Identifying a mummy via nanotechnology of the paint on the sarcophagus. Slivers so tiny you can’t see them unlock mystery. link here
Where do you stand? Should the Parthenon marbles be returned to Greece and shown in the new Acropolis Museum built to house them or stay in the British Museum? Here’s an interesting case for return based on art and not politics. Link here
Sad article about the mishandling of restoration of Turkey’s over 200 amphitheaters from the Graeco-Roman period. Cement dumped on them and trucks driven over ruins, among other monstrosities. Link here
In Macedonia, Greece they’ve uncovered two sphinxes guarding an unknown tomb. Archaeologists are doing structural support & then they’ll go into the tomb itself, hoping it wasn’t raided before. The video clip (commentary in Greek, alas) is kind of cool showing the site overall and close ups of the sphinx’s paws, which look suspiciously like my giant golden retriever’s mighty paws. He is named Socrates, after all. Perhaps he’s also a time traveler. Oh goodness, a book idea… link here
Sad article about the mishandling of restoration of Turkey’s over 200 amphitheaters from the Graeco-Roman period. Cement dumped on them and trucks driven over ruins, among other monstrosities. Link here
Turkish dig at Kültepe from 4,000 yrs ago finds all sorts of artifacts of daily life including a baby rattle. I had fun seeing Bronze Age baby bottles in museums in Turkey this summer—kind of amazing and in the case of baby bottles, probably a bit tragic because they probably indicate a baby that survived when its mama did not, you’d think. Link here
A cartoon of the day about publishing that seems so bitter and so very true! Has me laughing. Via Janet Rudolph. Link here
I’ve been working on a blind character, so I read with interest Deb Swift’s discussion of how she wrote a deaf character in the 17th century for her new novel Shadow on the Highway. Her research and evolution with her character sound very like what I’ve gone thru and I always find that comforting since this is definitely a first for me. Link here