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explorator 7.35                                December 26, 2004
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Editor's note: Most urls should be active for at least eight
hours from the time of publication.

For your computer's protection, Explorator is sent in plain text
and NEVER has attachments. Be suspicious of any Explorator which
arrives otherwise!!!
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Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Bill Kennedy, Adrian Murdoch, Dave
Sowdon, Francis Deblauwe, Donna Hurst, Dorothy King, Hernan
Astudillo, Gene Barkley, John McMahon, John McChesney-Young,
Joseph Lauer, Kate Brown, Jim Lockmiller, Rick Heli, Rochelle
Altman, Bob Heuman, Steve Farmer, Susan Jaslow, Tony Jackson,
Mike Ruggeri, W. Richard Frahm, and Yonatan Nadelman for headses
upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out).

Have you visited our blog yet?

http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism/

If you're using an (ahem) old or clunky browser, try accessing
it via Bloglines:

http://www.bloglines.com/preview?siteid=21809

editor's note: folks who are reluctant to register to some
of these online sources should visit http://bugmenot.com/ and
type in the url of the newspaper in question. They will provide
you (usually) with a useable user name and password. For the
record, though, I've never had any problems with any of the
sites used in Explorator ...

Boxing Day greetings to all ...
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================================================================
AFRICA, EUROPE, AND ASIA
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500,000 b.p. axe found in a quarry in Warwickshire:

http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh/ART25245.html
http://www.aggregateresearch.com/article.asp?id=5451

Remains of a 7500-year-old man (wow! ... that's what the
headline says) have been found in the UAE:

http://tinyurl.com/5drlv (Reuters via Yahoo)
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=144601

... and they've recovered DNA from him too:

http://tinyurl.com/5rf4e (Khaleej Times)

A fire at Fylingdales has revealed a number of archaeological
sites (including a very interesting carved rock) from a
number of periods:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/4108897.stm
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART25261.html
http://tinyurl.com/4jvxb (Telegraph)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1410884,00.html

A Jiroft update of sorts:

http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=141407

... and a Bam Citadel update:

http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=142554

Analysis of pots from Gordium has led to some theories about
ancient diets:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1261083.htm

Archaeologists believe they have found a piece of the throne
of Darius:

http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=140801

More on sites threatened by dams in Iran:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6743484/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6741205/
http://tinyurl.com/482ro (Guardian)

Apparently trying to capitalize on the 'season', some
archaeologists made big claims about having discovered the
site of Cana this week (actually, it's spun to be 'the
site of Jesus' first miracle'):

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/12/21/jesus.miracle.ap/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6743472/
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/10469182.htm
http://tinyurl.com/4p6xu (Fox)
http://tinyurl.com/3nhk2 (JPost)
http://tinyurl.com/6zesv (Star)
http://tinyurl.com/4vzln (Herald Sun)

... and the Siloam pool (this was actually first mentioned
a month or two ago, actually; now it's being spun as the
site where Jesus cured the blind):

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1271620.htm
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6750670/
http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/204446-8044-010.html
http://tinyurl.com/6ebfj (AP via Yahoo)
http://tinyurl.com/53j5y (Independent)
http://tinyurl.com/6lgly (JPost)
http://tinyurl.com/5he4p (Seattle PI)
http://tinyurl.com/4l88o (Reuters photo)

cf: http://tinyurl.com/372rk (JPost, last June)

... and it wouldn't be Christmas at Explorator without some
articles pondering the three kings and the Bethlehem star:

http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/threekings/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077385/

A couple of female burials associated with military equipment
found a while ago in Cumbria (but just recently tested) are
causing much excitement (and some unfortunate headlines):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1411715,00.html

Another possible site for the battle of Brunanburh:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1409683,00.html

A bunch of 'gullgubbers' ('little gold men') dating to about
1400 b.p. have been found in Norway:

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article934339.ece

A proposed road threatens sites (apparently) associated with
Tara:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4114395.stm
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THE AMERICAS
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Coverage of a "little known" society which flourished in the
Andes ca 3000-1800 B.C./B.C.E.:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4115421.stm
http://tinyurl.com/5mvzl (Seattle Times)
http://tinyurl.com/67oaz (Washington Post)
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-firstciv23.html
http://tinyurl.com/6c285 (Telegraph)
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6829

background: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/panc/

7000 years of religious ritual in Mexico (we mentioned this
last week, but this one seems to express things a bit more
clearly):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/science/21reli.html

A sort of roundup piece on some recent finds in Illinois:

http://tinyurl.com/6cwb4 (KC Star)

Solstice on the prairies:

http://tinyurl.com/6gb9n (News-Leader)
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ALSO OF INTEREST
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Neolithic humans are now claimed to have learned about farming
from insects:

http://i-newswire.com/pr964.html

Not sure I follow this one but ... rock art apparently suggests
that ancient Aboriginal folks tried to save the Tasmanian Tiger
from extinction:

http://tinyurl.com/4u6h8 (ABC)

That Nebra Sky Disk might portray the earliest depiction of a
rainbow:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20041220/rainbow.html

A couple of Temple Mount updates:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/517045.html
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=73822

A history of Christmas celebrations in the U.S.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/opinion/23waits.html

The 'politics' of the gospel birth narrative:

http://tinyurl.com/725yz (Boston Globe)

Geza Vermes on same in the Telegraph:

http://tinyurl.com/64afu

More 'history of Christmas' items:

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/31634.asp
http://tinyurl.com/6fnky (Haddon Herald)

Interesting item on Henry Rawlinson:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006056

Series/debate on the origins of Yiddish:

http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=200412011145
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=200412081148
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=20041215951
http://www.forward.com/main/article.php?ref=20041222906

Coverage of the International Crusader Conference:

http://tinyurl.com/6deck (Jpost)

A history of roses:

http://tinyurl.com/4scba (SF Chronicle)

Modern Zoroastrians:

http://tinyurl.com/5a4ex (SF Chronicle)
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MAGAZINES AND JOURNALS
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Archaeology 58.1 (January/February 2005):

http://www.archaeology.org/curiss/index.html

Assemblage 8 (December 2004):

http://www.shef.ac.uk/assem/issue8/index.html

Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology newsletter:

http://www.spma.org.uk/newsletter/spma60.pdf

Smithsonian Magazine (December 2004):

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/toccurrent.shtml

New Zealand Archaeology:

http://www.nzarchaeology.org/netsubnews.htm

Amphora 3.2:

http://www.apaclassics.org/outreach/amphora/2004/Amphora3.2.pdf
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ON THE WEB
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S. Farmer et al, "The Collapse of the Indus Script Thesis: The
Myth of a Literate Harrappan Civilization":

http://catarina.ai.uiuc.edu/fsw.pdf

The University of Sydney Central Asian Programme's website now
includes a 'new discoveries' section all about work at
Kazakl`i-yatkan:

http://tinyurl.com/59sxn

Historical and Commemorative Medals (16th-19th centuries):

http://www.historicalartmedals.com/
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NEW ONLINE BOOKS
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G.W. Bowersock, *Fiction as History: Nero to Julian*:

http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0489n6b4/

Bezalel Bar-Kochva, *Pseudo Hecataeus, "On the Jews"
Legitimizing the Jewish Diaspora*:

http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft3290051c/

Bulloch, Anthony W., Erich S. Gruen, A.A. Long, and Andrew
Stewart, (eds) *Images and Ideologies: Self-definition in the
Hellenistic World.*:

http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft4r29p0kg/
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CRIME BEAT
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Plenty of items from the sagas/fake department this week ...
first we find out that Oded Golan is to be charged with forgery
in regards to the James Ossuary:

http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=2730020
http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/204445-3103-010.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1414559,00.html
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3923071

background: http://tinyurl.com/3lftt (CBS)

... while that Ivory Pomegranate which supposedly came from
Solomon's Temple has been declared a forgery:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6753063/
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6751037/
http://tinyurl.com/3j6mf (Reuters via Yahoo)
http://tinyurl.com/4xzjo (AP)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518448.html
http://tinyurl.com/6ll6b (Newsday)

An interview with Jane Walsh on detecting fakes:

http://www.archaeology.org/0501/etc/conversations.html

Interesting followup to that piece on the return of a 4th
century artifact to Yemen:

http://tinyurl.com/5hxwb (New York Jewish Times)

That 'tome raider' who purloined books from Wales' National
Library received four years for his efforts:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1413147,00.html

An attempt to smuggle a 9th century buddha out of India was
foiled this week:

http://tinyurl.com/58jlc (NewKerala)

A 'pagan whodunit':

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1409682,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/62lv5 (Telegraph)

The Bactrian Treasure is apparently at risk again:

http://tinyurl.com/4n2em (Independent)

Two Greek men were arrested for trying to sell some amphorae:

http://tinyurl.com/5ghyq (AP via Yahoo)
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BOOK REVIEWS
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Gilgamesh translations:

http://tinyurl.com/6x72z (Plain Dealer)

Horace Freeland Judson, *The Great Betrayal: Fraud in Science*:

http://tinyurl.com/5onsh (American Scientist)

Roger Atwood, *Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, and
the Looting of the Ancient World*:

http://tinyurl.com/5zb7o (Post Dispatch)
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DON'T EAT THAT ELMER (A.K.A. CVM GRANO SALIS)
================================================================
An update/correction to that Atlantis is in Florida story (a
link in the article now works and takes you to the 48 page
report; just reading the intro should suffice):

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb190966.htm
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EXHIBITIONS, AUCTIONS, AND MUSEUM-RELATED
================================================================
Duccio at the Met:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/arts/design/20mado.html

Spain in the Age of Exploration:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/arts/design/24xantiques.html

Rembrandt at the National Gallery:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/arts/design/24voge.html

Facing the Other: Charles Cordier, Ethnographic Sculptor:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/arts/design/24john.html

Closely Focused, Intensely Felt: Selections from the Norma Jean
Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/arts/design/24isla.html

'Blue Periods' in various cultures:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/arts/design/24cott.html

"Nonhegemonic Curating":

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/magazine/12NON.html

cf: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/arts/design/21muse.html

Krieg und Frieden im Alten Ägypten

http://www.damals.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=161672

Moroccan exhibition in Amsterdam:

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12191

Jan de Bray:

http://tinyurl.com/3zh3o (Concord Monitor)

The Colors of White:

http://tinyurl.com/723xl (Washington Post)

Pitt Rivers Museum is expanding:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/4109677.stm
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CLASSICIST'S CORNER
================================================================
Eugene Borza reviews the Alexander movie (leads to a
pdf link):

http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10266

... and Daniel Mendelsohn does the same:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17685

... and Guy Maclean Rogers is getting some press attention for
his work with Alexander as well:

http://tinyurl.com/3vodq (Townsman)
http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=14432

Another interview with Oliver Stone:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/26/movies/26ston.html

Peter Jones in the Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3284-1410963,00.html

Monty Python's 'what have the Romans ever done for us' scene
has been voted the funniest:

http://tinyurl.com/439sl (Mirror)

Virginia JCL coverage:

http://tinyurl.com/69aw8

Plutarch's 'Sayings of Spartan Mothers' and Israel:

http://www.thejewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=4506
================================================================
OBITUARIES
================================================================
Carsten Thiede:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1410653,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/3kb9m (Telegraph)
================================================================
REPEATS
================================================================
Port Angeles graving yard:

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/sited/story/html/181507
http://tinyurl.com/6j2zk (Seattle PI)

Google's Digitizing Project:

http://www.forbes.com/2004/12/14/cz_qh_1214google.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/opinion/21tue2.html

Computer-assisted authentication of paintings:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/arts/23scan.html

Roman Face Cream:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041219170614.htm

Alexander the Great in Venice:

http://tinyurl.com/68sup

Ancient Chinese Booze:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041219134133.htm
================================================================
OTHER SOURCES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS
================================================================
About.com Ancient History (blog):
http://ancienthistory.about.com/

About.com Archaeology (blog):
http://archaeology.about.com/mbody.htm

Archaeologica:
http://www.archaeologica.org/NewsPage.htm

Archaeology in Europe (blog):
http://archaeology.eu.com/weblog/

Archaeology Magazine's Newsbriefs:
http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0305/newsbriefs/index

Bible and Interpretation Breaking News:
http://www.bibleinterp.com/news.htm

CBA Newsfeed:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/newsfeed/index.html

CBA Archaeoblog:
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/archaeoblog/

Classics in Contemporary Culture (blog):
http://www.people.memphis.edu/~mhooker/ccc.html

Cronaca (blog):
http://www.cronaca.com/

Egyptology News (blog):
http://www.egyptology.blogspot.com/

Francis Deblauwe's 'Iraq War and Archaeology' site:
http://cctr.umkc.edu/user/fdeblauwe/iraq.html

Maritime Underwater Archaeological News:
http://www.munarchaeology.com/munarchaeology/news/main.htm

Megalithic Portal
http://www.megalithic.co.uk

Michael Ruggeri's Ancient America and Mesoamerica News:
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/MIKERUGGERISANCIENT

Mirabilis.ca (blog):
http://www.mirabilis.ca

Paleojudaica (blog):
http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com

Stone Pages Archaeo News:
http://www.stonepages.com/news/

Texas A&M Anthropology News Site:
http://www.tamu.edu/anthropology/news.html

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::Sunday, December 26, 2004 9:19:30 AM::