Mesa Verde

Piece of the Past at Home

Sometimes we forget the history of own past in the United States because we're too busy looking elsewhere for more exotic sites. However the Mesa Verde plateau in south-west Colorado is not something to be overlooked, for it displays incredible human skill and achievement and is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The landscape of the Mesa Verde consists of ancient Pueblo dwellings that hit an altitude of more than 2,600 meters. Overall about 5,000 sites have been discovered within this terrain of which 600 are cliff dwellings. Mesa Verde, which translates into green table in Spanish, was built by the Pueblo Indians between 600 and 1300 A.D., making it their home for over 70 years. President Theodore Roosevelt declared the entire Mesa Verde Park to be preserved for the works of man on June 29th, 1906, which became the first of its kind.

 

The Mesa Verde dwellings were first discovered in 1874 when collectors would remove the pottery artifacts and sell them. However as soon as the site was put under protection in 1906 under the Federal Antiquities Act by the President, archaeologists began to properly study and excavate the site. I thought it was very interesting that the UNESCO website mentioned that this act has been the most "effective and long-standing" for the Mesa Verde on the American continent. The Mesa Verde has probably been preserved so well because it is one of the few notable archaeologist sites in North America, and also it represents little of what is left of the Native American heritage. Also it shows that the United States, a powerful and wealthy country, has the resources to simply preserve the site and eliminate looting unlike many of the European, Middle Eastern, or Asian countries. Although the Mesa Verde National Park may not be as popular as other tourist attractions, we still have a responsible to protect the site and educate others about it.


http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/27
http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

Alepotrypa

The Mysterious Cave

 

 

 

About the Site

Alepotrypa, which means "foxhole", is an ancient cave discovered in Greece in 1958. The legend of its discovery is that a man was hunting in a village nearby and one of his dogs found the hole and entered the cave. The cave is huge and even has its own lake inside. This impressive creation was naturally formed thousands of years ago and contains a lot of historic discoveries. One archaeologist researching the site said, "If you've ever seen 'The Lord of the Rings', this might make you recall the mines of Moria -- the cave is really that impressive".

 

 

 

After the cave was discovered, Greece saw the cave as a tourist attraction that could help the economy. However, once archaeologists began studying the site they realized how important the discoveries in this cave were and protested against tourism which could damage the site. This is where the issue of world heritage comes in to play: Is it right for archaeologists to determine that this discovery not be open for the public to view? Or are they right in protecting the site and all of its artifacts to contribute to our world knowledge?

 

What Makes This Excavation Great?

Artifacts that have been discovered since excavations began at this site are tools, pottery, and obsidian, silver, and copper artifacts. These objects date back to the Neolithic Age, which shows just how long ago this cave was used by humans. This time was right before Greece's Age of Heroes, an age in which we do not have much evidence in the form of artifacts.

 

 

 

Researchers say that this huge cavern once housed hundreds of people before it collapsed and killed all of its inhabitants. This provides evidence that it was one of the oldest and most important prehistoric villages in Europe. The complex settlement of this site also suggests that prehistoric Europe might have been more complex than previously believed. The cave was not only used as a place of shelter, but also as a place of burial. These burial sites in the cavern may have contributed to the Greek myth of Hades and the Underworld.

 

 

The cave was occupied and abandoned many times during the prehistoric era. This suggests that many different tribes or groups used it for themselves at different times, bringing up the question: Who settled here? There was no such thing as "Greece" in prehistoric times, so does that mean that this site is not a part of Greek history? Or is it just a part of our World Heritage? This question can be applied to many sites that have been discovered. Regardless of who settled at this cave, its collapse, possibly due to an earthquake, killed all of its inhabitants. This has led archaeologists to refer to Alepotrypa as a "Neolithic Pompeii" because of the similarities in both settlements being buried so that all artifacts were discovered almost exactly as they were at the time of their use.

 

This site has contributed to our knowledge of prehistoric Europe and will continue to do so as more excavations are held.

 

Sources:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49999550/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/deadly-caves-where-it-all-ended-maybe-hades-began/

Petra

"A Red-Rose City..."

The ancient city of Petra in Jordan remained hidden from the Western world for more than 500 years after the Crusades in 12th century. In 1812 the "lost city" was finally rediscovered by Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt after he became interested in the tales and legends of Petra. Burckhardt disguised himself as a Muslim under the name, Ibrahim ibn Abdullah, and convinced a guide to take him to Petra saying he wanted to make a sacrifice to the Prophet Aaron. After hundreds of years, someone outside of the Middle East had finally witnessed the great city.

However Petra was still inhospitable and unwelcoming to strangers from the Western, modern world until the 1920s. Soon enough Petra was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and excavations were conducted on behalf of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and later the American Center of Oriental Research. Not too long ago in 1993, more intense excavations revealed structures such as temples and monuments.

Petra's location between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea allowed for a plethora of cultures to be woven into this ancient city. It was known that Petra served as an important trading city between the Hellenistic empire and the more Eastern states such as Arabia, China and India for items such as incense, silk and spices. Other than its commercial important, Petra is praised for its extraordinary architecture and landscape, for it half-built and half-carved into a rock and is also surrounded by mountains that contain riddles and secrete passageways. Because it is set in a dominating red sandstone environment, it has become one of the richest and largest world heritage sites.

As more information was accumulated of this world heritage site, its popularity escalated very rapidly. John William Burgon even memorialized the beautiful site in his poem saying it was " a rose-red city half as old as time". Petra became the setting for the popular movies such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Arabian Nights, and the more recent Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Also in 2007, Petra was enlisted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Due to all this media coverage, tourists flocked to see the beautiful city causing more damage than imagined to the valued site. Although the past was being preserved mentally as people gained more interest, it was being deteriorated physically as the monuments and and buildings were eroded through human interaction.

 Although considerable efforts have been enforced in order to preserve what was left of the Petra, the official tourist site of Jordan encourages people to travel to their country in order to learn about the magnificent city. "Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed". After our class had discussed the motives behind countries in attracting tourists, it is evident that Jordan favors commercial success over the preservation of such delicate and fragile sites.




 http://www.sacred-destinations.com/jordan/petra-history
 http://www.visitjordan.com/default.aspx?tabid=63
 http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326

Update: Pompeii

Update: Pompeii

 

A wall at the ancient city of Pompeii has collapsed on November 30th, 2012.

 

This wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't a wall thats been preserved for thousands of years, and its not the sixth wall in two years. It might not sound like a big deal, but considering archaeologists think that more walls are going to be coming down soon, it definetly takes a toll.

 

This brings up the question: How do we preserve these buildings and structures? Mother nature is not going to take a respite from the weather (rainstorms that swept through southern Italy allegedly weakened the foundation).

 

I recall our trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where there was one statue, of Dionysius, that was actually destroyed in the past, but there it was, rebuilt, and looking as grand as ever. Parts of other statues we're used to rebuild it. Could we use that technique to rebuild some of these walls, not with walls from other parts of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but with modern tools?

 

I beleive so. If we want to preserve history, there must be some sacrifices. Why take away from another part of the city, when you can just build an entirely new structure. Pompeii is one of Italys most famous tourist attractions, so if the plans to rebuild the city, funded by the Italian government and heralded by Manuela Ghizzoni, the head of the Italian Cultural Commission.

 



Babylon

The Ancient City of Babylon

 

 

About the Site

Babylon is a city from the third millenium BCE located in modern-day Iraq. It was discovered in the late nineteenth century by German archaeologist Robert Koldeway. Legend has it that the city was founded by the first dynasty in a long line of Babylonian kings. One of the most famous of these kings was Hammurabi, author of the first recorded code of laws. This ancient city contains many famous landmarks, including the Hanging Gardens which are considered to be a Wonder of the Ancient World.

 

 

 

Controversy

The city of Babylon has recently suffered damage due to the war in Iraq. In 2003, experts from the British Museum declared that the United States' military occupation of Iraq has caused damage to this historic ancient site. Archaeologists were outraged when the U.S. military decided to make Babylon a military base due to its close location to Baghdad. The British Museum released this statement about the incident: "This is tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain". The museum makes a good point; why is it okay to use Babylon for military purposes when we would never even dream of doing the same to the pyramids or other important sites? This ancient city is just as important as other sites and there is a lot that we can learn from it about the past. It is not fair that we are losing all of this knowledge because of modern warfare.

 

 

 

Restoration

In the past few years, the World Monuments Fund has been raising awareness and funds to restore Babylon to its former glory. This group has been working with the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq to conserve the "fragile archaeological remains". However, it was not only military occupation that caused damage to the site. During Saddam Hussein's presidency, various reconstructions were done that also damaged the site, including the building of a modern palace overlooking the site. These damages need to be repaired before the site is once again ready for tourists to visit the site. On October 29, 2003 Babylon was submitted as a World Heritage Site and is now therefore under the protection of UNESCO.

 

 

 

What makes this excavation great?

The ancient city of Babylon was "great" for many reasons. For one, it was the capital of a major ancient empire and a military power. It also allegedly was the site of the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon, considered by many to be a Wonder of the Ancient World. Another structure discovered was the Ishtar Gate, which is currently located at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The most important discovery from Babylon, however, was the Code of Hammurabi which was inscribed in cuneiform on a huge stele. This code of laws hugely contributed to our knowledge of the past and affected other civilizations throughout history. A site as important as Babylon should never have been used as a military base; it should be protected and preserved because there is so much have learned and can still discover about the ancient world.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jan2005/arch-j26.shtml

http://www.wmf.org/project/future-babylon

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/babylon.htm

http://www.atlastours.net/iraq/babylon.html

Hirbet Madras

Hirbet Madras: History Underneath Our Feet

What would you do if, one day you we're walking down an unassuming street, and the next say, that street was all dug up by archaelogists, revealing an ancient church that was resting quietly beneath our feet!

Well, thats exactly what was going on in Israel, at the Hirbet Madras site, located just outside of Jerusalem. There we're rumors of this Byzantine church being underneath the ground in the 1980's, when an arch was found, but archaelogists couldn't do much about it at the time because there was an influx of looting and site desecration at the time (who knew?) plans for excavation had to be put on hold.

Just chilling in some ruins.

Fast forward thirt years, and theres a brand new, 1,500 year old church smack dab in the middle of Israel, which has excavators salivating over its unique architecture. Israel has alwasys had Greek, Roman, Arabic, Jewish, Byzantine, and Christian burial grounds and holy sites, so this is just another great find for a nation as culturally rich as Israel.  The site was open for about two months, but is now closed until funds can obtained for further investigation.

This brings up the question of looting, as if theres no archaelogists at the site, then, whos there to guard them? Theres already been some desecration and looting in the past, and all the archaelogists have really done was to "cover it again with soil for its own protection". But a little bit of dirt isn't really enough for protection, especially since we've seen what looters are capapble of doing, in our studies of Egyptian sites. Shouldn't there be some more protection against these looters? This is history here, not some national park thats barely protected. There should be some more notice of it.

See these beautiful mosaics? Imagine them not being there anymore. It would just be a waste of space, stolen by looters, and getting cashed out, never to be seen again. Without a little preservation, no one can enjoy these works anymore. They archaelogists have made measures to protect them from the elements, but not from humans.

http://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/2011/02/1500-year-old-church-found-in-holy-land.html

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/142103

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41390020/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/-year-old-church-found-israel/

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/31/article-2032155-0DA2BCF800000578-181_964x639.jpg

Stonehenge

More Than Just Rocks?

Located in Southern Britain in the rural town of Wiltshire, relics of the prehistoric times are preserved through the Stonehenge. This primitive site contains a focal stone circle surrounded by many other significant structures. It signifies the advancement in the prehistoric architecture as well as insight into the funerary and ceremonial practices of this time period. However when tourists attend this World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO, many are confused as to why a bunch of rocks arranged in a circle are worthy of studying. However, these monuments allow us to study a time period from so far back that little to none is known about the prehistoric time period.

The Stonehenge seen today was completed around 1500 BC, but it was started thousands of years before this date. The structure was built within four different stages, with the first stage started around 3100 BC. Archaeologists conclude that the Stonehenge during the first stage consisted of a ditch, bank and holes, all which was earthwork. During the second stage, stones weighing four tons, were transported to this site from south-west Wales which is about 240 miles from Wiltshire. Heavier stones weighing up to 50 tons were moved to the Stonehenge in the third stage; these rocks were brought from 25 miles north of Wiltshire. In the final stage, the stones were rearranged in the circle that is seen today, but many of the stones have been removed or broken since then.

Stonehenge

Some say that the site was a early burial ground, but others claim that the Stonehenge was only used for ceremonial or religious matters. Cremated remains and humans bones have been found in the ditch which was built during the first stage. However the circular structure and organization of the stones indicated that it was built to dedicate the sun and moon. Because the Stonehenge was constructed by a culture without written records, there are many theories about this site. The fact that people with no modern machinery or technology could transport these massive stones signifies the important of this site. However the Stonehenge allows us to learn more about this prehistoric culture, such as their religious beliefs or lifestyles.

After UNESCO declared the Stonehenge a World Heritage Site in 1986, the site was given a special attention as to how it should be preserved and cared for. Currently two roads, A303 and A344, surround the landscape of the Stonehenge worrying many activists working to protect the surrounding landscape of this site. There was a proposal to build a tunnel farther away from the Stonehenge itself so that the road A303 would be closed off. However this sparked a huge debate, in which members of the Stonehenge Alliance compared the surrounding landscape to the buildings surroundings a medieval cathedral. Although many people believe that the tunnel will bring the traffic away from the Stonehenge, others are worried that this project will destroy the cultural heritage of the entire Stonehenge landscape. So should we be mindful to the beautiful scenery surrounding the Stonehenge even if it only may be stones and hills?

http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/373