Weekly Roundup of Archaeology, History and Historical Fiction May 20-June 2

Last week I didn’t put up a post, so this one will cover two weeks. I was immersed in Phoenix Comicon, where I listened to a number of fantasy authors I enjoy and had fun with the crowd. Here are some photos

Here are some of my favorite posts:

This wouldn’t happen in America (but only because we don’t have any Roman arches): a truck driver, following the directions of his GPS with more loyalty than sense jammed his vehicle under the last Roman arch in Britain that is still used by traffic. They let the air out of the tires to lower the truck and got it free without too much damage. Click here for Archaeology News Network “Oldest working Roman arch in Britain damaged by lorry driver”

Got a body you need mummified? A dig in Egypt has all the stuff you’ll need. Recently re-uncovered and now identified are over 50 clay jars, linen bandages, scrapers, bowls, various tools, natron salts and other materials for the embalming/mummification of Egyptian Vizier Ipi from the Middle Kingdom. Clearly this find will expand our knowledge of the details of this process. And besides that, it’s just plain ghoulishly cool. Click here for Archaeology News Network “Embalming materials for Middle Kingdom High Vizier rediscovered on Luxor’s west bank”

Egypt’s treasures are being carted across Cairo to the new museum. Since the incident of workmen knocking off Tut’s beard, they’ve upped the care and trouble they are taking with this giant project. Tut’s bed and chariot apparently have made it safely. The giant new museum to open in 2018 is supposed to bring back all the tourists. That part may be wishful thinking, but at least they aren’t destroying all the treasures in the moving project. Click here for Archaeology News Network “New Cairo museum hopes Tutankhamun’s chariot will be a draw for tourists”

A dig near Izmir, Turkey reveals 10 prehistoric layers of city, the top of which they are describing as “the Trojan period.” It’s a small city, with homes sharing party walls that I suspect would remind you of a Southwestern pueblo if it were reconstructed. The photos reveal a lot of rounded stone, unshaped or tooled, used in construction of bottom layers, which speaks of domestic buildings, not temples or palaces. There are two key words the “head of the excavation committee” is quoted as using that reveal interesting things about archaeology in Turkey today. One is that Trojan reference. First of all, Troy also has many layers, dating from Neolithic to Roman so saying “Trojan period” is a wee bit loose, although I’m sure he’s wanting to connect his small dig to that illustrious drawer of tourists and make you think the top layer dates to the Trojan War, if such an event ever happened…(Ok some version did most likely) The second is the quote identifying this as a “luxury settlement.” Apparently this conclusion comes from the storage jars set both in ground and above. If you can store food, life must be luxurious. Never mind that storage jars exist at every Bronze Age site I’ve ever heard of in Turkey. The reason for both these word choices of presentation is that all archaeological sites in Turkey are under strong pressure to become tourist destinations. Make your pile of mud-bricks and stone foundations sound like a great place to come spend money. Now I am in no way denigrating going to see piles of Bronze Age and earlier ruins, although my children long ago dubbed them “ruined ruins”, but I recognize my peculiarities as a visitor to Turkey. Most people want some mosaics, tall towers, medieval castles. You know, sights to see. It often puts the real archaeology in a difficult position, but at least Turkey is indeed doing a lot of archaeology. I just wish they’d love it for itself and not as a weird way to bring in cash. It sort of reminds me of for-profit education. Contradiction in terms. Not all sites have the pedigree of Troy—and there they had to build a big model of a wooden horse so the tourists wouldn’t feel totally cheated. But maybe more people than I think are very happy to look at ruined ruins. I hope so. Click here for Archaeology News Network “5,000 year old ‘luxury’ settlement unearthed in western Turkey”

Intriguing finds from a mass grave from Thirty Year’s War between Swedish Protestant and German Catholic forces. First off, the excavation technique caught my attention. They cut out a 55 ton block and carted it off to a lab to take apart. That’s a big load. They were concerned with looting and weather destruction if they excavated on site. Study of the bodies revealed the soldiers went into the battle with a lot of unhealed wounds already. So, we can assume desperation among the combatants. Also a lot of deaths by gunshot, which wasn’t common at this point, and apparently the lead bullets were stored in the soldiers’ mouths for speed of reloading. I guess these guys died so quickly no one got a chance to put it together that munching lead is a bad idea. Click here for Live Science “Mass Grave from Thirty Years’ War Battle Reveals Soldiers’ Fatal Wounds”

An excellent ASOR post on archaeology in Israel, at the site of Gamla, where Josephus fought and lost to the Romans, a site that was called the “missing link” to Masada. It revealed myriad details of daily life as well as supporting the written records that Josephus left us, one of the most vivid and key that come down from the Jewish-Roman conflict. Click here for the ASOR blog “The Gamla Excavations Final Report, the Rest of the Story”

The Getty Museum has created an online exhibition about Palmyra. Beautiful and tragic, given the ISIS destruction this famous site has suffered. If you’d like to read a book set in the world of this exhibit, choose Libbie Hawker’s Daughter of Sand and Stone. Click here for The Getty Museum “Exhibitions Palmyra”