Bryn Mawr Archaeology Students' Page

Sharjah Archaeology Museum showcases Smuggled Antiquities for Museum Day

bmcarchaeology — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:04:29 +0000

“The Sharjah Archaeology Museum will open a temporary exhibition in the foyer to showcase antiquities that were smuggled through the country, according to an official at the Sharjah Museum Department.

The event coincides with celebrations marking International Museum Day on May 18, which is held under the theme, ‘Museums: Agents of Social Change and Development.’”

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Heritage_and_Culture/10213253.html

If you’ve been on Professor Magee’s fieldschool, you’ve been to this museum. Yay!

I also find it auspicious that the class of 2008 will be graduating on Museum Day, good luck in all your endeavors guys!

“Pharaoh Seti I’s Tomb Bigger Than Thought”

bmcarchaeology — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:38:35 +0000

“Egyptian archaeologists have discovered that the tomb of the powerful pharaoh Seti I—the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings—is bigger than originally believed. During a recent excavation, the team found that the crypt is actually 446 feet (136 meters) in length. Giovanni Battista Belzoni, who discovered the tomb in 1817, had noted the tomb at 328 feet (100 meters).”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080417-seti-tomb.html

Play Ancient Egyptian Senet Online

bmcarchaeology — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:29:39 +0000

Try your hand at the Ancient Egyptian game of Senet! (Great for relaxing after a tough exam!) Just click the link below

http://www.clevelandart.org/kids/egypt/senet.html

Video on the return of about 700 artifacts to the Iraq Museum

bmcarchaeology — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:00:19 +0000

I can’t seem to embed this, so check it out here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080428-treasures-video-ap.html

Ancient Egypt Week!

bmcarchaeology — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:09:06 +0000

Archaeology News

bmcarchaeology — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:57:33 +0000

Indiana Jones wins as greatest movie hero of all time! (Maximus takes #3)
“Top ten heroes: 1. Indiana Jones. 2. James Bond. 3. Maximus (Gladiator). 4. John McClane (Die Hard). 5. Ellen Ripley (Alien). 6. Han Solo (Star Wars). 7. Thomas “Neo” Anderson (The Matrix). 8. William Wallace (Braveheart). 9. Leon (Leon) 10. Rick Blaine (Casablanca).”

http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/26/indiana.hero/index.html

Image: amazon.com

Everyone loves Anatolia!

bmcarchaeology — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:55:19 +0000

An interesting discussion of this sherd:

“by K. Aslihan Yener, Director, Mustafa Kemal University Excavations at Alalakh

A brightly spotted bull gallops to the right; a man’s right leg and left arm fly off its back. Clearly, these images from pieces of a krater found in the ancient city of Alalakh in Turkey depict bull leaping, a popular ritual sport of the ancient Aegean. Bull leaping is best known from a Minoan wall painting at the palace of Knossos on Crete. It is also depicted on paintings, seals, and figurines discovered in other Minoan, eastern Mediterranean, and Egyptian sites. But until recently, no such image had been found in this part of Turkey. The spread of this imagery (and perhaps even the sport itself) allows us to reexamine the nature and extent of contact between the civilizations of the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age. Founded in the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 B.C.), Alalakh eventually came under the control of the Hittites in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 B.C.). The imported krater indicates an exchange of high-status luxury items between the Hittites and the Mycenaeans who ruled the Aegean. But it may tell us more. Recently restored bull-leaping frescoes from the palace of Alalakh and other scenes of bull leapers from seal impressions on clay lumps (bullae) found there confirm stylistic traditions shared between Hittite Anatolia, the Aegean, and the eastern Mediterranean during the Middle to Late Bronze Age. Taken together with these fragments, this may also indicate shared ritual practices across these regions. Although it is possible that by the Late Bronze Age Minoan-style bull leaping was no longer actually practiced by the Mycenaeans or their contemporaries, it was at the very least remembered as a significant ritual and adopted as an artistic idiom with religious importance that was picked up by the inhabitants of Alalakh. The krater’s scene then becomes not just a dynamic image of a popular ritual sport, but a powerful link between ancient civilizations.”

http://www.archaeology.org/0803/etc/artifact.html

T-Shirts Link

bmcarchaeology — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:14:03 +0000

For your convenience, there is a link to the t-shirt store over on the right, under Blogroll. So as the information post gets pushed down, no tiresome scrolling is necessary.

Don’t miss out on this fashion must!

What do you guys think of the shirts? Do you like being able to choose from 31 luxurious color schemes and several different types of shirt? (For practical reasons it became apparent that a bulk order of shirts would not work for this year) But next year, would you rather order identical shirts in bulk, or have a store similar to this one with lots of options?

ALSO! I’ve just come across a coupon code GRANDOPENING5 which will supposedly give you $5 off an order of $20 or more. (I don’t know if it’s still valid but you can certainly give it a try).

Gladiator Remains at Ephesus

bmcarchaeology — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:00:26 +0000

Hittites weren’t the only awesome culture to have lived in Asia Minor… in this video, Romans!

(This video is seriously interesting, so even if you don’t have time now, you should def check it out later)

Çatalhöyük’s Website

bmcarchaeology — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:43:01 +0000

If you’re interested in Anatolian archaeology, the official website for the Çatalhöyük excavation has all kinds of plans, photos, even excavation diaries.

http://www.catalhoyuk.com/

“This Web site is designed for those interested in the ongoing excavations at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Its aim is to provide information about the activities of the Project and of the different aspects of the research being conducted at Çatalhöyük. The Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük was first discovered in the late 1950s and excavated by James Mellaart between 1961 and 1965. The site rapidly became famous internationally due to the large size and dense occupation of the settlement, as well as the spectacular wall paintings and other art that was uncovered inside the houses.

Since 1993 an international team of archaeologists, led by Ian Hodder, has been carrying out new excavations and research, in order to shed more light on the people that inhabited the site.”