The Archaeological Review

What is This?

2013-03-24T13:08:00.003-07:00

I recently acquired this chicken egg sized object from an art dealer who thought it was a porcelain egg. I however noticed that it had no ventilation hole and as a result would have exploded in the kiln. I suggest it is a fossil perhaps an alligator egg?

Unlike a chicken egg it is not perfectly smooth but has plains and bears no dimpling? I had the thought that it might be carved ivory though I do not think it is heavy enough to be nor heavy enough to be stone?

Any thoughts please do let me know!

Across the Sub Arctics of Canada

2012-12-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

James W. Tyrrell, C.E., D.L.S.
William Briggs
Toronto
Third Revised Edition
1908

In the years 1885, 1893 and 1900 J.B Tyrrell working on behalf of the Canadian Geological survey, and his brother, (the author) James W. Tyrrell conducted three expeditions of the Canadian sub-arctics lying north of the 59th parallel, including surveying as well as documenting the "savage" Eskimos of the region.

The expedition begins "One beautiful May morning" as the author and his brother make final preparations from Toronto to meet up with their team of rustic canoe-men and portagers. Among the team is a recommended man named John Flett who is well experienced and an Eskimo linguist.

Three more members of the team are brothers who are Iroquois experts from Caughnawaga these being Pierre, Louis, and Michel French. While at Fort McMurray two more strong fellows would join the expedition they were James Corrigal and Francois Maurice.

The author J.W. Tyrrell refers to three of the above men as "half breeds", the author than goes on to give explanation for why he has not hired Indians from Lake Athabasca because he considers them to be lazy in disposition. Boarding the train in Toronto begins the five day ride to Edmonton.

"We arrived early on the morning of the 22nd at the busy town of Calgary, pleasantly situated in the beautiful valley of the south branch of the Saskatchewan river, and just within view of the snow-clad peaks of the Rocky mountains." "On the evening of the same day, in the teeming rain, we reached Edmonton".

As the journey continues J.W. says " we reached the height of land between the two great valleys of the Saskatchewan and Athabasca rivers. Here, upon a grassy spot, we made our first camp." The author continues "our slumbers were somewhat broken by the fiendish yells of prairie wolves from the surrounding scrub, and the scarcely less diabolical screams of loons sporting on a pond close by. An effort was made to have the later removed, but any one who has ever tried to shoot loons at night will better understand". Soon the author and his brother come across a moose which they shoot multiple times before killing the poor creature.

I really like the sketches and photographs of the journey and the authors writing style is better than his shot but through only the first few chapters in the authors perception of his fellow man is clearly that of an education of the later Victorian era in which the author classifies people as either Gentleman, half breeds or savages.

Among the indigenous people a man by the Christian name of Moberly agrees to help the expedition find the way but unfortunately the guide is unreasonable and lags sulking behind the members of the expedition. After canoeing to Moberly's village they finally arrive where Moberly pulls a screaming fit and threatens to not lead the men unless they hand over to him a portion of their supplies, with this the men head on without their guide.

The early part of the expedition heads through thick sheets of rain, up hill portages climbing through dense forest and jagged rocks carrying thousands of pounds of supplies and over small lakes as the expedition turns into a fantastic journey and civilization slowly disappears. One of the last stops before heading into the wild of the sub-arctic is at Fort McMurray, a settlement containing five small log buildings and then a number of Indian villages containing Cree tepee's pass by.

As the people disappear the men are joined by huge swarms of mosquito's and black flies and unfortunately James Corrigal receives a gash to his knee but is thankfully still use full. The hardship and sheer brute struggle of the journey shows the men of the expedition to be worthy of the truly heroic challenge facing them.

Pierre turns out to be the strongest canoe man in the bunch with the ability to guide his canoe through the most rugged rapids. The nineteenth century photographs of the people and the journey are truly amazing, thankfully on just about every page they are found.

Soon the trees start to thin out and become more isolated and gnarled, the air becomes colder, the mosquito's go away and glaciers appear. The men now look across a barren rocky landscape covered in mosses and to their good fortune find miles of herds of caribou of which the men kill a couple dozen and spend the next three days cutting up and drying for the long journey they have before them.

Near the outlet of Markham lake the men make a discovery as J.W. explains "It is worthy of note that at this point some very old moss grown "tepee" poles and fragments of birch bark were found, indicating that in days gone by the spot had been visited by Indians". The author goes on to say "There was more than sentiment to us in the fact, for from the old rotten poles, few and small though they were, we built a fire that gave us not a little comfort and cheer."

After a number of days on the lower Dubawnt river navigating ice flows and open water and down pouring rain the cold wet explorers come across at the second rapids signs of people as J.W. tells us "the first unmistakable signs of the recent habitations of Eskimos were discovered, They consist of rings of camp stones, an old bow, several broken arrows, a whip-stock and numerous broken or partly formed willow ribs of a "kyack," or canoe."

The following day down a little stream called the Chamberlain river on the edge of Grant lake the men of the expedition spot their first Eskimo as the author explains "Towards evening we sighted, upon the right bank" "the solitary lodge of an Eskimo. In front of the doorway stood a man gazing towards us, and behind and around him excited women and children were gathered. These were all placed inside the "topick" or lodge, and the door laced up securely. But the man remained outside."

The meeting was cordial with the Eskimos and upon leaving the authors steersman Louis commented that "They are not savage, but real descent people." On the evening of the 26th of august the expedition reached a magnificent body of water known as Aberdeen lake, the author says "a feeling of awe crept over us. We were undoubtedly the first white men who had ever viewed it, and in the knowledge of this fact there was inspiration."

On the page opposite is a photo of one of the men standing next to an Eskimo cairn. From here J.W. goes on to describe the daily life of the Eskimos including types of tools they use and type of animals they hunt also the author goes into their winter and summer homes and the amusements of the people.

The author tells of a ball game where the ball is made up of the bladder of a walrus, J.W. tells us that the game is without rules and says "Here a woman, carrying a child on her back, may be seen running at full speed after the ball, and the next moment lying at full length with her naked child floundering in the snow a few feet beyond her. A minute later the child is in its place, and the mother, nearly chocking with laughter, is seen elbowing her way after the ball again."

J.W. describes Eskimo marriages and the women which is basically the two parties agree they are a couple and go build their own igloo. Of the brides J.W. says " Eskimo brides are usually very young, and often very bonnie creatures. They lose much of their beauty, however, in early life, and at about forty mature into ugly old dames."

As the journey continues much of the men's time is spent hunting for food, as winter begins to approach the canoes become bogged down in the ice and the decision is made to abandon most of their supplies including the rock collection which had been gathered.

With the load lightened and the weather worsening the men make a last dash in their now lighter vessels down the west shore of the Hudson bay the canoes to journey further ends in the ice with no where to go except over the frozen shore.

The men of the expedition are hungry and weary while Michel French's feet have suffered frost bite, Pierre too is physically weak, this is true of the author and his brother while John Flett and Jim Corrigal are in the best condition and agree to go on without the others the remaining fifty or so miles to Fort Churchill to get help for the rest.

The return of John and Jim is only a couple days wait and with them provisions and help gets the expedition party to Fort Churchill where they can rest and recover for a couple weeks while Michel's feet are attended by the doctor there. At Fort Churchill the men gather supplies for the final leg of the journey but due to crippling leg problems both the author and his brother are left to ride bundled on sleds while Michel is left behind to recover.

As the expedition come to its end Pierre and Louis are both crippled from the snowshoes and must be dispatched by horse and sleigh the rest of the journey. The men of the expedition have traveled by canoe and hiking thirty two hundred miles in eight months to accomplish their goal.

The book ends with the author giving a rap up of the assets of Hudson bay including animals, vegetables and minerals. In the end J.W. Tyrrell expresses a great respect for his fellow man but especially for the Eskimo people, his earlier classification of savages and half breeds have been words and not backed by any dislike for his fellow man.To me the books last jewel is it's second appendix, Eskimo vocabulary of words and phrases.

Across the Sub-Arctics of Canada was one of the best most exciting books I have read in a long time though it may be difficult to find I do recommend this wonderful early Canadian adventure, truly heroic!

Good Old Miss Baker

2012-12-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

This is Miss Baker she was a squirrel monkey along with another monkey named Miss Able were the first two living animals launched into space by the United States on May 28, 1959 and recovered alive. Miss Able died four days later from Anesthetic shock while Miss Baker went on to live a celebrity life for another twenty five years.

Notes: Find a grave

Stolen and Never to be Seen Again

2012-11-30T17:38:00.003-08:00

This massive painting nearly six meters tall was painted by Caravaggio in 1609 and was stolen from above the alter at the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo, Italy in October of 1969. The painting is believed to have been stolen by two thieves perhaps working on behalf of the Mafioso for a collector. Sadly after the robbery the oratory was robbed of more pieces of it's art.

Thirty years later a former member of the mafia said that he had been told that before the painting could be delivered it was hidden in a farm building where it was badly damaged by rats and pigs and the remaining canvas was burned.

If you any information on the whereabouts of the painting please contact the F.B.I.

The Kings Lost Jewels

2012-10-14T16:34:00.003-07:00

Recently the king of Ghana was robbed of his jewels while visiting Norway. Police are looking for two suspects caught on film from the lobby of the Oslo Radisson Blu Plaza hotel. I would imagine it is being melted as we speak. Looks like King Osei Tutu II may have to have them remade. This reminded me of the Irish royal jewels stolen at the start of the last century and never seen again. I also found an interesting link to other sets of royal jewels. Make sure you check out the links on the most expensive jewels at auction. As for poor King Tutu I am sure he will be just fine without his bling. Photo:Martin Oeser/AFP/Getty Images

Tomb of the Maya Queen Ka'bel

2012-10-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

The tomb of an important 7th century Maya Queen K'abel has been found in Guatemala. The find is especially important as it is one of only a handful of Maya graves where the owners name is known. The article is interesting and thorough well worth a read with nice images and a video. Photo: Courtesy of EL PERU WAKA REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

Rothko Vanalised at the Tate Modern

2012-10-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

A so called artist has scrawled graffiti on Mark Rothko's "Black on Maroon". The gallery was shut for a short time while the museum asses the situation. Photo Courtesy: WrightTG

1600 Year Old Mayan Temple Found

2012-07-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

This is a nice article with pictures of the discovery of a 1600 year old temple with large stucco masks depicting phases of the sun beneath a pyramid in Guatamala dedicated to the Mayan King Pa' Chan founder of the El Zotz dynasty. Photo: AFP / PROYECTO ARQUEOLOGICO AFP

STOLEN: Olive Tree near Estaque

2012-06-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

On May 10, 2010 a lone robber entered The Musee d'Art de la Ville de Paris at a little past 3:45 in the morning and cut from their frames five works by Picasso, Mattise and Braque including two minor works by Leger and Modigliani.

Anyone with information should contact Interpol.

Photo: Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

The Great Temple of the Aztec's

2012-04-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Eduardo Matos Moctezuma
Thames and Hudson Ltd
London
1988
ISBN 0-500-27752-4

My friends and I are in agreement of this book from the start that the pictures are first rate especially of the caches found among the ruins of the temple. Archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma opens the book with his resume leading up to his appointment as head of the Great Temple Project in 1977.

The aim of the project was to excavate the precincts of the great temple of the Aztec's in the heart of Mexico city, Tenochtitlan as the Aztec's called the city. At the time Hernan Cortez saw the city in the lake the population of the city was about 250 000. When the Spaniard's conquered the city they destroyed the great pyramid and its precincts, erecting colonial buildings on top of the temple ruins.

The author begins with a description of Mexico city of today and in historical times, the rise of the Aztecs and the creation of the city. We are also told of early discoveries of important monuments of Tenochtitlan including the eighteenth century discovery of the great calendar stone.

Mr. Moctezuma is next on to the history of the Aztecs and the foundation of the city. The pictures of the jaguar with a jade ball in his mouth and of a "chacmool" statue are wonderful. The great temple is really a series of seven temples built over top of one another.

The temple has two staircases to the summit and at the top of each stand two shrines one is dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, a god who is represented by fetishes, a god of war and patron deity of the city. The other Tlaloc, god of water and fertility. Interesting picture of eight life size statues found near the base of the steps of the Huitzilopochtli shrine of the stage III temple.

Soon we start into the incredible images of the many caches found during excavations including a cache of forty two sacrificed children and hundreds of artifacts including beautifully made clay pots and masks carved in stone, animals and seashells, often only certain parts of the animals.

The author beaks down the material found into Aztec material and tribute material including antiques from the even more ancient site of Teotihuacan. Particularly of interest are the skull masks which incorporate human skulls inlaid with shells and hematite while a green stone mask in the Teotihuacan style with obsidian eyes is very life like.

The images in the book said from the start that it was going to be interesting while Eduardo Moctezuma's recounting of the history of the city, it's inhabitants and its great temple was inclusive for young adults and up. Such a complicated story was simply put forward with the skill and prestige possessed by it's author and excavator of "The Great Temple of the Aztecs".

Musee del Templo Mayor

Photo: Thelmadatter

Across the Sub-Arctics of Canada

2012-04-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

Royal British Columbia Museum

2012-04-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

This display in the Royal British Columbia Museum was very moving.

More Pictures of Titanic

2012-03-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

The good people at National Geographic have released a series of photo's of the Titanic including optical mosaics which the viewer can get close up views of the ship.

Robbing the Officials Tomb

2012-03-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

This article from China is on the robbery of a tomb of an official buried in 1882. The tomb was robbed once before however at that time the mummy in the tomb was respected .

In this case the mummy is left lying on the ground in a disheveled state, very sad. Hopefully he can be reburied in his tomb and forgotten.

The article comes with a number of good pictures.

Confirming Van Gogh

2012-03-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here we have a historically disputed painting from the collection of the Kroeller-Mueller Museum some believe was painted by Vincent Van Gogh while other critics have long disagreed saying that the canvas was too big and that there were too many flowers in the painting to be Van Gogh.

An Xray of the painting clearly shows another painting underneath of two wrestlers which coincides with a letter Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he was pleased with a large canvas of two wrestlers he had painted.

The Man Who Cried "Van Gogh"

2012-03-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

Dirk Hannema was a well known museum curator and an art collector of the 20th century who was mocked by his peers for his grandiose opinions of his art collection. Mr. Hannema believed at one time that he owned seven unidentified paintings by Vermeer and a number of unknown works by Van Gogh.

Mr. Hannema was almost always wrong but in the case of this Van Gogh "Le-Bute-Fin-Windmill" which he donated to the Zwolle's Museum de Fundatie in 1984 has been proven by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to be authentic and painted by Van Gogh while visiting his brother Theo in Paris in 1886.

Airship Auiction

2012-03-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here we have a wonderful set of photo's of Zeppelins and views from them of various European sites. The article is based on a huge collection of Zeppelin artifacts going to a series auctions.

The British businessman who owns the collection has put it together for the last 40 years and had the intention of opening a museum. The collection will be broken up into a series of sales with the funds from the sales to go to charity.

Picture: BNPS.co.uk

"James Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus" Verdict

2012-03-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

As it arrived in Toronto the staff at the Royal Ontario Museum opened the crate and to the horror of those present realized that the ossuary had broken on it's journey from Israel. The ossuary inscribed "James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" is believed by some to be the only archaeological evidence of Jesus of Nazarath though the three names in the inscription are common.

Back in Israel the police were investigating the ossuary's owner artifacts collector Oded Golan until in 2004 then the police layed their charges and seized the ossuary which they found on a toilet in Mr. Golan's home. Experts are at odds with the ossuary with some claiming it's inscription as a forgery while other point to a patina within the inscription that proves it is old still others believe that part of the inscription is new.

After a turbulent decade Mr. Golan has been found not guilty of forging the inscriptions on the ossuary and the 3000 year old Jehoash tablet which records restorations to the first temple by king Jehoash. Mr. Golan has long held that he had purchased the pieces from Arab dealers and that he did not forge the inscriptions.

Photo:Paradiso, The James ossuary was at the Royal Ontario museum from November 15 2002 to January 5 2003

Fragments of Mosaics

2012-03-06T13:39:00.001-08:00

A recent article on a study by Bowling Green State University of mosaics in it's collection has the Turkish Antiquities authority asking for the mosaics to be returned. The find spot has been assumed to be Zeugma Turkey though no proof has come to light.

The University recently had the mosaics restored and place under glass in the floor of the new Wolfe Center of the Arts. The New York art dealer who sold the mosaics to Bowling Green University in 1965 for $35,000, said that they had come from the ancient site of Antioch.

That the mosaics have been chopped up into manageable fragments points to the work of smugglers as a mosaic of this magnificence would have either been left whole at the site of it's discovery or brought whole to a local museum, not butchered up and passed on to the New York art market?

The archaeological site of Zeugma was heavily looted in the 1960's and excavated in the early years of the 21rst century before a hydroelectric damn submerged the site. In these excavations archaeologists excavated dozens of stunning mosaics which are now in the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum.

Bowling Green State University officials are looking into their collection and the legal issues to see if the origins of the mosaics can be proved and where their collection legally belongs.

Photo: Roberto Nardi

The Titanic Cemetery

2012-03-01T17:24:00.001-08:00

This is an article on the ethics of removing artifacts from the Titanic and selling them. The issue is hot as an auction of Titanic artifacts estimated worth $200 million is about to take place on the 100th anniversary of the ships sinking.

The article refers to R.M.S. Titanic as a grave when in reality it is not but rather it is a cemetery. However the cemetery is two and a half miles under the Atlantic ocean.

Certainly the ships 1985 discovery was the worst thing that could have happened to the Titanic cemetery and ever since hundreds of objects have been removed. The ethics to excavating a modern cemetery and removing it's monuments for sale are obvious.

Others might say since the cemetery is inaccessible to the public that in fact they are preserving the artifacts as well as the memory of the ship and her occupants. The wreck of the Titanic is of course more of an exception in that the ships fame will probably always make artifacts from it valuable commodities.

How safe can the wreck of the Titanic really be even though it is a cemetery it is still much like most other cemetery's and will eventually be emptied for profit, intellectual and/or monetary reward.

In the last chapter of Paul Brunton's 1936 book "A Search in Secret Egypt" we are presented with "An Adept's solemn message" which is a warning about the opening of graves and the dark forces which release diseases upon the world.

This is perhaps an exaggeration for what much of society feels about disturbing modern graves, which by nature arouses primitive instincts and offends our own desires to be left undisturbed after death.

Archaeology is all about opening graves so at what date do we establish the no touch line? Clearly in this case no government had the right to say as the ship is in international waters.

The Titanic is mythical in it's scale and as a result the proper time to excavate(?) has been taken on by those there with the technology to take it on at the time. To my knowledge no intrinsically valuable object has come from the cemetery?

The rapid decay of the ship over the last 27 years since it's discovery may be the result of these visits for artifacts and limited knowledge.

As a boy of the 1970,s the Titanic was just as mythical as it is today except back them we wondered if she would ever be found? More than forty years later that answer is old news but the great ship is no less mythical in proportions.

Nothing has dimmed the mystery's of the Titanic thus it must be acknowledged that these artifacts from the Titanic are probably good investments. Though the attempt is to sell the collection whole.

Cosmetics in Antiquity

2012-02-28T14:51:00.001-08:00

It is interesting the importance which makeup has played in various cultures around the world including Israel. I found this at the Israel Antiquities Authority and found it to be an interesting display of cosmetic accouterments.

Image: Israel Antiquities Authority

The 32 000 Year Old Flower

2012-02-22T17:24:00.001-08:00

Russian scientist's have taken fruit buried for 32 000 years by a squirrel and used parts of the fruit to grow a living plant from the material. The fruit was found buried 20-40 meters down in a riverbank where the scientists believe it was frozen soon after the squirrel buried it and has never thawed as apparent from vertical ice crystals at the site.

The plant is of a specie Silene Stenophylla which still grows in Russia's Siberian tundra though the plant has subtle differences in the shape of the petals and sex of the flowers to the modern plant. It has been grown using placental tissue from the fruit and not a mature seed.

Till this point the oldest plant material to produce a modern plant was found in Israel at Masada but that date palm seed was only 2 000 years old.

Theft in Montreal

2012-02-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has had two of it's pieces stolen including this Assyrian relief and a marble head. The Insurance company AXA Art is offering a substantial reward for the return of the pieces but would not specify.

It is also offering $10,000 to anyone who can identify the man caught on the museums closed circuit camera. A second older man is also being sought.

Photo: ((AXA ART))

Snow Damages Colluseum

2012-02-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Snow has fallen heavily this year in Italy as a result a number of historic buildings have experienced the collapse of their roofs including in Urbino where a partial collapse has happened at the convents of San Francesco and San Bernardino and another at the church of the Capuchins. There is also water damage as a result to the towns 12th century Duomo cathedral.

Nearby in the town of Urbania paintings and ancient globes had to be removed from the towns Ducal palace for fear of collapse. In Rome fragments have fallen off the Colosseum which is due for a restoration in March at the expense of billionaire Diego Della Valle.

Photo: Alberto Pizzoli, AFP

Antiquities Dealer Robert Hecht Dies

2012-02-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

Controversial classical antiquities dealer Robert Hecht has died at age 92 only weeks after his trial for trafficking in antiquities ended as a result that the statute of limitation had expired. Of Hecht a former curator said: could be "charming, very, very intelligent, but he could also turn, be very hostile, very sarcastic, very sinister".

One of Hecht's most important sales was the 6th century bc Etruscan masterpiece known as the Euphronios krater which Hecht sold to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art for a million dollars in 1972. The terracotta krater is the most complete of the 27 known surviving pieces painted by the ancient Greek artist Euphronios.

In Hecht's unpublished biography he says he bought the krater from sources who had just dug it up from tombs outside of Rome. Hecht also provided many pieces to the John Paul Getty Museum and other museums and collectors.

In 2006 the M.E.T. signed an agreement with Italy and returned the vase along with a number of other pieces while the Getty museum returned dozens of Antiquities acquired through Hecht including last year a limestone and marble statue of Aphrodite.