Resource Manager Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Digital Library of the Middle East "CLIR is working with The Antiquities Coalition and other institutions in the United States and abroad to explore the feasibility and technical prototyping of a Digital Library of the Middle East (DLME). The DLME would create a digitally based, internationally shared inventory of cultural artifacts that includes detailed descriptions and images, and confirms objects’ ownership and legal status. This information would help determine whether an item of cultural or historical significance offered for sale or being transferred was acquired illegally. Images and brief descriptions from the DLME could be made publicly available to encourage greater understanding of the region's cultural legacy and respect for the importance of the cultural commonwealth, while helping to safeguard a fundamentally important expression of our humanity." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted July 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2016 Integrated Tree-Ring-Radiocarbon High-Resolution Timeframe to Resolve Earlier Second Millennium BCE Mesopotamian Chronology Sturt W. Manning , Carol B. Griggs, Brita Lorentzen, Gojko Barjamovic, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Bernd Kromer, Eva Maria Wild Published: July 13, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157144 Abstract "500 years of ancient Near Eastern history from the earlier second millennium BCE, including such pivotal figures as Hammurabi of Babylon, Šamši-Adad I (who conquered Aššur) and Zimrilim of Mari, has long floated in calendar time subject to rival chronological schemes up to 150+ years apart. Texts preserved on clay tablets provide much information, including some astronomical references, but despite 100+ years of scholarly effort, chronological resolution has proved impossible. Documents linked with specific Assyrian officials and rulers have been found and associated with archaeological wood samples at Kültepe and Acemhöyük in Turkey, and offer the potential to resolve this long-running problem. Here we show that previous work using tree-ring dating to place these timbers in absolute time has fundamental problems with key dendrochronological crossdates due to small sample numbers in overlapping years and insufficient critical assessment. To address, we have integrated secure dendrochronological sequences directly with radiocarbon (14C) measurements to achieve tightly resolved absolute (calendar) chronological associations and identify the secure links of this tree-ring chronology with the archaeological-historical evidence. The revised tree-ring-sequenced 14C time-series for Kültepe and Acemhöyük is compatible only with the so-called Middle Chronology and not with the rival High, Low or New Chronologies. This finding provides a robust resolution to a century of uncertainty in Mesopotamian chronology and scholarship, and a secure basis for construction of a coherent timeframe and history across the Near East and East Mediterranean in the earlier second millennium BCE. Our re-dating also affects an unusual tree-ring growth anomaly in wood from Porsuk, Turkey, previously tentatively associated with the Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano. This tree-ring growth anomaly is now directly dated ~1681–1673 BCE (68.2% highest posterior density range), ~20 years earlier than previous assessments, indicating that it likely has no association with the subsequent Santorini volcanic eruption." In Full Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Poles Have Solved the Riddle of Defensive Structures of the Middle Nile 23.07.2016 "Almost one hundred monumental defensive structures built between the fourth and sixth centuries over approx. 500 km from today's south of Egypt to the central Sudan. Polish archaeologists have just discovered some of their functions." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Summer 2016, Cover Stories, Daily News Ancient DNA Reveals Complex Genetic History of Near East at Dawn of Agriculture July 25, 2016—"The first large-scale, genome-wide analyses of ancient human remains from the Near East have illuminated the genetic identities and population dynamics of the world’s first farmers." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 By CoinWeek IQ July 27, 2016 Ancient Coin Profiles: Carthaginian Gold and Silver 1 1/2 Shekel Carthage "At its peak, the ancient North African city of Carthage rivaled the Eternal City of Rome for military and economic control of the western Mediterranean Sea. Today, its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the suburbs of the Tunisian capital. Most people, if they’ve heard of Carthage at all, are familiar with Hannibal and his elephants, who famously crossed the Alps(!) to invade Italy during the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE)." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2016 Beautiful Treasure in Ancient Cyprus Tomb Reveals Island was Crucial Mediterranean Hub Artefacts from many ancient cultures were recovered from the large family grave. By Léa Surugue August 4, 2016 14:19 BST "A large tomb full of treasures from the Late Bronze Age has been discovered in Cyprus, archaeologists have revealed. The grave, and an associated offering pit situated a few metres away contain artefacts from places as diverse as Ancient Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and Greece."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Open Access WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016 Women in the Ancient Near East Marten Stol “We are about to see a long line of very different women passing before our eyes. One of them is shuffling along, but another is sashaying around across stage. They are all to be found in the pages of this book, from the lowliest slave to the powerful queen. They are linked primarily by their distinctive biology, by what sociologists call their ‘sex’ rather than their ‘gender’ which indicates their place in society. So we have chosen ‘Women’, not ‘Woman’ of the Ancient Near East as our title, for their roles are far too diverse to use a singular noun. The richest sources of the Ancient Near East are found in Babylonia, Mesopotamia, so we we will concentrate on them...” Excerpt From: Marten Stol. “Women in the Ancient Near East.” iBooks. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 How Geography Helps Destroy Your Doubts about the Bible Wayne Stiles Posted on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 What you can verify about Scripture supports what you cannot prove. "I had lunch with a young man who nursed serious doubts about the Bible. He raised objections. I offered answers. After each exchange, he would shake his head and say, “I just can’t believe that’s true.” Continued H/t: BiblePlacesBlog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 'Clocks' in Tree-Rings that Could Reset Chronologies Across the Ancient World RESEARCH SCIENCE PUBLISHED 17 AUG 2016 "Oxford University researchers say that trees which grew during intense radiation bursts in the past have 'time-markers' in their tree-rings that could help archaeologists date events from thousands of years ago. In a new paper, the authors explain how harvesting such data could revolutionise the study of ancient civilisations such as the Egyptian and Mayan worlds." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 Digital Troves, Providing Insights and Reuniting Antiquities Antiques By EVE M. KAHN SEPT. 8, 2016 "While documenting material looted in recent decades, databases of Middle Eastern archaeological artifacts are also shedding light on the lives of ancient rulers and poets as well as the Europeans and Americans who dug at historic sites nearly a century ago." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 By Numismatic Guaranty Corporation September 16, 2016 NGC Ancient Coins: Redefining the Biblical Widow’s Mite "The Biblical Widow’s Mite is among the most familiar, yet most mysterious, coins of antiquity. Truth be told, we don’t know exactly what it was. The best place to start is the New Testament, where the widow’s offering is described in the Gospels of Mark (12:41-44) and Luke (21:1-4)." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins of Julius Caesar By Mike Markowitz September 19, 2016 "PEOPLE WHO KNOW NOTHING ELSE about ancient history recognize the name Julius Caesar but might be hard-pressed to say what he ever did, aside from being assassinated. Only his lover Cleopatra VII, his assassin Marcus Junius Brutus and (perhaps) his role model, Alexander the Great, have earned such name recognition. In the English-speaking world, some of the credit goes to Shakespeare’s great tragic play." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted October 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2016 Fall 2016, Cover Stories, Daily News Lifting the Veil on Queen of Sheba's Perfume Tue, Oct 11, 2016 "It is one of the oldest fragrances in the world. Nicolas Baldovini's team at the Institut de chimie de Nice (CNRS/UNS) has just discovered the components that give frankincense its distinctive odor: two molecules found for the first time in nature, named “olibanic acids” by the scientists. Their research results* have just been published online, on the website of the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 More on: Scientists Untangle Chemistry of Frankincense to Develop 'Perfume' By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor | October 17, 2016 06:30am ET "Two never-before-seen molecules are responsible for the "old church" scent of frankincense, one of the gifts given to baby Jesus and a well-known incense "flavor." Researchers distilled the odor-creating molecules of the ancient perfume to find the two new compounds, now dubbed olibanic acids."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 X-Rays Reveal Artistry In An Ancient Greek Vase 10/13/2016 07:00:00 PM "Under beams of X-rays, the colors of art become the colors of chemistry. The mysterious blacks, reds and whites of ancient Greek pottery can be read in elements - iron, potassium, calcium and zinc - and art history may be rewritten."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Cracking Codices: 10 of the Most Mysterious Ancient Manuscripts By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | October 17, 2016 06:58am ET Cracking codices "Dating back hundreds to thousands of years, codices can reveal much about an ancient culture, that is, if you can decipher the text. Often written in an outdated language with unfamiliar grammar, these codices take careful analysis to crack their meanings. Some continue to completely baffle archaeologists and other scientists, while others have divulged just enough of their meaning to intrigue."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 1,500 Years Old Ten Commandments Tablet Heads To Auction In Texas 10/21/2016 07:00:00 PM "A stone tablet thought to be about 1,500 years old with a worn-down chiseled inscription of the Ten Commandments will be sold next month at auction, with a stipulation that the buyer must put it on public display, an auction house said on Friday." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Recent Find Shows Malta May Have Been Part Of Early Phoenician Trade Network 10/30/2016 06:00:00 PM "A jug unearthed at the oldest shipwreck in the central Mediterranean could prove that the Maltese islands were an integral part of the Phoenician trade network." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 PUBLIC RELEASE: 2-NOV-2016 How the Chicken Crossed the Red Sea Africa's oldest domestic chicken bones are relics of ancient trade route WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS "The discarded bone of a chicken leg, still etched with teeth marks from a dinner thousands of years ago, provides some of the oldest known physical evidence for the introduction of domesticated chickens to the continent of Africa, research from Washington University in St. Louis has confirmed."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Know the UAE: Archaeological Site Found South of Dubai Shows Key Aspects of Life in Iron Age Arabia Ancient gold jewellery, pottery and other items show Iron Age civilization thrived thousands of years ago south of Dubai Published: 23:57 November 4, 2016 Gulf News Web Report Dubai: "Did you know that an ancient civilization that goes back more than 3,000 years was found in Dubai? Set in a spectacular desert landscape south of modern emirate, the site known as Saruq Al Hadid is an archaeological treasure trove first discovered in 2002 by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Of Interest: SCIENCE Ezekiel’s Wheel Ties African Spiritual Traditions to Christianity By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD NOV. 7, 2016 "African-Americans have long been among the country’s most fervent Christians, from the choir to the pulpit to the affirming voices from every “amen corner.” Their deep faith saw them through the trials of slavery and then a century of Jim Crow repression. Finally, it emboldened them to leave the sanctuary of their churches and join the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a quest, his “dream,” for their full freedom and equality."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 PUBLIC RELEASE: 1-DEC-2016 Bitumen from Middle East Discovered in 7th century Buried Ship in UK Presence of rare tar-like material may suggest trade between Middle East, British Isles PLOS "Middle Eastern Bitumen, a rare, tar-like material, is present in the seventh century ship buried at Sutton Hoo, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on December 01, 2016 by Pauline Burger and colleagues from the British Museum, UK and the University of Aberdeen."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 In Season: Pomegranates, the Fruit of Myths JEFF COX FOR THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | November 30, 2016 "At this time of the year, big, fat pomegranates are in the stores. By the end of the year, they’ll be gone, so now is the time to indulge. Indulge? Yes, the juice has a wonderful sweet-tart flavor, but the hard crunchy seeds are no fun. Extracting the seeds from the bitter white membranes that enfold them (in ways a puzzle-master would be proud of) make deseeding a pomegranate a real chore. It’s no wonder that American cooks find few uses for this intriguing fruit."Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 New Online Repository of Maps and Geospatial Data for the Middle East About / What's New / New Online Repository of Maps and Geospatial Data for the Middle East DECEMBER 13, 2016 "The Center for Ancient Middle Eastern Landscapes (CAMEL Lab) at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago would like to announce that a substantial subset of its digital holdings of maps and geospatial data are now available for online public search and download." Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resource Manager Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 The 9 Biggest Archaeology Findings of 2016 By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | December 26, 2016 09:20am ET Continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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