Minoan seminar
27April 2007, 19.00
Dr Stella Mandalaki
23 rd Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities
THE DANCE IN MINOAN SOCIETY
The Seminar will be in Greek with English captions to slides
Archaeological Society, Panepistemiou 22
Abstract
Dancing and music have been indispensable elements of human existence from ancient to modern times. In every civilization, from primitive to contemporary, dance movements accompany daily life and ritual actions, expressing in the most immediate manner a variety of sentiments. The semiotic content of dance is particularly broad and includes every kind of rhythmic movement, quite different from everyday, human kinetic activities, is accompanied by music or song and is deliberately executed by the dancer. The multifaceted function of dance in society compels the researcher of this subject to examine dance phenomena together with socio-political structures in order to interpret them in their entirety. At the same time, the study of dance has the potential to give a better understanding of the society in which it takes place. In this particular approach, different dances are distinguished based on Minoan iconography, taking into consideration the conventional methods of depicting Minoan movement, the provenance and chronology of the finds, as well as comparable dance scenes from Mainland Greece and the Aegean.
The most important Minoan dance performed throughout the Minoan era was the womens open circular dance which was performed with the same brilliant gusto in both the palatial and rustic setting in the context of ritual activities for the epiphany of the female divinity of nature. Typical elements of this particular dance are the exclusive participation of women, the free, circular motion of the dancers and the gestures of invocation notably in the raising of the arms above the head which is accompanied by a light backward inclination of the body. During the post-palatial period, the dance is accompanied with offerings of first-fruits, while the lead danseuse does not perform the characteristic gestures appropriate to her role, but rather accompanies the dance with an instrument. In the same period, dance took place in cemeteries, thereby acquiring a funerary character. In this instance, the object was cause the epiphany of the divinity in order that he deceased might have a safe journey to Hades.
During the performance of the open, circular dance in the West Courts of Minoan palaces, the measured entrance of dancers in two parallel lines led up to the main dance position. The movement was accompanied by the raising of one hand above the head.
The form of the open circle and the sacred character of the dance differentiate the womens circular dance from that of the men which was of the closed kind with hands on shoulders and took place in paved areas or inside the circular enclosures of cemeteries during funeral rites.
In the dance around sacred trees and rocks, the dancing of the leader is accompanied by two parallel or alternating dance-mime actions of symbolic content, shaking the sacred tree and clasping the natural rock, features that lend a theatrical and dramatic character to the performance. Both sexes took part in the dance in open-air sanctuaries or in the palatial environment, within the context of performances connected with the epiphany of different divinities, male, female or pairs. The firm shaking of the tree-trunk not a wild tree but rather one planted inside the wooden enclosure - is probably intended to make the fruit fall. Clasping the rock has greater semiotic impact, since in most instances it is related to the immediate appearance of the divinity. This particular Minoan dance was also danced in mainland Greece with many variations on the original.
A dance for women, where the dancers are arranged in a triangle, seems to have been a particular favourite of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Apart from the form, other characteristic features of the dance are the gesture of arms resting on the hips, the costume and the neckerchief.
Apart from these dances which are quite well defined, isolated representations or particular iconographic types are examined where the performance of the dance is unverified.
Next typical processional formations are mentioned and the development of the processional formation is examined over time. Important differences can be discerned by analysing the magnificent palatial processions with offerings of vases and robes to the divinity. In the Neopalatial period, the two sexes move in separate processions, maintaining a normal distance between them. However, in the Postpalatial period, men and women take part in the same procession, with differentiated sub-groups of different crowd density. Similar ceremonial processions also took place in the open-air to the accompaniment of music and singing, within the context of rites for the fertility of the earth.
Most of the dances mentioned had a close connection to epiphany, as well as being organized by a central authority and defined by convention. Spontaneous folk dances of a recreational character were not identified in this particular study, perhaps because they were not usually depicted in ancient civilizations. Although it is very difficult for evidence of Minoan dance to have survived into historic times, the magic exerted by the Minoan dance movements is preserved as a recollection in ancient authors who frequently refer to the dancing skills of the ancient Cretans.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Greece to speak to British Museum next month about loan of artifacts
Source: ekathimerini
Greek officials and representatives of the British Museum may discuss possibly loaning the Parthenon Marbles to Greece when they meet on May 4, Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said yesterday. Voulgarakis was reacting to comments by Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, who said that “in principle” the antiquities could spend three or six months in another country. However, MacGregor told Bloomberg News that the Greek government would first have to admit the Parthenon Marbles belong to the British Museum. “The Greek government has never asked for a loan of the material from the British Museum. The issue has always been about the permanent removal of all the Parthenon material in the BM collection to Athens,” said MacGregor. Voulgarakis said he read the comments “with interest..”
Greek officials and representatives of the British Museum may discuss possibly loaning the Parthenon Marbles to Greece when they meet on May 4, Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said yesterday. Voulgarakis was reacting to comments by Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum, who said that “in principle” the antiquities could spend three or six months in another country. However, MacGregor told Bloomberg News that the Greek government would first have to admit the Parthenon Marbles belong to the British Museum. “The Greek government has never asked for a loan of the material from the British Museum. The issue has always been about the permanent removal of all the Parthenon material in the BM collection to Athens,” said MacGregor. Voulgarakis said he read the comments “with interest..”
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Greeks could be allowed to borrow the Elgin Marbles
Source: Times Online
Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent
The British Museum has intimated that the Elgin Marbles could be lent to Athens.
Neil MacGregor, its director, said that, like any object in its collection, a loan would be possible if the Greek Government acknowledged the museum’s ownership of the sculptures.
The Greek authorities hailed his comments as unprecedented. One source told The Times: “This is the first time they’ve ever said they’d let them out of the museum. We’ve said we’re not disputing the ownership.”
The Marbles, now known as the Parthenon Marbles, have been the subject of a bitter dispute since the 19th century, when Lord Elgin, as the British Ambassador, removed them from the Acropolis in Athens.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Mr MacGregor appeared to open the door to a compromise. Asked whether the trustees would consider a request from Athens to borrow the Marbles, he said: “There is no reason why any object in the museum, if it is fit to travel, shouldn’t spend three months, six months, somewhere else. So, in principle, absolutely yes.
“The difficulty at the moment is that the Greek Government has formally, and recently, refused to acknowledge that the trustees are the owners of the objects.” He said the Greek Government had never officially asked to borrow the treasures. “The issue has always been about the permanent removal of all the Parthenon material in the BM collection to Athens,” he said.
Victoria Solomonidis, the cultural counsellor at the Greek Embassy in London, said: “The words of Neil MacGregor are most welcome news. The Greek side is interested in the reunification of the Parthenon and the issue of ownership does not come into it.”
Eleni Corka, an official in the Greek Culture Ministry, told the BBC: “I believe that if we discuss the issue we will find ground which will be suitable and solutions which will be profitable for both sides.”
Britain has argued that when Lord Elgin bought and removed the Marbles between 1803 and 1812 he was acting legally and that, had he not done so, they would have suffered at least a further century of deterioration. Fearing their destruction in the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks, the 7th Earl secured permission from the Turks to remove the antiquities.
Campaigners have challenged whether the removal of the marbles has been of any benefit. Anthony Snodgrass, Laurence Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, has argued the British Museum’s Marbles now pale against those that Lord Elgin did not remove.
He believes original details that are absent from the British Museum’s creamy-white sculptures — which had a millimetre of the surface skin removed during the cleaning scandal of the 1930s — can be seen in the warm brown Greek figures that remain in Athens.
Looking at a depiction of two horsemen which Elgin did not remove, he noted that chisel marks and traces of colour in the crevices and folds of drapery, along with anatomical details such as veins on the horses’ bellies, are all missing from the London sculptures.
Eleni Cubitt, of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, said: “It’s the first time Neil MacGregor has made a proposition of this kind.”
A multimillion-pound Acropolis Museum, with a spectacular gallery to house the Marbles, is due to be completed this summer.
A spokeswoman for the British Museum said that objects could not be lent to a country where their ownership is not recognised as vested in the museum.
The treasure
— The temple of Athena Parthenos, known as the Parthenon, was built on the Athens Acropolis, probably between 447 and 438BC. It is thought the sculptures were not finished until about 432BC
— The pediments, triangular gables at each end of the building, were decorated with sculptural groups showing the birth of Athena and the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the land of Attica
— Metopes or relief panels showing scenes from the battle between the Lapiths and centaurs also originally decorated the exterior of the building
— In 1816, MPs found that the collection was acquired legitimately by Lord Elgin as a private individual. The collection was acquired by the British Museum
— The suggestion that it be returned to Athens was raised in the Commons in 1816. Greeks began calling for its return in 1833
Source: British Museum
Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent
The British Museum has intimated that the Elgin Marbles could be lent to Athens.
Neil MacGregor, its director, said that, like any object in its collection, a loan would be possible if the Greek Government acknowledged the museum’s ownership of the sculptures.
The Greek authorities hailed his comments as unprecedented. One source told The Times: “This is the first time they’ve ever said they’d let them out of the museum. We’ve said we’re not disputing the ownership.”
The Marbles, now known as the Parthenon Marbles, have been the subject of a bitter dispute since the 19th century, when Lord Elgin, as the British Ambassador, removed them from the Acropolis in Athens.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Mr MacGregor appeared to open the door to a compromise. Asked whether the trustees would consider a request from Athens to borrow the Marbles, he said: “There is no reason why any object in the museum, if it is fit to travel, shouldn’t spend three months, six months, somewhere else. So, in principle, absolutely yes.
“The difficulty at the moment is that the Greek Government has formally, and recently, refused to acknowledge that the trustees are the owners of the objects.” He said the Greek Government had never officially asked to borrow the treasures. “The issue has always been about the permanent removal of all the Parthenon material in the BM collection to Athens,” he said.
Victoria Solomonidis, the cultural counsellor at the Greek Embassy in London, said: “The words of Neil MacGregor are most welcome news. The Greek side is interested in the reunification of the Parthenon and the issue of ownership does not come into it.”
Eleni Corka, an official in the Greek Culture Ministry, told the BBC: “I believe that if we discuss the issue we will find ground which will be suitable and solutions which will be profitable for both sides.”
Britain has argued that when Lord Elgin bought and removed the Marbles between 1803 and 1812 he was acting legally and that, had he not done so, they would have suffered at least a further century of deterioration. Fearing their destruction in the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks, the 7th Earl secured permission from the Turks to remove the antiquities.
Campaigners have challenged whether the removal of the marbles has been of any benefit. Anthony Snodgrass, Laurence Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, has argued the British Museum’s Marbles now pale against those that Lord Elgin did not remove.
He believes original details that are absent from the British Museum’s creamy-white sculptures — which had a millimetre of the surface skin removed during the cleaning scandal of the 1930s — can be seen in the warm brown Greek figures that remain in Athens.
Looking at a depiction of two horsemen which Elgin did not remove, he noted that chisel marks and traces of colour in the crevices and folds of drapery, along with anatomical details such as veins on the horses’ bellies, are all missing from the London sculptures.
Eleni Cubitt, of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, said: “It’s the first time Neil MacGregor has made a proposition of this kind.”
A multimillion-pound Acropolis Museum, with a spectacular gallery to house the Marbles, is due to be completed this summer.
A spokeswoman for the British Museum said that objects could not be lent to a country where their ownership is not recognised as vested in the museum.
The treasure
— The temple of Athena Parthenos, known as the Parthenon, was built on the Athens Acropolis, probably between 447 and 438BC. It is thought the sculptures were not finished until about 432BC
— The pediments, triangular gables at each end of the building, were decorated with sculptural groups showing the birth of Athena and the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the land of Attica
— Metopes or relief panels showing scenes from the battle between the Lapiths and centaurs also originally decorated the exterior of the building
— In 1816, MPs found that the collection was acquired legitimately by Lord Elgin as a private individual. The collection was acquired by the British Museum
— The suggestion that it be returned to Athens was raised in the Commons in 1816. Greeks began calling for its return in 1833
Source: British Museum
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Priceless artifacts returned to Ancient Agora
Source: Athens News Agency
A poignant ceremony was held at the Ancient Athens Agora's Stoa of Attalus on Wednesday to mark the return of six priceless black-glazed ceremonial pottery pieces from the collection of eminent British scholar and philhellene Martin Robertson.
The miniature artifacts were bequeathed to the Athens Agora's museum, as stipulated in Robertson's will, following his death in December 2004. The author of the authoritative "A History of Greek Art" (Cambridge University Press 1975), considered his magnum opus, inherited the items from American archaeologist Lucy Talcott, the recording secretary of Agora excavations in the 1930s and ‘40s.
The artifacts were officially presented by one of Robertson's sons, Stephen, at the ceremony, who stressed that he was bringing a gift by his father to "his beloved Greece". Stephen Robertson also drew a comparison to the ongoing campaign for return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, saying Wednesday's ceremony can demonstrate to the British Museum's administration that a similar return of antiquities is not impossible.
On his part, the curator of the Acropolis archaeological site, Alexandros Mantis, expressed his thanks to the Robertson family, before noting that the artifacts return marks the eighth repatriation over the past year of artifacts taken from Acropolis-related sites.
Finally, Culture Minister George Voulgarakis expressed his satisfaction with the fact the ceremony coincided with UNESCO's World Heritage Day.
A poignant ceremony was held at the Ancient Athens Agora's Stoa of Attalus on Wednesday to mark the return of six priceless black-glazed ceremonial pottery pieces from the collection of eminent British scholar and philhellene Martin Robertson.
The miniature artifacts were bequeathed to the Athens Agora's museum, as stipulated in Robertson's will, following his death in December 2004. The author of the authoritative "A History of Greek Art" (Cambridge University Press 1975), considered his magnum opus, inherited the items from American archaeologist Lucy Talcott, the recording secretary of Agora excavations in the 1930s and ‘40s.
The artifacts were officially presented by one of Robertson's sons, Stephen, at the ceremony, who stressed that he was bringing a gift by his father to "his beloved Greece". Stephen Robertson also drew a comparison to the ongoing campaign for return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, saying Wednesday's ceremony can demonstrate to the British Museum's administration that a similar return of antiquities is not impossible.
On his part, the curator of the Acropolis archaeological site, Alexandros Mantis, expressed his thanks to the Robertson family, before noting that the artifacts return marks the eighth repatriation over the past year of artifacts taken from Acropolis-related sites.
Finally, Culture Minister George Voulgarakis expressed his satisfaction with the fact the ceremony coincided with UNESCO's World Heritage Day.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Ancient city Allianoi to be monitored under water
Source: Turkish Daily News
Near Bergama, the ancient thermal spa Allianoi, which was in danger of being submerged and lost forever to the waters of Yortanlı Dam, the construction of which has been completed, will still be a touristic spot after being flooded by the dam's waters because of a State Water Affairs (DSİ) conservation project.
The project, ratified by the İzmir Committee for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, awaits for final approval from the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Scientific Committee. The ancient spa will be covered by a one-meter wall to keep the movable historic ruins and findings above the alluvium soil after the spa was submerged by the Yortanlı Dam and these pieces will be displayed in a museum that will be built close to the dam.
Ayhan Sarıyıldız of the DSİ said the ancient spa will continue to be viewable for tourists thanks to underwater cameras that will be attached to different spa sections and underwater archaeologists will continue to excavate the area.
Noting that they developed the best possible plan in order to save Allianoi and that there was no other alternative available, he said the project will be in line with the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Scientific Committee's decision.
Meanwhile, Allianoi excavation head Ahmet Yaraş opposed the DSİ's project. Yaraş said the project would not save the ancient city, which would be at last submerged in the waters of Yortanlı Dam, adding, “The DSİ offered a project which anticipates a one-meter wall around the ancient city. However, it will not prevent the ancient city from being flooded by the dam's waters. According to them, the solution is to cover the face of historic ruins. Their goal never changed. However, it is not a solution to permit submerging the ancient city under water; it is a deception. Unfortunately, they have mislead politicians and the public by claiming that they would save the ancient city. Their project doesn't intend to protect the ancient city.”
Project is misleading:
He also said they would take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights if the project were ratified by the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
Historically, Allianoi is well known as the land of the god of health Asklepios. The ancient city was established during the Hellenistic Age and reached its peak during the reign of Roman emperor Hadrian. It was considered as one of the most important health centers for nearly 15 centuries, starting from the sixth century B.C. through to the 11th century. Allianoi was famed for its thermal spring center and was known as the most important healing complexes during Hadrian's rule (117-138). Over the last five years, excavations revealed two impressive gates, marble stone-paved streets, shops, houses adorned with mosaics, large town squares, public fountains and rest areas to be used after having a bath. Surprisingly, the latest findings, such as mosaics, marble stones and some wood pieces designed for houses, were the most preserved pieces ever seen on an archaeological site because they had been covered with alluvium soil.
The ancient city is in danger of being submerged and lost forever to the waters of Yortanlı Dam, the construction of which started in 1994. The excavations, kicked off in 1998, have only uncovered the 20 percent of the ancient city.
Near Bergama, the ancient thermal spa Allianoi, which was in danger of being submerged and lost forever to the waters of Yortanlı Dam, the construction of which has been completed, will still be a touristic spot after being flooded by the dam's waters because of a State Water Affairs (DSİ) conservation project.
The project, ratified by the İzmir Committee for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, awaits for final approval from the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Scientific Committee. The ancient spa will be covered by a one-meter wall to keep the movable historic ruins and findings above the alluvium soil after the spa was submerged by the Yortanlı Dam and these pieces will be displayed in a museum that will be built close to the dam.
Ayhan Sarıyıldız of the DSİ said the ancient spa will continue to be viewable for tourists thanks to underwater cameras that will be attached to different spa sections and underwater archaeologists will continue to excavate the area.
Noting that they developed the best possible plan in order to save Allianoi and that there was no other alternative available, he said the project will be in line with the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Scientific Committee's decision.
Meanwhile, Allianoi excavation head Ahmet Yaraş opposed the DSİ's project. Yaraş said the project would not save the ancient city, which would be at last submerged in the waters of Yortanlı Dam, adding, “The DSİ offered a project which anticipates a one-meter wall around the ancient city. However, it will not prevent the ancient city from being flooded by the dam's waters. According to them, the solution is to cover the face of historic ruins. Their goal never changed. However, it is not a solution to permit submerging the ancient city under water; it is a deception. Unfortunately, they have mislead politicians and the public by claiming that they would save the ancient city. Their project doesn't intend to protect the ancient city.”
Project is misleading:
He also said they would take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights if the project were ratified by the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
Historically, Allianoi is well known as the land of the god of health Asklepios. The ancient city was established during the Hellenistic Age and reached its peak during the reign of Roman emperor Hadrian. It was considered as one of the most important health centers for nearly 15 centuries, starting from the sixth century B.C. through to the 11th century. Allianoi was famed for its thermal spring center and was known as the most important healing complexes during Hadrian's rule (117-138). Over the last five years, excavations revealed two impressive gates, marble stone-paved streets, shops, houses adorned with mosaics, large town squares, public fountains and rest areas to be used after having a bath. Surprisingly, the latest findings, such as mosaics, marble stones and some wood pieces designed for houses, were the most preserved pieces ever seen on an archaeological site because they had been covered with alluvium soil.
The ancient city is in danger of being submerged and lost forever to the waters of Yortanlı Dam, the construction of which started in 1994. The excavations, kicked off in 1998, have only uncovered the 20 percent of the ancient city.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Egypt, German row over Nefertiti deepens
Source: IOL
Cairo - Egypt on Sunday threatened to ban future displays of its ancient artifacts in Germany if Berlin refuses to return a 3 400-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti for a temporary exhibition.
"(Egypt) will never again organise antiquities exhibitions in Germany if it refuses a request, to be issued next week, to allow the bust of Nefertiti to be displayed in Egypt for three months," antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass told parliament, according to the official MENA news agency.
His comments came after German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann refused to allow the bust of Nefertiti - renowned as one of history's great beauties - to be exhibited in Egypt because it was too delicate to be transported.
"Experts have reservations about taking Nefertiti on a long trip, which we have to take seriously," Neumann said in reaction to a campaign launched in Germany under the title "Nefertiti travels" to loan the bust to Egypt for a limited period.
Cairo and Berlin have frequently crossed swords over the limestone bust, which was unearthed by German archaeologists in an artist's studio on the banks of the Nile and taken to Germany under a 1913 agreement.
It was described by Adolf Hitler as "a true treasure".
A row broke out in 2003 when the Berlin museum allowed artists to temporarily attach the bust to a bronze statue of a naked woman.
Nefertiti was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton, remembered for having switched his kingdom to monotheism with the worship of one sun god, Aton.
Hawass has made it his mission to retrieve Egypt's widely scattered antiquities that can be found in museums around the world.
But the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which is responsible for Berlin's art treasures, also ruled out a return to Egypt, saying: "After 3 000 the lady is travel weary." - Sapa-AFP
Cairo - Egypt on Sunday threatened to ban future displays of its ancient artifacts in Germany if Berlin refuses to return a 3 400-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti for a temporary exhibition.
"(Egypt) will never again organise antiquities exhibitions in Germany if it refuses a request, to be issued next week, to allow the bust of Nefertiti to be displayed in Egypt for three months," antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass told parliament, according to the official MENA news agency.
His comments came after German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann refused to allow the bust of Nefertiti - renowned as one of history's great beauties - to be exhibited in Egypt because it was too delicate to be transported.
"Experts have reservations about taking Nefertiti on a long trip, which we have to take seriously," Neumann said in reaction to a campaign launched in Germany under the title "Nefertiti travels" to loan the bust to Egypt for a limited period.
Cairo and Berlin have frequently crossed swords over the limestone bust, which was unearthed by German archaeologists in an artist's studio on the banks of the Nile and taken to Germany under a 1913 agreement.
It was described by Adolf Hitler as "a true treasure".
A row broke out in 2003 when the Berlin museum allowed artists to temporarily attach the bust to a bronze statue of a naked woman.
Nefertiti was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton, remembered for having switched his kingdom to monotheism with the worship of one sun god, Aton.
Hawass has made it his mission to retrieve Egypt's widely scattered antiquities that can be found in museums around the world.
But the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which is responsible for Berlin's art treasures, also ruled out a return to Egypt, saying: "After 3 000 the lady is travel weary." - Sapa-AFP
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Ancient Thessaloniki emerges, thanks to digging for metro
Tunnels will go deeper to spare antiquities
One outstanding find was the headless marble figure of a man found during work at Aghios Athanasios in Thessaloniki.
By Iota Myrtsioti - Kathimerini
Preliminary work on the metro is slowly bringing to light the story of Thessaloniki. The first architectural remains and portable finds discovered in the city’s historic center are just a sample of what the metro tunneling machine will turn up once it starts digging deeper.
Though the exploratory digs at 350 points along the 9.6-kilometer metro line that were begun last August have so far uncovered only a handful of portable finds, a museum has already been found to house them. It is the Alkazar (formerly Hamza Bey mosque). Refurbishment is under way, which will allow the monument to receive visitors by the end of the year, Culture Ministry General Secretary Christos Zahopoulos announced on Thursday, presenting the finds.
Part of the eastern cemetery of Thessaloniki with 35 graves was one of the expected finds. It was discovered by archeologists from the 16th Ephorate of Classical Antiquities in the Sintrivaniou district.
Of various types, set in close rows, the graves date from the Early Hellenistic to the Late Roman period (third century BC to third century AD). Eleven of them contained grave goods, including coins, figurines, bone clasps, clay and glass vases, gold and bronze jewelry, and a funerary stele bearing the name of the occupant, Epitherses Filonos Methemnaios.
Interment was the most common form of burial, noted ephorate chief Lilian Aheilara. The body was usually supine. Four burial sites showed signs of incineration.
In contrast, the Roman-era architectural remnants discovered at points along the projected metro line were a complete surprise.
Preliminary excavations unearthed various items including potsherds, plinths, slate paving, plaster, bones and stones at 42 other sites.
At Dimokratias Square, Venizelou and Aghias Sofias metro station sites, the 9th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities unearthed parts of walls, pipes and floors. One outstanding find was a headless marble figurine discovered in front of Aghios Athanasios.
The Attiko Metro construction company has already altered its plans in response to the successive finds, managing director Giorgos Yiannis announced. The tunnels will now go down to a depth of 31 meters, instead of 7-9 meters as stipulated in the original plan.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Digger blunder at site of Roman fort
I could never understand why on earth British archaeologists use bulldozers in their digs... :-(
Source: EDP24
SHAUN LOWTHORPE
It was built to repel invaders from Roman Britain and for centuries withstood the vagaries of time.
But some of the buried artefacts at Caister, near Yarmouth, have met their match after archaeologists mistakenly used a mechanical digger to uncover the fort's secrets. Norfolk Archaeology Unit (NAU) was commissioned to carry out a dig last year ahead of plans to build houses on a garden bordering the north-east corner of the fort at Uplands Avenue.
A nationally important site, the fort was one of 12 built by the Romans stetching to the south coast, with the others in Norfolk being at Burgh Castle and Brancaster.
The area in question was covered by a thin layer of tarmac, yet beneath that it was straight down into undisturbed Roman deposits allowing a fresh picture to be built up of an area stretching from the fort's outer defences.
But when David Gurney, principal archaeologist at Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, went out to check on the progress of the work, he was horrified to see a 15m long by 1m trench dug out by a digger instead of being excavated by hand.
“On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of damage to Norfolk's archaeology, this is a 10,” he said. “This was the first chance to dig a trench across the defences at Caister fort since the 1960s. It was a huge opportunity.
“The archaeology in that area has been destroyed,” he added. “We lost the opportunity to go through the different layers very carefully and recover the pottery and objects that would have helped us review the dating of the fort defences.
“There's a lot of archaeological work taking place all the time so there's bound to be the odd lapse. It's very unfortunate that it took place on such an important site.
“They made quite a serious mistake. There have been long discussions with the contractor and they are fully aware of the mistake they have made. Measures have been put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
The incident happened last June, but the mistake has only now been unearthed after lying deep inside a council report due for discussion on Monday.
Jayne Bown, archaeology unit manager at NPS property consultants, which took over the running of the unit in 2005, said an approved plan had been produced and followed but there was a misunderstanding about how the dig was to be carried out.
“Once work was under way it became clear that there was a divergence of professional opinion on the scope and detail of the fieldwork required,” she said. “A wide-ranging discussion ensued and procedures have since been thoroughly reviewed.”
“NAU Archaeology is a successful organisation with clients across the country and we pride ourselves on working to high professional standards. The misunder-standing in this case was a very rare occurrence and we have acted promptly to reduce the likelihood of it ever recurring in the future.”
Source: EDP24
SHAUN LOWTHORPE
It was built to repel invaders from Roman Britain and for centuries withstood the vagaries of time.
But some of the buried artefacts at Caister, near Yarmouth, have met their match after archaeologists mistakenly used a mechanical digger to uncover the fort's secrets. Norfolk Archaeology Unit (NAU) was commissioned to carry out a dig last year ahead of plans to build houses on a garden bordering the north-east corner of the fort at Uplands Avenue.
A nationally important site, the fort was one of 12 built by the Romans stetching to the south coast, with the others in Norfolk being at Burgh Castle and Brancaster.
The area in question was covered by a thin layer of tarmac, yet beneath that it was straight down into undisturbed Roman deposits allowing a fresh picture to be built up of an area stretching from the fort's outer defences.
But when David Gurney, principal archaeologist at Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, went out to check on the progress of the work, he was horrified to see a 15m long by 1m trench dug out by a digger instead of being excavated by hand.
“On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of damage to Norfolk's archaeology, this is a 10,” he said. “This was the first chance to dig a trench across the defences at Caister fort since the 1960s. It was a huge opportunity.
“The archaeology in that area has been destroyed,” he added. “We lost the opportunity to go through the different layers very carefully and recover the pottery and objects that would have helped us review the dating of the fort defences.
“There's a lot of archaeological work taking place all the time so there's bound to be the odd lapse. It's very unfortunate that it took place on such an important site.
“They made quite a serious mistake. There have been long discussions with the contractor and they are fully aware of the mistake they have made. Measures have been put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
The incident happened last June, but the mistake has only now been unearthed after lying deep inside a council report due for discussion on Monday.
Jayne Bown, archaeology unit manager at NPS property consultants, which took over the running of the unit in 2005, said an approved plan had been produced and followed but there was a misunderstanding about how the dig was to be carried out.
“Once work was under way it became clear that there was a divergence of professional opinion on the scope and detail of the fieldwork required,” she said. “A wide-ranging discussion ensued and procedures have since been thoroughly reviewed.”
“NAU Archaeology is a successful organisation with clients across the country and we pride ourselves on working to high professional standards. The misunder-standing in this case was a very rare occurrence and we have acted promptly to reduce the likelihood of it ever recurring in the future.”
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Archaeology bridges gap between modern people, past cultures
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
BRADLEY T. LEPPER
What is the value of archaeology? Why should anyone care about the broken bits and pieces of past lives scattered across the landscape?
Paul Minnis, an archaeologist at the University of Oklahoma, asked several colleagues this question. Their answers were published in the Society for American Archaeology's November newsletter.
One of the best answers was provided by Barbara Little, who edited a recent book on the public benefits of archaeology. She wrote: "Our history is an anchor, a vantage point and a library. Archaeology is the tool for expanding that history."
William Faulkner once said, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." This speaks to the enduring power of the past for informing and enriching our lives.
Yet, as Little also observed, the power of the past can be abused as a weapon.
In Afghanistan, for example, the Taliban destroyed ancient Buddhist statues and other relics in acts of archaeological terrorism. In a story broadcast last month on National Public Radio, Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reported that Afghanistan's National Museum in Kabul was hit by rockets and pillaged by looters. Much of what was left was smashed by the Taliban.
Now, however, museum staff members are working hard to rebuild this national treasure. They cut an inscription into a marble post in front of the building to express their faith in the sustaining power of their past: "A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive."
Rory Stewart, who directs a nonprofit group working with the museum, told Sarhaddi Nelson that the key to success was getting ordinary Afghans to reconnect with their heritage.
In Ohio, during the 18 th and early 19 th centuries, European-American settlers destroyed many of the monuments erected by ancient American Indian cultures. The farmers and town-builders of that era simply didn?t acknowledge the earthen mounds and enclosures as part of a heritage they had any obligation to preserve or understand.
Since then, several decades of archaeological investigation have added the achievements of indigenous cultures to our expanded view of Ohio's history. Archaeological parks preserve many important sites, and museums display the artifacts made and used by hundreds of generations of Ohioans.
These special places allow us to reconnect with our heritage, which did not begin in 1803, 1776 or even 1492. It began with the original discovery of Ohio by the first Americans more than 14,000 years ago.
Bradley T. Lepper is curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society.
blepper@ohiohistory.org
BRADLEY T. LEPPER
What is the value of archaeology? Why should anyone care about the broken bits and pieces of past lives scattered across the landscape?
Paul Minnis, an archaeologist at the University of Oklahoma, asked several colleagues this question. Their answers were published in the Society for American Archaeology's November newsletter.
One of the best answers was provided by Barbara Little, who edited a recent book on the public benefits of archaeology. She wrote: "Our history is an anchor, a vantage point and a library. Archaeology is the tool for expanding that history."
William Faulkner once said, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." This speaks to the enduring power of the past for informing and enriching our lives.
Yet, as Little also observed, the power of the past can be abused as a weapon.
In Afghanistan, for example, the Taliban destroyed ancient Buddhist statues and other relics in acts of archaeological terrorism. In a story broadcast last month on National Public Radio, Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reported that Afghanistan's National Museum in Kabul was hit by rockets and pillaged by looters. Much of what was left was smashed by the Taliban.
Now, however, museum staff members are working hard to rebuild this national treasure. They cut an inscription into a marble post in front of the building to express their faith in the sustaining power of their past: "A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive."
Rory Stewart, who directs a nonprofit group working with the museum, told Sarhaddi Nelson that the key to success was getting ordinary Afghans to reconnect with their heritage.
In Ohio, during the 18 th and early 19 th centuries, European-American settlers destroyed many of the monuments erected by ancient American Indian cultures. The farmers and town-builders of that era simply didn?t acknowledge the earthen mounds and enclosures as part of a heritage they had any obligation to preserve or understand.
Since then, several decades of archaeological investigation have added the achievements of indigenous cultures to our expanded view of Ohio's history. Archaeological parks preserve many important sites, and museums display the artifacts made and used by hundreds of generations of Ohioans.
These special places allow us to reconnect with our heritage, which did not begin in 1803, 1776 or even 1492. It began with the original discovery of Ohio by the first Americans more than 14,000 years ago.
Bradley T. Lepper is curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society.
blepper@ohiohistory.org
Heracleion and Canopus back to light
Source: Deutsche Welle
"It's a Bit Like Modern Surgery"
DW-WORLD.DE spoke to French marine archeologist Franck Goddio, who brought lost parts of the legendary port of Alexandria and the ancient cities of Heracleion and Canopus back to light.
"Egypt's Sunken Treasures," an exhibition of artifacts unearthed during Goddio's excavations, went on show in Bonn on Thursday.
DW-WORLD.DE: After thousands of excursions to sunken cities and shipwrecks around the world, your living room must look like an adventurous place.
Franck Goddio: Well, it's not an adventure. I would say it's a job, and we are doing this job very professionally. We plan each mission carefully and train our staff for that, and before starting, there is a lot of paperwork that has to be done.
Before you started to search for sunken treasures, you studied mathematics and worked as a financial consultant. How does that fit with archaeology?
Goddio devoted himself to marine archeology in the 1980sBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Goddio devoted himself to marine archeology in the 1980s
As a matter of fact, it does help. After 10 years in finance, I decided to take a one-year break. I looked at what at the time has been done in underwater archaeology, and I realized that there was a need for a privately funded independent institute that could work for governments and other institutions.
You opened such an institute for underwater archaeology in Paris in 1985. Were you always sure that it would become a success story?
Maybe I was a little naive at the beginning. When I started to search for the sunken parts of Alexandria in 1984 the geophysical instruments that you need for missions like that didn't exist.
But you did find ancient Alexandria in the end.
But for Alexandria, it took years and years because we had to perform a four-year geophysical survey before we even had a detailed map that showed that there was something under the sediment. It's a bit like modern surgery. You use the scanner, and then afterwards, when you know where to search, you do the operation at the right place.
Are you still thrilled by your work?
It's very hard work because for months and months you only sail along straight lines in the harbor, towing instruments and registering data in order to create an electronic map. When you start to see the map, you get this feeling that there is something down there. And only then does it become thrilling.
It seems that your work has little in common with an Indiana Jones adventure.
Not at all, on the contrary I would say. My job is to prevent adventure.
When you take artifacts from the ancient port of Alexandria, you put them in different colored baskets. Does the color mean something?
The color is in fact no criteria, but you need these baskets in order to desalinate the artifacts. When you raise it from the sea, where the object has been for some 2,000 years, you have to remove the salt. For a small artifact, this can take a few days. For a very big artefact, like the statue of Hapi (editor's note: a more than five-meter or 16-feet high statue), we needed 18 months to remove the salt.
What happens if you don't do that?
The stone will disintegrate. Chemical reactions will make the stone weaker, until it finally disintegrates.
The exhibition in Bonn is showing 500 artifacts, most of them from Alexandria. What kind of feeling should the exhibition evoke in visitors?
We found all the artifacts right next to each other. They were on the same place for thousands of years and supplemented each other, they were literally living together. In the exhibition you can see that they speak to each other.
Who owns the artifacts?
They belong to Egypt of course. All artifacts that you see in the exhibit in Bonn will one day end up in a museum which will be built for them -- in Alexandria.
"Egypt's Sunken Treasures" runs until Jan. 27, 2008 at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn.
Richard Fuchs interviewed Franck Goddio (ncy)
"It's a Bit Like Modern Surgery"
DW-WORLD.DE spoke to French marine archeologist Franck Goddio, who brought lost parts of the legendary port of Alexandria and the ancient cities of Heracleion and Canopus back to light.
"Egypt's Sunken Treasures," an exhibition of artifacts unearthed during Goddio's excavations, went on show in Bonn on Thursday.
DW-WORLD.DE: After thousands of excursions to sunken cities and shipwrecks around the world, your living room must look like an adventurous place.
Franck Goddio: Well, it's not an adventure. I would say it's a job, and we are doing this job very professionally. We plan each mission carefully and train our staff for that, and before starting, there is a lot of paperwork that has to be done.
Before you started to search for sunken treasures, you studied mathematics and worked as a financial consultant. How does that fit with archaeology?
Goddio devoted himself to marine archeology in the 1980sBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Goddio devoted himself to marine archeology in the 1980s
As a matter of fact, it does help. After 10 years in finance, I decided to take a one-year break. I looked at what at the time has been done in underwater archaeology, and I realized that there was a need for a privately funded independent institute that could work for governments and other institutions.
You opened such an institute for underwater archaeology in Paris in 1985. Were you always sure that it would become a success story?
Maybe I was a little naive at the beginning. When I started to search for the sunken parts of Alexandria in 1984 the geophysical instruments that you need for missions like that didn't exist.
But you did find ancient Alexandria in the end.
But for Alexandria, it took years and years because we had to perform a four-year geophysical survey before we even had a detailed map that showed that there was something under the sediment. It's a bit like modern surgery. You use the scanner, and then afterwards, when you know where to search, you do the operation at the right place.
Are you still thrilled by your work?
It's very hard work because for months and months you only sail along straight lines in the harbor, towing instruments and registering data in order to create an electronic map. When you start to see the map, you get this feeling that there is something down there. And only then does it become thrilling.
It seems that your work has little in common with an Indiana Jones adventure.
Not at all, on the contrary I would say. My job is to prevent adventure.
When you take artifacts from the ancient port of Alexandria, you put them in different colored baskets. Does the color mean something?
The color is in fact no criteria, but you need these baskets in order to desalinate the artifacts. When you raise it from the sea, where the object has been for some 2,000 years, you have to remove the salt. For a small artifact, this can take a few days. For a very big artefact, like the statue of Hapi (editor's note: a more than five-meter or 16-feet high statue), we needed 18 months to remove the salt.
What happens if you don't do that?
The stone will disintegrate. Chemical reactions will make the stone weaker, until it finally disintegrates.
The exhibition in Bonn is showing 500 artifacts, most of them from Alexandria. What kind of feeling should the exhibition evoke in visitors?
We found all the artifacts right next to each other. They were on the same place for thousands of years and supplemented each other, they were literally living together. In the exhibition you can see that they speak to each other.
Who owns the artifacts?
They belong to Egypt of course. All artifacts that you see in the exhibit in Bonn will one day end up in a museum which will be built for them -- in Alexandria.
"Egypt's Sunken Treasures" runs until Jan. 27, 2008 at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn.
Richard Fuchs interviewed Franck Goddio (ncy)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Graves of warriors open to the public
Source: IOL
Athens - Ancient Greek graves holding the remains of warriors slain in the Peloponnesian War, one of antiquity's deadliest conflicts, will soon be accessible to visitors in Athens, an archaeologist said on Wednesday.
"We have the remains of Athenian warriors of the Peloponnesian War carried there from battlefield funeral pyres," supervising archaeologist Haris Stoupa told reporters.
"We're not sure of the exact battle as we were not fortunate enough to find engravings," she added.
Discovered in the Athens district of Kerameikos in 1997, the site is part of a one-kilometre-wide cemetery dedicated to Athenian warriors and prominent citizens that still lies mostly buried under modern buildings.
The cemetery was created shortly after the Battle of Marathon against the Persians in 480 BC and remained in use until the Roman Wars against Carthage, Stoupa said.
According to 2nd-century Greek chronicler Pausanias, among heroes buried there is Pericles, leader of Athens during the city-state's golden era that saw the building of the Parthenon.
Archaeologists will place a protective canopy over the site to enable visitors to see into the graves, Stoupa said.
The project will be completed in 2008.
Pitting two superpowers of the era - democratic Athens and oligarchic Sparta - against one another, the Peloponnesian War raged on and off for nearly 30 years (431-404 BC) across Greece,
with related conflicts in Asia Minor and Sicily.
It was a disaster for Athens, and established Sparta as the dominant power in ancient Greece. - Sapa-AFP
Athens - Ancient Greek graves holding the remains of warriors slain in the Peloponnesian War, one of antiquity's deadliest conflicts, will soon be accessible to visitors in Athens, an archaeologist said on Wednesday.
"We have the remains of Athenian warriors of the Peloponnesian War carried there from battlefield funeral pyres," supervising archaeologist Haris Stoupa told reporters.
"We're not sure of the exact battle as we were not fortunate enough to find engravings," she added.
Discovered in the Athens district of Kerameikos in 1997, the site is part of a one-kilometre-wide cemetery dedicated to Athenian warriors and prominent citizens that still lies mostly buried under modern buildings.
The cemetery was created shortly after the Battle of Marathon against the Persians in 480 BC and remained in use until the Roman Wars against Carthage, Stoupa said.
According to 2nd-century Greek chronicler Pausanias, among heroes buried there is Pericles, leader of Athens during the city-state's golden era that saw the building of the Parthenon.
Archaeologists will place a protective canopy over the site to enable visitors to see into the graves, Stoupa said.
The project will be completed in 2008.
Pitting two superpowers of the era - democratic Athens and oligarchic Sparta - against one another, the Peloponnesian War raged on and off for nearly 30 years (431-404 BC) across Greece,
with related conflicts in Asia Minor and Sicily.
It was a disaster for Athens, and established Sparta as the dominant power in ancient Greece. - Sapa-AFP
Greek archaeologists discover theater
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS, Associated Press Writer Thu Feb 15, 8:27 PM ET
ATHENS, Greece - Sections of an ancient Greek theater were discovered on Thursday during construction work in an Athens suburb, archaeologists said.
Until now, only two such buildings were known in the ancient city where western theater originated more than 2,500 years ago.
Fifteen rows of concentric stone seats have been located so far in the northwestern suburb of Menidi, according to Vivi Vassilopoulou, Greece's general director of antiquities.
"Another section appears to lie under a nearby road," she told The Associated Press.
"(The remains) were discovered during excavation work, supervised by archaeologists, for a new building," Vassilopoulou said. "But it is still very early to offer any conclusions."
The structure has not yet been dated, and further details are expected to emerge following a full excavation.
Menidi is thought to be built over the ancient village of Acharnae, the largest of a string of rural settlements outside ancient Athens. Ancient writers mention a theater at Acharnae, but no traces of it had been found until now.
The village was linked with Dionysos, the ancient god of theater and wine, as the Athenians believed that ivy — his sacred plant — first grew there.
Built in semicircular tiers on hillsides, ancient theaters were monumental, open-air structures that could seat thousands of spectators.
Theater first emerged as an art form in late 6th century B.C. Athens, where ancient playwrights competed for a prize during the annual festival of Dionysos — in whose cult the art originated.
The works of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes were performed in the theater of Dionysos under the Acropolis.
Originally a terrace where spectators sat on the bare earth above a circular stage, it was rebuilt in stone during the 4th century B.C. and could sit up to 14,000 people.
Another smaller theater has been discovered in southern Athens.
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS, Associated Press Writer Thu Feb 15, 8:27 PM ET
ATHENS, Greece - Sections of an ancient Greek theater were discovered on Thursday during construction work in an Athens suburb, archaeologists said.
Until now, only two such buildings were known in the ancient city where western theater originated more than 2,500 years ago.
Fifteen rows of concentric stone seats have been located so far in the northwestern suburb of Menidi, according to Vivi Vassilopoulou, Greece's general director of antiquities.
"Another section appears to lie under a nearby road," she told The Associated Press.
"(The remains) were discovered during excavation work, supervised by archaeologists, for a new building," Vassilopoulou said. "But it is still very early to offer any conclusions."
The structure has not yet been dated, and further details are expected to emerge following a full excavation.
Menidi is thought to be built over the ancient village of Acharnae, the largest of a string of rural settlements outside ancient Athens. Ancient writers mention a theater at Acharnae, but no traces of it had been found until now.
The village was linked with Dionysos, the ancient god of theater and wine, as the Athenians believed that ivy — his sacred plant — first grew there.
Built in semicircular tiers on hillsides, ancient theaters were monumental, open-air structures that could seat thousands of spectators.
Theater first emerged as an art form in late 6th century B.C. Athens, where ancient playwrights competed for a prize during the annual festival of Dionysos — in whose cult the art originated.
The works of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes were performed in the theater of Dionysos under the Acropolis.
Originally a terrace where spectators sat on the bare earth above a circular stage, it was rebuilt in stone during the 4th century B.C. and could sit up to 14,000 people.
Another smaller theater has been discovered in southern Athens.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Getty Museum signs deal to return 2 ancient treasures to Greece
Source: International Herald Tribune
ATHENS, Greece: Greece and the J. Paul Getty Museum have signed an agreement for the return of two ancient treasures that Athens claims were illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country, officials said on Wednesday.
The artifacts are among the most important ever reclaimed by antiquities-rich Greece: a fourth century B.C. gold wreath and a sixth century B.C. marble statue of a young woman. They are the last of four antiquities successfully reclaimed by Greece from the Getty.
They will be handed over to Greek officials by the end of next month. The deal was signed in Athens late Monday by Greek Culture Ministry Secretary-General Christos Zachopoulos and Michael Brand, director of the private Los Angeles museum.
"This signing confirms the climate of trust and mutual understanding (between Greece and the Getty), and creates new prospects in their relations," the Culture Ministry and the museum said in a joint statement.
The antiquities will be returned to Greece by the end of March, the statement said.
Culture Minister George Voulgarakis read the statement at a news conference attended by Brand. Neither made any further comment on the agreement.
Voulgarakis has said there will be no trade-off with the Getty in exchange for the works, which Athens has claimed for more than a decade. But he did not rule out the possibility of Greece lending artifacts to the museum or organizing exhibitions there in the future.
Wednesday's signing came after an informal agreement in December for the works' return.
In September, the museum returned two stone sculptures dating to the sixth and the fourth centuries B.C. following pressure from Athens, which has launched an aggressive campaign for the return of looted Greek antiquities held in museums and private collections abroad.
These are on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
The two works to be returned next month are among thousands of ancient artifacts lost to smugglers in recent decades.
The fourth century B.C. wreath is decorated with sprays of gold leaves and flowers inlaid with colored glass paste and — according to Greek authorities — was illegally excavated in the province of Macedonia. Designed as a burial gift, it was probably made shortly after the death of the Macedonian warrior-king Alexander the Great.
The marble statue, which lacks its head, lower arms and legs, is of a young woman and is a type widespread in southern Greece and the Aegean Sea islands from the mid-seventh to the late sixth centuries B.C.
Under Greek law all antiquities found in the country are state property.
A Greek prosecutor has brought criminal charges against a former Getty curator, Marion True, over the sale of the gold wreath, which the museum bought for US$1.15 million (€900,000) in 1993.
Another four people were charged with illegally excavating, exporting and selling the artifact.
True, who denies any wrongdoing, was the Getty antiquities curator from 1986 to 2005, when she was asked to retire. She was responsible for recommending what objects the museum should buy from private dealers and at public auctions.
Last year, police raided a Greek island villa belonging to True and seized several unregistered antiquities.
True is on trial in Rome for allegedly having knowingly purchased stolen artifacts for the museum from Italy.
ATHENS, Greece: Greece and the J. Paul Getty Museum have signed an agreement for the return of two ancient treasures that Athens claims were illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country, officials said on Wednesday.
The artifacts are among the most important ever reclaimed by antiquities-rich Greece: a fourth century B.C. gold wreath and a sixth century B.C. marble statue of a young woman. They are the last of four antiquities successfully reclaimed by Greece from the Getty.
They will be handed over to Greek officials by the end of next month. The deal was signed in Athens late Monday by Greek Culture Ministry Secretary-General Christos Zachopoulos and Michael Brand, director of the private Los Angeles museum.
"This signing confirms the climate of trust and mutual understanding (between Greece and the Getty), and creates new prospects in their relations," the Culture Ministry and the museum said in a joint statement.
The antiquities will be returned to Greece by the end of March, the statement said.
Culture Minister George Voulgarakis read the statement at a news conference attended by Brand. Neither made any further comment on the agreement.
Voulgarakis has said there will be no trade-off with the Getty in exchange for the works, which Athens has claimed for more than a decade. But he did not rule out the possibility of Greece lending artifacts to the museum or organizing exhibitions there in the future.
Wednesday's signing came after an informal agreement in December for the works' return.
In September, the museum returned two stone sculptures dating to the sixth and the fourth centuries B.C. following pressure from Athens, which has launched an aggressive campaign for the return of looted Greek antiquities held in museums and private collections abroad.
These are on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
The two works to be returned next month are among thousands of ancient artifacts lost to smugglers in recent decades.
The fourth century B.C. wreath is decorated with sprays of gold leaves and flowers inlaid with colored glass paste and — according to Greek authorities — was illegally excavated in the province of Macedonia. Designed as a burial gift, it was probably made shortly after the death of the Macedonian warrior-king Alexander the Great.
The marble statue, which lacks its head, lower arms and legs, is of a young woman and is a type widespread in southern Greece and the Aegean Sea islands from the mid-seventh to the late sixth centuries B.C.
Under Greek law all antiquities found in the country are state property.
A Greek prosecutor has brought criminal charges against a former Getty curator, Marion True, over the sale of the gold wreath, which the museum bought for US$1.15 million (€900,000) in 1993.
Another four people were charged with illegally excavating, exporting and selling the artifact.
True, who denies any wrongdoing, was the Getty antiquities curator from 1986 to 2005, when she was asked to retire. She was responsible for recommending what objects the museum should buy from private dealers and at public auctions.
Last year, police raided a Greek island villa belonging to True and seized several unregistered antiquities.
True is on trial in Rome for allegedly having knowingly purchased stolen artifacts for the museum from Italy.
Prehistoric Romeo and Juliet discovered
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer
ROME - They died young and, by the looks of it, in love. Two 5,000-year-old skeletons found locked in an embrace near the city where Shakespeare set the star-crossed tale "Romeo and Juliet" have sparked theories the remains of a far more ancient love story have been found.
Archaeologists unearthed the skeletons dating back to the late Neolithic period outside Mantua, 25 miles south of Verona, the city of Shakespeare's story of doomed love.
Buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, the prehistoric pair are believed to have been a man and a woman and are thought to have died young, because their teeth were found intact, said Elena Menotti, the archaeologist who led the dig.
"As far as we know, it's unique," Menotti told The Associated Press by telephone from Milan. "Double burials from the Neolithic are unheard of, and these are even hugging."
Archaeologists digging in the region have found some 30 burial sites, all single, as well as the remains of prosperous villages filled with artifacts made of flint, pottery and animal horns.
Although the Mantua pair strike an unusual and touching pose, archaeologists have found other prehistoric burials in which the dead hold hands or have other contact, said Luca Bondioli, an anthropologist at Rome's National Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum.
Bondioli, who was not involved in the Mantua dig, said the find has "more of an emotional than a scientific value." But it does highlight how the relationship people have with each other and with death has not changed much from the period in which humanity first settled in villages, learning to farm the land and tame animals, he said.
"The Neolithic is a very formative period for our society," he said. "It was when the roots of our religious sentiment were formed."
Menotti said the burial was "a ritual, but we have to find out what it means."
Experts might never determine the exact nature of the pair's relationship, but Menotti said she had little doubt it was born of a deep sentiment.
"It was a very emotional discovery," she said. "From thousands of years ago we feel the strength of this love. Yes, we must call it love."
The couple's burial site was located Monday during construction work for a factory in the outskirts of Mantua. Alongside the couple, archaeologists found flint tools, including arrowheads and a knife, Menotti said.
Experts will now study the artifacts and the skeletons to determine the burial site's age and how old the two were when they died, she said. The finds will then go on display at Mantua's Archaeological Museum.
Establishing the cause of death could prove almost impossible, unless they were killed by a debilitating disease, a knife or something else that might have left marks on the bones, Menotti said.
The two bodies, which cuddle closely while facing each other on their sides, were probably buried at the same time, an indication of a possible sudden and tragic death, Bondioli said.
He said DNA testing could determine whether the two were related, "but that still leaves other hypotheses; the Romeo and Juliet possibility is just one of many."
By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer
ROME - They died young and, by the looks of it, in love. Two 5,000-year-old skeletons found locked in an embrace near the city where Shakespeare set the star-crossed tale "Romeo and Juliet" have sparked theories the remains of a far more ancient love story have been found.
Archaeologists unearthed the skeletons dating back to the late Neolithic period outside Mantua, 25 miles south of Verona, the city of Shakespeare's story of doomed love.
Buried between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, the prehistoric pair are believed to have been a man and a woman and are thought to have died young, because their teeth were found intact, said Elena Menotti, the archaeologist who led the dig.
"As far as we know, it's unique," Menotti told The Associated Press by telephone from Milan. "Double burials from the Neolithic are unheard of, and these are even hugging."
Archaeologists digging in the region have found some 30 burial sites, all single, as well as the remains of prosperous villages filled with artifacts made of flint, pottery and animal horns.
Although the Mantua pair strike an unusual and touching pose, archaeologists have found other prehistoric burials in which the dead hold hands or have other contact, said Luca Bondioli, an anthropologist at Rome's National Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum.
Bondioli, who was not involved in the Mantua dig, said the find has "more of an emotional than a scientific value." But it does highlight how the relationship people have with each other and with death has not changed much from the period in which humanity first settled in villages, learning to farm the land and tame animals, he said.
"The Neolithic is a very formative period for our society," he said. "It was when the roots of our religious sentiment were formed."
Menotti said the burial was "a ritual, but we have to find out what it means."
Experts might never determine the exact nature of the pair's relationship, but Menotti said she had little doubt it was born of a deep sentiment.
"It was a very emotional discovery," she said. "From thousands of years ago we feel the strength of this love. Yes, we must call it love."
The couple's burial site was located Monday during construction work for a factory in the outskirts of Mantua. Alongside the couple, archaeologists found flint tools, including arrowheads and a knife, Menotti said.
Experts will now study the artifacts and the skeletons to determine the burial site's age and how old the two were when they died, she said. The finds will then go on display at Mantua's Archaeological Museum.
Establishing the cause of death could prove almost impossible, unless they were killed by a debilitating disease, a knife or something else that might have left marks on the bones, Menotti said.
The two bodies, which cuddle closely while facing each other on their sides, were probably buried at the same time, an indication of a possible sudden and tragic death, Bondioli said.
He said DNA testing could determine whether the two were related, "but that still leaves other hypotheses; the Romeo and Juliet possibility is just one of many."
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
‘Scrap metal’ piece is rare Roman coin
Source: Gazette & Herald
By Gordon Simpson
A ROMAN coin buried in the depths of Malmesbury's Athelstan Museum has been unearthed.
Volunteers auditing the museum's collection discovered the small, corroded piece of metal last week.
Unsure of what it was, they sent it to Wiltshire County Council's conservation department, where it was identified as a Roman Denarius coin.
Friends of Athelstan Museum chairman Roger Griffin said it was further evidence of the Roman presence in the town.
"The coin was one that we found while doing an audit of the collection," he said.
"It had been taken in by the former curator, when the museum was run by North Wiltshire District Council, but nothing was done with it.
advertisement
"It looked a rather unprepossessing piece of scrap metal.
"The person who turned it up came to me and asked what we should do with it.
"It was almost a case of throwing it away, it was that unpromising.
"But we sent it to the county council's conservation department and they worked on it and found it's a Roman Denarius.
"It's quite an uncommon one, because they were unable to say which particular emperor was on it.
"They have taken photos of it, which will be sent to the British Museum, to get it positively identified.
"It's quite small, not much bigger than a five pence piece.
"We are very excited about it, because it was another treasure sitting there that nobody appreciated."
Mr Griffin's group took over the museum from the district council, which still owns the collection, in April last year.
Over 7,000 visitors have passed through the museum's doors since then.
It is the second time in a matter of months that a coin discovered in the town has caused excitement.
In November, an eighth century Saxon sceatta was found during the excavation of a new cable trench in Abbey Row.
Archaeologist Steve George, who was keeping a watching brief on the work in the Gloucester Street and Abbey Row area, found the silver coin.
By Gordon Simpson
A ROMAN coin buried in the depths of Malmesbury's Athelstan Museum has been unearthed.
Volunteers auditing the museum's collection discovered the small, corroded piece of metal last week.
Unsure of what it was, they sent it to Wiltshire County Council's conservation department, where it was identified as a Roman Denarius coin.
Friends of Athelstan Museum chairman Roger Griffin said it was further evidence of the Roman presence in the town.
"The coin was one that we found while doing an audit of the collection," he said.
"It had been taken in by the former curator, when the museum was run by North Wiltshire District Council, but nothing was done with it.
advertisement
"It looked a rather unprepossessing piece of scrap metal.
"The person who turned it up came to me and asked what we should do with it.
"It was almost a case of throwing it away, it was that unpromising.
"But we sent it to the county council's conservation department and they worked on it and found it's a Roman Denarius.
"It's quite an uncommon one, because they were unable to say which particular emperor was on it.
"They have taken photos of it, which will be sent to the British Museum, to get it positively identified.
"It's quite small, not much bigger than a five pence piece.
"We are very excited about it, because it was another treasure sitting there that nobody appreciated."
Mr Griffin's group took over the museum from the district council, which still owns the collection, in April last year.
Over 7,000 visitors have passed through the museum's doors since then.
It is the second time in a matter of months that a coin discovered in the town has caused excitement.
In November, an eighth century Saxon sceatta was found during the excavation of a new cable trench in Abbey Row.
Archaeologist Steve George, who was keeping a watching brief on the work in the Gloucester Street and Abbey Row area, found the silver coin.
Alexander's Afghan gold
Source: Al-Ahram Weekly
After establishing the Egyptian port city of Alexandria in 331 BC, Alexander the Great founded Greek garrison cities across Asia, including Afghanistan. His legacy is on show in a new Paris exhibition, writes David Tresilian
While not drawing quite the crowds making their way to the Grand Palais for Tr?sors engloutis d'Egypte, an exhibition of mostly Ptolemaic artefacts -- "submerged treasures" -- discovered off the coast of Alexandria and reviewed in Al-Ahram Weekly on 14 December, Afghanistan, les tr?sors retrouv?s across Paris at the Mus?e Guimet should nevertheless be on the itinerary of every visitor to the French capital.
This exhibition features discoveries of international importance made by French archaeological missions in Afghanistan over the course of the last century, most of which have never been seen before outside the country. In what is being seen as quite a coup both for the Mus?e Guimet, an institution specialising in south and south-east Asian art, and for the French capital, the exhibition allows visitors to gain their first glimpses of material that not only has never been lent before by the Afghan National Museum in Kabul, but that was also considered lost during the decade of civil war that wracked Afghanistan following the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989, destroying much of the country as it did so.
The material includes the famous "Bactrian gold" discovered by joint French and Afghan archaeologists in northern Afghanistan shortly before Soviet forces moved into the country in 1979. This material, long thought lost, survived the later civil war locked in the vaults of the National Bank in Kabul, where it was "rediscovered" following the US-led invasion in October 2001. It also includes Hellenistic objects from excavations carried out at the site of the ancient city of Ai Khanoum north of Kabul and Hellenistic and Indian materials found at Begram (Bagram).
Taken as a whole, Afghanistan, les tr?sors retrouv?s is one of the most important archaeological exhibitions to have visited the French capital for years, and it is the only opportunity European and international visitors will have to view this material before it moves onto the US leg of its world tour in April 2007. It is a fine successor to Afghanistan, une histoire mill?naire (Afghanistan: A Timeless History), an exhibition of mostly Graeco-Buddhist Afghan materials brought together in the wake of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban, also at the Mus?e Guimet and reviewed in the Weekly in March 2002.
The exhibition is divided into three parts, the first of which displays materials discovered at Ai Khanoum by successive French archaeological missions, providing insights into the functioning of this Hellenistic garrison city founded following Alexander the Great's conquest of the area in the late fourth century BC. Alexander's epic journeys took him from his native Macedonia in northern Greece to the plains of the western Punjab in what is now Pakistan, destroying the Persian Empire as he did so, as well as through Anatolia, the Levant and to Egypt, where he founded the port city of Alexandria and consulted the oracle of Amun at Siwa.
READ FULL STORY
After establishing the Egyptian port city of Alexandria in 331 BC, Alexander the Great founded Greek garrison cities across Asia, including Afghanistan. His legacy is on show in a new Paris exhibition, writes David Tresilian
While not drawing quite the crowds making their way to the Grand Palais for Tr?sors engloutis d'Egypte, an exhibition of mostly Ptolemaic artefacts -- "submerged treasures" -- discovered off the coast of Alexandria and reviewed in Al-Ahram Weekly on 14 December, Afghanistan, les tr?sors retrouv?s across Paris at the Mus?e Guimet should nevertheless be on the itinerary of every visitor to the French capital.
This exhibition features discoveries of international importance made by French archaeological missions in Afghanistan over the course of the last century, most of which have never been seen before outside the country. In what is being seen as quite a coup both for the Mus?e Guimet, an institution specialising in south and south-east Asian art, and for the French capital, the exhibition allows visitors to gain their first glimpses of material that not only has never been lent before by the Afghan National Museum in Kabul, but that was also considered lost during the decade of civil war that wracked Afghanistan following the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989, destroying much of the country as it did so.
The material includes the famous "Bactrian gold" discovered by joint French and Afghan archaeologists in northern Afghanistan shortly before Soviet forces moved into the country in 1979. This material, long thought lost, survived the later civil war locked in the vaults of the National Bank in Kabul, where it was "rediscovered" following the US-led invasion in October 2001. It also includes Hellenistic objects from excavations carried out at the site of the ancient city of Ai Khanoum north of Kabul and Hellenistic and Indian materials found at Begram (Bagram).
Taken as a whole, Afghanistan, les tr?sors retrouv?s is one of the most important archaeological exhibitions to have visited the French capital for years, and it is the only opportunity European and international visitors will have to view this material before it moves onto the US leg of its world tour in April 2007. It is a fine successor to Afghanistan, une histoire mill?naire (Afghanistan: A Timeless History), an exhibition of mostly Graeco-Buddhist Afghan materials brought together in the wake of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban, also at the Mus?e Guimet and reviewed in the Weekly in March 2002.
The exhibition is divided into three parts, the first of which displays materials discovered at Ai Khanoum by successive French archaeological missions, providing insights into the functioning of this Hellenistic garrison city founded following Alexander the Great's conquest of the area in the late fourth century BC. Alexander's epic journeys took him from his native Macedonia in northern Greece to the plains of the western Punjab in what is now Pakistan, destroying the Persian Empire as he did so, as well as through Anatolia, the Levant and to Egypt, where he founded the port city of Alexandria and consulted the oracle of Amun at Siwa.
READ FULL STORY
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Earliest Semitic Text Revealed In Egyptian Pyramid Inscription
Source: Science Daily
The first public revelation of the earliest continuous Semitic text ever deciphered has taken place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The presentation was made by Prof. Richard Steiner, professor of Semitic languages and literature at Yeshiva University in New York, in a lecture entitled "Proto-Canaanite Spells in the Pyramid Texts: a First Look at the History of Hebrew in the Third Millennium B.C.E." The lecture was sponsored by the Academy of the Hebrew Language in cooperation with the Hebrew University and the World Union of Jewish Studies.
Prof. Steiner, a past fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University and a member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, has deciphered a number of Semitic texts in various Egyptian scripts over the past 25 years. In his Hebrew University lecture, he provided the interpretation for Semitic passages in Egyptian texts that were discovered more than a century ago, inscribed on the subterranean walls of the pyramid of King Unas at Saqqara in Egypt. The pyramid dates from the 24th century B.C.E., but Egyptologists agree that the texts are older. The dates proposed for them range from the 25th to the 30th centuries B.C.E. No continuous Semitic texts from this period have ever been deciphered before.
The passages, serpent spells written in hieroglyphic characters, had puzzled scholars who tried to read them as if they were ordinary Egyptian texts. In August, 2002, Prof. Steiner received an email message from Robert Ritner, professor of Egyptology at the University of Chicago, asking whether any of them could be Semitic. "I immediately
recognized the Semitic words for 'mother snake,'" said Steiner. "Later it became clear that the surrounding spells, composed in Egyptian rather than Semitic, also speak of the mother snake, and that the Egyptian and Semitic texts elucidate each other."
Although written in Egyptian characters, the texts turned out to be composed in the Semitic language spoken by the Canaanites in the third millennium B.C.E., a very archaic form of the languages later known as Phoenician and Hebrew. The Canaanite priests of the ancient city of Byblos, in present-day Lebanon, provided these texts to the kings of Egypt.
The port city of Byblos was of vital importance for the ancient Egyptians. It was from there that they imported timber for construction and resin for mummification. The new discovery shows that they also imported magical spells to protect royal mummies against poisonous snakes that were thought to understand Canaanite. Although the
Egyptians viewed their culture as far superior to that of their neighbors, their morbid fear of snakes made them open to the borrowing of Semitic magic.
"This finding should be of great interest to cultural historians," said Prof. Steiner. "Linguists, too, will be interested in these texts. They show that Proto-Canaanite, the common ancestor of Phoenician, Moabite, Ammonite and Hebrew, existed already in the third millennium B.C.E as a language distinct from Aramaic, Ugaritic and the other Semitic languages. And they provide the first direct evidence for the pronunciation of Egyptian in this early period." The texts will also be important to biblical scholars, since they shed light on several rare words in the Bible, he said.
"This is a sensational discovery," said Moshe Bar-Asher, Bialik Professor of Hebrew Language at the Hebrew University and president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. "It is the earliest attestation of a Semitic language, in general, and Proto-Canaanite, in particular."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The first public revelation of the earliest continuous Semitic text ever deciphered has taken place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The presentation was made by Prof. Richard Steiner, professor of Semitic languages and literature at Yeshiva University in New York, in a lecture entitled "Proto-Canaanite Spells in the Pyramid Texts: a First Look at the History of Hebrew in the Third Millennium B.C.E." The lecture was sponsored by the Academy of the Hebrew Language in cooperation with the Hebrew University and the World Union of Jewish Studies.
Prof. Steiner, a past fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University and a member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, has deciphered a number of Semitic texts in various Egyptian scripts over the past 25 years. In his Hebrew University lecture, he provided the interpretation for Semitic passages in Egyptian texts that were discovered more than a century ago, inscribed on the subterranean walls of the pyramid of King Unas at Saqqara in Egypt. The pyramid dates from the 24th century B.C.E., but Egyptologists agree that the texts are older. The dates proposed for them range from the 25th to the 30th centuries B.C.E. No continuous Semitic texts from this period have ever been deciphered before.
The passages, serpent spells written in hieroglyphic characters, had puzzled scholars who tried to read them as if they were ordinary Egyptian texts. In August, 2002, Prof. Steiner received an email message from Robert Ritner, professor of Egyptology at the University of Chicago, asking whether any of them could be Semitic. "I immediately
recognized the Semitic words for 'mother snake,'" said Steiner. "Later it became clear that the surrounding spells, composed in Egyptian rather than Semitic, also speak of the mother snake, and that the Egyptian and Semitic texts elucidate each other."
Although written in Egyptian characters, the texts turned out to be composed in the Semitic language spoken by the Canaanites in the third millennium B.C.E., a very archaic form of the languages later known as Phoenician and Hebrew. The Canaanite priests of the ancient city of Byblos, in present-day Lebanon, provided these texts to the kings of Egypt.
The port city of Byblos was of vital importance for the ancient Egyptians. It was from there that they imported timber for construction and resin for mummification. The new discovery shows that they also imported magical spells to protect royal mummies against poisonous snakes that were thought to understand Canaanite. Although the
Egyptians viewed their culture as far superior to that of their neighbors, their morbid fear of snakes made them open to the borrowing of Semitic magic.
"This finding should be of great interest to cultural historians," said Prof. Steiner. "Linguists, too, will be interested in these texts. They show that Proto-Canaanite, the common ancestor of Phoenician, Moabite, Ammonite and Hebrew, existed already in the third millennium B.C.E as a language distinct from Aramaic, Ugaritic and the other Semitic languages. And they provide the first direct evidence for the pronunciation of Egyptian in this early period." The texts will also be important to biblical scholars, since they shed light on several rare words in the Bible, he said.
"This is a sensational discovery," said Moshe Bar-Asher, Bialik Professor of Hebrew Language at the Hebrew University and president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. "It is the earliest attestation of a Semitic language, in general, and Proto-Canaanite, in particular."
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Nero's Golden Palace to partly reopen
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 31, 7:39 PM ET
ROME - Nero's Golden Palace will partly reopen to visitors next week, offering rare insight into archaeologists' efforts to preserve the first-century imperial residence from decay and humidity.
Visitors will have access to half of the palace, wandering through a maze of underground passageways, officials said Wednesday. They can also climb a 43-foot scaffolding and take a close look at the building's frescoed vaulted ceilings, as restorers and archaeologists work to clean the paint.
"People will have the chance to get to know the monument itself and the efforts to maintain and preserve it," said archaeologist Irene Pignatelli, leading a press tour of the palace. "The aim of this type of visit is to show how the residence can be assaulted (by weather), how to intervene and what happens after the restoration."
Guided tours or no more than 20 people start on Feb. 6. Visitors are required to wear helmets as they walk through the largely underground complex.
The sumptuous residence — also known by its Latin name, Domus Aurea — rose over the ruins of a fire that destroyed much of Rome in A.D. 64 and was completed in A.D. 68, the year the unpopular Nero committed suicide amid a revolt.
After an 18-year restoration, the palace reopened in June 1999. Two years later, it was briefly closed to the public after part of the ceiling collapsed. The Domus Aurea closed again in 2005 after days of heavy rains threatened to cause the collapse of parts of the building.
The palace has been plagued by structural problems, including humidity. In the winter, humidity in the palace ranges from 82 percent to 98 percent, Pignatelli said. "You can almost swim in the Domus Aurea."
High humidity causes the walls to break and creates crusting. Algae and fungus are also appearing on the frescoes, she said.
Restorers work to remove some humidity — but not all.
"The frescos would suffer even more if all of a sudden the environment became completely dry again," said Angelo Bottini, the state's top official for archaeology in Rome. Bottini added that further restoration is being planned, especially on the external structures of the palace, to remove earth and tree roots.
The vaulted ceilings were once encrusted with pearls and covered with ivory — luxuries that were funded by heavy taxation that Nero levied on Rome's population, said Pignatelli. Marble and other precious materials were imported from Greece, Egypt and other parts of Asia, while inhabitants of the area were expropriated to build the 198 acres residence.
"We have to imagine this place as full of light, luxurious, with precious colorful materials and golden leaves," Pignatelli said. "Today, we only see what time and decay have given back to us."
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 31, 7:39 PM ET
ROME - Nero's Golden Palace will partly reopen to visitors next week, offering rare insight into archaeologists' efforts to preserve the first-century imperial residence from decay and humidity.
Visitors will have access to half of the palace, wandering through a maze of underground passageways, officials said Wednesday. They can also climb a 43-foot scaffolding and take a close look at the building's frescoed vaulted ceilings, as restorers and archaeologists work to clean the paint.
"People will have the chance to get to know the monument itself and the efforts to maintain and preserve it," said archaeologist Irene Pignatelli, leading a press tour of the palace. "The aim of this type of visit is to show how the residence can be assaulted (by weather), how to intervene and what happens after the restoration."
Guided tours or no more than 20 people start on Feb. 6. Visitors are required to wear helmets as they walk through the largely underground complex.
The sumptuous residence — also known by its Latin name, Domus Aurea — rose over the ruins of a fire that destroyed much of Rome in A.D. 64 and was completed in A.D. 68, the year the unpopular Nero committed suicide amid a revolt.
After an 18-year restoration, the palace reopened in June 1999. Two years later, it was briefly closed to the public after part of the ceiling collapsed. The Domus Aurea closed again in 2005 after days of heavy rains threatened to cause the collapse of parts of the building.
The palace has been plagued by structural problems, including humidity. In the winter, humidity in the palace ranges from 82 percent to 98 percent, Pignatelli said. "You can almost swim in the Domus Aurea."
High humidity causes the walls to break and creates crusting. Algae and fungus are also appearing on the frescoes, she said.
Restorers work to remove some humidity — but not all.
"The frescos would suffer even more if all of a sudden the environment became completely dry again," said Angelo Bottini, the state's top official for archaeology in Rome. Bottini added that further restoration is being planned, especially on the external structures of the palace, to remove earth and tree roots.
The vaulted ceilings were once encrusted with pearls and covered with ivory — luxuries that were funded by heavy taxation that Nero levied on Rome's population, said Pignatelli. Marble and other precious materials were imported from Greece, Egypt and other parts of Asia, while inhabitants of the area were expropriated to build the 198 acres residence.
"We have to imagine this place as full of light, luxurious, with precious colorful materials and golden leaves," Pignatelli said. "Today, we only see what time and decay have given back to us."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)