Category: sean-williams - Part 19

Scots Plan Scan of Mount Rushmore and Skara Brae

A pioneering Scots team could be the answers to saving some of the world’s greatest historical monuments. The six-strong group from Historic Scotland and the Glasgow School of Art are making waves across the world, as they use cutting-edge laser technology to map world heritage sites across the globe. First up on the team’s list will be Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota, USA. And the group are confident they can use their American-made CyArk 500 scanner to model the carved faces of former presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln to within 3mm. The subsequent models could then be used to help archaeologist rebuild the famous faces, should they fall victim to any further erosion of the granite rockface in which they are set.

CyArk has identified a hotlist of several ‘at-risk’ sites, including the Acropolis in Athens, which is being exposed to increasing levels of acid rain. Also on the list are Peru’s ancient city of Machu Picchu and the Maya city of Tikal in Guatemala.

“It’s cutting-edge stuff. Working on Mount Rushmore will give us the opportunity to put Scotland on the world stage.” David Mitchell

Both are thought to have been permanently damaged by tourism and over-forestation. The team’s ultimate goal is to model 500 of the planet’s greatest historical sites over five years: work has already begun on the catacombs of ancient Rome, and Monte Albn in Mexico. Other ancient locations earmarked include Cambodia’s incredible Angkor Wat and the former Egyptian capital Thebes. There has already been vocal interest from several European nations keen to preserve their heritage with the team’s equipment – but the next job will be closer to home, when the group scans the Scottish Neolithic village of Skara Brae, which is at danger from encroaching tides.

International organisations first came knocking when the team demonstrated their skills on Stirling Castle and Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian, near Edinburgh. David Mitchell, director of the technical conservation group at Historic Scotland, tells TheObserver of the moment CyArks creator Ben Kacyra first saw his team’s work: “When Ben saw the work we were doing he said we were miles ahead of anyone else and was blown away,” says Mitchell. “We have worked with Glasgow School of Art for a number of years on laser scanning and became the first group to use this technology on heritage sites. It can pick out millions of points on a monument down to an accuracy of 3mm, which has never been done before. It’s cutting-edge stuff. Working on Mount Rushmore will give us the opportunity to put Scotland on the world stage.” Once Skara Brae has been scanned, the team hope to continue mapping Neolithic Orkney, all of which faces destruction at the hands of the Atlantic Ocean. Mitchell hopes to complete a ‘Scotland 10’ before rolling the technology out across the world.

Archaeologists are already wishing CyArk could have saved some recently perished ancient treasures. And though the Japanese government are heading plans to rebuild the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan – blown to pieces by the Taliban in 2001 – they admit that their task would have been made infinitely easier with the team’s 3D model. Other landmarks in danger from terrorism, natural disaster, climate change and war include China’s Longmen Grottoes and the inimitable Taj Mahal. Kacyra is delighted to have the Scots team on board for five years, and hopes the lasers can help out some of the world’s poorer nations. “I hope we can continue our collaboration beyond the Scotland 10 and CyArk 500 and eventually transfer our technology to developing countries,” he says. Of course, Scots aren’t the only experts using laser technology to map ancient monuments – a team led by Zahi Hawass have recently completed scanning the Great Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza, and have turned their sights on the tombs of Tutankhamun and co in the Valley of the Kings.

Is King Tut’s Necklace from Outer Space?

An alien necklace in King Tut‘s tomb? Too right, and it’s no myth or quackery. A pectoral found during Howard Carter‘s 1922 expedition to the boy-king’s funerary masterpiece is thought to contain the remnants of a meteor impact in the desert, thousands of years before the first stones were laid in Saqqara. The amazing story began 77 years after Carter’s discovery, when Italian geologist noticed something odd about a yellow-green scarab in the pectoral’s centre. Subsequent tests proved the lump of glass was older than any Egyptian civilization – a lot older, in fact.

After much research, experts traced the scarab back to the Great Sand Sea, 500 miles southwest of Cairo, in which there are huge lumps of glass poking out of the dunes. The general opinion is that a meteor hit the desert thousands of years ago, heating the sand enough to create lumps of glass. To give you an idea of the magnitude of this supposed impact, the first atomic bomb test created a thin layer of glass in the New Mexico desert – chunks of glass the size of human heads can be picked up in the Great Sand Sea.

Experts had long been put off the scarab’s extraterrestrial scent by Carter‘s own definition. In his records, the great explorer describes the jewel as being “greenish yellow chalcedony”. However, Vincenzo de Michele spotted that the gem was in fact natural desert glass in 1999, shooting him to the centre of one of Egypt’s great mysteries: a mystery not least because there’s no evidence a meteor has ever struck the desert.

“If this glass is of meteoric origin then there should be a crater of that age” – Farouk El-Baz

“If this glass is of meteoric origin then there should be a crater of that age,” says Boston University’s Farouk El-Baz. “But we did not find a smoking gun for silica (glass) there.” Chunks of glass were found in the Great Sand Sea by British surveyor Patrick Clayton, in 1932. “He ran into this funny area with this glistening stuff all over the place,” says son Peter. Could the scarab have come from some aliens who crash landed into our planet? There’s certainly no shortage of crackpot theorists who think Egyptians, Mesopotamians and Mayans traveled to the stars – could Tutankhamun have been one of Earth’s earliest cosmonauts? After all, we’ve got RoboScarabs roaming the pyramids!

I Bet That Tut Looks Good on the Dancefloor

Lost for moves? Tired of busting out the same old body popping/moonwalk/drunk-uncle-at-a-wedding? You could take your dancing lines from Jacko, Wade Robson or even Michael Flatley (if you don’t mind being alone for the rest of your life). But how about Tutankhamun? The boy-king may be making waves in stateside museums right now, but he’s been influencing the best underground dancers on both sides of the Atlantic for over twenty years with the ‘Tut’ – and I don’t mean Steve Martin’s Saturday Night Live performance. Amateurs be warned: it may take a bit more practice than karaoke night down the local to hone your moves to the standard of this frankly incredible rendition:

According to Wikipedia, the dance craze dates back to the eighties, and uses the wrists, elbows and shoulders to create right angles in an Egyptian style. It took on the name ‘Tutting’, or the ‘King Tut‘ as a reference to the effect of Tutankhamun on western popular culture. Of course, who could forget the late, great Michael Jackson‘s opulent homage to King Tut and the Egyptian empire with his 1992 hit Remember the Time:

Laser Scanning gets Underway at Sphinx and Pyramids of Giza

Dr Zahi Hawass and a huge team of experts have just finished laser scanning the Great Sphinx, and now the Pyramids of Giza are being surveyed using the latest laser technology. Dr Hawass, who reports on the project in his blog, has employed the services of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences at the Mubarak Institute for the project, which saw Djoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara subjected to the same techniques in June by a Japanese group. The team hope to get the most accurate representation of the wonders to date, as Egypt attempts to model the pyramids and sphinx in a number of ultra-modern ways, such as Heritage Key’s very own King Tut Virtual.

A similar project was first undertaken between 1979 and 1983, as a German Archaeological Institute team headed by renowned Egyptologist Mark Lehner made a photogrammetric map of the sphinx, alongside detailed drawings. This groundbreaking work allowed the monument to be mapped precisely enough to begin a series of complicated restoration and conservation schemes, which have led to its current good state of health. The pyramid project, which has mapped the outside of the structures to within 5cm, has only lasted one month. The work has involved overhead planes and a 45m-high fire truck ladder. Dr Hawass and his team plan to survey the inner chambers and shafts of each pyramid next. Hawass hope that the important heritage sites of Luxor will also be paid a visit in the coming months. This includes, of course, the tomb of Tutankhamun – which has been mooted for closure in light of the toll tourism is taking on its hallowed walls.

Protesters Fighting over Native American Mound

Native American protesters are standing firm this week, over the ongoing destruction of an ancient sacred mound near Oxford, Alabama. Local tribes are disgusted at a building project, which is stripping the mound’s earth as ‘fill-dirt’ for a retail complex across the road.

A Creek Tribal Elder tells NBC13 in this video interview, “It just absolutely makes me sick. I have a really hard time even coming down here and looking at it.”

Jackson explains that the tribe have gone down every avenue to secure the future of the mound; the state’s largest. But letters, petitions, emails and protests have so far fallen on deaf ears.

I feel like Im at home up there,” says Amber Davis, “and I dont want anyone to disturb that. The mound faces an uphill task – if federally owned, the site could be rescued. But it is currently in the hands of the city’s Commercial Development Authority, the buck of which many think stops at the city’s mayor Leon Smith. Smith has continually reiterated his desire to see the building work completed. “It’s the ugliest old hill in the world,” he tells the Native American Times. “It’s just a pile of rocks is all it is.” Smith has overseen increasing development in the 15,000-population city during his seven mayoral years.

The mayor may be putting on an agressive stance, but local councillor June Land Reaves thinks the mound’s destruction is ’embarrassing’. “I personally feel that we should treasure and preserve our history; our heritage.” State archaeologists have also offered their support to the mound. “There was a little bit of pottery found there, and deboutage where someone had made a projectile point or arrowhead or knife. We’ve made our recommendations. We think it’s worthy of being preserved.” Current efforts may be met with little success, but the tribes say they will continue fighting for their

“It’s just a pile of old rocks is what it is.”

heritage. According to elders, the next step will be to place protesters on the mound to prevent lorries from getting to and from it. Mark Davis is desperate to restore the site to its former glory: “I know it wouldnt be the same but to try and re-erect the stones the way they were up there,” he says, “but my grandchildren wont be able to know whats up there. Its a part of their history.” Fellow Native American Tony Castaneda is taking a firmer stance: “Stay off that mound, that mound is sacred.”

Wrangling over Native American sites in the US is hardly a new issue. Just last week the discovery of an ancient settlement in Tennessee has had transport authorities up in arms. It is clear Oxford’s tribespeople are not willing to give up their sacred mound. But they’ll have to contend with Mayor Smith’s myopic vision of a restaurant on the hill. “It would be a beautiful view,” he muses.

Marathon Saved From Athens Wildfires, but Left to Burn says Mayor

It seems that while thousands of Athenians have lost their homes, and forests in the area have been reduced to ashes, one of Greece’s most famous ancient cities has avoided the flames. Yet as the inferno enveloping Marathon subsides, its mayor claims government authorities did nothing to protect it from the worst wildfires to hit the country in over two years.

“(We were) begging the government to send over planes and helicopters,” says mayor Spyros Zagaris. Yet none were forthcoming, and the city narrowly escaped flames which ‘raced’ down a hill to threaten ancient museums and monuments. Marathon‘s close call echoes that of Olympia, which just evaded the 2007 fires that decimated parts of the Peloponnese and Euboea. Sixty people lost their lives and over 100,000 hectares of land were destroyed during the fires two years ago, after which the Greek government were severely cricitcised for their rescue strategies. So far no-one has died in the latest disaster, which has claimed around 21,000 hectares. However there is expected to be a huge political fallout for Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, who has already been accused of learning nothing from the previous fires. “There is no excuse for the incredible disaster in greater Athens,” says influential newspaper To Vima.

“(We were) begging the government to send over planes and helicopters.”

Almost 2,000 firefighters are still tackling the blaze, and helicopters and planes have been drafted in from Italy,Spain and Cyprus. The Prime Minister has slammed those criticising his handling of the blaze: “Close your ears to those few who, from a safe position for their own expediencies attempt to criticise everything.” Some whispers are suggesting the fires were started by property developers keen to clear land for building projects.

However these allegations are thus far unfounded. The 9,000 or so residents of Marathon, however, will be breathing a huge sigh of relief after their town escaped the disaster. Marathon is the site of the famous Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, when a combined force of Athenians and Plataeans defeated an invading Persian army. Only a burial mound for the 192 slain Athenians stands today, and the city gave its name to the famous marathon race after the legend of Pheidippides – a soldier who ran from Marathon to Athens to give news of the victory, before dying of exhaustion. There is also a museum celebrating the battle.

Gold and Silver Worthless? Just Ask Nebuchadnezzar

From the shimmering death mask of King Tut to the swinging penile replacements of 50 Cent, Gold and silver have been as staple pursuits of humanity as food, drugs and celebrity gossip. But while the dripping opulence of the ancient world may not seem a million miles away from the crass overindulgence of our own ‘enlightened’ age, you might be surprised to find that the two metals have almost exactly the same value now as they did then. According to economist Jeff Clark, that is. When faced with the notion gold was a dead investment, Clark looked at historical valuations of both metals, concluding their value has changed very little since the first known pricing of gold during the 1st Dynasty of Egypt in 3,100 BC – and the subsequent gold crush that gripped the empire for millennia.

First let’s go back a little less far, to the 6th century AD and Muhammed, founder of Islam. During his time, a chicken cost one silver dirham, or three grams. Skip forward 1,400 years, says Clark, and you can still get a chicken in the Middle East for around the price of three grams of silver. Jumping back another 600 years, Clark claims that an ounce of gold bought a Roman citizen his toga, leather belt and a pair of sandals. Again, an ounce of the good stuff today would get you around $953 (578), which would buy you a great designer suit, belt and shoes (Mr Clark clearly doesn’t buy his suits from the supermarket!). So far so workable, if a little flimsy.

Clark’s next stop takes him back to the reign of the irrepressible Babylonian tenure of Nebuchadnezzar. It’s the turn of the 7th century BC, and Old Neb is famed for his ostentatious gold statues and decadence. According to ‘some scholars’, an ounce of gold was enough to buy you 350 loaves of bread. Working on the rounded figure of $950 (575) for the gold ounce, Clark reckons you can still buy almost exactly 350 loaves today. And at around $2.73 (1.65) per loaf, it’s hard to argue with his working.

You might think OTT gold statues were a thing of the ancient past. Think again.

The final historical frontier in Clark’s theory sees him dashing back to the 10th century BC when Solomon, King of Israel, bought a huge number of horses in Egypt for 150 shekels, or 55 Troy ounces of silver (Troy weight is one of a few traditional units for measuring gold and silver; named after the French city of Troyes). I think you can guess where Clark is going he claims you can still buy a riding horse for 55 ounces of silver, or around $780 (473). After taking a brief peek at the wonderfully-named website HorseMart, Clark’s assertion seems to hold sway. 473 wouldn’t buy you a National winners’ pancreas, but you can get the cheapest nags for about 500.

It seems there’s more than a little to Mr Clark’s theory, and I’d certainly be waving the white flag were I the person who ticked him off! Gold’s been making more than a cameo appearance at HK not least in the tangled beauty (or gaudiness) of Marc Quinn’s ‘Siren’ (Kate Moss to you and I). Jeff Koons’ Michael Jackson statue was another example of humanity’s unending love affair with the bright stuff. Think OTT dripping gold ornaments are consigned to the ancient world? Think again.

Out of Egypt, on the Telly

Like the ancient world? Like early civilization? Like pyramids? I’m guessing if you’re reading this you probably do, so you might enjoy a new documentary series airing on the Discovery Channel next Monday evening. Out of Egypt examines the links between ancient cultures, our modern fascination with them, and the myths and legends which have endured thousands of years. Fronted by glamorous Egyptologist Dr Kara Cooney, the first episode, ‘Relics’, sees the team travelling to Mexico, Vietnam and Sri Lanka to ask just how powerful a part relics have played in the world’s most famous cultures. Dr Cooney explores the links between religion, society and the dead and their relics, and even undergoes a ritual cleansing in Mexico involving human bones.

Cooney’s enthusiasm and passion promises to make the series hugely entertaining.

Second episode ‘Pyramids‘ sees Cooney returning to her spiritual home in Egypt, where she unsurprisingly examines the Great Pyramids and notes the empowering effect they had on their creators. The team also travel to some ancient Aztec sites to see how, 7,700 miles away, early Americans were creating their own pyramid structures. Coincidence? Or just a common human desire to get closer to their gods?

The show promises to infuse hard anthropology and archaeology with entertaining and stunning material on some of the world’s greatest ancient monuments. There’s also the not insignificant matter of Dr Cooney herself – a kind of pin-up for the Egyptological world. According to Discovery execs her passion is limitless, and it is infused in the series.

I’ll be speaking to Dr Cooney about the shows and her work next week for Heritage Key – keep your eyes peeled for what should be an hugely interesting chat. For now, though, watch the show and see what you think about Discovery’s latest take on the wonders of the ancient world.

A video preview of the upcoming ‘Out of Egypt’ show:

A Stonehenge you can eat

There’s no shortage of Stonehenge replicas in the States: cars, foam and even fridges have made the journey from household commodities to prehistoric pretenders across the Atlantic, with Americans seemingly fixated on Britain’s most famous megalithic site. Yet thus far we’ve seen no Clonehenges that look quite as delicious as this. Just take a look at the obesity-inducing beauty, courtesy of Stateside gourmet ‘Gimmyyummy‘, and tell me you don’t want to rip off one of its juicy megaliths for some munchies. Traditionalists might complain the edible monument doesn’t quite match the dimensions of its 5,000-year-old forebear – but no-one could claim the English version tastes better…

Luxor’s Costly Facelift Complete Today

Today, Zahi Hawass and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities are celebrating the completion of five major projects in the city of Luxor, which have totalled of 127 million Egyptian Pounds (13.9 million). They include work to restore and develop the famous ancient sites of Luxor Temple and Deir el-Bahri Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, as well as the more recent attractions of Abul Hagag El-Loxori Mosque and Howard Carter‘s rest house. The 1286-built Abul Hagag Mosque had been in need of restoration, as its walls and foundations were beginning to crack and take water under the strains of time. Now, after 14 months’ work, Dr Hawass and his team are confident the grand building is back to its 723-year best – including the renovation of its water fountain and the addition of fire alarms. In two moves which Dr Hawass hopes will pre-empt renovation work at the Giza necropolis, the entrance around Luxor Temple, and the area surrounding Deir el-Bahri Temple have both been updated to deter unlincenced vendors from operating around the magnificent monuments.

Deir el-Bahri has also been treated to a ‘safe zone’ guarding it from visitors, visitor’s centre, 52 bazaars and repaved roadways. Howard Carter’s rest house, used by the famous archaeologist during his groundbreaking work at the Valley of the Kings, has been turned into a museum displaying the tools and items used by Carter to discover Tutankhamun’s tomb, among other amazing breakthroughs. It is not currently open, but will be so in the not-too-distant future. Finally, a new lighting system has been installed at the Valley of the Kings itself, which the SCA hopes will enhance the tourist experience at one of Egypt’s most important heritage sites. Only recently the area received another boost, when it was revealed that the stunning tomb of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Horemheb would reopen to the public.