Lycurgus Cup inspires cool new sensor technology

Inspired by a marvel of ancient Roman art glass, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have designed a device that uses inexpensive light-sensitive plastics to do DNA, drug and protein analysis. The British Museum’s Lycurgus Cup is made out of dichroic glass, glass with added nanoparticles of gold and silver which alter the color of the glass depending on how the light hits it and where the observer stands. The cup looks green in reflected light (light shone directly on it) and red in transmitted light (light shone behind and through it).

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Researcher offers fresh insights into the Dead Sea Scrolls

 

New research conducted by a Trinity College academic in Jerusalem offers new insights into one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which is concerned with the mystery of existence. Dr Benjamin Wold, Assistant Professor in New Testament at the Department of Religions and Theology, has been conducting research on the Dead Sea Scrolls known as “4QInstruction” which is believed to have been composed around the mid-2nd century BC. Despite considerable efforts to reconstruct this scroll from multiple copies, experts believe that only about 30 per cent of the document remains. Found in the remaining passages are frequent admonitions to understand the “mystery of existence.” Research conducted at the Israel Museum consulting individual fragments of the document has allowed Dr Wold to offer several new reconstructions of the document and confirm others.
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One Mummy Many Coffins

According to Anders Bettum, Egyptologist at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo (his PhD thesis, “Faces within Faces – The Symbolic Function of Nested Yellow Coffins in Ancient Egypt”), nested coffins were not only a status symbol for the Egyptian elite. “They also played a key role in the process that would link the deceased to their ancestors: to Osiris, the god of the afterlife, and to Amun-Ra, the sun- and creator god”.

The rituals and the myths that were reiterated during the seventy days that a funeral lasted are symbolically rendered on the coffins. The components of each nest, including the mummy-cover, the inner and outer coffins – reflect the Egyptians’ view of the world.

“The decorations, the forms and the choice of materials signify a unification of the two myths about Osiris and Amun-Ra respectively. On the outer coffin, the deceased is portrayed as Osiris, with a mummified body, a blue-striped wig and a pale, solemn face. The coffin is painted yellow and varnished, and must have shone like gold. The very richest Egyptians did in fact use gold leaf on their coffins. The choice of color is not coincidental: it represents the light and its origin in the sun. That the figure of Osiris is being bathed in sunlight can, in my mind, only mean one thing. The decoration invokes a well known mythical image: when the sun god arrives in the throne hall of Osiris in the 6th hour of the night and the two deities join in mystical union. According to the Egyptians, this union was the source of all regeneration in nature, and it was here, at the center of this ‘catalyst of life’ that the deceased wanted to be placed for all eternity.” 

 Another key finding, Bettum explains, is that the innermost layers of the coffin nests dating from the 19th dynasty (approximately 1292-1191 BCE) were fashioned as living humans in their best outfits. The innermost layer was the most important one, since it shows the objective of the afterlife transformation: the “state of paradise” to which these people aspired involved not only a mystical union with the gods; but more importantly a return to their old “self”.

Even though complete Egyptian coffin nests still can be found intact in some places, most have been disassembled and are today scattered in museums all over the world. As a researcher, Bettum would like to see more international cooperation to reassemble the coffin ensembles in the same location. He also believes that such projects would be fascinating to the public and rekindle interest in some of the world’s largest and most enigmatic cultural treasures. “So far, national legislation and interests have unfortunately served as barriers to such cooperation,” he concludes.
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Oregon Trail section damaged by Idaho artifact-seekers

Relic hunters under pressure in Idaho. The Oregon Trail generally followed the level ground along the Snake River before entering northeastern Oregon, where immigrants crossed the Blue Mountains.: 

A portion of the Oregon Trail in south-central Idaho near Burley has been damaged by people using metal detectors and shovels to illegally search for artifacts, federal officials said. Bureau of Land Management officials said they recently found about 400 holes over several miles of the trail, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and protected under the Archaeological Resource Protection Act of 1979. The holes are along wagon ruts made in the 1800s through the dirt and sagebrush by thousands of immigrants heading to Oregon, officials said. "It is the BLM's responsibility to protect and preserve any sections of the Oregon National Historic Trail under its jurisdiction," said BLM Burley Field Office Archaeologist Suzann Henrikson.

BLM seem to take this very seriously:

"The recent damage to the trail near Burley has resulted in a significant loss of history for the American public." The BLM is seeking information on who did the digging. "Although owning a metal detector is not illegal, be aware that using this device on lands under federal management may result in a crime," Henrikson said. "If you sink a shovel in an archaeological site on public land, you could be convicted of a felony."

One wonders what "precious" relics these people found along the trail.

The Associated Press, 'Oregon Trail section damaged by Idaho artifact-seekers', Oregon Live August 24, 2013

Ancient Libyan necropolis threatened by real estate speculators.

Local residents recently destroyed part of the Cyrene necropolis, an ancient Greek city in north-eastern Libya, to make way for houses and shops. Our Observer, an archeology professor, laments the authorities’ unwillingness to act to prevent the destruction of this invaluable archaological heritage. Cyrene dates back to about 700 B.C. and was the oldest and largest Greek colony in eastern Libya, a region now known as Cyrenaica. Of the city’s former glory remains an enormous necropolis — nearly 10 square kilometers in size — used between 600 and 400 B.C. The necropolis includes 1,200 burial vaults dug into the bedrock and thousands of individual sarcophagi that lie on the ground. Even though the city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, local farmers have laid claim to certain parts of the necropolis and recently destroyed a section with the help of excavators in order to make way for new houses. Read more.

and US archeologists want to repatriate stuff to these Ay-rab Islamist hooligans that don't know how to look after it. They need to think again. 

Hoard of 1,500-Year-Old Coins Found in Ancient Garbage Dump

The archeologists campaigning against collectors will not admit to one simple truth. Not all coin finds are made on archeological sites: Hoard of 1,500-Year-Old Coins Found in Ancient Garbage Dump: 

Archeologists and researchers are trying to figure out why a recently found treasure of 1,500-year-old coins and other artifacts was buried in Byzantine era refuse pits. The excavations, on behalf of the Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, are being carried out prior to expanding the city of Herzliya, immediately north of Tel Aviv. Numerous finds dating to the Late Byzantine period of the 5th-7th centuries were among the antiquities discovered in excavations conducted in the agricultural hinterland of the ancient city of Apollonia-Arsuf, located east of the site. Read more.

Send Our Ka-Nefernefer Mask to Egypt?

The US government, attempting to curry favour with the Egyptian state, has been trying now for some time to get the 19th dynasty Ka-Nefernefer mask out of the St Louis Art Museum. the latter has opposed the move, showing that the object is legally owned by them.  Meanwhile events in Egypt have taken a turn for the worse, and at the time of writing, the country seems to be on the brink of civil war. In which case, it would be very unwise of our government to entrust the safety of this magnificent piece of world cultural heritage to the tender mercies of a country falling apart. Just saying.

Monash University Academic Saves Ancient Tabletu

Monash University, Ancient artifact gets a good bake Aug 15, 2013:

An information technology academic’s love of ancient languages and cultures has resulted in the preservation of a 4000 year-old artifact. Dr Larry Stillman, from the Caulfield School of Information Technology at Monash University, usually spends his time researching the social effects of IT in community organizations. His passion and original training however, is for the languages and cultures of ancient Mesopotamia which he studied for many years in Jerusalem and at Harvard University. Through his work in this area, Dr Stillman has come to own a tablet written in the ancient Sumerian language in cuneiform, a wedge shaped writing that was done with a stylus on soft clay. "I have deciphered the tablet, and it is one of the tens of thousands of receipts that were produced for the issue and delivery of goods to the great temples of what is known as the Third Dynasty of Ur," Dr Stillman said. Unfortunately the tablet is too fragmentary to know what the delivery was for, but the names of the people involved are on the tablet. It was most likely for goods such as reeds." Dr Stillman's tablet was not left in the sun to dry, as was often the case, and had become very fragile over the years. "The only way to preserve it was to bake it. And to do this I enlisted the help of Brent King, from the Monash Caulfield glass workshop," Dr Stillman said. With instructions from the British Museum, which has the world's largest collection of tablets, Mr King put the tablet through its paces in the glass workshop kiln over several days. "It was a successful bake, and while the tablet is still delicate, it is now likely to last another 4000 years," Dr Stillman said. "It's certainly the oldest thing Mr King has ever handled, and is quite possibly the oldest document to ever grace the Caulfield campus." Dr Stillman is currently involved in work with a colleague at Hebrew University on cataloging all the tablets in Australia and New Zealand. Dr Stillman would be very interested to hear from members of the community who might know of tablets in private or other collections which could become part of a scholarly contribution to knowledge about ancient Mesopotamia.

Tomb of a Powerful Moche Priestess-Queen Found in Peru

Some 1,200 years ago, a prominent Moche woman was laid to rest with great pomp and ceremony. Now archeologists have uncovered her tomb along with clues that testify to her privileged status and the power she once wielded ("Tomb of a Powerful Moche Priestess-Queen Found in Peru").The discovery—made over the last couple of weeks at the site of San José de Moro in the Jequetepeque River valley of northern Peru—is one of several that have revolutionized ideas about the roles women played in Moche society. In about A.D. 750 this revered woman was buried in a large chamber some 20 feet (6 meters) beneath the ground. The earthen walls of her tomb were painted red, and large niches held offerings of ceramic vessels. Two adults, presumably sacrificed female attendants, were buried with her along with five children. Read more.

Looters Miss Giant Frieze

Giant Maya Frieze Found in Guatemala

 

Archeologist Anya Shetler cleans an inscription below an ancient stucco frieze recently unearthed in the buried Maya city of Holmul in the Peten region of Guatemala. Sunlight from a tunnel entrance highlights the carved legs of a ruler sitting atop the head of a Maya mountain spirit. The enormous frieze - which measures 26 feet by nearly 7 feet (8 meters by 2 meters) - depicts human figures in a mythological setting, suggesting these may be deified rulers. It was discovered in July in the buried foundations of a rectangular pyramid in Holmul. Maya archeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli and his team were excavating a tunnel left open by looters when they happened upon the frieze. “The looters had come close to it, but they hadn’t seen it,” Estrada-Belli said. Read more.

Florida says: "No More Hunting for Spanish Treasures"

Florida should be a treasure hunter’s dream come true. Except it’s not.  Its sand and sea hide riches of the past, thanks to the state’s Spanish colonizers of the 1500s and treasure-laden ships that sank off shores. Until recently, you didn’t have needed to dig very deep to find valuable booty. With a metal detector, you easily could unearthed treasures left behind by forgetful beachgoers. A Tiffany and Co. platinum wedding band worth more than $2,000, a 3/4-carat diamond ring, a 2-carat ruby ring and a mint-condition Rolex Submariner watch are just a few of the riches Gary Drayton recovered during his metal-hunting days. His best find was a 9-carat Spanish-era emerald ring. But that may be the end of it for Drayton and his treasure-seeking ilk (No More Hunting for Spanish Treasures Says Florida).

But that may be the end of it for Drayton and his treasure-seeking ilk. While it’s legal to use metal detectors at Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf Coast state parks, Drayton told Florida Watchdog, treasure hunters have to get permission from the park manager and hunt only on the dry, sandy beach between the high water line and the sand dune. The Florida Division of Recreation & Parks Department of Environmental Protection says the restriction is to ensure the “preservation and protection of archaeological resources.”
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Old Shipwreck Yields "Most Silver Ever"

An oceanic exploration company has recovered 122,000 pounds of silver from a shipwreck 300 miles off the coast of Galway, Ireland—the heaviest amount of precious metal ever retrieved from a shipwreck ('Shipwreck Yields Most Silver Ever').

In February 1941, the S.S. Gairsoppa, a 412-foot steel-hulled British cargo ship with stockpiles of tea, iron, and silver, was weathering a storm when it was struck by a Nazi torpedo. The ship sank within 20 minutes; only one person survived.  At the time, the silver that ended up on the seafloor was insured at $1.3 million. Today it’s worth about $75 million. The silver was retrieved about two weeks ago by Odyssey Marine Exploration, which used a remotely operated vehicle to access the shipwreck. The vehicle descended about three miles and explored several rooms in the ship until it found the silver in two locations. Read more.