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explorator 5.18 September 1, 2002
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Editor's note: Depending on your mail software, some urls may
wrap (especially those from the Telegraph) which will require
you to rebuild the url at your end; if you get a 'file not
found', check to see if the url wrapped on you. Most urls should
be active for at least eight hours from the time of publication.
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Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Maurice O'Sullivan, Bill Kennedy, Juliana,
Terry Gibson, Donna Hurst, Karl Witwer, John Hill, W. Richard Frahm,
'alesmonetos', Michael Ruggeri, Yonatan Nadelman, and Sally Winchester
for headses upses this week (a.a.h.i.h.l.n.o.o.)
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Before we get to the news, I'd like to draw folks' attention to the
following, which circulated on various scholarly lists this past week:
-------
What follows is a plea for help from the
Archaeological Institute at Prague. Before the flood
it housed the biggest collection of archaeological
literature (including studies on ANE sites) in the
Czech Republic. Please feel free to forward this
message to anybode who could be interested in any sort
of help.
tomas_marik@...
Dear colleagues and friends,
on 14th August 2002, the Vltava river flooded the
Institute of Archaeology in Prague up to 3 metres
high. The Institutes library was practically
destroyed - representing, with its 70,000 volumes, the
largest archaeological library in the Czech Republic
until now, together with the photographical and
geodetical archives and laboratories.
Therefore we are forced to seek support and help
concerning the salvage and restoration of the damaged
funds and collections, so important for the whole
archaeological community in the Czech Republic and
beyond. Most welcome would be collaboration concerning
restoration of books and other materials (defreezing
and drying), donation of publications etc.
Institute of Archaeology
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Letensk 4
CZ-11801 Praha 1
tel. +4202 57533782, fax +420257532288
Bank account:
esk nrodn banka Praha
SWIFT: CEKOCZPP
17537031/0710
--------
cf:
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AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA
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The thigh bone of a Mesolithic woman suggests she ate a lot of meat:
,,1-2-398917,00.html
The hype for this one started a couple of weeks ago, but now it's
hitting the 'big' papers ... they're going to be sending a robot
thingie to get behind the blocked passage in the Great Pyramid which
Upuaut couldn't get past a few years ago; of course it will all
be "live" on television:
,,3-395665,00.html
Excavations of a large section of what was once Heliopolis are
about to commence (haven't they already?):
The Egyptian State Information Service has a feature on Leo Capsus:
... and Menia:
A section of the wall of Temple Mount appears to be in danger of
collapsing:
An analysis of Roman army latrines in Scotland suggests the Romans
went to war fueled by eggs and Pizza (sounds like what I live on
through university):
... and apparently a few of them are still around:
This should probably be a followup, but what the heck -- the debate
is still raging over that burial near the Dead Sea which is claimed
to be of John the Baptist:
... and not to be outdone, the burial site of the apostle Matthew is
also being sought:
A Bulgarian historian has plans to rebuild Noah's Ark:
Jordan Times has a nice feature on the excavations of Petra's Great
Temple site:
The Philippeion is to be restored in time for the Olympics:
Albanian archaeologists have uncovered a rather large statue of Minerva:
The Independent has a nice touristy thing on Herculaneum:
Work on a Cambodian temple has led to the discovery of a pile of
solid gold Buddhas:
... and also in Cambodia, a number of bells have been found:
The tomb of an ancestor of Qin Shuihang has been found in Northern
China:
Archaeologists have identified remains of the first church built by
the Knights Templar in London:
,,61-395725,00.html
The Times' Archaeological Notebook has a number of items of interest:
,,1-46-394610,00.html
I'm not sure what to make of this one, but perhaps now we shall
know why the Vikings were so formidable:
Ahh ... the romantic life of an anthropologist:
Not sure how much faith can be put into anything in Pravda, but excavations
are soon to begin to determine how long Moscow has been occupied:
The 'Celtic League' is demanding the return of a number of artifacts
from Britain:
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THE AMERICAS
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Here's the latest in the Kennewick Man saga:
Okay ... so the Bat Creek stone has been deciphered and proves the
Welsh discovered America:
A dig in Iowa is a bit of a disappointment, it seems:
They're still looking for traces of the Lewis and Clark expedition:
The "Titanic of New England" has been identified:
... and a Japanese submarine which sank in Pearl Harbor has been
found:
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ON THE NEWSSTANDS
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There's a new issue of British Archaeology out, with features on
burials, Hamwic, and other things:
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CRIME BEAT
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The New York Times Magazine has a nice feature (with slideshow) on
looting of antiquities in Afghanistan:
... and MSNBC has a nice feature on Egypt's efforts to recover stolen
artifacts:
Iraq has recovered a number of stolen antiquities (scroll down a bit
if you have to):
Apparently inspired by those who 'defaced' that iron age giant
image a few weeks ago, pro-hunt activists have embellished the
Uffington Horse and the White Horse:
Pilgrims appear to be lifting artifacts from Buddhist shrines in
Japan:
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AT ABOUT.COM
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Tom Huntington, *The City of the Dead* (Petra):
Archaeology Guide Kris Hirst's latest is "Lord Byron on the Coliseum":
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REVIEWS
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Anne Carson, *If Not Winter: Fragments of Sappho*:
Anthony Everitt, *Cicero*:
E.H. Gombrich, *The Preference for the Primitive: Episodes in the History of
Western Taste and Art.*:
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EXHIBITIONS
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Encounter With Byzantine Glazed Pottery (Athens):
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CLASSICIST'S CORNER
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The bit of ongoing amazement at the resurgence of Latin:
Apparently the 'brain drain' doesn't affect Canada alone:
Cyprus Mail has a feature on the Hoplite Association:
For those following the hubbub about carving the face of Alexander
the Great into a Mount Rushmore like monument in Greece:
You knew it was going to happen ... now there's a campaign afoot
to have the Nike of Samothrace returned:
Peter Jones in the Spectator:
... and Dot Wordsworth:
Perfess'r Harris:
Radio Finland's Nuntii Latini
Radio Bremen's Der Monatsrckblick - auf Latein
U.S. Weather in Latin:
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OBITUARIES
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Nicholas Bogdan (medieval archaeologist):
,3604,781513,00.html
Walter McCrone (Turin Shroud investigator):
,,60-398418,00.html
Hermann Plsson (Icelandic Saga researcher):
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FOLLOWUPS
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First Fijians:
Fort Vancouver:
Monitor:
Schoyen Manuscript Collection for Sale:
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