More than 300 astonishing objects made from gold and other precious materials are presented in the major exhibition “Beyond El Dorado. Power and gold in ancient Colombia”, held by the British Museum in conjunction with the Museo del Oro, Bogotá. The exhibition opens on October 17, 2013 and will run through March 23, 2014.

In ancient Colombia gold was used to fashion some of the most visually dramatic and sophisticated works of art found anywhere in the Americas before European contact. This exhibition will feature over 300 exquisite objects drawn from the Museo del Oro in Bogotá, one of the best and most extensive collections of Pre-Hispanic gold in the world, as well as from the British Museum’s own unique collections. Through these exceptional objects the exhibition will explore the complex network of societies in ancient Colombia – a hidden world of distinct and vibrant cultures spanning 1600 BC to AD 1700 – with particular focus on the Muisca, Quimbaya, Calima, Tairona, Tolima and Zenú chiefdoms. This important but little understood subject will be explored in this unique exhibition following on from shows in Room 35 such as Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind, Grayson Perry: Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World and Kingdom of Ife: sculptures from West Africa in shining a light on world cultures through their craftsmanship.

Although gold was not valued as currency in pre-Hispanic Colombia, it had great symbolic meaning. It was one way the elite could publicly assert their rank and semi-divine status, both in life and in death. The remarkable objects displayed across the exhibition reveal glimpses of these cultures’ spiritual lives including engagement with animal spirits though the use of gold objects, music, dancing, sunlight and hallucinogenic substances that all lead to a physical and spiritual transformation enabling communication with the supernatural. Animal iconography is used to express this transformation in powerful pieces demonstrating a wide range of imaginative works of art, showcasing avian pectorals, necklaces with feline claws or representations of men transforming into spectacular bats though the use of profuse body adornment.

The exhibition will further explore the sophisticated gold working techniques, including the use of tumbaga, an alloy composed of gold and copper, used in the crafting the most spectacular masterworks of ancient Colombia. Extraordinary poporos (lime powder containers) showcase the technical skills achieved both in the casting and hammering techniques of metals by ancient Colombian artists. Other fascinating objects will include an exceptional painted Muisca textile and one of the few San Agustín stone sculptures held outside Colombia. Those, together with spectacular large scale gold masks and other materials were part of the objects that accompanied funerary rituals in ancient Colombia.

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum said “Ancient Colombia has long represented a great fascination to the outside world and yet there is very little understood about these unique and varied cultures. As part of the Museum’s series of exhibitions that shine a light on little known and complex ancient societies this exhibition will give our visitors a glimpse into these fascinating cultures of pre-hispanic South America and a chance to explore the legend of El Dorado through these stunning objects.”

“American Airlines and American Airlines Cargo are thrilled to be partnering with the British Museum on Beyond El Dorado: power and gold in ancient Colombia.” said Tristan Koch, Managing Director of Cargo Sales for EMEA – American Airlines. “American Airlines is a supporter of the arts in many cities that we serve around the world and it’s exciting to be linking the two destinations of Bogotá, Colombia and London by transporting precious passengers and cargo between them.”

Source: The British Museum [August 04, 2013]

All cultures throughout time have tried to honor and commemorate those they have lost. A new exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum will show how the living cared for the dead, and how the ancients conceptualized the idea of the human soul in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel/Palestine.

The Oriental Institute’s Neubauer Expedition to Zincirli, Turkey in 2008, during which an inscribed funerary monument was discovered, inspired the exhibit. The monument, which dates to about 735 B.C, is carved with an image of a man named Katumuwa seated before a table heaped with offerings and with a lengthy inscription in Aramaic—a language widely used in the ancient Middle East. The text proved to be the longest-known memorial inscription of its type.

“The text gave us a whole new understanding of the ancient belief system in eastern Turkey and northern Syria. Although Katumuwa knew that the realm of the dead could be a cruel and lonely place, the rituals he describes that his family would enact on his behalf would give him a happy afterlife,” said exhibit curator Virginia R. Herrmann, PhD’11. Herrmann, now a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, was part of the team that discovered the stela and co-curated “In Remembrance of Me.”

The text also revealed that the rituals took place not just at the grave or in the home, but in a private mortuary chapel next door to a temple—exactly the setting where the Katumuwa stela was discovered. The stela itself is in the Gaziantep Museum in eastern Turkey, but a precise facsimile of its front has been produced for the exhibit.

Rituals of remembrance

Other sections of the exhibit explore how commemoration and communication with the dead was enacted, the importance of banquet scenes, and how the concept of the soul differed in ancient Egypt, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.

Rituals of remembrance of lost loved ones—from memorial services to Day of the Dead celebrations in Latin America and even the “funeral selfie” phenomenon—continue to be an important aspect of many cultures.

Jack Green, chief curator of the Oriental Institute Museum, said, “In coordinating this exhibit, we found that although death can often be a taboo topic in Western society, there are plenty of examples today that commemorate the dead through festive and colorful celebrations—the Dia de Muertos being just one example.”

Source: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago [March 13, 2014]

As London hosts the 30th modern edition of the Olympic Games, Dr Craig Barker from the University's Nicholson Museum and Michelle Kiss, a Year 10 work experience student from William Carey Christian School, evoke the ancient Olympic spirit with a look at the origins of the world's oldest sporting festival that may provide parallels for the next three weeks of competition in London.

• The first Olympic Games took place in 776 BC at Olympia in Greece, a sanctuary site devoted to the Greek god Zeus. The ancient Olympics were held every four years, a tradition that remains today. However, whereas cities around the world compete to host the modern games, ancient-world athletes always competed in Olympia.

• Olympia boomed as the games increased in importance — a statue of Zeus was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world — before the games were eventually abolished by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 394 AD, supposedly because they were reminiscent of paganism. While there is much talk of the legacy of London 2012, Olympia and its athletic stadium is an important historical and archaeological site.

• In 2012, news surfaced that Australia's men's basketball team travelled to London in business class while their female equivalents languished in economy. However, during the first ancient games, gender equality in sport was even worse: women couldn't compete. Competitors were split into two groups, boys (12-18 years) and men (18+ years). Horses were also split into colts and fully grown age groups.

• While the composition of the crowds of spectators is less well understood, it's likely that only males and young girls were allowed to watch.

• In antiquity, a lit flame was tended throughout the celebration of the Olympics, and the idea of the fire was reintroduced in 1928 in Amsterdam. Every four years the Olympic flame is lit in front of the Temple of Hera then carried by torch to the host city. The torch relay was not an ancient practice and was introduced at the controversial 1936 Berlin Olympics.

• Judges were handpicked from people living in Elis, the area surrounding Olympia. The 'Elean Judges' enforced strict rules on the competitors: fines were issued for failing to arrive on time for the training period, cheating and for cowardice.

• Events in the ancient Olympics included foot races, discus, jump, javelin, boxing, pentathlon, pankration (a blend of boxing and wrestling) and chariot races. Most events, including the races, discus and javelin, took place in the Stadium of Olympia with other events taking place in the surrounding area.

• Before the start of any Olympic Games a truce would be announced, proclaiming that all wars, disputes and death penalties be put on hold until the end of the games. This truce also guaranteed athletes a safe journey to Olympia in the month leading up to the games. The truce was written on a bronze discus and placed in Olympia. The modern International Olympic Committee has revived the tradition of the truce, and all 193 United Nations member states have, for the first time, united to co-sponsor the Olympic Truce Resolution for the 2012 London Olympics.

• the sixth-century BC wrestler Milo of Croton, who was said to have died when he was wedged against a tree during a display of strength gone wrong and subsequently devoured by wolves

• Astylos, also of Croton, who competed at Olympic Games between 488 and 480 BC, but was expelled from his home city when he agreed to compete for Syracuse, and so can lay claim to being the first free-agent in sporting history

• Roman emperor Nero, who despite being thrown from his chariot in the 10-horse race at the 67 AD games, was still proclaimed the winner on the grounds that he would have won had he been able to complete the race

The Japanese struggle sumo has no analogues in the world.

Related Posts: Asia

• Courageous act
• The Indian toys
• For some men of the woman — only a vagina

“The archaeologist,” said Sir Mortimer Wheeler, one of the grand old men of archaeology, “is digging up, not things, but people.” The point about sites of antiquity is that, often surviving in a fragmented state, their meaning doesn’t immediately rear up and hit you between the eyes. It can be hard on a 21st century holiday to see a temple and imagine the priests and priestesses, the colours, the crowds, the ceremony and the sacrifices.

Sicily’s archaeology is extremely high calibre. The island was at the centre of trade routes in the days when travel was often easiest via sea. Ancient empires, from the Greeks and Romans to the Moors and the Normans, cast covetous eyes upon Sicily and left an enduring imprint with a great many magnificent buildings.

When the Greeks arrived here shortly after the turn of the first millennium BC, they quickly settled and started building their magnificent stone temples on an enormous scale. At Agrigento, they were erected along a ridge to create an intimidating line of massive architecture visible from the sea, which remains visually arresting today.

At Syracuse — once occupied by the Corinthians and over which the Greeks and Romans waged a drawn-out war – much of the story is told by remaining monuments: temples, fortifications and the famous stone quarries which doubled as the final prison of thousands of enemy soldiers used as slaves, most of whom died.

All of ancient life is here; religious, military, those of vast fortune with their showy villas, as well as the gifted craftsmen and artists who made them.

In some places in Sicily, the archaeologist’s trained eye helps put together the less obvious clues to bring the place vividly back to life.

The Graeco-Roman theatre at Taormina, set against the formidable backdrop of Mount Etna, also takes some beating for sheer emotional impact.

Andante stresses the “knowledge worn lightly” aspect of these comprehensive tours of the island, and also offers a Relaxed Break here – seven days based in one lovely hotel on the island of Ortygia with your own archaeologist, as well as Andante With Independence, for those who want the archaeologist and the specialist arrangements, but less of the “group” aspect.

Sir Mortimer would have been proud — on every tour it is not the monuments that are the focus, but the people who made them.

Author: Jack Wilkinson | Source: The Telegraph/UK [February 03, 2012]

One of the sites chosen as part of the green cultural routes program organized by the Culture Ministry’s Directorate of Museums, Exhibitions and Educational Programs Department was Aristotle’s Lyceum. The tour, which introduced attendees to new and exciting information about life in ancient Greece, was led by the head of the Third Ephorate of Classical Antiquities, Eleni Banou.

The Lyceum, located between the Officers Club, the Athens Conservatory and the Byzantine Museum, is poised for its grand opening. The display areas are ready, the information signs are up and the site is officially waiting for visitors. Those passing the well-tended 11,000-square meter grounds on the Culture Ministry’s tour asked Banou when the ancient philosophy school would be ready. Some of them managed to sneak in through the door on the Vassilissis Sofias side of the site to take in the ancient lyceum from up close.

The Lyceum (first brought to light by archaeologist Effi Lygouri in 1996), was an overgrown suburb of ancient Athens named after a nearby temple dedicated to Apollo Lyceus. The archaeologists of the Third Ephorate of Classical Antiquities, which is responsible for the site, want it to become a part of Athenians’ everyday life, a place where visitors can take a walk, rest or read.

However, a date for its formal inauguration has not been set yet, though it is slated to take place within the next couple of months, before the end of summer.

Author: Iota Sykka | Source: ekathimerini [June 03, 2014]

Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History Complex, and the Canadian Museum of History are pleased to announce that they will be welcoming a world-premiere exhibition to Canada later this year: The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great. To be presented in Montréal from December 12, 2014 to April 26, 2015 and in Gatineau from June 5 to October 12, 2015, the exhibition covers more than 5,000 years of Greek culture, from the Neolithic Period to the Age of Alexander the Great.

The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great is the most vast and comprehensive exhibition on Ancient Greece ever presented in North America. It brings together more than 500 artifacts from 22 Greek museums, including many pieces never before displayed outside Greece. Among other treasures, visitors will be able to see a number of priceless objects, the result of some unparalleled archaeological discoveries.

“We are delighted that Pointe-à-Callière is participating in the consortium formed for the exhibition’s North American tour,” says Mark O’Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History. “The consortium, which our Museum is proud to lead, includes several prestigious museological institutions and we are all honoured that the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports has agreed to lend us artifacts of such great historical value for the benefit of Canadian and American audiences.”

To facilitate the production of an exhibition of this breadth, a consortium of North American museums was created. In addition to the Canadian Museum of History and Pointe-à-Callière, the consortium includes The Field Museum in Chicago and the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC. The Museum of History will oversee direction of the consortium, as well as work on production of the exhibition in association with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.

“I am especially proud to see this unique project take shape as a showcase for Greece, our heritage, and our treasures, illustrating an important part of our history. The fact that 22 Greek museums have come together to produce this exhibition—the largest ever to be held outside of Greece—demonstrates both the scope and the value of this project, as a number of major objects will be travelling to America for the very first time,” stated Eleftherios Anghelopoulos, Greek Ambassador to Canada.

About the Exhibition

The Greeks – Agamemnon to Alexander the Great invites visitors on a breathtaking and illuminating journey through 5,000 years of Greek history and culture. It is the most comprehensive exhibition about Ancient Greece to tour North America in a generation and features some of the finest artifacts of the classical world. Many of the objects have never before travelled outside of the country. The exhibition includes priceless treasures, the fruit of fascinating archaeological discoveries, along with items recounting the epic adventures of heroes of Ancient Greece, from the siege of Troy by Agamemnon to the triumphs of Alexander the Great.

The journey begins around 6000 BCE, revealing the deep roots of Greek culture. It ends in the days of Alexander the Great (356 to 323 BCE), whose military conquests created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Along the way, visitors will meet the legendary King Agamemnon, leader of the united Greek forces in the Trojan War (12th century BCE) and one of the great heroes of Greek mythology. They will also learn about numerous milestones in Greek and human history: the birth of democracy, philosophy, theatre and the arts, science and medicine. They will see how the first democracy functioned and discover the tools that made it possible.

Visitors will also be able to admire over 500 exquisite treasures drawn from the collections of 22 Greek museums, including the renowned National Archaeological Museum and the new Acropolis Museum in Athens. Among the many exceptional pieces are the iconic portrait of Alexander the Great, found near Pella, the impressive kouroi statues of young men and women dating from the 6th century BCE, and a dazzling array of golden jewellery from royal tombs. All these items come from Greek museums, co-ordinated by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports –Directorate General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, in collaboration with a consortium of museums led by the Canadian Museum of History. All in all, hundreds of golden objects will be presented, including two magnificent death masks from Mycenae (16th century BCE); superb warrior’s helmets; the beautiful myrtle wreath of Queen Meda from the antechamber of the tomb of Philip II of Macedonia (about 336 BCE); and a marble bas-relief representing a young man crowning himself.

As they tour the exhibition, visitors of all ages will be captivated by the stories of historical figures like Aristotle, Plato, Philip II of Macedonia and the Spartan King Leonidas, and the epic heroes and gods of Greek mythology, including Achilles, Aphrodite, Athena, Zeus and Poseidon.

They will also enjoy captivating interactives, fascinating hands-on objects, and a stunning design treatment.It all adds up to a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition and a truly memorable visitor experience.

Source: Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History [March 26, 2014]

An island at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Sicily occupied a pivotal place in antiquity between Greece, North Africa, and the Italian peninsula.

“This is the first major exhibition to arise from the Getty’s 2010 Cultural Agreement with Sicily, presenting masterpieces that are among the most accomplished examples of ancient Greek art in the world,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

“We are especially thrilled to have on view the exceptional statue of a victorious Charioteer from Mozia that the Getty has recently conserved. This object is a unique expression of the marvelous artistry of Greek sculptors at the dawn of the Classical era.”

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome, co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana, features some 150 objects, a major portion on loan from institutions in Sicily, including stone and bronze sculptures, vase-paintings, votive terracotta statuettes and reliefs, carved ivory, gold and silver metalwork, jewelry, inscriptions, architectural revetments, and coins.

“These splendid objects bear witness to the athletic and military victories, religious rituals, opulent lifestyles, and intellectual attainments of the Sicilian Greeks, which shaped Greek culture at its peak,” explains Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum and curator of the exhibition.

The Mozia Charioteer

The Mozia Charioteer, widely considered one of the the finest surviving examples of Greek sculpture, serves as the exhibition’s centerpiece. Recently on view at the British Museum in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics, the statue has since undergone conservation treatment at the Getty Villa. Part of the Getty’s cultural agreement with Sicily, this 18-month collaborative conservation project involved remounting the sculpture and the provision of a seismic isolation base, which will accompany the object when it is reinstalled at the Whitaker Museum on the island of Mozia.

The triumphant Mozia Charioteer, discovered in 1976 on the island of Mozia in western Sicily, is believed to represent a charioteer who competed at Olympia on behalf of one of the Sicilian rulers. The extraordinary style of the sculpture, especially notable in the sinuous pleating of the long linen xystis that sheathes the figure’s athletic physique, is a tour-de-force of stone carving. Clearly a master of his craft, the sculptor was able to reveal the torso and limbs beneath the thin fabric. With its confident gaze and proud stance, this statue conveys the high level of originality and experimentation achieved by Greek sculptors working in Sicily.

The “Signing Masters”

Important evidence of Sicilian artistic innovation is also apparent in the exquisite coins of the time. Beginning in the late fifth century B.C., a group of Sicilian Greek coin engravers, mainly based in Syracuse, added their signatures to the dies used to stamp coins. Known as the “Signing Masters,” these remarkable craftsmen created extraordinary works of art on a miniature scale. Departing from the traditional profile view, they devised novel ways of representing the human body in a lively three-quarter perspective or striking frontal pose. This testimony of individual mastery of the medium is virtually exclusive to Sicilian Greek coins created around 400 B.C. Often abbreviated in tiny but legible script, the artists’ signatures are typically all but hidden in locks of hair or elements of jewelry.

Known as the “coin of coins,” the unique Aitna tetradrachm from the Royal Library of Belgium is one of the most precious ancient coins in the world. On view in the exhibition along with 50 other exceptionally crafted Sicilian Greek coins, the image on the tetradrachm depicts the head of Silenos on the obverse and on the reverse, Zeus enthroned with an eagle perched beside him, imagery that alludes to the cult of Zeus on Mt. Etna.
Greek settlers and their gods

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome will also examine how settlers from the Greek mainland brought their myths and religious practices to Sicily. To sanctify new colonies and maintain ties with mother cities, they built altars and temples to such gods as Apollo, the patron deity of colonists, as well as the deified hero Herakles. Included are terracotta heads of Apollo, Hades, and Persephone, created as cult or votive images of deities that played a central role in ancient Sicilian worship. The skillfully modeled clay, embellished with striking polychrome pigments, compares favorably with the most accomplished works in marble and bronze. An exceptional example of metalwork is a religious offering dish made of two and a half pounds of gold. Known as a phiale mesomphalos, the vessel is embossed from the center outward with bands of beechnuts, acorns, and bees above blossoms; the owner’s name —Damarchos, son of Achyris— is inscribed beneath the rim, together with its equivalent weight in gold coins.

The divine hero Herakles was also embraced by Greek settlers, who linked his deeds to their cities. Contrasting aspects of Herakles’ identity —peaceful healer, solitary herdsman, and violent aggressor— heightened the appeal of his cult among the men of rural Sicily, who tended flocks and worked as mercenary soldiers. Among the objects on view is a finely preserved bronze statuette of Herakles recovered from a river-bed in Contrada Cafeo (Modica), which suggests that a shrine to the hero was situated nearby.

Preeminent among the honored deities was Demeter, goddess of agriculture, and her daughter Persephone (or Kore). Sanctuaries of the goddesses dotted the island, but their cult was most enthusiastically embraced in central Sicily, where, according to myth, Kore descended to the Underworld as the bride of Hades. Depictions of these deities include a terracotta bust with a rare painted figural scene that may represent part of a ritual honoring or celebrating the goddesses, and a cult statuette disc overed near an altar in Gela together with an offering jug of carbonized seeds of grain.

Archimedes of Syracuse

A section of the exhibition will focus on Archimedes of Syracuse (about 287–212 B.C.), one of history’s foremost scientists and mathematicians. More than a millennium ahead of its time, his work laid the foundation for branches of math, physics, engineering, and even computer science. When Syracuse’s King Hieron II asked him to determine whether a crown was made of pure gold, Archimedes made his legendary deduction that a solid displaces a volume of liquid equal to its own volume, a discovery that supposedly caused the scientist to leap from his bath and run naked through the streets crying “Eureka” (“I have found it!”).

On view is a leaf from the Archimedes Palimpsest, the only surviving manuscript containing copies of Archimedes’ writings. The medieval prayer book that included this leaf was inked by a scribe onto recycled parchment that originally bore the theories of Archimedes. The pages were scraped clean before being overwritten, but with the use of advanced imaging technology, the original writing is visible. The leaf on view is a section of text from “Proposition 1” from Archimedes’ Method, a work integrating geometry and physics.

Literature on Sicilian art

Finally, the exhibition examines the reflections of literature in Sicilian visual arts. Many mainland Greeks became familiar with Sicily through the epic poetry of Homer, including Odysseus’s wanderings after the Trojan War, which took him to the western Mediterranean.

Often depicted in vase-painting and sculpture, Odysseus’s encounters with strange creatures like the Cyclops and Scylla were allegories for early colonial settlement and trading enterprises that spread Greek culture to distant, exotic regions. The pastoral genre created and perfected by the Syracusan poet Theokritos (about 300–after 260 B.C.) flourished as Sicily was falling under the dominion of Rome in the third century B.C. He is renowned for his Idylls (literally, “little pictures”), which paint nostalgic word-images of Sicilian country life from the point of view of a sophisticated urbanite. Theokritos’s rustic characters—including satyrs, shepherds, and the woodland deity Priapos—also populated the visual arts of the period, attesting to the appeal of rural fantasies during a time of civic turmoil. On extended loan from Syracuse, a life-size statue of the fertility god Priapos, the earliest such figure in Greek art will be featured in the exhibition. Like the Mozia Charioteer, it was also the subject of a collaborative conservation project undertaken by the Getty Museum.

The importance and popularity of Greek comedy and drama outside of Athens is evident in the theatrical figurines, masks and scenes on vases, many of which come from the island of Lipari. The celebrated “Father of Tragedy,” Aeschylus (Greek, 525–456 B.C.) traveled to Sicily on at least two occasions, where his plays found fertile ground in the strong local tradition of performance on the island.

On display is a terracotta mixing vessel with the earliest known depiction of the myth of Perseus and Andromeda, which likely reflects a performance of Sophocles’ Andromeda (about 450 B.C.). The Greek inscription painted above the figure of Perseus—“Euaion, the son of Aeschylus, is handsome”— names the actor, son of the great tragedian.

Rich harvests, bountiful seas, and a favorable trade location brought immense wealth to the Sicilian city-states, and the exhibition highlights their widespread reputation for luxurious lifestyles with five gilt-silver vessels, part of a larger group of fifteen. The silver treasure had been buried for safekeeping beneath the floor of a house in Morgantina during the Roman sack of the city in 211 B.C. The entire hoard comprises religious vessels as well as a set for the symposion, a convivial drinking party for men that was an important part of the social life of well-to-do Greeks.

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome is the latest in a series of cooperative efforts between the Getty and the Sicili an Ministry of Culture and Sicilian Identity arising from a 2010 agreement that calls for a number of collaborative projects, including object conservation, seismic protection of collections, exhibitions, scholarly research, and conferences. Recent related projects include the 2010 loan of the Gela Krater, a monumental red-figured volute krater (wine mixing vessel) attributed to the Niobid Painter; The Agrigento Youth, a rare example of an early classical marble statue called a kouros (an idealized nude young man), loaned to the Getty from the Museo Archeologico Regionale in Agrigento (2010/2011); and most recently the loan of thirty-six objects from the sanctuaries of Demeter at Morgantina (2012/January 2013).

The exhibition is co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana, and celebrates 2013 as the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realized under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Italy.

Source: The J. Paul Getty Museum [March 19, 2013]

High in the Italian Alps, thousands of stick-like images of people and animals, carved into rock surfaces, offer a tantalising window into the past. Archaeologists believe that the earliest of these 150,000 images date from the Neolithic but that most originate from the Iron Age. The UNESCO-protected ‘Pitoti’ (little puppets) of the Valcamonica valley extend over an area of some three square kilometres and have been described as one of the world’s largest pieces of anonymous art.

An event taking place next Monday (18 January 2016) at Downing College, Cambridge, will give the public an opportunity to learn more about a fascinating project to explore and re-animate the Pitoti of Valcamonica. Displays and hands-on activities staged by seven of the institutions involved in the EU/European Research Council-funded ‘3D Pitoti’ digital heritage project will show visitors how archaeologists and film-makers have used the latest digital technology to explore an art form often portrayed as simplistic or primitive.

The exhibitors from Austria, Italy, Germany and the UK will show that the thousands of Pitoti can be seen as “one big picture” as dozens of artists, over a period of some 4,000 years, added narratives to the giant ‘canvases’ formed by sandstone rocks scraped clean by the movement of glaciers across the landscape. The images are etched into the rock surfaces so that, as the sun rises and then falls in the sky, the figures can be seen to gain a sense of movement.

Displays will introduce visitors to the scanning, machine learning and interactive 3D-visualisation technologies used by Bauhaus Weimar, Technical University Graz, and St Pölten University of Applied Sciences to record, analyse and breathe life into the Pitoti. Cambridge archaeologists Craig Alexander, Giovanna Bellandi and Christopher Chippindale have worked with Alberto Marretta and Markus Seidl to create Pitoti databases using Arctron’s Aspect 3D system.

The scanned images of the Pitoti are stored in the rock-art research institute in Valcamonica, Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, and have given the project’s team an unprecedentedly rich resource to play with in exploring the power of graphic art in combination with other media.

The 3D Pitoti team members attending next week’s event will engage with visitors who will be given the chance to experience the scanner, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), computer sectioning, and the Pitoti ‘oculus rift’ virtual reality experience, made possible by using advanced imaging systems which are creating a new generation of ‘real’ images. The live demonstration of the interactive 3D Pitoti children’s app, developed by Archeocammuni and Nottingham University, is likely to prove popular with younger visitors who will have the chance to handle the technology and ask questions. Also taking part in the event will be the renowned craftsperson Lida Cardozo Kindersley who will demonstrate the art of letter cutting as an intensely physical process.

“Many of the images at Valcamonica are contemporary with classical Greek art but are an under appreciated form of art. I believe that the Pitoti are an example of minimalism, an early precursor to work by Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso. They can be just as powerful as the classical art of Athens and Rome in their own way. By showcasing our project in the neo-classical setting of Downing College, we are highlighting this clash of visual cultures and using the digital to raise the appreciation of what has been seen as ‘barbarian’ or ‘tribal’ art.”

Members of the 3D Pitoti team captured thousands of images of people, sheep, deer, horses and dogs found on the Valamonica rocks. The digitised images gave the project a ‘casting directory’ of thousands of ‘characters’ in order to create imagined narratives. The creation of moving images using pixels, or dots, echoes the making of the Pitoti which were pecked out of the rock by people striking the surface with repeated blows to produce lines and shapes.

Dr Sue Cobb, from the University of Nottingham, who led the international team of scientists, said: “Thanks to the 3D Pitoti project, archaeological sites and artefacts can be rendered in stunningly realistic computer-generated models and even 3D printed for posterity. Our tools will give more people online access to culturally-important heritage sites and negate the need to travel to the locations, which can be inaccessible or vulnerable to damage.

“We overcame a number of technical challenges to innovate the technology, including developing weatherproof, portable laser scanner to take detailed images of the Pitoti in situ in harsh, rugged terrain; using both a UAV and glider to take aerial shots of the valley for the computer model and processing huge masses of data to recreate an immersive, film-quality version of the site in 3D.

Next Monday’s event will include a test screening of a 15-minute 3D generated film called ‘Pitoti Prometheus’ which reimagines the story of Prometheus (who, according to legend, created men from clay) by animating digital images captured in Valcamonica. The fully finished film will be launched later in the year.

The film’s 3D engineer Marcel Karnapke and film-maker Fred Baker (contributing via Skype) will take part in a discussion at the end of the day, enabling the audience to ask questions about the film and the unfolding of an ambitious project which breaks new boundaries in terms of European cross-disciplinary collaboration.

“We use the word ‘pipeline’ to describe the process by which we’ve scanned and channelled the rock art images through time and space to bring them to mass audiences,” says Baker. “It’s a pipeline which stretches well beyond what we’ve produced and future technologies will undoubtedly open up new understandings of art forms that communicate so much about humanity and our relationships with each other, with the environment, and with imagined worlds.”

Next Tuesday morning (19 January 2016), a series of talks and workshops, aimed primarily at academics, will take place at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. The two days of events are the official culmination of the 3D Pitoti project. For details of Monday’s event, which is free of charge, go to http://3d-pitoti.eu/

Source: University of Cambridge [January 14, 2016]

The J. Paul Getty Museum today placed on view a Decree Relief with Antiochos and Herakles, the first Greek loan to arise from a 2011 framework for cultural cooperation between the Getty and the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture.

The relief takes the form of a stele, a stone slab decorated with images and text, crowned with the figures of Herakles and his son Antiochos, who was the mythical hero of the tribe Antiochis. Herakles is depicted as an athletic nude, holding a club and the pelt of the Nemean Lion he vanquished, referring to the first of the twelve labors he had to perform. Seemingly the elder, Antiochos wears a dignified mantle and holds a staff (no longer visible, but probably added in pigment). Both father and son heroes were the subject of cult worship, and are shown standing within a small temple framed by columns and a pediment.

Written in ancient Greek below the figures, an inscription describes the honors bestowed upon Prokleides by his soldiers and comrades, all members of an elite infantry corps known as the epilektoi. This is the earliest known inscription referencing the epilektoi, a group of men bound together by their military service, participation in sacrifices and theatrical performances, and membership in the Athenian Council. According to the decree, Kephisokles of the village of Alopeke proposed the resolution to praise Prokleides, who “has well and with distinction taken care of security,” and crown him with a gold diadem worth at least 1,000 drachmas (an enormous sum, considering the average worker in classical Athens could support a family of four on one drachma a day).

Soon after arriving at the Getty, the stele was photographed using a technique that captures the object numerous times with varying degrees of raking light. The resulting composed image reveals the shallow lettering with unprecedented depth and clarity and enables a more accurate reading of the inscription. A transcription of the ancient Greek text, translation, and detail photography of the historical inscription accompanies the installation.

“The Antiochos relief commemorates the affection and respect of troops for their commanding officer,” explains Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the Getty Villa. “We are delighted that it will be on view at the Getty Villa in time for Memorial Day, when we honor the contributions of fallen soldiers to their communities and country.”

This long-term loan results from the Framework for Cultural Cooperation signed in September 2011, which provides for joint scholarship, research projects, loans, and exhibitions between the Getty and the Hellenic Republic. “As part of this framework of cooperation between the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and the Getty Museum, we are pleased to have the Antiochos relief on display at the Getty Villa,” said Maria Vlazaki-Andreadaki, director general of archaeology in Athens. “We believe that this collaboration will promote classical studies in the United States and will spread the values and the spirit of ancient Greek civilization.”

Historical Background

The relief was discovered in 1922 in the foundations of a house in the Athenian neighborhood of Dourgouti. In antiquity, the area was known as Kynosarges and was the site of a public gymnasium and a sanctuary of Herakles, the greatest of the Greek heroes. Believed to have stood in this sanctuary, where several other inscriptions mentioning the tribe Antiochis were found, the relief was a votive dedication erected in a prominent public location befitting a successful military leader.

The Antiochos relief is a primary document of democracy, and the language of its inscription shows that voting and public speech were deeply ingrained in civic life two centuries after the foundation of democratic political institutions in Athens.

The creation of the Attic tribes was the most important feature of the revolutionary reorganization of Athenian politics that followed the overthrow of the tyrants in 508 B.C. In this system, ten tribes composed of approximately 3,000 citizens and their families were created. Each tribe was assigned the name of a mythical Athenian hero: Antiochos was the eponymous hero of the tribe Antiochis.

Drawn from villages in three distinct zones of the Athenian territory—the coast, the inland farming region, and the urban/suburban zone—the tribes represented the entire citizenry of Athens. Josiah Ober, Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University, observes: “Imagine a reorganization of the United States that would require citizens from Maine, Texas, and California to work, fight, and feast together on a regular basis. The communities constituting the tribe of Antiochis included Alopeke, the philosopher Socrates’ home village—so we might even imagine that a descendant of Socrates as among the signatories to the decree.”

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum [May 23, 2012]

Wendell Phillips, a young paleontologist and geologist, headed one of the largest archaeological expeditions to remote South Arabia (present-day Yemen) from 1949 to 1951. Accompanied by some of the leading scholars, scientists, and technicians of the day, Phillips was on a quest to uncover two ancient cities — Timna, the capital of the once-prosperous Qataban kingdom, and Marib, the reputed home of the legendary Queen of Sheba — that had flourished along the fabled incense road some 2,500 years earlier.

Through a selection of unearthed objects as well as film and photography shot by the expedition team, the exhibition highlights Phillips’s key finds, recreates his adventures (and misadventures), and conveys the thrill of discovery on this important great archaeological frontier.

The exhibition will highlight a famed pair of striding Hellenistic bronze lions surmounted by a figure of Eros, the Greek god of love. Known as the “Lions of Timna,” the skillfully cast sculptural forms — once featured on Yemeni currency — exemplify the vibrant cultural exchange between the Qataban and Greek empires, and inscriptions on its base allow researchers to reconstruct the home it came from and explore familial relationships of its affluent owners.

Other excavated objects featured include precious incense burners, delicately carved alabaster ibexes, finely articulated funerary sculpture, and a wealth of inscriptions that offer unprecedented insight into the life and times of the ancient people of Arabia.

Where: The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

When: Oct. 11, 2014 to June 7, 2015

Source: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery [August 06, 2014]

Cleopatra is without a doubt one of the most famed historical personalities in History’s pantheon, alongside Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon or De Gaulle.

On the purely archaeological level, many pieces have been destroyed. On the historical level, the accounts and opinions are still widely debated. All that is left of her is the notion of an outstanding beauty, of fantastical love affairs with the two most powerful men in the world at that time, an image that was created during her lifetime and that took on an unimaginable scale as soon as she vanished, to be transformed into an ancestral myth, which never ceased to be taken up in all its forms and in all periods.

No Queen throughout time has remained more famous in the world than Cleopatra even though we still do not know exactly what she looked like. She was shown as Egyptian, obviously, but also as Nubian or African and black, never as the Greek she was in fact. Imagined as irresistible, she is even shown as having been the most beautiful women in the world whose nose remains famous thanks to Pascal’s phrase: “Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the face of the earth would have been changed.”

Throughout the centuries she became the most representative image of an Egypt that has in fact absolutely nothing to do with what was the Ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs, Memphis or Tutankhamen.

From the genuine Cleopatra to all her most famous incarnations, from Sarah Bernhardt to Liz Taylor and Monica Bellucci, it's all an attempt to tell who that young queen was and how that woman’s myth took hold of her own life, so as to turn it into an authentic living legend, which none of us, old or young, wherever we are on this earth, can ignore.

The supposed romance she entertained with Caesar then with Mark Anthony, she became all by herself, through her own death, one of the most classical images of her character.

The exhibition was made possible, due to the complicity with Italian partner Arthemisia and with Mrs. Iole Siena and her team that enabled its first presentation in Rome. It is also due to the outstanding work carried out by the exhibition’s curator, Giovanni Gentili that this show has managed to take on this depth and this importance in the Pinacotheque de Paris.

It also due to the presence of the foremost specialists of each of the experts fascinated by Cleopatra’s myth, that this exhibition is so all-encompassing.

Source: Beyluxe [April 11, 2014]

Italy's iconic Riace Bronzes will return to their home at the Reggio Calabria National Museum later this year after lengthy restoration work.

So now, it's almost time for them to return to their permanent home.

According to the superintendent for archaeological and cultural heritage of Calabria, Simonetta Bonomi, restoration work should be completed near the end of the year and the two warriors "will be back home again" in time for Christmas.

The celebrated bronzes were found in August 1972 off the coast of Calabria and quickly captured worldwide attention. They were so highly prized that they are rarely allowed to travel from their home, despite repeated requests.

Even former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi was turned down twice after seeking to borrow the statues for Group of Eight summits.

During the current restoration work, the Riace Bronzes, last let out in 1981 for a triumphant round-Italy tour, have been kept inside a purpose-built area with a glass front allowing visitors to watch the delicate restoration work.

Meanwhile, the Reggio Calabria museum has been undergoing restorations itself while the bronzes have been away. Approximately six million euros have been earmarked for that project, and regional authorities have released the final funds need to complete the work before year end.

The Bronzes were discovered in 1972 by a Roman holidaymaker scuba diving off the Calabrian coast and turned out to be one of Italy's most important archaeological finds in the last 100 years.

The statues are of two virile men, presumably warriors or gods, who possibly held lances and shields at one time. At around two metres, they are larger than life.

The 'older' man, known as Riace B, wears a helmet, while the 'younger' Riace A has nothing covering his rippling hair.

Both are naked.

Although the statues are cast in bronze, they feature silver lashes and teeth, copper red lips and nipples, and eyes made of ivory, limestone and a glass and amber paste.

Italy has the world's biggest trove of archeological treasures but the Riace Bronzes attracted particular attention.

This was partly due to their exceptionally realistic rendering and partly to the general rarity of ancient bronze statues, which tended to be melted down and recycled.

Stefano Mariottini, the scuba diver who first spotted one of the statues some 300 meters off the coast and eight metres underwater, said the bronze was so realistic that he initially thought he'd found the remains of a corpse.

A million people came to see them in 1981 and the pair are even featured on a commemorative postage stamp.

The statues usually pull around 130,000 visitors annually to the Reggio Calabria National Museum.

Source: AnsaIT [August 14, 2012]

Several Romans dressed as gladiators have climbed the Colosseum to protest a crackdown on their unauthorized business of posing with tourists for money.

Culture officials contend the fake gladiators ruin the decorum at the ancient archaeological site.

Some tourists gladly pose for a photo, then are dismayed when the costumed men demand money. The fake gladiators insist they perform a popular service and that their costumes evoke the atmosphere of ancient Rome.

Source: Associated Press [April 07, 2012]

A museum in Sweden will digitise its mummy collection in 3D to allow visitors to unwrap a real mummy in digital form.

The permanent exhibition is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.

The curators hope it will help visitors gain a deeper understanding into the lives of ancient Egyptian people.

The museum will scan six mummies using a process called reality capture technology, where high-resolution 3D digital models can be made by compiling data from photos and X-ray scans.

Museum visitors will be able to explore the mummies in a way similar to what archaeologists do when they are looking for novel discoveries from ancient remains.

"We aim to set a new standard for how museums work with 3D digitisation and interactive visualisation to make collections more accessible to other museums, researchers and museum visitors," said Thomas Rydell of the Swedish Interactive Institute.

"In this project we are working with mummies, but the same methods could of course be used on large variety of objects, such as natural history objects and other historical artefacts."

The museum visitors will be able to zoom into very high resolution to see details like carving marks on a sarcophagus. They will also be able to "unwrap" a mummy by peeling off virtual layers of the wrapping to explore the artefacts buried with the body.

"We can literately create a virtual copy of the mummy. This version could be shared with other museums, be used for research or be part of an interactive visitor experience," added Mr Rydell.

The work is a collaboration between Swedish visualisation researchers, Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm and two technology companies, Autodesk and Faro.

"The technology will enable our visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the men and women inside the mummy wrappings," said Elna Nord, producer of the exhibition.

"Layer by layer, the visitor can unwrap the mummy and gain knowledge of the individual's sex, age, living conditions and beliefs. With help from the technology, the mummies become so much stronger mediators of knowledge of our past."

Source: BBC News Website [June 28, 2013]

The history of the horse is the history of civilisation itself. The horse has had a revolutionary impact on ancient civilisations and this major exhibition explores the influence of horses in Middle Eastern history, from their domestication around 3,500 BC to the present day. Britain’s long equestrian tradition is examined from the introduction of the Arabian breed in the 18th century to present day sporting events such as Royal Ascot and the Olympic Games.

The domestication of the horse more than 5,000 years ago dramatically changed human history. Domestication is thought to have first happened on the steppes of South Russia with horses being introduced into the Middle East around 2,300BC. Before this introduction, asses and donkeys were used for transport, predominantly as harness animals pulling cumbersome but technologically advanced vehicles — as seen on objects found at the Royal Cemetery of Ur -but gradually horses became the means of faster transportation for these early societies.

The exhibition includes one of the earliest known depictions of a horse and rider: a terracotta mould found in Mesopotamia (Iraq) dating to around 2,000 – 1,800 BC. Horses became a vital component in warfare and hunting, as reflected in the art of ancient Assyria, where elaborate and ornate horse trappings and ornaments were developed reflecting the prestige and status of horse, charioteer and rider.

Riding became an essential part of society during the Achaemenid period (5th -4th century BC), a cylinder seal of Darius, dating to 522 – 486 BC shows the king hunting lions in a chariot, and famously, the Achaemenid’s introduced ‘post horses’ which were used to deliver messages on the royal road. The horsemen of the Parthian Empire (3rd century BC – 3rd century AD) were celebrated by Roman authors for the ‘Parthian shot’, in which an apparently retreating rider would shoot arrows backwards whilst on horseback. The renown of Parthian horsemen is shown in their representation on terracotta plaques and bronze belt buckles in the British Museum collection.

Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Mughal miniature paintings, ceramics and manuscripts all attest to the growing importance of the horse in the Islamic world from the 7th century AD. Exquisite Mughal miniatures depict princes with their valued Middle Eastern steeds, horses that were famed for their speed and spirit. A magnificent Furusiyya manuscript, dating to the 14th century AD, on loan from the British Library, is a beautifully illustrated manual of horsemanship, including information on proper care for the horse, advanced riding techniques, expert weapon handling, manoeuvres and elaborate parade formations.

The horse has a long history on the Arabian Peninsula, becoming an important cultural phenomenon and a noted part of the traditional Bedouin way of life. The ‘Arabian horse’ was developed through selective breeding, and with features including a distinctive head profile and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most familiar horse breeds in the world. The exhibition includes ‘Gigapan’ panorama photography of rock art which show horses in scenes of various dates from sites in Saudi Arabia, as well as loans of objects from Qaryat al-Fau which include wall paintings and figurines.

The importance of fine horses in the Middle East is explored through the fascinating Abbas Pasha manuscript (dating to the 19th century and on loan from the King Abdulaziz Public Library, Riadyh). This document is the primary source of information about the lineage of the purebred Arabian horses acquired by Abbas Pasha (the viceroy of Egypt) throughout the Middle East.

The story of the Arabian breed of horse is examined in parallel to that of Wilfrid Scawan Blunt (1840-1922), poet and agitator, and Lady Anne Blunt (1837-1917), the granddaughter of Lord Byron. The Blunts travelled widely in the Middle East and established a celebrated stud for purebred Arabians, which was crucial for the survival of the Arabian breed, at Crabbet Park in Sussex, and another outside Cairo in Egypt.

Horses, including Arabians had long been imported from the Middle East to Britain, but from the 17th century, three Arabian stallions in particular were introduced, which, bred with native mares, produced the Thoroughbred breed, now the foundation of modern racing; some 95% of all modern Thoroughbreds are descended from these three horses. Paintings and prints, trophies and memorabilia explore their remarkable success and their influence on sport and society, from early race meetings through to modern equestrian events.

Faissal Ibn Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Al-Saud, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Saudi Equestrian Fund said "It is well known that the horse has played a crucial role in the development of civilization, and that a close bond exists between horses and men. I am very pleased that it has been possible to support this exhibition in London which gives us an opportunity to look at different aspects of the history of the Arabian horse and the context from which it emerged."

The exhibition runs until 30 September 2012 and is part of the celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee.

Admission is free.

Source: The British Museum [June 02, 2012]

Fragments of Humanity: Archaeology in Québec is the first major exhibition dedicated entirely to Québec archaeology. Some 350 significant pieces will be featured, celebrating 50 years of archaeological discovery in Québec.

The exhibition looks back at the events and ways of life behind fragments of humanity that, each in their own way, reveal various facets of our heritage. Taken out of the ground, these objects summon up stories and, when placed end-to-end, are invaluable material evidence that ultimately tells us about our history. Highlighting the richness and diversity of Québec’s archaeological collections, the exhibition is divided into four thematic sections relating to archaeology: ancient history or prehistoric archaeology, a land of trade and commerce, chronicles of daily life, and subaquatic archaeology.

Imagining: ancient history

The first part of the exhibition is dedicated to the era preceding the Europeans’ arrival on Québec land. Through archaeological discoveries, it has been possible to confirm that small groups of men and women had already trod upon Québec soil some 12,000 years ago. Without archaeology, this whole swath of Québec’s history would remain unknown and continue to elicit questions.

Discovering: a land of trade and commerce

The next section of the exhibition is devoted to trade between Europeans and Amerindians, and to commercial activities carried out on Québec land beginning in the 16th century. The Basques, Normans, Bretons, and French, drawn by such natural resources as marine mammals and cod, set up facilities along the banks of the St. Lawrence in order to exploit its assets. The artefacts found among the remains at dozens of archaeological sites also underscore the increasing number of trade areas and, starting in the 17th century, the development of local industries. Fishing tools, munitions, weaponry, coins, and other items of trade found on the sites of trading posts, forts, and the king’s stores are concrete examples of the meeting of peoples who socialized and mixed with each other in trade… or in competition.

Visitors are then invited to take a look at daily life in the 18th and 19th centuries, filling the void left by written documents. The theme is approached from three angles: food and the culinary arts, hygiene, and games and toys. An examination of found objects provides insight into our ancestors’ private lives, allowing us to consider changes in mindsets, practices, and styles. For example, while gatherings around the table among the upper-class in 18th century Québec City and 19th century Montréal are characterized by abundance, objects found in more modest milieus suggest a simpler diet in which soup was very popular!

Several hygiene items found among the remains—such as chamber pots, lice combs, shaving basins, and toothbrushes—indicate that the practice of “dry bathing” was quite widespread: the elite, while decked out in fine clothing, only gave a cursory cleaning to the visible parts of their bodies. A number of medicine jars, bottles of alcohol, mineral water, and milk of magnesia have also been found, and show that the preparation of home remedies was a common practice. Lastly, evidence of 19th century industrialization can clearly be seen in games and toys that have been found, mainly in more affluent areas.

Bringing to light: stories from the depths

Subaquatic archaeology is featured in this exhibition, with the remains from five shipwrecks on display: the Elizabeth and Mary, the Machault, the Auguste, the Empress of Ireland, and the Lady Sherbrooke. Interest in subaquatic archaeology resides in its ability to provide a snapshot of the moment of the wreck, thereby bringing to life tragic experiences, using a precise technique and recognized expertise to recover, stabilize, and preserve the meaning of submerged artefacts. These include arms and munitions, clothing and shoes, jewellery, and moving personal objects evoking the lives of men and women during the months spent on board.

Exclusive objects

Several objects in the exhibition are being presented to the public for the first time. Some have even been restored specifically for the exhibition, notably some earthenware jars found in the Basque sites on Petit-Mécatina Island on the Lower North Shore, and objects relating to Amerindian funeral rites. These include the offerings from the first Amerindian grave to be brought to light in Québec during the refurbishment of Champlain Boulevard, in Sillery, in 1966.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the exhibition is a dugout canoe made out of a single piece of wood, which was found in a lake in the Laurentians in the mid-1980s. Discovered by amateur divers, the 15th century dugout required special care to be properly preserved and to prevent it from deteriorating after having spent 500 years below the water’s surface. There are only about ten surviving prehistoric Amerindian dugout canoes in Québec, but none is in as fine a condition as that on display at Pointe-à-Callière.

Fragments of Humanity: Archaeology in Québec is an exhibition produced by Pointe-à-Callière, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Communications. This exhibition is funded by the Government of Canada. The Museum also thanks its sponsors, the InterContinental Hotel and La Presse.

The exhibition will run until January 8th 2017

Source: Pointe-à-Callière [February 24, 2016]

The new “Vikings” exhibition at Discovery Times Square is, in a sense, built around something that isn’t there.

The exhibition, which opens on Friday, was organized by the Swedish History Museum in conjunction with MuseumPartners in Austria, and the people behind it really want you to know that during the 350 years (750 to 1100) that Viking culture flourished, horned helmets were never a thing. They have amassed 500 artifacts — some copies; many the genuine article — to make the point.

There’s not a horned helmet among them (unless you count an amusing sight gag as you exit), because no such headpiece has ever come out of an archaeological dig. The ubiquitous headgear often associated with Vikings, we’re told in the exhibition, actually came out of the imagination of an 1876 costume designer staging a Wagner opera. And that’s not the only misperception this exhibition is intent on correcting.

The first thing you see in the introductory film as you enter is a farming scene. Raiding was certainly part of what Vikings did, but it is de-emphasized here — perhaps too much so — in favor of displays that highlight social and religious life and try to give women their due.

Countless fictional portrayals might have left the impression that Viking culture was somehow 90 percent male, wild-haired and sword-wielding, but of course it wasn’t, as the jewelry and many other women’s artifacts here attest. The now-rusted keys on display, we’re told, were often carried by women, because with men frequently on the road, they ran the farm.

What’s most interesting about the exhibition, though, is the way it places Vikings within the evolving world. It includes, for instance, a shell found on Gotland, the Swedish island, that came from the waters off distant Cyprus, because one thing Vikings were good at was getting around.

From Scandinavia, the Vikings vikinged far and wide, encountering other emerging cultures. The exhibition is organized by themes rather than chronologically, and the cross-cultural pollination is especially clear in a section on religion. Norse gods and Christian symbolism combine on brooches and pendants, tangible evidence of the kind of slow cultural conquest or merging that is harder to dramatize than a plain old military invasion but fascinating to contemplate.

The ships that made all this roaming possible are well represented. There’s a reproduction of a Viking boat, but just as compelling is a display that speaks to the archaeologist’s frustration: So many materials, including wood, deteriorate in a harsh climate. The display — “We call it the ghost ship,” Ms. Hejll said — consists only of what might be left of a ship at an archaeological dig: the metal hardware that held it together. Dozens of weatherworn rivets and other pieces of ancient hardware dangle from strings, creating the shape of a vessel; only the actual vessel is missing.

The exhibition is geared toward a general audience, with several interactive features likely to appeal to children. One especially illuminating one involves shipbuilding. It presents a graphic display of a landscape, then asks you to select what you’d need to build a Viking ship. Rope? Sure — make that choice and all the horses in the landscape lose their tails, because horsetail hair was used for rope. Wood? Of course — make that selection and all the trees disappear. Deforestation, it turns out, was not just an Industrial Age problem. The Viking commitment to a seafaring life was also a commitment to expend a lot of natural resources.

The Vikings Exhibition runs from Feb. 5 – Sept. 5, 2016, at Discovery Times Square: 226 West 44th Street, Manhattan, NYC.

Author: Neil Genzlinger | Source: The New York Times [March 02, 2016]

The Indian Kids

In India, children start to tame a dragon literally from infancy. The most interesting that adults, do not speak to children about danger of death, and on the contrary, assure that are toys...

Related Posts: Asia

• A Courageous Act
• Ancient Fighting
• For Some Men...

Oral : Vagina : Anal

The social advertising created by Malaysian branch DDB International — a part of one of set of social campaigns against violence in South East Asia. Also asks the elementary question «who women for men?».

Identical Sockets

Variants are presented in the form of sockets, each of which is originally signed. Signatures characterize the relation — the "friend", "favorite", "concubine", "partner". Under last where a certain plug is thrust, "vagina" appears. The slogan «How some men treat women».

Related Posts: Asia

• Courageous act
• Ancient fighting single combat
• The Indian toys