Shrine to earthy love at riding venue Archaeologists investigating an eastern Attica site earmarked for an Olympic horseriding venue have come across the remains of a 2,500-year-old shrine where the rites of love were celebrated and performed, as well as a cluster of Mycenaean graves. The discovery � one of the chief nightmares of officials racing to complete lagging preparations for the 2004 Games � on the 2.1-hectare Markopoulo plot, some 15 kilometers southeast of the capital, could cause construction delays but is not expected to force a change of venue. Archaeologist Olga Kakavoyianni, who supervises excavations at the site in the Mesogeia plain played down the significance of the find, which is linked to Aphrodite, goddess of love. �It is a small shrine, by no means a temple,� she told Kathimerini�s English Edition. �It consisted of an external wall enclosing a series of small rooms.� These stone structures, tentatively identified as bath and relaxation rooms, would have been used by priestesses of Aphrodite � who combined the attributes of celestial love and sexual passion � to offer sexual services to visitors. A much larger sanctuary of Aphrodite, the famous temple on Acrocorinthos above ancient Corinth, was described by the Roman geographer Strabo as �so wealthy that it possessed as temple-slaves more than a thousand prostitutes who were dedicated to the goddess.� The fourth-century-BC Markopoulo shrine, discovered in 2001, belonged to the ancient agricultural settlement of Myrrhinous, on much of which the riding center is being built. Working since 1998, archaeologists have also discovered several Mycenaean chamber tombs whose contents have not been investigated. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100008_15/03/2002_14442

The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World Although most people know that a list exists of the Seven World Wonders, only few can name them. The list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was originally compiled around the second century BC. The first reference to the idea is found in History of Herodotus as long ago as the 5th century BC. Decades later, Greek historians wrote about the greatest monuments at the time. Callimachus of Cyrene (305BC-240BC), Chief Librarian of the Alexandria Mouseion, wrote "A Collection of Wonders around the World". All we know about the collection is its title, for it was destroyed with the Alexandria Library. The final list of the Seven Wonders was compiled during the Middle Ages. The list comprised the seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World, some of which barely survived to the Middle Ages. Others did not even co-exist. Among the oldest references to the canonical list are the engravings by the Dutch artist Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), and Johann Fischer von Erlach's History of Architecture. Today, archaeological evidence reveals some of the mysteries that surrounded the history of the Wonders for centuries. For their builders, the Seven Wonders were a celebration of religion, mythology, art, power, and science. For us, they reflect the ability of humans to change the surrounding landscape by building massive yet beautiful structures, one of which stood the test of time to this very day. http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/ John

A Brief History of Life by Lexi Krock For most of us, the Pyramids symbolize the distant past. After all, they're more than 4,500 years old. But for geologists and palaeontologists, they might as well have been built yesterday. That's because these biographers of the primordial deal in increments of millions and even billions of years as they struggle to reconstruct our planet's life history, which is so vast that those 4,500 years would have to be replicated a million times over to reach back to Earth's beginnings 4.5 billion years ago. Looked at another way, if one were to measure our planet's age as a single 24-hour day, the first human civilizations would appear less than a second before midnight. The geological time scale, established by scientists in the mid-19th century and agreed upon internationally, breaks down the eternity of our planet's history into more manageable units than years. The scale functions as a massive calendar, dividing the history of life into eras, periods, and epochs based on fossil evidence. In this feature, explore the history of life on Earth as we know it today, from the earliest bacteria to the first modern humans. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/link/history.html# John

The closest I have come to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as delineated by the Chief Librarian of the (Library) Mouseion (the root of our word, museum?!) of Alexandria was in the British Museum. Therein is a reconstruction of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus of King Mausolus who gave his name to the structure and all subsequent burial structures. The exhibit contained bits and pieces of what was left of it. http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/mausoleum.html About the reconstruction of the Library at Alexandria, see this link. I had no idea they were going to try this. Where are they going to get those missing thousands of plays by Sophocles? Where is the science we are still trying to re-discover? This will be a hollow attempt but more of symbolism than substance. Thank you for the links, John! I'd like to post a bit on each one or should we make them go to the links we post? I suspect posting would be the better of the two ooptions. http://www.unesco.org/webworld/alexandria_new/ Next, about the geological timeline. I had thought of a topic of PaleoAnthropology. But, is that different from Archaeology and/or Paleontology? It really is, but would we find enough to talk about? Suggestions?

MIXER, AN AGE-OLD GREEK INVENTION (Cultural, Scientific & General News Category) February 2002: Do you think that mixer is a modern instrument? Anything but that! Archaeologists found a mixer of more than 8,000 years. The earthen deep vessel found in excavation in Yiannitsa nearby the ancient Macedonia's capital Pella, has in its bottom a concavity which was formed by the intense contortion of a wooden shaft that laid in vessel's base. 'Thus, it is substantiated the invention and the use of mixer before 8,000 years before at least' announced the archaeologist Mr. Panikos Chrysostomou, Director of the excavation in the paleolithic settlement during the Archaeological Symposium held in Thessaloniki. The recent excavational cuts brought to light a lot of mobile finds and earthen anthropomorphous and zoomorphous figurines of the Premier Neolithic period. The houses founded during the excavation date between 6,300 and 6,000 BC. http://www.Greekproducts.com Classic Newsletter#23, March 2002

For those of you with way too much time on your hands and a knowledge of archaeology, a puzzle for you: http://archaeology.about.com/library/weekly/aabyb031702a.htm

the closest i've ever been to the seven wonders is the discovery channel (though i may have been even closer during my brief stay in Kuwait) marcia, i'm not even gonna try the puzzle (but my curiousity is piqued!)

oooooooohhh, you didn't say it was a crossword!!! printing it out right now!

I know what you mean, Wolfie!!! As soon as I saw that it was a crossword puzzle, I also had to print it out!

The British Museum might be as close to the Parthenon as I ever get, too. So much to see and only one life to do it...*sigh*

(The puzzle is not as archaeological as I expected, and I used to be a memeber of the AIA.)

Explorers Unearth Lost Inca Stronghold in Peru Reuters Mar 18 2002 6:10PM LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - In the first major Inca find in four decades, Peruvian and British explorers say they have discovered a hidden city, perched on an Andean hilltop, that may have sheltered stalwarts of South America's legendary empire as they made a last stand against Spanish conquerors. Located on a narrow ridge around 11,000 feet up in Peru's windswept, southern Andes, the Inca citadel of Corihuayrachina is a mysterious gathering of religious platforms, funeral towers, and food storehouses. British scholar and guide Peter Frost told a news conference on Monday he first spotted the ruins in the rugged, isolated Vilcabamba region some 300 miles south-east of Lima three years ago. Frost said the site was the biggest of its kind found since 1964 and could have been occupied by the Inca when they took to the hills after the Spanish conquest. It is about 22 miles southwest of the famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. The Incas once ruled a vast swath of South America stretching from Colombia to Chile, but Spain's Francisco Pizarro and his band of 160 treasure-hunters, using cannons and horses, brought that empire to a bloody end in 1533. Some Inca, moving with an army of 50,000 to the more remote Vilcabamba area, held out against the invaders for nearly 40 years. "It's a jigsaw puzzle. What we're finding are more pieces ... to get a better sense of what was happening in that area," said Frost, who has lived for 30 years in the Inca's imperial capital Cusco in southern Peru, gateway to Machu Picchu. European diseases like measles ravaged the empire, cutting its population from an estimated 32 million people in 1520 to 5 million in 1548. Frost said he found Corihuayrachina -- eyeing it from afar but not able to actually reach it -- when he was leading a group of tourists through the remote region in 1999. Funded by the Washington-based National Geographic Society, Frost was finally able to set foot on the cloud-shrouded site two years later in June, 2001, trekking four days along winding mountain paths with a team of scientists and excavators. UNTOUCHED BY SCIENCE "This was an area totally untouched by science," said Peruvian archeologist and expedition co-leader Alfredo Valencia, who along with local workers hacked away at the thick leaves and vines covering squat buildings and murky tombs. But Frost said the scientists were still in the early stages of puzzling out who inhabited Corihuayrachina, how they lived, and why they chose to live in such an inhospitable place. "If (the site) was occupied after the Spanish conquest, what will we find? If we find human remains, will they show European diseases?" Frost said. Like most of the scores of native shrines, tombs and temples across this Andean nation, the explorers said the site had been looted over the years by local grave-robbers and now the graves were only filled with pottery fragments and bones. But unlike Machu Picchu, discovered in 1911 by American explorer Hiram Bingham, Frost said the recent find was not home to the Inca elite. Machu Picchu has been named a United Nations World Heritage site and draws throngs of tourists from across the globe. Unlike Machu Picchu, only stone foundations some 2-3 feet high remain of the new find's structures, which were originally constructed with adobe or wood. National Geographic is due to release a television special chronicling the Corihuayrachina discovery in May.

Lesson 10: Middle Minoan Crete POTTERY, CHRONOLOGY, AND EXTERNAL CONTACTS Middle Minoan IA (ca. 2050/2000-2000/1950 B.C.) Middle Minoan IB (ca. 2000/1950-1900/1850 B.C.[palace sites], 1750/1720 [non-palatial sites]) Middle Minoan IIA-B (ca. 1900/1850-1750/1720 B.C.) Middle Minoan IIIA-B (ca. 1750/1720-1700/1675 B.C.) ARCHITECTURE Palaces Monumental Non-Palatial Complexes The "Town Mosaic" from Knossos The House Model from Archanes BURIAL CUSTOMS Larnax Burial Pithos Burial Tholoi of Mesara Type Chamber Tomb RELIGION WEAPONRY FIGURES WRITING Pictographic or Hieroglyphic Script Linear A The Phaistos Disc *.*.*.*)*()*()*()*()*()Middle Minoan Crete POTTERY, CHRONOLOGY, AND EXTERNAL CONTACTS [The absolute dates listed below are essentially those suggested by Manning 1995: Appendix 8.] Middle Minoan IA (ca. 2050/2000-2000/1950 B.C.) The pottery of this phase develops directly out of that of the preceding EM III period. At Knossos, it is best represented by the finds from the houses under the kouloures (see below under "Architecture: Palaces") in the area of the later palace's West Court. The east Cretan equivalent is typified by the finds from House D at Mochlos and House B at Vasiliki. In the Mesara, the phase is well represented by a large deposit from Patrikies. At Mallia, pottery from houses underlying the southern edge of the later palace is contemporary. Polychromy in a light-on-dark style (the use of both white and red/orange on a solidly painted dark ground) begins in this phase, though it is relatively rare, especially in the east. Also beginning in this phase is the particular form of relief decoration known as "barbotine". Dark-on-light pattern-painted pottery is still common, however, especially at Knossos, and all pottery is still handmade. The straight-sided cup (also known as a Vapheio or Keftiu cup) makes its first appearance. A major difference between EM III and MM IA pottery at Knossos is the far greater frequency of curvilinear decoration in the later period. In the east, representational or naturalistic motifs appear on pottery, more often floral than faunal. Although a good deal of MM IA pottery, as well as imitations of it, comes from coastal sites of the eastern Peloponnese (see handout on MH Greece), little has been found in the central Aegean islands (e.g. at Phylakopi on Melos) and only a very few pieces have been found further east, on Samos and on Cyprus. The site of Kastri on Kythera was probably first permanently settled by Minoan colonists in this phase. Middle Minoan IB (ca. 2000/1950-1900/1850 B.C.[palace sites], 1750/1720 [non-palatial sites]) The first certain palaces are now constructed at Knossos and Phaistos. The pottery is characterized by the first use of the fast wheel, by increasingly thinner vessel walls, by more complex polychrome decoration (Walberg's Early Kamares), and by crinkled rims and other features indicative of the influence of metalwork. The {carinated} ("having a sharply angular body profile") cup first appears now and continues to be common through the MM IIIA period. Close contacts are maintained with the eastern Peloponnese and now are extended for the first time on a similar scale to the central Aegean islands (Ayia Irini on Keos, Phylakopi on Melos, Paroikia on Paros, and probably Mikri Vigla on Naxos). The earliest Minoan pottery from the Dodecanese (the Serraglio on Kos, Ialysos/Trianda on Rhodes) and the coast of Western Anatolia (Iasos, Miletus, Knidos) is probably also of this period. Cretan sherds of MM IB-IIA date have been found at Kahun and Harageh in Egypt in levels datable to the early 19th century B.C. Minoan objects are now also firmly attested at such Levantine sites as Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) and are more numerous on Cyprus. Middle Minoan IIA-B (ca. 1900/1850-1750/1720 B.C.) These two designations describe ceramic styles (Walberg's Classical Kamares) current at the palatial sites of Knossos, Phaistos, and Mallia but rarely found outside of them except in certain specialized cult contexts (e.g. the Kamares Cave or the peak sanctuary on Mt. Iuktas). As a result, MM IIIA directly succeeds MM IB at most Minoan sites, although MM II is stratified between MM IB and MM III at Knossos and Phaistos and therefore does have some chronological value, however limited. At Knossos and Phaistos, the end of MM IIB is marked by a major destruction horizon (probably due to an earthquake) which defines the end of the Protopalatial or Old Palace period. At Mallia, a shrine and the impressive Protopalatial complex known as Quartier Mu appear to have been violently destroyed by fire at about the same time or perhaps slightly later. During the 18th century, ceramics became a major art form and the best "{Kamares ware}" (also known as "eggshell ware" due to the thinness of its walls - it is so fine that many have argued that it must have been mouldmade rather than having been thrown on a wheel) is of a technical and artistic quality never again attained during the Aegean Bronze Age. Significantly, use of this extremely fine tableware, elaborately decorated with complex abstract patterns and occasionally representational motifs in the form of stylized plants, animals, or human beings, was to all intents and purposes restricted to the palatial centers where it was produced, to cult centers on peaks and in caves which were probably maintained by the palatial �lite, and to foreign centers which arguably acquired it through the medium of gift exchanges between their �lites and those of the Minoan palaces. A notable feature of this class of pottery is the rich polychromy of its decoration in a light-on-dark style employing abundant white and a number of shades of red, orange, and yellow on a black ground. By far the richest assortment of this pottery comes from the place at Phaistos, and the Mesara area of southern Crete is arguably the region within which this particular art form reached its technical and aesthetic apogee. Middle Minoan IIIA-B (ca. 1750/1720-1700/1675 B.C.) This period witnesses the rebuilding of the palaces at Knossos, Phaistos, and possibly Mallia (where the existence of a true palace in the Protopalatial period is not altogether certain at present), as well as the construction of the palace at Zakro. Pottery no longer appears to have constituted a major art form in this phase (= Walberg's Post-Kamares), with the result that MM III vases, though perfectly serviceable and technically still of high quality, seem dull and lack-luster compared to those of MM IB-II. Most tableware is either unpainted, solidly painted, or decorated with white patterns on a dark coated ground. Polychromy is relatively rare. The carinated cup disappears during this period and the most popular drinking vessels are straight-sided (Vapheio or Keftiu) cups and semiglobular "teacups". At Knossos, the pottery from the Temple Repositories and the Room of the Lily Vases, as well as from several quite recently published large deposits found in houses west of the palace, exemplifies the shape and decorative ranges of the period. During this phase, Minoan influence expands and intensifies throughout the southern Aegean. For the first time there is good evidence for Minoan contacts with the western Peloponnese, especially with Messenia. Minoan artists and craftsmen have been considered by some to be resident at some Mainland sites at this time (potters at Ayios Stephanos, smiths at Mycenae). The sites of Trianda (Rhodes), the Serraglio (Kos), Miletus, Iasos, and Knidos are thought by many to be firmly established Minoan colonies by this time if indeed they had not been settlements of this kind earlier. In the Cyclades, Minoan influence becomes so pervasive in this and the ensuing Late Cycladic (LC) I period that Cycladic culture in many ways is in danger of losing a distinct identity. It is against this backdrop of marked Minoan cultural expansion in the early Neopalatial period that, in the opinion of most specialists, the later Greek traditions of a Minoan thalassocracy (or sea-empire) must be evaluated for their potential historicity. ARCHITECTURE Palaces At Knossos, and perhaps at Mallia, architectural remains of the Old Palaces are largely overbuilt or otherwise masked by remains of the later New Palaces. Although this is also true for much of the Old Palace at Phaistos, there the entire west facade, the west court in front of it and the associated theatral area, and a good part of the west wing (including a suite of rooms usually identified as a shrine) are easily visible due to the fact that the builders of the New Palace relocated the later western facade a considerable distance to the east of the Old Palace's western margin. This west wing was fronted by a series of large paved courtyards at three different levels and was entered by means of two major entrances [one into the southwest wing near its southernmost point; a second and more impressive one at the junction of the northwest and southwest wings where a paved causeway crossing the west court apparently led directly through the palace's western half and into the paved and colonnaded central court] as well as through at least five minor entrances. In the paved courts west of the main west facades of the first palaces at both Phaistos and Knossos are three monumental examples of the stone-lined, circular pits known individually as a{kouloura}. The Protopalatial successors of the earlier EM III hypogeum at Knossos, these constructions, significantly, lie outside the palace buildings themselves, in a large public court which separates the palace from the surrounding town. Often identified in the past as storage facilites for grain, these semisubterranean (at least in this period) structures are not at all well-suited for such a purpose, as Strasser has made clear. They may therefore have more to do with the control and storage of water or simply, as Evans originally thought, with refuse disposal. To be dated earlier than the earliest surviving, positively identified palatial structures are certain novel building techniques (e.g. the use of cut ashlar masonry; drilling of mortises in the tops of ashlar blocks to hold tenons for the attachment of large horizontal timbers) which are prominent features of the first palace buildings. These techniques are first employed no later than MM IA, and probably as early as EM III, both at Mallia (the monumental tomb of Chrysolakkos) and Knossos (the massive terrace walls to the northwest of the later palace identified by Hood as the remains of an EM III palace). These breakthroughs, however, are not cited here to diminish the significance of the architectural revolution which occurred when the first palaces were constructed in MM IB, for it was only then that certain tools (e.g. the pick and the axe-adze) as well as numerous, subsequently typical Minoan architectural features (e.g. orthostates, cut jamb and column bases, dadoes, stone drains, etc.) are either first attested or at least attested with any frequency. Public architecture on the scale of the palaces would have required not only specialized masons but also very large labor forces, far greater than those employed in any earlier Minoan building projects. Another impressive architectural form which may predate the earliest palaces and which seems to have persisted for at least some time after these were first built before disappearing is the fortification wall. Long thought never to have existed in Minoan architecture, fortifications have quite recently been documented in substantial numbers by Alexiou during the last couple of centuries of the Prepalatial era (the EM III and MM IA periods) and into the age of the first palaces (MM IB-II). They include examples from both palatial (Knossos, Mallia) and non-palatial sites. The most impressive of the latter is a recently discovered circuit at Kouphota (Ayia Photia) in east Crete which features both towers at intervals along the exterior and a large, 37-room rectangular complex on the interior, all probably constructed in MM I and abandoned before that period's end. Recent excavations in southern Crete at the sites of Monastiraki (in the inland Amari valley) and Kommos (on the coast just southwest of the sites of Phaistos and Ayia Triadha) have revealed additional palatial complexes of the Old Palace period. That at Monastiraki has produced several important deposits of sealings as well as a well-preserved building model (of a shrine?) comparable in a number of respects to the somewhat later example from Archanes (see below). The newly recognized palatial complex at Kommos [Building AA] is a large building organized around a central rectangular court which is bounded on the north and south short sides by stoas fronted by half-a-dozen columns; unlike the nearby palace at Phaistos, that at Kommos was not built until late in the Protopalatial period, during MM IIB, and consequently had quite a short "lifetime" before being buried in the Neopalatial era under another palatial complex [Building J/T]. Monumental Non-Palatial Complexes Impressive Protopalatial structures which are clearly not palaces in form (although they may have had many of the functions of a Minoan palace) are best studied at Mallia. To the northwest of the later palace is a large rectangular open space (29.10 x 39.80 m.) furnished with a plaster floor and enclosed on all four sides by massive foundations which originally supported banks of seats. This space was probably the functional equivalent at Mallia of the theatral areas at Knossos and Phaistos, here four-sided because the unit as a whole, owing to the flat topography of the site, could not be easily built up as high as at Phaistos and Knossos. To the southwest is a large, for the most part subterranean (as preserved) building known as the "Hypostyle Crypt". Within it are a series of five large storerooms furnished with rows of platforms on which pithoi holding liquids were set and along which elaborate drainage facilities were constructed to recover anything that was spilled. Rooms with carefully plastered walls to the west of the storerooms are furnished with benches and have been suggested by the French to constitute a council hall. A good deal further to the west is a large, irregularly shaped and multistoreyed complex known as Quartier Mu which actually consists of three distinct house units, the most impressive of which is the "Central House" covering an area of some 450 m.2 and consisting of some thirty rooms on the ground floor alone. This large building includes a shrine at the west with a fixed rectangular hearth at its center, four storerooms along the north having the same elaborate provisions for drainage as those in the "Hypostyle Crypt", a paved hall, a sunken "lustral basin" of the type common in Minoan palaces and later Neopalatial villas, a lightwell, and two stairways leading to upper floors which are no longer preserved. Industrial (E), storage (NW), and residential and cult (W) areas are neatly compartmentalized and segregated as in the contemporary palaces. Architectural features in this structure without parallel in EM houses include ashlar masonry, columns and cut-stone column bases, and pavements and "causeways" of cut slabs. This and other large Protopalatial houses are evidence for an emerging stratification in MM society not attested in this fashion during the EM period, during which all houses at a given site (e.g. Myrtos) are of essentially the same size. On the other side of a narrow road from the three large houses of Quartier Mu are located three contemporary workshops: one used by smiths in which were found several moulds for the production of bronze tools; one by potters whose tools included moulds for the production of figured attachments to clay vases in the form of shells, fish, and cats; and one by seal-cutters who appear to have specialized in three-sided prisms. These smaller and much less elegantly appointed buildings are considered by the excavators to have housed artisans employed by the higher-ranked residents of the quasi-palatial structures across the street to the west. Found mostly within the larger, more impressive residences were numerous clay objects of different forms inscribed with signs of the "Hieroglyphic" script: 9 tablets, 13 medallions, 2 cones, 16 noduli and several kinds of sealings. The entire complex was short-lived, having been both built and destroyed (by a fierce fire) within the MM II period (ca. 1800-1700 B.C. by the conventional lower chronology). Whether all of these distinct buildings at Mallia were simply annexes of a Protopalatial palace which occupied the same site as the preserved Neopalatial palace or were instead dispersed elements with palatial functions which did not coalesce into a single building until the Neopalatial period at the site still remains to be established. It is, however, clear that major portions of the Neopalatial palace site were occupied by significant constructions in the Old Palace period (e.g. the probable shrine in the northeastern part of the later west wing from which come a ceremonial bronze sword and the well-known stone axe in the form of a leopard; a second probable shrine under the later residential quarters, somewhat further north in the later palace's west wing, in which two other swords and a collection of miniature juglets, one incised with a hieroglyphic inscription, were found; the storage rooms of the later palace's east wing which feature moulded channels and buried jars in the plastered floors so that, as in the Hypostyle Hall and the storerooms of the mansions in Quartier Mu, loss from spillage of valuable liquids could be kept to an absolute minimum). The "Town Mosaic" from Knossos A series of some two dozen mould-made fa�ence plaques representing building facades which probably served to decorate a wooden chest and which were found in MM IIIA fill near the Loomweight Basement in the east wing of the Knossian palace is known as the "Town Mosaic". Other fragments of this complex work of art represent trees, soldiers, goats, oxen, the prow of a ship, and bits of sea water. The whole composition may have been comparable to that on the silver "Siege Rhyton" from Shaft Grave IV at Mycenae or to that of the "Fleet Fresco" from Thera, both of which are quite a bit later in date (LM IA). All of the houses have two or three storeys. Windows are common in the upper storeys, rare on the ground floor. A common feature is a small rectangular projection above the flat roof, marking a covering over the staircase leading to the roof as the somewhat later three-dimensional model building from Archanes described below makes clear. A number of features of the buildings represented by these plaques (e.g. frequency of ashlar masonry; beam-end friezes; combinations of half-timbering and ashlar masonry) do not appear to correspond with the realities of most MM house architecture. The House Model from Archanes Found in a room identified as a possible workshop within an impressive building of MM IIIA date, this piece is paralleled in Minoan art only by an as yet unpublished model from a palatial complex at Monastiraki (on display in the Rethymnon Museum) and by some scrappy fragments of another model (or models) from Knossos. The Archanes model is a small (0.31 x 0.29 x 0.15-0.18 m. high) terracotta model of a two-storeyed building having windows, columns, a lightwell opening onto a typical Minoan hall, a stairway, and a projecting balcony on the second storey. Like the facades of the "Town Mosaic", it is invaluable for the information it provides about the elevation of Minoan buildings, probably townhouses, of the 18th and 17th centuries B.C. Actual townhouses at Knossos of the MM III period (e.g. the House of Fallen Blocks and a recently excavated house on Gypsades Hill) are comparable to that represented by the Archanes model in that they occupy small areas in plan and feature no more than three rooms on the ground floor. Such humble dwellings lie at the opposite end of the spectrum of MM domestic architecture from the large manses characteristic of Quartier Mu at Mallia. BURIAL CUSTOMS Larnax Burial In the MM period, larnakes become shorter and deeper when elliptical than they had been in the EM period. At the same time, the rectangular form, which always lacks legs in the MM period, appears. MM larnakes are painted only very rarely. By the end of the period, the custom of larnax burial has spread throughout east and central Crete and is unknown only in the west. Pithos Burial Appearing for the first time not long before the MM period begins, this is perhaps the most common type of MM burial. Pithoi containing bodies may be deposited in simple pits, either isolated or in groups referred to as "pithos cemeteries", in caves, in tholoi, in rectangular ossuaries, and in chamber tombs. When used for burials, pithoi may be laid sideways, stood on their rim, or stood right side up. The size of the individual pithos varies considerably, usually according to the size of the corpse it contains. Pithoi, like larnakes, are rarely painted. Most appear to be re-used domestic vessels rather than items made expressly for funerary purposes. This mode of burial continues into the LM I period but has become very rare by LM III. Though attested from Chania in the west to Siteia in the east, it is perhaps most popular in the north and east. Tholoi of Mesara Type Tholos tombs of this type continue to be used, as well as to be built, until at least as late as MM II and probably until quite far into the MM III period. An important series of such tombs was excavated in the 1960's and 1970's at the site of Archanes not far south of Knossos. The latest of the Archanes tholoi, said to have been constructed in MM IA and to have gone through no less than six architectural phases before its final use in the LH IIIA period, is peculiar in having a dromos (or entrance corridor) which links it typologically with the earliest tholoi of "Mycenaean" type found both on Crete and on the Greek Mainland. It now seems more likely than ever that the "Mycenaean" tholos tomb is derived directly from the Early Minoan or "Mesara" type of tholos, despite the claims by a number of British authorities (e.g. Cavanagh and Laxton, Dickinson) that the "Mycenaean" tholos owes no debt of any kind to the earlier Minoan form. Another of the Archanes tholoi (Tholos C or Gamma), this one of MM IA date, is notable for its relatively complete state of preservation, which unmistakably reveals that small tholoi of "Mesara" type were indeed fully vaulted in stone. This particular tomb is also important for revealing close links with the Cyclades in the form of a number of both stone and bone or ivory FAF's which it contained. Chamber Tomb Destined to become the most common type of tomb in the LM period, the chamber tomb is first attested by several examples of MM II-III date in the Mavrospelio cemetery near Knossos and in the Epano Gypsades cemetery at the same site. The normal Minoan, as well as Mycenaean, chamber tomb has a horizontal or downward-sloping entrance passage, the dromos. This usually widens a bit at the end closest to the door of the tomb and its side walls often have an inward inclination as they rise. The actual doorway of the tomb, the stomion, is narrower than the dromos and opens into what is usually a roughly rounded or rectangular tomb chamber with, at least on Crete, a ceiling which is either flat or convex (i.e. domed). Aegean tombs of this general type have been variously derived: (1) [Evans] The Minoan form is derived from Egypt, the Mycenaean from the Minoan. (2) [Persson] Both Minoan and Mycenaean forms are independently derived from Egypt. (3) [Pini] The Minoan form is derived from Cyprus, where chamber tombs begin in the local Cypriot EBA. The Mycenaean form is derived from the Minoan form through such sites as the Minoan colony at Kastri on Kythera. Pini's argument runs as follows: In both late MM and LM chamber tombs, pieces of bedrock are sometimes left in the form of pie

Pini's argument runs as follows: In both late MM and LM chamber tombs, pieces of bedrock are sometimes left in the form of piers within the chamber to help support the roof. The plans of such tombs are as a result bi- or tri-lobate and are particularly close to those of somewhat earlier Cypriot tombs. Significantly, such multi-chambered plans are rare on the Greek Mainland at any time during the Mycenaean period. Antechambers are rarely if ever present in Minoan chamber tombs, in marked contrast with the situation in Egypt where the antechamber of such a tomb remained open so that sacrifices and offerings could be made to the dead. A Minoan chamber tomb, on the other hand, was sealed by a blocking wall built across the stomion and the dromos was then completely filled in. If a tomb marker of some kind was not placed in the dromos fill, the location of a Minoan chamber tomb could easily be forgotten within a year or two of its last use, an unthinkable happening in Egypt. It is, of course, by no means impossible, as Dickinson has pointed out, that chamber tombs could have been independently "invented" on both Crete and the Mainland or, alternatively, that both the Minoan and the Mainland examples are somehow connected with either EH versions of the basic form known from sites such as Manika in Euboea and Pavlopetri in Laconia or with early Middle Cycladic examples such as those from Phylakopi. In any case, the later chamber tombs, unlike tholoi of the "Mesara" type, have no consistent orientation in terms of their entrances or the alignment of their dromoi. The direction in which a dromos runs is entirely determined by the topography and often the geology of a particular necropolis. Individual chamber tombs normally contain multiple inhumation burials, but the manner in which these burials are disposed within the tomb chamber - in pithoi, larnakes, wooden coffins, or simply laid out upon the tomb floor - varies considerably. Chamber tombs are particularly characteristic of north-central Crete and are relatively rare in the east. RELIGION Both hilltops and caves for the first time reveal unambiguous evidence of being used for cult purposes in the MM I period. Of the fifty or so hilltops which have been claimed as Minoan "peak sanctuaries", at least twenty-five are generally considered to be accurately identified as such and at none of these does the evidence for cult activity predate central Cretan MM IA. Cave sanctuaries are fewer in number (Amnisos, Idaean, Iuktas, Kamares, Psychro, Skoteino, Stavromyti) but are similar to the peak sanctuaries in that cult begins at them no earlier than MM I. It is likely that the development of both forms of cult place is to be connected with the rise of the palaces in MM IB or slightly earlier. Certain artifactual types, such as polychrome Kamares pottery and inscriptions in Linear A or a script allied to that on the Phaistos Disc (see below), are found only in the palaces or at such specialized cult locations, another fact suggesting a direct connection between the two. In all probability, the �lite who built and occupied the first palaces on Crete maintained its power through claims to a special connection with divinities which were worshipped at special cult places established by that �lite. WEAPONRY MM weapons are relatively rare, and this fact has led to the somewhat simplistic conclusion that the Minoans were peace-loving and simply did not indulge in warfare. An interesting hoard of apparently ceremonial weapons was found in the ruins of a Protopalatial building, perhaps part of an "Old Palace", at Mallia. The hoard includes the earliest sword in the Bronze Age Aegean, a long, tangless rapier with a gold-sheathed hilt and a rock-crystal pommel, as well as a brown schist axehead in the form of a rampant leopard, extensively decorated with running spirals, and a dagger, also hilted in gold, which was probably a companion piece for the sword. Two other swords, one having a gold-plated pommel decorated in the repouss� technique with the figure of an acrobat, were found in another late Protopalatial context at Mallia, under the later residential quarters of the Neopalatial palace. FIGURES There is a great variety of human and animal figurines during this period. The best known are the fa�ence "snake-goddesses" from the MM IIIB Temple Repositories at Knossos, the terracotta figurines of male and female worshippers from peak sanctuaries at Petsopha, Kophinas, Iuktas, and several other locations, and the groups of large bulls being grappled with by tiny human beings from tholos tombs in the Mesara. WRITING At least three different systems of writing in Crete can be dated to the Middle Minoan period: Pictographic or Hieroglyphic Script This appears in MM IA and continues into the MM IIIB period, a "life history" of some 500-550 years. The signs are, as the name of the script implies, pictorial and the script has an overall "glyptic" character. The earliest examples occur on MM I seals with three or four sides. The number of surviving texts is small, examples coming only from Knossos, Phaistos, and Mallia. The texts themselves are very short. Aside from the numerals (a decimal system), the script is undeciphered and is likely to remain so. There is no uniformity in the direction in which the script is written. Linear A The discovery of early Linear A (so-called "Proto-Linear") texts in the ruins of the First Palace at Phaistos has pushed back the date of this script's first appearance to MM IIA or perhaps even to MM IB. It used to be thought that Linear A developed directly out of Pictographic (about one third of the signs in Linear A closely resemble Pictographic forms), but it now seems possible that Linear A and Pictographic are virtually contemporary in terms of their appearance. Linear A never appears on seals and has a general "graphic" character. Texts read uniformly from left to right and there is an extensive use of {ligature}s (combined or compound signs). There appear to be definite local variations in this script. It has a relatively wide distribution, having been found at some twenty different sites on a wide variety of different objects. Only three sites outside of Crete itself have so far produced examples of true texts (as opposed to an individual sign or two) in this script: Ayia Irini on Keos, Phylakopi on Melos, and Akrotiri on Thera. Texts occur most frequently on clay tablets. Major archives have been found at Ayia Triadha (168 tablets) dating to LM IA and at Chania dating to about the same time period. Tablets are also known from Archanes, Knossos, Mallia, Phaistos, and Zakro. Significantly, texts are also known on six stone libation tables from various sites, on spoon-shaped mortars, on a doorjamb, on a gold ring, on a miniature gold axe, on silver and gold pins, on a bronze tablet, on a fair number of bronze ingots, and in cuttlefish ink on the inside of a clay cup. The latest Linear A inscriptions appear to be no later than LM I and hence all predate the supposed Mycenaean occupation of Knossos in LM II and early LM IIIA. The language of Linear A is definitely different from the archaic form of Greek which is the language of the graphically related Linear B script. The Linear A script, like Linear B, is a syllabary and consists of some 85 distinct signs. Various decipherments of Linear A have been claimed but none have met with general approval. While it is possible that the language of Linear A comes from a known language family (e.g. Semitic or Indo-European) and hence that closely allied languages still exist, it is just as likely that the language of the Minoans, like modern Turkish or Basque, had no close linguistic relatives even in antiquity, in which case the chances of its ever being deciphered are exceedingly slim. The Phaistos Disc "...an approximation to printing, immense in potentiality but null in effect - a freak." Found in the north part of the palace at Phaistos in a MM IIIB context, this baked clay object lacks close parallels in Crete and is likely to be an import. The "writing" consists of stamped signs in groups of between two and seven divided by horizontal and vertical incised lines. The signs are to be read from the outside towards the inside, retrograde. On one side of the disc there are thirty-one groups, on the other thirty. The text is so neatly fitted into the space available for it that the impressed "writing" must have been fully planned before execution. There are forty-five different signs, so the script is probably a syllabary rather than an alphabet. There are no obvious numerals. The script may be of southwest Anatolian origin - Lycia has been suggested - but this is not much better than a guess, since no comparable contemporary scripts are in fact known from that part of Asia Minor. Similar signs, perhaps evidence of the same script, have been found on a bronze axe from the Arkalochori Cave.

I did not realize it would copy so much to Geo.. it came from http://archaeology.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://devlab.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze%5Fage/lessons/10.html%2322

The tricky part of decyphering the Linear A & B examples is how to read them. It was discovered that Linear B (the only one of the two which has been successfully decyphered) is read ina manner called boustrophedon meaning as an ox plows a field. Line one would read left to right. Line 2 would read right to left and so on. An excellent discussion of the Greek language and its history: http://www.translexis.demon.co.uk/new_page_2.htm

A very early Greek (around 650 BC) inscription with the text running from left to right then doubling back to run from right to left. This form of writing, resembling the path of the ox-drawn plough across a field, is known as boustrophedon. Unlike the example of linear B above, this is an early forerunner of the Greek script still in use today. I see that this website (the one cited above) has described and shown how it looks. Please note that these examples were found at Knossos on Crete. Frozen for all time in the ejecta from the eruption of Thera.

Another comprehensive site for the archaeology of the Aegean is from Dartmouth University http://devlab.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/ I have found one from Penn, but since I have been treated rather poorly by an archaeologist from that institution, I think I will let you find it for yourself. That is rather petty of me - here it is: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~ekondrat/aegean.html

An absolute treasure of a site MUSEUMS OF GREECE http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~ekondrat/greekmuseum.html

dolphins with duckbills! thanks for the wonderful research marcia! in your first example of heiroglyphics, one of the characters looks like something found on egyptian walls (egyptian cross) (assuming that the elongated A and the backwards S are one character, it would be the fourth character from the left)

PRESSURES FOR THE RETURN OF THE PARTHENON MARBLES The pressures for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece intensified after the revelations made by the London newspaper "Guardian" according to which, the British Museum sold a total of 30 16th century bronze plates in the 50s and 60s. The plates in question, known as the Benin Plates, were parts of the Nigeria art treasures. The museum's decision was in absolute contrast with its internal regulations that forbid the breaking up of a work of art. For the record, the British Museum maintains that the Parthenon Marbles belong to its collection and is not in a position to return them to Greece.

Ships of Thera The first famous ships of the ancient Greek were the ships of Thera. Representations of them are saved in vessels but also in wall paintings in Thera. The wall paintings are dated to the 1500 - 1600 B.C. Strange is that this knowledge for the ships declines up to much more late near the 700 B.C. when the Corinthus presented the first form of trireme. Had 40 metres length and used 150 oarsmen in three lines and also 50 persons for the rest needs. John

i like looking at the old wooden ships--they were so neat!! have you heard a peep out of marcia? i'm so worried about her (have sent a couple of mails but she must be down again)

*P E E P* I'm back. Do I need an excuse from my mother? This might take a while. At least I won't cough on you and spread my germs! Thanks for missing me, Wolfie, Sweetie! Thanks, John. I can never get enough of archaeology and most especialy Greek archaeology. Function and beauty in one magnificent wooden structure! ONE MILLION VISITORS IN VERGINA IN FIVE YEARS Thessaloniki, 1 April 2002 (17:18 UTC+2) About one million people visited the archaeological site of Vergina since 1997 and their number is expected to be increased after the construction of the Museum of Vergina. The announcement was made by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death of archaeologist Manolis Andronikos, who discovered the tomb of King Philippos B' father of Alexander the Great. The new museum will allow the treasures of every monument in the archaeological site of Vergina to be exhibited separately.

oh, Vergina, at first i thought it was virginia *silly me-laugh*!!

I did too!!!! Wolfie, we truly so think alike! I thought it was a typo! Now, I am going to do a bit of research on what is there and resport back.

This place is so remenicent of New Grange in Ireland and West Kennet Long Barrow in England. I was stunned to know passage graves were elsewhere in Europe. Of course, it make sense since the tribes that populated Britain were migrants from the east. How likely is it that we are all related?! The Royal Tombs at Aigai: a Museum on the Site On the discovery of the Royal Tombs of Vergina (Aigai) in 1977, an immediate programme was launched to preserve the magnificent murals which adorned them. At the same time a conservation laboratory was set up on the spot to save and restore the extremely important portable objects they contained. For the preservation of the Royal Tombs themselves a subterranean structure was built in 1993 to encase and protect the ancient monuments by maintaining a constant temperature and humidity, both indispensable for the preservation of the wall paintings. Externally the structure has the appearance of an earth mound; inside it are the treasures found in the Royal Tombs, which have been on exhibition since November 1997. http://alexander.macedonia.culture.gr/2/21/211/21117a/e211qa07.html

Go look at the Ministry of Culture website. Wander around and let your eyes feast on the magnificance of the artistic creations of ancient Greece. We pale by comparison.

I knew that Wolfie would love the painting of the dolphins. The Minoans exceled at wall paintings of great vitality, refinement, and beauty. Interestingly, the Minoan dolphins are much more accurate representations than those of the 16th and 17th centuries.

thanks for that cheryl, of course i did!

Trireme The Athenian trireme had length of roughly 35 metres and biggest speed the 20 Km/h (other however him calculate in the 15Km/h). Usually it covers 100 kilometres daily being useful as commercial ship but also as martial ship. It was equipped (in its front part) with a ram that was invested with metal. It could ram and sink the enemy ships. Its power during the naval battles, was based in the force of the 170 oarsmen, even if it was sailboat. Oarsmen were seated in three carefully drawn levels (The two internally and one externally). They are used three lines of oars in synchronism. Bigger double oars placed in the stern of the ship were used as helm. Trireme had draught of only 60 cm. So, it could sails in very shallow waters without problem. John

I was reading in the culture site and discovered they also carried 30 spare oarsmen to take over for those injured or incapacitated. I also think we might relieve another fable about those oarsmen. They were not galley slaves. They were trained military men capable of swinging about and maneuvering that great boat in most weather. If you believe Hollywood epic movies, you will think they were all slaves and shackled to their seats. That makes about as much sense as using slaves to pilot our United States Air Force jets!

Lovely image, John! Again I am grateful for your sharing your wealth of information and national heritage with us.

Mysterious Minoan-era ring a �masterpiece� An engraved gold piece of jewelry of doubtful origin known as the 'Ring of Minos� has been pronounced by experts as an original, 3,500-year-old Minoan work from Crete, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos confirmed yesterday. A ministry committee of experts vetted the ring and estimated its value at 400,000 euros (163 million drachmas), he said, adding that a reward will be paid to the Cretan family that handed it over to the authorities. Venizelos said the 15th century BC ring - which was found at Knossos in 1928 - will be displayed at the Iraklion Archaeological Museum. Archaeologist Katie Demakopoulou, former director of the Athens National Archaeological Museum, called the ring a �masterpiece of Minoan art. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100018_04/04/2002_15022

GENUINE RING OF KING MINOS WORTH 400,000 EURO The ring of King Minos, a find from the 15th century BC, was authenticated by the Central Archeological Coucnil (KAS), while at the same time it was valued at 400,000 euro. Nonetheless, the scientific and historic value of the find is much greater, as Minister of Culture Evaggelos Venizelos stated, pointing out that the ring will be turned in to the Heracleon Museum. The Minister of Culture also stressed that the citizen who turned the find in to the Archeological service will be rewarded. "I am not in a position to reveal the amount of the reward at present, because I want to evaluate all the facts of the case, taking into consideration the response of the KAS, and it is a great pleasure for me that the object known as the King of Minos, as it is known in the bibliography - because there is always an element of myth involved - will be turned over to its natural owners, the people of Crete, the people of Heracleon. It will be turned over to the Archeological Museum of Heracleon, which is entering a new period as an autonomous unit of the Ministry of Culture. Thus, this is a development strengthening the prestige of the Heracleon Museum", added Mr. Venizelos.

MOHENJO-DARO Mohenjo-Daro was a city located in the south of Modern Pakistan in the Sind Province, on the right bank of the Indus River. It was built between four and five thousand years ago, and lasted until 3,700 BP. It was part of the Harrapan Civilization, and the city had at least 35,000 residents. Mohenjo-Daro means �mound of the dead�. The city was approximately one square mile in size. In 1922-1927 large scale excavations at Mohenjo-daro were carried out by R. D. Banarjee and continued by M. S. Vats and K. N. Dikshit under the direction of Sir John Marshall. E. J. H. MacKay carried out further excavations from 1927 to1931. Sir Mortimer Wheeler made small excavations in1950. http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/archaeology/sites/middle_east/mohenjo_daro.html

Salt Range (Pakistan) Temples http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/arth/meister/pakistan.html

Professor returns stolen Acropolis fragment after 30 years A US fine arts professor who returned a stolen marble fragment from a sculpture on the Acropolis to Aegean Minister Nikos Sifounakis in Sydney yesterday said his �significant gesture� set a precedent for the return to Athens of the Elgin Collection of marbles. Californian Jim Bertholm admitted to having stolen the fragment as an anti-junta protest in 1972, when he led a group of students to the Acropolis. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100026_06/04/2002_15110

A river runs through it: Athens' ancient graveyard The ancient cemetery of Kerameikos offers its visitors both sculpturalmasterpieces and curious amphibians BY DIANA FARR LOUIS WHY IS it that of my first visit to the Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery of Athens at the bottom of Ermou Street, my most vivid memory concerns hopping frogs? Our guide must have been telling the group fascinating details about the site, pointing out landmarks and bringing the place of the dead back to life, but her commentary has left no trace in my mind. Instead, it has been supplanted by a vision of totally unexpected yellow-and-green spotted creatures croaking by the side of a stream. I suppose it is a measure of how thirsty we Athenians are for nature, that the presence of any wildlife other than pigeons, alley cats and mangy dogs can be more exciting than a historic monument. For Athens holds the dubious honour of having the lowest ratio of green to cement of any major European city, and maybe too we take old stones for granted. And while Paris, Rome, London, Prague, Budapest and a host of other capitals have romantic rivers adding colour, life and diversity to their city-scapes, the rivers of Athens - all three of them - have been boxed into concrete channels and buried almost totally out of sight. The Ilissos and Kiphissos suffered this fate in the mid 20th century; the Eridanos, which flowed through the centre of Athens, was covered over by the Romans, if not even earlier. And yet it is the Eridanos that makes the Kerameikos more than just an interesting collection of tombs and historic walls. Although it probably was never more than a seasonal torrent, swollen by winter rains and virtually dry in August, its muddy banks were a wonderful source of clay. Which brings us to a chicken-and-egg story: Did the area become the potters' district because this was where the cemetery was located (from the 12th century BC on) or did the cemetery become established there because of the proximity of the potters? Potters were as essential to funerals as morticians are today, since urns were required for grave offerings and as containers for ashes. Unlike the Orthodox Church, the ancients did not consider cremation anathema. In any case, the district took its name from Keramos, a son of Dionysos and Ariadne and patron of the potters (kerameis). Eridanos, on the other hand, was a river god, one of the three thousand sons/rivers from the union of Oceanos and Tethys, which also resulted in three thousand daughters, the Oceanids. With its source at the foot of Lycabettus, the Eridanos flowed through what is now Syntagma Square; you can see a small section of the petrified bed bristling with shards and behind glass on exhibit in the Metro station. From there its course ran under Philellinon, Othonos and Mitropoleos streets, down Adrianou (where a bit of ancient channel lies exposed) and alongside the tracks at Monastiraki. Then it bends to the northwest and enters the cemetery enclosure, where it surfaces for a few hundred metres before entering another underground channel and eventually joining up with the cemented bed of the Kiphissos, which parallels Pireos Street. Granted, this slow-moving trickle is not much to look at. But the fact that it exists at all is remarkable and reflects the symbiosis of archaeology and ecology. Few laws preserve ecosystems that occupy prime real estate in the middle of a burgeoning city, but they do protect ancient monuments and therefore, inadvertently, some vestiges of nature manage to survive in these sites, even when surrounded by heavy traffic and noxious smog. A booklet prepared by the ministry of culture in 2000 catalogues these vestiges, reporting that the Kerameikos is home to fifteen species of birds and animals, one fish - a minuscule creature called the mosquito fish that can cope with the river's shrinking waters - and 188 plant species within its 40,000 square metres. This does not mean that you will see anything more exotic than a tortoise or a caper bush, but I find it comforting that hedgehogs may be napping in a shady burrow or that the Callas impersonator concealed in the branches of a Jerusalem thorn tree is actually a Sardinian warbler. It is also reassuring that some branch of the government actually cared enough to conduct this census and publish the information in such an attractively produced, impeccably translated edition. It comes as a welcome diversion from the 'Great Works in Progr ess' that seem to gobble most public resources. more... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=12956&t=06&m=A24&aa=1

For Imran, who will porbably never come here to see it: IMPORTANT/ HISTORICAL PLACES Of the MARDAN DISTRICT Shahbaz Garhi is situated on Mardan Swabi Road at a distance of 12 kilometer from Mardan. The emperor Babar in his book Tuzk-e-Babri has given reference of this monastery. It has also been stated that this village has named with the name of a famous religious person. 1n the ancient books the name of this village is Varshapura. In 7th century, a Chinese pilgrim Mr.Haven Sang, visited this monetary and recorded this polosha in his book. A servant of Ranjit Singh, Mr.Moart saw this inscription in 1832 for the first time and made a thirteen lines copy. Later on Herd Duclus Assistant Commissioner Mardan stated that these words are of Khoroshti language. so much more and pictures... http://www.mardan.sdnpk.org/Historical%20Sites.htm

The acute pain of my inability to read any Greek is compounded by this little bit of English: In the course of this research project (*) a multidisciplinary approach has been undertaken to re-examine the documentary and archaeological evidence combined with extensive geological Prospection regarding these most elusive of industrial minerals of Antiquity, the Lemnian and Samian earths. They were famed in Classical / Roman and the Ottoman periods primarily for their healing properties as well as a wide range of other applications, as fuller's earth, pigments and clays for pottery-making. Despite extensive documentation, the Lemnian sphragis (seal) and the two types of Samian earth, the colyrium and the aster, have remained distinctly elusive in the archaeological record. The reason is that as raw materials, products and industrial waste they are readily assimilated into the background of the natural environment. Not only are they elusive in the field but the main ingredients to which they owed their curative properties have not been identified either. This joint research program between Glasgow and Athens, part of a larger program into the nature and methods of processing of other industrial minerals in the Aegean (**) has been aimed at identifying their mineralogy and potential locations of extraction on their respective islands as well as illuminating the nature of the main ingredient responsible for their curative properties. (**)GUAD, as a member of the British School at Athens is currently carrying our research on industrial minerals in Antiquity in Melos (Melian and Kimolian earths, alum and sulphur). http://www.archaeometry.gr/r-projects/Samos-pro/samos.htm

Not happy with the above I hunted onward to discover more about Bentonite. My son used it extensively and he left me some for my collection. Industrial Mineral exploitation in Antiquity in the Aegean http://www.archaeometry.gr/r-projects/Samos-pro/samos_result.htm

Of course there is a volcanic connection: In the course of geological prospection, altered and weathered pyroclastic rock was observed in the crags about 20m NW of the spring. Some were intensely altered showing coloursfrom white to yellow and brown to red. X- ray diffraction analyses showed that clay minerals like montmorillonite and illite were the main components with crystoballlite, relict feldspar, quartz and alunite. Alunite, a potassium aluminium sulphate forming as the result of high temperature alteration of feldspathic volcanic rocks, is usuall associated with alum and sulphur. Alum, aluminium sulphate, was well known in antiquity for its medicinal properties but being particularly soluble, it would have bee washed by rain out of the high volcanic ground into the alluvial sediment in the fields below or into man-made traps.

And, you thought archaheology was boring! yes I understand what they are saying in that last post. I'll explain it when we get around to discussing how volcanoes work. Suffice it to say, that was the state of medicine when Galen was the supreme physician of the world.

Samian Earth: the case of "colyriun" and "aster" Although documentary evidence of the exploitation of Samian earth dates from the time of Theophrastus in the 4th century BC it is Pliny in c. 50 AD (Nat. Hist.) who details two distinct varieties. These are "colyrium" an eye salve and "aster" which was used as a soap as well as in medicines. Samian earth is described as a white, soft lightweight substance, clearly a valuable versatile material, a typical industrial mineral. The present search for Samian earth followed the suggestions of the Samiot geologist Karageorghiou (1947) and IGME geological maps, that the volcanic rocks in the vicinity of Platanos were the likely source. These rocks have been altered to a soft absorbent clay mineral known as fullers' earth or bentonite. However, the medicinal value of this material is only limited, as an absorbent of toxic substances and it is likely that a second substance was present with more powerful medicinal and antiseptic properties. The existence of borate minerals, like collemanite identified in localities near Platanos point to the special substance being a soluble borate, well established ingredient in modern pharmaceutical products. Therefore it is suggested that Pliny's colyrium contains borate as the active ingredient while aster was a clay used as fullers' earth. http://www.archaeometry.gr/r-projects/Samos-pro/samos_result.htm

Archaeologists threaten strike over dwindling resources By Elias Hazou THE ANTIQUITIES Department yesterday warned it would take drastic measures, including possible strike action, unless the government stepped in to improve working and organisational issues. The department claims severe under-staffing is jeopardising the proper preservation of archaeological sites and artefacts, since the current number of archaeologists and technicians cannot cope with the workload. Giorgos Filotheou, president of the department's council, painted a grim picture of the situation. He cited the example of Larnaca, where if no measures were taken to re-organise the facilities there, by the year 2008 just one technician would be on duty. "Clearly, this is a political issue," said Filotheou, explaining that government policy on antiquities was outdated and needed to change immediately. "After human life, our cultural heritage is the next most important thing," Filotheou noted. If no action was taken, he went on, the department's staff, "who are already putting in superhuman efforts," would dwindle further and not be able to provide even the minimum of services. The department has asked for a better hiring scheme that would help gradually replace retiring archaeologists and other staff, and better organisation and facilities. It has recommended that the government commission a relevant study. Citing another example, Filotheou said that only one person was on duty at the department's library in Nicosia. Also, from 1988 to 2002, just one additional technician was hired. Filotheou compared the situation in Cyprus to that in other countries, such as Greece and Israel, where the ratio of staff to archaeological sites was far better. The free areas of Cyprus have approximately 700 archaeological sites and monuments; the antiquities department staff numbers 66, and there are just 11 archaeologists out in the field. The department has already appealed to the Minister of Communications, who it says "responded with understanding." But the core problem seems to be the unavailability of funds. "Everyone says they care about our cultural heritage, but when it comes down to acting, no one is willing to foot the bill," Filotheou remarked. In what seemed a muffled warning, he said the department would take drastic measures if the government took no corrective action over the next few months. This might include going on a strike, said Filotheou, but did not elaborate further. The department was founded in 1935 during British rule. Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

Greeks grapple with the idea of having the Athens 2004 Games represented bya symbol of arguable identity BY JOHN HADOULIS A WEEK after the conical figures of Athena and Phevos traipsed onto the international stage at their special April 4 unveiling, Greeks are still trying to come to terms with the reality of having these mascots serve as ambassadors to the Athens 2004 Games. The first signs weren't encouraging. "What on earth are they?" wondered Express daily. "Strong promotion may eventually succeed in selling [the mascots] to the public, but they are definitely a poor choice," it added. Critics are amazed that Athena and Phevos are the best result organisers could come up with after a 13-month competition, which attracted 196 design proposals from Greece and abroad. "Ethics prevent me from commenting on the abomination that was chosen," one of the competition finalists said in a telephone interview. Some wonder whether the choice was entirely Greece's to make. "I fear that the final judgement was passed by foreign sponsors of the Games, people who have nothing to do with the Greek spirit, " says film director Yiannis Smaragdis. "ATHOC president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki is a woman of very good taste, " he notes. "How could this mistake have been made?" more... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=12957&t=01&m=A03&aa=1

Suffice it to say they did not ask me. I'd have chosen nothing that looked like what they did choose. With all that Greece has contributed to design (including the horizontal bars of Geo) this was surely the least indicative their creative genius. Was it really a foreign conspiracy? For what reason? I am stunned!

Bridge the gap between East and West - visit Pergamon (in Turkish Bergama)for a taste of Satan's throne but also a touch of Hellenism BY STACEY SHACKFORD AS AN archaeology student, Pergamon (to be found in modern-day Bergama) was a dream come true for me: A magnificent acropolis, topped by the enormous, well-preserved ruins of the Temple of Trajan, surrounded by an entire ancient city and an insanely steep 10,000-seat amphitheatre. Below, the equally well-preserved Asclepion, with its columned sacred way, theatre, underground passageway, pantheon and slightly radioactive spring. It was the most extensive archaeological site I had ever seen, and, three years later, still is. Of course, it was also much more than archaeology. Archaeology alone would not have lingered with me for so long, nor drawn me back again with such urgency. I also fell in love with the modern city and its people - with an unnamed eatery smaller than my kitchen where I had the best breakfast of my life and the friendly young boy who led me there. When you have a love affair with a place, it comes on unexpectedly and stubbornly refuses to leave. My love affair with Bergama began in March 1998. Three other girls and I had chosen Turkey as our Spring Break destination while archaeology students in Athens. Our first stop, of course, was Istanbul, where we nearly froze to death while spending hours gazing in awe at the Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque. Then we hit Cannakale and the ancient ruins of Troy, before stopping in Bergama on our way to a washed-up resort town and a ferry to Rhodes. At that time, I had not yet gotten to the Hellenistic period in my ancient history, architecture and sculpture classes, so I did not immediately recognise the importance of the ancient city of Pergamon. We were there at the suggestion of a fellow student who insisted it was "awesome." We may have only been there a day or two, I don't remember exactly. It seemed like an eternity. We hunkered down in a hostel, took a taxi up the 5 km road winding around the mountain that is the ancient acropolis, and spent the next few hours working our way back down, dumbstruck. On this trip, taken in mid-August, I headed straight to Bergama from the Greek island of Lesvos. I came with a different companion, one who had heard me reminisce endlessly about the place, and who had never been to Turkey herself. We didn't attack the acropolis immediately, but waited until early the next morning, when we could actually climb to the top. There was a fence around the site, which I didn' t remember before, but we quickly found a gaping hole in it and climbed through. At 8.15am, the site wasn't even officially open yet, and we could feel people glaring at us from inside an air-conditioned tour bus parked at the gate, waiting to be let in. There's nothing like being alone among the crumbling remains of an ancient city, with no fences, no guards, no immediate sign of modern civilisation. You can almost feel history seeping up into you from the dust at your feet. Even without knowing anything at all about the history of the place, you can sense the ghosts of Roman Pergamon leading donkey carts past the long strip of stores in the agora. much more and images http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=12957&t=06&m=A24&aa=1

Thousands of Inca Mummies Found Near Lima WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of Inca mummies, some of them bundled together in groups of up to seven, have been unearthed from an ancient cemetery under a shantytown near Lima in Peru, National Geographic announced on Wednesday. Believed to be the largest cemetery from one time period excavated in Peru, lead archeologist Guillermo Cock said as many as 10,000 Incas were possibly buried at the site at Puruchuco in Peru's Rimac Valley between 1480 and 1535. But Cock, a Peruvian archeologist, said the site was being destroyed at an alarming rate by humans, including the release of thousands of gallons of sewage daily into the shantytown's streets that had seeped underground and damaged some mummies. "The consequences of humanity on these burials are terrible," said Cock, adding that some of the mummies were riddled with worms. "It was not a pretty sight." Cock, who estimates they uncovered the remains of between 2,200 and 2,400 Incas, said the cemetery provided a huge scientific sampling of the Inca people from infants to the elderly and from the rich to the very poor. "We have what in sociological terms, we would call the perfect sample to project presidential elections. Each social class and group and age is proportionally represented," Cock told a news conference at National Geographic's Washington headquarters. "This will give us a unique opportunity to look into the Inca community, study their lives, their health and their culture," added Cock, who has been doing archeological work in Peru since 1983 and is an adviser to the Peruvian government. The Incas once ruled a vast swath of South America stretching from Colombia to Chile but Spain's Francisco Pizarro and his band of 160 treasure hunters, using cannons and horses, brought that empire to a bloody end in 1533. Some of the "mummy bundles" contained as many as seven people buried along with their possessions and weighed hundreds of pounds. So far, Cock said only three bundles had been unwrapped in what was a painfully slow, expensive process. It would take generations before the full implications of the find were known. One of the unwrapped bundles, nicknamed the Cotton King, was made up of hundreds of pounds of raw cotton. Inside was the body of an Inca noble and a baby as well as 70 items including food, pottery, animal skins and corn. Among the most interesting discoveries were the number of elite members of Inca society, some of whom were still wearing the elaborate feather headdresses they were buried in. FALSE HEADS Another striking find was 22 intact and 18 disturbed "false heads," or falsas cabezas. These are mummy bundles usually reserved for the elite with a bump on top filled with cotton and resembling a human head, many of them with wigs. These bundles contain several people, one of them the key person and the remainder probably accompanying him in the afterlife. The bodies of adults are in the traditional fetal position, with their possessions arranged around them. "Prior to our excavations, only one falsas cabezas bundle from the Inca Period had been recovered by an archeologist, in 1956," said Cock. Cock said it was unclear whether all of the bodies in these bundles were related but probably when a key person died his body was put aside until the remainder of his party died and could be buried with him. About 50,000 to 60,000 artifacts were retrieved from the site and 22 of these are on display at National Geographic, including ancient ceramic pots and patterned textiles. Cock and his team worked at a frenetic pace over the past three years to salvage as much as they could from the cemetery before the shantytown was leveled for development. The site is known as Tupac Amaru by the 1,240 families who sought refuge there from 1989 after fleeing guerrilla fighting in the Peruvian highlands. Aside from the toll the cemetery has taken from tens of thousands of gallons of liquid being dumped daily into the ground, other graves were destroyed by bulldozers in 1998. Shantytown dwellers fought to remain on the site and archeologists turned the area into a giant dig, building bridges for people to cross the streets. Some of the residents joined in the dig. Some of the graves were found very close to the surface, especially in a dusty school playground which had been leveled several years ago. The excavation ended last July, and Cock said houses now cover most of the untapped areas. "Having to walk away is frustrating. What's left may have been a huge contribution to knowledge of the Inca."

Bergama's biblical and archaeological proportions Bridge the gap between East and West - visit Pergamon (in Turkish Bergama)for a A taste of Satan's throne but also a touch of Hellenism BY STACEY SHACKFORD The Asclepion at Pergamon More... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=&t=06&m=A24&aa=1

AS AN archaeology student, Pergamon (to be found in modern-day Bergama) was a dream come true for me: A magnificent acropolis, topped by the enormous, well-preserved ruins of the Temple of Trajan, surrounded by an entire ancient city and an insanely steep 10,000-seat amphitheatre. Below, the equally well-preserved Asclepion, with its columned sacred way, theatre, underground passageway, pantheon and slightly radioactive spring. It was the most extensive archaeological site I had ever seen, and, three years later, still is. Of course, it was also much more than archaeology. Archaeology alone would not have lingered with me for so long, nor drawn me back again with such urgency. I also fell in love with the modern city and its people - with an unnamed eatery smaller than my kitchen where I had the best breakfast of my life and the friendly young boy who led me there. When you have a love affair with a place, it comes on unexpectedly and stubbornly refuses to leave. My love affair with Bergama began in March 1998. Three other girls and I had chosen Turkey as our Spring Break destination while archaeology students in Athens. Our first stop, of course, was Istanbul, where we nearly froze to death while spending hours gazing in awe at the Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque. Then we hit Cannakale and the ancient ruins of Troy, before stopping in Bergama on our way to a washed-up resort town and a ferry to Rhodes. At that time, I had not yet gotten to the Hellenistic period in my ancient history, architecture and sculpture classes, so I did not immediately recognise the importance of the ancient city of Pergamon. We were there at the suggestion of a fellow student who insisted it was "awesome." We may have only been there a day or two, I don't remember exactly. It seemed like an eternity. We hunkered down in a hostel, took a taxi up the 5 km road winding around the mountain that is the ancient acropolis, and spent the next few hours working our way back down, dumbstruck. On this trip, taken in mid-August, I headed straight to Bergama from the Greek island of Lesvos. I came with a different companion, one who had heard me reminisce endlessly about the place, and who had never been to Turkey herself. We didn't attack the acropolis immediately, but waited until early the next morning, when we could actually climb to the top. There was a fence around the site, which I didn' t remember before, but we quickly found a gaping hole in it and climbed through. At 8.15am, the site wasn't even officially open yet, and we could feel people glaring at us from inside an air-conditioned tour bus parked at the gate, waiting to be let in. The sacred road of the Asclepion There's nothing like being alone among the crumbling remains of an ancient city, with no fences, no guards, no immediate sign of modern civilisation. You can almost feel history seeping up into you from the dust at your feet. Even without knowing anything at all about the history of the place, you can sense the ghosts of Roman Pergamon leading donkey carts past the long strip of stores in the agora. I was glad we decided to approach the acropolis this way, the same way the ancient people would have come. It also led us to wonder about practical things: How did they ever get those enormous marble columns up there? Where did they get water? What was this used for? I now know more about ancient Pergamon than I did three years ago. Scholars believe there was a Persian settlement at Pergamon, but the city really began to develop after Alexander the Great conquered it in 334 BC and one of his generals, Lysimachos, established his treasury there. A renowned school of sculpture developed from this wealth during the fourth century BC. Pergamon sculpture has a severe yet realistic style, marked by exaggerated muscles, frowning tragic-looking figures and lots of dishevelled hair. Examples of this can be viewed at the Archaeological museum downtown, which also features an interesting outdoor "garden of ruins", where Muslim funerary stellae mix with Hellenistic columns, cannonballs and an enormous Byzantine bell. Returning to history - Eumenes I later expanded the territory around Pergamon and started a building programme on the acropolis in 263 BC that was continued by his successor, Attalos I, with the temple of Athena and th e library of Pergamon, which at its peak contained 260,000 volumes and rivalled the library of Alexandria. An interesting footnote to history is related to the library: the Egyptian kings, alarmed at the library's growth, banned the export of papyrus to stop the production of books; this led to the revival of writing on animal skins and the invention of the paged book. It was under the reign of Attalos' son, Eumenes II, that the city reached its height. His kingdom stretched from the Marmara to Cappadocia and his influence reached Rome. The theatre and gymnasium were built during this time, as well as the famous Altar of Zeus, whose magnificent relief sculptures have unfortunately been carted away to Berlin. The Romans later turned the city into a thriving cultural and commercial centre, and at one time its population reached 150,000. In the second century AD, the Asclepion of Pergamon p picked up where Epidaurus left off and became the prime health centre in the Aegean. The ruins that remain today were constructed mostly by Hadrian. Hadrian is also believed responsible for the construction of the enormous red-brick Serapeion, better known as the Red Basilica, which lies along the river directly below the acropolis. In Roman times, it is believed Egyptian gods were worshipped there. In the Byzantine period, it became a church. Its fame, however, stems from its mention as one of the "Seven Churches" of Asia Minor - St John refers to it as home of the throne of the devil. What remains of all this history? Remarkably, quite a lot. The acropolis is about five times bigger than the acropolis of Athens, and you can spend an entire day exploring its agoras, gymnasiums, temples, palaces, walls and underground tunnels. The Red Basilica Another fond memory I had of Bergama was standing atop the ancient acropolis as the call to prayer rang out from several mosques across the city. The chants echoed off the hillside in the most mesmerising way. It was a great introduction to the modern city of Bergama, which I soon came to love as much as the ancient one. The place has a sense of unadulterated authenticity and timelessness that I have yet to discover elsewhere. It's an odd thing, because you know there is tourism there - every once in a while a busload of ogling old ladies speeds through town, heading straight for the acropolis - but it's hard to believe. People are genuinely excited to meet you. Children chase you through the streets, serenading you with hellos and offering presents. The most rewarding experience is wandering through the old quarter of town at the foot of the acropolis, where cobblestone streets lead you past Ottoman houses painted pink, blue, green, and every colour in between, faded into the most delicate hues. Paint flicked off in places reveals even older layers of spectacular colour, which give the buildings a pretty, mottled look. The houses? inhabitants are even more interesting. We saw old men and women who looked about 1 0 years old, both in age and costume, and curious young children who shyly approached, grinning. Everyone was amazingly friendly and eager to practice their English, if they had any. Otherwise, they tried to communicate through ingenious hand gestures and facial expressions. more... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=&t=06&m=A24&aa=1

Greeks model Olympic mascots on wrong Homer Helena Smith in Athens Sunday April 21, 2002 The Observer They have been likened to a pair of post-disaster mutants, an unmentionable part of the male anatomy, condoms, and perhaps worst of all, the Simpsons. As murky as their preparations for the 2004 Olympics may be, the Greeks are making one thing very clear: they loath Ph?vos and Athen?, the cartoon mascots that will symbolise the world's most cherished sporting event when the games return to Athens. In the two weeks since the ungainly duo were unveiled, Hellenes have lambasted them as an outrageous affront to the nation's cultural heritage. Although inspired by a seventh century BC terracotta figurine and given ancient Greek names - Ph?vos is another name for Apollo the god of music and light, and Athen? the goddess of wisdom - the smiling, bell-shaped twin siblings have been denounced for being decidedly un-Greek. Even worse, they have unbecoming torsos, huge, flat feet - and four toes, in the style of the four-fingered Simpsons. 'If we see these things at the opening ceremony, it will be a national catastrophe,' snarled filmmaker Yiannis Smaragdis. 'No matter how much I try to be positive, they just seem to be so very tasteless,' lamented popular Athenian actress Dina Konsta. Informal polls have shown that 75 per cent of the population agree. The mascots' creator, little-known Greek artist Spyros Gogos, had hoped the brother and sister images would represent all the values encompassed by the Olympic ideal: the brotherhood of man, equality of the sexes, and as fun-loving children, participation in the games irrespective of victory. No other mascot to date, the Games' organisers declared, had managed so successfully to marry the past with the present. In Ph?vos and Athen?, the world had two gods in human form to represent the ultimate in human competition. 'The 2004 Olympic mascots are unique,' Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the Games' president said somewhat defensively. 'They have a long history, as well as a modern face.' The furore adds to the woes surrounding Athens 2004. Since winning its bid for the Olympics in 1997, Athens has been savagely criticised for the chaotic way it has prepared for them. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said Greece would need 'to run a marathon at a sprinter's pace' if it wanted to put on a problem-free Games. Delays in the construction of key sports venues, including the Olympic village, have frayed nerves. Refurbishment of the main stadium is so behind schedule there will be no time for test events. Foot-dragging on infrastructure projects, such as vital bridges and roads, has led to several works being cancelled. This month, Denis Oswald, the IOC's top inspector for Athens 2004, said the lack of suitable hotels in the Greek capital 'and chaotic plans to build new ones' was particularly worrying. Plans to host visitors in cruise liners berthed in the port of Piraeus would not solve the problem, he said. There were not only security concerns but the worry of people being trapped in Athens' notorious traffic jams. Fears of the Games being marred by a terrorist strike have increased dramatically since 11 September. As the home of November 17, the terrorist group who murdered British defence attach?, Brigadier Stephen Saunders in June 2000, Greece is viewed as Europe's 'soft underbelly'. 'Security and transport will be a concern till the end' groaned Oswald. As will in-fighting between the different ministeries and agencies handling the Games. 'We can't seem to agree on anything,' sighed one Olympics official. Ph?vos and Athen?, Greece's maligned mascots, would surely agree. http://observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,687827,00.html

I have to admit that I think Greece has much more lovely things to represent them than Athena and Phoebus, but they did not ask for my approval. I suspect that they will become endearing to all of use because of what they represent, and not because of what they resemble.

I have heard the Athens 2004 Olympic mascots referred to as "phallic". Do you think that is the effect that was intended? I hope not.

Heanvens No.... I have also seen this but think it is unwarranted. See Sports 58 and travel 40 for more about Athens 2004 and the mascot controversy.

Remains of ancient factory found on Salamina acropolis Ioannina University excavations unearth some significant Mycenaean relics An ancient factory dating from the late 13th to the early 12th century BC is the latest finding at the Mycenaean acropolis of Salamina. Two big buildings situated close to each other are part of an extensive organized complex, which included a guarded entrance. Other significant finds include part of a copper ingot or talent from Cyprus. Yiannis Lolos, director of Ioannina University�s excavations on Salamina, says the Mycenaean settlement in the Kanakia area can be identified as the �ancient city� of Salamina, which was recorded by the geographer Strabo, who noted that it was deserted in his era (1st century BC - 1st century AD). In other words, it is the oldest capital on the island. Lolos sums up the research done to date: �The late Mycenaean coastal settlement at Kanakia, Salamina, is known to have existed in the Middle Helladic and Early Helladic ages. It comprises an acropolis (the main built-up areas of which cover about 4.5 hectares) and smaller peripheral dependent neighborhoods. In addition to the 12 buildings and urban traces found in 2000, two large buildings (with a triangular fortified entrance) were excavated in autumn 2001, with the support of Ioannina University, the municipality of Salamina and private sponsors.� The first building is a large two-story factory measuring 11.5 x 18 meters, with work areas and other areas. Stone tools, quantities of mineral ores used for coloring, pieces of two clay tubs, low platforms and some work benches were found in the workshop. The second building has a large fortified entrance of an unusual shape, to enable those entering the building to be observed: It is a double triangular gate, the only one of its kind from late Mycenaean Greece or Cyprus. The guard on the gate must have been impressive. Lolos explains that the guard would have included slingers and archers, because a sling stone and a special stone tool for working on arrows were found. References in the �Iliad� indicate they were used in Mycenaean times, but the only visual representation of them is on the famous silver �Siege Rhyton� from Mycenae. The excavation also turned up significant finds related to the connection between Mycenaean Salamina and other Aegean island centers and Cyprus in the late 13th to early 12th century: A painted jug with a spout typical of the 12th century BC and part of a talent made from pure copper imported from Cyprus. The copper ingot has four extremities. �Apart from its importance for the study of international trade in the late Bronze Age, its special shape and the fact that it was found in two prehistoric shipwrecks on the Asia Minor shore, this find contributes to the promotion of marine archaeology,� says Lolos. The wide distribution of copper talents along sea routes is evidenced by the cargoes of ships wrecked at Kimi, Evia, during the the time of Minoan naval domination: The Uluburum of 1305 BC the Helidoni in 1200 BC, and other marine finds of unknown provenance. more and pictures... http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/content.asp?aid=15601

An Iron Age settlement has come to light near Glasgow: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_569688.html An Anglo Saxon burial has revealed a glass bowl (the yahoo stories are virtually identical, but two of them claim, as often, that archaeologists "stumbled upon" the artifact ... I can just see it now, the late Peter Sellers as a Clousseauesque Heinrich Schliemann): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,686712,00.html http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_570032.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4397082,00.html http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020418/ap_wo_en_ge/britain_anglo_saxon_bowl_2 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020418/ap_on_re_eu/britain_anglo_saxon_find_2 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020418/ap_wo_en_ge/britain_anglo_saxon_bowl_1

The 'machination' of ancient Greeks Exhibition at Gazi's 'Technopolis' explores the often overlookedtechnological know-how rooted in Greek civilisation BY CHRISTY PAPADOPOULOU TECHNOLOGY, an essential part of ancient Greece along with art, philosophy and history, has yielded inventions that are used even today in a more advanced form. Ancient Greek Technology, a unique exhibition - currently hosted at the Athens Municipality Technopolis, in Gazi - sheds light on a subject least known and rather neglected by modern-day academics and researchers of ancient Greek life. Twenty-five mock-ups of ancient technological achievements spanning the period from the 6th century BC and onwards and structured around thematic sections - construction, navigation, metallurgy, cranes and pumps, measuring instruments, automation and technology in music and sports - make up the show's dynamic. These are complemented by audio-visual material, captions and explanatory text (in both Greek and English) as well as few epigraphs inscribed with the terms laid down by the State for the construction of specific public works and the penal clauses in case of their breaching by the contractor. Organised in collaboration with Thessaloniki's Technical Museum and the Society for the Study of Ancient Greek Technology, and featuring participation from the Epigraphic Museum, the 1st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, this educational in its orientation show premiered in Thessaloniki in 1997 and has travelled since then to Hanover (2000) and Frankfurt (2001). Though the greatest technological achievements of ancient Greece were realised with the contribution of science from the 6th century BC and onwards it was as early as 1600 BC that three-storey houses were built. The West House of Akrotiri in Thera, an earthquake-resistant urban house from the height of Minoan civilisation, complete with a storeroom and workshops on the ground floor communicating via staircases with the domestic quarters on the upper floor, is an excellent example of the ancients' construction skills. Situated in the Roman Agora the clock tower of Andronekos Cyrrestos, also known as the Tower of the Winds (2nd century BC), was decorated in relief with personified depictions of the main winds. Standing out for its architectural grace the clock tower was engraved with sundials and contained a hydraulic clock. The art of navigation is spotlighted through models of ancient vessels. Among the most known is Kyrenia II, a miniature model of the 4th century BC, 14-metre long cargo-ship that was found off the coast of Cyprus. The Greek Institute for the Protection of Nautical Tradition has constructed a faithful mock-up (in terms of dimensions and materials used) of the ancient ship, which has already sailed to Paphos in Cyprus as well as to Japan and the US. Metals from the mining centres of Lavrio, Sifnos and Thassos opened up new horizons - either in their pure form or as an alloy - competing with widely exploited by that time materials such as stone, wood and clay. As part of the exhibition's metallurgy section, visitors are introduced to a comprehensive show of the different phases of casting bronze statues based on the 'lost wax' technique, widely used even today. Mechanisms such as cranes and pumps were used in ancient times as an alternative to human labour. Such an example is the screw of Archimedes (3rd century BC) used in irrigation and for pumping sea water out of a boat's hold. The section dedicated to measuring instruments is particularly impressive. In Heron's Odometer the movement of a chariot's wheels was translated through a system of communicating discs into units for the measurement of a distance covered. Comprising of seven circular intersecting rings the Astrolabe of Ptolemy (2nd century AD) is an astronomical instrument on which the celestial sphere is projected stereographically. It was used for the measurement of the longitude and latitude of stars from any point of the earth and for finding out the distance between the moon and the sun. Another astronomical device of great precision invented most probably in Rhodes was the Antikythera mechanism. Consisting of 29 variously shaped gears simultaneously activated with a handrail, this complex in its operation mechanism rendered the movement of the sun and the moon in the zodiac. Considered the ancestor of the steam engine, Heron's Aeolipile (an example of automation) exploits the pressure of vapour converting it into motive circular power. Also in the same category are the gates of an altar which opened automatically once the fire of the altar was lit and closed once it went out. Invented by the great Alexandrian engineer Ktesivios, Hydraulis was the first keyboard instrument ever made. Considered as the ancestor of the organ, Hydraulis consisted of metal pipes of various shapes, fed with air of stable pressure and activated for the production of sound by means of special levers or keys. After seeing this exhibition, it becomes obvious that the ancient Greeks' hostile stance towards technology was no more than a myth and that many of today's achievements are owed to their pioneering expertise bequeathed to us through the centuries. * Ancient Greek Technology' is on at the Athens Municipality Technopolis (100 Pireos St, tel 010-3453548 or 010-3474507) through to June 30. Open: daily 10am-2pm and 5-9pm, weekends included. http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique?e=C&f=12958&m=A38&aa=1&eidos=S

Stone Circles: Stonehenge and Beyond Who built them; why were they built, and what do they mean? By Leon Fitts for British Heritage Magazine Dotting the countryside of England, Wales, and Scotland are what the English historian Henry of Huntingdon, in 1130, called 'stones of an amazing size'. No one, he said, can 'guess by what means so many stones were raised so high, or why they were built there.' Huntingdon specifically had Stonehenge in mind, but his description can apply to any of the circular megalithic enclosures in the United Kingdom and the wonderment they have inspired since their construction. These lonely places, often with stark stones standing in defiance of gravity and time, inspire and mystify. Who built them; why were they built, and what do they mean? Questions like these haunt most who see them. pictures and much more... http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blstonecircles.htm

Mummies Past and Future Treasure for Poor Peruvians Reuters Apr 24 2002 1:56PM PURUCHUCO, Peru (Reuters) - Trudging up a dusty rise overlooking a shantytown on the outskirts of Lima, Joel Luyo treads on what once was a sacred burial site of the Inca empire, whose thousands of recently excavated mummies, scientists say, could unlock secrets of the past. But for Luyo and other desperately poor families, the mummies are mostly a hope for a brighter future. "Nobody here knew what lay under the ground -- nobody suspected. It was totally abandoned, filled with trash dumps," said Luyo, a local council member who, like thousands of people who leave rural jungle or mountain homes to try their luck in the crime-ridden Peruvian capital each year, helped settle the Tupac Amaru squatter town 12 years ago. National Geographic's announcement in Washington last week that more than 2,000 mummies had been uncovered beneath Tupac Amaru fanned world interest in the Inca empire, which dominated a vast swath of South America from Colombia to Chile until it was toppled by Spanish conquistadors in the 1530s. Lead archeologist Guillermo Cock and his team of experts say the mummies they have recovered -- all of which were buried alone or in groups of up to seven bodies in large, cotton sacks -- could reveal secrets about diet, disease, death and, most importantly, everyday life for people from 1480-1540. Cock's Lima laboratory is overflowing with hundreds of mummies, their black hair topped with colorful feathers from jungle birds, leathery skin tattooed or adorned with red paint, gnarled but preserved hands still bearing fingernails. Shelves are stacked not only with dozens of infant mummies but the artifacts that accompanied them into the next world: flawless earth-colored and black ceramics decorated with tiny frogs and monkeys, copper staffs, and intricately woven bags that were stuffed with coca leaves and look like new. AN ARCHEOLOGICAL GOLD MINE Although there are a few ruins around Tupac Amaru, no one suspected its 12,000 squatters were living atop an archeological gold mine. When residents applied for property titles to legalize their ramshackle homes, they were told they had to pay for excavations, which revealed the mummies in 1999. Dirt-poor residents had to come up with $7 a month -- a fortune in a country where half the population lives on $1.25 or less a day -- to finance most of the dig so they could get property titles. Cock said they paid more than $100,000 in all. Scientists dug up streets, schoolyards and parks, saying they had to work urgently because sewage and water from the town -- with no water, phones, and until recently, electricity -- was seeping underground and decomposing the mummies. "The situation was unbearable both for the people and for the remains. The remains didn't deserve this fate, nor did the people deserve to live in such conditions," Cock said. Susan Haun, a University of Pennsylvania anthropologist, is working to extract DNA samples from mummies' teeth that, unlike flesh and hair, were not contaminated by sewage. She said the discovery is important not only for the quantity of mummies, ceramics and textiles found, but also because the people buried spanned social classes and ages. "This is a great sociological sample ... because it's so large and the people who died here probably only spanned two generations. It's like a snapshot," Haun said, cradling the head of a mummified 5-year-old child in her hands -- the child's dark brown hair wrapped in cotton, and skin and flattened ear still visible. A MUMMY MUSEUM After National Geographic's high-profile announcement, some townspeople feared they could be evicted for more excavation. Cock says he does not want to send townsfolk packing, but also says that what has been found so far could be just 25 to 40 percent of the entire stash of mummies. Today, residents of the town -- where teen-agers play soccer around Inca ruins on a late-summer day -- say they want a mummy museum. "With tourism, we could get more income," Luyo said. Squinting against the fierce glare from the rocky hills around Tupac Amaru, Luyo says he, like most of his neighbors, is proud of the fact that the shantytown in which he lives has caught the world's eye for its cultural treasures. He said that with so much attention fixed on those buried underneath Tupac Amaru, he hopes that the town's living also will be given a chance to make their lives better. "We've contributed a great deal through great sacrifice," he said.

I have a pic of Stonehenge as my wall-paper at work. Get's lots of comments (not as many as the pics of Colin Firth i have as my screen saver -but still people do ask about the standing stones...) :-)

Stonehenge is amazing. I did NOT want to go to that "tourist trap" that my mind has imagined it to be. Only the pleadings of my son changed my mind and therest is history. My house is full of little things and big of Stonehenge. Each time we visited Britain, we stayed in Salisbury so I could return. Each nuance is etched in my memory. I miss it. Remind me to take a digital photo of my Stonehenge "watch." You'll love it. It really works!

i take the roll of your son, when i'm traveling in England. I always have to talk my friends into seeing it. And they're always glad i made them visit once they see it with their own eyes. Those stones are just awe inspiring. i remember watching some show a few months back (Nova i think) where they tried to re-enact moving a similar size stone from the coast -where they think Stonehenge's stones came from, using the technology available from that time period. -dont think they suceeded.

OK, I do it too, now, but I also first suggest they visit Avebury. That is one completely incredible set of monuments there - large enough to contain an entire little town complete with church and pub. Please tell me you have been there or I shall send you back!

*whispering confession* nope, havent been there. But i've been to Bath and bought a hat. ;-)

Bath? You are into Regency Crescents. Ah well, just keep going up the road A345 (Mark will correct me if I made the mistake I made the first time I posted about it) from Salisbury north up to the Marlborough downs. It's not all that far and you are tracing the route the men who brought the megaliths to Salisbury Plain used when they moved the Sarsen stones (the very hardest of all sandstone.) It is truly worth the hour or less trip and traffic is fairly light if you pick a day NOT involved with a celestial calendar. Been there and did that - once! I got the full treatment of Faux Druids and hippies. Avoid it at all costs. I wonder if Cosmo has been there. Hmm we might need to ask ehsewhere unless he reads more of Geo than I think he does.

One of my favorite pictures of Avebury:

Four henges, Marden Henge, Durrington Walls, Avebury and Mount Pleasant, are far larger than all others at 462, 462, 427 and 345 m in mean diameter respectively. Avebury is also a dramatic outlier among stone circles, with an outer stone circle having a mean diameter of 331.6 m. Inside the gigantic Avebury henge and stone circle are located two megalithic stone circles of 103.6 m, the same diameter as a stone circle surrounding the Newgrange tumulus. http://www.jqjacobs.net/astro/aegeo_4.html I'm still seeking more information about Marden Henge. We drove there to see what was visible. Not much! But for so huge a henge monument, we surely need to do some excavation. Stephen! Get that PhD and do some digging. Please!

Antiquity theft networks continue to covet Greek cultural heritage Archaeological sites and churches are the favorite targets for looters according to Interpol report An Archaic relief depicting two female figures with upraised hands. The artifact was one of the 284 pieces stolen in 1990 from the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth. Today, it is once again on display after a successful operation by the FBI three years ago in Miami, Florida. By Miron Varouhakis - Kathimerini English Edition Places of worship and archaeological sites top the list of places in Greece favored by art thieves, while their preferred loot includes vases, paintings and sculptures. These are some of the basic findings by Interpol�s Stolen Works of Art program, launched in recent years in a drive to crack down on international theft networks that steal, transport and trade cultural objects on a global scale. According to Interpol, France and Italy are the two most affected countries, as the ever-increasing demand in an already drained fine arts market has, in turn, created a need for new, obscure sources of objects d�art. Greece also ranks among countries which have suffered cultural losses from local and cross-border art theft networks, with some 3,554 objects of cultural worth having been stolen, according to Interpol statistics from 1999. Vases, paintings, icons, sculptures and statues, as well as ceremonial objects are some of the cherished spoils sought over the years by art thieves in Greece. Moreover, places of worship and archaeological sites are by far the places targeted most by thieves of Greek antiquities and art. Interpol reports note that 47 of 141 art theft cases in Greece in 1999 occurred in churches, followed by archaeological sites with 27 reported cases, while museums, castles and art galleries each claimed fewer than five incidents. Although museums in Greece are not ostensible targets of art theft rings, one case made the headlines over a decade ago when, on April 12, 1990, thieves broke into the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth and stole 284 artifacts, with a total value of approximately $2 million. It took a painstaking 10-year investigation and close cooperation between American and Greek law enforcement agencies, as well as Interpol, before agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were able to retrieve the stolen antiquities. Following information that a number of the stolen objects had been consigned for auction at Christie�s in New York by a woman identified as Wilma Sabala, FBI agents raided a location in Miami, Florida on June 7, 2000, where they discovered 265 of the stolen antiquities. A further investigation led to the recovery of several more pieces and FBI officials on January 18, 2001 returned a total of 274 artifacts to the Greek museum and Culture Ministry officials during a ceremony held in FBI offices in New York. Interpol argues that it is difficult to gauge the extent of the illicit art trade, mainly because a theft is often not discovered until the stolen objects appear in the official arts market. Another problem is the lack of information being provided by the countries involved to international police agencies. In an effort to keep up with the fast pace of developments in technology and international crime, Interpol has developed a database of information available to all Interpol member states. More recently, the law enforcement agency Stolen Works of Art unit produced a CD-ROM featuring detailed records of stolen and recovered artworks. As many as 50 pieces are featured on Interpol�s website under the heading �Recently stolen works of art,� while as many as 152 works of art are listed as �unclaimed.� �This form of traffic will never cease, but if we want to reduce it, we must work together,� the agency noted in a statement. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_2271738_26/04/2002_15853

Sponge-diver nets 216,000-euro reward A fisherman who handed over to the authorities a record treasure trove of 30,000 Roman coins from an eastern Aegean shipwreck will receive a 216,000-euro reward, following a decision by the Ministry of Culture. In late July 2000, Christos Galouzis from the small Dodecanesian island of Kalymnos and his assistant, Stavros Michas, were diving for sponges off Astypalaia, the westernmost of the island complex, when they located a group of shipwrecks 47 meters deep. One contained the treasure � 182 kilos of, mainly small denomination copper coins. Culture Ministry experts evaluated the find at 432,000 euros and awarded Galouzis half that sum. The fisherman said he would share the reward with Michas. The coins, which date from the second and third centuries AD and were originally in a wooden chest, were probably destined for the payment of Roman soldiers. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_2274597_26/04/2002_15861

LASERS TO CLEAN MONUMENTS Athens, 26 April 2002 (16:43 UTC+2) Lasers will be put to use in an attempt to clean the smog that has settled on the western Frieze of the Parthenon, after the approval of the pertaining study by the Central Archeological Council. The method was initially tested on the surfaces of ancient architectural structures and sculptures, on parts of ancient monuments, the preservation circumstances of which are similar to those of the western Frieze, and on selected areas of the Frieze itself. Specifically, it was established that lasers can be used to deal with all forms of dirt, with no ill effect to the marble surface the colored layers. http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=265544

Will Britain lose its Marbles? Court to decide The long-running dispute over the rightful home of the Elgin Marbles looks likely to end in a bitter court battle and a family row between the descendants of the Scottish earl who first removed the ancient stones from Athens more than 200 years ago. The British Government is named as a defendant in a court case being prepared by a group of Greek shipping tycoons advised by Bruce Tattersall, a barrister and distant relative of the 7th Earl of Elgin. Mr Tattersall claims that the earl, cousin to his great, great grandmother, illegally acquired the 2,500-year-old marbles when he took them from the Acropolis and arranged for them to be sent to England in 1801. The lawsuit, which is also being supported by the former judge and Bloody Sunday inquiry barrister, Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC, is based on the civil law of theft also known as "conversion". But the current 11th Earl of Elgin dismissed any question of illegality yesterday. "Nobody has said thank you for the incredible mission that he [Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin] undertook, which saved the artefacts from destruction. "The Turkish authorities gave him leave to take them." In a draft writ to be lodged at Marylebone County Court, lawyers for the Parthenon Marbles Trust argue that "legal title" was never passed to Lord Elgin or the British Museum under Greek, Ottoman or English law. http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=285458

Al-Qaeda's Role in the Destruction of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)--April 17, 2002--Al-Qaeda and Taliban hardliners in Afghanistan conspired to ``break the cultural neck of the nation'' in an attempt to consolidate power in the country, according to an exclusive report in the May/June issue of Archaeology magazine. In an interview with managing editor Kristin Romey, Paul Bucherer-Dietschi, director of Switzerland's Afghanistan Museum, outlines the Taliban's change in attitude toward Afghan heritage under pressure from Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization, which culminated in the calculated destruction of the 1,500-year-old colossal Bamiyan Buddhas by al-Qaeda demolition experts in March of last year. The destruction of the Buddhas captured world attention, but few knew at the time that it was the work of al-Qaeda. ``Afghan Taliban refused to do the job,'' says Bucherer, ``so Mullah Omar sent in foreigners-Arabs, Chechens, Sudanese-to blow them up. These guys were experts. They drilled holes four, five, six feet into the rock and stuffed them with explosives.'' Accompanying the article are exclusive photographs taken by Bucherer that document the systematic destruction of the Kabul Museum collections. ``The Taliban came in the morning, hammered until prayer time, paused, hammered again, paused for tea, then hammered for the rest of the day,'' he recalls. At the crossroads of great eastern and western empires, Afghanistan was home to over 3,000 years worth of remarkable cultures. Alexander the Great built magnificent Greek cities in the country, and Afghanistan's powerful Buddhist kingdoms were the first to give the Buddha a human form, sculpting its image in the Gandharan style-an exquisite synthesis of classical Greek and Indian art-and carving towering figures of the Buddha into the cliffs of Bamiyan. By the end of 2000, al-Qaeda forces had effectively taken over Afghanistan, bankrolling the hardline Taliban elements that supported them. Al-Qaeda, under increasing pressure from the U.S., was keen on strengthening its grip on the country; Afghan nationalism, reflected in the stone monuments and elaborate sculptures going back thousands of years, was getting in the way. On a trip to Kabul in December of that year, Afghan archaeologists pleaded with Bucherer to spirit whatever artifacts remained in the once-prestigious Kabul Museum and various storerooms out of the country. Hamstrung by the reluctance of international organizations such as UNESCO to support the removal of artifacts from Afghanistan, Bucherer could offer no help. ``Even if I had the agreement of UNESCO, I doubt whether the Afghans would have managed to bypass al-Qaeda and get the materials out,'' he says. The Afghanistan Museum, a museum-in-exile established under an agreement between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance in 1998 to safeguard what remained of the country's cultural treasures, won the official support of UNESCO following the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas.

False idol: Author's research indicates MFA's Snake Goddess is a Fake by Christopher Cox Sunday, April 21, 2002 With his passion for archaeology, Kenneth Lapatin had to dig deep into the past. The object of his great obsession was a small, gold-and-ivory statue in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts and considered one of the masterpieces of Bronze Age art. But more than a decade of research led Lapatin to an unpopular conclusion: The famed, 6-inch figurine wasn't made by the Minoans, a long-lost civilization that flourished on the Mediterranean island of Crete 3,500 years ago. It was, in fact, a forgery less than 100 years old. ``Forgers create what society wants, and what society wants tells you how it constructs the past to suit its own needs,'' said Lapatin, 40, author of a just-published book on the topic, ``Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History'' (Houghton Mifflin Co., $24). The Cambridge resident, a professor of art history at Boston University, has long been familiar with the statue. Anyone with an interest in classical history would know of the MFA's treasure, which the museum acquired in 1914 and has since been reproduced in numerous art history texts. Most recently the Snake Goddess has been a source of inspiration for feminist scholars and New Age philosophers. What Lapatin didn't know about was the murky history surrounding the object, which had no provenence or verified spot of discovery, though it supposedly came from the ancient city of Knossos and was subsequently carried to Boston by a Greek immigrant. In the course of researching a scholarly book about ancient gold-and-ivory statuary, Lapatin began to doubt the Snake Goddess' authenticity. the rest of the story... http://www2.bostonherald.com/lifestyle/lifestyle_trends/life04212002.htm

V. cool pic of Avebury, Marcia! Will definately have to add it as a must see on my next trip! :-)

Welcome S B Robinson. Hi Marcia and all, I think that you are talking about this gold-and-ivory statue. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston c. 1500 B.C. The snake goddess is the source of all life and the central figure in Minoan religion. Below she is represented in elaborate court dress, exposing her breasts. She holds two snakes, which symbolize the mysterious life. On her hat sits a lion. Minoan Snake Goddess From Knossos, Crete (c. 1600 BCE) Fa�ence, height 13 1/2 inches (34.3 cm) (Archeological Museum, Herakleion,Greece) Wishes from Greece John

May I ask you for the place where you live S B Robinson? I need it in order to add your place in the table of weather forecasts in Geo portal. Wishes again John

California, Bay Area (East Bay if we're getting specific)

John needs a city, EsBee. Hayward? San Francisco? Yes, John that is the very statue mentioned as being a fake. My sister saw that while in college on a field trip to Boston Fine Arts Museum. I think I have not the heart to tell her is it fake. As I recall from the pictures and books she brought home for me about it, this is a very beautiful and skillful fake. How sad that we have reduced our gifted artists to making false antiquities to feed either their egos their families. The Metropolitan in New York City for years had a place of honor for their Kouros later proven to be a fake. Thus far, one of my favorites, "The Dying Gaul" has his integrity intact. "Laacoon" is another favorite, but it is not Greek so it doesn't count! *;)

Livermore, Ca.

John, I looked up Livermore CA and found it here http://english.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Livermore%2C+CA

Hi S B Robinson, Your place included in our Geo Portal. -See your time and temperature of your place together with these of the rest friends in Geo directly. -Click on your name and see your weather parameters and forecast for the next days. -Click on the icon that shows time/temp. on the left of your name and see the sky upwards of your head at the same moment. Regards John

Thanks John :-)

Kouros found in Kerameikos By Iota Sykka - Kathimerini Archaeologists excavating one of the best-known ancient sites of Athens have discovered a 2,600-year-old statue of a rare type and in a good state of preservation. The 2-meter-high kouros statue, depicting a naked youth standing upright with his hands clenched by his sides, was found by German Archaeological Institute archaeologists in the ancient Kerameikos cemetery during work to clean a channel associated with the Eridanus River � which traversed the site in antiquity. Archaeologists working with the Ministry of Culture who have seen the statue described it as a unique find of vast importance as it dates to the Protoarchaic Period and is one of the very few known kouroi of that time. They say it is incredibly beautiful and artistically impressive. The statue was found lying face-down at a shallow depth. Everyone who has seen it says the work preserves most sculptural details to an extraordinary degree. It is the most impressive of all the non-architectural finds unearthed by the German Archaeological Institute, and emerged from a spot where nobody had expected such a surprise. The excavation started a few weeks ago, and yielded a series of finds that were important enough to persuade the Ministry of Culture�s Central Archaeological Council to extend the Institute�s excavation permit for three more weeks, following a proposal by archaeologist Liana Parlama, director of the ministry�s Third Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. The impressive kouros was photographed by a special ministry team before being shut in a case. It is now being guarded in a secure location, ahead of being studied, conserved and then exhibited in a fitting manner. [In November 2000, Culture Ministry archaeologists excavating the site of the ancient town of Thera, on the island of Santorini, discovered a 2.3-meter-high statue of a kore, a dressed young woman, dating to around 640 BC.] http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100014_30/04/2002_16000

There was a terrestrial Eridanus River once? I can see it celestially very easily but never knew it actually existed. How wonderful. More paleogeology!

Indeed, existed a river Eridanus as it existed a river Ilissos and some others. These rivers disappeared by the monster of the incontrollable building! Some other rivers as Kifissos are reduced enough. It is also true that are existing buildings in the floor of a small lake without water today, at the west outskirts of Athens. It is not surprising the fact that with normal rain becomes serious flood in enough areas. I imagine that we are not alone in this crazy. But Nature knows well how to take back what is necessary. I am sorry but this is the reality. John

John you are not alone at all. My son's house is on a perched water supply. In downtown Hilo, streets and buildings are built on artesian wells and springs that only appear during very wet times of the year. They are always being pumped and routed around for safety. I am sorry about the Eridanus River. I thought maybe the last ice age changed it as the rivers of the US were changed. I have no problem with that, but I do worry when it is man's stupidity at work. *Sigh* Thank you for the information. I will seek it further.

They actually erected a building in a dry lake bed?! Incredible!

Not only a building. But almost a part of an entire city!!!!!!!! Believe it. John

Are the lawyers as aggressive in Greece as in the US? If so, this is going to prove to be a very expensive oversight. It cannot be much above the water table unless it is on a sealed caprock lake bed. It will be morbidly interesting to see what transpires as time passes. With the wet winter you just experienced, I am certain they had water problems.

"The same level of thinking that created them cannot solve the problems that exist in this world. (Albert Einstein)" John

Exhibition of 200 artefacts at the National Archaeological Museum showcasesglassmaking techniques from the Prehistoric period up to Late Byzantine times BY CHRISTY PAPADOPOULOU WHETHER plain or intricately decorated, transparent or iridescent, they are bound together by their fragility and elegance. Over 200 rare glass vessels - bowls, jugs, flasks and vases - of distinct beauty are displayed at the National Archaeological Museum through to July 30. Comprising select pieces from the museum's collection, the Fragile Luxury exhibition offers insight into glassmaking techniques employed in mainland Greece and on the islands from the Prehistoric period to Late Byzantine times. One of the show's oldest exhibits dating to the 15th-14th centuries BC is a rim and neck fragment of an Egyptian vase from the Acropolis of Mycenae decorated with coloured threads. Indicatively in Greece the word kyanos (used to define glass) is first encountered in Linear B tablets from Pylos and Mycenae. When not grouped by type or shape, vessels are classified by context as in the case of the Palaeokastro Treasure comprising the finds of a richly furnished grave accidentally brought to light by farmers near Karditsa, Thessaly in the early 1900s. On show are three glass vessels: two amphora-shaped, handle-free imitation agate vases and a transparent one. Dating to the 2nd century BC and cast in two, these were possibly used as ceremonial discs. Another eye-catching item exhibited in context is a bluish green hemispherical bowl bearing floral motifs on the outside. Its bottom decorated with a carved rosette, this glass vase creating the visual effect of relief comes from the Antikythera shipwreck first registered at the north coast of Antikythera in 1900 with additional research operations following in 1953 by Frederic Dumas and in 1976 by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Apart from marble and bronze statues the cargo ship also carried important Hellenistic period monochrome and polychrome glass vases (the latter of three types: "millefiori", lace-work and strip-mosaic bowls) - also represented in this show - dating to the early 1st century BC. A colourless bucket with a yellowish tinge said to be from Cyprus (late 4th century BC), a mould-blown cinerary urn with separately applied handles (1st-2nd century AD) and variously-shaped unguentaria from Kerameikos, Piraeus, Corinth, Megara and Amorgos - ranging from tiny to unusually large dimensions - and a miniature Negroid head flask (2nd century AD) also attract the visitor's attention. Standing on its own with a mirror placed beneath it in order to facilitate the viewing of its relief-like decoration is a transparent two-handled bowl (1st century BC-early 1st century AD) engraved on the outside with two Cupids - one on each side - mounted on a sea-griffin and a seahorse respectively. Cast in one piece and wheel-polished on the outside this vessel was found in a grave on the island of Siphnos. The core-forming technique, which flourished from the late 6th century BC onwards, was used to manufacture mainly amphoriskoi, alabastra, aryballoi and oinochoai. Casting yielded finely fashioned transparent as well as mosaic vessels. From the 1st century BC, glassblowing proved to be revolutionary as it transformed glass-making from an art reserved to a select elite to an affordable commodity for all. Belonging in the latter category are two 14th century AD flasks - one decorated with lozenges, the other with vertical lines - found in a grave inside the theatre of Dionysos, at the foot of Athens' Acropolis. http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=12959&t=04&m=A38&aa=1

wow!! glassware so intricate from way back then!!

In Hawaii, bottle collectors are happy to find one 50 years old. Archaeological excavation on such delicate things as blown glass must require the patience and dedication of a neurosurgeon.

Not to mention some really top quality brushes and other tools to coax the earth off the glass.

Badger hair, as I recall, for the brushes, and dental tools for extracting the tiniest bits from the rock-hard soil in which they are entombed. I'd LOVE doing that. I am a micro-manager.