Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 17 Feb 23 - 05:33 PM Discovery of 4,500-year-old palace in Iraq may hold key to ancient civilisation Sumerian Lord Palace of the Kings found in archeological collaboration with British Museum |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 Feb 23 - 10:33 PM This is a baby in terms of history, but it's something a lot of people have probably wondered about. FBI records deepen mystery of dig for Civil War-era gold |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 Feb 23 - 10:33 PM There's a glitch right now and Mudcat isn't allowing for multiple paragraphs so I'll keep it all here. From the Seattle Times: Dennis Parada waged a legal battle to force the FBI to turn over records of its excavation in Dents Run, Pennsylvania, where local lore says an 1863 shipment of Union gold disappeared on its way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The FBI, which went to Dents Run after sophisticated testing suggested tons of gold might be buried there, has long insisted the dig came up empty. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 19 Feb 23 - 02:22 AM interesting story, thanks for posting it sandra |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Feb 23 - 05:11 AM It’s not a darning tool, it’s a very naughty toy: Roman dildo found Two thousand-year-old object found at Roman fort in Northumberland in 1992 has been reassessed by archaeologists |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 20 Feb 23 - 03:25 PM India |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 23 Feb 23 - 02:54 AM Evidence of Bronze Age neurosurgery found in remains of wealthy brothers buried in Israel |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 23 Feb 23 - 04:15 PM Russian scientists dissect nearly 3,500-year-old bear discovered in Siberian permafrost A brown bear that lay almost perfectly preserved in the frozen wilds of eastern Siberia for almost 3,500 years has undergone an autopsy by a team of scientists after it was discovered by reindeer herders on a desolate island in the Arctic. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Feb 23 - 10:22 PM Bows Were Being Used in Europe 40,000 Years Earlier Than We Thought (here's part of the story) A cave in southern France has revealed evidence of the first use of bows and arrows in Europe by modern humans some 54,000 years ago, far earlier than previously known. The research, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, pushes back the age of archery in Europe by more than 40,000 years. The use of the bow-and-arrow in Africa has been documented to date back some 70,000 years. But the oldest previous evidence of archery in Europe was the discovery of bows and arrows in peat bogs of Northern Europe, notably Stellmoor in Germany, dating back 10,000 to 12,000 years. The article is made of teeny-tiny single-sentence "paragraphs" combined here so it looks somewhat normal. The rest at the link. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Feb 23 - 06:50 PM Modern and ancient simultaneously. Nashtifan, Iran: The Ancient Windmills That Have Stood the Test of Time Deep in the desert of Iran, there is a small town called Nashtifan. What makes this town unique is that it is home to some of the world’s oldest windmills, dating back over a thousand years. These vertical-axis windmills, also known as panemone windmills, have been used for centuries to grind grain and pump water in the arid region. Don't ask how I landed on this - the serendipity of the Internet! |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 25 Feb 23 - 06:17 AM How an Unorthodox Scholar Uses Technology to Expose Biblical Forgeries Deciphering ancient texts with modern tools, Michael Langlois challenges what we know about the Dead Sea Scrolls |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Feb 23 - 11:28 AM There are 3 job openings at Vindolanda Trust in the UK for our readers in that area. In case you're interested! |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 26 Feb 23 - 04:24 PM further to my post of 20 Feb 23 - 05:11 AM It’s not a Roman dildo, it’s a drop spindle Linsey Duncan-Pitt offers another explanation for the 2,000-year-old artefact that’s being touted as a sex toy As an avid spinner of yarn who uses a drop spindle, a dildo was not the first explanation that came to mind when I perused your article and the accompanying image (It’s not a darning tool, it’s a very naughty toy: Roman dildo found, 20 February). The artefact looks very much like the dealgan or farsadh, a type of drop spindle. The tip looks a little glans-like, but it is also like the notch at the pointed end of the dealgan, used to secure the spun fibre with a half-hitch. The spindle is then rotated to add twist to the drafted fibres, and the spun fibre is wound around the shaft. The base of the artefact is wider than the tapering shaft; that would help stop the fibre slipping off. Some dealgans have a notch on the base, but not all. Given that it was found among other crafting materials, this would seem to be a much more feasible explanation for this object than a dildo. It’s a bit understated as a dildo, and would no doubt make for a more satisfying spin than anything else. Modern spinners like me love a decorative and unusual spindle, and so it seems more logical that this was a cheeky Roman design. Linsey Duncan-Pitt Telford, Shropshire ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Antique French drop spindles see 3rd image |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 28 Feb 23 - 04:48 PM yet another interesting article - Australia's most intact Cooyoo australis fossil discovered in Richmond with specimen in its belly ... about 1.6 metres long ... see also the pic of the 2.6m specimen! |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Mar 23 - 04:56 PM Scientists Map an Unexplored Corridor of Egypt's Great Pyramid Using Cosmic Rays Thanks to cosmic rays, secrets of the last remaining Wonder of the Ancient World are being revealed. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest of Egypt's famous landmarks, has stood tall for around 4,500 years. But the 2 million blocks that make up the tomb and fortress have not been impenetrable. Looters robbed the structure of its ancient treasures thousands of years ago and scientists have probed its interiors either by studying its corridors or with more advanced measuring techniques like thermal scanners. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 04 Mar 23 - 09:44 AM A tunnel is just now discovered behind the entrance to the Great Pyramid at Giza. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Bill D Date: 04 Mar 23 - 10:07 AM "? Freud's mystic world of meaning needn't have us mystified It's really very simple what the psyche tries to hide: A thing is a phallic symbol if it's longer than it's wide As the id goes marching on Glory glory psychotherapy, glory glory sexuality Glory glory now we can be free as the id goes marching on.?" |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 05 Mar 23 - 02:03 AM Well-preserved spices found in 500-year-old Gribshunden shipwreck in Baltic Sea off Sweden |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Raggytash Date: 06 Mar 23 - 08:12 PM Minature Sphinx found An interesting article in yesterdays Guardian |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Bill D Date: 07 Mar 23 - 11:21 AM Same basic story on CNN |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Bill D Date: 10 Mar 23 - 01:00 PM Roman ‘shrine’ found in Leicester Cathedral graveyard |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Bill D Date: 10 Mar 23 - 01:02 PM Ancient Restaurant Highlights Iraq's Archeology Renaissance |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 10 Mar 23 - 04:49 PM Roman Shrine ... Continue reading Enjoy unlimited digital access. £1 for 6 months. (I do have an Australian £1 note!! My parents found it among stuff when they retired & moved out of Sydney in 1978, tho I don't think it could be used to subscribe, alas.) Folktale becomes reality as Roman altar unearthed at Leicester Cathedral thanks for the links, Bill |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Mar 23 - 06:33 PM I went elsewhere to find the story also: Roman shrine discovered near Leicester cathedral graveyard from BBC. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Bill D Date: 13 Mar 23 - 01:34 PM sill more"https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/13/uk/roman-burial-garforth-scn-scli-gbr-intl/index.html |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 16 Mar 23 - 03:25 PM ancient mudcat tavern |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 17 Mar 23 - 06:03 PM Western Australian archaeological project to connect 60,000 years of desert history Traditional owners and leading archaeologists hope a five-year exploration project will uncover a rich history and find connections between Aboriginal communities across a huge stretch of Western Australia. Baiyungu elder Hazel Walgar said within her traditional land of the Ningaloo coast there was evidence of trade with groups from other parts of Australia. "Artefacts from my traditional area, Ningaloo, are found in the Central Australia, artefacts like the marnargee, the baler shell, and we find cutting tools in our area that don't come from here," she said. "Those artefacts come from inland, from Martu country ... |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Mar 23 - 12:56 PM ‘The stuff was illegally dug up’: New York’s Met Museum sees reputation erode over collection practices An investigation identified hundreds of artifacts linked to indicted or convicted traffickers. What does this mean for the future of museums? In the village of Bungmati, Nepal, above an ancient spring, stand two stone shrines and a temple. On the side of one of those shrines is a large hole where a statue of Shreedhar Vishnu, the Hindu protector god, used to be. The rest is at the link. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 20 Mar 23 - 05:40 PM I read that article last night - very interesting! Very immoral, but only money counts (counted?) in acquisitions for this young institution. ... New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in 1880, long after it's counterparts in Paris and London ... sandra |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Mar 23 - 06:53 PM The archaeological museum in Naples is stunning. But it contains many mosaics and frescoes hacked out of Roman ruins in the area. We visited two amazing Roman villas in the ancient Roman town of Stabiae, a few miles from Vesuvius (Pliny the Elder witnessed the eruption from there in 79 AD as the town was inundated by ash - he died there, though probably not from the eruption). As of 2013 when we visited, the villas had not been developed for tourism, though a local man gave the two of us a superb guided tour for a few euros. There were plenty of impressive artefacts, but achingly notable were the dozens of missing frescoes, just huge holes in the plaster left in the walls. There was no doubt that many of them ended up in museums. And don't get me started on the Elgin Marbles. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Mar 23 - 06:54 PM Just noticed that that was post no.79 in the thread! |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 20 Mar 23 - 07:55 PM Private collections of billionaires would shock you. Items naturally go to the highest bidders. What you can see in museums is often on a temporary loan privately or from another museum. I could not say whose collection is larger, billionaires or all museums. Questionable ownership is an ever-lasting tricky ethical conundrum. 10 years after the Nazi art theft many items ended up in fancy restaurants, not museums. Times are changing and slowly even the Smithsonian is repatriating some artifacts only after a big stink. Museums that have obviously stolen art use methods to tie up an item until the true owners have died. Of course its a nasty business dealing with 'priceless' things. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 20 Mar 23 - 08:06 PM Lets just look at new artifacts. Of the 270 Apollo 11 Moon rocks and the Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rocks that were given to the nations of the world by the Nixon Administration, approximately 180 are unaccounted for. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_and_missing_Moon_rocks#:~:text=Of%20the%20270%20Apollo%2011,away%20in%20storage%20for%20decades. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Steve Shaw Date: 20 Mar 23 - 08:30 PM Yup. :-( |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 21 Mar 23 - 04:02 AM Spears stolen by Captain Cook from Kamay/Botany Bay in 1770 to be returned to traditional owners Held by Cambridge University for more than 250 years, the spears mark ‘first point in shared history’ |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Mar 23 - 11:26 AM Souvenirs and graffiti. Both part of the experience of European travelers. Taking stuff and leaving a mark of our passing. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Steve Shaw Date: 21 Mar 23 - 12:58 PM Yep. Some museums trouble me almost as much as zoos. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 26 Mar 23 - 05:43 AM In a Roman Tomb, ‘Dead Nails’ Reveal an Occult Practice Forty-one bent or twisted iron nails, unearthed from a second-century imperial burial site, were meant to keep the deceased in their place. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 26 Mar 23 - 09:26 AM On the show CBS Sunday Morning March 23 the subject was stolen antiquities in New York museums There were over 4,000 items from the looted Iraq museum, a gold sarcophagus from Cairo and an entire museum of returned art in Italy. A link may someday follow. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Apr 23 - 12:45 PM It is probably 20 years or more since a science and writers conference introduced me to the amazing abilities of Lidar. I don't think this was shared yet: The big archaeological digs happening up in the sky Here's part of it: Laser technology called lidar is helping archaeologists complete years of fieldwork sometimes in the span of a single afternoon |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Steve Shaw Date: 02 Apr 23 - 05:56 AM From yesterday's Guardian: Smuggled Iranian carving worth £30m seized at airport by UK border patrol The ancient treasure has been restored and will go on show at the British Museum before going back home. It was carved almost 2,000 years ago and is such an important sculpture that if it appeared on the art market today it could fetch more than £30m. But this is a previously unrecorded antiquity that can never be sold. For the large fragment of a Sasanian rock relief – which depicts an imposing male figure carved in the 3rd century AD – has been freshly gouged from a cliff in Iran with an angle grinder. It was heading for the black market in Britain when it was seized at Stansted airport. Border Force officers became suspicious when they saw its haphazard packaging, perhaps intended to suggest that it was a worthless item. The antiquity, which is over one metre in height, was hacked out of living rock or rock that has been carved in situ. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Apr 23 - 10:02 AM That is heartbreaking - and I hope they identify the source of that carving and can protect the rest of it. Throw the book at the smugglers. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 02 Apr 23 - 10:16 AM It's 42 BC and what appears on a scroll recovered in Rome are a compendium of dad jokes like "there's a rumor going around about butter. What is it? I'm not going to spread it." https://www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1167432458/archaeology-students-found-dad-jokes-from-ancient-rome |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 02 Apr 23 - 10:42 AM The show aired April 1st. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Apr 23 - 07:10 PM My favorite NPR April Fools post had to do with bowdlerizing opera. Alice Furlaud I think did the piece on All Things Considered. I can't find it right now, but it's probably still in the archives. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 02 Apr 23 - 08:48 PM mine is from the 70s when a UK scientific organisation put out a press release for a new instrument (really a 12" ruler) with such a wonderful description that an overseas scientific organisation wrote to them some years later wanting it. Wouldn't happen in The Days of the Internet (or would it?) |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Apr 23 - 12:24 AM I found it! Darned Google was insisting on spelling her name wrong. One Man's Sad Goal? Make Opera Positive From 2006. That's how big an impression it made on me. On Cape Cod, an impresario seeks rewrites of the world's great tragic operas. He wants to give them a happy ending for performances by his children's opera company. Some might call it a fool's errand. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Donuel Date: 03 Apr 23 - 07:02 AM My parents bought a 15 volume Reference Library Art Encyclopedia that had photos of art from great museums around the world. Only photos remain for almost all the Bagdad objects that it featured. I've had fun giving photos to friends whose portraiture greatly resembles them. Sometimes the resemblance is amazing. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Apr 23 - 05:00 PM Not archaeology, just the occasional pleasure of looking around fancy neighborhoods. I read this article about Ann-Margret putting out a rock album at age 81 (more power to her!) and they mention that she has lived in the same home since 1968 in Benedict Canyon in LA. Start looking around - it's in a nice area on several acres but in fact a 5,400sf house in Beverly Hills terms is modest. Four bedrooms, four baths. There's a pool, but not a lot of parking. That may refer to garaged parking. Also, the surrounding buildings probably aren't included in that number. It was built in 1938 and has History - Bacall and Bogart lived in that house when then were first married, and then Hedy Lamarr lived there, apparently who Ms. Olsson bought it from. A blurb on a Hollywood website says This lovely home, lavishly expanded to enlarge the living room, atop a lower floor entertainment, has been owned by Ann-Margret and her late husband Roger Smith, since their marriage in 1967. Previously, it was the home of Hedy Lamarr, who purchased the home from Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Anyway, sometimes I read a story about someone who has stayed in the same place for a long time and I wonder how they've made it their own and what about the area makes it right for them - not keeping up with the Joneses and buying new bigger places over time. |
Subject: RE: Armchair Archaeologist (via Google Earth) pt 2 From: Bill D Date: 08 Apr 23 - 06:54 PM Well, Rita & I lived in the same house for 42 years. We 'made it our own' with art, friends, music and love. (Nice neighborhood, too.) |
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