Re' two obelisks to be installed at the temples front facade. One of the obelisks is now at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
The second relief shows three statues of Ramses II wearing his formal suit and white crown and another shows a type of ancient Egyptian writing known as iconography.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Bronze Age building uncovered near Gaza
Source: The Jerusalem Post
A building from the Late Bronze Age apparently constructed for Egyptian authorities before the Israelite settlement in the Land of Israel has been uncovered in an excavation on the edge of the Negev desert near the Gaza Strip, Ben-Gurion University announced Monday.
The month-long summer dig on the eastern section of the Besor Stream, about 12 kilometers east of Gaza, revealed the 3,000-year-old site buried underneath a 7th century Philistine rural village from the Second Iron Age, said Ben-Gurion University archeologist Dr. Gunnar Lehmann.
The Israeli and German archeologists working on the dig had known of the existence of the Philistine village at the site due to earlier surface exploration in the area, but were stunned to find the much earlier structure which lay underneath it, he said.
About 10-15 such buildings are known to exist off the Egyptian border, but most have been found in an urban context.
"We did not expect to find an administrative building in such a rural site," Lehmann said.
The site has features of Egyptian architecture, as well as Egyptian pottery and amulets.
Archeologists are not sure why this site was built there, but assume it was some type of rural estate.
Among the signs of the Philistine village which existed at the site include a taboon for pita bread, the remains of a wine press installation and storage jars for agriculture.
A building from the Late Bronze Age apparently constructed for Egyptian authorities before the Israelite settlement in the Land of Israel has been uncovered in an excavation on the edge of the Negev desert near the Gaza Strip, Ben-Gurion University announced Monday.
The month-long summer dig on the eastern section of the Besor Stream, about 12 kilometers east of Gaza, revealed the 3,000-year-old site buried underneath a 7th century Philistine rural village from the Second Iron Age, said Ben-Gurion University archeologist Dr. Gunnar Lehmann.
The Israeli and German archeologists working on the dig had known of the existence of the Philistine village at the site due to earlier surface exploration in the area, but were stunned to find the much earlier structure which lay underneath it, he said.
About 10-15 such buildings are known to exist off the Egyptian border, but most have been found in an urban context.
"We did not expect to find an administrative building in such a rural site," Lehmann said.
The site has features of Egyptian architecture, as well as Egyptian pottery and amulets.
Archeologists are not sure why this site was built there, but assume it was some type of rural estate.
Among the signs of the Philistine village which existed at the site include a taboon for pita bread, the remains of a wine press installation and storage jars for agriculture.
Zoom on cultural policy
Source: Athens News
Over the last couple of years, the culture ministry has taken some positivesteps, but problems persist
CHRISTY PAPADOPOULOU
AN EVALUATION of the culture ministry's post-Olympics cultural policy runs the gamut from ambitious planning and actual conquests to pending promises and public criticism.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had originally assumed responsibility over the culture ministry in a supervisory role (a rather symbolic gesture in view of the Olympics) and then-deputy culture minister Petros Tatoulis displayed a rather subdued profile. But it is during current Culture Minister George Voulgarakis' one-and-a-half year tenure that the ministry appears to be at its most active.
Maybe the strongest point on Voulgarakis' agenda concerns the reclaiming of Greece's cultural heritage. The repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles - removed from the 5th century BC Parthenon temple in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin and displayed at the British Museum - remains, to a great extent, a deadlocked debate. However, the systematic targeting and recovering of fragments and antiquities from abroad has raised the Greek government's hopes over what has been a long - and for decades fruitless - campaign.
Antiquities return
The first step in this direction was in September 2006 when Germany's Heidelberg University Museum of Antiquities returned Greece a palm-sized marble fragment taken from a Parthenon frieze. (Fragments from the Parthenon are also kept in the Louvre and the Vatican, as well as smaller museums in Palermo, Vienna, Copenhagen, Munich and Wurzburg.)
The sculpture, which depicts in relief the foot of a chiton-clad leaf-bearer (thalloforos), ended up in Heidelberg's collection via a traveller who took the piece to Germany in 1871 as a souvenir. The sculpture's return was first requested in 2004 by Benaki Museum director Angelos Delivorrias, who is also the president of the Hellenic Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles.
Greece's repatriation crusade was further bolstered through the acquisition of another marble fragment that was taken from the Acropolis by a Swedish naval officer over a century ago and passed down to his great-niece in 1972. Decorated with oval and floral motifs, the sculpted piece, which once adorned the 5th century BC Erechteion temple - dedicated to goddess of wisdom Athena and sea god Poseidon - was given back to Greece in November 2006 following a public appeal by a Swedish lobby group for the return of the Acropolis sculptures.
One of the culture ministry's most successful achievements involves the restitution of four ancient artefacts that, until recently, were part of the collection of Los Angeles' J Paul Getty Museum. At the heart of a major cultural heritage dispute, the illegally excavated antiquities (first claimed back in 1995) were handed over to Greece in two instalments.
August 2006 saw the homecoming of a 2,400-year-old black limestone stele (grave marker) and a marble votive relief, dating from around 490BC - both currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum. The other two artefacts - a gold wreath dating from the 4th century BC and a 6th century BC marble statue of a young woman, or Kore - were returned last March.
At the inauguration of the National Archaeological Museum's state-of-the-art giftshop in August, Voulgarakis said that two more antiquities have been added to the lot. Nevertheless, he refrained from elaborating as his announcement, he said, could be misinterpreted in view of the September 16 elections.
Voulgarakis, however, committed a major blunder in January 2007. A mere 24 hours before a Christie's auction of heirlooms that once belonged to the Greek royal family was to occur, he threatened to take legal action against the auction house, unless it agreed to withdraw the royal items from the sale on the basis that they may have been illegally exported from Greece. Despite the culture ministry's warning, Christie's carried out the auction.
Four months later the culture ministry announced that the former king's palace will be turned into a museum, its precious contents - ranging from children's toys and delicate fabrics to ancient artefacts and rare paintings - restored and displayed in their original places.
The ambitious plan is for the Tatoi estate to be turned into a green haven for future visitors.
New Acropolis Museum
Though last year was unusually productive regarding reclaiming looted antiquities, it failed to see the inauguration of the long-delayed new Acropolis Museum, meant as a home for the Parthenon Marbles (for which an empty glass hall has been reserved), as well as art treasures that are presently crammed in the outdated display rooms atop the Acropolis hill.
Originally scheduled for completion before the 2004 Olympic Games, the opening of the 129 million euro, 20,000m2 glass-and-concrete building, which was designed by French-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi in collaboration with Greek architect Michalis Fotiadis, was delayed due to legal issues and archaeological discoveries on the site.
Meanwhile, the controversy over the possible demolition of two listed buildings on Dionyssiou Areopagitou Street remains unresolved. The buildings reportedly block the view of the Parthenon, even though the initial construction guidelines stated that any design must respect the existing listed buildings.
The museum is expected to open its doors to the public in early 2008. The old Acropolis museum closed down in July to facilitate the exhibits' mammoth transfer operation, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
National Museum of Contemporary Art
The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), another museum that has had its share of problems, sees the light at the end of the tunnel. A wandering Museum, the EMST has been holding its shows at the Megaron Mousikis and the Athens School of Fine Arts since 2003 when its base, the run-down FIX - a former brewery on Syngrou Avenue - closed for a much-needed facelift.
Objections initiated by a construction company regarding the tender have been overruled by both the Greek court and the relevant EU committee. Part of the Third Community Support framework, the work's 40 million euro budget (at risk of reaching the deadline) was saved, and the official contract for the work's commencement was signed on 26 June 2007.
Nonetheless, the museum's 2008 opening will once more be delayed. EMST director Anna Kafetsi has pointed out in the past that construction work should not exceed two years - a somewhat optimistic assessment for a 19,000m2 museum with a glass facade, two temporary exhibition halls, an open-air sculpture display, a restaurant, an art shop and a direct connection to the metro. The museum's progress will be reported on its newly-launched blogspot www.fixit-emst.blogspot, also a platform of discussion for architects, journalists and the wider public.
National Opera
The National Opera has its own troubled past. More than seven years ago, then-prime minister Costas Simitis committed in his election campaign to the construction of a new opera house - as well as the National Gallery's expansion - and yet Athens remains the only European capital, and the only one in the Balkans, without an opera house of its own.
Olympia Theatre, the small, rented opera house on Academias St, was originally meant to be a temporary solution, but it has been operating for five decades now. The opera is currently unable to cope with the building's restoration and space issues. Technicians and performers are deprived of basic comforts such as dressing rooms, and space limitations prevent the staging of certain works like Wagner's epic operas.
The much-anticipated solution to the opera's pending problems was provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which has offered to finance with 300m euros the construction of a new opera building, as well as a digital library at the old hippodrome in Delta Falirou. The two buildings will be incorporated into a park almost the size of the National Gardens and will provide a much-needed environmental and sports outlet for Athenians.
The time-consuming project raises hopes, but Voulgarakis has been criticised for having robbed the National Opera of its artistic director, Stefanos Lazaridis. Though he brought a breath of fresh air to the National Opera, the internationally recognised stage and costume designer (his opera productions of Wagner works at Covent Garden are legendary) who was trusted with the opera's artistic, financial and administrative matters, was dismissed just before the announcement of the coming season's programme on the basis that "he had difficulty handling people".
Grey areas
The culture ministry still has many other issues to address. No official announcement has been made regarding the much-anticipated expansion of the National Gallery. Two years after the roof of the Akrotiri, Santorini, archaeological site collapsed, causing the death of a Welsh tourist, the site remains closed to the public.
The 2006 antiquities' looting case of two island villas on Paros and Schoinoussa - whose owners are linked with the international art trade - still remains hazy, while a draft law aimed at battling antiquity smuggling failed to be submitted to parliament as a result of the announcement of early elections.
There has been no further notice regarding the much-publicised opening of the Academy of Arts in Nea Liossia, which was to operate on a trial basis from as early as this autumn, taking in drama, cinema and dance students.
Most recently, after wildfires ravaged Ancient Olympia, among other places, many reacted with anger at Voulgarakis' comments that "a few old trees have burned down" and that the archaeological site "would not have any problems". Later on, the ministry announced that the sacred Cronion Hill had been seriously damaged and that the roof of a German Archaeological School storeroom had caved in, damaging part of a marble statue and other antiquities.
Over the last couple of years, the culture ministry has taken some positivesteps, but problems persist
CHRISTY PAPADOPOULOU
AN EVALUATION of the culture ministry's post-Olympics cultural policy runs the gamut from ambitious planning and actual conquests to pending promises and public criticism.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had originally assumed responsibility over the culture ministry in a supervisory role (a rather symbolic gesture in view of the Olympics) and then-deputy culture minister Petros Tatoulis displayed a rather subdued profile. But it is during current Culture Minister George Voulgarakis' one-and-a-half year tenure that the ministry appears to be at its most active.
Maybe the strongest point on Voulgarakis' agenda concerns the reclaiming of Greece's cultural heritage. The repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles - removed from the 5th century BC Parthenon temple in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin and displayed at the British Museum - remains, to a great extent, a deadlocked debate. However, the systematic targeting and recovering of fragments and antiquities from abroad has raised the Greek government's hopes over what has been a long - and for decades fruitless - campaign.
Antiquities return
The first step in this direction was in September 2006 when Germany's Heidelberg University Museum of Antiquities returned Greece a palm-sized marble fragment taken from a Parthenon frieze. (Fragments from the Parthenon are also kept in the Louvre and the Vatican, as well as smaller museums in Palermo, Vienna, Copenhagen, Munich and Wurzburg.)
The sculpture, which depicts in relief the foot of a chiton-clad leaf-bearer (thalloforos), ended up in Heidelberg's collection via a traveller who took the piece to Germany in 1871 as a souvenir. The sculpture's return was first requested in 2004 by Benaki Museum director Angelos Delivorrias, who is also the president of the Hellenic Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles.
Greece's repatriation crusade was further bolstered through the acquisition of another marble fragment that was taken from the Acropolis by a Swedish naval officer over a century ago and passed down to his great-niece in 1972. Decorated with oval and floral motifs, the sculpted piece, which once adorned the 5th century BC Erechteion temple - dedicated to goddess of wisdom Athena and sea god Poseidon - was given back to Greece in November 2006 following a public appeal by a Swedish lobby group for the return of the Acropolis sculptures.
One of the culture ministry's most successful achievements involves the restitution of four ancient artefacts that, until recently, were part of the collection of Los Angeles' J Paul Getty Museum. At the heart of a major cultural heritage dispute, the illegally excavated antiquities (first claimed back in 1995) were handed over to Greece in two instalments.
August 2006 saw the homecoming of a 2,400-year-old black limestone stele (grave marker) and a marble votive relief, dating from around 490BC - both currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum. The other two artefacts - a gold wreath dating from the 4th century BC and a 6th century BC marble statue of a young woman, or Kore - were returned last March.
At the inauguration of the National Archaeological Museum's state-of-the-art giftshop in August, Voulgarakis said that two more antiquities have been added to the lot. Nevertheless, he refrained from elaborating as his announcement, he said, could be misinterpreted in view of the September 16 elections.
Voulgarakis, however, committed a major blunder in January 2007. A mere 24 hours before a Christie's auction of heirlooms that once belonged to the Greek royal family was to occur, he threatened to take legal action against the auction house, unless it agreed to withdraw the royal items from the sale on the basis that they may have been illegally exported from Greece. Despite the culture ministry's warning, Christie's carried out the auction.
Four months later the culture ministry announced that the former king's palace will be turned into a museum, its precious contents - ranging from children's toys and delicate fabrics to ancient artefacts and rare paintings - restored and displayed in their original places.
The ambitious plan is for the Tatoi estate to be turned into a green haven for future visitors.
New Acropolis Museum
Though last year was unusually productive regarding reclaiming looted antiquities, it failed to see the inauguration of the long-delayed new Acropolis Museum, meant as a home for the Parthenon Marbles (for which an empty glass hall has been reserved), as well as art treasures that are presently crammed in the outdated display rooms atop the Acropolis hill.
Originally scheduled for completion before the 2004 Olympic Games, the opening of the 129 million euro, 20,000m2 glass-and-concrete building, which was designed by French-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi in collaboration with Greek architect Michalis Fotiadis, was delayed due to legal issues and archaeological discoveries on the site.
Meanwhile, the controversy over the possible demolition of two listed buildings on Dionyssiou Areopagitou Street remains unresolved. The buildings reportedly block the view of the Parthenon, even though the initial construction guidelines stated that any design must respect the existing listed buildings.
The museum is expected to open its doors to the public in early 2008. The old Acropolis museum closed down in July to facilitate the exhibits' mammoth transfer operation, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2007.
National Museum of Contemporary Art
The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), another museum that has had its share of problems, sees the light at the end of the tunnel. A wandering Museum, the EMST has been holding its shows at the Megaron Mousikis and the Athens School of Fine Arts since 2003 when its base, the run-down FIX - a former brewery on Syngrou Avenue - closed for a much-needed facelift.
Objections initiated by a construction company regarding the tender have been overruled by both the Greek court and the relevant EU committee. Part of the Third Community Support framework, the work's 40 million euro budget (at risk of reaching the deadline) was saved, and the official contract for the work's commencement was signed on 26 June 2007.
Nonetheless, the museum's 2008 opening will once more be delayed. EMST director Anna Kafetsi has pointed out in the past that construction work should not exceed two years - a somewhat optimistic assessment for a 19,000m2 museum with a glass facade, two temporary exhibition halls, an open-air sculpture display, a restaurant, an art shop and a direct connection to the metro. The museum's progress will be reported on its newly-launched blogspot www.fixit-emst.blogspot, also a platform of discussion for architects, journalists and the wider public.
National Opera
The National Opera has its own troubled past. More than seven years ago, then-prime minister Costas Simitis committed in his election campaign to the construction of a new opera house - as well as the National Gallery's expansion - and yet Athens remains the only European capital, and the only one in the Balkans, without an opera house of its own.
Olympia Theatre, the small, rented opera house on Academias St, was originally meant to be a temporary solution, but it has been operating for five decades now. The opera is currently unable to cope with the building's restoration and space issues. Technicians and performers are deprived of basic comforts such as dressing rooms, and space limitations prevent the staging of certain works like Wagner's epic operas.
The much-anticipated solution to the opera's pending problems was provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which has offered to finance with 300m euros the construction of a new opera building, as well as a digital library at the old hippodrome in Delta Falirou. The two buildings will be incorporated into a park almost the size of the National Gardens and will provide a much-needed environmental and sports outlet for Athenians.
The time-consuming project raises hopes, but Voulgarakis has been criticised for having robbed the National Opera of its artistic director, Stefanos Lazaridis. Though he brought a breath of fresh air to the National Opera, the internationally recognised stage and costume designer (his opera productions of Wagner works at Covent Garden are legendary) who was trusted with the opera's artistic, financial and administrative matters, was dismissed just before the announcement of the coming season's programme on the basis that "he had difficulty handling people".
Grey areas
The culture ministry still has many other issues to address. No official announcement has been made regarding the much-anticipated expansion of the National Gallery. Two years after the roof of the Akrotiri, Santorini, archaeological site collapsed, causing the death of a Welsh tourist, the site remains closed to the public.
The 2006 antiquities' looting case of two island villas on Paros and Schoinoussa - whose owners are linked with the international art trade - still remains hazy, while a draft law aimed at battling antiquity smuggling failed to be submitted to parliament as a result of the announcement of early elections.
There has been no further notice regarding the much-publicised opening of the Academy of Arts in Nea Liossia, which was to operate on a trial basis from as early as this autumn, taking in drama, cinema and dance students.
Most recently, after wildfires ravaged Ancient Olympia, among other places, many reacted with anger at Voulgarakis' comments that "a few old trees have burned down" and that the archaeological site "would not have any problems". Later on, the ministry announced that the sacred Cronion Hill had been seriously damaged and that the roof of a German Archaeological School storeroom had caved in, damaging part of a marble statue and other antiquities.
Yet Another Thracian Tomb Unearthed in Bulgarian Village
Source: novinite.com
Bulgarian archaeologists unearthed an ancient Thracian tomb during the weekend while making urgent excavations near the village of Cherniche.
The team of Georgi Nehrizov, a specialist in Thracian history and culture with the Bulgarian Archaeology Institute, stumbled absolutely accidentally on the tomb.
The sepulchre is dated back to the 4-3 century BC. The burial chamber with two-slope surface of the walls is completely intact. It is 2 metres long, 1,8 metres wide and 2 metres high.
The antechamber was destroyed by treasure hunters, which had obviously tried to penetrate the tomb with a digger.
Specialists from the Archaeology Institute have already arrived on the spot to make further research and discuss how to best preserve the finding.
Bulgarian archaeologists unearthed an ancient Thracian tomb during the weekend while making urgent excavations near the village of Cherniche.
The team of Georgi Nehrizov, a specialist in Thracian history and culture with the Bulgarian Archaeology Institute, stumbled absolutely accidentally on the tomb.
The sepulchre is dated back to the 4-3 century BC. The burial chamber with two-slope surface of the walls is completely intact. It is 2 metres long, 1,8 metres wide and 2 metres high.
The antechamber was destroyed by treasure hunters, which had obviously tried to penetrate the tomb with a digger.
Specialists from the Archaeology Institute have already arrived on the spot to make further research and discuss how to best preserve the finding.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Ξηλώνεται όλο το στέγαστρο στο Ακρωτήρι της Σαντορίνης για στατικούς λόγους
Source: in.gr
Ύστερα από δύο χρόνων επεξεργασία και μελέτη, αποδείχθηκε ότι είναι λάθος η στατική μελέτη του στεγάστρου στον αρχαιολογικό χώρο του Ακρωτηρίου της Σαντορίνης και ότι για να υπάρξει στατική επάρκεια θα πρέπει όλο το στέγαστρο να ξηλωθεί και να γίνει από την αρχή.
Όπως αναφέρουν τα Νέα, ενώ όλοι περίμεναν να ολοκληρωθεί και να γνωστοποιηθεί το πόρισμα αγγλικής εταιρείας ανεξάρτητων εμπειρογνωμόνων για τα αίτια της πτώσης και οι μελέτες για την αποκατάσταση της στατικής επάρκειας του στεγάστρου, έπεσε η «καμπάνα»: το στέγαστρο ή τουλάχιστον η εσωστέγη του με εμβαδόν 14 στρέμματα, πρέπει να γίνει από την αρχή.
«Ύστερα από δύο χρόνων επεξεργασία και μελέτη, αποδείχθηκε ότι είναι λάθος η στατική μελέτη και ότι για να υπάρξει στατική επάρκεια θα πρέπει όλο το στέγαστρο να ξηλωθεί και να γίνει από την αρχή» δήλωσε στην εφημερίδα ο πρόεδρος του ΔΣ της Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, καθηγητής του Διοικητικού Δικαίου Επαμεινώνδας Σπηλιωτόπουλος.
Η πρόταση και μελέτη της βρετανικής εταιρείας Οvearup θα περάσει από τον έλεγχο και δεύτερου ανώτατου εμπειρογνώμονα, της βρετανικής εταιρείας Αtkins και πιθανόν και από τον έλεγχο του καθηγητή στο Πιρς Κόλετζ κ. Ανδράζη.
Τριάντα τρία εκατομμύρια ευρώ στοίχισε η μελέτη κατασκευής του πρωτότυπου βιοκλιματικού στεγάστρου. Πριν καλά καλά ολοκληρωθούν οι εργασίες, που προέβλεπαν την κάλυψη της στέγης με σαντορινιό χώμα για λόγους αισθητικής αποκατάστασης του περιβάλλοντος, αλλά και για λόγους φυσικής μόνωσης, ο αρχαιολογικός χώρος άνοιξε πρόωρα στο κοινό, με εντολή του τότε υφυπουργού Πολιτισμού Πέτρου Τατούλη.
Αυτό παρά την αντίθεση και τις αντιδράσεις των αρχαιολόγων και κυρίως του υπεύθυνου της ανασκαφής Χρίστου Ντούμα. Η προσφυγή που έκανε στον εισαγγελέα μπήκε στο αρχείο, ο χώρος άνοιξε και όταν καταβράχηκε το χώμα της στέγης, με την υπερφόρτωση της επιχωμάτωσης και της ψευδοροφής έφθασε να είναι δυόμισι με τρεις φορές βαρύτερο και τμήμα του τόξου της κυψέλης αρ. 7 κατέρρευσε, αφού προηγουμένως είχε σπάσει μία από τις 55.000 χαλύβδινες ράβδους του στεγάστρου.
Από τότε, ο κλειστός αρχαιολογικός χώρος του Ακρωτηρίου και το εργοτάξιο της μελέτης-κατασκευής βρίσκεται στα χέρια της κατασκευάστριας εταιρείας, που ανέθεσε στους Βρετανούς εμπειρογνώμονες τον έλεγχο των στατικών μελετών, ενώ η Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία περιμένει να της δοθεί το «πιστοποιητικό στατικής επάρκειας» και να προχωρήσει η αποκατάσταση της βλάβης.
Ύστερα από δύο χρόνων επεξεργασία και μελέτη, αποδείχθηκε ότι είναι λάθος η στατική μελέτη του στεγάστρου στον αρχαιολογικό χώρο του Ακρωτηρίου της Σαντορίνης και ότι για να υπάρξει στατική επάρκεια θα πρέπει όλο το στέγαστρο να ξηλωθεί και να γίνει από την αρχή.
Όπως αναφέρουν τα Νέα, ενώ όλοι περίμεναν να ολοκληρωθεί και να γνωστοποιηθεί το πόρισμα αγγλικής εταιρείας ανεξάρτητων εμπειρογνωμόνων για τα αίτια της πτώσης και οι μελέτες για την αποκατάσταση της στατικής επάρκειας του στεγάστρου, έπεσε η «καμπάνα»: το στέγαστρο ή τουλάχιστον η εσωστέγη του με εμβαδόν 14 στρέμματα, πρέπει να γίνει από την αρχή.
«Ύστερα από δύο χρόνων επεξεργασία και μελέτη, αποδείχθηκε ότι είναι λάθος η στατική μελέτη και ότι για να υπάρξει στατική επάρκεια θα πρέπει όλο το στέγαστρο να ξηλωθεί και να γίνει από την αρχή» δήλωσε στην εφημερίδα ο πρόεδρος του ΔΣ της Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, καθηγητής του Διοικητικού Δικαίου Επαμεινώνδας Σπηλιωτόπουλος.
Η πρόταση και μελέτη της βρετανικής εταιρείας Οvearup θα περάσει από τον έλεγχο και δεύτερου ανώτατου εμπειρογνώμονα, της βρετανικής εταιρείας Αtkins και πιθανόν και από τον έλεγχο του καθηγητή στο Πιρς Κόλετζ κ. Ανδράζη.
Τριάντα τρία εκατομμύρια ευρώ στοίχισε η μελέτη κατασκευής του πρωτότυπου βιοκλιματικού στεγάστρου. Πριν καλά καλά ολοκληρωθούν οι εργασίες, που προέβλεπαν την κάλυψη της στέγης με σαντορινιό χώμα για λόγους αισθητικής αποκατάστασης του περιβάλλοντος, αλλά και για λόγους φυσικής μόνωσης, ο αρχαιολογικός χώρος άνοιξε πρόωρα στο κοινό, με εντολή του τότε υφυπουργού Πολιτισμού Πέτρου Τατούλη.
Αυτό παρά την αντίθεση και τις αντιδράσεις των αρχαιολόγων και κυρίως του υπεύθυνου της ανασκαφής Χρίστου Ντούμα. Η προσφυγή που έκανε στον εισαγγελέα μπήκε στο αρχείο, ο χώρος άνοιξε και όταν καταβράχηκε το χώμα της στέγης, με την υπερφόρτωση της επιχωμάτωσης και της ψευδοροφής έφθασε να είναι δυόμισι με τρεις φορές βαρύτερο και τμήμα του τόξου της κυψέλης αρ. 7 κατέρρευσε, αφού προηγουμένως είχε σπάσει μία από τις 55.000 χαλύβδινες ράβδους του στεγάστρου.
Από τότε, ο κλειστός αρχαιολογικός χώρος του Ακρωτηρίου και το εργοτάξιο της μελέτης-κατασκευής βρίσκεται στα χέρια της κατασκευάστριας εταιρείας, που ανέθεσε στους Βρετανούς εμπειρογνώμονες τον έλεγχο των στατικών μελετών, ενώ η Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία περιμένει να της δοθεί το «πιστοποιητικό στατικής επάρκειας» και να προχωρήσει η αποκατάσταση της βλάβης.
Train vibrations threaten tomb of Xerxes I
Source: Tehran Times
TEHRAN -- Vibrations caused by passing trains are likely to broaden existing cracks in the tomb of Xerxes I and result in its collapse if a nearby railway route becomes operational, archaeologist Mohammad-Taqi Ataii said during a seminar at the University Of Tehran (UT) on September 11.
Entitled “Naqsh-e Rustam in Danger”, the one-day colloquium was held to survey the threats from the railway route to the tomb of Xerxes I at the Naqsh-e Rustam site in southern Iran’s Fars Province.
“The builders of the tomb were aware of the natural cracks in the mountainside and built a canal to divert rainwater to a large pool thus preventing it from flowing into the gaps,” Ataii explained.
“The cracks in the rock are already widening as the pool has become full.
“This is happening as the result of a natural process and so far people have not made any effort to preserve the huge cliff. The situation will worsen if the railway route becomes operational.”
Attaii’s remarks met with protest from an unidentified man defending the railway project.
The man, who declined to introduce himself, said that according to seismographic studies, vibrations from trains using the railway route would not cause damage to the monuments in the Naqsh-e Rustam region.
It has been rumored that a number of the project’s officials attending the ceremony denied that the man had any relationship with the railway project.
Moreover, the Ministry of Roads and Transportation has not published the results of the seismographic studies.
Experts have previously said that if the railroad, the embankment of which has been constructed at a distance of about 350 meters from Naqsh-e Rustam, were to become operational, train vibrations would eventually damage the monument and cause the destruction of Zoroaster’s Kaba within less than ten years.
In December 2006, the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) and cultural heritage enthusiasts finally convinced the Ministry of Road and Transportation to alter the railway route. However the extent of the modification has not satisfied the CHTHO or the cultural heritage enthusiasts.
The modification would place the route at a distance of 500 meters from the Naqsh-e Rustam site.
Naqsh-e Rustam is an extremely important historical site since the tombs of Achaemenid kings including Darius I and Xerxes I have been carved into the solid rock of Mt. Hossein in that region. The site also contains remnants dating back to the Elamite and Sassanid eras.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Ancient stones and modern-day mistakes
The inadequate fire-extinguishing system at Olympia failed to work when it should have, due to lack of maintenance
By Olga Sella - Kathimerini
On that first day of the fire in Ancient Olympia, August 26, “just a few trees” were destroyed. As the days went by, when the fire had reached the entrance to the museum, the list had grown – the Hill of Cronus, the stadium, the storeroom of the German Archaeological Institute, the site of the Olympic Academy. Slowly the Culture Ministry began to make announcements about the damage caused by the flames. Every day there were more. On Tuesday of last week, it was found that 3,000 of the architectural structures at the site had suffered damage. A week later, the archaeological site was reopened to the public. Where once was green forest is now gray ash, with the charred remains of the Olympic Academy site and the Hill of Cronus, the blackened bed of the Kladeos River, and the burnt-out watershed above the stadium providing a tragic background.
In the first few days after the fires it appeared that there was something wrong with the way ancient sites are being protected. A state-of-the-art, very expensive fire-extinguishing system took the brunt of the criticism, as if that alone was to blame for the fire that reached as far as the door to the new museum.
Ten days after the fire, the Culture Ministry has begun to announce new fire-prevention measures for Ancient Olympia – a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Also: Mourning the burnt forest and anger about who is to blame
‘Prevention is everything’
By Olga Sella - Kathimerini
On that first day of the fire in Ancient Olympia, August 26, “just a few trees” were destroyed. As the days went by, when the fire had reached the entrance to the museum, the list had grown – the Hill of Cronus, the stadium, the storeroom of the German Archaeological Institute, the site of the Olympic Academy. Slowly the Culture Ministry began to make announcements about the damage caused by the flames. Every day there were more. On Tuesday of last week, it was found that 3,000 of the architectural structures at the site had suffered damage. A week later, the archaeological site was reopened to the public. Where once was green forest is now gray ash, with the charred remains of the Olympic Academy site and the Hill of Cronus, the blackened bed of the Kladeos River, and the burnt-out watershed above the stadium providing a tragic background.
In the first few days after the fires it appeared that there was something wrong with the way ancient sites are being protected. A state-of-the-art, very expensive fire-extinguishing system took the brunt of the criticism, as if that alone was to blame for the fire that reached as far as the door to the new museum.
Ten days after the fire, the Culture Ministry has begun to announce new fire-prevention measures for Ancient Olympia – a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Also: Mourning the burnt forest and anger about who is to blame
‘Prevention is everything’
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Temple to Herakles identified
By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini
Inscription on a bronze flask links the sanctuary with the legendary hero
Bronze vases, lead and clay objects, weapons, iron tools and figurines are among the harvest of finds from an archaic-era sanctuary on the hill of Spartia, Sesklo, in the prefecture of Magnesia.
One outstanding find was a bronze, navel-shaped flask bearing the inscription “Tilephilos dedicated me to Herakles.” This rare discovery identifies the sanctuary with the altar to the mythical hero. In any case, the cult of Herakles is directly linked to the ancient city of Pherae, and is documented in the area by commemorative inscriptions from the Hellenistic era. It is also linked, as Ephor Argyro Doulgeri-Intzesiloglou said, with the myth of Alceste and Admetos which we know from the work of Euripides.
Written in the local archaic alphabet, from right to left – which enhances its value – the inscription and flask were discovered in excellent condition, to the delight of the archaeologists. This will make it the prime unpublished find that the ephorate presents, along with other objects, at the Fifth International Pherae-Velestinos-Rigas Conference being held October 4-7 in Velestinos.
The bronze flask was found some years ago during work on a natural gas pipeline at the hill of Spartia near the ancient Pherae-Pagasses road, now the Volos-Velestinos-Larissa highway. Doulgeri-Intzesiloglou, who was jointly in charge of the excavation along with Evangelia Stamelou, explained to Kathimerini how it came to light along with scores of other rare finds in 1999. As the XII Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities had a heavy workload at that time, the finds were put in storage awaiting study. The surprise came when the flask was cleaned during conservation work.
The Spartia-Latomeio archaeological site was made known in 1922 by the first Ephor of Thessaly, A. Arvanitopoulos, who showed that it was a prehistoric settlement that was also inhabited in the Archaic, Classical and Byzantine eras. As Stamelou explained, Arvanitopoulos had hypothesized on the basis of a small excavation he conducted that there was a 5th- or 4th-century temple on the site which revealed black-figured roof tiles and ceramics with black tin.
Other finds – clay metopes with yellow veneer, bronze commemorative vases, spearheads and part of the arm of a marble statue – were among other discoveries that he attributed to the existence of an earlier phase of the same temple.
In 1999, a rescue dig by the ephorate confirmed his hypothesis, revealing part of a plate made of large limestone slabs. “It was 3 meters wide and around 4 meters of its length was visible. It probably continued beneath the Volos - Larissa road,” she said.
Around the base was a dense layer of stones that covered the spaces where the objects were found. Burnt animal bones found nearby were another confirmation that this was an altar.
Stamelou added that observation of the layers uncovered during the excavation, the presence of a lamp, Hellenistic pottery and an Istiaian coin (3rd century-146 BC), were indications that the monument was built during that period on top of the ancient temple.
Elsewhere on the site, excavators found pottery dating from Neolithic to Ottoman times, and part of the road linking Pherae and Pagasses.
Inscription on a bronze flask links the sanctuary with the legendary hero
Bronze vases, lead and clay objects, weapons, iron tools and figurines are among the harvest of finds from an archaic-era sanctuary on the hill of Spartia, Sesklo, in the prefecture of Magnesia.
One outstanding find was a bronze, navel-shaped flask bearing the inscription “Tilephilos dedicated me to Herakles.” This rare discovery identifies the sanctuary with the altar to the mythical hero. In any case, the cult of Herakles is directly linked to the ancient city of Pherae, and is documented in the area by commemorative inscriptions from the Hellenistic era. It is also linked, as Ephor Argyro Doulgeri-Intzesiloglou said, with the myth of Alceste and Admetos which we know from the work of Euripides.
Written in the local archaic alphabet, from right to left – which enhances its value – the inscription and flask were discovered in excellent condition, to the delight of the archaeologists. This will make it the prime unpublished find that the ephorate presents, along with other objects, at the Fifth International Pherae-Velestinos-Rigas Conference being held October 4-7 in Velestinos.
The bronze flask was found some years ago during work on a natural gas pipeline at the hill of Spartia near the ancient Pherae-Pagasses road, now the Volos-Velestinos-Larissa highway. Doulgeri-Intzesiloglou, who was jointly in charge of the excavation along with Evangelia Stamelou, explained to Kathimerini how it came to light along with scores of other rare finds in 1999. As the XII Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities had a heavy workload at that time, the finds were put in storage awaiting study. The surprise came when the flask was cleaned during conservation work.
The Spartia-Latomeio archaeological site was made known in 1922 by the first Ephor of Thessaly, A. Arvanitopoulos, who showed that it was a prehistoric settlement that was also inhabited in the Archaic, Classical and Byzantine eras. As Stamelou explained, Arvanitopoulos had hypothesized on the basis of a small excavation he conducted that there was a 5th- or 4th-century temple on the site which revealed black-figured roof tiles and ceramics with black tin.
Other finds – clay metopes with yellow veneer, bronze commemorative vases, spearheads and part of the arm of a marble statue – were among other discoveries that he attributed to the existence of an earlier phase of the same temple.
In 1999, a rescue dig by the ephorate confirmed his hypothesis, revealing part of a plate made of large limestone slabs. “It was 3 meters wide and around 4 meters of its length was visible. It probably continued beneath the Volos - Larissa road,” she said.
Around the base was a dense layer of stones that covered the spaces where the objects were found. Burnt animal bones found nearby were another confirmation that this was an altar.
Stamelou added that observation of the layers uncovered during the excavation, the presence of a lamp, Hellenistic pottery and an Istiaian coin (3rd century-146 BC), were indications that the monument was built during that period on top of the ancient temple.
Elsewhere on the site, excavators found pottery dating from Neolithic to Ottoman times, and part of the road linking Pherae and Pagasses.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Ancient Escape Tunnel Found in Israel
Source: AP via AOL News
By AMY TEIBEL,
JERUSALEM (Sept. 9) - Under threat from Romans ransacking Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, many of the city's Jewish residents crowded into an underground drainage channel to hide and later flee the chaos through Jerusalem's southern end unnoticed.
The ancient tunnel was recently discovered buried beneath rubble, a monument to one of the great dramatic scenes of the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 A.D.
The channel was dug beneath what would become the main road of Jerusalem, the archaeology dig's directors, Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said Sunday. Shukron said excavators looking for the road happened upon a small drainage channel that led them to the discovery of the massive tunnel two weeks ago. FULL STORY
By AMY TEIBEL,
JERUSALEM (Sept. 9) - Under threat from Romans ransacking Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, many of the city's Jewish residents crowded into an underground drainage channel to hide and later flee the chaos through Jerusalem's southern end unnoticed.
The ancient tunnel was recently discovered buried beneath rubble, a monument to one of the great dramatic scenes of the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 A.D.
The channel was dug beneath what would become the main road of Jerusalem, the archaeology dig's directors, Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukron of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said Sunday. Shukron said excavators looking for the road happened upon a small drainage channel that led them to the discovery of the massive tunnel two weeks ago. FULL STORY
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Mesopotamian city grew regardless of kingly rule
Source: NewScientist
Roxanne Khamsi
Contrary to the assumption that ancient cities always grew outwards from a central point, the urban site of Tell Brak in north-eastern Syria appears to have emerged as several nearby settlements melded together, according to researchers' analysis of archaeological evidence.
Experts say that the findings lend support to the theory that early Mesopotamian cities developed as a result of grassroots organisation, rather than a mandate from a central authority.
The new study provides important details about Tell Brak, helping to make it "the first early city of which we have a picture about how it formed," comments Geoff Emberling at the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, Illinois, US, who was not involved in this study but has done archaeological work at Tell Brak.
Located in north-eastern Syria, Tell Brak lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and can therefore be considered as an ancient Mesopotamian site. It is thought to have been settled as early as 6000 BCE, according to Harvard University researcher Jason Ur.
Ceramic clues
Ur and his colleagues examined the distribution of ancient pottery pieces around Tell Brak to determine a timeline of urban development there. He says this is possible because certain ceramic styles appeared within a specific time period.
For example, pottery that contains sand and bits of fabric for structural reinforcement appeared sometime around 4200 to 3900 BCE. Around 3900 to 3400 BCE people switched to mixing in chaff – the inedible husks of wheat plants – for the same purpose, and created pots with grooves around the top, presumably to hold lids.
The archaeologists determined the presence of six discrete settlements dating back to between 4200 and 3900 BCE about 500 meters from the central site at Tell Brak. Ur says it is still unclear whether these six settlements represented offshoots from the central site, or migrants coming from faraway places to settle.
Either way, the site does not show a pattern suggesting that it spread gradually outwards in concentric circles from a central point, as one might expect, he notes.
Diverse political structures
Ceramic artifacts from the later period, 3900 to 3400 BCE, appear more closely distributed towards the central site, suggesting that the satellite settlements expanded inwards towards the middle.
By this later time period, some 15,000 people likely called Tell Brak home, according to Ur. Some experts put the number even higher. "It's not just a sleepy village," says Emberling.
Ur believes his new findings contradict the impression given by early written texts that the earliest cities typically emerged under the strict control of kings who liked to keep their people as close as possible.
"Undoubtedly a good deal of early urban development was motivated by the state" and aristocratic rulers in particular, says the archaeologist Michael Shanks at Stanford University in California, US. But, he says, "one of the major things we've learned in archaeology over the past 50 years is that there's no single pattern" when it comes to urban development.
Shanks adds that the different ways in which ancient cities developed point to a diversity in early political structures.
And, says Ur, some of these political structures may have been less autocratic than historians have previously assumed.
Journal reference: Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.1138728)
Roxanne Khamsi
Contrary to the assumption that ancient cities always grew outwards from a central point, the urban site of Tell Brak in north-eastern Syria appears to have emerged as several nearby settlements melded together, according to researchers' analysis of archaeological evidence.
Experts say that the findings lend support to the theory that early Mesopotamian cities developed as a result of grassroots organisation, rather than a mandate from a central authority.
The new study provides important details about Tell Brak, helping to make it "the first early city of which we have a picture about how it formed," comments Geoff Emberling at the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, Illinois, US, who was not involved in this study but has done archaeological work at Tell Brak.
Located in north-eastern Syria, Tell Brak lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and can therefore be considered as an ancient Mesopotamian site. It is thought to have been settled as early as 6000 BCE, according to Harvard University researcher Jason Ur.
Ceramic clues
Ur and his colleagues examined the distribution of ancient pottery pieces around Tell Brak to determine a timeline of urban development there. He says this is possible because certain ceramic styles appeared within a specific time period.
For example, pottery that contains sand and bits of fabric for structural reinforcement appeared sometime around 4200 to 3900 BCE. Around 3900 to 3400 BCE people switched to mixing in chaff – the inedible husks of wheat plants – for the same purpose, and created pots with grooves around the top, presumably to hold lids.
The archaeologists determined the presence of six discrete settlements dating back to between 4200 and 3900 BCE about 500 meters from the central site at Tell Brak. Ur says it is still unclear whether these six settlements represented offshoots from the central site, or migrants coming from faraway places to settle.
Either way, the site does not show a pattern suggesting that it spread gradually outwards in concentric circles from a central point, as one might expect, he notes.
Diverse political structures
Ceramic artifacts from the later period, 3900 to 3400 BCE, appear more closely distributed towards the central site, suggesting that the satellite settlements expanded inwards towards the middle.
By this later time period, some 15,000 people likely called Tell Brak home, according to Ur. Some experts put the number even higher. "It's not just a sleepy village," says Emberling.
Ur believes his new findings contradict the impression given by early written texts that the earliest cities typically emerged under the strict control of kings who liked to keep their people as close as possible.
"Undoubtedly a good deal of early urban development was motivated by the state" and aristocratic rulers in particular, says the archaeologist Michael Shanks at Stanford University in California, US. But, he says, "one of the major things we've learned in archaeology over the past 50 years is that there's no single pattern" when it comes to urban development.
Shanks adds that the different ways in which ancient cities developed point to a diversity in early political structures.
And, says Ur, some of these political structures may have been less autocratic than historians have previously assumed.
Journal reference: Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.1138728)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)