The Coptic Magical Papyri Blog

January 6, 2019, 4:12 am

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Finally some news on the Iraqi Jewish archive

January 6, 2019, 4:23 am

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Ulysse de l'Orient à l'Occident

January 6, 2019, 6:51 am

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Titre: Ulysse de l'Orient à l'Occident
Lieu: ENS Ulm / Paris
Catégorie: Séminaires, conférences
Date: 19.01.2019
Heure: 16.00 h
Description:

Information signalée par Charles Guittard

Réunion de la Société Ernest Renan

19 janvier 2019 à 16h

Communication de Jean-Luc Desnier (Ancien membre de l'Ecole française de Rome, Docteur en Histoire)

Ulysse de l'Orient à l'Occident

Lieu de la manifestation : ENS (Ulm), Département des Sciences de l'Antiquité
Organisation : Charles Guittard
Contact : chaguittard[at]gmail.comtard

Scholars in Press: An Interview with Tania Notarius

January 6, 2019, 7:30 am

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Scholars in Press: An Interview with Tania Notarius

"Bronze Age" on EBay: 'Public Participation in Archaeology'

January 6, 2019, 8:23 am

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Beginning of January 2019:  650 Bronze Age items on EBay, some misidentified, some obvious fakes, some being sold from countries where their export would be illegal. Some sold by dealers, some sold by metal detectorists. 212 of them come from UK only.

Somehow I really do not see any rationale behind claims being made by some that Collection-Driven Exploitation of the archaeological record is some form of incredibly positive 'public participation in archaeology'. That's nonsense.

Coptic Magical Papyri: Vernacular Religion in Late Roman and Early Islamic Egypt

January 6, 2019, 9:32 am

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Coptic Magical Papyri: Vernacular Religion in Late Roman and Early Islamic Egypt

The Coptic Magical Papyri: Vernacular Religion in Late Roman and Early Islamic Egypt is a five-year research project (2018-2023) based at the Chair of Egyptology of the Julius Maximilian University Würzburg and funded by the Excellent Ideas programme. The team consists of Korshi Dosoo (research group leader), Edward O. D. Love, and Markéta Preininger Svobodová.

Our goal is to advance the study of the corpus of Coptic “magical texts” – manuscripts written on papyrus, as well as parchment, paper, ostraca and other materials, and attesting to private religious practices designed to cope with the crises of daily life in Egypt. There are about five hundred of these texts which survive, dating to between the third and twelfth centuries of the common era. The largest published collection to-date, Ancient Christian Magic (Marvin Meyer & Richard Smith, 1994), contains only about one hundred of these texts – about a fifth of the total number – while the remainder of those published are scattered in over a hundred books and articles, accessible to and known by only a few specialists.

These documents serve as vital pieces of information for vernacular religion – the realities rather than the ideal of religious practices and beliefs as they were experienced and carried out in daily life. They provide rich information about the experiences of people from the periods they document – the transitions from traditional Egyptian religion to Christianity and Islam, the diffusion and interaction of different forms of Christianity (“gnostic” and orthodox, Miaphysiste and Dyophysite, cults of saints and angels), and conceptions of the human and divine worlds – how human experiences such as happiness and success, suffering and sickness, love and conflict were understood and negotiated.
Our project has five key components:

•   The creation of a continually-updated, publicly-available online corpus of Coptic magical texts, stored within the Kyprianos database.
•   The edition of new texts, and the re-edition and correction of older manuscripts, made possible by the comparative material within the corpus.
•   The publication of these editions, both online and in print.
•   Specific studies on different aspects of the magical texts – their language, their cosmologies, their ritual practices, and so on. These will respond to questions generated in the compilation of the corpus and the edition of texts.
•   The communication of these results through regular blog posts and our forthcoming podcast, You’re a Wizard!

Please contact us if you would like to collaborate, receive regular updates, or correct information online or in the Kyprianos database.

Ontmoetingsdag over brandweer-erfgoed op 24 januari in Aalst

January 6, 2019, 9:52 am

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Naar aanleding van een project rond de waardering van het brandweererfgoed in Vlaanderen organiseert ETWIE samen met verschillende partners op donderdag 24 januari een ontmoetingsdag in het Brandweermuseum in Erembodegem (Aalst). Alle geïnteresseerden zijn op deze namiddag van harte welkom om mee na te denken over de toekomst van het brandweererfgoed in Vlaanderen. Deelname is gratis. Je vindt het volledige programma en alle praktische informatie op etwie.be.

Stadsbrede erfgoedzorg in Leuven

January 6, 2019, 10:44 am

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In het recentste nummer van het tijdschrift ‘M&L – Monumenten, Landschappen & Archeologie’ (jaargang 37, nr. 6) presenteert Leuven – als laatste in de reeks over de stedelijke diensten – haar beleid inzake onroerend erfgoed. Joke Buijs, Katrien Deckers en Lisa Van Ransbeeck schetsen de inhaalbeweging van deze stad, waar tot zes jaar geleden geen specifieke erfgoeddienst bestond. Dit betekent geenszins dat Leuven zich tot dan niet ernstig inzette voor haar rijk erfgoedbestand. Ze werd overigens, als enige Vlaamse kunststad, erkend als onroerenderfgoedgemeente.

Dit nummer van ‘M&L’ biedt ook een bijdrage over de voormalige dominicanenkerk in Gent, een van de vroegste monumentale kerkgebouwen van België in neogotische stijl. Om de discussie op gang te trekken over een passende functie en als voorbereiding op de restauratie, voerden Ann Verdonck, Joris Snaet en Marjolein Deceuninck een bouwhistorisch onderzoek uit dat de eigenheid en de waarde van dit monument in de verf zet. Ze wijzen hierbij op de weinig respectvolle inrichting tot kunstateliers, die de oorspronkelijke ruimtelijkheid noch het aanwezige kerkmeubilair en glasramenbestand eer aandoen.

Een derde artikel is gewijd aan De Stroopers in Stekene. Dit natuurgebied kwam al eerder aan bod in M&L: een boeiend verhaal van middeleeuws foreest, agrarisch landschap, onderwaterzetting, drooglegging en dijkherstel. Paul Van den Bremt en Regi De Meirsman vervolgen de geschiedenis vanaf de 18de eeuw, toen deze ingepolderde gronden in bos werden omgezet. Belangrijk is uiteraard hoe dit bos nu beheerd wordt. Een gedegen onderhoudsplan zou ook geen overbodige luxe zijn om dit te weinig bekend erfgoed opnieuw naar waarde te schatten.

Zoals steeds bevat het tijdschrift ook een interessante ‘M&L-krant’ met besprekingen van nieuwe publicaties, tentoonstellingen en studiedagen.

Praktisch: het tweemaandelijkse tijdschrift ‘M&L’ is een uitgave van die Keure. Een abonnement kost 45 euro en kan besteld worden via www.menl.be.

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Angkor hosts 2.6M visitors in 2018

January 6, 2019, 5:00 pm

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via Phnom Penh Post, 02 Jan 2019 and other sources: The latest tourist figures to the Angkor Archaeological Park for 2018. The 2.6 million figure counts ticket sales for international tourists, and may not necessarily reflect true visitor numbers since Cambodians enjoy access for free.

The post Angkor hosts 2.6M visitors in 2018 appeared first on SEAArch - Southeast Asian Archaeology.

CFP: Chinese Temples in Southeast Asia

January 6, 2019, 6:06 pm

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Via Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Deadline is 18 January 2019, while the seminar is on 1 Mar 2019.

The post CFP: Chinese Temples in Southeast Asia appeared first on SEAArch - Southeast Asian Archaeology.

‘They only go to Chinese shops’: why Cambodia’s influx of mainland tourists is causing tensions

January 6, 2019, 7:24 pm

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via South China Morning Post, 02 Jan 2019: China is the largest source of tourist visits to Cambodia, but little of the tourist dollars trickles to the ground.

The post ‘They only go to Chinese shops’: why Cambodia’s influx of mainland tourists is causing tensions appeared first on SEAArch - Southeast Asian Archaeology.

National Heritage Treated Like Trash

January 6, 2019, 7:58 pm

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Take trash home, can't you?

"National parks are America's public lands, but right now they're America's trashcans. That's because the U.S. federal government, embattled over funding for a border wall, has shut down, leaving national parks open and largely unattended. Since the shutdown began, brimming trashcans, overflowing toilets, and trespassing has been reported at many parks locations. [...] the full scale of the problem is yet to be determined but clean up timelines will range in length. “Some [efforts] will take weeks or months. Some will last generations. Some may not be able to be fixed.”..."  [Sarah Gibbens, 'National parks face years of damage from government shutdown:When the government eventually reopens, park experts warn reversing damage won't be as easy as throwing out the trash'. National Geographic Magazine Jan 4th 2019].

 In Britain, one day people will wake up to the damage that has been done to the archaeological resource through two generations or more of unregulated artefact hunting, and it will be curbed. But even though the hoiking will be regulated, it will be utterly impossible to repair the damage that has been done in our times.

Open Access Journal: Sociedad Española de Bizantinística Boletín

January 6, 2019, 8:24 pm

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Sociedad Española de Bizantinística Boletín

El Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Bizantinística, coordinado por Juan Signes Codoñer, es un instrumento de difusión del conocimiento de Bizancio y de las actividades de la Sociedad y sus socios. Además de las noticias académicas y las publicaciones de bizantinistas españoles, recoge breves estudios divulgativos sobre gran variedad de aspectos de la presencia de Bizancio en la Península ibérica y de las relaciones entre los reinos peninsulares y Bizancio, en parte organizado en secciones fijas como "Bizancio en la actualidad" o "Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la península Ibérica".

Normativa para el envío de artículos.

Boletín 31 (2018)

1. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península Ibérica XX: Ecos del arte ortodoxo en la costa alicantina. El templo del arcángel San Miguel en Altea.
2. «Dinastías bizantinas», un juego de mesa basado en el mundo político bizantino del siglo XI.
3. Kràzome Francisco, imme an tin Madrìdi, ce matthènno to greko (Me llamo Francisco, soy de Madrid y aprendo greko).
4. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península Ibérica XXI: El museo de mosaicos romanos de Casariche (Sevilla).
5. Crónica arqueológica I: Bizancio en su sitio. A propósito del Coloquio Internacional «El sitio de las cosas: la Alta Edad Media en contexto (siglos VIII-X)».
6. Bibliografía.

Boletín 30 (2018)

1. Carta a la Ministra de Educación Isabel Celáa.
2. El Problema de los generales bizantinos.
3. La Colección Ifergan de Málaga.
4. Bizancio, el "influencer" marginado.

Boletín 29 (2018)

1. Acta de la asamblea ordinaria (16/02/2018)
2. Bizancio ante el 8 de marzo: ¿merece la pena estudiar una sociedad patriarcal?
3. Constantinopla en La Crónica de Leodegundo
4. Bizancio como excusa: la "etapa bizantina" de André Derain (1880-1954)
5. En el umbral del Imperio. Crónica de la reunión científica Bizancio en Ceuta. Arqueología y comercio marítimo en el Fretum Gaditanum (siglos VI-VII d. C.)
6. Bibliografía

Boletín 28 (2017)

1. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península Ibérica XVIII: Asturias y Bizancio
2. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península Ibérica XIX: San Mamas y el león — o los leones de San Mamés
3. Bizancio de actualidad: León VI el Sabio y Charlotte Brontë
4. Bibliografía

Boletín 27 (2017)

1. La sabiduría de los paganos: la representación de la Sibila y Platón en el arte bizantino y post-bizantino    
2. Gibbon y Luis Antonio de Villena    
3. El ojo bizantino VII: Oriente en Madrid a fines del XIV y principios del XV    
4. El ojo bizantino VIII: La altura de los bizantinos    
5. El ojo bizantino IX: el icono de Sant Jaume en Palma de Mallorca    
6. Bibliografía

Boletín 26 (2017)

1. Asamblea anual de la SEB (24 de febrero de 2017)
2. El futuro de la Bizantinística en España
3. Homenaje a Pedro Bádenas de la Peña (14 de enero de 2017)
4. Malaca bizantina en el Museo de Málaga: un reencuentro con el pasado de la ciudad antigua
5. Cuestionario a los socios 1: Roberto Zapata Rodríguez
6. Bizancio en Playmobil
7. Bibliografía

Boletín 25 (2016)

1. XVII Jornadas de Bizancio (Málaga, 13-15 de octubre de 2016)
2. Arqueología en Tierras de la Biblia: la Jerusalén bizantina de la Ciudad de David
3. La maqueta de Jerusalén en época bizantina
4. La verdadera última legión
5. El cuerpo de un savaran persa en Il sestiere di Castello
6. Bibliografía

Boletín 24 (2016)

1. El 23º Congreso Internacional de Estudios Bizantinos (Belgrado, 22-27 de agosto de 2016)
2. El Ojo bizantino V: El despacho de Georges Ostrogorsky
3. El Ojo bizantino VI: Especial Belgrado
4. XVII Jornadas de Bizancio (Málaga, 13-15 de octubre de 2016)
5. Bizancio de actualidad: Literatura Medieval en la Universidad de York
6. Bibliografía

Boletín 23 (2016)

1. Acta de la asamblea anual de la Sociedad Española de Bizantinística (26 de febrero de 2016)
2. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península ibérica XVI: Raíces orientales en el mudéjar castellano
3. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península ibérica XVII: ¿Cúpulas neobizantinas?
4. El Ojo bizantino IV: El momento “Suintila”
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 22 (2015)

1. Bizancio como excusa: a propósito de los orígenes del Flamenco
2. El descubrimiento del galeón “San José” y la Lex Rhodia nautica
3. El ojo bizantino III:El Gallo en su atalaya
4. Debate bizantino: León VI versus morcilla
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 21 (2015)

1. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península ibérica XV: el díptico bizantino de Cuenca y su préstamo para la exposición “Masterpieces of Byzantine Art” de Edimburgo 1958
2. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la Península ibérica XVI:Iconografía de Santa Elena y la Vera Cruz en iglesias españolas
3. Bizantinistas españoles por el mundo II: “Descendiente de El Greco”
4. El ojo bizantino I: Papiro y Belisario en Siracusa; El ojo bizantino II: Justiniano en Coimbra
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 20 (2015)

1. Acta de la asamblea de la S.E.B.del 16 de enero de 2015
2. A propósito de las excavaciones arqueológicas en el Cerro del Molinete de Cartagena. Dinámicas de reutilización en una ciudad hispana durante la época bizantina 
3. Bizancio como escenario político romántico: el Belisario de Schenck y Donizetti 
4. Bizancio de actualidad: la imagen de lo sagrado (a propósito de los atentados de París) 
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 19 (2014)

1. Bizancio de actualidad: Justiniano y la desheredación
2. Los yazidis: un grupo étnico-religioso kurdo
3. Bizantinistas españoles por el mundo I: ¿Qué hace un becario como tú en un país como éste?
4. Bibliografía

Boletín 18 (2014)

1. Acta de la asamblea anual de la S.E.B.
2. Haendel en Bizancio: La ópera barroca y la historia bizantina.
3. La Bizantinística en la Universidad española.
4. La Cantiga 28 de Alfonso X y el asedio de Constantinopla.
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 17 (2013)

1. XVI jornadas de Bizancio: el mundo bizantino y el Occidente europeo
2. Los mosaicos bizantinos del mihrab de Córdoba
3. El icono bizantino de Jaime I el Conquistador (Jaume el Conqueridor)
4. Tesis doctorales y tesis de máster
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 16 (2013)

1. Rodríguez Adrados y Bizancio: una relación tormentosa
2. La guardia de "jenízaros" catalanes del emperador bizantino (segunda mitad del s. XVI - primera mitad del s. XV)
3. Besarión en Roma
4. Bibliografía
5. Reforma de los estatutos de la A.I.E.B. (Association Internationale des Études Byzantines)

Boletín 15 (2013)

1. Acta de la asamblea anual de la S.E.B.
2. «Chipre, entre Bizancio y Occidente (siglos IV-XVI)», exposición en el museo del Louvre (28 octubre 2012 - 28 enero 2013)
3. El culto a la Virgen en Constantinopla, Πόλις τῆς Θεοτόκου, según el Tarraconensis 55
4. Un plato del Louvre
5. Actividades bizantinas en el sureste peninsular
6. Bibliografía

Boletín 14 (2012)

1. Bizancio de actualidad: furia iconoclasta en Mali
2. Actividades divulgativas sobre la época bizantina en Cartagena
3. Un cinocéfalo egipcio en el corazón de Segovia
4. Efemérides olvidadas: 1800 años de romanidad
5. Un emperador deformado por la peste: Justiniano
6. Bibliografía
7. Proyectos en curso (IV)

Boletín 13 (2012)

1. Bizancio de actualidad: Grecia hoy y Bizancio
2. La entrada de Roger de Flor en Constantinopla
3. Bibliografía
4. Proyectos en curso (III)

Boletín 12 (2012)

1. Bizancio de actualidad: la polémica en la U.E. sobre los límites de Europa: el papel de Bizancio
2. Los frescos de la sala capitular del monasterio de Sigena (Huesca)
3. Joan de Peralta: un catalán encargado de la restauración de Santa Sofía y gobernador de Constantinopla durante el reinado de Juan VI Cantacuzeno (1347-1354)
4. Bibliografía
5. Proyectos en curso (II)

Boletín 11 (2012)

1. Resumen de la asamblea general de la S.E.B.
2. La Virgen del Perpetuo Socorro, el icono bizantino con más devoción en España
3. Griegos en la Barcelona medieval
4. Proyectos en curso (I)
5. ¿Bizancio de actualidad?
6. Premios
7. Bibliografía

Boletín 10 (2011)

1. XXII Congreso Internacional de Estudios Bizantinos (Sofia, 22-27 de agosto de 2011)
2. Los últimos bizantinos en España y la fortaleza de Alaró
3. Bibliografía

Boletín 9 (2011)

1. Bizancio en el próximo congreso de la S.E.E.C.
2. El periplo de un capitel bizantino en España
3. De digitalibus et in interrete mostratis imaginibus Graeocrum manuscriptorum
4. Sección de tesis
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 8 (2011)

1. Acta de la asamblea
2. Conferencia de Paolo Odorico
3. Los mosaicos de la villa de Noheda
4. Cómo una emperatriz de Bizancio acabó vestida de labradora valenciana
5. Bibliografía
6. Resolución del acertijo

Boletín 7 (2010)

1. Reunión de la directiva de la S.E.B.
2. Heraclio y la recuperación de la Santa Cruz
3. Bibliografía
4. Crónica académica
5. Acertijo

Boletín 6 (2010)

1. La irradiación de la cultura bizantina
2. Περα Γαδειρας o los límites del conocimiento humano
3. Bibliografía
4. Tesis doctorales defendidas

Boletín 5 (2010)

1. Investigaciones recientes sobre Bizancio y España
2. Hallazgo de dos representaciones de acritas en Koron
3. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la península Ibérica (IV)
4. Lectura de tesis doctorales
5. Bibliografía

Boletín 4 (2010)

1. Balance del segundo año de la S.E.B.
2. XV Jornadas de Bizancio en Ceuta
3. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la península Ibérica (III)
4. Tesis doctorales relacionadas con la Antigüedad Tardía y Bizancio
5. Bibliografía
6. Necrológica: Mark Lawrence Sosower (1949-2009)

Boletín 3 (2009)

1. Actas de la asamblea
2. Excavaciones arqueológicas en el cerro del Molinete de Cartagena
3. Bibliografía

Boletín 2 (2009)

1. Anuncio de asamblea
2. Socios institucionales
3. Logos
4. Planes de estudio
5. Archivo gráfico de Bizancio y la península Ibérica
6. Bizancio en pantalla

Boletín 1 (2009)

1. Bienvenida a los socios
2. Noticia sobre la exposición «Le Mont Athos et l'Empire Byzantin, Trésors de la Sainte Montagne», Petit-Palais (París, 10 abril - 13 julio 2009)
3. Bibliografía
4. Logos

See AWOL's full List of Open Access Journals in Ancient Studies

Masked dance tradition rises from near extinction in Cambodia

January 6, 2019, 8:32 pm

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via Reuters in the Bangkok Post, 04 Jan 2019: The listing of the Khon dances of Cambodia and Thailand are welcome, but the tradition still is in danger of dying out if new generations do not learn the craft. Cambodia’s centuries-old tradition of masked dance was nearly wiped out by the Khmer Rouge’s “Killing Fields” […]

The post Masked dance tradition rises from near extinction in Cambodia appeared first on SEAArch - Southeast Asian Archaeology.

AWOL is 10!

January 6, 2019, 8:46 pm

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6th January 2019 is the tenth anniversary of the launch of The Ancient World Online. In that time we have had 8,355,892 page views, and posted 6557 entries. 8,063 readers have chosen to receive the daily email update, with 1,783 followers on Facebook and 1937 followers on Twitter.

AWOL  is the successor to Abzu at ETANA, a multi-institutional collaborative project initiated in August 2000, as an electronic publishing project designed to enhance the study of the history and culture of the ancient Near East. Funded initially by a planning grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, then by a larger digitization grant from the same foundation, the ETANA web portal was launched in 2001. That version is a successor to Abzu hosted at the website of the Oriental Institute Chicago  (the link is to the earliest version accessible at the Internet Archive), and was launched in October 1994, nearly twenty-five years ago. We believe it is the longest sustained effort to document and disseminate the development of online open access scholarship in any field.

The Ancient World Online is entirely non-commercial, uses only light-weight free and open tools for its management and distribution. Outside of the salaries I have received at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU, and the Libraries at Penn State University, AWOL and Abzu have required no financial support. AWOL is committed to open access and to providing access free of charge to scholarship on Antiquity to anyone who is interested.

Abzu was the winner of the Archaeological Institute of America's Outstanding Work in Digital Archaeology Award in 2015, and the Digital Humanities Awards  2015  Best DH Blog Post or Series of Posts Award.


Thanks to you all for your continuing support, and please offer any feedback you may with to give. 

I wonder what this will loo like in another ten years let along twenty-five.

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The Legacy of Collection-Driven Exploitation of the Archaeological Record: Four Hundred Loose Finds Need Sorting

January 6, 2019, 10:21 pm

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Just some of many collections

The Dead Detectorist Dilemma ('Anyone want to ID around 400 finds? (gulp!)' by liamnolan Sun Jan 06, 2019 8:44 pm)

We have a person who lives 3 miles from Chippenham, Wiltshire and whose Dad passed away, leaving all his detecting finds behind. As you will imagine, its a very roman area (sic - PMB), so lots of roman coins and brooches, plus the usual other assortment. I have seen a couple of photos, everything laid out on a large table, though there could be more in a shed I am told! Anyway, the family is keen to have the collection sorted out so that they have some idea of what they actually ARE. Is there a good forum member who would be willing to visit the home and spend a few hours, over endless cuppa's and cake probably? The collection is NOT for sale [...] This is a job for someone who has the experience to roughly identify the finds and leave notes with the family on whats what. You won't need to be exact. Probably grouping finds together will be half the job. Its for someone willing to "give something back" to the hobby we love, on behalf of one of us who has spent over 30 years out in the fields and now departed. Anyone interested, please send me a PM. Cheers, Liam

Surely it's a simple case of just pulling out all the PAS records made over those three decades of artefact hoiking and shed-filling. How many of them are there? It is interesting that in 30 years of detecting, this dead guy managed to find only 13 'keepers' per year, what happened to the rest? And what has happened to the findspot data for each of those 400 (or more) items? What about the landowners, perhaps they should be contacted to see if any of them want their stuff back. This is the sordid reality behind all the head-patting of 'detectorists' that British archaeology does.

If there are 27000 of them (Hardy's figure - criticised, yet to be refuted) and half of  them have collections as big as 400 ancient objects (plus a shed full) that's 5.4 million loose (and probably for the most part unlabelled) objects currently above ground now, we come back yet again to that 'roughly-four-in-five-objects-unrecorded' ratio that so few pro-collecting archaeologists (like Alison Douglas) are in any way bothered about.

Now, why do the family not contact the local FLO to help deal with this legacy of Collection-Driven Exploitation of the archaeological record? Maybe some way could be found of funding the PAS to take on this unexpected workload on top of their other duties? As a generation of old-timer detectorists dies off, this problem is going to increase in frequency and the PAS needs to consider how to deal with it if vast amounts of information are not to be lost. 

Enter the U2 Spyplane Aerial Photography

January 6, 2019, 10:27 pm

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Even if you are not old enough to remember the shooting down of Gary Powers and the huge international crisis that followed in 1960, you may have seen the more recent movie Bridge of Spies (culminating in the exchange of Powers for a Soviet spy).

A few years ago, while at a conference, Jesse Casana told me that U2 aerial photos of 1958-1960 had now been declassified and included aerial photos – not the satellite photos of the Corona programme and its successors, of parts of the Middle East. Declassified but not catalogued and hard to actually access.

Emily Hammer and Jason Ur have created a spatial index to the declassified U2 Aerial Photos for the Middle East available in the National Archives (NARA), and this can be accessed at https://scholar.harvard.edu/jasonur/u2-aerial-photography-middle-east

At least one product of that work has now been published (Hammer and Lauricella 2017) – though not by Jesse Casana. It is plainly a laborious task still to use the material but the quality is very good and – of particular interest to me, is a flight of 1960 down the Jordanian panhandle from east to west and over and beyond Azraq. The Hunting Aerial Survey of 1953 is a little earlier in date but the quality is evidently poorer and it did not extend much east of Azraq. There will be particularly useful work to be done on that key area west of Azraq where the HAS material is very useful but poor quality combining it with the better U2 material of parts of the area. It is precisely there – with better quality soils and more precipitation, that the expansion of agriculture and removal of the basalt covering has damaged and destroyed many hundreds of sites of all kinds. As we know from our AAJ project, it is often difficult today to find traces of even the large Kites visible on the Hunting photos of 1953 and many have gone entirely.

Hammer, E. and A. Lauricella. 2017. “Historical Imagery of Desert Kites in Eastern Jordan.” NearEastern Archaeology 80.2: 74-83. Available on JSTOR.
Hammer, E. and J. Ur. In press. “Near Eastern Landscapes and Declassified U2 Aerial Imagery.”

Advances in Archaeological Practice.

Powerful Icelandic Vikings were buried with stallions

January 1, 2019, 8:00 am

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Archaeologists in Iceland have for decades examined the remains of more than 350 graves from the Viking Age. In approximately 150 examples, teeth or bones of horses were found. Geneticists and archaeologists have now examined ancient DNA from 19 horses in such graves, and found that all the horses except one were male. Modern Icelandic horses are probably descendants from the horses that were buried by Vikings more than 1000 years...

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Juno mission captures images of volcanic plumes on Jupiter's moon Io

January 1, 2019, 11:00 pm

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A team of space scientists has captured new images of a volcanic plume on Jupiter's moon Io during the Juno mission's 17th flyby of the gas giant. On Dec. 21, during winter solstice, four of Juno's cameras captured images of the Jovian moon Io, the most volcanic body in our solar system. JunoCam, the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU), the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) and the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVS) observed Io for...

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NASA's New Horizons mission reveals entirely new kind of world

January 1, 2019, 11:30 pm

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Scientists from NASA's New Horizons mission released the first detailed images of the most distant object ever explored -- the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule. Its remarkable appearance, unlike anything we've seen before, illuminates the processes that built the planets four and a half billion years ago. This image taken by the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) is the most detailed of Ultima Thule  returned so...

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