The International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT) will hold its 20th meeting in Helsinki, 1–6 August 2010.
Scholars from all over the world are invited to attend the lectures, participate in the discussions, and give papers. Associated events will be held July 29-August 6.
The organizers are giving a 'local colour' to the congress by giving priority to main papers on topics that are crucial for Old Testament Studies in Helsinki, such as Textual History, Septuagint, Qumran, and Deuteronomistic History, as well as Archaeology. Other subjects are addressed in short paper sessions and in sessions of different research groups.
Ms. Jutta Jokiranta, DTh
Research Fellow
Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
P.O. Box 4
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Email: iosot-2010 AT helsinki.fi
Phone: +358-9-191 24348
The Islamic Manuscript Association's Sixth Islamic Manuscript Conference will be held at Queens' College, University of Cambridge from 8-10 July, 2010. It will be hosted by the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge.
The theme of the Conference will be Central Asian Islamic manuscripts and manuscript collections.
The 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East will be held at the British Museum in London in April, 2010. It will be organised by the Department of the Middle East, The British Museum and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
There are five main themes:
– Mega-cities and mega-sites
– Ancient and modern issues in cultural heritage
– Colour and light in architecture, art and material culture
– The archaeology of consumption and disposal – Landscape, transport and communication
Tomm Moore's 'The Secret of Kells' is based on the origins of Ireland’s most famous illustrated manuscript, The Book of Kells. This is clearly noticeable in the film's stunning artwork influenced by Irish medieval illustrations. Historian Giraldus Cambrensis in the twelfth century described a manuscript (maybe the Book of Kells) in words that are entirely fitting to describe 'The Secret of Kells': "Look more keenly at it and you will penetrate to the very shrine of art. You will make out intricacies, so delicate and subtle, so exact and compact, so full of knots and links, with colours so fresh and vivid, that you might say that this was the work of an angel and not a man."
Set in the ninth century, The Secret of Kells follows twelve year old Brendan, a mischievous monk who lives with his uncle, Abbot Cellach. With the Viking hordes approaching, the monks of Kells are forced to turn their attention from transcribing manuscripts to the (quite boring) task of building barricades. To put it the Abbot's words: "A wall to save civilisation, a wall to save your book. It is with the strength of our walls, they will come to trust the strength of our Faith."
In these times, who would make an animated movie that was intentionally two-dimensional? Deflated and only minorly shaded, but visually ravishing. Flat, but filled with ancient swirls and Celtic knots. And who would have thought such a film would become a major hit? 'The Secret of Kells', a spirited retelling of the provenance of one of Ireland’s most cherished artefact, the Book of Kells, was a success in Irish, French and Belgian cinemas alike, got an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film and is now well on its way to conquering the United States of America. It is also the most fabulous animation film I've seen in ages*.
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament, in a mixed old Latin and Vulgate text, done in Insular majuscule script. In addition, the Book of Kells (An Leabhar Cheanannais in Irish) contains prefatory material such as concordance tables and some 11th century legal documents concerning the Abbey of Kells. Transcribed by Celtic monks at ca 800 AD and a great example of Irish Celtic art, the manuscript is one of the world's pre-eminent examples of illuminated codices. The book consists of 339 vellums, but originally it must have had about thirty more.
Historians are not certain of the exact date and circumstances of the book's creation. It might have been complete by the Columban monks at Iona before - after a Viking raid in 806 - they fled to Kells Abbey. Another possibility is that the manuscript was entirely composed at Kells, or even begun at Iona and then complete at Kells. The book was not created by an individual illuminator, but by several artists/monks.
Receive a grand welcome and choose your destination in Heritage Key Virtual. Regardless if you want to learn more skills, customise your looks or fly off to Stonehenge Virtual or King Tut Virtual, the welcome area is the place to start.
Submitted by Mary Harrsch on Thu, 03/18/2010 - 12:59
Virtual Çatalhöyük is one of the most well-researched and painstakingly executed ancient world reconstructions in Second Life. But with the rent due, and funding tight, can the researchers keep the environment alive? I spoke to creator Colleen Morgan about the problems of creating reconstructions for high-rent platforms.
Czech archaeologists have excavated remains of a prehistoric settlement in Arbil, north Iraq, which could date back as far back 200,000 years, placing it among the earliest evidence of hominid activity in the region.
The expedition, led by Dr. Karel Novacek from the University of West Bohemia in Plzen, unearthed clusters of stone artifacts at the bottom of a 9-meter-deep pit dug just outside the tell, or citadel, in Arbil.
Novacek recently explained to Heritage Key that the excavated stone tools, comprised of flakes, scrapers and cores, can be traced back to the Late Middle Paleolithic Age (200,000-40,000 years before present). These discoveries align with excavations carried out by Americans in the 1950s in the nearby plains between Kirkuk and Suleymaniya.
In these times, who would make an animated movie that was intentionally two-dimensional? Deflated and only minorly shaded, but visually ravishing. Flat, but filled with ancient swirls and Celtic knots. And who would have thought such a film would become a major hit? 'The Secret of Kells', a spirited retelling of the provenance of one of Ireland’s most cherished artefact, the Book of Kells, was a success in Irish, French and Belgian cinemas alike, got an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film and is now well on its way to conquering the United States of America. It is also the most fabulous animation film I've seen in ages
Czech archaeologists have excavated remains of a prehistoric settlement in 
