Clipmarks | Aribeth's Archaeology collection

Secrets of Antikythera Mechanism, world's oldest calculating machine, revealed

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:45:58 GMT

clipped by: Beholder

The secrets of the worlds oldest calculating machine are revealed today, showing that it had dials to mark the timing of eclipses and the Olympic games.

The dictionary sized crumbly lump containing corroded fragments of what is now known to be a marvellous hand cranked machine is known as the 'Antikythera Mechanism' because it was discovered near the tiny island of Antikythera, between Crete and mainland Greece.

"We knew that this 2,100 year-old ancient Greek mechanism calculated complex cycles of mathematical astronomy. It really surprised us to discover that it also showed the four-year cycle of ancient Greek games," reports Dr Tony Freeth of Images First, a TV company, and three academic colleagues today in the journal Nature.

Earlier work on the mechanism, which dates to around 150 to 100 BC, showed it displays the date, positions of the Sun and Moon (including its variable motion), the phase of the Moon, a complex 19-year calendar and sophisticated eclipse prediction dials.

Tags: archeology, antiques, antikythera

100 Most Endangered Sites

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:57:48 GMT

clipped by: Lubaska

Clip Source: wmf.org

World Monuments Watch

Every two years, WMF announces the World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most Endangered Sites to call international attention to cultural heritage sites around the world threatened by neglect, vandalism, armed conflict, climate change, or natural disaster.

Complete lists by year (pdf): 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006

Clip Source: wmf.org

Cultural Heritage Sites of Iraq, Iraq

Long known as "the cradle of civilization," Iraq is home to more than 10,000 cultural heritage sites

Historic buildings in Baghdad and other urban areas have been damaged, not only as a consequence of military activity and terrorism, but also from vandalism and looting.

Clip Source: wmf.org

Afghanistan

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Azerbaijan

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Australia

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Bosnia

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France

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Georgia

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China

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Cyprus

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Egypt

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Luxor

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Greece

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Ghana

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India

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Italy

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Transhumance Cultural Landscape, Italy

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Rock Art, Libya

Clip Source: wmf.org

Malta

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Mexico

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Peru

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Slovakia

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Sri Lanka

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Turkey

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United States

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Uzbekistan

Tags: wmf, world, archeology, architecture, monuments

Did an Ancient Language of Universal Symbols Exist?

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:24:43 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Over the last several years, similar petroglyphs have been identified on as many as five continents. They all date from roughly the same time-period. In the late 20th century, archaeologists discovered a collection of symbols carved in stone as petroglyphs in the Negev desert of Israel that appeared to be writing. Dating of these symbols showed that they were made over an extended period time, beginning around 1700 BC.

This strange collection of symbols was first examined by Dr. James Harris, a petroglyph expert and archaeologist from Brigham Young University. He identified the alphabet as being a proto-Canaanite system, which successfully translated by using old-Hebrew or Thalmudic phonetic sounds.

Earlier, William McGlone, an amateur archaeologist and retired space engineer, discovered the same collection of symbols carved in heavily patinated stones surrounding the Southeast town of La Junta, Colorado

the patina corresponded to the same era as the writing found in Harkarkom in Israel.

Tags: petroglyphs, archaeology, language, symbols

The Anasazi mystery

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:32:01 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

about 30 miles east of Tucson, the ancient stone ruin archaeologists call the Davis Ranch Site doesn’t seem to fit in. Staring back from the opposite bank, the tumbled walls of Reeve Ruin are just as surprising

Some 700 years ago, as part of a vast migration, a people called the Anasazi, driven by God knows what, wandered from the north to form settlements like these, stamping the land with their own unique style

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

These Anasazi newcomers

were distinctive in other ways. They liked to build with stone

Why, in the late 13th century, did thousands of Anasazi abandon Kayenta, Mesa Verde and the other magnificent settlements of the Colorado Plateau and move south into Arizona and New Mexico?

Looking beyond climate change, some archaeologists are studying the effects of warfare and the increasing complexity of Anasazi society. They are looking deeper into ancient artifacts and finding hints of an ideological struggle, clues to what was going through the Anasazi mind.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Necklace is 'oldest in Americas'

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:07:35 GMT

clipped by: queerty

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Necklace is 'oldest in Americas'

A necklace found near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru is the oldest known gold object made in the Americas, archaeologists say.

Radiocarbon dating puts its origin at about 4,000 years ago, when hunter-gatherers occupied the area.

The researchers say it appears to have been fashioned from gold nuggets.

The discovery suggests that the use of gold jewellery to signify status began before the appearance of more complex societies in the Andes, they report.

Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), they say the artefact is the earliest worked gold found not only in the Andes, but the Americas as well.

Study leader Dr Mark Aldenderfer of the department of anthropology at the University of Arizona, Tucson, said it demonstrated an emerging social role for gold beyond simple decoration.

Tags: necklace, oldest, america

1,000 Graves Unearthed in Ancient Greece

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:04:33 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

1,000 Ancient Graves Unearthed in Greece

March 11, 2008 -- Greek workers discovered around 1,000 graves, some filled with ancient treasures, while excavating for a subway system in the historic city of Thessaloniki, the state archaeological authority said Monday.

Some of the graves, which dated from the first century B.C. to the 5th century A.D., contained jewelry, coins and various pieces of art, the Greek archaeological service said in a statement.

Thessaloniki was founded around 315 B.C. and flourished during the Roman and Byzantine eras. Today it is the Mediterranean country's second largest city.

Most of the graves -- 886 -- were just east of the city center in what was the eastern cemetery during Roman and Byzantine times. Those graves ranged from traces of wooden coffins left in simple holes in the ground, to marble enclosures in five-room family mausoleums.

A separate group of 94 graves were found near the city's train station, in what was once part of the city's western cemetery.

Skeleton evidence of ancient brain surgery

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:50:39 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.usatoday.com

Greek archaeologists said Tuesday they have unearthed rare evidence of what they believe was brain surgery performed nearly 1,800 years ago on a young woman — who died during or shortly after the operation.

Although references to such delicate operations abound in ancient writings, discoveries of surgically perforated skulls are uncommon in Greece.

Site excavator Ioannis Graikos said the woman's skeleton was found during a rescue dig last year in Veria, a town some 46 miles west of Thessaloniki.

"We interpret the find as a case of complicated surgery which only a trained and specialized doctor could have attempted," Graikos said.

Tags: greek, archaeology, brain

Exploring the "lost city" of Mycenaeans

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:30:58 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Professor Daniel J. Pullen is unearthing a 3600-year-old "lost city" in Aegean coast.

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Along an isolated, rocky stretch of Greek shoreline, a Florida State University researcher and his students are unlocking the secrets of a partially submerged, “lost” harbor town believed to have been built by the ancient Mycenaeans nearly 3,500 years ago.

“This is really a remarkable find,” said Professor Daniel J. Pullen, chairman of FSU’s Department of Classics. “It is rare indeed to locate an entire town built during the Late Bronze Age that shows this level of preservation.”

The settlement, referred to as Korphos-Kalamianos by Pullen and Tartaron, rests on the shores of the Saronic Gulf in the western Aegean Sea about 60 miles to the southwest of the Greek capital, Athens.

Tags: archaeology, aegean, mycenaean, lost city, science

"Zeus Altar" is older than Zeus

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:10:23 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

“On the highest point of the mountain is a mound of earth, forming an altar of Zeus Lykaios, and from it most of the Peloponnesos can be seen,” wrote Pausanias, in his famous, well-respected multi-volume Description of Greece. “Before the altar on the east stand two pillars, on which there were of old gilded eagles. On this altar they sacrifice in secret to Lykaion Zeus. I was reluctant to pry into the details of the sacrifice; let them be as they are and were from the beginning.”

What would surprise Pausanias—as it is surprising archaeologists—is how early that “beginning” actually may be. New pottery evidence from excavations by the Greek-American, interdisciplinary team of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project indicates that the ash altar—a cone of earth located atop the southern peak of Mt Lykaion where dedications were made in antiquity— was in use as early as 5,000 years ago—at least 1,000 years before the early Greeks began to worship the god Zeus.

Tags: archaeology, greece, zeus, minos

Inside the palace of Augustus - pics

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:37:09 GMT

clipped by: righthand
clipper's remarks: Lived in by Augustus before he became Rome's first emperor in 27BC, the house is situated above the grotto where Romans may have worshipped Romulus, the city's founder, and was also handy for watching horse racing in the Circus Maximus at the foot of the hill. "Augustus wanted to be near the grotto, but could also see the races from up here," said Italy's culture minister, Francesco Rutelli.

The restoration, begun after the house was found in the 1970s, has reconstructed shattered frescoes in deep reds, yellows and blues featuring theatrical masks and mythical animals. "The extremely high quality of the frescoes befits the owner, although these were the fashions of the time and don't offer much insight into Augustus's individual taste," said Angelo Bottini, Rome's archaeological chief.

Tourists - who will be allowed in five at a time - may be surprised to see how modest the study, bedroom, entrance hall and dining room were. Augustus, Julius Caesar's great nephew, avoided excess

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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1968: Archaeologist Claudio Moccheggioni examines pieces of painted plaster found in the three-room palace on Palatine Hill, in Rome. After it was discovered, experts identified the site as the house of the emperor Augustus

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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Objects painted over brightly coloured backgrounds

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A visitor looks at vivid red frescoes

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Decoration in the fashion of the period

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The palace is situated above a grotto where Romans may have worshipped Romulus

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Decorative birds

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Mythical creatures are seen on some pieces of fresco

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The magnificent view over Rome from the palace

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A detail of one of the frescoes

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Visitors photograph one of the rooms

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Geometric patterns on a frescoed ceiling

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The fragile pieces of fresco show the painstaking restoration work

Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rome, Italy: The house of the Roman emperor Augustus opens after decades of painstaking restoration

Inside the palace of Augustus

Tags: italy, photos, history, archaeology

Chinese Caucasian Mummies

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:30:05 GMT

clipped by: ramsesemerson
clipper's remarks: Love mummies!!!!!!!!

Clip Source: www.meshrep.com

A Tocharian female mummy with long flaxen blond hair, perfectly preserved in ponytails. Items of weaved material, identical to Celtic cloth, definitively proved the Indo-European origins of the Tocharians, who not only built the fantastic Silk Road cities which today lie deserted, but who are also credited with bringing Buddhism, horses, the saddle, and iron working to China. This mummy was approximately 40-years old, was found in the main chamber of the same tomb. Her tall stature, high nose, and red hair indicate that she was of European descent.

In the late 1980's, perfectly preserved 3000-year-old mummies began appearing in a remote Taklamakan desert. They had long reddish-blond hair, European features and didn't appear to be the ancestors of modern-day Chinese people. Archaeologists now think they may have been the citizens of an ancient civilization that existed at the crossroads between China and Europe.

Tags: mummies, archaeology, china

Lost Cities - pics

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:09:08 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Don't know why they are called lost cities. If photos have been taken, I would presume they have been pound.

Clip Source: www.shunya.net

Ancient Amman

Tags: pics, lost, cities, that, have, been, found

The gods in colour

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:11:22 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.archaeology.org

Leave your preconceived notions of ancient art at home. A groundbreaking exhibition

shows how marble statues actually looked in antiquity: covered from head to toe in vibrant paint.

The exhibition corrects a popular misconception,

people generally associate classical art with white marble sculpture. "What you would have seen when you walked through an ancient city, cemetery, or sanctuary," she explains, "would have been colorful sculpture: painted marble, colorful bronze, gold and ivory cult images.

Original (not on view in the exhibition): Greek, ca. 320 B.C.; marble, height of friezes 58 cm; Istanbul, Archaeological Museum

Above: Alexander Sarcophagus, color reconstruction of part of one long side (Courtesy Stiftung Archäologie, Munich)

Caligula

Athena

Original (not on view in the exhibition): Greek, ca. 490-480 B.C.; marble, overall height ca. 340 cm; Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich

Aristion

Baghdad museum's slow recovery

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:02:30 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Assyrian Hall at the Iraqi National Museum is breathtaking

The Assyrians once ruled a large empire

Stone panels from the royal palace at Khorsabad run along the walls.

The carvings on the friezes depict daily life in the Assyrian royal court, which at its height about 3,000 years ago controlled a region stretching across much of the modern Middle East.

Recent work in the hall has included the addition of a modern arch, which is flanked by ancient bulls with eagle wings and human heads.

It forms the entrance to the hall, which gives you the sense of walking into an Assyrian palace.

Perhaps the Assyrian gallery is so stunning because it is so unexpected in Baghdad.

Many of Iraq's ancient treasures have been looted since 2003

That collection was devastated in the days following the US-led invasion in 2003, when looters emptied the vaults.

Some important artefacts have been returned, including the Warka vase, which is over 5,000 years old.

Iraqis are fiercely proud of their cultural heritage.

Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2007

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:31:47 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: This is Archaeology Magazine's Top 10 list - mine would be a little different. If you visit source site, there are more discoveries of 2007 which didn't make it into the magazine's list but proposed by scholars.

Clip Source: www.archaeology.org

Solar Observatory at Chankillo, Peru

Nebo-Sarsekim Cuneiform Tablet

New Dates for Clovis Sites

Early Squash Seeds, Peru

Ancient Chimpanzee Tool Use

Urbanization at Tell Brak, Syria

Lismullin Henge, Tara, Ireland

Polynesian Chickens in Chile

Homo habilis & Homo erectus

Greater Angkor, Cambodia