Jun 13, 2023

The 13th International Conference for Meroitic Studies

Dear colleagues,

We are all shocked by the situation in Sudan. The human suffering caused by the violence of the armed groups and the movement of refugees, the increasingly difficult supply situation and, last but not least, the danger to cultural heritage. We urge an end to violence and call on all parties to protect people and cultural heritage.

The deadline for sending the abstracts for the 13th International Conference for Meroitic Studies is approaching (30. June). Please find attached the second circular as a reminder. Additional to the proposed key topics we will put also Cultural Heritage as a focus.

Sincerely,

Angelika Lohwasser – Tim Karberg


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13th International Conference for Meroitic Studies
http://meroiticstudies2024.info/

Apr 3, 2015

Hundreds of Medieval Skeletons Found Under Cambridge University

Hundreds of skeletons from a medieval graveyard have been discovered beneath Cambridge University in England.

Archaeologists got a rare chance to excavate one of the largest medieval hospital burial grounds in Britain, amid a project to restore the Old Divinity School at St. John's College (part of Cambridge University). The researchers unearthed more than 400 complete burials among evidence for more than 1,000 graves.

Most of the burials date to the period spanning the 13th to 15th centuries, according to Craig Cessford, an archaeologist at Cambridge University who led the excavation and published the results in the latest issue of the Archaeological Journal. [See Images of Another Hospital Burial Ground]

graveyard was used by the medieval Hospital of St. John the Evangelist, which was established in 1195 and closed in 1511. The Old Divinity School was built on top of the burial site in the late 19th century.

Historical sources indicate that the townspeople of Cambridge founded the hospital to care for "poor scholars or other wretched persons," while pregnant women, lepers, the wounded, cripples and the mentally ill were explicitly excluded, Cessford wrote. Those rules are reflected in the study's findings.

The relatively few young women, and the absence of infants, buried in the cemetery indeed suggest the hospital didn't care for pregnant women. Few of the skeletons bear traces of serious ailments or injuries that would have required medical attention, the researchers said. And there are no mass burials that seem to be associated with the Black Death, which peaked in Europe from 1348 to 1350, and killed at least 75 million people.

"This could reflect that the main role of the hospital was the spiritual and physical care of the poor and infirm rather than medical treatment of the sick and injured," Cessford wrote. "A few individuals, particularly those suffering from multiple conditions or with a healing wound, would have benefited from medical treatment, but these represent an extremely small minority of the burials and there is no direct evidence for treatment."

— Megan Gannon, Live Science: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/hundreds-medieval-skeletons-found-under-cambridge-university-n334741

Mar 30, 2015

Traces of Ancient Egyptian Beer Vessels Found in Israel

Tel Aviv's reputation as a party city for expats might have started 5,000 years ago. During the Bronze Age, Egyptians were making beer in what is today downtown Tel Aviv, new archaeological evidence suggests.

When archaeologists were conducting salvage excavations ahead of construction on new office buildings along Hamasger Street, they found 17 ancient pits that were used to store produce, according to an announcement from the Israel Antiquities Authority. These pits held Egyptian-style pottery that dated back to the Early Bronze Age I, a period that lasted from 3500 B.C. to 3000 B.C. [In Photos: Early Bronze Age Chariot Burial]

basis of previously conducted excavations in the region, we knew there is an Early Bronze Age site here, but this excavation is the first evidence we have of an Egyptian occupation in the center of Tel Aviv at that time," Diego Barkan, an archaeologist who was conducting the excavation on behalf of the IAA, said in the statement.

Barkan and his colleagues found hundreds of pottery fragments, including broken pieces of large ceramic basins traditionally used to prepare beer — a staple of the Egyptian diet.

The clay that was used to create these basins had been mixed with straw or other organic materials as strengthening agents. This method wasn't used in the local pottery industry in Israel, but straw-tempered vessels have been found before at other Egyptian sites — notably, the Egyptian administrative building that was excavated at En Besor in southern Israel, Barkan explained.

Archaeologists Find Underground Pyramid at Tiahuanaco in Bolivia, Excavations Planned

Archaeologists Find Underground Pyramid at Tiahuanaco in Bolivia, Excavations Planned

The ancient fortress site of Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) in western Bolivia is still revealing secrets thousands of years after its peak as capital of an empire, and home to one of the most important civilizations prior to the Inca. Archaeologists from the Tiahuanaco Archeological Research Center have discovered an underground pyramid at the site using ground-penetrating radar.

According to Fox News Latino, the Bolivian government has announced excavations are set to begin this summer on the new find at the Kantatallita area of Tiahuanaco, 71 kilometers (44 miles) west of La Paz.

Using ground-penetrating radar, researchers also have reportedly found “underground anomalies” which they suspect might be monoliths, but further analysis will be carried out before reaching official conclusions.

Mar 22, 2015

Does New Theory Pinpoint Lost City of Atlantis? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150318-atlantis-morocco-santorini-plato-adams-ngbooktalk/?sf8150728=1

Feb 20, 2015

حول بعض الاخبار الزائفة عن اكتشاف قوم عاد وارم ذات العماد


قرأت هذا الخبر وعلقت عليه في اكثر من مكان في الشبكة العنكبوتية ومررت اليوم عليه في بوست منفصل وعلقت علي الصورة 
التي تبدو فيها هياكل كبيرة واوضحت رأئي فيها مشفوعا بالصور كما يلي: 
1. تدخل صورة الهيكل في اطار العديد من الصور المفبركة المنتشرة في الوسائط الاجتماعية والتي تسمى اصطلاحا
 Internet Photo Hoax
حتى اصل الموضوع ليس له ايضا سند ولم تكن هناك حفريات بهذا المعنى في اي مكان بالجزيرة العربية... تناولت هذا الموضوع في اكثر من مكان في صفحات االفيسبوك ويمكنكم البحث كذلك في قوقل بعنوان Internet Photo Hoax وستجدون تفصيلا للموضوع ومجموعة كبيرة من الصور المزيفة الاخرى http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/giants.htm
وكتب تحت الصورة الاتي 
A digitally altered photograph created in 2002 shows a
reclining giant surrounded by a wooden platform—with a shovel-wielding
archaeologist thrown in for scale.

By 2004 the "discovery" was being blogged and
emailed all over the world—"Giant Skeleton Unearthed!"—and it's been
enjoying a revival in 2007.

Ref: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/.../071214-giant...

This photo was used to advertise the competition - held in
2002...
2. صورة الهيكل هذه قد استخدمت كشعار للمسابقة التي اجريت في ذلك الوقت لذات المضمون****** ثم مررت اليوم على مجموعة اخرى من ذات الصور كتب تعليقا عليها: "هذه صور لإرم المكتشفة تحت كثبان الأحقاف في منطقة ظفار في عمان "
لست انتقد هنا وانما اصحح المعلومة حول صور المباني الواردة حيث لم تنشر اية مقالات علمية او كشوف علمية حديثة او قديمة حول الكشف عن بقايا ارم في عمان والا لقامت الدنيا ولم تقعد، وجميع صور المباني الموجودة اعلاه من موقع أثري مشهور بالهند يسمى (cave temples of ellora) أو مغارات إلورا تجدون معلومات عنه في كل مكان
على الانترنيت ارفق لكم هنا احدها:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellora_Caves
والورا مجموعة من 34 معبداً مقطوعة في الصخر على مساحة تبلغ حوالى 80 كلم وتم وضعها ضمن مواقع اليونسكو المحمية منذ عام 1983.

Nov 22, 2014

توضيح من بروفيسور انتصار صغيرون حول بيع بيت المأمور التاريخي بالخندق

توضيح من بروفيسور انتصار صغيرون حول بيع بيت المأمور التاريخي بالخندق 

حضر المساح يوم الأربعاء ١٩ نوفمبر ٢٠١٤قبل المغرب بثلث ساعة ومعه رئيس اللجنة الشعبية.
سلمت ريئس اللجنة خطاب مدير هيئة الاثار المعنون لوزير الثقافة بالولاية الشمالية.
اتصل المساح بمدير أراضي القولد وتحدث معه رئيس اللجنة ونائبه كما تحدثت بعدهم معه.
كان حديثه طيبا مؤكدا حرصهم على عدم المساس بالتراث القومي. واخطرني بان المعتمد اخطره بانه سيتصل بالبعثه للتفاهم حول هذا الامر.
تداولنا الامر ذلك المساء كبعثة واضعين خيارات عديدة للتصرف في نهاية يوم عمل الخميس ٢٠ نوفمبر بناءا على ما يصلنا من المعتمدية.
لم يتكرم علينا اي مسئوول بالرد سلبا او إيجاباً.
تم إرسال الخبر بعدها الي زملائنا الآثاريين.
اول إفادة كانت مساء امس الجمعة بعد العاشرة من نائب رئيس اللجنة الشعبية وبموجبها أرسلنا خبرا عاجلا مصحوبا بصور الصيانة في البيت المعني.
واليوم اتصل رئيس اللجنة ليقول بانه قد علم منذ يوم الأربعاء بان موضوع البيع قد تم إلغاؤه .
أخبرته بان البعثة لم تخطر كتابيا او شفاهة .
هذا ما لزم توضيحه وأحب ان أؤكد ان البعثة لم توقف عملها في ميدان الفاشر ولا عمل الشركة القائمة على صيانة بيت المأمور .
وختاما اشكر الوقفة الصلبة للزملاء في مواقع التواصل ولكل الحادبين على تراث الوطن ولكل من اتصل تلفونيا وأهل الخندق