Weekly Roundup of History, Archaeology and Writing Wisdom Nov 8-22

I apologize–these links are all from a bit ago–I never managed to put up my weekly post of favorite links on the web last weekend and I have spent no time since then gathering any new posts. Last weekend I spoke at two conferences, a book club and a lovely book party. It was a delightful but crazy busy weekend. I had two days of “recovery” during which I put up a couple posts of a historical article and a review that I had previously scheduled (so at least you heard something from my corner of the world) and then I zoomed off to San Diego to the American Schools of Oriental Research conference where I’ve been absorbing archaeology of Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and other parts of the Near East since Wednesday. I’ve learned a great deal more about current archaeological techniques and heard about the finds and their interpretation of several sites I visited last spring as well as sites I had not studied before. One highlight was a talk on games and game boards on Cyprus and some conclusions about their social roles. Another favorite was a talk about the pottery and figurines found at a site on Cyprus called Hala Sultan Tekke, which I’d explored in the midst of a dust storm last spring.

Along with the discussion of these gorgeous and intriguing finds the director of the site analyzed the two destruction layers they’ve found and what they might mean. The second destruction layer may be a useful plot layer in my sequel to Hand of Fire–we’ll see. Note I use “layer” in an entirely different meaning than my archaeological colleagues. On the Hittite/Turkey side of my interests I enjoyed a talk about Hittite feasting and the ritual elements involved. Partly this confirmed some conclusions I’d come to, always reassuring, and also he mentioned some lovely juicy details that I’d overlooked when I’d read the tablet translations. Those details will crop up at some point in the Queen Puduhepa mystery series. I’m off to a talk about textiles later today and some archaeobotanists on food supplies etc in some areas of interest to me.

Here are the links I found and enjoyed:

On its way to becoming a UNESCO Heritage monument: earliest European “book.” Papyrus does not survive in European conditions, usually, but one important scroll did. It was found in 1962 on a funeral pyre apparently preserved by carbonizing that kept it safe from the usual destruction by humidity. Lots of surviving papyrus in Egypt and other dry climates, but for Greece this is unique. It’s a philosophic treatise on an Orphic poem about the birth of the gods and a key addition to understanding of Greek religion and Presocratic philosophy. It took 44 yrs to publish it—a tricky process involving various imaging techniques to read/interpret the fragile fragmentary bits. Click here

A military funded project to bring performances of Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes to audiences of soldiers. These ancient plays are having a profound effect on soldiers suffering from PTSD. An amazing rebirth for two often neglected Greek plays. Sophocles had been traumatized by battle himself so he knew what he was writing and apparently reaches the modern soldier. Click here 

“Stretching the truth is not the same thing as violating it…getting inside the head of a person who’s been dead for centuries demands a certain amount of deviousness alongside the research” Bruce Holsinger on writing historical fiction and plausibility. I always enjoy his nuanced and layered view of the genre. Click here.

Human remains found in the Amphipolis tomb dating to the period of Alexander the Great. Wonder what the lab studies of these bones will tell about whose tomb this is? Funerary mound slowly reveals its treasures and residents. Click here 

Portraits for lovers in the 18^th C: just the window into the soul and nothing else. A post on Lovers’ Eyes by Elizabeth Fremantle on The History Girls. This was one way to keep your lover’s identity secret and apparently a direct look in the eye from a woman was ever so exciting. Fun to see what the 18^th C version of a selfie looks like. Click here.  

My current historical mystery has a blind character so I found this post about writing disabled characters very interesting. Click here.