Archaeologists Excavate a Lost Kingdom Buried Beneath Volcanic Ash Like Pompeii, evidence shows a human settlement frozen in time by volcanic pyroclastic flows. In 1980, people began to take notice when workers from a commercial logging company began dredging up pottery fragments and bones in an area near the little village of Pancasila on the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia. Other locals began finding coins, brassware and charred timber in the same region, all buried beneath a thick layer of volcanic deposits. The finds were not far from the foot of the Tambora volcano, a volcano that, in April of 1815, produced the largest eruption in recorded history. In fact, so intense was the eruption, it's atmospheric effects influenced weather patterns across faraway Europe and North America. Acting on the discovery of these finds in 2004, Volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson of the University of Rhode Island began investigating the jungle-shrouded area by using Ground Penetrating Radar. One victim who was discovered during the 2009 excavations.
Minoan Culture and its Women RWAAG Home, Minoan Culture--> Minoan Culture Advertisement: Minoan Snake Goddess Sculpture and Jewelry - Herakleion Museum, Crete, 1600BC. Shop in a catalog of almost everything Buy Greek items on Amazon.com Advertiser Specials, Discounts, Sales, and Savings If you click above and follow the links to a purchase then this site receives a commission for its support. The Minoan culture was an ancient culture that survived on the island of Crete of what is now Greece for almost 2000 years until about 1450 BCE For about 3000 years until the early part of the Twentieth Century this culture was entirely unknown. An image on a pot of a labrus image by which Evans was able to connect to the Minoan Culture to ancient writing found by him on Crete. There are a number of powerful reasons for studying the Minoan culture and its women including its obvious influence. The Romans and later European cultures knew nothing of a culture on Crete that predated the ancient Greeks. Minoan Clothing
Erectile dysfunction in the Middle Ages – historian examines medieval impotence cases Like today, the problem of male impotence in the Middle Ages was often serious, and had important consequences for marriages and families. A recent article deals with the issue, explaining how it showed up in court cases in 14th century York. ‘Privates on Parade: Impotence Cases as Evidence for Medieval Gender’, by Frederick Pederson, a senior lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, analyses two cases where wives attempted to annul their marriages because they claimed their husbands were impotent. They are among six cases from the city’s records that deal with impotence that survive from the Middle Ages. These cases were adjudicated in ecclesiastical courts, also known as consistory courts, where decisions were based on canon law. Pederson notes that in the English cases the court would call upon a number of ‘honest women’ to perform a physical examination of the alleged erectile dysfunction. Within a few days of this testimony the court annulled the marriage.
What Vikings really looked like The fine decoration of the Oseberg ship in Norway, which was buried in the year 834, provides clues to what Vikings looked like. Inside the ship were two women and the archaeologists believe the ship has served as a sarcophagus. (Photo: Annie Dalbéra) There’s no shortage of myths about the appearance of our notorious Viking ancestors. To find out more about these myths, ScienceNordic’s Danish partner site, videnskab.dk, asked its Facebook readers to list their favourite myths about what the Vikings looked like. We have picked out five myths from the resulting debate and asked researchers to help us confirm or bust these myths. Armed with this information, our graphic designer then took a shot at drawing some examples of our infamous forefathers, which you can see in our picture gallery. The five myths are: MYTH 1: Vikings were dirty and unkempt Unwashed, rough warriors with froth hanging out of the corners of the mouth. But that’s unlikely to be true: It wasn’t enough just to be clean.
ARCHAEOLOGY - Roman sarcophagus found after 20 years ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News This file photo shows two guards waiting in front of Roman sarcophagus in Rome. According to Britain-based The Art Newspaper, an ancient Roman alabaster sarcophagus that had been stolen more than 20 years ago from a church south of Rome was returned to Italy July 18. A special team from the cultural heritage protection division of Italy’s police force, the Guardia di Finanza, gruppo Tutela Patrimonio Archeologico, lead by Massimo Rossi, conducted the repatriation operation, reported The Art Newspaper. The sarcophagus, which dates from between the second and third centuries BC, was presented at a press conference in Rome and then returned to its hometown of Aquino, around 100 kilometers south of the capital, where it is on display in the deconsecrated Church of Santa Marta. The work, which features in relief scenes of chariot races at Rome’s Circus Maximus, was stolen in 1991 from the Madonna della Libera Church in Aquino.
Turkey to create world's largest museum of civilizations Turkey exhibits an unprecedented activity in the area of the restitution of cultural property removed from the country. The country has an excuse - the creation of the world's largest museum of civilizations. The Turks not only want to return the heritage of their ancestors, Seljuks, but also ancient artifacts of Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Hittites - the cultures and peoples who once lived here. The Museum of Civilizations will be built in Ankara on the area of 25,000 square meters. Since the territory of modern Turkey was populated by a number of different cultures and different ethnic groups at different periods, the creation of the Museum of Civilizations will require a variety of artifacts, and if there is none in the country, they should be returned from abroad. Last spring, as a friendly gesture, Germany gave the Turkish Republic the statue of the Sphinx from Hattuša, the former capital of the Hittite Empire. In 1882 it was found in a field near the town of Samsat. Igor Bukker
Colossal statue of Neo-Hittite warrior king found The Tayinat Archaeological Project in southeastern Turkey continues to prove itself a bonanza of Bronze and Iron Age archaeological wonders. To last year’s roaring lion sculpture that once guarded the gates of the citadel of Kunulua (aka Kinalua), capital of the Neo-Hittite Kingdom of Patina (ca. 1000-738 B.C.), we can now add the top half of a colossal statue of Patina’s warrior king Suppiluliuma. The statue is the head and torso of the king, depicted with a neatly curled beard and head of hair. His wide eyes are made of inlaid white and black stone. The statue is almost five feet tall and intact from the waist to the top of his head, but the bottom half is missing. It’s a long inscription on the back that identifies him as the king. Experts believe this Suppiluliuma fought against the powerful Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III as part of a coalition of Syro-Hittite states in 858 B.C.
Pubes in Ancient Athens You’ve heard of Nipples at the Met so today let me introduce Pubes in Ancient Athens. Kouros (Aristodikos), found in Mesogeia (Attica), c. 510-500 B.C., marble. National Archaeological Museum, Athens Poseidon, found in the Gulf of Livadostra (Boeotia), c. 480 B.C., bronze. National Archaeological Museum, Athens Zeus/Poseidon, found off Cape Artemision (Euobea), c. 460 B.C., bronze. Apollo, found in the Theater of Dionysos (Athens), 2nd century A.D. copy of bronze original from c. 460-450 B.C., marble. Hermes, found in Troezen, 2nd century A.D. copy of bronze original possibly by Kalamis from c. 460-450 B.C., marble. Youth Binding his Hair (Diadoumenos), found in the House of Diadoumenos (Delos), 100 B.C. copy of original by Polykleitos from c. 450-425 B.C., marble. Antikythera Youth, found off the islet of Antikythera, c. 340-330 B.C., bronze. Possibly Agasias, Fighting Gaul, found in the Agora of the Italians (Delos), c. 100 B.C., marble.
Stone Age Poison Pushes Back Dawn Of Ancient Civilization 20,000 Years By: Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer Published: 07/30/2012 03:08 PM EDT on LiveScience The late Stone Age may have had an earlier start in Africa than previously thought — by some 20,000 years. A new analysis of artifacts from a cave in South Africa reveals that the residents were carving bone tools, using pigments, making beads and even using poison 44,000 years ago. These sorts of artifacts had previously been linked to the San culture, which was thought to have emerged around 20,000 years ago. "Our research proves that the Later Stone Age emerged in South Africa far earlier than has been believed and occurred at about the same time as the arrival of modern humans in Europe," study researcher Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. Hints of culture The researchers brought the latest in dating technology to bear on a site on the border of South Africa and Swaziland called Border Cave. Oldest poison
Photolog: British Museum Royal Lion Hunt bas-relief details, Mesopotamian Collection ‘Photolog’ is a new series of posts with predominant focus on photographs rather than text. I’ll be posting a selection of images from my photographic endeavors that are mostly around travel, nature, landscape and urban photography. Starting with one of the world’s greatest museums of human history and culture the British Museum London. Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million works, is amongst the finest, most comprehensive, and largest in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. Bas-relief details, Mesopotamian Collection Roman Sculptures Crouching Venus, Roman, circa 1st century AD Parthenon marbles from the Acropolis of Athens – 447 BC Colossal statue of Ramesses II, the ‘Younger Memnon’ – 1250 BC
Armenia – An Ancient land of Culture | nipunscorp.com Armenia is an ancient land of culture and it offers a little something for every traveler . Armenia is full of historical churches, monasteries, monuments, and magnificent masonry, this country that was the first to adopt Christianity and proclaim it as its state religion in 301 AD is a unique treasure for those interested in great events. It is believed that it was the home of Noah. If your interests is in nature, the beautiful Armenian Plateau ( the chain of mountains in Armenia which is situated in the Alps-Himalayan mountain system) with hidden lakes, including the mysterious Lake Sevan, waterfalls, rivers, springs, valleys, highlands and rich forests, clearly evidence the miracles of nature. mysterious Lake Sevan – So much beautiful The geography of the land and the man-made wonders of centuries old architecture, churches and monasteries, ruins bring to life the history of one of the world’s most ancient land of culture. Recommended way of travel to Armenia - Armenia Heritage Trail