I have spent the majority of the last 6 years working between Egypt and London; during this time my archaeological career has changed track somewhat from working on heritage protection strategies in Luxor to assisting media production companies in producing documentaries set in the historical realm. The journey from archaeologist to televising producer has enabled me to travel both metaphorically and physically between the worlds of the media and archaeology while attempting to be part I hope of both, a sometimes difficult undertaking. Generally I spend most of the year, some eight or nine months in Egypt during the archaeological season which not coincidently also mirrors what has become a filming season for the major television networks such as National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel.
Tag: Opinion
Missing the revolution but making the party!
I have spent the majority of the last 6 years working between Egypt and London; during this time my archaeological career has changed track somewhat from working on heritage protection strategies in Luxor to assisting media production companies in producing documentaries set in the historical realm. The journey from archaeologist to televising producer has enabled me to travel both metaphorically and physically between the worlds of the media and archaeology while attempting to be part I hope of both, a sometimes difficult undertaking. Generally I spend most of the year, some eight or nine months in Egypt during the archaeological season which not coincidently also mirrors what has become a filming season for the major television networks such as National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and The History Channel.
However due to the economic conditions in the West, the last winter season was very quiet and filming projects were thin on the ground and I therefore decided to spend the Christmas period in England, a decision I was to regret for various reasons that I will expand on later. Before I left Cairo in early December I had finished a project for The Discovery Channel focused on ancient beer. The project was with a great team from the Dogfish Head brewery from the United States, who came over to Egypt from to investigate the Egyptians ancient beer brewing techniques and to seek inspiration for a new beer they were planning to launch. It was a great shoot and the resulting beer should be on sale in the near future, under the ancient Egyptian name for beer of Ta-Henket, but now I was ready to sample some warm British beer and Christmas turkey!
Arriving back in London in December after six years of Egyptian winters is not to be recommended! In what has been described as the worse winter since records began I developed a cold almost on the point of arriving at Heathrow airport which developed into a vile flu over the course of the Christmas holidays! Not exactly what I had planned for my winter break! Surfacing in the New Year, I became aware of growing dissent in the Arab world over the regimes which controlled almost every living moment of the peoples lives there. I had argued and discussed this issue with my friends late into the night in many cafes and bars in Egypt but I have to say I had no idea what was about to unleashed by the oppressed folks of the Middle East!
I should add a bit of background here, as well as being a television producer and what I call a creative fixer for production companies who work on historical programming my company Past Preservers has recently launched our own in house production company. We hope over the next few years to establish a niche for ourselves as a creative powerhouse in the documentary world and because of this new direction for us, I headed off to the United States in the middle of January to promote our new business venture at Realscreen a media industry event that was being held in Washington DC. My cousin has conveniently just relocated to DC, so it was a great chance to catch up with her and of course face more severe cold weather! Now I dont know if you have ever complained about a British winter, even the new extreme ones we get now, well if you have, try the East Coast of the United States in January. What was I doing?, the snow was higher than the cars, at first this was a great novelty, with my cousin looking on in bewilderment as I cooed and gushed about how beautiful it was, that was until we had to leave the centrally heated apartment and try to get to the bus stop! She warned me to cover every bit of skin, I mocked her and said I was from the North of England, where we routinely wear only short sleeve shirts on a Saturday night pub crawl, yet I was soon to discover I am a wimp and I think I actually cried real tears waiting for the bus.
On a side trip from DC to the big apple and a weekend with an old friend from London who has made it good and has the kind of apartment that a Friends character would envy, I started to realize that the world I had left behind in Egypt was beginning to change and change rapidly! Watching the demonstrations from the comfort of DC (indoors) I felt increasing concerned for the friends, colleagues and what has become my adopted family that I had left behind in Cairo.
What became apparent from the early days was that this would become a propaganda war as well as a battle for the streets; the hearts and minds of the rest of the world were to be targeted by the regime in an attempt to convince everyone that this uprising did not have popular support. The days following the withdrawal of the police from the streets, the attack on the Cairo Museum, the withdrawal of the internet and black Wednesday were all carefully managed attempts by the state to put an end to any idea of freedom for the Egyptian people.
Trying to get information out of the country with the net down proved increasingly difficult but I knew in my gut that reports of Egyptians attacking the Cairo Museum could simply not be true, my six years of living there had proved to me one thing, Egyptians were not extremists and would and have previously fought to protect their heritage.
When I did mange to get through to Egypt (thank god for Skype and the occasional mobile network coverage) the picture I received was vastly different from the picture being painted by the state controlled media and being repeated ad nauseam by some news agencies and those with their own personal axes to grind. I was driven to distraction and anger when I posted updates from Egypt setting the record straight but was then shot down by those who it seemed couldnt wait to think the worst about the situation.
I feel it is worth reiterating a few salient points here about those days of uncertainty; at no time did the protestors in Tahrir square storm the museum or loot its contents, in fact the people tried their best to protect the museum even forming a human chain around the site, the withdrawal of the security forces was ordered by the regime, many then returned to the street under orders to loot and create the chaos that Mubarak had promised along with released prisoners and members of the despised interior security services Amn El Dawla. The people of Egypt were asked by the army to come out and protect their property and their heritage and this they did despite the significant danger to themselves. When I was able to contact Cairo and hear the news from my friends I was filled with fear for them but I also had so much admiration for what they were doing and felt complete and utter frustration that I could not be with them.
I left the conference in DC determined to get back to Cairo as soon as possible and spent most of the week there trying to convince everyone present not to believe the worst and to support the Egyptian people in their struggle against the regime. The doubters were numerous, especially I am sad to say in the archaeological world, mainly because I think they let their own personal views of Dr Zahi Hawass, the former Director General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and now the Minister of Antiquities cloud their judgment. Many however acted out of their own prejudiced viewpoint and colonial ideas of Egypt and Egyptians, when I pointed this out on social media sites such as facebook, I was attacked as agent of Dr Zahi and/or being nave and was even blocked from certain groups lead by people whos main agenda was to get their face on the evening news bulletins as a an expert on the situation in Egypt. This may seem a petty issue however it has been recently reported by the museum staff these attacks on their integrity during a very trying situation was and is extremely distressing.
Next time, I land back in a free Egypt! And discover the truth on the ground, visit the Cairo museum, head out to the sites, watch Dr Zahi move in and out and back again in his chair, oh and attend a party with millions of others!
Video: Replica King Tut Treasures offer Real Discovery at Manchester Exhibition
Last week I visited the ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ exhibition in Manchester with Mary-Ann Craig (video), and well… saw wonderful things, and everywhere, the glint of gold. The moment I marvelled at the recreation of the set-up used to remove Tutankhamun’s sarcophagi from his tomb, any doubts still left about the power of replicas disappeared, and I would strongly suggest you visit the touring exhibition before it leaves the UK.
Yet, if you want an expert opinion the matter (as well as a great introduction to your visit), watch our Heritage Key video with Robert Partridge, editor of ‘Ancient Egypt‘.
As any good exhibition (especially one with many students, young and old, in its audience) should, ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ starts by putting King Tut in context geographically, and most important on a timeline. Fast-forward to 1922, Valley of the Kings, where we join Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon for the most important archaeological discovery of all times KV62, or Tutankhamun’s tomb.
When Carter started clearing the tomb, he recorded each artefact (more than 5,000 in total), and made sure the most important treasures, and their location, were captured on glass plate (no film yet) by photographer Harry Burton. It is these detailed records and amazing black-and-white captures, that have allowed for ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ to be produced, and when entering the recreation of Tut’s tomb chambers, you truly feel you are allowed a peek through Carter’s eyes. (See Burton’s images and the recreation of the chambers in the video below.)
To my surprise, it was not the reproduction of the tomb scenes ‘as was’ that fascinated me most. Most enthralling was the life-size depiction of how Carter managed to, despite the limited space in the tomb, lift the heavy, golden coffins out of the sarcophagus something that is terribly hard to convey in just images or text.
After the recreation of Harry Burton’s pictures as Bob points out, in full-colour and 3D you see high-quality replicas of the pharoah’s burial shrines, his coffins and golden death mask (see King Tut’s mask in 3D and take the quiz to test your knowledge), the canopic shrine and chest, one of Tutankhamun’s gilded chariots and many of the Boy King’s grave gifts the famous ones, as well as some very personal ones. From these, my favourite must be the tiny wooden chair used by the pharaoh when he was just a little child; an object I would have definitely overlooked, were it not for Bob.
Other often underappreciated treasures on display are the recreated coffins of two mummified foetuses (as they were found in his tomb, they are likely to be Tut’s), the trumpets and other music instruments, the beautiful miniature boats and a multitude of ritual figurines with their black, wooden coffins. Until I saw these statuettes all assembled, I did not realise just how many were amassed and repurposed for Tut’s burial.
There is more to be said for the exhibition than that it puts the discoveries made by Carter back in context. It is great to see Tut’s treasures, even if they are ‘mere’ recreations, given the space they deservewhich allows for looking at the artefacts from all angles, minus the annoyance of fingerprint-stained glass.
The impressive set-up does not only provide enough space for the boy king’s treasures, but also for their visitors. It is surprisingly pleasant to read* the detailed information signs without the breath of a dozen sweaty, smelly tourists on your neck.
Overall, a really gratifying visit (not the least thanks to Bob’s excellent tour), and if you are in charge of kids that need to be entertained or educated over the holiday season (or grown-up friends who could do with an introduction to ancient Egypt), DO take them to the Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures Manchester, rather than the Book of the Dead show currently on at the British Museum.
The journey through the afterlife is interesting, no doubt, but Tutankhamun’s replica treasures tell the story as well, with the addition of a personal touch and information and objects from the daily royal life in ancient Egypt.
For tickets, opening times and activity sheets for your kids to use, seetutankhamunmanchester.com. For the Christmas holidays, you can visit ‘Tut at Twilight’, have all your (ancient Egypt) questions answered by Egyptologists present in the galleries, and return home with your very own special Hieroglyphic exhibition mug.
* I am not a fan of audio guides. Although I consider a good narrative essential for an exhibition to be engaging, I do like to explore that storyline ‘at my own pace’, reading the information with objects I find interesting, skipping the parts (I believe) I already know off, or often return to a related object to take a better look. But Bob said the audio guide that accompanies the ‘Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures’ exhibition in Manchester is excellent, so please, don’t let my old fashioned ideas and inability to come to terms with new technology stop you from using it! 😉
10 Reasons Why Socrates is Still Relevant Today
We think the way we do because Socrates thought the way he did, writes Bettany Hughes at the start of The Hemlock Cup, her brand new biography of ancient Greeces greatest philosopher.
Two-and-a-half millennia of history might separate us from the age when Socrates roamed the streets of ancient Athens, formulating and articulating his philosophies to the people. But many of his words and ideas ring just as true in the 21st century as they did back then. (For a run-down of ten great Socrates quotes to reflect upon, check out Owen’s blog here).
From his beliefs on philosophical ethics to the justness of war, the folly of materialism, the necessity of true free speech and the importance of standing up for what you believe in, we count down 10 reasons why Socrates’ philosophies are still relevant today.
1. Theyve Never Been Rendered Obsolete
For starters, its crucial to note that, unlike many other intellectual disciplines of the ancient Greek period such as, say, ancient Greek astronomy, Socrates philosophies remain just as pertinent as the day they were conceived (or at least the day they were recorded by his student Plato).
As one 20th century philosopher, A. N. Whitehead, famously wrote: The safest general characterisation of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. He wasnt being entirely serious there, but the inference is clear: Socrates and his disciples theories are a crucial foundation of modern Western philosophical thought all others since have basically been constructed upon them.
2. He Taught Us to Question Everything
The highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others, Socrates once said. His dialectic method of inquiry breaking a subject down into a dialogue between two or more people with differing views, both mutually in search of the same truth taught us to assume nothing and to scrutinize everything, and gave us a system by which to do it. It remains a key element of scientific study today beginning with a hypothesis and then distilling it until a definitive conclusion is reached.
3. He Taught Us That Life is Worthless Without Happiness
Socrates asked whats the point in battleships and city walls, unless the people building them and protected by them are happy?
If we arent in pursuit of happiness and understanding in our daily lives, then were basically akin to ants toiling at an ant-hill. Sure, we go about our practical tasks instinctually. But we also need to step back and develop an awareness of the world, and form a conscious relationship with our existence.
Socrates asked whats the point in battleships and city walls, unless the people building them and protected by them are happy? The same remains true today unless were mindful of spiritual well-being in our daily toil, were little better off than insects. As he famously put it: The unexamined life is not a life worth living for a human being. Think about that as you slog away at your 9-5.
4. He Taught Us to Ask if Theres Such a Thing as a Just War
It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong, believed Socrates. As a soldier in the Greek army during the Peloponnesian War, one who distinguished himself several times for his bravery, Socrates saw enough of military conflict to understand first hand the suffering and devastation it caused.
His was one of the first voices in history to ponder whether there really is such a thing as a just war a war for a cause so true it was worth bloodshed on a mass scale. As UK and American forces remain bogged-down in Afghanistan and still lick their wounds from Iraq, its a question that remains incredibly pertinent today.
The Hemlock Cup
Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life
For the first time ever, ‘The Hemlock Cup’ puts Socrates’ questions – How should we best live? What makes us good? What makes us happy? – back onto the streets of Athens where they were born.
5. He Advocated True Freedom of Speech
Athens was one of the first polities in the world to allow freedom of speech all from lowly shoemakers and merchants to rich nobles were allowed to address the Athenian Assembly. Yet they had to speak with aidos a sense of shame, a knowing-your-placeness as Hughes describes it in The Hemlock Cup.
Socrates rebelled against this convention, by developing a system of true free-speech through his dialogue. Athens was uneasy was this, but he spoke his mind anyway (and ultimately paid the price for it). He was way ahead of his time in standing-up for the free expression of ideas something that remains a cornerstone of democratic society today.
6. He Invented Philosophical Ethics
What is the right way to live? pondered Socrates. He was one of the very first philosophers in history to encourage scholars and common citizens to turn their attention from the outside world to the condition of humankind and to ask a simple, honest and undoubtedly critical question: what is right and what is wrong? With it, he effectively created philosophical ethics the debate between good and evil which has shaped moral and legal codes throughout the Western world.
7. He Was a Champion of Human Virtue
Shaped probably by some of the terrible sights he witnessed on the battlefields at Potidaea, Amphipolis and Delium during his military service, Socrates developed a notion of human virtue at odds with the then-prevailing attitude of lex talionis an eye for an eye. He believed in a mixture of temperance, justice, piety and courage all of which led ultimately to wisdom. He had seen so much bad, he wanted to search for something good.
Socrates was a firm believer in friendship and community, and common threads between all of mankind. Virtue, he said, is the most valuable of all possessions. We can always benefit from being a bit nicer to each other.
8. He Warned Us of the Follies of Materialism
Socrates typically cut a pretty down-trodden figure when he wandered the streets of Athens he never wore shoes, and sported the same tattered woolen cloak all year round. He was mocked for it by his contemporaries, but he didnt care his humble attire was a physical reflection of his belief that the pursuit of plenty could only bring mindless materialism.
He even had the gall to suggest to Athenians that they might be better themselves pursuing well-being rather than wealth words that ring truer than ever in consumerist modern society.
9. He Taught Us the Value of Civil Disobedience
Socrates was known as the gadfly of the Greek state he saw it as his responsibility to sting the government into action in areas where it could improve its conduct. He wasnt frightened to publicly speak his mind on the subject of bad governance, no matter the cost. One illustrative quote goes: It seems strange enough to me that a herdsman who lets his cattle decrease and go to the bad should not admit that he is a poor cowherd; but stranger still that a statesman when he causes the citizens to decrease and go to the bad, should feel no shame nor think himself a poor statesman.
As a famous modern advocate of civil disobedience Martin Luther King put it in a letter from an Alabama Prison in 1963: Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths so we must see the need for non-violent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism.
10. He Taught Us to Stand Up For What We Believe
Socrates lived and breathed his philosophies however much they were scorned, ridiculed, laughed at or feared and he ultimately died by them. The state swatted its gadfly, by trying him as a corrupter of youth and forcing him to commit suicide by poisoning himself.
He could have renounced his beliefs, and made a groveling defence during his trial but he chose instead to stand tall to the last and accept his punishment, even turning down an opportunity to escape. There was undoubtedly a degree of recklessness and martyrdom to Socrates death, but the lesson it teaches us about standing up for what we believe in to the very end remains powerful and enduring.
‘The Hemlock Cup‘ hits the stores (and Amazon) October 7th. It is not ‘merely’ a Socrates biography; using a unique combination of archaeological, geological and historical clues, the historian recreates for the reader the world of Socrates with a vivacity not before achieved.
Bettany Hughes visited every spot were the philosopher was said to have walked, loved, fought and philosophised and investigated the many digs that are uncovering the world of ‘Golden Age’ Athens. She brings this fresh evidence to bear on the life of the man whose idea ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’ is thought to be at the root of what it is to live in the 21st century.
Tandem Google Translate Latin Discit
Google Translate has added Latin to the ever-expanding list of languages the free service offers – in which the old-fashioned ‘Lorum ipsum dolor’ (or lipsum) is upgraded to a more modern ‘Hello World!’
In apost to the official Google blogtitled ‘Veni, Vidi, Verba Verti’ (which the service translates as ‘I came, I saw, I translated the words’), Igeniarius Programmandi Jakob Uszkoreit correctly points out that althoughit isn’t likely to be used to translate emails (with some exceptions,maybe) the new service is an excellent tool for scholars all over the world as many ancient and medieval works on philosophy, religion and science are written in Latin, many of those available in Google Books.
Uszkoreit is convinced the system still in alpha will soon deliver accurate translations, as Latin grammar and vocabulary ceased evolving and Google is using the ‘thousands’ of Latin books already translated to a variety of languages to train the system. As an example he quotes Caesar’s ‘The Gallic Wars’. Yet, when put to the test regarding Caesar’s conquest of Pharnaces, Google Translate gets a bit confused (depending on punctuation):
- veni vidi vici tranlates asI saw the street of
- EPWohlfart contributed thatveni vidi vici!translates as I came, I saw the time!
- veni, vidi, vici translatescorrectlyas I came, I saw, I conquered
To the system’s defence, it does get all the other Latin phrases I’ve mangedto remember from high school (not that many, there’s cave canem, alea jacta est, the first few phrases of the’Pater Noster’ and mens sana in corpore sano) right and… to my utter delight, a text-to-speech system was added as well which pronounces ‘Caesar’ with a ‘k’. Told you so!
Can you find any (highly or midly) entertaining mistakes and/or ‘easter eggs’ in Google’s Latin to English translation service comes up with?
PS. Should there by any mistakes in the title of this blogpost, blame Google Translate. 😉
Taming the Wolf – Domesticating the Dog
The first evidence for domesticated dogs has just got earlier with the recent dating of a dogs skull and teeth from Kesslerloch Cave in Switzerland. That puts the transition from wolf to dog to over 14,000 years ago. Previously, the earliest date was from a single jawbone that was found in a human grave at Oberkassel, in Germany, dating to about 13,000 years-ago. (There are earlier dates claimed for the first definite identification of dogs but these are usually discounted by experts).
The finds from Switzerland were uncovered in 1873 but it was only last year that archaeologists at Tubingen University in Germany recognised that the remains came from a dog rather than a wolf. The dating carried out on a tooth has revealed the animal died between 14,000 and 14,600 BP (before present).
These early dates are curious, as hunting strategies at that time would not necessarily require the assistance of dogs. Studies from northern France show that hunting was ambush based with animals speared as they passed through natural bottlenecks in the landscape, such as the Ahrensburg Valley. Here, the use of a spear-thrower increased the effectiveness of the weapon and the migrating reindeer died in great numbers. Interestingly, some people engraved their spear-throwers with scenes of the hunt but none shows the appearance of dogs. Indeed, in such a massacre, it is difficult to see how dogs would fit in at all and, yet, the remains from Switzerland suggest that they existed by this time.
It is likely that animals that chose to live with humans bred with other animals that adopted a similar lifestyle, replicating the traits that made the animal tolerant of humans. Slowly, the camp-wolves became the camp-dogs. In effect, the dog domesticated itself.
Stalking, the hunting method where a dog might have proved invaluable, came later. The warming climate at the end of the Ice Age caused large game animals to either die-out or move north and it was red deer and wild boar that took advantage of the advancing tree cover to expand their range. The people of the time changed their hunting strategy accordingly and the bow and arrow now became the weapon of choice. Dogs would have proved invaluable for stalking, flushing, and tracking dying animals. This is the time that we might expect people to have actively sought to domesticate the dog but, from the evidence at Switzerland, it had already happened, presumably without any human intervention. The change from wolf to dog requires a different explanation.
It is likely that wolves had always been aware of humans in the landscape. Scavenging human kill sites would have been a sure way of obtaining food and it is likely that this became the main survival strategy for a few packs. Over time, they may have ventured closer to human camps and even started to forage leftovers or eat any excrement that lay nearby. The people at the camp may have welcomed this cleaning service and tolerated the presence of the wolves. They may have even kept other, more dangerous predators at a safe distance.
Over time, it is likely that animals that chose to live with humans bred with other animals that adopted a similar lifestyle, replicating the traits that made the animal tolerant of humans. Slowly, the camp-wolves became the camp-dogs. In effect, the dog domesticated itself.
It is likely that the dogs did not remain in packs for long but divided themselves between the family groups of the hunters. Evidence from modern hunter-gather villages where semi-tame dogs roam, shows that these animals do not necessarily form packs but tend to organise themselves into groups of no more than three, which then adopt a particular dwelling (and its occupants) as their own. In the past, perhaps this was the reason that people began to interact with dogs on an individual basis and the first relationships, with which we are now so familiar, began.
A burial from Israel dating to around 11,000 BP contained an elderly woman with her hand resting on the flank of a puppy. This may be the first sign of the affection we still hold for dogs but it was not until much later, during the Mesolithic, that the esteem in which people held them becomes apparent.
In the earliest cemetery at Skateholm in southern Sweden, dating to around 5,000 BC, dogs were sometimes buried in the same graves as people. These were likely animals that were sacrificed to accompany their masters into the afterlife. Clearly, the dog was considered indispensable by some.
Other dogs were afforded their own grave and people gave them items such as tools and weapons that would usually be the preserve of a hunter. But then, perhaps this is exactly what these dogs were considered to be: hunters and, accordingly, they were buried as such.
At this time, grave wealth usually accumulated to the young and fit, likely reflecting their ability to provide food for the others. The dogs were no different: they provided food from the hunt and they were honoured in the same way. Moreover, this was a time before any other animal had been domesticated and the cognitive boundary between humans and animals was still fluid enough to be breached: sometimes human into animal and, on this occasion, animal into human. It was a very different way of seeing the world and is almost diametrically opposed to everything we think about animals.
It was not to last. Perhaps familiarity bred contempt, but in a later cemetery at Skateholm (and possibly dating to only a few hundred years after the first cemetery), dogs were afforded a separate area for their burials, before being excluded altogether. Dogs had moved from being equal to humans in the hunt to being subservient to their masters. Perhaps, as their usefulness increased, their worth actually diminished. We still retain something of this contradiction in our own relationship with dogs. They can be our closest companions but are also the source of our cruellest insults. A bitch can be both our best friend or our worst enemy.
There is even evidence that the minds of dogs have evolved since they have been interacting with humans. Observing and identifying the attention state of others was thought to be the sole preserve of humans and yet it appears to be something dogs can also accomplish. Anyone who has had their dog watch their every move when they walk towards the dog lead will know how this appears.
Our relationship with dogs has come a long way since the first wolves started to follow the camps of our Palaeolithic forebears. We may never know for sure what made these wild animals befriend us and change to become an altogether different species but I am sure that I am not alone in being extremely grateful that they did.
Stonehenge Acoustics: England’s First Ministry of Sound?
London-based nightclub Ministry’s motto of sound system first, interior design second, lights third made them one of the most famous gathering places for those who worship bass.
But how did those conceptualising Stonehenge plan to enchantthe Neolithic congregate?
Rupert Till, an acoustics and music technology expert, asserts the stone circle would have created a perfect (early design) amplifier – making Stonehenge the place to be from the Stone Age onwards.
Professor Tillsays Stonehenge when it was in perfect shape would have worked perfectly to resonate sound, creating trance-like music which would have aided rituals and worship at the site.
To test this theory, Dr Till and fellow acoustician Bruno Fazenda recorded popping balloons at the Wiltshire monument:
Video: Summer Solstice at Stonehenge
Video and photographs from the Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2010 celebrations. The music ‘Drunken Druid’ is by Druidicca, and the pretty statue you see during the sunrise fragment is the ‘Ancestor’. Of course, King Arthur is featured in the video as well (more about this video).
This was not some bizarre pagan ritual. It was a serious attempt to capture the “impulse response” of the ancient southern English stone circle, and with it perhaps start to determine how Stonehenge might have sounded to our ancestors, explains Trevor Cox on the New Scientist website.
The scientists used this recording to build a virtual model that allows to compute how any sound would sound within the megalithic monument.
Applying the model to a drum beat, they found that there is a noticeable difference:
There is more reverberation or ringing to the drumming sound thanks to the reflections off the stones.
What’s more, the tonal balance of the sound is entirely different: it has become much deeper, as if the treble has been turned down.
According to Dr Till, the design didn’t take place by chance. He points out the acoustic properties are too specific. The stones and lintels are all curved which helps to reflect the sound perfectly and when Stonehenge’s builders placed a stone in a particular place, they would have noticed a change in sound.
Some spots in the site produce an extremely peculiar acoustic effect, making them excellent locations for whoever was leading the gathering to position him (or herself), demonstrated in the video on the right (it does remind of early Autechre).
Solar Alignment First
Maybe I’m refusing to think outside the box or circle, in this case here, but my best guess would be that for those who contributed to Stonehenge, acoustic qualities wasn’t the first thing on their minds.
Rather, they must have opted for astronomical alignment first, we like circles (and Euclid won’t be around for at least another thousand years) second and many still unknown factors (after all, Stonehenge is a complex site, constructed in several phases) third and forth and fifth.
Moving about 30 tons of Sarsen stone, just to get a different pitch?It is more likelythey’d optfor upgrading the musical instruments or the ‘Shaman’ used? Taking ancient amphitheatres into account, a bank around the construction might have also improved the sound, yet Stonehenge is the only ‘henge’ which had to do with just a ditch? Recent research indicates that there were more than just a few gathering at and possibly in the stone circle. How would their physical presence affect the modulation?
Although Druidicca’s live performance at the Stonehenge Summer Solstice(as seen in this video)is something memorable, take my advise:visit Stonehenge for the sunrise, and Ministry for the bass.
History FAQ (Funny Asked Questions)
It is a well-known rule that search queries which lead people to your website should be dealt with as actual questions depending on the amount of people using the search query, you know that at least one person is interested in the subject (as it comes to sex andnaked belly dancers a lot of people are intrigued). Now, some people actually phrase their search query as a question (remember AskJeeves?) starting with ‘what’, ‘how to’, ‘where’, … .Often these are err.. quite original.
Here are my favourites (capitalisation and question marks added where needed) in the categories ‘General (Lack Of) Knowledge‘, ‘Dr Hawass &Chasing Mummies‘ and ‘Things I’d Actually Like to Know Too‘from the last few weeks. I’ve tried to answer all of them, yet feel free to correct me when wrong.
General (Lack Of) Knowledge
Or ‘even in these economically different time we should NOTcut back on education’.
- How to dispose of toxic waste in ancient Pompeii? I’m sure these people can help you out. Choose ‘proposals and competitions’ from the dropdown form. If they don’t get back to you, try your luck emailinginfo@ndrangheta.it.
- What are the chances that a whale could live in the desert? Zero. Trust me on this one.
- Does Cleopatra really made sex with 100 men? Doubtful, where did you hear this?
- Does Cleopatra live under the Sphinx? Not likely (unless Mark Lehner refuses to share).
- What are the secrets of the tomb behind the pyramid?Ah yes, that tomb and that pyramid. Well, if I were allowed to tell you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?
- What is Boudicca? Did youmean ‘who is’?
- What do Mayan experts say about 2012?NASAsays it’s bullocks.
- Was Tutankhamun an alien? No, does he look like an alien to you?! Oh, wait… .
- The Acropolis Museum, what’s wrong with its contents?Everything is past experation date.
- What do I need to build Chichen Itza?I believe this falls under the category ‘don’t try this at home’. If you mean using the Facebook application ‘My Empire’, just give up and STOPSPAMMINGPEOPLEwith application invites. And no, we don’t want to get involved in your maffia war.
- What is the Noah’s ark security key? Try 1111. If that doesn’t work, call tech support to reset your ark.
- For what was Cleopatra famous for? Was it for Sex? Well, she was also ‘the last Queen of Egypt’. It is quite possible that had something to do with it as well.
- What can you find with a metal detector? Read that question again.
- What causes someone to dance topless?Try C2H5OH. Often used as well are $ and .
- What is the naked archaeologist’s hat called? You have pictures of Dr Hawass naked?!
- What did ancient queen Cleopatra use for a body wrap? Two different brands: Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar.
- What is the King Tut sex position? Are we missing out on something? (After googling, we are _not_.)
- Hello, can you please find out and tell me what spring and autumn equinox’s are. Thank u. Only because you’re asking so nicely! Here you go.
- What are interesting facts about an archaeologist? That depends on the archaeologist in question. We like Ellie a lot.
- What is an ancient smurf? Most likely something ‘photoshopped’.
- In what period of time were there warriors? It is generally accepted that we started bashing each other’s skulls as soon as we managed to hold a rock, so that could be from as early as 3.400.000 years ago, and still going strong.
- How to win on the battlefield? For console or PC? Here’s some advice from Alexander the Great.
- What does Stonehenge look like today? What about searching for ‘Stonehenge +image’? But if you really want us to tell you, it is a bunch of really standing stones, more or less positioned in a circle.
- What is a winged genius? A statue of Greek philosopher Socrates on a Red Bull.
- What is the significance of the recent archaeological finds in China? Can you _please_ be more specific?
- How did the Pompeii victims turn to stone? They didn’t. The famous images of the Pompeii victims show plaster casts of the bodies’ imprints in the ashes. The deceased were burried by ash, which lithified (becoming solid rock) before the corpses decayed. The bodies then disappeared, leaving a hole behind. Filling these ‘molds’ with plaster produced the amazing ‘statues’ of the humans and animals that died.
- King Tut died of sickle cell does this mean he was black? *sighs*
- Did Queen Cleopatra have dreadlocks? No, she wore wigs. She wasn’t black either.
On Dr Zahi Hawass & Chasing Mummies
I’ve been accused of being to critical, but clearly, I’m not the only one.
- Is chasing mummies supposed to look real? As far as we can gather, yes.
- What’s up with Zahi Hawass temper?Some would argueit is due to mistranslation andcultural differences.
- Did Zahi Hawass join the illuminati? No official statement has been released by the SCA.
- Why does Zoe pee? Wouldn’t you if you were stuck in a pyramid?
- Is Zoe chasing dummies what university does she attend? (I’m not kidding.)
- Does Zahi Hawass have to be on every Egypt film? Rumour goes this law should have passed months ago, were it not being blocked by the Egyptian Minister of Culture.
BONUS: What kind of hat does Dr Zahi Hawass wear on the show chasing mummies?We’re not quite sure, BUTif you travel to the Cairo Museum or visit the touring King Tut exhibition in NYC, you can purchase a replica. (I must note we also received an email requiring after the make of Kathleen Martinez’ headwear. Some marketing opportunities for travel-related clothing brands there?)
Stuff I’d Actually Like to Know Too
Some of the questions asked do make sense. I wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to:
- Will the Philadelphia Cleopatra exhibition come to the UK?
- Do they produce replicas of the Turin Erotic Papyrus? (There’s still room on the office wall!)
- What is the scariest looking Greek god?
- What did the Minoans say in Despicable Me? (I _so_ want to see that movie.)
- What is the purpose of afterlife?
- What are Cleopatra’s seduction secrets?
- What happened to the Ninth Legion?(as we’re not entirely sure)
- What country has 3 sided pyramids?
Easy Answers
- How to get a job at the British Museum?Apply here.
- How to defeat the kraken? Kill Medusa, usethe head.
- What is missing from the Parthenon? The Elgin Marbles! (Well, that’s thesimplified answer, the long answer is ‘almost everything’.)
- In what place is Tutankhamun now? We’re not entirely sure if he made it safely into the afterlife (Carter decapitating him an all that) but his mummy can be found in KV62.
- Does the Louvre allow photography? Yes (except in the Denon wing and in front of the Venus de Milo)
- Does it ever snow in Egypt? Yes. Pretty, isn’t it?
Homework
Teachers, recognize these questions? They were actually still numbered!Kids, I’ve tried answering them without looking on Heritage Key (or anywhere else on the internet) for theanswers, so don’t take my word for it.
- What were the four Germanic tribes which comprise the group we know as the “Anglo-Saxons”?
Angles, Jutes, Saxons and err… err… ‘Fries’? Definitely not the Vikings or Normans, they settled later. - What is the debate over the British Museum’s ownership and display of the Parthenon sculptures?
Main points: a.) Was the removal legal? b.) As part of the friezes are spread over the world, shouldn’t they be made ‘whole’ again. c.) The BM once said they’d return them when the Greek had a safe place to store them, they now have the NAM. d.) ‘Who owns antiquities?’ - In what part of the world is most cave art found?
Most ‘really old’ cave art is found on the European continent. - Why does so much controversy surround the excavations of Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890)?
He ‘renovated’ the Knossos palace?
How did I do?Oh, and to theteacherasking 6. What was the capital city of ancient Britain?,is this a trick question?
If you are a history teacher or professional, what are the most absurd or entertaining questions you were ever asked? If you are a history blogger, have a look in your Google Analytics data under ‘traffic sources’ > ‘keywords’ > containing ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘does’, ‘where’or ‘aliens’and !
Boyd Morrison’s blog
Its not exactly a spoiler to reveal that the ancient artifact everyone is searching for in my debut thriller, The Noah’s Ark Quest(called The Ark in the US) is actually Noahs Ark. In the novel, former US army combat engineer Tyler Locke and archaeologist Dilara Kenner must find the Ark in seven days to stop the end of the world. Suffice to say, the book has lots more explosions, fistfights, and gun battles than your average Jane Austen novel.
King Tut Inc – Treasures Worth More Outside of Egypt
According to figures quoted at an archaeological conference last week by Dr Zahi Hawass, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has generated more revenue in recent years from sending treasures of Tutankhamun abroad than it has from collections in the countrys own museums. That includes the Howard Carter collection at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which features key pieces from King Tuts tomb such as the Golden Death Mask (some amazing picture of which you can view here) and coffins deemed too fragile or unwieldy to travel outwith the country.
The SCA has made over $100 million from its pair of official touring exhibitions of King Tut which have criss-crossed North America since 2005. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs has visited Dallas and San Francisco on its travels and is currently in the middle of a long run at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York (even though Hawass insists it deserved the Met), while Tutankhamun the Golden King and the Great Pharaohs has been to Atlanta, Indianapolis and Ontario and is at present resident at Denver Art Museum.
At the conference Egypt between past, present and future, organised by the Al-Samra Institution for Environment and Development, SCA secretary general Hawass quoted the total revenue taken in the same period by the SCA both from museums inside the country and antiquities traveling abroad as being one billion Egyptian pounds about $176 million. That means the income from other touring exhibitions and Egyptian museums combined was worth just over $76 million a huge sum, but still $24 million less than the amount made by Tut on his travels.
It underscores the overwhelming success of Dr Hawass and the SCAs policy of using touring exhibitions to bankroll their activities back in Egypt.
Yet, doesnt the increasingly dramatic skew towards externally generated revenue also suggest that the SCAs business activities abroad are beginning to eclipse their responsibilities closer to home even though recent industry analysis shows that tourism in Egypt is bucking global trends and growing at a dramatic rate? Has Dr Hawass turned the SCA into a purely profited-driven operation, which has lost sight of its obligation to ensure its treasures are accessible to the largest possible number of people, both in Egypt and around the world, and not just the highest bidder?
Shouldnt the SCA focus on amassing all of their treasures at home, and bringing as many of these new tourists as possible into Egypts museums?
Brand Tut and Egypt Inc.
Hawass makes no bones of his desire to wring every available penny out of Brand Tut and Egypt Inc. In reference to the boy kings earliest foreign adventures the famous exhibitions in Britain and America in the 1970s, which the Egyptian authorities had to fund out of their own pocket the SCA supremo earlier this year told Businessweek: If I had managed the old exhibits, Egypt would be rolling in money.
Certainly, profits have skyrocketed since Hawass took charge of the SCA in 2002, and continue to rise. In a five year period between 2003 and 2008, the SCA earned almost $350 million from a total of 23 different exhibitions sent abroad around $70 million a year. With Tuts profit-margin ever increasing, that figure could double over the next five years.
The fee levied for each King Tut exhibition is a whopping $10 million for six months, with several million dollars more being earned by the SCA in sponsorship and merchandising (the SCA retains exclusive rights to sell replicas of its artefacts, for example).
The result has been the creation, in effect, of a hierarchy of King Tut haves and have nots. The Australian Museum in Sydney recently complained that they nor any other Australian institution for that matter could not afford such price tag, despite Hawass professing to being eager to see Tut travel down under. It explains why Tut hardly has a wide variety of stamps on his passport. Greater Los Angeles has almost 20 million people within 1.5 hours drive of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs debuted in 2005. Thats nearly as much as as Australias entire population combined.
But for a spell at the O2 Arena in London between November 2007 and August 2008, and at the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna from March and September 2008, the King Tut travelling collection has spent almost all of its time in North America since 2005. Predominantly its been in the USA. The worlds largest economy has established something of a monopoly over the Tutankhamun roadshow.
Should Egypt be Sending its Treasures Abroad at All?
Many voices argue that the SCA shouldnt be sending its treasures abroad at all, complaining that it puts irreplaceable antiquities at unnecessary risk of damage, loss or theft.
The SCA counter by insisting that the strictest standards of care and security are always met, and that all artefacts are insured to the hilt. The money raised from commercial activities in foreign countries, they say, is essential to fund the care of monuments and museums in Egypt, which are massively expensive. The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, currently under construction and due to open in 2012 or 2013, is the main project currently being largely funded with King Tuts earnings abroad. Its price-tag currently stands at an estimated $550 million.
Further, the SCA argue that Tut tours act as important ambassadors for Egypt, sparking interest in the country and its wealth of ancient heritage, giving the tourist industry which generates around 11% of GDP extra impetus. The host countries too stand to reap considerable returns from the exhibitions.
Theres no denying that the Egyptian tourist industry is rude health at present figures released this week show tourism revenues defied global trends and reached $5.58 billion in the first half of 2010, compared to $4.6 billion in the same period last year. Industry analysts predict revenues to reach $12.4 billion by the end of the fiscal year, up on $10.8 billion in 2009.
Yet, shouldnt the fact that the profits from Tut on tour are now so outstripping revenue from Egypts museum suggest to the SCA that their focus should be on amassing all of their treasures at home, and bringing as many of these new tourists as possible who include holidaymakers driven out of the eurozone by high prices, and increasing numbers of Russian visitors into Egypts museums?
Hawass has insisted on several occasions in the past that once the two King Tut exhibitions currently running in the US come to an end in 2011, the boy kings treasures will never leave Egypt again. But the SCA chief has since contradicted himself by announcing that Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs will appear in Seattle between May 2012 and January 2013. He also hasn’t given up hope on Tut visiting Australia. I want to see King Tut go to Australia, he told the Sydney Morning Herald last December. Nothing like this has ever been to Australia before, and it will be many, many years before the opportunity will come again.
Savings and Loans
The debate over touring exhibitions raises questions about the real motivation behind Hawass and the SCAs zeal for artefact repatriation. The Rosetta Stone, the Bust of Nefertiti and the Dendera Zodiac are among a list of Egyptian antiquities in the possession of foreign museums that Hawass has firmly in his sights he wants them back, and has vowed to make life miserable for anyone who keeps them. He often offers a moral argument for why the artefacts should be repatriated theyre Egyptian treasures, taken under colonial-era conditions, and they should be returned to their country of origin.
Yet, doesnt the fact that so many of Tuts treasures have been abroad for over five years now suggest that Hawass has no moral qualms about precious Egyptian treasures residing abroad for long periods of time, as long as its the SCA and Egypt that are profiting from them? If the Egyptians were successful in getting the Rosetta Stone or Bust of Nefertiti back, are we to believe that they would really keep them in Egyptian museums on a permanent basis when they could clearly reap spectacular profits from sending them out on loan to the US?
When the Grand Egyptian Museum is completed, and Egypt has a brand new focal point for its collections not to mention all the exhibition space necessary for displaying them can we expect to see the full panoply of Tutankhamun treasures and all other key pieces from the land of the pharaohs currently in the SCAs possession assembled permanently in one place? Judging by the huge figures quoted by Hawass, that seems unlikely.
If you can’t wait for the treasures of Tutankhamun to be prized away from America’s greedy grasp, you can check them out now, for free, in Heritage Key’s King Tut Virtual!