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8,000 year old site destroyed by bulldozers

An archaeological site in Bulgaria, including remnants of a village said to date back 8000 years, has been destroyed by bulldozers, allegedly the work of a construction company building part of a new road from Bulgaria to Greece.

The destruction means that archaeologists have lost thousands of years of history, Bulgarian National Television reported.

A special commission from the Ministry of Culture is inspecting the damage to the site, near Momchilgrad, and police are investigating.

Zharin Velichkov, chief inspector at the Ministry of Culture’s national institute for immovable cultural heritage, said that the site had individual layers dating back thousands of years, believed to reach back as far as 6000 BCE.

He told Bulgarian National Television that he could not say who had committed the destruction but it was most likely the company that had been carrying out work in the area.

The construction company had been given accurate maps of the area, with archaeological sites marked. The mound of the site, which also included a medieval church, were a few hundred metres from the future road to Greece.

Archaeologists were doing what they could to rescue anything remaining after the bulldozing, the report said.

Source: The Sofia Echo [November 16, 2011]

Five Rajasthani forts may come under UNESCO World Heritage list

The state government is trying to bring forts in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Till now, only Jantar Mantar and Keoladeo National Park has been recognised by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajsamand, Rajasthan [Credit: Virendra Mandalia/Picasa]

A visit to the forts of the Amber, Gagron, Kumbalgarh, Sawai Madhopur and Chittor was made by a UNESCO advisor as part of the process to declare them as sites of universal value.

"We wanted some monuments to be included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO. As part of that it had made a visit to five forts in the Rajasthan. They will soon be submitting their reports. Now, it is up to them whether they recognise them or not," said Rajasthan's tourism minister, Bina Kak.

Gagron Fort in Jhalawar, Rajasthan [Credit: Web]

Sources said that an expert from International Convention of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisor to UNESCO, had visited Amber fort in Jaipur along with the four other sites a month ago.

"The expert had a questionnaire about these forts which the expert will fill up and send it to UNESCO after which it will decide whether to include these monuments in the heritage list," said a source.

Amber Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan [Credit: Web]

A renowned conservation architect, Ratish Nanda, said that these monuments will get an international value after being recognised by the UNESCO. Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) convenor for Rajasthan, Maharaja Gaj Singh, said that he is aware of the fact that the proposal of including these forts is pending with UNESCO.

A source said that these forts are under consideration for being recognised under heritage list as they have unique features. While Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajsamand has a wall which is the second largest in the world after Great Wall of China, Gagron Fort in Jhalawar is the only fort which is surrounded by water on four sides.

Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan [Credit: Web]

Amber Fort in Jaipur is known for a distinct architectural style which has both Mughal and Rajput influence. Chittorgarh Fort is famous for its historicity. And Sawai Madhopur Fort in Ranthambhore is totally surrounded by forests.

"There are half a dozen monuments in the country which are awaiting a confirmation from UNESCO for inclusion in the list of heritage monuments," said Dr Karan Singh, Rajya Sabha MP as well as an ambassador to UNESCO.

Sawai Madhopur Fort in Ranthambhore, Rajasthan [Credit: Web]

He also said that there are two hundred monuments in the whole world waiting to get recognised as heritage monuments and it might take a long time before the monuments in India get an international recognition.

Source: Daily Bhaskar [November 15, 2011]

Looting of Libyan treasure highlights illicit antiquities trade

The looting of a large collection of priceless coins, statues and jewelry from a bank vault during Libya's recent civil war has highlighted the risk of looting during times of conflict.

Ancient Greek gold and silver coins listed in the original Italian inventory of the "Benghazi Treasure" which has now disappeared [Credit: CNN]

Interpol is hunting for the hoard of Roman and Hellenistic objects -- dubbed the "Benghazi Treasure" --stolen from the city's Commercial Bank in May 2011.

But the theft is not an isolated incident.

According to UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture Francesco Bandarin, the looting of antiquities and archaeological sites occurs regularly during times of conflict and even during peacetime.

It is a problem that the UN agency is constantly battling.

"In the present moment it is difficult for us to do much because the situation is still very precarious, there is no administration in place in [Libya], there are difficulties in communicating," said Bandarin.

Bandarin's main fear is that the "Benghazi Treasure" will be dispersed or, worse, in the case of the coins, melted down and sold.

The thieves reportedly drilled through the concrete ceiling of the bank vault to reach the coins and took only the most valuable items.

"It looks targeted and well-planned, they knew what they were doing," said Dr. Hafed Walda, a Libyan-born archaeologist and research fellow at King's College, London.

Few records of the treasure survive, making it even more difficult to locate, though experts believe the collection contained ancient coins excavated from Cyrenaica in Eastern Libya, as well as statues and some jewelry dating from later periods.

Rumors that artifacts from the collection have surfaced in Egypt and in Tripoli are unconfirmed, and the race to find the treasure is ongoing.

So what can be done to prevent such thefts occurring in future and how to retrieve stolen items?

"We have very different outcomes with these things," admitted Bandarin.

"The recovery of objects stolen from the museum in Baghdad [during the U.S.-led invasion in 2003] was relatively successful, most of the things were returned but this one is high risk," he said.

Authorities have some tools at their disposal: The 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

In the case of Libya, precise co-ordinates for major sites of archaeological interest were given to NATO so that they could avoid them during bombing raids.

But it is the theft of antiquities and their eventual sale that worries Bandarin most.

"It remains the fourth or fifth biggest criminal industry in the world," he said of the illegal trade, adding that countries with volatile governments tend to be most at risk.

Paul Bennett is head of British mission "The Society for Libyan Studies," which promotes and co-ordinates the activities of scholars working on the archaeology, history, linguistics and natural history of Libya.

"It is certain that there are organized bands of antiquities thieves going across the border into Egypt," he said, citing reports of grave robbing in sites in Libya.

"The problem is on the border [with Egypt], it's become very porous. We need to see far more collaboration going on between the border patrols to stop the illicit trade in antiquities," he said.

"We do have to mobilize the Egyptians because clearly, the treasure has gone through Egypt, as that is the closest border," said Bandarin.

"But even Egypt is not in the best position to help right now," he continued.

Awareness of the problem of cultural crimes is one of the biggest challenges UNESCO faces.

"It's considered less of a crime, for reasons I don't understand," agreed Bandarin.

He hopes UNESCO will one day be as successful in combating the trade as his colleagues at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"They are extremely effective, there is almost a mass consciousness about (the protection of endangered animals) and that's not the case with us," he said.

But while the theft of the "Benghazi Treasure" signifies a devastating loss, Libyans are credited with doing much to protect their treasures since the fighting erupted.

"Throughout the conflict, locals did an enormous amount to keep their heritage safe, standing guard at sites and museums," said Bennett.

"They put themselves at risk and if it hadn't been for them, it would have been a lot worse," he continued.

As for the missing "Benghazi Treasure," it remains for auction houses and customs offices around the world to be extra vigilant.

UNESCO and Interpol will do what they can to make the issue more visible, said Bandarin.

The task is now for Libya to create a strong cultural administration to keep its treasures safe.

Author: Laura Allsop | Source: CNN [November 11, 2011]

Ancient petroglyph in Keewenaw Penninsula vandalised

Four thousand years ago ancient peoples gathered on the shores of the Great Lakes. The waters from melting glaciers made the beaches many feet above the current level of Lake Superior.

Raven on female figure destroyed [Credit: Jo Lorichan]

On the cliffs of the Keewenaw Penninsula a long lava extrusion sticks out on this ancient shoreline. Scatterred across the rock are lithic carvings of unknown antiquity.

Some are of superb quality while others challenge the beliefs of 20th Century archaeology.

Modern diffussionist studies suggest evidence that presents differring views of man's past accomplishments.

Often primitives were thought unable to achieve some task, only to prove a better understanding than modern man of the complexities involved.

Prejudices based on race, religion, or culture can blind us to the inherent abilities of all humans throughout time and around the world.

Photo of petroglyph as it originally was [Credit: Judy Johnson]

Viewing others through the lens of one own's culture can distort the reality of what is going on.

This could be the reason for criminal acts taking place at one site in the area. A figure referred to as 'the Birdwoman' consisted of an anthropomorphic female shape with the recognizable figure of a crow standing atop the neck.

Jeff Savage, curator of the Fon du Lac Tribal museum, is certain the triangluar figure represents a woman, while Old World epigraphers identify the distinctive design as Tanit, a Carthaginian war goddess known in other ancient cultures as Ishtar and Astarte.

Other shapes; a hand, crossed circle, and various straight and curved lines, in close proximity, were untouched. The bird, as shown in the second picture, was completely destroyed.

Author: Charles Bruns | Source: Examiner [November 10, 2011]

Sri Lanka to preserve Anuradhapura era sites

Sri Lankan Cabinet today decided to preserve Archaeological sites in the north central Anuradhapura district.

Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka [Credit: Web]

Cabinet of Ministers arrived at this decision based on a proposal made by Dr. Jagath Balasuriya, Minister of National Heritage, to carry out this conservation program in parallel with the proposed "Deyata Kirula" Programme - 2012 to be held at Oyamadu in the Anuradhapura district in February 2012.

Dayata Kirula is a national program conducted annually to mark country’s Independence Day. Several development programs inclusive of infrastructure development of the area have been earmarked to be carried out before the main event of the program to be initiated by president on February 5 2012.

As advised by President, archaeological conservation in Anuradhapura district including at Mihintale and Thanthirimale in parallel with the Dayata Kirula national programme has already been commenced.

Cabinet approved the allocation of Rs 250 million of which Rs 75 million will be spent this year.

Source: News/Sri Lanka [November 10, 2011]

Turkey pushes for return of Sion Treasure

The Antalya Museum in southern Turkey is hoping to get back the rest of Sion Treasure from the Dumbarton Oaks Institute in Washington, D.C.

Turkey is hoping to get back the rest of Sion Treasure from Washington. The reasure is currently at the Dumbarton Oaks Institute in Washington, D.C. [Credit: AA]

The museum’s director, Mustafa Demirel, told Anatolia news agency on Wednesday that Dumbarton Oaks had a part of the Sion Treasure, adding that the Antalya Museum owned the main part of the treasure.

Recently, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts returned the top half of the Weary Heracles, Greek for Hercules, to the Antalya Museum. Turkey said the top piece was stolen from an archaeological site in Turkey in 1980 and smuggled to the U.S. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew the 1,900-year-old statue back with him at the end of a trip to the U.S. in September.

The Sion Treasure was found by a villager by accident in Kumluca town in Antalya province in 1963. The treasure, which was later smuggled abroad, was named from an inscription on an oblong “polycandelon” (multiple-lamp holder) mentioning

“Holy Sion,” possibly the church or the monastery for which the objects were intended. The monastery of Holy Sion was near present-day Kumluca. The museum director said that the Antalya Museum was located on an area of 30,000 square meters, and 60,000 artifacts were registered in the museum.

The Elmalı coins, which were returned to Turkey in 1999 after being smuggled abroad in 1984 and top half of 1,800-year-old Roman sculpture Weary Herakles, which was returned from the U.S. Sept. 25 , are on display at the Antalya Archaeology Museum.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [November 09, 2011]

Cambridge University project on rare Sanskrit manuscripts

Some 2,000 rare Sanskrit manuscripts detailing momentous political and economic events across south Asia and written on fragile birch bark, palm leaf and paper are to form part of a major project undertaken by Cambridge University to document ancient civilisations by studying the language of the time, officially known as “linguistic archaeology”.

Palm leaf manuscript (997 AD) from Cambridge University Library’s South Asian collection (MS Add. 1464, 127v, left panel) [Credit: Cambridge University Library]

The documents, which belong to Cambridge University Library’s South Asian manuscript collection, will be studied individually and catalogued placing them in their broader historical context. They will also be digitised and put on the library’s new online service.

The university said the collection included “the oldest dated and illustrated Sanskrit manuscript known worldwide”.

Dr Vincenzo Vergiani of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, who along with his colleague Dr Eivind Kahrs will study the manuscripts, described them as “an invaluable and untapped source for understanding the pre-colonial past of South Asia, and therefore its present”.

“In a world that seems increasingly small, every artefact documenting the history of ancient civilisations has become part of a global heritage to be carefully preserved and studied. Among such artefacts, manuscripts occupy a distinctive place – they speak to us with the actual words of long-gone men and women, bringing their beliefs, ideas and sensibilities to life,” he said.

Dr Vergiani explained that one reason the collection was so important was because of the age of many of the manuscripts.

“In the heat and humidity of India, materials deteriorate quickly and manuscripts needed to be copied again and again. As a result, many of the early Indian texts no longer exist,” he said.

More than half of the library’s collection of south Asian manuscripts was in Sanskrit which dominated the literary culture of pre-modern South Asia for almost three millennia.

“The word Sanskrit means refined or perfected. From a very early stage, its speakers were obsessed with handing down their sacred texts intact. Out of this developed an attention to how the language works. A grammatical tradition arose that produced, around the 4th century BC, the work of Pāṇini, an amazing intellectual achievement and arguably the beginning of linguistics worldwide, which made the language constant, stable and transmissible,” said Dr Vergiani.

The university hopes the project would help to further research on South Asia.

Author: Hasan Suroor | Source: The Hindu [November 08, 2011]

Large scale restoration for Hazarduari palace planned

The iconic Hazarduari, the palace of the Nawabs of Bengal at Murshidabad, will get a grand facelift. A massive restoration project, running into several crores, is in the offing for this imposing relic of pre-colonial era Bengal. The National Culture Fund, a wing of the union ministry of culture, is acting as the mediator between the Archaeological Survey of India - which will carry out the restoration project - and the State Bank of India regional head office in the city, which has agreed to fund the prestigious project.

Hazarduari Palace, Murshidabad [Credit: Incredible India]

This and several other conservation/restoration projects for Bengal will be announced by the Fund on November 18 in the city during the first ever road show organized by the Fund here. The aim is to involve corporate houses with the centre to help restore priceless heritage, both built and intangible. Each of the projects on focus is on the public-private-partnership model (PPP) and the road show is being organized in collaboration with the Indian Chambers of Commerce.

Apart from built heritage that will obviously be the focus of attention, the Fund has also invited groups that are working with intangible heritage like baul or Bengali tarja singing, patachitra painters and singers, manuscripts, paintings etc. "The Fund was set up in 1996 with the aim to preserve our rich cultural heritage. In Bengal, the ASI has identified several structures which are under its protection. However, there is a lot to be done because the state alone cannot fund all projects. We want private initiative in this endeavour. Our job is to provide this platform for liaison," explained Shobita Punja, CEO of the Fund.

The Hazarduari is under the protection of the ASI which had alerted the ministry of culture, to which it reports, about the immediate need to start restoring this building which was showing signs of age, in the form of cracks, a weak ceiling, damp on the walls, vegetation at many points on the exteriors, uneven flooring, termites on the wooden beams, windows and doors and of course, a general deterioration in the strength of the imposing structure. The first phase of the project will cost Rs 30 lakh for which funds have already been released by SBI, Kolkata.

"It is a massive structure with extremely high ceilings, thick columns and pillars. So, work will progress very slowly because some portions of the building will be extremely difficult to access. Moreover, indigenous building materials like lime mortar and bricks will have to be used for the restoration job instead of cement and concrete. In those days, concrete was not used. Today, masons skilled at using brick and line mortar are not readily available. We have a tough job ahead of us," said a heritage conservationist from ASI, Kolkata.

The road show will see prominent corporate houses like ITC, Burn Standard, Jalan Carbon and Chemicals, East India Pharmaceuticals, Sanderson and Morgan and Balmer Lawrie, expressing their intent to join hands with the Fund, confirmed ICC chief in the city, Rajiv Singh.

It is believed that the road show is being organized at the aegis of union culture secretary, Jawhar Sircar, a senior IAS officer from Bengal.

Author: Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey | Source: The Times of India [November 09, 2011]

Liverpool waterfront development prompts UNESCO visit

UNESCO is visiting Liverpool next week to consider whether the city's waterfront should lose its world heritage status.

The Three Graces, with cranes at work on the nearby waterfront construction site [Credit: David Sillitoe/Guardian]

The UN body is sending a monitoring mission to the city because it is concerned about the impact of Peel Holdings' £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme.

Liverpool's world heritage site takes in the elegant Edwardian "three graces" – the Royal Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool buildings – which have defined the view from the river Mersey for almost a century.

Earlier this year, an independent report commissioned by English Heritage warned the waterfront could lose its world heritage status if the project to regenerate the city's northern docklands is approved.

The three-day mission will arrive on 14 November and report its findings by 23 December at the latest.

Heritage campaigner Wayne Colquhoun, who was instrumental in persuading Unesco to send its inspectors, said he hoped they would not repeat "past mistakes".

Author: Helen Carter | Source: The Guardian/UK [November 07, 2011]

Modern ills threaten ancient Judean Hills springs

Springs in the Judean Hills that were the basis for agriculture as far back as the Second Temple era are drying up due to successive drought years and have become polluted, according to a study carried out this year.

Sataf pool [Credit: Jacob Solomon]

The study, conducted this spring by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority under the direction of the Water Authority, was the first of its kind in 30 years. It included 67 of the almost 90 springs in an area from Jerusalem in the east westward almost to Beit Shemesh.

Water quality and quantity, as well as the area surrounding each spring, were examined. The survey included the Sataf, Ein Hindak and Ein Lavan springs, all popular hiking spots, as well as the spring in the center of Abu Gosh.

The surveyors found water in only two-thirds of the springs. Of the springs with water, the flow rates were lower than in previous years and in one out of three springs the water quality was poor or fair.

The surveyors pointed to several consecutive low-rainfall years as the main reason for the low water levels.

Teens enjoying the new pools built over Beit El's mysterious spring [Credit: Emil Salman]

Six of the past eight years met the criteria for drought years. Last winter, for example, saw only 60 percent of the average annual rainfall in the region.

In some cases, intensive construction near the springs contributed to the dearth of water: The increase in paved surfaces, such as roads and even gas stations, means rainwater cannot percolate through concrete and asphalt on the surface down to the water-bearing layer from which it would otherwise emerge as a spring.

Water quality is affected by pollution, mainly sewage. The surveyors say they believe fertilizer runoff has compromised the water quality in the Ein Kobi spring.

Ein Lavan Spring [Credit: Travel Israel]

The springs in the Judean Hills have been essential for traditional agriculture for thousands of years, beginning with the first inhabitants who dug tunnels and channels to bring the water to the crops they grew on the terraced hillsides.

Last year the Israel World Heritage Committee recommended that the terraced fields in the Judean Hills be classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The proposal has not yet been submitted.

The authors of the spring survey want the health and environmental protection ministries to improve sewage treatment facilities to minimize contamination of the springs. They also recommend increased protection of the vegetation near the springs as well as conservation management.

Author: Zafrir Rinat | Source: Haaretz [October 27, 2011]

Karnataka's archaeological riches crying for attention

Karnataka's rich heritage of monuments are crying for special attention for effective conservation as well as restoration works, but shortage of funds is a constraint.

Group of monuments at Pattadakal, Karnataka [Credit: ASI]

The state Archaeology Department, which has nearly 800 protected monuments in its jurisdiction also needs staff and funds for conservation acitivities.

In addition to these protected monuments, there are 34,000 monuments and temples under the control of the Muzrai Department, besides 30,000 unprotected monuments across the state.

Karnataka is endowed with more than 64,000 monuments, makng it one of the richest states in terms of archaeological marvels. These are in addition to more than 600 sites of national importance under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The Department of Archaeology and Museums, which oversees maintenance, conservation and restoration of monuments has only eight junior engineers in each of the four divisions, apart from two assistant executive engineers for each division. This is said to be grossly inadequate.

Source: New Kerala [November 06, 2011]

Vietnam seeks India's help to restore ancient temples

The Vietnam government has sought assistance from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to restore a portion of My Son Sanctuary, a world heritage site that has one of the largest collection of Hindu temples and monuments in Southeast Asia.

My Son Temple [Credit: tripadvisor]

"Yes, we have been approached by the Vietnamese government to undertake restoration works at the sanctuary which houses centuries-old temples, some dating as far back as the 4th century AD," ASI's Director General Gautum Sengupta told PTI.

Set in a valley surrounded by high mountains, the 70-odd monuments in My Son Sanctuary's precincts were badly damaged by US' week-long carpet bombing during the Vietnam war in 1969. The surrounding terrain is considered perilous even now because of another legacy of the war - undetected landmines.

In 1999, My Son Sanctuary, constructed by Vietnam's Champa kings between the 4th and 14th century AD, was awarded the UNESCO world heritage site tag after it won recognition as an exceptional example of cultural interchange.

After the Vietnamese government approached the ASI to help restore the temples, the body, on the direction of the Ministry of External Affairs, deputed a team of archaeological experts to study the ruins and submit a report to the Centre.

Restoration of a tower at the My Song Sanctuary [Credit: ironwulf]

"The team made a detailed report on the project, including the cost that will be incurred for the undertaking, and submitted it to the MEA," the senior ASI official said.

For years, teams from Italy and France have been working on the site, dotted with red-brick shrines and other structures, mainly built in the Indian architectural style, he said.

On why India was approached to help restore the pantheons, Additional Director General B R Mani said, "The Vietnamese government has no expertise in conserving brick monuments. Our country, on the other hand, has a lot of brick and terracota structures, so this project isn't new to us."

He said although a majority of the temples in My Son Sanctuary had survived years of wars and natural calamities, worries still persist regarding their structural soundness.

"For conservationists, the challenge is much of the construction technique used to build the temple remains a mystery. The carvings on the temples, for example, were cut directly onto the bricks, rather than onto sandstone slabs inserted into the walls," Mani said.

The ASI is presently awaiting the MEA's nod before initiating the project, the official said.

Source: Deccan Herald [November 06, 2011]

Myanmar begins pagoda repair in Bagan after heavy rain

Heavy rain that resulted in hundreds of deaths and left thousands homeless in Mandalay and Magwe regions also damaged a number of ancient pagodas in Bagan, an official said.

A Buddha image at pagoda number 1955 in Bagan. The pagoda was damaged by heavy rain on October 20 [Credit: Kaung Htet]

Director general U Kyaw Oo Lwin said the Department of Archeology, National Museum and Library was restoring five pagodas and a section of the city walls that were damaged on October 20.

“We started renovation on the morning of October 21 when the rain slowed down. We will work on it as quickly as possible to restore the damage,” he said.

“We were in the middle of planning a long-term project to renovate pagodas managed by the department and some works for that had already started. But when the rain left some pagodas damaged, we made repairing them our top priority,” U Kyaw Oo Lwin said.

The Ministry of Culture began granting permission to renovate pagodas in Bagan following a devastating earthquake in 1975 that damaged many buildings in the ancient city.

According to ministry figures, Bagan has 3122 religious buildings, including pagodas, temples, monasteries and ordination halls, and two-thirds of them were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. However, work was constrained by a lack of funding so in 1996 the ministry invited the public to contribute to restoration work.

Author: Cherry Thein | Source: Myammar Times [Ocober 31, 2011]