Following Odysseus Not the end of the world Amarna city of light ...

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012minervamagazine.comConstantinethe GreatWas he reallya Christian?Amarnacity of lightAkhenaten’snew capitalNot the endof the worldWhat did theMayan calendarreally predict?FollowingOdysseusHow Homer’s heroinspires films,music and booksQueens of EgyptNefertiti, the most beautiful woman in the world,and Cleopatra, the wickedest?Volume 23 Number 6Lady Carnarvon talks about Howard Carter, the 5th Earlof Carnarvon and Highclere Castle’s Egyptian connections£5.95

inthenewsrecent stories from the world of ancient art and archaeologyA Roman shipwreck in AntibesA team of French archaeologists from theInstitut National de RecherchesArchéologiques Préventives (INRAP) haveuncovered a Roman shipwreck in Antibesin what was once part of the bustlingancient port of Antipolis. It all started witha routine exploration prior to the buildingof an underground car park on the site ofthe ancient harbour basin, which silted upin antiquity and today is located betweenthe modern marina and the ramparts.A preliminary diagnosis carried out in2007 by core-boring (the bottom of theancient port is 4 to 5 metres below today’ssea level) revealed archaeological materialfrom the third century BC to roughly thesixth century AD, and the possibility offinding a shipwreck was not ruled out.Excavation proper could only start whenseawater was pumped out of the basin, inearly 2012. Layers of sediment wereexamined and numerous objects extracted.Because the sediment was below sea level, ithelped to preserve organic material such aswood, leather (used for the soles of shoes)and cork (stoppers for amphorae). Thewreck itself was uncovered during theexcavation of the last section, lying on itsside in shallow water (less than 1.60metres below the ancient sea level), andthe preserved section is over 15 metres.In conjunction with the Camille JullianCentre, INRAP commissioned a specialistin naval archaeology to analyse andinterpret this important find.The remains consist of a keel andseveral hull planks joined together bythousands of wooden pegs inserted intomortises hollowed out in the planks.About 40 transverse ribs (shown right) arelying on top, some fixed to the hull bymetal pins. The wood used is mainlyconifer. Parts of the hull are reinforced bylead plating held in place by small nails.Tool marks (saw and adze) are also clearlyvisible, as is the pitch used to make thehull watertight. This was a medium-sizedtrading sailing boat (20-22 metres long, 6-7metres wide, with a hold about 3 metresdeep). The fact that the hull was not builtover a frame and that the ribs were onlythere to reinforce it, confirm the datingsuggested both by stratigraphy and by theceramics collected near the vessel: aroundthe second century AD. The ship can beclassified as a typical imperial Roman vesseltrading in the western Mediterranean. Thewreck has been taken apart and sent off tothe ARC-Nucléart laboratory in Grenoble,which specialises in treating ancientwaterlogged wood. In 18 months’ time it willbe reassembled and exhibited in Antibes.Nicole BenazethWinner of the Minerva/Peten Travels Prize DrawIn our January/February issue we announceda Prize Draw for a 16-day archaeologicaltour of Ancient Anatolia for two (worthover £6,500). Here, the lucky winner,Roald Knutsen, describes his trip:‘When I heard that I had been fortunateenough to win the Hittites and Phrygianstour arranged by Peten Travels of Istanbul(www.petentour.com), I could hardly believemy luck. My personal interest in the regionlies in the ancient trade routes that led eastalong the famed Silk Road, so here was a rareopportunity not to be missed.‘It is difficult to outline briefly all wesaw, as we visited so many importantancient sites scattered across the Anatolianplain. But I will say that at each of them– ranging from the Phrygian capital ofGordion, near the tomb of King Midas’father, to the incredible 10,000-year-oldsite of Catal Höyük, an ancient city whichonce had a population of 8,000 people –we were welcomed and guided round themby the excavation director himself or asenior archaeologist. Their enthusiasm wasboundless and infectious, and their patiencewas unexpected and exemplary.‘Besides these two famous excavations,our tour also included Kaman-Kale Höyük,Pteria, Alaca Höyük, ŞSapinuwa, the cityremains of Bogazköy-Hattusa, Kültepe andAçik Höyük, the neo-Hittite rock relief ofKing Warpalawas at the mountain site of Ivriz.‘We saw buildings from all periods, ancientto early medieval, temples and other sacredplaces, ancient sculpture and excellently laidoutmodern museums displaying the mostimportant finds. Outstanding for me wasto see one of the three surviving cuneiformtexts of the peace treaty between the Hittiteleader Muwatalli and the Egyptian pharaohRamesses II after the Battle of Kadesh.‘Throughout the tour, put together by MrsIffet Ozgonul, Director of Peten Travels,we were accompanied by an excellent andknowledgeable guide and supported byMinerva. If ancient Anatolia interests you,don’t hesitate – book your place now.’Minerva/Peten Travels Prize Draw winner RoaldKnutsen by the Sphinx Gate at the entrance toAlaca Höyük, a Hittite city on the Anatolian plain.Photo by Simon CrittendenMinerva November/December 20123

inthenewsLost Roman town resurfacesHaving lain dormant for 1,500 years, thetown of Interamna Lirenas, 50 miles southof Rome, has been rediscovered and ischanging scholars’ view of the nature ofRoman colonial settlements.Long known about from the writings ofthe Roman historian Livy and the Greekgeographer Strabo, Interamna Lirenas hadalways been seen as a quiet town of littleconsequence, which followed the standardtemplate of urban development. But therecent work of a collaborative projectinvolving Cambridge University, the BritishSchool at Rome, the British Academy andthe Italian State Archaeological Service hasshed more light on this supposed backwater.The exact location of the town, in theLiri Valley in Southern Lazio, was gleanedfrom ancient sources. The fact that it wasstill unexcavated, and was thought tohave developed relatively little during theImperial Roman era, made the town anideal candidate to accurately reflectoriginal colonial settlement features.Led by Martin Millett, LaurenceProfessor of Classical Archaeology atCambridge and Fellow of FitzwilliamCollege, and Dr Alessandro Launaro,Postdoctoral Fellow at the British Academyand Fellow of Darwin College, the teamknew that a full-scale excavation of thesite, which covers more than 25 hectares,would be impractical, so they started withgeophysical mapping.By using a combination of scientifictechniques – ground-penetrating radar andmagnetometry – the team began to buildup a picture of the original street plan, andspecific features came to the fore.The greatest surprise was the appearanceof a building with radially arranged wallsand tiered seats within, which soonrevealed itself to be a Roman theatre.This suddenly changed the perceptionof this town as a small settlement.With its dominant temple and forum,Interamna Lirenas distinguishes itselfconsiderably from nearby Fregellae,which is also on the Via Latina – theprincipal road leading south-east out ofRome – and which was previously thoughtto be a comparable colonial town.Millett explained the significance of thefind: it challenges the formerly held viewthat Rome projected a certain image ofitself by building all colonial towns to apattern, and hence organising what thecommunities’ priorities would be, a viewthis discovery now challenges.There are hopes that excavation maybegin again in earnest in summer 2013,starting with the northern corner, whichincorporates the theatre and the forum,this would hopefully allow the precisedating of these structures. The local mayorhopes to turn what is know an unassumingstretch of farmland into an archaeologicalpark in the future.Geoff LowsleyDental detritus reveals useful factsThe idea of picking throughsomeone else’s dental detrituswould fill most of us withhorror, but it is by doing exactlythis that Christina Warriner,of the Centre for EvolutionaryMedicine at the Universityof Zurich, is gleaning valuableinformation about the livesof Iranian miners who died2,000 years ago.Archaeological geneticistsstudy some of the more unusualelements of the material remainsof our ancestors to gain aninsight into the past. Fromanimal, plant and bacterialremains to human tissue, boneand teeth, all the biomoleculesleft in what was once livingcan pass down a vast amountof information about thesurrounding environment.Warriner explained howmillions of threads of DNAbelonging to bacteria thatinhabited the mouth and throatare captured in dental calculus(commonly called plaque).Extracting and examiningthese DNA threads should‘allow us to investigate thelong-term evolutionary historyof human health and disease,right down to the genetic codeof individual pathogens, and itshould allow us to reconstruct adetailed picture of the dynamicinterplay between diet, infectionand immunity that occurredthousands of years ago’.Her particular area of interestis the mummies of miners fromthe salt mines of Chehr Abad,in north-west Iran, dating fromthe 4th century BC to the 4thcentury AD. The bodies of menwere naturally preserved bydesiccation when the salt minescollapsed. Unlike Egyptianmummies, they did not havetheir organs removed and,incredibly, some of the tissueis still intact.The aim of her project is tofind evidence for an inheritedgenetic trait, a deficiency inthe enzyme G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase),which causes anaemia, aparticularly common conditionin modern-day Iran.It has been postulated thatmany of today’s digestivedisorders may be precipitatedby modern food-productiontechniques causing an imbalancein the bacteria within the gut.It is possible that identifying thebacteria carried by our ancestorscould help to determine what isa healthy balance.This type of study need not belimited to digestive conditions,however. Warriner explains:‘Diseases and disorders such asperiodontitis, heart disease,allergies and diabetes all have anevolutionary component relatedto the fact that we live in adifferent environment to the onein which our bodies evolved.’So we may also learn valuablelessons that can help in modernmedical treatment.While dentists tell us to brushour teeth regularly, we arefortunate that those before uswere not schooled in dentalhygiene, as we now have thisinvaluable archaeologicalrecord written in their plaque.Geoff LowsleyChristina Warriner examines amandible showing dental calculusand ante-mortem tooth loss in aDNA clean labcourtesy of Christina Warinner4

Ancient obsidian trade inSyria reflects current conflictDr Ellery Frahm, an archaeologistfrom the University of Sheffield,has revealed the origin andtrading routes of razor-sharpstone tools 4,200 years ago inSyria, where many ancient sitesare under threat due tothe current conflict.An interdisciplinary researchteam hopes this new discovery,which has major implicationsfor understanding the world’sfirst empire, will help tohighlight the importance ofprotecting Syria’s heritage.Obsidian, naturally occurringvolcanic glass, is smooth, hard,and far sharper than a surgicalscalpel when fractured, makingit a highly desirable raw materialfor crafting stone tools duringmost of human history. In fact,obsidian tools continued to beused throughout the ancientMiddle East for millennia afterthe introduction of metals,and obsidian blades are stillused today as scalpels in somespecialised medical procedures.Researchers from socialand earth sciences studiedobsidian tools excavated fromthe archaeological site of TellMozan, in Syria. Using newmethods and technologies, theteam successfully uncovered thehitherto unknown origins andmovements of this coveted rawmaterial during the Bronze Age,more than four millennia ago.Most obsidian at Tell Mozan,and surrounding archaeologicalsites, came from volcanoes some200km away in Eastern Turkey;this can be confirmed by modelsof ancient trade developed byarchaeologists over the last fivedecades. However, the teamalso discovered a set of exoticartefacts made from obsidianoriginating from a volcanoin central Turkey, three timesfurther away. Just as importantas their distant origin is wherethe artefacts were found: a royalpalace courtyard.They were left there duringthe height of the world’s firstempire, the Akkadian Empire– the Akkadians invaded Syriain the Bronze Age. These findshave exciting implications forunderstanding links betweenresources and empires in theMiddle East.Dr Frahm, Marie CurieExperienced Research Fellowat the University of Sheffield’sDepartment of Archaeology,who led the research said: ‘Thisis a rare, if not unique, discoveryin Northern Mesopotamiathat enables new insightsinto changing Bronze Ageeconomics and geopolitics. Wecan identify where an obsidianartefact originated because eachvolcanic source has a distinctive“fingerprint”. This is whyobsidian sourcing is a powerfulmeans of reconstructing pasttrade routes, social boundaries,and other information thatallows us to engage in majorsocial science debates.’Not only did Dr Frahm andhis collaborators identify theparticular volcano where theobsidian originated, they wereable to pinpoint two particularareas on the exact flank of themountain where it was collected.Such specificity was possibleusing a combination of scientifictechniques, including a portableX-ray analyser and instrumentsthat measure weak magneticsignals within rocks.The earliest techniques ofmatching Middle East obsidianartefacts to their volcanicorigins were developed partlyat the University of Sheffield byColin Renfrew, Lecturer in theDepartment of Prehistory andArchaeology from 1965 to 1972.Dr Frahm commented: ‘Studyingthe use and origin of obsidianreveals some compellingparallels with the modern-dayMiddle East and has resonancewith issues that the region facestoday. For example, we thinkthat invading powers, intent oncontrolling access to valuableresources, would have facedresistance to occupation fromsmall states across the regionruled by peoples who wereethnic minorities elsewhere inthe Middle East.‘A mountain insurgency couldhave resulted in a blockadeof natural resources, and thecolonisers may have been forcedto instead seek resources frommore distant sources and forgealliances with other regionalpowers to raise their status. Thiswas 4,200 years ago during the31Bronze Age – the parallels tothe recent history of the area areextraordinary. I went to Syria asan American after the US hadcalled Syria part of the “Axisof Evil”, and only had positiveexperiences there. The degree ofhospitality I encountered wasextraordinary. Perfect strangerstook me into their homes duringmy journey from Damascusto the site, which involved anine-hour bus-ride through thedesert. I was welcomed, fed,offered a shower and changeof clothes, introduced to familyand friends, and shown around.‘The current situation inSyria is tragic and precarious.It can be so overwhelming andheartbreaking that I have to takea break from it which, unlike thepeople who are living throughthe fighting, I have the luxuryof doing. Whatever the futureholds, there will be a lot of workto do there, both humanitarianand archaeological, and I’mvery much interested in theinterfaces between them. Howcan archaeology perhaps helpSyria recover from this?’• Dr Frahm’s original paper ispublished online in the Journalof Archaeological Research atwww.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440311004857.University of sheffield21. Dr Ellery Frahm, Marie CurieExperienced Research Fellowat the University of Sheffield’sDepartment of Archaeology.2. Some of the ancient obsidianblades, dating from 4,200 yearsago, excavated at the site.3. The site of Tell Mozan in Syriais situated near the border withTurkey and Iraq.Minerva November/December 20125

inthenewsMystery red head identifiedA fine, Roman, red porphyryhead, recently sold by theTemple Gallery in London,has been identified as that of aTetrarch, dating from the early4th century AD.Because of its Julio-Claudianhairstyle, at first glance thehead appears to belong to thebeginning of the Roman Imperialperiod, circa 50 BC – circa AD 50.But this retrospective look wasprobably intentional becauseany dynasty, particularly duringinsecure times – and these timeswere indeed insecure – wouldclearly want to proclaim itslegitimacy by linking itself to animpressive imperial lineage.There is a very similarexample in the Vatican (exceptthat it is a complete bust) thatis said to be Constantius II(d. 361). This bust, now inthe Museo Pio Clementi, wasacquired in 1772 from PrincessCornelia Costanza Barberiniso, unlike the famous porphyrysarcophagi of Constantine andHelena, it cannot be said thatthis item has resided on theVatican Hill since late Romantimes – but that is not to saythe bust has not been in Romesince it was made. This andthe London head are closelyrelated, made at the same time6and possibly in the same atelier,probably in Rome.The style of the Londonhead is quite different to themore crude style of porphyrysculpture emanating fromEastern Europe – like thatof the massive, full-lengthTetrarchs (scandalously lootedfrom Constantinople in 1204)that now stand outside theDuomo in Venice.Roman portraiture hadbecome increasingly lessrealistic by the end of the3rd century, as easily datablecoins show, and images of theemperor and members of hisfamily were hardly portraits butmore properly representationsof the high office that they held.The London head is inexcellent condition. The face hasbeen polished in recent times –during the Renaissance or later(there is no way of knowingexactly when) – but despite thisthe original form has not beenmarkedly altered.Still apparent is the ethereal,rather dreamy expression ofthe eyes and countenance, firstused in AD 313 or shortlybefore, at about the timewhen Christianity became theRome’s state religion although,in fact, this look is derivedFour views of the red porphyry head of a Tetrarch recently identified byRichard Falkiner at the Temple Gallery in London. This head is related toone in the Vatican and two others (still attached to their original pillars)in the Louvre. The back view clearly shows how this one was damagedwhen it was wrenched from its column.from posthumous images ofAlexander the Great, who diedin 323 BC, particularly on thecoins of Lysimachus (d. 281 BC).It seems to me that theLondon head is one of anoriginal group of four; the otherthree being the Vatican head andtwo other busts, still attached totheir original pillars, that are inthe Louvre. Like them, both theVatican and the London headswere also originally attachedto pillars. This is demonstratedby similar damage to the backof both heads. The back ofthe London head has a chipand the hair below it down tothe nape of the neck has beenre-cut and the back of the neckshows re-polishing. The surfaceof the hair on the rest of thehead shows some wear but there-cut hair is crisp and new. TheVatican head exhibits similartraits and this damage is clearlywhere the integral plain supporthas been torn away.This corpus constitutes agroup of four heads that wouldbe consistent with their being aset of Tetrarchs. The attributionis further strengthened by the factthat this group of four heads isnot replicated elsewhere.It should be conceded thatthe two examples in the Louvrehave been recorded as the headsof Nerva (AD 96-98) and Trajan(AD 98-117). There is also aporphyry head of Trajan in theGlyptotheque Ny Carlsberg,Copenhagen that is probablyco-eval with them, althoughit might date to the early 2ndcentury AD.Recent research, however,suggests later dates (early4th century) for both theCopenhagen and Louvre headsas the earlier dates that havebeen attributed to them arebefore Imperial porphyry wasmore generally available.The identification of this newhead at the Temple Gallery isan exciting event matched onlyby my finding, in 1993, ofanother porphyry (the head ofan emperor) that now residesin the Ashmolean Museum.Richard FalkinerMinerva November/December 2012temple gallery/claire nathan

ObituaryMr Mellaartcomfortable caves and a hunter-gathererexistence, to settle beside the spring atJericho and build a village based on agricultureand the domestication of animals –the first definite evidence of a link betweenthe historical past and prehistory, some timearound 9500 BC. It was Jimmy’s scepticismthat had been the trigger for this momentousdiscovery.James Mellaart was born in 1925 inLondon, of a Dutch father and an Irishmother. The family moved to Amsterdamin 1932, where his mother died and hisfather remarried, moving in 1940 moved toMaastricht. As a young man Jimmy workedat the National Museum of Antiquitiesin Leiden and studied Egyptology. Hereturned to England in 1947 to start a BA atUniversity College in London.Jimmy was conspicuously proud of hisScots ancestry, as a member of the Maclartyclan, a branch of the Macdonalds. Thisled to a fervent admiration of everythingScottish and a lifetime’s happy consumptionof whisky, one of the many endearingaspects of his singular personality.In England he participated in one ofKathleen Kenyon’s postwar excavations atSutton Walls, an Iron Age site in south-westEngland. He graduated from the Instituteof Archaeology in 1951, and was promptlygiven a two-year Fellowship at the BritishInstitute of Archaeology at Ankara (BIAA).There he devoted himself to exploring muchof south-western Turkey, either on foot orusing buses and trains for transport. It wasthen that he revealed his remarkable stamina,tireless in his search for Chalcolithicand Bronze Age sites, of which he foundnumerous examples, including Beycesultan.He also learned fluent colloquial Turkishby staying overnight in villages anywherehe could find a bed, and being interrogatedby his inquisitive hosts about his motivesbefore being allowed to go to sleep.In 1952 he met Arlette Cenani, whom hemarried in 1954 and who bore him a son,Alan, in 1955. This was also the momentwhen the curious incident of the DorakAffair happened. As he told the story, he wasaccosted while on a train journey to Izmirby an attractive young Greek woman, AnnaPapastrati, wearing an ancient gold bracelet.She took him into her confidence, told himthe bracelet was part of a fabulous treasurehoard reputedly unearthed in the village ofDorak in Bursa province. She then invitedhim back to her house to see the hoard andallowed him to draw it and to make notesabout it. In return he gave his word to keepMinerva November/December 2012it secret (which he did) until she told himhe could release the news. But she and thehoard both vanished into thin air. In 1958,he revealed his manuscript of over 60,000words and annotated drawings, which werethen published in the Illustrated LondonNews. This caused a sensation, and a publicoutcry in Turkey, which accused him ofbeing a party to a criminal theft. He deniedthe charge, and an independent investigationby the BIAA exonerated him. The entiremanuscript has remained locked up by theBIAA till this very day. The few individualswho have seen it were astonished by thedepth and detail of his record, which wentway beyond the imagination of any scholar.The truth of the Dorak Affair has gone withJimmy to his grave.Arlette was his devoted partner at thistime and remained so for the rest of his life.I remember meeting both of them when Iwas passed on by Kathleen to Seton Lloyd,Director of the BIAA, to work as a draughtsmanbetween her seasons at Jericho, followedby a similar instruction to SinclairHood, Director of the British School ofArchaeology in Athens, to keep me occupiedin Athens and subsequently at Knossos.At Beycesultan, where Seton Lloyd andJimmy were working in tandem, I again waspaid a nominal sum, and accommodated in atent in the grounds of the old AnatolianThe formidable archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon,or the Great Sitt, as she was known to the Arabworkmen who helped her excavate Jerichoduring the 1950s. (Photograph PA)house in the village which housed the archaeologists.One day, working on the site, I contractedsunstroke and was carried back to thevillage in a bullock cart. Arlette, who wasacting as interpreter, photographer and generalmanager, took a maternal interest in myrecovery. Later I stayed with the Mellaarts inArlette’s stepfather’s magnificent wooden yaliat Kanlica, on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.Sadly it was destroyed by a fire which alsoburnt many of Jimmy’s excavation notes.Seton Lloyd was a highly intelligent manwho early on recognised Jimmy’s extraordinarytalents, making him Assistant Directorof the BIAA from 1959 to 1961 and, as Ihave said, jointly excavating Beycesultanwith him. The only thing that disconcertedme was the fact that Jimmy proceeded toredraw all my pottery drawings. I realisedmany years later that this was not becausethey were inaccurate, but simply to etchthe images in his own prodigious memory.That this can happen I can testify from myown experience, for I can remember almostto this day thousands of drawings I madeat Jericho, which are indelibly etched intomy consciousness.I also remember being asked to make acopy of a wall painting at Beycesultan whichthey were convinced depicted a man leapingover a bull’s horns. I simply could notsee this, and decided I would just copy themarks on the wall as best I could. They wereperfectly happy with the result.Jimmy’s real moment of glory came withhis discovery of Çatal Höyük in 1958 andits subsequent excavation. This conclusivelyproved that the development of mankindwas not limited to the Levant and theFertile Crescent, but extended westwardinto the Cenani Anatolian heartland. Thisrevolutionary discovery gave him fame andsecured his immortality. Its extensive settlementand extraordinary array of artefactscan be dated to circa 7500-5700 BC.Finally established as Lecturer inAnatolian Archaeology at the Institute ofArchaeology in London, and disdainfulof committees and any formal academicresponsibilities, James Mellaart inspiredgenerations of young scholars with his sheerenthusiasm and breadth of knowledge.His name has been linked to the conceptof genius, which he may well have been.But for his many friends he will be rememberedmuch more as a lovable human being,with all those eccentricities that made himutterly unique.• James Mellaart(14 November 1925–29 July, 2012)9

Egyptian archaeologyAmarnacity of light2 3 4It is 100 years this December since the world-famous painted head of Queen Nefertitiwas discovered at Amarna. Barry Kemp, who has been working on the site since 1977,shares his findings about the city of Akhenaten and its peopleHistory has its colourfulepisodes. For ancientEgypt none is more sothan the 17-year reignof Pharaoh Akhenaten. From aposition of unassailable authority,he set out to change the characterof Egyptian kingship, creating animage of himself that is still uncomfortableto encounter and a simplifiedstate religion that asserted thatthe only worthwhile object of venerationwas the disc of the sun, theAten. In pursuit of a mission to confoundand to cleanse, he chose anempty stretch of desert beside the1. Upper part of acolossal statue ofAkhenaten. Karnak.Sandstone H. 6ft 8in.2. Statue thought tobe Akhenaten. Yellowstone. H. 25in.3. Relief showingAkhenaten andNefertiti makingofferings to the Aten.Limestone. H. 4ft 2in.4. Painted head ofNefertiti. Limestone/gypsum. H. 19.5in.Nile to be the new place where hisgod could be properly venerated,on ground that was uncontaminatedthrough prior associationwith gods or humans. He namedit Akhetaten, ‘The Horizon ofthe Aten’. Lying roughly halfwaybetween modern Cairo and Luxor,it survives as a major archaeologicalsite now known as Tell el-Amarnaor, more simply, Amarna. All thatis novel about the ideas and cultureof Akhenaten’s reign, and controversialabout the personal historiesof those involved, is summed up inthe term to which the place namehas given rise, the Amarna Period.Akhenaten was not an asceticlooking for a life of isolated contemplationin the desert. Heremained ruler of Egypt and of asubstantial empire, and continuedto think in terms of the grandarchitectural style that was so firmlyrooted in Egypt. The city he creatednow strikes an odd note, however,a compromise between grand visionand a limited acceptance of whatstate power could achieve in citycreation. For himself and his god hebuilt palaces and temples at irregularintervals along a seven-kilometrePHOTOGRAPHS: 1 & 3 © Egyptian Museum, Cairo.2. Musée du Louvre, Paris. 4. © State Museum of Berlin.Minerva November/December 201211

5 8line that must have been close to theriver. A cluster towards the middle,called in modern times the CentralCity, was clearly his centre of government.It included the ‘House ofthe Aten’, the main temple to thesun god. A mud-brick wall encloseda flat expanse of desert measuring800 by 300 metres (around 40football pitches). Almost lost in thisspace were two stone-built templesthat were, appropriately enough fora cult of the visible sun, series ofopen courts entered through traditional-lookingpylon gateways. Thecourts were filled with rectangularstone offering tables that togethernumbered around 900. They wereinsufficient, however, to satisfy theking’s desire to display the scale ofhis piety, so a field of 920 extra oneswere built from mud bricks in a cornerof the great enclosure.The offering tables were not symbols.Contemporary pictures of thetemple show them piled with foodofferings and incense. The groundoutside housed a huge food depotwhere bread and meat, in particular,were prepared. Workingout how the system functionedis a research exercise in itself.The idea behind it, that largetemples were major providersof food and other commoditiesto the community, was not new.Akhenaten seems, in a spirit ofliteralism, to have wanted tomake the scale of his piety andthe people’s dependence on theAten fully visible. It was the ultimatestep in accounting transparency,in which everything was laidout in rows. For there can be littledoubt that, after display beneaththe sun, the destination of the foodwas Akhenaten’s court and at least aportion of the city’s inhabitants.Akhenaten took his court andan important part of the administrationwith him to Amarna.Senior officials relied on junior officials,and all of them had extensivehouseholds. Among them werepeople who manufactured thingsfor the court, including fine sculpture.In the end, probably as manyas 30,000 people moved there.They did not find a ready-madecity to inhabit, only a flattish, opendesert surface not marked out withroads. But very quickly, the arrivingcommunities organised themselvesand built neighbourhoods that werelike villages, centred on the largerhouses of the officials. If the resultresembles the plan of a squattercity, irregular but not haphazard, itmatched the expectations of the richand powerful officials who ran thecountry. The life of the city spanned65. Painted terracottapot, New Kingdom,18th Dynasty, 1351-1334. © State Museumof Berlin. Photograph:Sandra Steiss.6. Head of an Amarnaprincess. Yellow-brownquartzite. H. 7.5in.© Egyptian Museum,Cairo.7. A section of the‘Princesses Panel’wall painting foundinside the King’sHouse at Amarna.H. 38cm. W. 65cm.© AshmoleanMuseum, Oxford.7the period between Akhenaten’sfifth regnal year and his 17th andlast, and a few years beyond that, atotal of around 15 to 17 years.The successor kings, beginningwith Tutankhamun, rejectedAkhenaten’s ideas, withdrew thecourt to the old centres of powerand had the stone buildings demolishedso that their stones could bereused as building material. Themyriad houses were abandoned.Amarna was never lost, however.It remained visible – first asa ruin, then as a spread of sandcoveredmounds – until archaeologistsbegan to excavate it at the endof the 19th century. Some of its decoratedrock tombs remained openand became home to a Christian12

Egyptian archaeology10monastic community in the earlycenturies AD. The scenes on theirwalls, and the content of hugeboundary tablets that Akhenatenhad had carved into the perimetercliffs, alerted European visitors tothe character of Akhenaten’s reignfrom early in the 19th century.Excavation of the city began witha single six-month season, spanning1891 and 1892, carried out by theBritish archaeologist WM FlindersPetrie, assisted by Howard Carter,then on his first assignment inEgypt. His one season was enoughto satisfy his curiosity, and he neversought to return. Some 15 yearslater, in 1907, the Egyptian governmentgranted a permit to workat Amarna to Ludwig Borchardt8. and 9. side and frontviews of a workingmodel for Nefertiti’shead. New Kingdom,18th Dynasty, 1351-1334. © State Museumof Berlin. Photograph:Sandra Steiss.10. Model of the mainpart of the ‘House ofAten’, the Long Templeat the front of theenclosure at Amarna.© Model and photoby Eastwood Cook;concept by MallinsonArchitects.11. Map of Amarna© Barry Kemp.9of Berlin. Although working inthe name of the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (German OrientalSociety), he was funded directlyby one wealthy Berlin textile merchantand philanthropist, JamesSimon. Borchardt set out on along-term, methodical excavationof much of the city. Through thishe hoped to achieve two things.One was a detailed exploration ofits architecture (reflecting his ownearly training as an architect); theother was the discovery of objectsand works of art that would gracethe rapidly growing collections ofthe Berlin Museum, by this time acultural showpiece for Germany’sambitions.In both he was quickly successful.In three seasons, between 1911and the spring of 1914, he and hissmall team excavated and mademeticulous plans of a huge partof the main residential sector ofthe city. The culmination came on6 December, 1912. In a small roomin the house of a sculptor, probablynamed Thutmose, lay an extraordinarycollection of sculptor’s modelsand related material, among them abrightly painted limestone head andshoulders of a woman, instantlyidentifiable by her distinctive crownas Queen Nefertiti, Akhenaten’s wife.The head, with the rest of theThutmose material, passed throughthe Cairo Museum divisions systemand, following export to Berlin,became the property of JamesSimon. He subsequently presentedit all to the Berlin Museum. There itremains, the head of Nefertiti almostas much a symbol of Berlin as it is ofthe Egyptian tourist industry.To mark the centenary of its discovery,there is an exhibition inthe impressive setting of the NeuesMuseum, the part of the museumensemble in Berlin which is hometo the Egyptian collection and isitself only recently restored from theruin that was left at the end of theSecond World War.The outcome of the First WorldWar, and the increasing feeling inEgypt that the head of Nefertitishould be returned, meant theend of Borchardt’s expedition. Inits place, from 1921 to 1936, theLondon-based Egypt ExplorationSociety fielded an annual expeditionkeycultivated landexcavated cityunexcavated city11NKmodern villageboundary stelaquarriesNorth Cityrock-cut tombNorth Riverside PalaceNorth PalaceDesert AltarsVNorth TombsNorth SuburbGreat Aten TempleGreat PalaceSmall Aten TempleCentral CityUriver Nile'River Temple'Main City SouthMain City NorthWorkmen's Villagehouse of Thutmoseto the Royal TombStone VillageSouth SuburbKom el-NanaEl-MangaraMaru-AtenSouth Tombs

Egyptian archaeologythat continued where Borchardt leftoff, gradually moving from ancienthouses to Akhenaten’s temples andpalaces. By 1936, with the completionof the excavation of the CentralCity, the site’s attraction had sufficientlydiminished for the work tobe abandoned.The archaeology of that era hada style and set of expectations ofits own. It took advantage of cheaplocal labour to dig on a large scale.It sought ‘discoveries’ – and itdepended for its funding on beingable to provide a stream of suitableobjects to foreign museums andtheir patrons, taking advantage ofthe system by which the Egyptiangovernment allowed foreign expeditionsto export a share of the finds.I started working at Amarnain 1977, with a set of ideas inkeeping with the new times. Thesocial and economic processes bywhich ancient societies workedand how they manifested themselvesin the details of buildings andobjects were hot topics. Settlementarchaeology was becoming a subjectin its own right. It seemedworthwhile to document what wasin the ground in immensely greaterdetail than before and to bring in awider range of experts in order toextract more and different kinds ofinformation. We were starting touse computers and it was exciting.I saw Amarna’s unique combinationof city-size scale and narrow intervalof time as perfect for developingan investigation of this kind.What made Amarna as a city tick?12. and 13. side andfront views of ahead of Nefertiti.Granodiorite. NewKingdom, 18thDynasty, 1351-1334.© State Museum ofBerlin. Photograph:Sandra Stelb.14. Relief showingAkhenaten, his wifeNefertiti and theirthree daughtersbathed in the divinelight of the Aten.New Kingdom, 18thDynasty, 1351-1334.Limestone. H. 33cm.W. 39cm. © StateMuseum of Berlin.Photograph:Margarete Busing.12 13Akhenaten and Nefertiti were barelyin my mind. Once again the workwas under the auspices of the EgyptExploration Society, largely usinggovernment funds channelled tothem by the British Academy.This kind of archaeology does notprovide quick and easy answers. Thequantity of humdrum finds – tens ofthousands of potsherds, shelf aftershelf of boxes of charcoal fragmentsthat are gold to archaeo-botanists– is almost overwhelming. In the35 years that have followed, sometimesbuffeted by difficult conditionsin Egypt, we (myself and theAmarna team) have carried outexcavations of limited scale at aseries of places that cover the spectrumfrom small to large houses,royal buildings and now an extensivecemetery where the ordinaryinhabitants were buried and whosebones represent an entirely new kindof evidence for the life of the people.Sometimes, as with the bones, theevidence tells a tale directly. Moreoften it fuels debate. How far wasAkhenaten’s society one directedfrom above and what scope was leftfor individual responsibility? Was ittightly or loosely organised? As thediscussion and thinking about thesite has continued, Akhenaten hasmoved to a more prominent place.Did he care about his people or not?And what about his religious drive?Did it generate the kind of intolerancethat we might expect? Here theanswer seems to be no, for Amarnaemerges as a particularly rich sourcefor the archaeology of domestic religionthat, in its visible manifestations,paid little heed to the Aten.As with the humanities in general,there are no final answers. Each newgeneration changes the questionsand terms of debate. Those whocome in the future will find, in ourpublications, archives and materialstored on site, the raw material fortaking research forward as to howEgyptian society evolved. n14• The Amarna Trust (www.amarnatrust.com) is a registeredcharity that supports a broadprogramme of fieldwork(www.amarnaproject.com) runin agreement with the EgyptianMinistry of State for Antiquities.• The City of Akhenaten andNefertiti: Amarna and Its Peopleby Barry Kemp (£29.95) ispart of the series New Aspectsof Antiquity, general editorColin Renfrew, published byThames & Hudson.• In the Light of Amarna, anexhibition celebrating thediscovery of the bust of Nefertiti100 years ago and including600 objects from, or related to,Amarna, opens at the NeuesMuseum in Berlin (www.neuesmuseum.de) on 6 Decemberand runs until 13 April 2013.Minerva November/December 2012

InterviewRoaming withRomerEgyptologist, historian and archaeologist John Romer tells Diana Bentley how hemoved from studying stained glass to digging in the Valley of the KingsWhen John Romer entered theRoyal College of Art in 1966to study the art of stainedglass, little did he thinkthat it would lead him all the way backto ancient Egypt. But when he saw a noteposted on the Stained Glass Department’snoticeboard asking for artists to jointhe University of Chicago’s EpigraphicSurvey in Luxor, he leapt at the chance.‘I’d been interested in ancient Egypt since Iwas a child. I gave a lecture on the Pyramidsat school when I was 12, and the first bookI purchased was Wallis Budge’s Guide tothe British Museum’s Egyptian Collections,price 1/3d,’ he recalls. Romer and his newwife Beth, a fellow art student who laterbecame an archaeologist, set off for Egypttogether, and an enduring and mutual passionfor the country and its long, enthrallinghistory was born.The renowned archaeologist, author andtelevision presenter remembers how hefelt when he first arrived there: ‘My initialimpressions, during a night drive from theairport, were unforgettable. Hot, marvellouslyperfumed air, dark streets, with littlefires lit on the pavements and people in galabeyasflitting in and out of the shadows.’In Luxor the Romers set to work as epigraphicartists, although at first they foundthe ancient temples disappointing.‘I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about,’he says. ‘It took years of working in themto appreciate their beauty – you have tobe able to look through the dust and ruin.’The sites were also disconcertingly disordered:‘Thebes looked like an explosion hadoccurred, with mummies lying all around.’Nevertheless, after working six days a weekin the temples, the Romers spent the seventhlooking at other monuments and, like otherartists before them, including the legendaryHoward Carter, they became increasinglydrawn to archaeology. Fortunately, the environmentwas perfect for those keen to learn.‘Chicago House, the very grand headquartersof the University of Chicago’sOriental Institute Epigraphic Survey in16Luxor, was a centre of archaeology and hada superb library. I spent all my waking hoursreading and asking an extraordinary rangeof archaeologists what they were doingand why,’ Romer explains. ‘So Beth and Ihad seen dozens of digs before we wereemployed to work on one.’The Valley of the Kings especiallyattracted the couple’s interest. After manyyears of working privately at the site, theyorganised and ran an expedition to makegeological, epigraphic and conservationalstudies between 1977 and 1979.‘It was the first ever at that site, whichthen was little known or cared about byEgyptolgists. Not much had been done sinceHoward Carter’s day and it was sufferinggreatly because of a rise in tourism,’ Romerexplains. ‘We needed a base in the valley tostore our equipment, and Ramesses XI wasa huge open and largely empty tomb whichseemed perfect for that task. Carter, in fact,had used it as a store and a dining roomwhen he excavated Tutankhamun.’Before they could use the tomb, however,the debris within it had to be cleared away.‘That’s when we realised that most of thisdebris was very ancient, that the tomb wasonly half finished and had been used at theend of the New Kingdom as a storeroomfor the royal mummies. So we found lotsof extraordinary stuff. It was the first tombto be excavated in the valley since Carter’swork on Tutankhamun. It was tense workand very exciting but, nonetheless, a sideshow to the expedition’s main task ofconservation, of which I am very proud.Virtually all the later work in the Valley ofthe Kings stems from some of the brilliantwork of the specialists who worked on theexpedition and later wrote articles in ourreports,’ he says.The team also found that despite its aridappearance, the valley was subject to flooding,so work was undertaken to lessen thedamaging effect of water on the tombs.Much work was also done to clean up thearea and organise its tourist facilities.‘The ticket office lay in the middle of thevalley and buses and taxis were driving rightinto it,’ Romer recalls.In 1979 he and his wife, together withsome American colleagues, also foundedthe Theban Foundation, based in Berkeley,Minerva November/December 2012

California. A body dedicated to the conservationand documentation of the RoyalTombs of Thebes, many of its ideas havebeen taken up. This resulted in the ThebanMapping Project. Now run by the AmericanUniversity in Cairo, the project provides acomprehensive database of Thebes and hasan extensive website.Today Romer is still publishing reportsstemming from this early expedition. Vividmemories of those early days also remain:‘The tombs were entirely beautiful, quietand dark, with the scent of cedarwood inthem,’ he says. Since then, Egyptian archaeologyhas evolved considerably.‘It has entirely changed from the dayswhen I first went there. Then it was largelysand-shovelling to recover more inscriptions.Now there are professionally traineddirt archaeologists digging difficult siteswith great skill to discover the ways of lifeof the ancient people. They are slowly writinga new history for ancient Egypt.’Nonetheless, funding is now more difficultto obtain and the situation in Egypthas greatly changed. ‘New excavationhas been stopped in Upper Egypt – which isactually no bad thing, as those sites requiremore conservation than exploration,’he comments.Other developments also cause him concern.‘Parts of Egyptology have becomefilled with unsuitable jargon from otheracademic disciplines. Introducing mockscientificjargon into what is fundamentallya humanistic discipline has led to parts ofa lovely old subject becoming nastily politicised,ancient history employed to providea pedigree for the modern Western world,’he says. One chilling example in his bookis where great tombs were referred to asexamples of ‘the conspicuous consumptionof prestige commodities by an elite’.His favourite figure from the early days ofarchaeology, he says, is Flinders Petrie.‘He was a crusty individualist who virtuallyinvented Egyptian archaeology. He wasusually irascible, often wrong, but upfrontwith his personal opinions, an incrediblyhard worker who had something interestingto say about everything he came across– and certainly he was a lover of old Egypt.’John Romer has proved to be that too andhas been rewarded, he says, by embracingthe country as it is today.‘Village life in modern Egypt has had ahuge effect upon me – not because I thinkpeople there today live like ancient Egyptians,but simply because they have shown mebeautiful and viable alternatives to myWestern way of life. The Egyptian landscape,too, has had a profound effect upon me. I’mamazed at how many European and USscholars never bother to visit the countrieswhich they spend their lives studying.’Working on his books and televisiondocumentaries allows him to immersehimself in a range of diverse subjects. TheMinerva November/December 2012documentaries in particular, which includeAncient Lives, Testament, The Valley of theKings and Byzantium: The Lost Empire,have been demanding and intellectuallybracing.‘I want to know more about things thanI do already, and there’s nothing like writinga television series to discover the gaps inyour knowledge of a subject,’ he insists. ‘It’sa tremendous amount of work. But workingon Bible history, Hellenism and Byzantiumhave been very useful to my work withancient Egypt too. Like modern Egypt, theyhave shown me other ways of being besideslife in the modern West and other waysof approaching ancient history as well –Egyptology is very compartmentalised.’There are common elements in the subjectshe has chosen, as he explains: ‘They’reall based in the Eastern Mediterranean, theyall start from the assumption that the pastwas very, very different from today, andthey all deal in arts and crafts that have hadextraordinary longevity. To that extent, Ithink that they’re all linked to my havingmade stained glass windows, too.’He was prompted to write his latest book,A History of Ancient Egypt: From the FirstFamers to the Great Pyramid, by a belief thatpeople like himself, who have been workingon ancient Egyptian material for some time,should set down their vision of the place. Amajor deficiency of Egyptology is, he says,that there are no up-to-date accounts of theentire civilisation written by a single voice.‘The problem with history by committee isthat there is no coherent vision of the subject.I think it’s a good discipline to work out ideasright down to the point where they becomenarratives that anyone can understand. It’smuch harder than writing academic articles,which only have to make sense to a few.’His book is the first consistent accountof Egypt’s early history, as opposed to adescription of the surviving remains strungtogether on a single time-line. It starts withan absorbing account of the exploration ofsome of the earliest excavated settlementsalong the Nile. Where did these people comefrom? He says he tries not to speculate:‘People “come out of nowhere” becausethey come and go so easily from the archaeologicalrecord. As far as the first inhabitantsof Egypt are concerned, I suppose it dependswhether or not you follow the popular “outof Africa” scenario for modern humans. Ifyou do, perhaps there’s a case for sayingthat some people travelling north out of theRift Valley decided to go no further. As tothe first farmers, they could either have beenthe descendants of those same peoples, orsettlers from the Levant and Anatolia whoalready had developed the technologies offarming. That they skilfully and quicklyadapted the rhythms of rain-irrigated economiesto that of the Nile Valley flood plainshows great practical knowledge of the localenvironment. Perhaps, as with almost everythingelse that happened in the distant past,we’ll never know.’Romer does, however, disagree with someof the popular ideas about the Egyptian pharaohs:‘They weren’t despots and they didn’tenslave people,’ he maintains. ‘As to slavery,it seems to me that in its present usage, theconcept revolves around money and propertyvalues, neither of which were aroundin ancient Egypt – nor incidentally, was themodern concept of freedom.’One of his favourite projects was AncientLives, a series he made in the 1980s about avillage of artists in ancient Egypt.‘It was a delight to make and people stillremember those films – parts of their scenarioare now on the Luxor tourist circuit,although at that time no one could haveforeseen the tourist tidal wave to come.’He is now engrossed in writing a second,self-contained volume on the later history ofancient Egypt (due for publication in 2014)at his base in Tuscany, where he and Bethhave lived for many years. ‘We’ve grown tolove the country and its culture and we’vebeen here so long now that when I land atRome or Pisa I feel I’m coming home.’Does he feel that there is a growing interestin history and archaeology?‘Yes, I suppose there is, although sometimesI think that it’s a funny sort of interest.Classics, for example, always makes methink of Arnold of Rugby and Billy Bunter.Let’s hope it’s not all nostalgia for an agethat never was, but a fascination for a pastthat was remarkable, fresh and interestingwith something new to teach us.’His work has undoubtedly fired the imaginationof readers and television audiences.‘Every so often someone sends me a thesisor a book they’ve written with a note tellingme that something I’ve done has encouragedthem to take up their present profession,’John Romer tells me with evident and welldeservedsatisfaction. nA History of Ancient Egypt: From theFirst Farmers to the Great Pyramid byJohn Romer is published in hardbackby Allen Lane at £25.17

CleopatraIs this thewickedestwomanDavid Stuttardgoes beyondscathing Romanpropagandaand Hollywood’sglamorous imagesin search of thereal Cleopatrain history?Mention the nameCleopatra to anyone,and they willno doubt immediatelyconjure up their own imageof the Egyptian queen. For many, itis an image which has been shapedby film and television: ElizabethTaylor in the 1963 epic Cleopatra;Lyndsey Marshal in HBO’s blockbusterseries Rome; even AmandaBarrie in Carry on Cleo. Otherswill think of stage versions of herlife: Shakespeare’s Antony andCleopatra; Shaw’s Caesar andCleopatra. Yet others may see intheir mind’s eye the seductive paintingsof 19th-century artists, suchas Alma-Tadema or Jean-AndréRixens, who delighted in the opportunityto paint the suicidal queenbare-breasted, her robe falling tantalisinglyfrom her shoulders, or,better still, fully naked.Throughout history, so manypeople have interpreted Cleopatrain so many different ways that it isalmost impossible to discover thereal person behind the myth. Yetthe reality (or what we know of it)is even more intriguing than the fiction.Born in 69 BC into the murderous,incestuous and faction-rivenfamily of the Ptolemies (descendentsof one of Alexander the Great’s181Macedonian generals) who hadalready ruled Egypt for well over200 years, Cleopatra possessedan undoubted charisma. Plutarch,whose biography of Mark Antonyshe effectively hijacks, writes of her:‘Her own beauty, so we are told,was not of that incomparable kindwhich instantly captivates thebeholder. But the charm of her presencewas irresistible and there wasan attraction in her person and hertalk, together with a peculiar forceof character which pervaded herevery word and action, and laid allwho associated with her under itsspell. It was a delight merely to hearthe sound of her voice, with which,like an instrument of many strings,she could pass effortlessly from onelanguage to another.’What she lacked in beauty (and,judging from depictions on her owncoinage, even Plutarch’s descriptionmay be best described as gallant),Cleopatra more than made upfor in intellect. She had grown upin Alexandria, home to the famousLibrary and Museum and at thattime a leading centre of learning,and she had made maximum use ofits facilities. Plutarch goes on: ‘Inher interviews with barbarians sheseldom required an interpreter, butconversed with them quite unaided,21. Silver denariusshowing Antony,obverse (left) ,andCleopatra, reverse,struck at a travellingmint. 32 BC. D. 1.85cm.British Museum.whether they were Ethiopians,Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians,Syrians, Medes or Parthians. Infact, she is said to have becomefamiliar with the speech of manyother peoples besides, although therulers of Egypt before her had nevereven troubled to learn the Egyptianlanguage, and some had never givenup their native Macedonian dialect.’Despite her undoubted assets,when she became queen in 51 BC,Cleopatra was faced with almostinsuperable difficulties. Rome,whose power and population hadmushroomed in the previous threegenerations, had already identifiedEgypt’s fertile cornfields as aMinerva November/December 2012

potential solution to its ownfood shortages, while inEgypt, domesticpolitical rivalriesmeant that shewas soon at warwith Ptolemy XIIIher younger brother(and husband, at leastin name). And, as ifthat were not enough,Cleopatra was a womanin what (internationally)was quite definitely aman’s world. For her evento survive required not onlytenacity, ruthlessness anddiplomacy, but also luck – and32. The Death ofCleopatra by Jean-André Rixens, 1874.H. 200cm. W. 290cm.Musée des Augustins,Toulouse.3. Fragment of amarble relief showingan erotic scene ina boat, possibly asavage caricatureof the love-affairbetween Antony andCleopatra. Probablyfrom Italy. 1st centuryBC-1st century AD.H. 36cm. W. 40cm.British Museum.luck favoured her for 20 years.By chance, just when it seemed asthough her army was about to bedefeated by Ptolemy XIII, JuliusCaesar arrived in Alexandria andthrew his weight behind the queen.An inveterate womaniser as well asa consummate general, the victoriousCaesar subsequently left Egyptonly weeks before she gave birth totheir son, Caesarion. For Cleopatra,it was a perfect outcome.With Caesar’s continuing support,her position, both domesticallyand internationally, was secured,and understanding perfectly thepower their child bestowed onher, she twice made the long sea19

Cleopatravoyage to Rome, where she setup court in Caesar’s leafy villain Trastevere. But in March44 BC, on Cleopatra’s secondvisit to the city, the assassinsstruck. Caesar was cut downin Pompey’s Theatre and, ata knife-stroke, everything shehad worked so hard to buildwas suddenly under threat.For the next three years, whilethe Roman world was mauled bycivil war, Cleopatra played a waitinggame, watching to see whichside seemed likely to come out ontop, cautious lest she should be seento have supported the defeated.When, in the end Octavianand Antony emerged victoriousat Philippi, Cleopatraknew instinctively what shemust do; and when Antony, towhom had fallen the commandof the Eastern Roman empire,summoned her to meet him inTarsus to account for her actions(or lack of them) during the war,Cleopatra drew on all her assets,political, intellectual and personal,to ensure that she won him over ascertainly as she had once won overJulius Caesar.Now aged 27 (‘the age’, accordingto Plutarch, ‘when women are mostbeautiful and their minds are mostacute’), and dressed as Aphrodite,goddess of desire, Cleopatra, recliningin a golden barge, accompaniedby her ‘fairest handmaids’, withclouds of perfume drifting sensuouslyacross the waters, sailed upthe River Cydnus to meet Antony.She had pitched it perfectly. Antony,she knew, had an eye for the theatrical– and for women, too. In thewords of the historian Appian, ‘…as soon as he saw her, Antony losthis head to her, as if he was a youngman, although he was 40 years old’.That he became infatuated withCleopatra seems incontrovertible.That his feelings were reciprocatedis far from certain. For a while,the union proved fruitful. As withCaesar, Cleopatra’s alliance with44. The head of ayoung Cleopatraappears on asilver tetradrachm,struck at Ascalon,Palestine. 50-49 BC.D. 2.6cm.5.Marble head (froma statue) of Octavian.Circa 30-25 BC.H. 35.5cm.6. Limestone head ofa woman resemblingCleopatra. Italy.Circa 50-40 BC.7. Silver cistophorus,struck in Asia Minor,showing Antony andhis wife Octavia.Circa 39 BC. D. 2.6cm.8. Bronze Egyptianstatue of the godSobek in the form ofa crocodile wearingan Atef crown.Circa 600 BC.H. 12.5cm. L 10cm.5 6Antony brought security. Indeed,such was the Roman’s devotionthat he even ceded to her territorieswhich it was not in his powerto cede. But 10 years (and threechildren) later, Antony’s increasinglyerratic behaviour brought himinto conflict with his erstwhile allyOctavian, and the Roman worldwas plunged once more into abloody war.This time Cleopatra did not havethe luxury of sitting on the fence.This time, indeed, to make it seemat least that he was not embarkingon civil war, Octavian had declaredhis enemy to be not Antony butCleopatra herself. For the Egyptianqueen the campaign was disastrous.Antony’s generalship proved catastrophic.At the Battle of Actiumin western Greece on 2 September,31 BC, he and Cleopatra abandonedtheir burning fleet, while they themselvestook flight for Alexandria.Less than a year later, with the raveningOctavian at that city’s gates,7the tables turned. Antony’s fleet andarmy abandoned him. For Antony,at least, the game was clearly up.It is now that truth diverges fromromantic legend. We like to thinkthat Antony and Cleopatra, passionatelovers to the end, committedsuicide in each other’s arms. Notso – in fact, for some time the hardheadedCleopatra had been negotiatingwith Octavian. Just what theterms of those negotiations werewe do not know, but the writingsof the Greek historian Dio containtantalising hints: ‘Cleopatra sentOctavian the golden sceptre, goldencrown, and royal throne of Egypt,as if through these symbolic giftsshe was offering him her kingdom,and at the same time to ensure that,even if Octavian hated Antony, hewould at least feel sympathy for her.Octavian considered these gifts tobe a good omen and accepted them.His public response was combative,insisting that only when Cleopatradisbanded her army and steppeddown from the throne would heconsider what should be done withher. But he communicated with herprivately that, if she killed Antony,he would pardon her and let herkeep her kingdom undisturbed.’Once, Antony had offered hersecurity; now he was nothing but aliability; and, as he stumbled backthrough the gates of Alexandria,chafing at his troops’ desertion,Cleopatra sent a servant to tellhim she was dead. The news, she20Minerva November/December 2012

9108calculated, would drive Antonyto suicide. She was right. But evena successful suicide was beyondAntony’s capabilities. Injured, hewas taken to Cleopatra, hauled upon a rope into her own half-finishedmausoleum, in which she hadtaken refuge. About what happenednext,we can but speculate.Tradition tells how, cradled inCleopatra’s arms, he died of his selfinflictedwounds. Perhaps he did.Yet she must have known that hewas now more valuable to her deadthan alive. For her to be found nursinga maimed, yet living, Antonywould have wrecked any chanceshe might yet have had to negotiatesuccessfully with Octavian. If,in the privacy of the mausoleum,Cleopatra was moved to expediteher former lover’s death, shemay simply have believed herselfto be fulfilling the terms of a privateunderstanding with Octavian.To ‘keep her kingdom undisturbed’had, after all, been at the forefrontof her policies all along.Whatever the truth, with Antonydisposed of, Cleopatra spent thenext 10 days negotiating withOctavian. No records of theirconversations remain, and thetwo accounts that have survived(by Plutarch and Dio) diverge sowildly from each other that it isnot unlikely that they are both fictitious.No doubt Cleopatra tried towin Octavian over, as she had oncewon over Antony and Caesar beforehim; but the icy Octavian was altogethermore calculating than eitherof those hot-blooded conquerorshad been. In the end, Cleopatra wasfound dead.How she died remains a mystery.Plutarch recounts several versions:‘It is said that, following Cleopatra’sinstructions, an asp was brought into her, hidden under the leaves ina basket of figs, so that the snakemight bite her without her knowing.Others say that the asp wascarefully enclosed in a water-jarand that, as Cleopatra provoked itwith a golden spindle, sprang upand fastened on her arm. No-onereally knows the truth: there is evenanother version that she carriedpoison with her in a hollow hairpinwhich she kept hidden in herhair.’ We do know that no rash or119. Pair of gold snakebracelets. 1st centuryBC-1st century AD.10 Earthenware tileby John Moyr-Smith,showing Shakespeare’sAntony and Cleopatrac. 1875. H. 15cm. W. 15cm.11. Portrait of Antonyengraved on Romanred jasper intaglio setin a gold ring. Circa40-30BC. H. 1.4cm.Images on these pagescourtesy of the Trusteesof the British Museum.any other sign of poison showedon her body. As Plutarch says, ‘noonereally knows the truth’ – exceptperhaps Octavian. Cleopatra wouldnot be the last enemy of the statewhose death would be less troublesomethan her continued living.Almost immediately the Romanpropaganda-machine went intooverdrive, painting Cleopatra asa wanton seductress, a witch whohad corrupted and ensnared Rome’sfine upstanding son, Mark Antony.As the years went by, romantic fictionswamped cold fact. Cleopatra,the brilliant politician, gave way toCleopatra, the scheming siren andso, in 1934, when Cecil B DeMilleoffered Claudette Colbert the roleof the infamous Egyptian queen,he is said to have asked her: ‘Howwould you like to play the wickedestwoman in history?’ n• 31BC Antony, Cleopatra andthe Fall of Egypt by David Stuttardand Sam Moorhead is published inpaperback by The British MuseumPress at £9.99.• Cleopatra: The Search for theLast Queen of Egypt is on showat the California Science Center(www.californiasciencecenter.org)until 31 December 2012.Minerva November/December 201221

12Carnarvon, Carter& the curse of TutankhamunLady Carnarvon talks to Lindsay Fulcher about her husband’s long family connectionswith Ancient Egypt and why she loves the country and its people3When Fiona, LadyCarnarvon goes onholiday, her poolsidereading is morelikely to be Gardiner’s EgyptianGrammar than a bestselling novel.She can actually decipher hieroglyphs– not all of them, she is quickto point out, as she is still learning– but if she had more time, she tellsme, she would devote it to applyingherself more diligently to her linguistictask.‘I love old languages – learningthem is fun. The subtleties of thetenses in ancient Egyptian fascinateme. A language is extraordinarilyimportant in the study of a cultureand it throws up all sorts of philosophicalquestions about how wedeveloped and how human thoughthas evolved. It gives an insightinto the world view of the ancientEgyptians. We have a lot to learnfrom them. I feel humbled by whatthey did and what they wrote, especiallyabout the inclusive nature oftheir culture and their religion.’This interest is perhaps understandablewhen you learn that Lady1. The 5th Earl ofCarnarvon painted byHoward Carter’sbrother William, c1920.2. Portrait of HowardCarter, also by hisbrother William, 1930.3. The 8th Earl andCountess of Carnarvonat Highclere Castle.4. Lord Porchester whobecame the 5th Earl)aged 10, far left,watches an excavationat Seven Barrows onthe Highclere Estate.4Carnarvon’s husband, Geordie, isthe great-grandson of the 5th Earlof Carnarvon who supported andworked with Howard Carter in theValley of the Kings. When the couplemet, her love of ancient Egypt hadnot yet developed‘When I first met Geordie I hadbarely even heard of HowardCarter,’ she recalls.Things have certainly changed:Lady Carnarvon has done a greatdeal of research into her husband’sfamily history and has writtenseveral books, including Egyptat Highclere: The Path to the22Minerva November/December 2012

Interview5 6Discovery of Tutankhamun, andCarnarvon & Carter: The Story oftwo Englishmen who Discoveredthe Tomb of Tutankhamun.One aspect of this famous relationshipshe wants emphasise isthat it was based on partnership,rather than patronage. She is keento correct the common perceptionthat Lord Carnarvon provided themoney and Carter did the work.‘They were a good combinationand they complemented each other,’she explains. ‘Both of them weremavericks in the sense that neither ofthem were formally trained archaeologistsand they shared an absolutepassion for Egypt. What a lotof people don’t realise is that fromaround 1901 the 5th Earl spent fourmonths every year in Egypt. Initially5. Looking down intothe Valley of the Kings.6. ‘The Weighing of theHeart’, detail, fromIrtyru’s coffin (below).7. Carnarvon first metHoward Carter in 1907.8. Canopic chest foundin Tutankhamun’s tomb.9. A published recordof their first workingcollaboration.10. Painted woodencoffin of a womannamed Irtyru (foundin 1909 by Carter andCarnarvon) is now onshow at Highclere.7 8it was for health reasons, but graduallyhis interest in archaeologygrew. There he met Carter, who hadbeen working in Egypt since 1891and employed him to supervise anexcavation in Thebes from 1907 to1911. It was a meeting that wouldchange both their lives.’In the book recording their firstworking collaboration, Carnarvonthanks Carter for his ‘unremittingwatchfulness and care in systematicallyrecording, drawing andphotographing everything as itcame to light’.This was a decade before the nowlegendary finding of the tomb ofTutankhamun. Everyone knows thestory of the monumental discovery,in which the intact tomb, with itsfabulous gold treasures, was opened910

1511on 16 February 1923. The wild publicitythat accompanied the discovery– the first global media event – andthe ‘Tut-mania’ craze for all thingsEgyptian that followed, is also welldocumented. As is the death in 1923of Lord Carnarvon at only 56. Thisearly death gave rise to the tale of the‘Pharaoh’s Curse’, which gripped thepublic imagination and, helped byfilms such as The Mummy, continuesto do so to this day. What does thecurrent Lady Carnarvon think aboutthe legend of the curse?‘I am asked about it quite often,’she says, ‘and all I can say is thatthere are lots of things in life wedon’t understand. But I can confirmthat the 5th Earl’s dog, Susie, diedhere at Highclere at the samemoment as her master, and also thatthere was a blackout – all the lightswent out – in Cairo at the same time.General Allenby confirmed this.’‘When Carnarvon died Carter11. Granite statueof Amun-Re and hisconsort Mut withthe facial featuresof Tutankhamunand his wifeAnkhhesenamun.1325 BC. BritishMuseum on loan toHighclere Castle.12. ‘Castle Carter’,Carter’s home, wasbuilt in 1910-11with bricks fromCarnarvon’s Bretbyestate in England.13. The temple ofQueen Hatshepsutphotographed by the8th Earl of Carnarvonreflects an imageshot by his greatgrandfatherin 1909.14. Calcite shabti headof Amenhotep III.lost his right-hand man. Carnarvonwas good at diplomacy and oftensmoothed things over, whereasCarter, who admitted to having ahot temper, was not so good atthat side of things. The 5th Earl1413was not an academic but he wasextremely well read. He was alsostoical – a quality useful whenengaged in archaeology – and modest.He didn’t blow his own trumpet.Carter was besotted by him. Heeven started dressing like him.’There have also been suggestionsthat Carter carried a flame forCarnarvon’s daughter, Lady Evelyn.But if he did, it was not reciprocated.‘Lady Evelyn found Carterrather tricky, he was not the easiestdinner guest as he only wanted totalk about Egypt, explains LadyCarnarvon. ‘Besides, he wasmuch older than her and shewas in love with Sir BrograveCampbell Beauchamp, the manshe went on to marry in 1923.‘After the 5th Earl’s death,Almina, his widow tried to helpCarter but she was saddled withenormous death duties and was1224

16‘I can confirm thatthe 5th Earl’s dog,Susie, died hereat Highclere at thesame moment asher master’forced to sell her husband’s collectionof Egyptian antiquities.It went to the MetropolitanMuseum in New York after theBritish Museum could not raisethe amount needed.’Almina’s son, the 6th Earl ofCarnarvon, was a bon viveur andnot at all interested in Egyptology,but Lady Carnarvon tells me shewas pleased to find that he did continueto invite Carter to Highclere– his name appears in the visitors’book during the 1930s. HowardCarter died, aged 64, in 1939, whilethe 6th Earl lived to the ripe old ageof 89. So it is good to hear that theeffects of the curse did not continue.‘The 6th Earl did not like to talkabout Egypt,’ says Lady Carnarvon,‘but after he died in 1987, his butlerRobert Taylor mentioned that someEgyptian artefacts had been hidden15. Watercolour ofHatshepsut’s templepainted by HowardCarter in 1915.16. The Pyramids atGiza with the Nile inflood photographedby Lord Carnarvonin 1910-11.17. Calcite jar bearingRamesses II’s cartouche,found by Carnarvonand Carter in 1920,and one of the objectsrediscovered atHighclere in 1987.18. Fragment of wallfrom the tomb ofBakenrenef (664-610BC) in Saqqara. Thehieroglyphs form partof Spell 22 from theBook of the Dead.19. Ivory-handled razorused by Carnarvon inCairo in 1923, whenhe nicked a mosquitobite which turnedseptic. He later died ofpneumonia brought onby blood poisoning.All images courtesy ofHighclere Castle unlessotherwise stated.‘My beloved friend and colleagueLord Carnarvon, who died in thehour of his triumph. But for hisuntiring generosity and constantencouragement our labourscould never have been crownedwith success. His judgement inancient art has rarely beenequalled. His efforts, which havedone so much to extend ourknowledge of Egyptology, willforever be honoured in historyand, by me, his memory willalways be cherished.’(Tribute by Howard Carter to the5th Earl of Carnarvon, April 1923)away behind a false wall. This wasvery exciting and most of theseare now on show in our Egyptianexhibition at Highclere, togetherwith some objects lent to us by theBritish Museum. My husband chosethe objects and oversaw all the displays;he is as mad about Egypt asI am. We invite lots of Egyptians,from archaeologists to ambassadors,to stay here.’The warm affection that LadyCarnarvon has for the country andits people is apparent and, despitethe Downton Abbey effect, she isdelighted that 80 per cent of visitorsto Highclere visit the Egyptian exhibition.So, the Carnarvons’ archaeologicallegacy is not forgotten.‘Carnarvon and Carter complementedeach other and they bothgave their lives for Egypt,’ she says.Will her son follow in the footstepsof his great-great-grandfather?‘Well, I don’t believe in pushingchildren into things, as it oftendoesn’t encourage them and canhave quite the opposite effect. Buttwo years ago I took my son, whowas 10 at the time, to visit theplaces that had meant so much tothe 5th Earl. We had a wonderfultrip. I really like the people of Egyptand I respect them. I hope after allthe turmoil of the last few yearsthey can find their way through topeace, democracy and stability.’ n• Egypt at Highclere: The Pathto the Discovery of Tutankhamunis available now (£8.50).Carnarvon & Carter is beingreprinted and will be available inspring 2013. Both books are byFiona Carnarvon and are publishedby Highclere Enterprises.• Highclere Castle, Newbury,Berkshire (www.highclerecastle.co.uk).17181925

Hand artA historyofGeorge Nash explores the meaning ofhandprints and stencils, from prehistoriccave art to the graffitied cityscapes ofBergamo and Belfasthandy workAll over our towns andcities graffiti artists andtaggers spray-paint theavailable surfaces ofbuildings and structures with theirpersonalised insignia. These oncestrictly subversive, undergroundmotifs have created recognisablesignatures for British-based artistssuch as Banksy, kELzO and AerosolArabic. Regarded by most as ascourge of modern urban living,graffiti in the recent past havebecome mainstream in the artworld. In a recent study by theauthor, one signature – the handstencilor handprint – has been usedwithin the historic quarter of thecity of Bergamo in northern Italy.This is not a new concept,however; it can be traced back tothe earliest artists, who roamed thelandscapes of southern Europesome 40,000 years ago.Throughout the ancient world,and wherever humans have colonisedand eventually settled, art hasbeen an essential and dynamic forcethat acts as a signature, not just forthe artist but also for the clan ortribal group, creating identity andownership. The artistic repertoire ofthe first rock artists, some 35,000 to40,000 years ago, featured one particularrepresentative motif aboveall that showed the ultimate humantouch – the hand-stencil.The hand-stencil and the handprintare phenomena found in amultitude of diverse areas aroundthe world. They have been createdin a number of ways, the most commonbeing for the artist to use his,or her, mouth to spray organic orinorganic pigments over the handand surrounding rock. Dry powderedcharcoal and possiblyhaematite (red ochre) may havebeen blown through a straw reed inorder to get an even texture acrossthe surface. Artists also painted1. Dated multiplehand-stencils fromEl Castillo cave innorthern Spain.(Courtesy of MarcosGarcía Díez)2. Hand-stencil fromthe Djulirri site inAustralia. (Courtesyof Paul Taçon).21round the outline of their hands,creating handprints. Left-handedstencils made by artists with theirright hands were most numerous,and it appears that these signaturesincluded all age groups, probablyrepresenting family groups.Recent scientific dating in a seriesof caves in northern Spain by anAnglo-Spanish team, led by DrAlistair Pike from the University ofBristol, has managed to pushback the dating of hand-stencils toaround 37,300 years ago. It is conceivable,but not yet proven, thathand-stencils in El Castillo Cavewere made by Neanderthals who,based on the direct dating and theartefacts left behind in this andother nearby caves, were roamingthis landscape some 40,000 years ormore ago (1).Moving very slightly forwardin time, over 420 hand-stencilssprayed with haematite have beenfound in one part of Chauvet Cavein the Ardèche, in southern France.These date to around 31,000 yearsago. Near the entrance of the cave,the palm of a right-handed artisthad been painted with red ochreand then applied to the wall(known as the Panel of theRed Dots), creating a multipledottedsurface that, some think,forms the shape of a mammoth.26Minerva November/December 2012

Hand artOutside the Franco-Cantabrianregion, early prehistoric handstencilshave been found in caves inArgentina, North America, South-East Asia and Australia.Located on the Pinturas Riverin Patagonia, Argentina is theCueva de las Manos (Cave ofthe Hands). This rock art,which includes human figures,guanacos, rheas and felines, isbelieved to date to around 9000years BC. In one part of the cave isa panel covered in carefully superimposedhand-stencils, somepainted in red, others in white.According to archaeologists, theyare all left hands and appear to bepainted by one person, probably ayoung initiate who may have beenmaking his, or her, mark in order toreach adulthood.Further afield, hand-stencilsappear in great numbers inAustralian aboriginal art, bothancient and contemporary. A handstenciltaken by the rock art specialistProfessor Paul Taçon at theDjulirri site, in the WellingtonRange, Arnhem Land, NorthernTerritory, is believed to be between9,000 and 12,000 years old (2).Although we can never reallyknow why or by whom such evocativemotifs were placed on a cavewall thousands of years ago, we canget a few hints from the anthropologicalrecord.Interestingly, both ancient andcontemporary hand-stencils sometimesappear on the same panel, andmore hand-stencils are added on aperiodic basis, thus updating thevisual narrative, forming a plethoraof personal signatures. Based on theanthropological and ethnographicrecords, the most popular interpretationof hand-stencils and handprintsis that they are personalsignatures. However, is there anythingmore we can say about them?It is believed that the position ofaboriginal hand-stencils definesrank within tribal clans and, whenreplicated on a number of panels,defines territoriality. Within therock art panel narrative it is consideredthat the higher the stencil is inrelation to others, the greater therank attained; by due process children’shand-stencils are usuallylocated at the base of the panel.Based on individuals using thispanel, the panel is in the legitimateownership of the clan rather than asingle artist. Saying this though, theproduction and panel position ofhand-stencils would have been53. Banksy’s CleansUp – Cave Painting,created in May 2008in Leake Street, southLondon.4. Classic taggingformed by intricatetext across doorsin Shoreditch, eastLondon.5. Location of handstencilsin Città Alta,Bergamo.3controlled by Big Men; they alonewould have possessed the directpower between paint, image, rockand the spirit world (known as theSealing Ritual); by touching therock surface with one’s hand adirect contact with the spirit worldis made. But what of the symbolicmeaning of the handprint or stencilof the graffiti artist?Throughout recent history thehand (and the clenched hand or fist)has been a powerful statement ofdefiance or solidarity, or both.Graffiti and multiple tagging are acommon sight in urban areas, madefamous by a number of once subversiveand notorious street artistswho have now become not onlylegitimate but recognised creatorsof expensive artwork. Banksy,kELzO and Aerosol Arabic are justthree of these artists who are nowconsidered to be mainstream (3). Ininterviews about ancient and modernrock art conducted by theauthor for a series of programmesfor the BBC, three graffiti artistsclaimed that their induction to thisdynamic and sometimes dangerousart form was through tagging.Tagging is one of the most commonand simplest styles of graffiti,usually textual in form, reflectingthe name or initials of the artist, oron occasions representing a crew/gang name or community area (4).This highly personalisedkind of signature, whichfirst appeared on thestreets of Philadelphiain the early 1970s, isusually repeated on many surfaces,arguably laying artistic claimto a particular neighbourhood. Inmost cases tagging is a complexencrypted signature thatinvolves the skill of linkingindividual letters to form aword or phrase. The identity andmeaning of tagging is very muchrestricted to a peer group, usuallyinvolving the artist, his or her crewand some neighboring crews.Strategically placed along themain thoroughfares and connectingside streets of the medieval quarterof Bergamo (known as Città Alta)are a series of distinctive handprintmotifs(5). The handprints appear tobe the work of one person andcould represent a pictorial personalsignature or tag.The handprints in Bergamo’sCittà Alta started to appear during2009 and were initially confinedto the main north-west/south-eastthoroughfare, formed by two interconnectingstreets, Via Bartolomeoand Via Gombito (6).These two narrow streets, flankedby imposing medieval tenementsconstructed of worked and dressedstone, form the main commercialhub of the Città Alta. Leading offthe two main streets are several sidestreets that again have been targeted4Minerva November/December 2012 27

69by handprint graffiti artists (7).The handprinters, who have beenactive for at least four years, seemto target mainly business premises.Rather surprisingly, the city authoritieshave made no attempt toremove these or other graffiti suchas the (anti) ‘Putin’ stencil that isprominent on a wall on one of theside streets (8).Away from the main hub of theold town, handprints and otherforms of tagging are absent, exceptfor three that have been painted onthe walls of a medieval apartmentbuilding (9) and a granite bollard(10) along a pedestrian walkwayknown as the Via San Salvatore,within a residential area south ofthe commercial centre and theBasilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.As with the hand-stencils thatadorn many caves throughout theearly prehistoric world, the distributionof painted handprints inBergamo’s Città Alta appears to bedeliberate and strategic. It is not76. to 10. Handprintsand graffiti inBergamo:6. On commercialpremises along theVia Bartolomeo inthe city centre.7. A single handprintwith the sloganPalestina Libera(Free Palestine).8. Blue stencilled faceof Putin with his namewritten alongside.9. A series of redhandprints on thewall of a medievalapartment buildingaway from Bergamo’scommercial hub.10. Handprint on agranite bollard on apedestrian walkway.11. The Red Handof Ulster, a Loyalistsymbol, alongside theUnion Flag, paintedon a wall just off theShankill Road in WestBelfast in 1983.10coincidental that the artist has targetedthe two streets that form thecommercial hub of the Old Town,and it is more than likely that thesevery visual statements are making apolitical point.Recent blogging activity on theinternet suggests that Bergamo’shandprints represent Red Hands –Red Heart, an extreme left-wingsymbol that may hark back to thedays of the extreme ideology of theRed Brigades, a radical group activeduring a rather dark period in Italy’srecent history. Alternatively, redhandprints could represent aromantic gesture, say between theartist and his or her lover. The strategiclocation of the prints, though,suggests some form of protestagainst capitalism, commercialisationand commerce.The majority of the handprintsand sprayed stencils are righthandedand, unlike their prehistoriccounterparts, all are anatomicallycorrect (all have four fingers and athumb). Based on the finger alignment,all are male (and were probablyexecuted by a male artist).Many appear to have been painted/sprayed in haste; paint dripping ispresent on many handprints andlimited contact between the stenciland the surface of the wall hasresulted in webbing around thelower section of many hands.Elsewhere, tagging has been usedas a territorial marker by both passivetaggers and rival gangs.In Northern Ireland during thebloody civil insurrection of theTroubles, the Red Hand of Ulsterwas used to identify certain areas ofBelfast as belonging to Loyalists(11). Ironically, this symbol wasoriginally a heraldic emblem usedby the Uí Néill clan during the NineYears War (1594-1603) against theEnglish; the war-cry in Gaelic wasLámh Dhearg Abú! (‘Red Handto Victory’).In both archaeological and contemporarygraffiti contexts, singleand multiple hand-stencils representthe epitome of signature and identity.From the prehistoric record, allsections of the family unit are represented,while in the graffiti worldthe hand-stencil represents theideology of the individual and his orher peer group.Although both groups aremoving around their respectivelandscapes, both also establish adegree of permanency throughboundaries held by the mark of thehand, and the hand stencils ofBergamo and Belfast are no exceptionto this rule. n8 1100Minerva November/December 2012

Greek literatureFrom the ‘wine-dark sea’Professor Edith Hall traces thecultural journey and influence ofHomer’s epic poem the Odysseyacross the centuriesSome 3,000 years ago,Odysseus returned to theGreek island of Ithaca.Homer’s epic, the Odyssey,tells of all the ordeals he sufferedbefore he finally displayed hissupremacy at archery, killed the1suitors and was reunited with hiswife, Penelope. The poem remainsfresher and more familiar today thanany other ancient text. Who has notheard of the one-eyed man-eatingCyclops, or of Circe, the enchantresswho turned men into pigs?Odysseus has escaped from the narrowconfines of academic librariesinto the world of popular culture– novels and movies and musicals.I wrote my book The Returnof Ulysses because I wanted to discoverthe reasons for its incredibleability never to go out of fashion.The Romans loved Odysseus,whom they called Ulysses. Theyadorned their villas with wonderfulfrescoes portraying his adventuresin the land of the giganticLaestrygonians, who speared menlike fish. The Odyssey was one ofthe first ancient Greek poems everto be printed, in 1488 in Florence,and has since exerted an incalculableinfluence over the culture notonly of the West, but increasingly ofthe world. Since 1991, when it wasfirst translated into Korean, there isnot a major written language in theworld in which a translation of theOdyssey is not available.It has often been used by creativeartists to signal that they are settinga new fashion. Take the invention ofopera: when the composer ClaudioMonteverdi wanted to show thehuge range of emotional effects thatthe singing voice could represent, hechose to create an operatic setting ofthe Odyssey. His Il ritorno d’Ulissein patria (1640) was an instant hitat the time of its first production, inVenice, and stunned his rivals.Revolutionary in their passion,realism and vitality, the recognitionscenes were written with a superbsense of theatre. Monteverdi intuitivelyrealised that the emotionalcentre of the action was Odysseus’loyal, lonely wife Penelope: in aninspirational move, she is confinedto the medium of austererecitative throughout much of theopera, but bursts finally into anecstatic moment of melodic releasein her lovebsong at the climax.Monteverdi showed how song candefine psychological shifts, and thusmade a pioneering statement aboutthe potential of sung drama.One explanation of Homer’sname is that it derives from aMinerva November/December 2012

Greek literatureto the silver screenBabylonian noun meaning ‘singer’,and the appeal of the Odyssey tomusicians is encapsulated in thestory of the Sirens. They symbolisethe power of the singing voiceto seduce and enchant the listener.Forewarned by Circe that theirvoices are irresistible, Odysseus hassealed his men’s ears with wax andhas himself bound to the mast. Butas he sails close to their meadow,the Sirens let forth their ‘high,clear song’ (Odyssey, 12.186-8):‘No man has ever passed by us in23Minerva November/December 201241. Odysseus, withPallas Athena, SparesPhemius by WilliamHamilton, 1796.2. Roman marble headof Odysseus. Late 1stearly2nd century AD.© Mougins Museumof Classical Art.3. Drawing of sevenheroes from the Iliadand Odyssey by JohannTischbein (1751-1829).© DeutschesLiteraturarchiv,Marbach.4. Roman coin showinghead of Mercury and,reverse, Ulysses andhis dog Argus. 82 BC. ©CNG/Seaby Inc.5. Boeotian cup withOdysseus and Circe.Thebes. © Trustees ofthe British Museum.5his dark ship before listening to thehoney-sweet sound of our singingvoices; he sails away a more knowledgeableman after first feelinggreat joy.’ Odysseus has heard themost beautiful singing that can beheard anywhere, the price of whichprivilege is usually death, and livesto tell the tale.The importance of the figureof the minstrel is reiterated whenOdysseus spares the life of Phemiusin Ithaca, even though the old bardhad collaborated by performing forthe suitors (1). Three millennia later,the Odyssey has been adapted toseveral genres of popular song. Thequeen of contemporary Americanfolk, Suzanne Vega, recordedCalypso, a lament in the voice ofthe ancient goddess, on her 1987album Solitude Standing; it madeher an international star. GeoffreyOryema’s synthesis of Ugandan andSoul music discovered in Homerthe emotional range for his albumThe African Odysseus (1993).And in O Brother, WhereArt Thou? (2000), the Coenbrothers mined a rich seam ofAmerican folk and popularsong. The recurring Bluegrasssong Man of Constant Sorrow,which the film suggests wasinvented impromptu by UlyssesEverett McGill (George Clooney),was actually first recorded by theVirginian Stanley Brothers in 1950,31

Greek literatureand brought to the world on BobDylan’s debut album (1962). TheCoen brothers drew an inspirationalconnection between this oldfolk song, from the oral cultureof the American Deep South, andOdysseus’ formulaic epithet polutlas,‘much-enduring’.But the world created by theOdyssey appeals even more to theeyes than the ears. Cicero remarkedon the paradox that, althoughHomer was blind, ‘it is neverthelesshis painting not his poetry thatwe see’. The earliest great descriptionof a landscape in Western literatureis the account of Calypso’scave: ‘A luxuriant wood sprang uparound her cave – alder and poplarand sweet-smelling cypress.Long-winged birds nested there,horned owls and hawks and cormorantswith their long tongues,whose sphere of operation is theocean. Over the arching cavernthere spread a flourishing cultivatedvine, with abundant grapes. Therewas a row of four adjacent springs,with gleaming water, their streamsrunning off in different directions,surrounded by soft meadows thatbloomed with violet and parsley.’No wonder the Odyssey hasinspired famous painters, fromBrueghel’s realisation of Calypso’scave to Turner’s magnificentPolyphemus Deriding Ulysses(1829) now in the National Galleryin London, where the dark seascapeand storm clouds reflect the punishmentthat Poseidon plans to imposeon Odysseus for the crime of blindingthe savage Cyclops.Such arresting sensory details putthe reader of the Odyssey into immediatesensory contact with the seagoinglife lived by Homer’s ancientaudience. The repeated evocation ofthe ‘wine-dark sea’, the white sailsand creaking timber of the ships,the sound of the wind and the roarof the waves have inspired musical6pieces, such as Debussy’s orchestralpoem La mer and Ravel’s piano fantasyUne barque sur l’océan, bothfrom 1905. But they have also mesmerisedartists in language – poetsand novelists – in every era.Tennyson’s Ulysses (1833) cannotbear to stay confined to land,yearning ‘To sail beyond the sunset,and the baths/Of all the westernstars’; in Ithaca (1911), Cavafy tellsus to treasure every summer morningwhen we sail into new harbours,and buy fine things, ‘mother of pearland coral, amber and ebony, sensualperfume of every kind’.When James Joyce wanted tostretch the capacity of language torecord sense impressions in Ulysses(1922), the consummate example ofModernist fiction, set in EdwardianDublin, it was almost inevitably tothe Odyssey that he turned. The epicoffered him not only its extraordinarypalette of verbal effects for hisown word-pictures, but the powerful,archetypal personalities andencounters that would engage usat a deep sympathetic level withhis husband and wife, Leopold andMolly, estranged not by the Trojanwar and heroic wanderings, but bythe death of their beloved child.Joyce was first introduced tothe story by one of the earliestbooks ever written specifically forchildren, Charles and MaryLamb’s The Adventures of Ulysses(1808). Countless children’sversions have followed: my personalfavourite isRosemary Sutcliff’sThe Wanderings of6. Odysseus andPenelope by JohannTischbein, 1810.© Leiden Museum.7. Detail from blackfigure vase, showingthe wily Odysseusoutwitting theenchantress Circe,Thebes, 5th century BC.8. Athenian stamnos(storage jar), showingOdysseus listening tothe bewitching songof the Sirens whiletied to the mast ofhis ship, circa 470 BC.© Trustees of theBritish Museum.Odysseus (1995), which preservesthe melancholy tone and brutalityof the original.The access of the very youngto the Odyssey goes a long waytowards explaining why it is popularwith such a wide general public.In 1932, TE Lawrence (no meanstoryteller himself) wrote in theIntroduction to his translation ofthe Odyssey that ‘by its ease andinterest remains the oldest bookworth reading for its story andthe first novel of Europe.’ It is certainlythe first great adult romanticnovel – we identify with the painof Penelope and her husband (eventhough in the patriarchal world ofthe Greek Bronze Age, only the manis permitted the comfort of a coupleof extra-marital affairs) all the wayuntil book 23 out of a total of 24,Odysseus has heardthe most beautifulsinging that can beheard anywhere,the price of whichprivilege is usuallydeath, and lives totell the tale7832

when they are finally united (4). Butit is also the first great ‘rite of passage’novel, as their son Telemachussets out to sea in search of his father,matures from boyhood to manhoodand faces his first military ordeal.Since it contains informationabout every stage in Odysseus’ lifefrom his infancy to his death, andsince Odysseus relates many of hisadventures in his own, first-personvoice at the court of the Phaeacians,it is also the first example of biographicaland autobiographical narrative.The many books devoted tohis wanderings have informed andshaped countless ‘travelogue’ novelsfrom Don Quixote onwards(Cervantes was very fond of ancientGreek literature). The transformationof Odysseus’ men into pigs onCirce’s island stands at the headof the whole family tree of literarytransmutations and personifications,from Kafka’s Metamorphosisto Orwell’s Animal Farm.In Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: ASpace Odyssey, the name of theprotagonist, David ‘Bowman’, andthe menacing Cyclopean computerHal underline the ancient epic’s continuingrelationship with science fiction.It is certainly the role that theOdyssey has played in cinema thathas brought it the worldwide fameand popularity that it enjoys today.Special-effects designers have beenenthralled by its supernatural elements,from the morphing Proteus,who can turn into a lion, a snake, atree or a waterfall, to the terrifyingaquatic monster Scylla.As early as 1905, the cinema pioneerGeorge Méliès effected visualmagic with his L’Ile de Calypso:Ulysse et le géant Polyphème. Yet,paradoxically, the movie version ofthe Odyssey that has reached thewidest audience exists only insnippets. It is a film being madewithin the frame plot of a movieintegral to French New Wave cinema– Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris(Contempt) of 1963.The director of the art-house versionof the Odyssey under constructionis Fritz Lang, acted by himself.There is one scene where the rushesare scrutinised, and they includedazzling white statues of the godsagainst azure skies, that seem to becoming to life. Penelope standsagainst a bright yellow wall, adornedwith heavy make-up like a figurefrom a Mycenaean fresco; there areshots of sea-nymphs and Odysseusswimming towards a rocky outcrop.The film famously starred BrigitteBardot as Camille, the ‘Penelope’figure in the frame plot. Godardhimself wrote that it could havebeen entitled In Search of Homer; hewanted to show that the high culturalstatus of the Odyssey has actuallymade the original poem’smeaning almost irrecoverable, fragmentedinto an ever-increasing numberof different retellings.There have been several attemptsto film the ancient Greek epic itself.Mario Camerini’s Ulysses of 1954 isstill by far the best, featuring a morallycomplex Kirk Douglas in a pre-Spartacus loincloth, Anthony Quinnas the evil suitor Antinous, and theoutrageously glamorous SilvanaMangano in an interesting doubleact as both Penelope and Circe.A large number of films about thereturn of a long-lost husband andfather, especially from war, makeallusion to the Odyssey: the mostfamous include Sommersby (1993),Mike Leigh’s Naked (also 1993),and Cold Mountain (2003). But therelationship of the Odyssey withcinema is even more complicatedthan this. It has always held a special1112109. Illustration, showingUlysses and hiscrew at sea, madeby Charles Buchelfor the cover of thetheatre programmefor Stephen Phillips’verse drama Ulysses(1902). Courtesy ofAPRGD (Archives ofPerformances of Greekand Roman Drama,University of Oxford).10. Roman frescoshowing Ulyssesin the land of theLaestrygonians whospeared men like fish.11. Coin of theContorniates showinga draped bust ofHomer and, reverse,Helen with Paris,late 4th century AD.© CNG/Seaby Inc.12. Greek coin withhead of Odysseuswearing a pileusand, reverse, athunderbolt setwithin a wreath, circa300-191 BC. Ithaca.© CNG/Seaby Inc.place in aspiring screenwriters’ lore,as demonstrated in ChristopherVogler’s bestselling handbook TheWriter’s Journey (1992). In it,Vogler suggests that the formula fora successful screenplay is structuredaround situations and archetypalfigures that he traces back to theOdyssey. The wise elder figure thatbegan as Homer’s Mentor can beseen as Obi Wan Kenobi in GeorgeLucas’ Star Wars (1977). Hermes,who is the herald in the Odyssey,becomes the telegraph clerk in FredZinnemann’s High Noon (1952);while the shape-shifter Proteus hasmorphed into countless superheroesand their adversaries. Finally, theshowdown scene of the Odyssey,featuring violent revenge at the climax,is replayed in virtually everyfilm ever made by Clint Eastwood.The long cultural odyssey of theOdyssey seems immune to changingtastes in the media and theforms that our entertainment takes.It turns out that the great criticNorthrop Frye was right when hecommented that ‘of all fictions, themarvellous journey is the one formulathat is never exhausted’. nThe Return of Ulysses: A CulturalHistory of Homer’s Odysseyby Edith Hall is published inpaperback by IB Tauris at £14.99.9Minerva November/December 201233

Mayan archaeologyMayanMurray Eiland says the Mayancalendar has been misinterpreted,daysso we need not prepare for the endof the world after all3The popular imaginationhas been darkly capturedby the fact that the ancientMayan calendar comes toan end on this year’s winter solstice,21 December. But what exactly doesthis date, which was singled out bythe Maya, signify? Was there reallya unified Mayan world view culminatingin a catastrophe?What scholars think of this theoryis comprehensively covered in anew exhibition, entitled Maya 2012:Lords of Time, currently on showat the University of PennsylvaniaMuseum of Archaeology andAnthropology in Philadelphia. Itruns until January 2013, just tomake the point.A team from the Penn Museumwas actively involved in excavationsat Copan in western Honduras. TheEarly Copan Acropolis Programran from 1989 until 2003. Duringthe Classical Mayan period (AD250-900) Copan, now a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, was an importantcapital city.Impressive architectural ruins stillremains. The acropolis is the mainroyal complex, and extensive excavationhas yielded solid informationabout the rulers whose nameswere recorded on Altar Q up to severalhundred years later. The firststructures of stone and adobe dateto the 5th century AD, when kingK’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ establishedthe dynasty.From the beginning, the Mayawere intimately concerned with thepassage of time, and searched formeaning in natural cycles. Manystone monuments erected by kingsincluded calendars. Mesoamericanbooks that survive are, in part,devoted to numbers. The DresdenCodex (a book of Mayan astronomydating from the 11th or 12thcentury) is awash with bar-and-dot1. This head at Copan,in Honduras, probablyrepresents one ofthe progenitor gods.Photograph:Barry Brukoff.2. Temple 22 at Copanis dedicated to theMaize God. The toprepresents the sky; thesides are supportedby two old gods;and the skulls atthe base representthe underworld.Photograph:Barry Brukoff.3. Deer effigy vessel,circa 437 AD, fromthe Hunal Tomb,Copan. It once held afood offering madewith cacao beans.Photograph:Kenneth Garrett.2numerals. Since the deciphermentof Mayan text, it has also becomeclear that there is no clear line dividingart from mathematics and manyrepresentations of supernatural figuresalso seem to represent divisionsof time. Ancient cultures from1around the world conceive of daysand months as deities, but the Mayatook this to extremes. The sky wasregarded as the home of perfection,while the underworld was ruled bydeath. A paradox is that it was theunderworld that produced the firsthumans, water and plants.Existence was seen as cyclical, abalance between life and death and,at the heart of the cycle was knowledge,with four old men (portrayedas living stones) holding up the skyto prevent it from crashing down onto the earth. Since the Mayan wordtun meant ‘stone’ or ‘rock’, as wellas ‘year’, so their monumental stonecalendars also reflected those fourold men holding up the sky.Although calendars are thoughtto have been developed by theOlmec, it appears that the Mayawere particularly concerned withaccuracy, and theirs (along withlater Aztec examples) are the bestknown. Colonial-period sources,and Late Classic and Post-Classictraditions, suggest that the godItzamna brought the knowledge ofcalendars, along with writing, to34Minerva November/December 2012

humanity. God D in the DresdenCodex and in Classical Mayan artcan be identified with him. He issometimes dressed as a high priest,and hieroglyphically identified asthe god of rulers. Rulers and calendarshave a very close relationship.In practical terms a Mayan rulerwould have supported the priestswho observed nature and compiledthe calendars. As the ruler himselfwas an essential part of the system,it was an enlightened form of selfintereston his part to understandthe cycle of the universe.In Classical Mayan art the godItzamna may be shown clinging toa peccary (a pig-like mammal) or adeer; he may be depicted in variousstages of sacrifice; or he may be portrayedas a bird pursued by hunters.The variety of ways in whichthis deity can be represented makesit clear that a vast narrative traditionhas been lost, but there may bea clue in his name. The Mayan rootitz denotes all sorts of secretions,such as dew, sap, and semen, andalso sorcery. So Itzamna may havehad many qualities that befitted apowerful ruler.The ancient Maya had severalmethods of measuring time. Onecalendar system is still used in modifiedform by highland communitiesin Mexico and Guatemala. This isnow called the Tzolk’in (a neologism)and it is of 260 days. Regardedas the oldest, it is spread across the4. Detail of the carvedstucco MargaritaPanel showing theemblematic name ofCopan’s founder,450 AD. The panelwas discovered by aPenn Museum team inthe 1990s. Photogrphcourtesy Early CopanAcropolis Project, PennMuseum.5. Dr. Robert Sharer,working in the HunalTomb, examinesthe bones of K’inichYax K’uk’ Mo’.Photograph courtesyKenneth Garrett.4entire Mesoamerican region. Somecalendrical glyphs appear on apparentlyearly objects. This issue is stillcontentious among scholars; somesuggest a first millennium BC datefor these objects. But 260 days hasno clear relationship to any earth5-based or celestial cycle, and manyother theories have been proposed.Perhaps it was based on the numbers13 and 20, which were held tobe significant; 260 days may relateto the agricultural cycle in highlandGuatemala, or it could be based onthe average time between the firstmissed period and a human birth.The modern New Age movementpioneered by José Argüelles uses theDreamspell calendar, which incorporatessome components of the260-day calendar.The Maya could give a dateaccording to a ‘Calendar Round’date. This date gives both theTzolk’in and Haab’ systems (18months of 20 days with five namelessdays at the end). The CalendarRound date will repeat after 52Haab’ years or 18,980 days. TheHaab’ system was used to keeptrack of seasons, but was inaccurate.The Calendar Round cyclewould last about a lifetime. In orderto record longer cycles, another calendarwas used.Most popular attention has beendevoted to the so-called Long Countcalendar, which starts from a mythologicalstarting point, and couldbe extended to refer to any date inthe past or future. The Long Count(starting at 6 September 3114 BCaccording to the Julian calendar) isMinerva November/December 2012 35

Mayan archaeologynot related to the solar year. SomeLong Count inscriptions containdetails of the relevant lunar phaseor Venus cycle (of 584 days). Unlikewestern (decimal base 10) numbering,the Long Count used a modifiedbase 20 system. Although theMaya had a linear calendar, theywere more concerned with cycles.Monumental inscriptions typicallyincluded five digits of the LongCount, as well as two Tzolk’in charactersand two Haab’ characters.Not surprisingly, ritual was ruledby the calendar as a ritual performedat a certain time would be subject toa particular celestial influence.It seems that the tradition oferecting calendars was first developedbetween 800-500 BC (thedate of an uncarved stela and altarthat may once have been painted).The first stone calendar dates from36 BC and was found at the site ofChiapa de Corzo in Mexico. Thisis surprisingly late although it doesrefer back to much earlier dates.It is clear that kingship was linkedto conceptions of a cyclical universe.The Long Count Calendarhad fallen out of use by the time theSpanish arrived, but ancient textsgive 3114 BC as when the 13thBak’tun ended.So begins our current era. On 21December 2012 the Bak’tun cyclewill end 5,125 years after it began.The Maya did not make any predictionsregarding what would happenduring, or after, that date, andcounts on many monuments showthat the system would continuebeyond 2012. For example, a text66. Altar Q presentsthe succession of 16kings from the Classicdynasty of Copan.This view shows thefounder K’inichYax K’uk’ Mo’ (centreleft), symbolicallyhanding a staff ofoffice to the lastsuccessor. The largesquare altar, or throne,was commissionedby the 16th king inAD 776. Photographcourtesy KennethGarrett.7. Modelled clay lidof an incense-burner.The figure wears thedistinctive ‘goggles’that identify him asYax K’uk’ Mo’, founderof Copan, circa AD 695.Photograph courtesyHonduran Institute ofAnthropology andHistory.from Palenque in Mexico notes thecompletion of 1 Piktun, the nextunit up from the Bak’tun, in 4772.Part of the reason many assumethat the Maya believed there wouldbe a terrible realignment with direconsequences in 2012 is the cycle ofdestruction noted in the Popol Vuh(Book of Counsel), a text which wasrecorded by a Spanish priest in the18th century. But the cycles of creationand destruction as recorded inthis source might have more to dowith Aztecs of the 14th-16th centuriesthan the Classical Maya. New8discoveries may shed further lighton the issue of continuity.What has been billed as the earliestMayan astronomical calendarwas discovered by William Saturnoand his colleagues from a structurein Xultun in northern Guatemala(as reported in the 11 May issue ofScience). The 9th-century AD paintingson it relate to astronomicalobservations of Mars and Venus.Like their Old World counterparts,the Mayans were fascinated by thecycle of Venus, which is visible bothmorning and evening. It seems that8. Jade figurinefrom Copanrepresenting therebirth of the MaizeGod, circa AD 541.Photograph courtesyKenneth Garrett.736Minerva November/December 2012

Mayan archaeology9. Painted limestonehead of Chahk, godof rain and lightning,from Copan. Acormorant rises fromthe top of his head.Photograph: BarryBrukoff.Venus was seen by the Maya asmore powerful than either the sunor the moon, as it was visible duringtransitions between day and night.While the symbols still need tobe interpreted fully, it appears thatthe tables refer to dates far in thefuture. The fact that these inscriptionsare from the Classical Mayanperiod (circa AD 200-900) does notcome as a particular surprise. Thefew bark- paper books that survive,which were made just before thearrival of the Spanish, note datesfrom this period, and it has alwaysbeen hypothesised that the Mayawere keeping detailed calendarslong before this time. Painting ona wall (as at Xultun) can survive tothe present, whereas books perish.It should be noted that many rulersare known from monuments10. Stela 11 (right)once stood in thetemple doorwayabove the tomb ofCopan’s last trueking, Yax Pasaj ChanYopaat, circa AD 801.Honduran Instituteof Anthropology andHistory.Photograph: SteveMinicola.11. Painted cup fromthe Sub -Jaguar Tombat Copan, circa AD551. H. 5in. D. 4.75in.Photograph courtesyKenneth Garrett.910commemorating, not the date whenthey ascended the throne, but calendricalevents that occurred duringtheir reign. An example can befound during the reign of SmokeImix, thought to be the longestreigningking of Copan, who ruledfrom AD 628-695. Little has beenrecovered from the first phase of hisreign, but AD 652 marked an importantdate. The 260th parts (19.7years) of the Long Count are calledK’atuns, and two stelae were placedin the Great Plaza, and four morein important locations, to celebratethe ending of the K’atun. He alsoplaced a stela at Santa Rita, about12 kilometres away (a commemorationof the same event is noted inAD 652 on Altar L at Quiriguá). Bydoing this Smoke Imix was clearlyannouncing his authority, but it wasalso intimately related to the calendar.The rest of his reign is markedby the erection of more monuments.One of the last kings of Copan,Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, was 16th inthe dynasty founded by K’inich YaxK’uk’ Mo’. Apparently to bolster hisposition (he appears not to havebeen related to the founder), heerected the most famous monumentin Copan, Altar Q. The altar showseach of the 16 rulers of the cityseated on his name glyph. A textinscribed on the upper surfacerelates the founding of the dynastyin AD 426-427. The main theme isthe transfer of power by K’inich YaxK’uk’ Mo’, founder of the dynasty,to Yax Pasaj. During this troubledperiod the local nobility also gainedpower, so much so that they erectedtheir own monuments. Yax Pasaj’sK’atun-ending ceremony in AD 810was celebrated by erecting a monumentat Quiriguá, not at Copan.His tomb bears scenes of the kingperforming war dances with spearand shield. There is also a text thatstates ‘toppling of the FoundationHouse’ suggesting that the dynastyfell. The last known king of Copanwas Ukit Took’ who took power on6 February, AD 822. He commissionedAltar L in the style of AltarQ, but it was never finished.Today there is argument over thenature of the collapse of the Mayanempire, and whether the word ‘collapse’should even be used, but it isclear that by the time the Spanisharrived, high Mayan culture wasmerely a memory. The discovery ofearly cultures of Mesoamerica whichleft monumental architecture gaverise in the 19th century to a romanticview of them that has percolated intotoday’s startling New Age theories.Perhaps it is better to appreciate theancient Maya on their own terms. n• Maya 2012: Lords of Time is onshow at the Penn Museum (www.penn.museum until 13 January 2013.• For more information on Copanvisit http://copan2012honduras.com/• Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya byMichael D Coe, with photographsby Barry Brukoff, is published byThames & Hudson at £29.95.Minerva November/December 20121137

Exhibition1 2Dalu Jones visits a new exhibition tracing the background to and the effects of therevolutionary Edict of Milan that established Christianity in Europe in AD 313ConstantineToday Milan is known as athriving business centreand the home of some ofthe world’s greatest fashionhouses. But in other ways it islike most other Italian cities filledwith ancient churches, magnificentmuseums and beautiful palaces withelegant inner courtyards, all testifyingto a rich and historically importantpast spanning many centuries.Milan actually ousted Rome when,after several centuries of Romancontrol, Emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305) declared Mediolanum (Milan)1. Marble portrait headthought to be Helena.AD 300-310. H. 32cm.Ny Carlsberg Glyptotech,Copenhagen.2. Bronze portrait ofConstantine. H. 36cm.AD 325-330. NationalMuseum of Serbia,Belgrade.3. Bronze krismon.Late 4th century.D. 25.4cm. CeljieRegional Museum, Celjie.capital of the Western RomanEmpire in AD 293. Diocletian, however,chose to stay in Nicomedia(now Izmit in Turkey) the then capitalof the Eastern Roman Empire,while his colleague Maximian(r. AD 286-305) ruled the Westernsection. Maximian immediately builtseveral important monuments in thenew capital, including a large circusmeasuring 470 × 85 metres (1,540 ×279 feet), the baths known as theThermae Herculeae, an imposingcomplex of imperial palaces andseveral administrative buildings. Anew exhibition in the former royalpalace celebrates the glory ofancient Milan under the rule ofConstantine the Great (r. AD 306-337) and the anniversary of the revolutionaryEdict of Milan (AD 313).The edict was jointly proclaimed byConstantine and Licinius (r. AD 308-324), respectively the emperors ofthe Western and the Eastern Romanempires – when the two Augustiwere in Milan to celebrate the weddingof Constantine’s younger halfsisterConstantia to Licinius.The edict encouraged tolerance of38Minerva November/December 2012

Exhibition534the great6all religions throughout the empireand specified that Christianity washenceforth to be considered a lawfulreligion, thus ushering in aperiod of religious tolerance andgreat political and cultural renewal.Whether Constantine himselfhad already sincerely embracedChristianity is a moot point. Theemperor’s policy went beyond toleratingthis new faith, for he alsoallowed paganism and other religions;but he actively promotedChristianity as part of his overallimperial policy. The edict was aMinerva November/December 20124. Votive plaque. 6th/7thcentury AD. H. 3.6cm.W. 6.1cm. Fabbrica di SanPietro, Vatican City.5. Gilded silver HolyCross reliquary withConstantine and Helenain prayer. Late 12thcentury. H. 16cm. W. 9.2cm.Musée du Louvre, Paris.6. Gold cross pendant.Late 5th century AD.H. 3.7cm. W. 2cm. MuseoCivico d’Arte Antica,Palazzo Madama, Turin.watershed: Christianity soon becamethe one and only state religion forByzantium and the whole of Europeuntil the modern age.Versions of the text of the edictwere recorded by the Bishop ofCaesarea, the historian Eusebius(AD 263-339), in his HistoriaEcclesiastica (History of theChurch) and, more accurately,in Lactantius’ De MortibusPersecutorum (On the Deathof the Persecutors), written beforeAD 315. Lactantius (circa AD 240-circa AD 320), known as theChristian Cicero, had himself survivedDiocletian’s persecutions andbecome Constantine’s adviser onreligious matters and tutor to theemperor’s son Crispus.A previous and similar Edict ofToleration had been issued by theco-emperor Galerius (r. AD 305-311) from Serdica (Sophia) andposted up at Nicomedia on 30 April311. By its provisions, the Christians‘… who had followed such a capriceand had fallen into such a folly thatthey would not obey the institutesof antiquity’, were granted an39

indulgence, ‘wherefore, for this ourindulgence, they ought to prayto their God for our safety, for thatof the republic, and for their own,that the commonwealth may continueuninjured on every side, andthat they may be able to live securelyin their homes’.Christians’ meeting places andother properties confiscated fromthem were to be returned. Theirproperty was not restored to them,however, until the Edict of Milanwas signed. The new edict, whichaccording to the latest academicresearch is to be considered more ofa letter of instruction to provincialgovernors than a proper edict likethat made by Galerius, also directedthe provincial magistrates to executethe new orders ‘at once, withall energy, so that public order maybe restored and the continuance ofthe Divine favour may preserve andprosper our successes together withthe good of the state’.The development of Christianityin the 4th century from a privateform of worship into a state religioncan be assessed at this early stagewhen religious tolerance prevailed,from the fact that both pagan andChristian symbols were often presenton the same object. Constantineencouraged both Christians andpagans alike to observe the Day ofthe Sun, an esoteric form of worshiplinked to Mithraism. He also77. Marble portrait ofEmperor Constantine.AD 306-337. H. 42cm.York Museum Trust,York.8. Textile fragmentfrom a tent, linenembroidered withcoloured wool,showing a jewelledcross within a wreath.6th/7th century AD.D. 6.7cm. Victoriaand Albert Museum,London.9. Siliqua, mintedat Ticinum, showinga representation ofConstantine.AD 306-337. D. 2.41cm.KunsthistorischesMuseum, Vienna.10. Marble sculpturethought to be ofthe Good Shepherd.Second half of the2nd century AD.H. 49cm. MuseiCapitolini, Rome.chose the symbol of the sun forhis coinage. However Constantineused the krismon or chi-rho, (thetwo initial letters of the name ofChrist in Greek), as a graphic symbolof the new imperial policy onhis military insignia at the Battleof the Milvian Bridge in AD 312.It was there he defeated Maxentius(r. AD 306-312) son of the formeremperor Maximian and son-in-lawof Emperor Galerius, who vied withhim for rulership of the WesternEmpire. Later legends ascribedConstantine’s choice of the chi-rhoto a vision: he dreamt of a crosssurrounded by blazing light and,shining above it, the words ‘In hocsigno vinces’, ‘In this sign you shallconquer’ (‘En touto nika’ in Greek).But how serious and wholeheartedhe was about his new faithis debatable especially as when hededicated Constantinople (formerlyByzantium, now Istanbul) as the newcapital of the empire, no Christiansymbols were displayed, and hewore an Apollonian sun-rayed diadem.The Arch of Constantine,built in Rome in AD 315 to celebratehis victory at the Battle of theMilvian Bridge, is equally devoid ofChristian symbols.Nevertheless it is the krismonthat holds pride of place inthe Milan exhibition with somebeautiful and interesting exampleson show, including a ring on8 9 1040

11. Stone reliefshowing the godMithras wrestling abull. Early 2nd centuryAD. H. 36.5cm. W. 41cm.ArchaeologischesMuseum Carnuntinum.12. Brass and enamelpectoral worn onparade. End of the 3rdcentury. H. 23.6cm.W. 22.4cm. NationalMuseum of Serbia,Belgrade.loan from the KunsthistorischesMuseum in Vienna, and a rare5th-century embroidered textilefragment from the Victoria andAlbert Museum in London.There are, of course, many otherobjects and coins documenting thenew public representations of theemperor, his family and his courtfollowing the edict. Some of themost precious of these belonged tothe new elite of the empire, thepowerful Christian clergy, and theirnewly built churches and religiousinstitutions. Among these leaders isone of the Church Fathers, SaintAmbrose (circa AD 330-397), theArchbishop of Milan.More than 200 historical treasuresare on display in the newexhibition, which is subdivided intosix different sections. The themesrange from Mediolanum as a capitalto the role of the army, the decisiveprotagonist of the period. Theresults of recent archaeologicalinvestigation illustrate the evolutionof Mediolanum from a richprovincial city into the administrativehub of the Western empire.Archaeological evidence also showsthat the Palatium, the seat of theemperor, was a large complex madeup of several buildings, courtyardsand gardens for both his private andpublic life. Artefacts from the largepublic baths, private houses andnecropolis are on show.The exhibition ends with a specialsection devoted to Constantine’smother, Helena, who may havebeen instrumental in her son’s conversionto Christianity. Little isknown about her other than thatshe was from humble origins. Amedieval tradition claims that shewas a native of Britain, but it ismore likely that she came fromBithynia in Asia Minor. While workingas a stable-hand and serving girlin an inn, she attracted theConstantius Chlorus, then an armyofficer who later rose through theranks to become emperor.Constantine himself (AD 272-337) was born in Serbia at Naissus(now Nis), so Helena must haveaccompanied Constantius there andpossibly married him. He divorcedher in AD 289, no doubt for reasonsof state, so he could to marryTheodora, Maximian’s daughter.Constantius died in Eburacum(York) in AD 306 and Constantinewas proclaimed his successor.From lowly stable-hand, servinggirl and single mother, Helena wasto become Dowager Empress – thedivorced widow of ConstantiusChlorus, mother of Constantineand grandmother to his offspring.She also became a saint in theprocess, notwithstanding rumoursthat she may have instigated themurder of her daughter-in-lawFausta, who suffocated in anoverheated bathhouse in Pola in121113. Cima daConegliano’s Sant’Elena, circa 1495,shows Helena as asaint holding theHoly Cross. H. 31.30cm.National Gallery ofArt, Washington13Croatia. Following Helena’s proclamationas Augusta, inscriptionsappeared in the empire using hernew title and she became the demurerole model for later Roman andByzantine empresses.Her elevation to sainthood comesfrom her association with the relicsof the True Cross, on which Jesuswas crucified, whose location onGolgotha in Jerusalem she identifiedand had excavated. The miraculousevent took place during a two-yearpilgrimage to the Holy Land inAD 327-328 that Helena undertookwith the intention of travelling inthe footsteps of Jesus Christ.Astonishingly, she did this atthe age of 82, two years beforeshe died. Yet despite her great age,the empress dowager had timeto supervise the construction ofmany churches in Palestine, amongthem the Church of the Nativity inBethlehem, and to shower gifts andlargesse on the population at large,the poor and sick especially.The nails from the True Crosswere incorporated into a helmet anda bridle, to give Constantine a formof divine protection. Pieces of thecross itself multiplied over the centuriesto such an extent that Calvinwrote in his Traité des Reliques:‘... if all the pieces that could befound were collected together, theywould make a big ship-load. Yet theGospel testifies that a single manwas able to carry it.’ nCostantino 313 DC is on show atPalazzo Reale, Piazza del Duomo,Milan (00 39 (0) 2 88448046;www.adartem.it) until 17 March2013. The exhibition will thentravel to Rome, where it will beon view at the Colosseum and theCuria Iulia from 27 March 2013.The catalogue is edited by GemmaSena Chiesa and Paolo Biscottini,and published by Electa at €29.Minerva November/December 201241

MuseumGifts & discoveriesThis year the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge reopened itsbrand-new doors on to freshly refurbished galleries. Its director Nicholas Thomas tellsus about the history of its diverse collectionsWhen appointed directorof the Museumof Archaeology andAnthropology (MAA)at the University of Cambridge in2006, I saw at once that refurbishmentand a new entrance on to thestreet (as opposed to via a universitycourtyard – not public-friendly)was both necessary and long overdue. It took three years to secure thefunding and two years for the workto be done; we reopened this year.So what does MAA have to offerits visitors?The museum holds world-classcollections of indigenous art andartefacts from throughout theworld. The archaeological discoveriesrange from early hominid toolsthrough later Stone Age materialsto Roman and Anglo-Saxon findsfrom Britain. Relative to the greatLondon museums and to biggercity museums elsewhere in Britain,MAA is small – just four main galleriesare spread over three floorsof an evocative early 20th-centurybuilding, but this relative compactnessbelies the range and importanceof the museum’s holdings.The collections consist of some800,000 artefacts, 200,000 historicphotographs and an archive of letters,fieldworkers’ research notes,and associated documents. Theyinclude many artefacts representingthe cultures of peoples who havesince suffered great upheavals andgreat losses, and pieces of uniquehistorical significance – the very firstAboriginal objects collected fromAustralia by any European, forexample. Collections of this kindreached the museum through networkslinking explorers, travellers,colonial officials and Cambridgescholars and scientists. The sheerreach of these relationships – in thecontext of European expansion ingeneral and the British Empire specifically– brought, over time, anextraordinary range of exceptionalart works and artefacts.The Museum was established in1884, but older collections alreadyexisted in Cambridge, that in duecourse were transferred. TrinityCollege’s famous Wren Libraryincorporated, until the end of the19th century, a display of curiositiesthat came together in muchthe same way as the founding collectionsof the older London andOxford museums. The College held11. Dominating theMaudslay Hall insidethe museum is a totempole from BritishColumbia. H. 1400cm.15 stones bearing Roman inscriptionsthat had belonged to theprominent antiquarian Sir RobertCotton (1571-1613). He was afriend of William Camden, whosebook, Britannia, published in 1586,had been of tremendous importancein advancing interest in the sites andantiquities of Roman Britain; some42

Museumof the pieces were obtained duringa tour through England’s northerncounties that the two men undertookin 1599.The Trinity collection alsoincluded some 120 artefacts gatheredduring Captain James Cook’sfirst voyage to the Pacific. In manycases these were the first objectsobtained from the indigenous peoplesof the various islands and coastsvisited. Hence, while Cotton’s collectionreflected the inauguration ofserious inquiry into Roman Britain,the Cook collection marked thebeginnings of European interest inthe arts and peoples of the Pacific.It was not, however, the accumulationof collections in the collegesthat eventually gave rise to a3 4museum. The campaign to establishan institution was driven by membersof the Cambridge AntiquarianSociety, which had been establishedin 1840. The CAS was one of manylocal, typically county-based, historical,architectural, or archaeologicalsocieties created in theperiod. Members attended meetings,read papers and presentedgifts of books and specimens, whichbegan to accumulate, and there wasongoing anxiety about appropriatespace for the growing collection.Membership too grew dramaticallyin the 1870s and 1880s, and it wasover this period that the universitywas successfully lobbied to establisha museum for the CAS’s collections.At the same time, Sir ArthurHamilton Gordon sought to presentto the university a collection he hadmade as Governor of Fiji from 1875to 1880. Gordon was a Trinity man,the son of a Prime Minister, a formerPresident of the CambridgeUnion, and governor of severalother colonies before Fiji. Oneof his private secretaries, Alfred6 7252. Etching of themuseum made byTG Jackson, 1909.3. Palaeolithic flinthandaxe. Elveden,Suffolk. 13.2cm.4. Mesolithic red deerfrontlet. Star Carr,Yorkshire. 32cm.5. Late Iron Ageharness plates. Santon,Suffolk. 100 BC- AD 43.H. 8cm/7cm.6. Clay brick inscribedwith the name ofNebuchadnezzar II andunknown footprint.Babylon. 605-562BC.L 34cm.7. Cast of Mayan relief.AD 769-800. H. 88cm.Maudslay, later a pioneer of CentralAmerican archaeology, also wishedto donate a considerable number ofFijian artefacts.Not only these collections, but thenomination of a prospective curator,were pressed upon the university.Anatole von Hügel, of Englishand aristocratic Austrian parentage,had arrived in Fiji just beforeGordon and Maudslay. Young,enthusiastic, and open-minded, hequickly became passionately interestedin Fijian culture, got on wellwith the local people he encountered,and collected avidly.Von Hügel’s appointment wouldprove fortuitous. He worked enormouslyhard to build the collections.He was dedicated, charming,and persuasive, and won friends forthe new institution, among them SirJames Frazer, author of The GoldenBough, the famous early study ofmagic and religion, and AA Bevan,the wealthy Professor of Arabic,who funded many purchases. Hecorresponded extensively with travellersand others with ethnologicalinterests, encouraged them to makecollections for Cambridge, andbought pieces and collections fromdealers and auctions, very oftenwith his own money.Initially the museum was linkedwith no department or faculty.Though a Disney Professorshipin Archaeology had been establishedin 1851, the position washeld by Classicists and until the late1920s affiliated with the Faculty ofClassics. A few scholars, however,were excited by the emerging field43

118of prehistoric archaeology, and bythe study of native peoples’ customs,institutions, and technologies.Alfred Cort Haddon trained in zoologybefore turning to anthropologyand followed up T H Huxley’s studiesin the Torres Strait, between thetip of Australia’s Cape York andNew Guinea.It is easily assumed that anthropologicaland archaeological collectionscreated during the colonialage consist primarily of loot, indeedthat most museum objects werestolen, illegally excavated, or otherwiseillegitimately acquired. TheCambridge collections, like thoseof all similar museums, includeconsiderable numbers of artefactsacquired through dealers, or undercircumstances that make it impossibleto know their precise histories.But MAA’s most importantcollections were generated throughfieldwork by researchers who spentextended periods with communitiesand in many cases documented98. Photograph ofAshokan remains atSarnath, India. 1905.9. Students excavatinga trench at Star Carr,Yorkshire, 1949-51.10. ColchesterwareRoman beaker,depicting a race withchariots pulled byphalluses. AD 43-410.Great Chesterford,Essex. H. 19.9cm11. Anglo-Saxonsquare-headedgold brooch. LintonHeath barrow, LintonCambridgeshire.AD 550-700. L. 18cm.interactions and exchanges in considerabledetail. Haddon wasfirmly opposed to looting, andcensured researchers whom heknew had acquired objectswithout proper return.The museum had initiallybeen established ina new building on landleased from Peterhouse, acollege that still bears theinscription, ‘Museum ofArchaeology’ across its lintel.But Von Hügel’s vigorousefforts, and the majorcollections brought backfrom the Torres Strait, resultedin a great expansion of holdingsby the end of the 19th century. Itwas clear that a new building wasneeded. The university made spaceavailable on a substantial site purchasedto house teaching departments;an architect, TJ Jackson,was commissioned, and his plansapproved. Von Hügel struggled toraise funds, and construction eventuallybegan in 1910.Internally, Jackson’s design wasinspired; it renders the museum’supper galleries, especially, enduringlyevocative. Motivated possiblyby the hope that a major totem polemight be acquired, the first and secondfloors were opened up by a magnificentlight-filled atrium – whichindeed did feature a spectaculartotem pole from 1922 onwards. Thespace also incorporated the centralsection of Inigo Jones’ 1638 choirscreen from Winchester Cathedral.This had been removed in the 1870sbut was discovered by Jackson, alsoarchitectural adviser to the Deanof the Cathedral, who worked thedisproportionately grand neoclassicalarch into the end wall of theupper gallery. The combination of asample of great church architecture,10Haida monumental sculpture, andOceanic and African art may seembizarre, but in truth is strangelyappropriate. The interests of scientistsand collectors were at the timeeclectic; they might be stimulated asreadily by British as by Egyptian,Indian or Papuan things, and theydid not in general have reservationsabout removing artefacts or edificesfrom their places of origin, to drawthem into a universal collection.Von Hügel was succeeded asCurator of the museum by LouisClarke, a wealthy connoisseurand collector who later took upthe directorship of the FitzwilliamMuseum. Like von Hügel, he putgreat energy into expanding the collections,and spent a lot of his ownmoney acquiring both archaeologicaland anthropological pieces fromdealers and auction rooms. Clarke44Minerva November/December 2012

121314had strong interests in the Americasand purchased major Plains Indianand Amazonian collections; earlyon he also acquired material fromWiddicombe House, a stately homein Devon, which included a furthergroup of artefacts from CaptainCook’s voyages. In 1923 he participatedin major excavations atKechibawa in New Mexico andbrought back important archaeologicaland ethnographic collections.Succeeding curators, suchas TT Patterson and GeoffreyBushnell, both also archaeologists,worked primarily in the Arcticand Central America respectively.Bushnell was succeeded by PeterGathercole, renowned for hiswork in Pacific archaeologyand on early voyage collectionsin 1971; thenDavid Phillipson, the dis-15tinguished archaeologistof Africa, was Directorfrom 1981 to 2006.Much more could besaid about the manyexpeditions and fieldtrips that Cambridgelecturers and curatorsundertook over theyears, and the relationshipsthat linked the MAA withanthropologists and archaeologists,and with local peoples,elsewhere in the world. These wererelationships that not only producedcollections, but also producedknowledge, of the human past inparticular regions, and topics suchas language, kinship, religion, andpolitics. They also generated visualrecords – ranging from engagingsketches of people and placesto photographic archives of thousandsof images documenting thelives of societies in great detail. Allof this knowledge depended upon12. Anglo-Saxon glassbeaker. Dry Drayton,Cambridgeshire.AD 600-700. H. 18.5cm.13. Snakes and laddersboard, North IndiaWood inlaid withmother of pearl Oneof only three knownMuslim examples fromIndia. H. 79.8cm.14. Bronze Age flintdagger with handleimitating stitchedleather. Denmark.1700-500 BC. L. 20.5cm.15. Shell necklace.Mount Carmel, Israel.8000 BC. L. 53cm.16. Carving of twohuman figures and ananimal. Austral Islands,Polynesia. L. 51cm.Collected by CaptainJames Cook in 1769.16collaboration – with local guidesand workers, in the case of archaeologicalinvestigations, and communities,elders, experts and artists inthe case of ethnographic work. Inmany cases the cultures representedthrough this work have sufferedprofound and destructive change.Early fieldworkers’ studies and collectionsprovide, in some cases,vital records of the way things wereamong certain communities.Over the past 20 years researchat the museum has reactivatedthe connections that brought collectionsto Cambridge in the firstplace. Projects with communitiesranging from Torres Strait Islandersto the Sami of northern Scandinaviaand the Zuni of New Mexico havebrought indigenous experts tothe Museum. What we knowabout artefacts and their socialand cultural meanings hasbeen enhanced dramaticallyby new dialogue, andalso by the fieldwork nowbeing conducted by students,curators, and academics.These projects havetaken images and informationback to source communitiesand, in some cases, importantobjects have been loaned tolocal or national museums in theircountries of origin.Our collaborations often alsoinvolves contemporary artists, somefrom indigenous communities, othersinterested in creating work thatreflects upon the MAA and its history.So, the collections have cometo incorporate not only great historicartefacts, but new works thatcomment on culture and history,and express the contemporary concernsof peoples who have suffereddispossession and ongoing marginalisation.The old stereotype of themuseum implies a dusty culturalmortuary; in contrast, the artworksand artefacts at MAA are very muchalive, reinvigorated by new questions,provoking argument, andstimulating all of us to think aboutthe extraordinary range of past andpresent human experience. n• The Museum of Archaeologyand Anthropology, Downing Street,Cambridge CB2 3DZ (www.maa.cam.ac.uk) is open from 10.30amto 4.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday.Admission is free.• Gifts and Discoveries: TheMuseum of Archaeology &Anthropology, edited by MarkElliott and Nicholas Thomas, ispublished by Scala at £12.95.Minerva November/December 2012

GreenSpainUrsula Kampmann goes in search of Romans and Visigoths in Cantabria and AsturiasIt was on 13 January 27 BC,when the Civil War amongthe Romans had just been settledby a complex act of state.Octavianus had assumed the honorarytitle of Augustus and, in addition,a range of functions securinghis retention of power. His majorproblem was the army. After thebattle of Actium, 70 legions wereunder arms and, although not allthese legions had their official combatstrength of 6,000 men each, theRoman army, including the cavalryand navy, now totalled a colossal250,000 men. Every one of thesesoldiers expected a piece of land bigenough to sustain his family at theend of his military career, but therewas simply not enough to go round.A huge, idle army might become acradle of rebellion, and Augustus1. Aureus made ofgold mined in Spainshowing Augustus and,reverse, the templeof Jupiter Tonans(Thundering Jupiter),19-16 BC. Augustuswas almost killed bya stroke of lightning,after which he builta temple to JupiterTonans. Courtesy ofThe New York Sale XX(2009) 391.had no choice but to put his soldiersto use. This he did by conqueringareas he had previously avoidedbecause of their difficult terrain. So,when the campaigning season of27 BC began, Augustus left Romeand personally took command ofthe conquest of northern Spain.The roads across this barren,rough countryside have improvedbeyond measure since Augustus’day. But when we cross the border1between France and Spain around2,000 years later, we notice thatone thing has remained the same.You can only drive along the northcoast, or into the heart of thecountry on the famous Way of StJames, and there are still few connectionsbetween these two routes.The northern and southern partsof the area are separated by theCantabrian Range, which runs eastwestabout 15 kilometres inlandfrom the coast, and whose peakscan reach 2,500 metres.We decide to cross ‘Green Spain’by driving along the coast and soonlearn why it is so called – becauseit rains so much here that everythinggreen flourishes. The mostpopular souvenir is not, as youmight assume, the scallop shell of StJames but a strong umbrella that46Minerva November/December 2012

Travel342can be put to good use rather often.We travel through Cantabriauntil we reach Asturias. Bothregions take their names from tribesAugustus planned to subdue in26 BC. The inhabitants, however,put up a fight. They withdrew intonumerous mountain passes, waitedfor the marching Roman columnsto approach, then attacked them bytriggering rockfalls.Initially Augustus stayed with hisarmy but, when a thunderbolt struckone of his torch-bearers standingnearby, he interpreted it as divineadvice that he should withdrawimmediately to his headquarters. Sohe left his army with the order thatthey should smoke out the enemyforces. The local resistance fightersretreated to Mons Vindius, a peakin the Picos de Europa, where they2. The rocky regionof Las Médulas innorthern Spain, wheregold was once mined,is now a park withWorld Heritage status.3. The church of OurLady of Covadonga.Pelagius (Pelayo), oneof the last survivingVisigoths who becamethe first king of Spain,defeated the invadingMoorish army atCovadonga afterreceiving a sign fromthe Virgin Mary in theform of a jewelledwooden cross.4. The site of CastroViladonga, which datesback to around 50 BC.were surrounded by the Romantroops and starved out.Today the Picos de Europa is anational park whose snowy heightsoverlook idyllic lakes – an areamuch favoured by hikers. After astroll, we move on to Covadonga,where Pelagius, one of the last survivingVisigoths, entrenched himselfafter being chased by Muslimtroops in 722. Luckily, the VirginMary sent him a cedar cross decoratedwith gold and jewels (you canstill see a replica of it in the treasureroomof the cathedral of Oviedo) asa sign that he would triumph – soPelagius prevailed and began theReconquista (Reconquest) of landseized by the Muslims.Around Covadonga we discovertraces that lead you back to thebeginning of Spanish history. Inthe small hamlet of Villanueva, forexample, is the church of a monasterybuilt in memory of Pelagius’son Fávila. He reigned for only twoyears and died during a bear hunt aspictured on a carved stone we see onthe portal of the monastery of SanPedro de Villanueva. Although youwill be unlikely to meet any yourself,brown bears still live in the Picosde Europa. Only a few kilometresaway is the small modern town ofCangas de Onís, the first capital ofAsturias. On a hill visible in the distancestood the church constructedby Favila (of which only the foundationstone now remains) probablythe first to be constructed afterthe Islamic conquest of Spain in AD711. In 1630 under Philip IV whilea search was being made for thetomb of Pelagius, Spain’s first king,Minerva November/December 201247

Travela prehistoric dolmen constructedaround 3000 BC was discovered.On the mound above this ancienttomb Fávila erected his church.Today, a modern chapel stands onthis patch of ground that is steepedin history. The foundation stone ofthe original church is immured ina wall and visitors can glimpse theprehistoric tomb through a hole inthe floor.To return to the Romans, despitetheir success in 26 BC they did notsucceed in subduing all the mountainpeople of this region. Thishappened only after Augustus hadreturned to Rome. Officially ittook until 19 BC to break the lastresistance movement and northernSpain did not see peace until 14 BC.They chose Mons Medullinus inthe heart of the country that, today,some scholars believe to be near tothe region of Las Médulas.This is one of the places you mustsee if travelling through northernSpain. Designated a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1977, it is avast area of gold mines in the hinterlandof Ponferrada. Las Médulaswas the reason for Rome’s interestin this part of northern Spain – theempire struck its aurei from goldmined here. According to Pliny theElder (Naturalis Historia XXXIII,78), these gold mines were believedto yield 20,000 Roman pounds(approximately 6.5 tons) per year– enough to mint 1.2 million aurei.Today in Las Médulas theSpanish government has developedan archaeological park in which65you can enjoy walks lasting for severalhours. Extensive charts explainhow the mining was carried out – toobtain the gold-bearing rock wholemountains were cracked open.Pliny’s description (NaturalisHistoria, XXXIII, 70) is probablyquite precise, since he took theopportunity of visiting the placepersonally when he was procuratorof Hispania Tarraconensis in AD 74:‘The third way of mining gold isfar beyond the work of giants. Themountains are bored with corridorsand galleries made by lamplightwith a duration that is used tomeasure the shifts. For months, theminers cannot see the sunlight andmany of them die inside the tunnels.This type of mine has been giventhe name of arrugiae; often theysuddenly collapse burying thus theworkers. It would seem less audaciousto find pearls at the bottomof the sea than make these scars inthe rock.’Actually the impressive, raggedorange-red-coloured rock you seetoday are the remains of the mountainsthat were, in part, brokendown. Long paths, rather ambiguouslysignposted lead through thearea and even with a map from thetourist office you can easily get lost.The sweet chestnut trees growing inthis valley are evidence of the factthat the gold-mining had to be donecost-efficiently. These trees wereimported and planted to providesweet chestnuts as cheap nourishmentfor the slaves who worked inthe gold mines.Lugo, the administrative centre ofLas Médulas, named by the RomansLucus Augusti, was founded in 13BC on a Celtic settlement conqueredby Paulus Fabius Maximus. TheTrees were imported and planted to providesweet chestnuts as cheap nourishment for theslaves who worked in the gold mines5. The impressive Picode Europa where thereare lots of trails forwalkers and hikers.6. A bronze statueof Spain’s first kingPelagius (Pelayo), sonof Favila, stands inCovadonga on the siteof his victorious battleagainst the Moors.7. A carving on the12th-century portal ofthe monastery of StPedro de Villanuevashows Favila beingkilled during a bearhunt.Brown bearsare still found in themountains in this area.7town came into life in the course ofAugustus’ extensive administrativereforms between 16 BC and 13 BC.Then northern Spain became a partof the province Hispania Citerior,later known also under the name ofHispania Tarraconensis, taken fromthe governor’s residence in Tarraco,(modern Tarragona). In such a hugeprovince there were also smalleradministration units with their localcentres and one of these was Lugo,place of a conventus, which offeredthe population the possibility ofconsulting a Roman court while notbeing constrained to undertake atrip to Tarraco.Lugo was made a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site in 2000 because of itsthick, well-preserved Roman citywall. The awesome construction is48

Travel112.17 kilometres long, has an averageheight of 11 metres and is 3 to 4.5metres thick. Subdivided by sevengates and 85 semi-towers, it wasextensively repaired in the MiddleAges. The walk along this wall isa delight and, understandably, thecitizens of Lugo have integrated it88. Statue of Breogan,the mythical founderof Coruna, with theTower of Hercules, amuch-restored Romanlighthouse in thebackground.9. and 10. one of thereconstructed housesat the site of SantaTegra which was oncea vast Celtiberiantown with around1,000 dwellings, datingfrom 50 BC-AD 450.11. Sweet chestnutsfrom trees importedby the Romans – toprovide food for theworkers in the goldmines – still litter theground in Las Médulas.910into their daily life. This is wherethey go for a morning jog, take theirdogs for a walk or enjoy a romanticrendezvous in the evening. Lugo isnot the only town in Spain with aRoman city wall; there are around50 examples – we saw very impressiveremains at Leon and Astorga.Castro Viladonga, an archaeologicalsite nearby, shows how theconquered people lived. There weremany of these small, fortified settlementsin Roman Spain whosecollective cultures are known asCastro culture.Archaeologists believe that CastroViladonga originated around 50 BCand was occupied until around themiddle of the 5th century AD. Thisis further corroborated by coinsfound there dating from the fourthand fifth centuries. The settlementconsisted of thatched and brickcoveredcircular houses enclosed bya high earthen wall.A small but attractive museumexhibits local archaeological findsand gives a very clear impressionof how the indigenous inhabitantslived under Roman rule.There were, of course, biggersettlements, such as Santa Tegra,a vast Celtiberian town with theremains of around 1,000 houses situatedon the border with Portugal.Today it has become a touristattraction and its two reconstructedhouses impress visitors holidayingalong the coast between Baionaand A Garda. There is also a smallmuseum showing objects excavatedat the settlement.Moving on we arrive in LaCoruna founded, according to thelegend, by the Galician Celtic kingBreogan. At Ardobicom Corunium,as it was renamed by the Romans,stands their only remaining lighthouse,which was known as theFarum Brigantium until the 20thcentury. Now called the Tower ofHercules (made a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site in 2009) it acted as alight, a signal, and a landmark andwas also, probably, used for storageand as a military safe haven.The exact date when it was builtis still open to debate. It may havebeen erected immediately after theRoman conquest of the region, orlater under Trajan, a theory corroboratedby an inscription that hasbeen cited ever since.The original tower would, ofcourse, have looked very differentto how it does today, since, between1788-91, the Roman core was cladin stone in a Neoclassical style.Images on coins show that it probablyhad a flat platform on top wherethe beacon was lit. The firewoodneeded for that purpose was carriedvia broad ramps which spiralledaround the outside of the tower.With our arrival in La Coruna wehad finally crossed Green Spain; forour return, we chose to travel alongthe Way of St James, wearing ourscallop shells as is the custom. nMinerva November/December 201249

TechnologyApps on tapKirsten Amor looks how iPads, tablet screens and apps canhelp archaeologists and Classicists4With computer technologygrowing atan ever-increasingspeed, enabling usersto complete mundane and longwindedtasks more efficiently, it ishardly surprising that professionalsin the archaeological and Classicssectors are now using these newdevices to ease their workload andorganise their data. The Universityof Cincinnati recently recorded alltheir excavation reports at PortaStabia in Pompeii using the iPad,whilst Liverpool University testedthe versatility of the iPad as anrecording tool at sites in Bulgaria,Wales, England, and Greece thispast summer.But, although not everyone iswilling to invest in an iPad or tabletscreen, there are also a numberof apps available for smart phonesand even PCs that can improve yourstudies of the ancient world.EvernoteThis app allows users to take cloudbasedtext, audio, and picture noteswith a geo-reference. It enables11. and 2. An aerialview at Porta Satbiain Pompeii and a planof the site made usingan iPad by Americanarchaeologists fromthe University ofCincinnati.3archaeologists and Classicists tobetter-organise their informationwithout spending hours riflingthrough paperwork.Theodolite ProAn app that functions as a compass,rangefinder, and GPS, that canbe used in conjunction with a camera.It allows archaeologists to fillout fieldwork sheets without riflingthrough toolboxes for lost kit.Tap Forms HDThis allows users to import datafrom their Macs or PCs using FTPand web-based servers. In essence,the app acts as a portable paperworkcarrier device, and enablesClassicists and archaeologists tostore many types of data on onesource.TouchDrawWith this app users can createillustrations and drawings, exportand import them to other devices,and create libraries that they canshare with friends and co-workers.Archaeologists can create technicaldrawings in the field, andinsert scales, graphs, and layers intothe document as well. Classicists canuse it as an aid for creating sketches2Minerva November/December 2012

Technologyof Classical sculpture and layoutsof cities. Archaeological serviceteam Studiebureau ArcheologieBVBA found this app particularlyhelpful when drawing plans ofheritage sites.ArchaeoBoxThis international archaeologyweb-referencing project was createdfor, and by, archaeologists. It offersusers the latest news in archaeology,fieldwork positions, events listings,and archaeology travel reviews.Librarium II Latin Text ReaderThis resource provides a selectionof Latin texts all in one app, andallows users to tap a word on thescreen for a definition. It is a usefultool for professors and amateursalike wanting access to texts withoutlengthy searches in a library, oras a study tool for students.Virtual History RomaThis app presents a three-dimensionaldigital reconstruction ofthe city of Rome, complete withwell-known structures, like theColosseum, and also buildings thathave been destroyed, such as Nero’sGolden House, all of which can beexplored. It also shows how famousbuildings would have looked at differentstages in the Empire’s history.Other features of this appinclude 3D tours of other major citiesof the Roman Empire, such asPompeii, with information sheets,maps, and photographs to providean in-depth history of the Empire,and how it changed over time. Thisapp is an informative aid for visualisingthe monuments and buildingsfamed throughout Roman history,and understanding the changes tothe city over time. It also saves timetaken by searching through mapsand books.Ancient GreekThis combines a copy of Liddell,Scott, and Jones’ Greek-EnglishLexicon with a large collection of53. 4. and 5. Belgianarchaeologists useiPads to record theirexcavation work.works by Ancient Greek scholarsand writers. It is easy to use – justtap a word on the screen and youwill get an instant definition. It is ahandy resource for those wanting aquick translation of words, or whowish to read a Greek text withoutthe hassle of finding it at the library.Greek mythology, SocraticaAn app that acts an informationresource about all the gods andgoddesses of Greek religion, it alsoprovides an extensive database ofrepresentations of these deities inancient and post-ancient art. Inaddition it offers an audio tool toaid in the pronunciation of theirmore tricky names.Greece: History and CultureOverall, this app is like a portableencyclopaedia of Greek civilization,divided into historical periods, withinformation on the history and cultureof that period listed beneatheach heading, accompanied by anextensive catalogue of photographsand archaeological and historicalmaps of Greece. There is also atimeline, searchable lists of prominentancient Greeks’ biographies,a year search engine, and storiesabout events in Greek history.Download the Minerva App from the iTunes App Store today and keep in touchwith the world of ancient art and archaeology wherever you areFree to download for Minerva print subscribers, or just £2.99 direct from the store,the Minerva App is now available for your iPad or iPhoneMinerva November/December 2012 51

Technology1Googling art all over the worldThose that have always wanted toexplore the art galleries of Italy,or discover the rock drawings ofWestern Australia but have neitherthe time nor funds, can now do sowithout leaving home. The GoogleArt Project, a collaboration betweenthe Google Cultural Institute and151 museums and research centresall over the world, allows users toview over 32,000 works of art allon one website. Bringing togethersome of the best examples of sculpture,painting, drawing, historic andreligious artefacts, photographs,and important manuscripts, theGoogle Art Project was created to1. Taking a virtualtour of the galleriesof the Musée d’Orsayin Paris.2. Recording areligious scene froma painting for theGoogle Art Project atthe Museu Nacionald’Art de Catalunya.Photographs: GoogleArt Project.2promote the use and preservation ofculture online.When it was launched on 1February, 2011, the Google ArtPorject collaborated with 17museums but, this year, it rapidlyexpanded its collection, improvedthe quality of the images, and addednew tools and interactive elements.Amit Sood, Head of the GoogleArt Project, stated: ‘The Art Projectis going global, thanks to our newpartners from around the entireworld. It’s no longer just aboutthe Indian student wanting to visitMetropolitan Museum of Art inNew York. It is now also about theAmerican student wanting to visitthe National Gallery of ModernArt in Delhi.’ Using Google’s StreetView technology, users can alsotake virtual tours of museums andiconic centres, such as the Palace ofVersailles or the Musée d’Orsay.All of the artwork on the Projectcan be viewed at high resolution,and particularly famous works ofart can be viewed using Gigapixeltechnology, which allows usersto view canvases in brushstrokeand patina detail. Google ArtProject’s database also allows visitorsto search through all the collectionsonline to view works bya certain artist or from a particularperiod. By employing the toolsExplore and Discover, users canexplore the website’s archive by titleof artwork, genre, museum, country,city, or collection.Google has also incorporatedinteractive elements within theProject, by allowing users to choosetheir favourite work of art and detailsto create their own ‘User Galleries’across the site. Within their personalgalleries, you can add commentsbeside each work, and sharegalleries online with social mediaoutlets Google Plus and Hangout.The personal gallery also allowsusers to upload Youtube videos pertainingto the artwork featured intheir personally chosen collection.There is a separate educational sectionon the website, featuring videosand content to help users understandcertain themes in art.The Google Art Project is currentlyplanning to expand intomore countries and collections toincrease its online database. Thereare also plans underway to includean experimental section, highlightinghow artists are using new technologiesto display their art.For now though, users canimmerse themselves in art from allover the world, ranging from thestreet graffiti of Brazil to the caveart of South Africa. nKirsten Amor52 Minerva November/December 2012

ookreviewsThe Pharaoh: Life at Court and on CampaignGarry J ShawThames & Hudson224pp, 233 illustrations, 172 in colourHardback, £24.95What was it like to be one of the mostpowerful rulers of the ancient world? Howdid someone become king of Egypt? Whatdid a pharaoh do in his leisure time? Theseare some of the many questions tackled byGarry J Shaw, whose research focuses on thedaily lives of the pharaohs, in his lively andcolourful new book.Shaw, who teaches at the EgyptExploration Society, follows the great rulersfrom the bedchamber to the battlefield.As well as exploring the evolution and ideologyof kingship and what it was like tobe regarded as a god, he also investigatesthe personal life of the pharaoh – his recreationalpursuits, family life, diet and healthproblems. Pets were not unknown in theroyal palaces of Egypt – cats and dogs werepopular and some were so beloved that theywere buried in their own tombs.Quotations from original texts enliven thenarrative, as in the chapter describing all theroyal cities of Ancient Egypt in which theearliest, Memphis, sounds like a kind of paradise:‘her granaries are full of barley andemmer, her lakes are full of lotus-buds…The noble ladies of Memphis sit at leisure,hands bowed down with [festive] foliageand greenery’.All this is set within a clear historicalframework, well described in ChapterTwo, ‘The Story of Two Lands’, and,at the end of the book, there is a usefulcheck-list of all the pharaohs, fromPredynastic times to the Roman period,giving biographies of the most important.54Ancient Egypt: A Guide to the MonumentsWilliam MurnanePallas Athene,3rd edition revised by Aidan Dodson418pp, 34 colour and numerous black andwhite plates, maps, plans, and sectionsPaperback, £19.99Aided by plans, maps and good illustrations,this chunky, well-written culturalguidebook not only takes the traveller ona thorough and informative tour of Egypt’sancient monuments, but also gives a conciseinsight into the long history of the country.The author does not confine himself tothe Pharaonic past, Christian, Coptic andIslamic sites are included, as is the developmentof archaeology:‘Gone are the freewheeling days of exploration– of unsupervised digs and the gifteddilettante floating down the Nile on hishouseboat; the specialist has replaced thegentleman at large… To some there is asense of lost romance: certainly nothingwithin the last 90 years has matched theexcitement that greeted the discovery ofTutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. What is generallyforgotten is that this excavation wasa model for its time, marking a new era ofprofessionalism in field archaeology…’.From Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert toSt Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai, eachancient monument is beautifully described,made clearer by plans, maps and sections,and the visitor is also given a suggestedroute to make sure nothing is overlooked.At the back of the book there is a capsulelist of all the pharaohs and a descriptionof their reigns, and also a guide to thecities and towns of Egypt; for example:‘Aswan is truly the jewel of theNile. The river runs cold and clear,splashing and swirling around the cliffsand jagged outcroppings. In this land ofthe First Cataract, the Nile has lost its bufferof cultivation, and endless waves of goldensand swirl against its banks.’There is, however, only a small sectiongiving practical information; another book,or an internet search, would be needed foradvice on hotels, restaurants and so on.Egyptian Hieroglyphs for CompleteBeginners: The Revolutionary NewApproach to reading the MonumentsBill ManleyThames & Hudson160pp, 45 illustrationsHardback, £12.95For students who never quite got to gripswith Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar, thisbook may come as a godsend. In the prefacethere is further good news for thosewith no Latin or Greek when Bill Manley,who has 25 years’ experience of teachinghieroglyphs, announces: ‘The way thisbook works assumes you have no particularknowledge of any foreign language, ancientor modern, and no particular knowledge ofgrammar or specialized terminology’.Furthermore this is no traditional grammarbook or primer as he explains: ‘… theapproach here has been organized arounda sequence of monuments, which you areinvited to examine and read right from thestart’. So, off you go, starting with a stelaof Mereri from his tomb at Denderah,circa 2200 BC, and ending up with hieroglyphson the wall of the offering-chapel ofSareput II at Aswan, circa 1850 BC.The epilogue includes useful lists of namesof kings and gods and hieroglyphic signs. Iam sure that Champollion would approve,although perhaps through gritted teeth.Lindsay FulcherMinerva November/December 2012

Women in the Ancient WorldJenifer NeilsBritish Museum Press, 2011216pp, 200 colour photographs and one mapPaperback, £18.99Jenifer Neils has taught Classical Art andArchaeology at Case Western ReserveUniversity since 1980. She has also guestcuratedtwo major international loan exhibitions,Goddess and Polis: The PanathenaicFestival in Ancient Athens and Coming ofAge in Greece: Images of Childhood fromthe Classical Past.Her latest book, a handsome volume,lavishly illustrated throughout with colourphotographs of objects largely drawn fromthe collections of the British Museum,focuses on both the role and perception ofwomen in the past.Small details like a map of the ancientworld, a list of goddesses across differentcultures and a potted history of each in theopening chapter, make this a self-containedprimer on the topic for those who inclinetowards the aesthetic.Neils does broach the awkward truth thatthe vast majority of what we know of womenin the ancient world is filtered through representationsleft to us by men, and makessome effort to navigate round this by touchingon the clues that can be drawn frombiological remains, for example, preservedbodies. This is, however, clearly not theraison d’être of this book, as more spaceis filled by beautiful images of well photographedobjects than by CAT scans.Having accepted that male-authoredaccounts concerning the female membersof the population are heavily biased,the book unashamedly focuses ona visual celebration of women while atthe same time placing them in a sociohistoriccontext.The cultures under scrutiny are AncientGreece, Rome, Egypt, and the Near East.But, by examining the subject thematically,rather than geographically, Neils allowsfor interesting comparisons to be drawnbetween the different cultures, for instanceMinerva November/December 2012views and laws concerning the legal rights ofwomen and approaches to marriage.This book ambitiously covers a vastperiod, stretching from 4000 BC to AD 600and involving a range of religions and cultures– particularly from the Ancient NearEast. But the chapter headings: ‘FemaleStereotypes’, ‘Mothers and Mourners’,‘Working Women’, ‘The Body Beautiful’,‘Women and Religion’ and ‘Royal Women’allow these introductory studies to be presentedin accessible portions.The chapters are peppered throughoutwith comparative and supporting accounts,from myths and old textual sources, whichadd to our understanding of the imagery onthe objects (eg. black figure pots). A few surprisingexamples of biased ancient thoughtinclude the fact that Aristotle thoughtwomen were no more than mutilated men.At its close Neils concedes once more thatmost of what we know about women in theancient world is seen through male eyes,but as the remit of her book is to show howart celebrates the female form, it succeeds inbeing an engaging, informative and beautifullypresented book.Greek Prostitutes in the AncientMediterranean 800 BCE–200 CEAllison Glazebrook and Madeleine M.Henry [eds.]University of Wisconsin Press, 2011360pp, 14 black and white photos and12 drawingsPaperback, £23.50If, on finishing Jenifer Neils’ Women inthe Ancient World (reviewed left), youwanted to study in greater depth one ofthe more taboo aspects of feminine life,what is commonly referred to as ‘theoldest profession in the world’, then GreekProstitutes in the Ancient Mediterranean800 BCE – 200 CE provides the idealscholarly assessment of the sex workers ofAncient Greece.Glazebrook and Henry have edited contributionsfrom 11 academics (including themselves)on this subject, and the 10 essayswithin this book, along with appropriatereferencing glossary and indices, are verymuch aimed at those studying the Classicalworld at degree or higher level.This is not to say, though, that the bookis unapproachable or unengaging, quite thecontrary in fact, as it covers such fascinatingsubject matter. On the other hand, this is notto say it is a vicarious peepshow into ancientsexual practices.Much of the book focuses on the importanceof Ancient Greek prostitutes to society.Among the ideas discussed are thesocio-political power that prostitutes cameto wield and how this sat with the lay (forwant of a better term) community, the socialstatus of women, civic endorsement of theprofession and a philological study of thelanguage associated with sex.Architectural and archaeological evidenceis also examined, with particular referenceto the brothels on Delos. Coupledwith liberal citations of ancient writings andfragments this makes for a pleasingly multidisciplinaryapproach to the subject.Greek vase painting is a great resourcefor this type of study and Nancy SorkinRabinowitz’s chapter, ‘Sex for Sale?’,analyses the representations of women seen(predominantly) on drinking vessels. Bydrawing attention to body language, rendering,attributes, and how these relate towritten accounts, Rabinowitz explains thatprevious interpretations of rites of passage,courtship scenes, companionship and lovescenes, may have been erroneous.Many of the examples cited throughoutthis book create small vignettes of lifein Ancient Greece and show how prostitutionwas fundamentally and vitally linkedto many aspects of the social and economicposition of the city-states.What can be learnt from the prostitutesof Ancient Greece is evidently far more thanmight be expected and in many instancesquite surprising – one good example of thisis the madam who wrote out the rules ofher brothel in 237 stanzas of high oratoricallanguage.Overall this highly engaging book demonstratesthe need to use all the availableancient resources to build up an accuratecultural picture of the times.As Glazebrook and Henry acknowledge,the academic study of the oldest profession isfar more acceptable today than it once was.Geoff Lowsley55

In the saleroom GERHARD HIRSCH NACHFOLGER1. South-west US or north-west Mexico,painted spherical vessel, AD 1050-1400.H. 21cm. (Lot 1; est. €1400. Unsold).2. Western Mexico, well-fed standing Colima dog vesselwith tail-spout (restored), 200 BC-AD 300. L .33cm.(Lot 5; est. €2000. Unsold).3. Inca period (1438-1533) vessel in theform of a duck (intact). L. 17cm. (Lot 121;est. €300. Sold €280).4. Northern coast Chimu stirrupvessel in form of cat with monkeyon handle, AD 900-1470. H. 21.5cm.(Lot 72; est. €480. Unsold).5. Chimu stirrup vessel in formof a frog with two snakes on hisback and a monkey on the spout.H. 21cm. (Lot 74; est. €400. Unsold).6. Jaguar head clay whistle fromthe Veracruz or Gulf Coast Cultureof Mexico (AD 100-1,000). H. 8.1cm.(Lot 162; est. €480. Unsold).7.Chimu stirrup jar toppedby a monkey with anotheron the spout. H. 22.6cm.(Lot 77; est. €320. Unsold).From Chimu pots to Celtic coinsMurray Eiland reports on two sales of New World artefacts and coins in MunichPRE-COLUMBIAN ART SALECollections of pre-Columbian art do notoften come on the market in Europe. Thisis probably due to the distances involved intravel between Europe and the New World.It is also because ancient pre-Columbiancultures left few written records, and thesecannot be studied as literature. The result isthat artefacts from the Classical world holdpride of place in countries most directlyinfluenced by Greece and Rome.The collection assembled by Dr ClausMaria (and others) and sold at the auctionhouse Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger on24 September was an exception. The saletotalled some 400 objects, 125 of whichwere from Dr Claus Maria’s collection.Born in 1940 in Danzig, Dr Maria grewup in the vicinity of Munich. Even thoughhe was employed as an engineer, he devotedhis free time to artistic pursuits includingcollecting. His collection was assembled inthe 1980s and 1990s. It was a long-standinglove of dogs that led him to buy hisfirst artefact, a dog from the Colima culture(circa 200-300 BC). Figurines of thesedogs are relatively common, and a varietyof different pre-Columbian culturesburied their dead with dogs. Skeletons aswell as figurines are recovered today. Thatbeing said, this is a particularly fine examplewith a finely burnished surface (Lot 5).These canine figures, along with the so-called‘sex-pots’, are some of the most popular replicasnow sold to tourists.There is a modern breed of dog that hasbeen correlated with the ancient breed, calledthe Xoloitzcuintli. The name is formed fromthat of the Aztec god of lightning and death,Xolotl, joined with itzcuintli, the word fordog. These Colima dogs served both as companionsand as food for the Aztecs, and manyof them appear quite rotund (either they arewell-fed pets, or they are being fattened upfor the cooking-pot).For those with an interest in collectingancient art that depicts animals, artefactsfrom Peru and Mexico are particularly popular.But another reason must be that theseancient cultures produced many high qualityceramics. The fact that they used mouldsand other techniques to make many of themdoes not detract from their artistry, and itis notable that there are few examples ofexactly the same pot known today. To startto the north of the pre-Columbian culturezone however, there are several vessels of the‘Casa Grande’ type that are from the southwesternUSA or northern Mexico. Thesepeople of the Sonoran Desert had a largepopulation supported by irrigated agriculture,as well as wide-ranging trade contacts.However, they were clearly a very different56 Minerva November/December 2012

8. Moche I-II vessel of a composite creature – partdragon, part cat, part human (arm and nose restored).H. 18 cm. (Lot 276; est. €6450. Sold €6200).9. Moche IV-V vessel with parrot head, AD 450-600, H. 20.6 cm. (Lot 60; est. €180. Sold €170).Moche IV stirrup vessel with a waterfowl spout. H. 20 cm (Lot 59, est. €400. Unsold).Moche IV vessel in form of parrot, expertly restored. H. 22 cm (Lot 58; est. €575. Sold €550).10. Chimu water bird figure on round base(handle and spout missing). H. 12.3cm.(Lot 75; est. €180. Sold €170).11. Classical Mayan ( AD 450-650) grey stonesculpture of man’s head with a bird form helmet.H. 28.3cm. (Lot 175; est. €10 000. Sold €9500).12. Aztec stone statue of a bird holding awinding snake. H. 22.8cm. Intact. (Lot 169;est. €750. Sold €725).cultural zone from that encountered furthersouth (Lot 1).This auction was a showcase for vesselsfrom the Moche culture. A star of the auction,as far as ceramics were concerned,was a Moche I-II vessel of a fantastic animal(Lot 276). It appears to be somethinglike a dragon with human (as well as reptileand feline) features. While these compositecreatures have an uncertain interpretation,artistically they meld human and animaltogether in very interesting ways.The straight depiction of the naturalworld is in comparison more commonlyseen in pre-Columbian art. Good exampleswere three Moche vessels (dating to AD450-600) that depict birds: two parrots, anda waterbird (Lots 58, 59, 60). To the moderneye it appears that these birds have personalities.While it is difficult to comparedifferent cultures, the European ClassicalMinerva November/December 2012world usually reserved such treatment fordogs and perhaps horses.The Chimu culture on the north coast ofPeru, which arose around AD 900, is wellknownfor a burnished black ceramic tradition.In style they clearly follow the Mochein design. The Inca conquered the Chimuaround AD 1470, shortly before the Spanisharrived. Their animals are of a similar butdifferent style. For instance, birds are represented,as are others, such as felines (Lot 72)as well as monkeys (Lot 77). The Inca encompasseda wide-ranging empire, and producedceramics in a variety of styles. Birds are wellknown to them as well (Lot 121).The Veracruz, or Gulf Coast Culture ofMexico, encompassed the central and northernareas of the present-day state of thesame name and existed from AD 100-1000.The architecture of this culture is known forbeing ornate, and a major theme is humansacrifice and the sacred ball-game. Minorarts such as ceramics can also have a moresinister aspect, such as this jaguar-headedwhistle (Lot 162). While the architecture ofthis culture has been known for some time,their ceramics have only been recovered inquantity since the 1950s, and much importantmaterial has ended up on the market.The Aztecs were also known for animals,and given their fierce reputation, it is no surprisethat battling creatures are not uncommonlydepicted, such as this stone sculptureof a bird battling a snake (Lot 169).An elite sculpture with a man’s head ofthe Classic Mayan culture (AD 450-650)was probably used as a trophy given to thewinner of the sacred ball game (Lot 175).The auction was for those whose particularinterest was artefacts of the New Worldwhich are worthy of wider appreciation andshould receive much more attention.57

In the saleroom GERHARD HIRSCH NACHFOLGER1. Terina, stater. 430-420 BC. Obv: nymphTerina. Rev: Nike with caduceus seated oncippus. (Lot 2015; est. €10 000. Sold €9500).2. Melos, stater, circa 450-440 BC. Obv: ‘apple’or pomengranate or quince. Rev: incuse.(Lot 2060; est. €6250. Sold €6000).3. Herakleia, tetradrachm,190-100 BC. Obv: Athena.Rev: Nike holding wreath and mace between twomonograms. (Lot 2067; est. €2500. Sold €2400).4. Celtic tribe (probably the Durocasses) Au-1/2stater, 1st century BC. Rev: horse with vestigialchariot. (Lot 2110; est. €7450. Sold €7200).5. Kaulonia, stater. 530-475 BC. Obv:standing figure of ‘Apollo’. Rev: incuse.(Lot 2137; est. €5000. Sold €6000).6. Messina, tetradrachm, 461-430 BC. Obv:Nymph Messana. Rev: rabbit and dolphin.(Lot 2174 est. €5000. Sold €4800).7. Denarius of Domitilla (circa AD 45-66) struckposthumously. Obv: draped bust with plait Rev:peacock. (Lot 2765, est. €6250. Sold €6000).Held in Munich, between 26-29 September,Auctions 284-285 featured a number ofextremely interesting coins, such as a stater,(Lot 2015) from Bruttium (Terina) signedwith a phi and dated to 430-420 BC. Thedie-carver was identified as Phrygillos,reputed to have been a gem carver as well.This seems evident from this coin’s fine artisticexecution. The letter phi, for example, israrely seen so clearly.Also from Bruttium, this time the cityof Kaulonia, was a well-known type ofstater (Lot 2137), dating from 530-475 BC.‘Apollo’ stands with a branch in his righthand and a little figure with a branch on hisoutstretched left arm, beside him is a deerGreek Sicily is also famous for stunningcoins, such as this tetradrachm (Lot2174) from Messina (461-430 BC). It isbelieved that rabbits were brought to theisland shortly before the coin was struck byAnaxilas the conquering tyrant of Rhegium.In 484, or 480 BC, Anaxilas won the mulebiga event at the Olympic Games. After hisexpulsion, his successors used variants of hisdesigns but which replaced the male muledriver by a nymph.A stater (Lot 2060) from Melos, one ofthe Cycladic Islands, presents something of8. Aureus of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) struckposthumously. Obv: bare head. Rev: funerarypyre. (Lot 2842, est. €9000. Sold €8500).an enigma. It is said to have an apple on theobverse (melon in Greek) but it could be apomegranate, or possibly even a quince. Thereverse bears an ethnikon in a quadrisectedround incuse.From Asia (Ionia, Herakleia) is a tetradrachm(Lot 2067) dating from 190-100BC. The condition of the coin is exquisite,hence the relatively high estimate of €2500but it only sold for €600.Celtic coins were also represented in thesale, by a particularly fine one half staterfrom Gaul (Lot 2110). Attributed, perhapsuncertainly, to the Durocasses (‘the warriorsof the strengthened hill’) it dates to the 1stcentury BC. This is an extremely rare coin,and may be the best preserved example.Roman rarities included a denariusof Domitilla, the first wife of Vespasianalthough struck posthumously under Titusand Domitian (Lot 2765. It shows a bust ofDomitilla and, unusually, on the reverse. apeacock, an exotic species from India.From the former Nelson Bunker Huntcollection there was an aureus (Lot 2842) ofAntoninus Pius (AD 138-161). Issued posthumously,the decorative funerary pyre onthe reverse commemorates his cremation.This was a sale with a few surprises. nTrading for fourgenerationsIn 1953, Gerhard Hirsch founded acoin trading company under his ownname. The current owner, Dr FranciscaBernheimer, who is his niece of Hirsch,took over the running of the companyafter his death in 1982 and retained thecompany name.In 1878, Otto Helbing, who was a greatgrand-uncle of Dr Bernheimer’s, foundedhis own company dealing in coins. Adecade later he held his first auction. Bothher father, Dr Ludwig Bernheimer, andgrandfather, Consul Otto Bernheimer,managed Haus Bernheimer (an artinstitution founded in 1864).Growing up in a family involvedfor four generations in art, coins andcollecting kindled her interest in thesesubjects and she went on to study arthistory, archaeology, and numismatics.After becoming head of the companyDr Francisca Bernheimer decided that, inaddition to coins, she would add ancientart to the company’s portfolio.She and her family have been holdingauctions for over the past 125 years, andnumerous important collections havepassed through their hands.• Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger,Promenadeplatz 10/II, 80333Munchen, Germany (+49 89 29 2150; www.coinhirsch.de) holds fourauctions per year – in February,May, September, and November.58 Minerva November/December 2012

calendarofeventsUNITED KINGDOM.LONDONMughal India: Art, Cultureand EmpireMore than 200 manuscripts andpaintings from the British Library’scollection tell the story of fourcenturies of the Mughal Dynasty.Focusing on the emperors and lifewithin the Imperial Court, theirpatronage of the arts and sciencesare also illustrated. Highlightsinclude the 500-year-old memoirs ofEmperor Babur, written in EasternTurkish, and exquisite portraits ofthe Mughal Emperors.The British Library+44 (0) 1937 546 434(www.bl.uk).From 9 November until 2 April 2013.Ritual and Revelry: The Art ofDrinking in AsiaThis free exhibition looks at thereligious and secular importanceof drinking, with a focus on water,alcohol and, of course, tea. Theexhibition covers 2,500 years ofhistory and includes drinkingvessels, paintings and prints, inthe context of Hinduism, Buddhismand Islam, as well as traditionalChinese and Japanese practices.The British Museum +44 (0) 207323 8181 (www.britishmuseum.org).Until 6 January 2013.Doctors, Dissection andResurrection MenThis fascinating, if macabre, showwas prompted by the excavation of262 burials, dating from the 1830s,in 2006. The anatomical trade inbody parts for dissection is placedin context by human and animalremains, original documents,drawings, models and artefacts.The Anatomy Act of 1832, whichregulated the supply of cadavers formedical research and anatomicalteaching, is scrutinised and awkwardethical questions are posed.The Museum of London +44 (0) 207001 9844 (www.museumoflondon.org.uk). Until 14 April 2013.BronzeA stunning exhibition celebratingthe art of bronze over 5,000 yearsshows over 150 of the finest objectsfrom around the world (includingthe remarkable Garett Crosbyhelmet shown below). They aregrouped thematically into HumanFigures, Animals, Groups, Objects,Reliefs, Gods, Heads and Busts, Thismeans that Ancient Greek, Romanand Etruscan works sit alongsidemasterpieces of the Renaissance,by Donatello, Cellini and others,with the last 200 years representedby works by Rodin, Moore, Picasso,Brancusi and others. It will be a longtime before a comparable show willbe seen again.The Royal Academy +44 (0) 207 3008000 (www.royalacademy.org.uk)Until 9 December 2012.Death: A Self PortraitAgain the Wellcome Collectionconfounds and surprises us, this timewith over 300 items celebrating theiconography and attitudes towardsdeath. Drawn from the collectionof Richard Harris, former antiquesdealer, ancient Incan skulls, humanremains and war art, are exhibitedalongside rare prints by Rembrandt,Goya and Dürer.The Wellcome Collection+44 (0) 207 611 2222(www.wellcomecollection.org) From 15November until 28 February 2013.OXFORDThreads of Silk and Gold:Ornamental Textiles FromMeiji JapanWith not a kimono in sight, thischarming exhibition takes a lookat embroideries and tapestries,produced for the export market inJapan during the late 19th and early20th centuries. It has been staged incollaboration with the SannenzakaMuseum in Kyoto, who have recentlyacquired an important collection oftextiles, from which this draws.The Ashmolean Museum +44 (0)1865 278 002 (www.ashmolean.org)From 9 November until 27 January2013.UNITED STATES.MALIBU, CaliforniaThe Last Days of Pompeii:Decadence, Apocalypse, ResurrectionEdward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel TheLast Days of Pompeii (1834) hasshaped our interpretation of thedestruction of this, and surroundingVesuvian cities. This show examineshow artists – from Piranesi toDuchamp and Warhol – have usedthemes of the nature of art, sexualidentity, and even nuclear threat, inassociation with Pompeii, to createtheir own work.The Getty Villa +1 (0) 31 0440 73 00 (www.getty.edu).Until 7 January 2013.CHICAGO, IllinoisBetween Heaven and Earth: Birdsin Ancient EgyptIn collaboration with other majorUS institutes, this exhibition bringstogether numerous examples ofdepictions of the birds of AncientEgypt – with a particular focus onreligion and the afterlife. Highlightsinclude a coffin for an ibis mummy,decorated with gold, silver, and rockcrystal, an eagle mummy with theremains of gilding and wall paintingsshowing the hoopoe like the one below.The Oriental Institute +1 (0) 773702 95 4 (www.oi.uchicago.edu)From 16 October until 28 July 2013.PRINCETON, New JerseyDancing into Dreams: Maya VasePainting of the Ik’ KingdomAn esoteric display of the finelypainted chocolate drinking cupsfrom the Maya Ik’ kingdom, in whatis now Guatemala, is a colourfulsight. With loans from otherinstitutes as well as Princeton’s owncollection, this exhibition exploreshow courtly politics and dynastichistory manifest themselves in theskilful painting and calligraphy.Princeton Art Museum+1 (0) 8544 609 258 3788(www.princetonartmuseum.org)Until 17 February 2013.City of Gold: Tomb and Temple inAncient CyprusWith loans from the CypriotDepartment of Antiquities, theBritish Museum, and the Musée duLouvre, this exhibition celebratesthe conclusion of two decades ofarchaeological excavations at PolisChrysochous, an ancient town inthe Republic of Cyprus. Highlightsinclude fine gold jewellery and arare marble kouros.Princeton Art Museum+1 (0) 8544 609 258 3788 (www.princetonartmuseum.org) From 20October until 20 January 2013.NEW YORK, New YorkEchoes of the Past: The BuddhistCave Temples of XiangtangshanThe group of 6th-century Buddhistsculptures found within caves innorth China are on display herewithin a full scale, 3D reconstructionof the Buddhist cave complex atXiangtangshan. Well preservedand exceptionally well rendered,these figures are seminal to ourMinerva November/December 2012 59

calendarofeventsto our understanding of ChineseBuddhist iconography.Institute for the Study of theAncient World, New YorkUniversity +001 (0) 21 29 92 78 00(www.isaw.nyu.edu).Until 6 January 2013.Objects from the Kharga OasisIn 1907 the Egyptian Governmentgranted the Met permission todig at Kharga Oasis which is 400miles south-west of Cairo. The digswent on into the 1930s yieldingevidence of various periods ofoccupation, as far back as the MiddlePaleolithic Period. This exhibitiondraws on the time when most ofthe artefacts were found: the LateRoman and Byzantine age. Withgrave goods, ceramics and textileson display alongside facsimiles ofpainted interiors and excavationphotography, this is a rich source ofinformation on past archaeology.Metropolitan Museum of Art+001 (0) 21 25 35 77 10(www.metmuseum.org).Until 4 August 2013.Chinese Gardens: Pavilions,Studios, RetreatsThis show celebrates over a thousandyears of garden arts from China.Focussing on how gardens weredesigned, like paintings, as idealisedlandscapes. Over 60 paintings are ondisplay alongside ceramics, carvedbamboo, lacquerwork, textiles andphotographs, all from the Met’s owncollection.Metropolitan Museum of Art+001 (0) 21 25 35 77 10 (www.metmuseum.org).Until 6 January 2013.Bashford Dean and the Creation ofthe Arms and Armor DepartmentTo mark the centenary of the Armsand Armor Department at the Met,founded by Dr Bashford Dean, 25rarely seen objects will be displayedto celebrate his career. Highlightsinclude an example of late GothicGerman armour (1475-1500)restored under Dean’s supervision.This exhibition will be accompaniedby an educational programme.Metropolitan Museum of Art+001 (0) 21 25 35 77 10(www.metmuseum.org).Until 29 September 2013.Turkmen Jewelry from the Marshalland Marilyn R Wolf CollectionTo celebrate this collector’s recentgift to the Met (and the promise of250 more items) 43 objects fromthe 19th and 20th century (such asthe ornate teapot, above) have beenput on show. Made of gold, silver,carnelian and other precious stones,these items demonstrate the finecraftsmanship involved.Metropolitan Museum of Art+001 (0) 21 25 35 77 10(www.metmuseum.org).Until 24 February 2013.Bernini: Sculpting in ClayWith loans from some of theforemost institutions around theglobe, including the Louvre and theVictoria and Albert Museum, thisdisplay features 40 of the famousBaroque sculptor’s clay sketches forcolossal marble pieces, together with30 drawings on paper on show forthe first time.Metropolitan Museum of Art+001 (0) 21 25 35 77 10(www.metmuseum.org).Until 6 January 2013.WASHINGTON DCEnlightened Beings: Buddhism inChinese PaintingThrough 27 works, the four stagesof enlightened being, as describedby Buddha, are illustrated. Thepaintings cover nearly a millenium,from the Song, Yuan, and early Mingdynasties (AD 1000–1400) up to thelater Ming and Qing.The Smithsonian Institute+1 (0) 20 26 33 10 00 (www.si.edu).Until 24 February 2013.CHINAHONG KONGEnlightening Elegance: Porcelain ofthe Mid Ming PeriodThis exhibition covers 400 years ofChinese Imperial history, with manyitems from the Imperial CeramicsFactory that reflect each emperor’sindividual taste. Religious beliefs,including Taoism and Buddhism andMuslim influences, can be seen inthe decorated porcelain. This showfollows on the heels of EnlighteningElegance: Porcelain Vases of theImperial Qing, in 2007, which wasalso drawn from enthusiast AnthonyCheung’s collection.Art Museum Chinese Universityof Hong Kong +00 852 394 37416 (www.cuhk.edu.hk). From 1December 2012 until 1 April 2013.FRANCEPARISParis TableauFollowing the success of last year, 10dealers/curators return to celebrateEuropean Old Master paintings,from the Middle Ages to the SecondEmpire. Spanish, French and Italianschools are all represented in a loanexhibition entitled Hidden Treasuresof the Gobelins.Palais de la Bourse (www.paristableau.com). From 7 Novemberuntil 12 November 2013.Nigeria: Arts of the Benue ValleyThis is the first major exhibitionto present and overview of the artsproduced by the many tribes livingaround the Benue, a major tributaryoff the Niger. With over 150 objects,many loaned from the USA andprivate collections, this is a rarechance to see such a wide displayof this ethnographic art.Musée du Quai Branly +33 (0) 1 5661 70 00 (www.quaibranly.fr).From 13 November 2012 until27 January 2013.TOULOUSE, Midi-PyrénéesAnnie Favier: The Poetics of RuinsThis interesting display pairs upcontemporary art with ancientartefacts. Artist Annie Favier hasproduced oils on canvas and paperworks influenced by the fragmentsfrom within the museum’s collection.The installation invites the visitorto contemplate the nature of timeand decay.Musée Saint-Raymond, Musée desAntiques de Toulouse+ 33 (0) 5 61 22 31 44(www.saintraymond.toulouse.fr)From 15 December 2012 until3 March 2013.GERMANYBERLINIn the Light of Amarna:100 Years of the Find of NefertitiTo mark the centenary of thediscovery of the famous bust ofNefertiti on 6 December 1912, thisexhibition draws together manynever before seen exhibits of theAmarna period from Germanmuseums. During 1912 and 1913,Ludwig Borchardt’s excavationsunearthed between 7,000 and 10,000items, over half in German museumsand most have still not been restoredof studied. These include jewellery,ceramics, statuary fragments andstucco heads.Neues Museum Berlin+49 (0) 30 266 42 42 42(www.neues-museum.de)From 7 December 2012 until13 April 2013.BONNFools. Artists. Saints. Mastersof ChaosDevoted to figures on the liminaledges of society, this promises tobe a unique and highly interestingexhibition. With over 250 exhibits,from 60 internationally collectionsand institutions, representationsand artefacts of fools, artists, saints,smiths, prophets, poets, shamans,and priests from around the worldare explored. One highlight isundoubtedly the active Voodoo altar.Art and Exhibition Hall of the60 Minerva November/December 2012

Federal Republic of Germany+49 (0) 22 89 17 10(www.bundeskunsthalle.de).Until 2 December 2012.HAMBURGThe reopening of the Ancient andRenaissance CollectionsBoth the Ancient aand RenaissanceGalleries of the MKG have beenredesigned in collaboration withmulti-award-winning architectsStudio Neumann Schneider. Thenewly defined areas of ancient artare: Egypt – Land of the Pharaohs;Coptic Textiles; Myth and Truth ofHomer’s Heroes; An Age of Tyranny;Developing a Collective Identity;The Mysterious Etruscans and Romeand its Empire. All definitely wortha look.Museum für Kunst und GewerbeHamburg +49 (0) 40 42 81 34 80 0(www.mkg-hamburg.de). Ongoing.HERNESkull CultFrom fashion accessories to religiousrelics, over 300 artefacts reflect theimportance of skull cults throughouthuman history. Some highlightsinclude skull bowls and elaboratelydecorated headhunter trophies andpreparation techniques are examined.Landesmuseum Herne+49 (0) 23 23 946 28 20(www.lwl-landesmuseum-herne.de).From 17 November 2012 until14 April 2013.HILDSHEIMEEdith Bernhauer: East and WestThis Egyptologist, archaeologist andphotographer has made over 40 tripsto the Mediterranean and the NearEast. Over a number of years shehas captured tradition and change,war and peace and the ancient andmodern landscapes of the Orient.Roemer-Pelizaeus Museum +49 (0)51 21 63 69 (www.rpmuseum.de).Until 13 January 2013.MUNICH, BavariaThe Immortal Gods of GreeceWith loans from abroad and objectsfrom the museum’s own collection,this exhibition showcases depictionsof the gods, focusing on their stories,attributes and cult images. Onehighlight is a reconstructed Greektemple and a displayexploring its ritual use.Munich Staatliche AntiqueCollections and Glyphtothek+49 (0) 8 59 98 88 30 (www.antikeamkoenigsplatz.mwn.de).Until 7 July 2013.ITALYROMEThe Days of Rome. The Age ofBalanceConcentrating on the 40 years inwhich Trajan and Hadrian ruled, thisexhibition focusses on a ‘golden age’in Roman art and how the dynamicsbetween the Emperor, Senate andarmy can be seen in the art created.This is the third event in the Days ofRome series.Capitoline Museums+39 (0) 60 608(en.museicapitolini.org).Until 28 April 2013.SOUTH KOREASEOULThe Best Under Heaven: TheCeladons of KoreaThese ceramics are considered someof the finest carved celadon ware andthis exhibition celebrates those of theGoryeo. With particular emphasison the finesse of the craft and thehistorical context of the tradition.National Museum of Korea+82 2077 9666 77(www.museum.go.kr).Until 16 December 2012.Congo River, Art of Central AfricaThis exhibition takes a holisticlook at the art of the peoples of theCongo. Most artefacts are made ofwood, adorned with pieces of metal,shells, beads or pigment. The focusis on body modfiication, mortuaryrituals, initiation and agrarian rites.National Museum of Korea+82 2077 9666 77(www.museum.go.kr).Until 19 January 2013.NETHERLANDSHEERLENNuggets5000 years of the history of Heerlenare represented here with a widerange of exhibits. Each month a newcollection highlight will become thecentrepiece of the show, includinghistoric coins, gold and ceramics.See website for the accompanyingeducational programme, workshopsand city walks.Thermenmuseum+ 31 (0) 45 56 05 100(www.thermenmuseum.nl).Until 3 February 2013.LEIDENHollywood’s EgyptThis show tackles an interestingsubject by looking at how films,from 1898 to the present day, havedepicted Ancient Egypt, and howthis, in turn, has shaped publicopinion for good or ill. Mostlypharaohs are seen as egomaniacswith millions of slaves, whileblood-thirsty mummies are grislymonsters that rise up and chasehapless archaeologists to the ends ofthe earth. It also takes a look a howthe film industry was influenced byactivity in the archaeological world.There is a series of film evenings andtalks in conjunction with this show.National Museum of Antiquities+31 (0) 71 5163 163(www.rmo.nl).Until 17 March 2013.QATARDOHAThe Intelligence of Tradition:Antiquity and Early Islamic Glassand Illuminations: the Mosque Lampas Iconographic ImageThe Museum of Islamic Art ispresenting two sparkling exhibitionsfocussing on glass in variousforms – from ancient times tothe current day. Intelligence andTradition features Ancient Egyptian,Hellenistic and Roman glassdisplayed to demonstrate thevarious production techniques.Illuminations on the other handfocusses on the iconography andsymbolism found in Islamic glassdecoration from the medievalperiod onwards.Museum of Islamic Art+974 4452 5555(www.qma.org.qa).Until 7 January 2013.SPAINBARCELONAThe Museum Explores: Works of ArtUnder ExaminationAn interesting look at the restorationand study of exhibits in the museumenvironment. Drawing on MNAC’sown collection, this exhibition showsa range of different artefacts andtries to demonstrate the differenttechniques used by curators andrestorers to expose forgeries andlearn more about genuine items.Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya+34 93 622 03 60 (www.mnac.cat).From 23 November 2012 until17 February 2013.SWITZERLANDZURICHMerchants in Venice and AmsterdamThe foundations of our economicsystem are explored through thesocial development of Europe, byfocussing on Venice and Amsterdamfrom the 13th to 17th centuries.Through an age of opulence, wheretrade, architecture, furniture andluxury goods were in vogue, to thedecline and collapse of empires, thisdisplay traces how the fortunes ofmerchants waxed and waned.The Swiss National Museum+41 (0) 44 218 5 11(www.nationalmuseum.ch).Until 17 February 2013.EVENTSLONDONWinter Fine Art and Antiques FairOlympiaThe fine art institution returns withanother vast array of some of thefinest and most interesting pieceson the art market. Collectors andinterested enthusiasts alike will findmuch of interest among the 140exhibitor stalls that cover a wholerange of arts styles from across theglobe and throughout history.Olympia Exhibition Centre(+44) (0)871 620 7062(www.olympia-antiques.com)From 12-18 November 2012.A CALL FOR PAPERSARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNALThe editor of the ArchaeologicalJournal seeks high quality papers forpublication in Vol 169, Spring 2014.Articles are invited that fall into oneof the three principal categories:1. Fieldwork Reports and MajorStudies: usually under 30,000 words2. Research Articles: under 10,000words3. Notes, under 4,000 wordsSubmissions will be subject torigorous peer review.For further information contact:howard.williams@chester.ac.ukby 1 February 2013.Minerva November/December 2012 61