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.