Friday, September 30, 2011

Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve: Did Lucretius’s Poem Really Bring Us Modernity? - Slate Magazine

Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve: Did Lucretius’s Poem Really Bring Us Modernity? - Slate Magazine
Yeah, I consider Slate and NPR to be "mainstream media," so DRN is now batting 2/2 for appearances in those venues. Having spent a good deal of my life with Lucretius, I don't think I am itching to read this book, but I wish other people would. Actually, I just wish they would read DRN!

A Don's Life: AD vs CE

A Don's Life: AD vs CE
Mary Beard weighs in on the BC/BCE and AD/CE problem, which has been in the news since the BBC appears to have made a policy statement on it. At the end of her article is a link to another one, by Boris Johnson, a colourful British politician, who disagrees with her.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

More Mycenaean Tablet

The Mycenaean Tablet: From the people who found it
Actually, it's Pylian, but I didn't think that would get people's attention. Here is an article from the UT website with an account from Cynthia Shelmerdine about the finding of the tablet, which is now described as the oldest readable writing from antiquity. (It says the number 1 and somebody's name; the back side says that something is "finished." Maybe.) She was my first-year Greek teacher, and she started the class off by explaining how to write Linear B.

Another article on the Mycenaean tablet

National Geographic on the Mycenaean tablet

(New) Tablet from the Mycenaean Hinterland

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/science/05archeo.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=cosmopoulos%20iklaina&st=cse
This is not "new" in many senses of the word; I seem not to have been paying attention when the news came out last spring, and, of course, the thing itself isn't exactly new, either, being from the Late Bronze Age. This is the NYTimes article, where for some reason my Greek professor Cynthia Shelmerdine makes only a cameo appearance, although this little things does seem to be her baby.
I will also post another link to a National Geographic article about the tablet.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Archeological Sites in Ancient City of Apamea Vandalized and Pillaged- SANA, Syria

Archeological Sites in Ancient City of Apamea Vandalized and Pillaged- SANA, Syria
Don't believe I've ever posted a link to a Syrian website, until now. Enough news is getting out of Syria to suggest that the troubles there have created an opportunity for people to loot Apamea and its archaeological site. Who knows what other sites have been damaged? Precious little information on Syria has been seen.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Ice Mummy: Little-Known Facts : Discovery News

The Ice Mummy: Little-Known Facts : Discovery News
Sept. 19, 2011, marked the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the Iceman in South Tyrol. Here are 20 "facts" about him--or rather, educated guesses, in some cases.

BBC News - Sada Mire: Uncovering Somalia's heritage

BBC News - Sada Mire: Uncovering Somalia's heritage
Ms. Sada Mire is a native of Somalia who escaped as a refugee to Sweden and now studies in England. She has discovered several important prehistoric rock paintings in her native country, which is the part of Somalia which recently voted to become independent. Not surprisingly, archaeology is in its infancy in this place, and there are no museums. But UNESCO is considering listing the places she has discovered as world heritage sites.

Monday, September 19, 2011

"Virtual" Alhambra planned

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/02/world/europe/alhambra-sustainable-tourism/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6#
It appears that you will be able to "see" the closed-off-because-too-delicate-or-under-construction areas of the Alhambra thru a new app you can get when you visit. Weird. But there is also news of some physical restoration work at the palace.
Article include some lovely pictures of the palace, in a slide show.

ekathimerini.com | Shedding light on daily life and habits of ancient Greeks

ekathimerini.com Shedding light on daily life and habits of ancient Greeks
The ASCS in Athens has a lab where increasingly high-level forensic analysis can be done: they are now taking on the cache of 450 human infant skeletons from the 2nd c. CE found in a "well" many decades back. Seems to show practices of disposing of the remains of stillborn babies, babies who died in their first days, and perhaps deformed babies in ancient times. Oh, yeah, there are dog skeletons, too. Nobody quite knows what that's about.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Thursday, September 15, 2011

AFP: History brought to life as Battle of Marathon re-enacted

AFP: History brought to life as Battle of Marathon re-enacted
Only 50 people showed up! And the Greek government wasn't interested, although the city of Marathon was. Three pictures accompany the article: note the nice greaves.

City archaeologists make filthy find

City archaeologists make filthy find
Why archaeology--even more-recent-than-classical--is fun (for some people): work on a subway (what else?) in Copenhagen has turned up an 18th-century public toilet, in which the environmental conditions have conspired to preserve the, uh, contents in such good condition that they retain their original odor. Some archaeologists find this sort of thing very exciting--see the quotes from them in the article. They are quite cute as they exclaim over their discoveries: eighteenth-century Danes were eating rye, not just barley!

Controversy over Pompeii funding | The Art Newspaper

Controversy over Pompeii funding The Art Newspaper
More Italian managerial brilliance.

'Tatooine' gives first direct proof of 2-sun planet – Light Years - CNN.com Blogs

'Tatooine' gives first direct proof of 2-sun planet – Light Years - CNN.com Blogs
Ok, not classical, but very cool: a planet has been found 200 light years from Earth. It has two suns and is informally being called "Tatooine," after Luke Skywalker's double-sun homeland.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Damnatio memoriae in Tripoli

In Tripoli's museum of antiquity only Gaddafi is lost in revolution World news The Guardian
From Sunday, 9/11/11: the director of the museum in Tripoli reports that only Gaddafi's 1960s vintage VW Beetle and his Jeep were damaged when rebels came through the museum, looking for a secret passage into Gaddafi's headquarters.
Museum staff say they had moved a lot of the most precious classical pottery and sculpture out of the museum in the past few months, in preparation for the final chaos when Tripoli fell, so that stuff is safe in an undisclosed location (we hope). They also say that during his reign, Gaddafi forced the museum to take a lot of his crap into prime locations in its galleries, and they are happy to see it suffer damnatio memoriae.

Arizona church is house of prostitution, police say - CNN.com

Arizona church is house of prostitution, police say - CNN.com
In exchange for a donation, the Phoenix Goddess Temple will help you get in touch with the life force within you and provide a healing tantric experience. Or, you can pay them for sex.
Why is this on my blog? I am thinking of how totally legal this thing would be in classical Athens.