Alexander in Amsterdam - Minerva
Alexander in Amsterdam - Minerva
Alexander in Amsterdam - Minerva
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
September/October 2010 Volume 21 Number 5<br />
Fann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the flames<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese history<br />
meets human<br />
rights<br />
Antiquities sales review<br />
Ancient art, artefacts<br />
and armour under the<br />
hammer <strong>in</strong> Europe<br />
Heads <strong>in</strong> the henge<br />
Are human figures carved<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the stones at Avebury?<br />
A passage to India<br />
The Roman trad<strong>in</strong>g city<br />
on the Bay of Bengal<br />
Built to last<br />
Rome’s architectural legacy<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Amsterdam</strong><br />
Antiquity’s great conqueror takes over<br />
the Hermitage Museum<br />
£4.00
September/October 2010 Volume 21 Number 5<br />
Heads <strong>in</strong> the henge<br />
Are human figures carved<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the stones at Avebury?<br />
A passage to India<br />
The Roman trad<strong>in</strong>g city<br />
on the Bay of Bengal<br />
Built to last<br />
Rome’s architectural legacy<br />
Fann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the flames<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese history<br />
meets human<br />
rights<br />
Antiquities sales review<br />
Ancient art, artefacts<br />
and armour under the<br />
hammer <strong>in</strong> Europe<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Amsterdam</strong><br />
Antiquity’s great conqueror takes over<br />
the Hermitage Museum<br />
On the cover: Gold figur<strong>in</strong>e of<br />
a horse archer of the Persian<br />
Empire, 5 th –4 th century<br />
BC. Iran. H. 3.6cm. © State<br />
Hermitage Museum,<br />
St Petersburg.<br />
Annual subscription<br />
(6 issues)<br />
UK £21; Europe £23<br />
Rest of world:<br />
Air £33/US$66; Surface £25/<br />
US$50<br />
For full <strong>in</strong>formation see<br />
www.m<strong>in</strong>ervamagaz<strong>in</strong>e.com.<br />
Published bi-monthly.<br />
Send subscriptions to our<br />
London office, below.<br />
Advertisement Sales<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva, 20 Orange Street<br />
London, WC2H 7EF<br />
Tel: (020) 7389 0808<br />
Fax: (020) 7839 6993<br />
Email: editorial@m<strong>in</strong>erva<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>e.com<br />
Trade Distribution<br />
United K<strong>in</strong>gdom:<br />
Diamond Magaz<strong>in</strong>e<br />
Distribution Ltd<br />
Tel. (01797) 225229<br />
Fax. (01797) 225657<br />
US & Canada:<br />
Disticor, Toronto<br />
Egypt & the Near East:<br />
American University <strong>in</strong><br />
Cairo Press,<br />
Cairo, Egypt<br />
Pr<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> England by<br />
Broglia Press.<br />
All rights reserved; no part of this<br />
publication may be reproduced, stored<br />
<strong>in</strong> a retrieval system, or transmitted <strong>in</strong><br />
any form or by any means, electronic,<br />
mechanical, photo copy<strong>in</strong>g, record<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
or otherwise without either the prior<br />
written permission of the Publisher/or<br />
a licence permitt<strong>in</strong>g restricted copy<strong>in</strong>g<br />
issued by the Copyright Licens<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Agency Ltd, 33-34 Alfred Place,<br />
London, WC1E 7DP<br />
ISSN 0957 7718<br />
© 2010 Clear Media Ltd.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva (issn no 0957 7718) is<br />
published six times per annum by<br />
Clear Media Ltd on behalf of the<br />
Moug<strong>in</strong>s Museum of Classical Art<br />
and distributed <strong>in</strong> the USA by SPP<br />
75 Aberdeen Road Emigsville PA<br />
17318-0437. Periodical postage<br />
paid at Emigsville PA. Postmaster<br />
send address changes to M<strong>in</strong>erva,<br />
c/o SPP, PO Box 437, Emigsville PA<br />
17318-0437.<br />
The publisher of M<strong>in</strong>erva is not<br />
necessarily <strong>in</strong> agreement with the<br />
op<strong>in</strong>ions expressed <strong>in</strong> articles there<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Advertisements and the objects<br />
featured <strong>in</strong> them are checked and<br />
monitored as far as possible but are<br />
not the responsibility of the publisher.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Features<br />
08 Brave new technological world<br />
How 3D can help make archaeology more ma<strong>in</strong>stream and beneficial<br />
to communities and <strong>in</strong>dustry. Mike Nevell<br />
10 Faces <strong>in</strong> the stones<br />
A new look at the henge monument of Avebury, and the possibility<br />
that Neolithic artists carved figures <strong>in</strong>to the stones. Kate Prendergast<br />
14 Heraldry for the dead<br />
The enigmatic stone plaques engraved by the Late Neolithic<br />
communities of south-west Spa<strong>in</strong> and Portugal. Murray Eiland<br />
16 Arcadian enigma<br />
Could a Greek bronze figur<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the Manchester Museum be a<br />
unique depiction of Hermes the Goat-Carrier? John Prag<br />
20 <strong>Alexander</strong> the immortal<br />
A new exhibition at <strong>Amsterdam</strong>’s Hermitage Museum looks at the<br />
endur<strong>in</strong>g legacy of Macedonia’s most famous son. Sophie Mackenzie<br />
24 Design for eternity<br />
The <strong>in</strong>fluence of Roman architectural pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. Edw<strong>in</strong>a Bland<br />
28 Rome’s sea route to India<br />
The archaeology of the port of Arikamedu provides clear evidence of<br />
large-scale trad<strong>in</strong>g contacts that existed between the civilisations of<br />
the ancient Mediterranean and India. Sethuraman Suresh<br />
32 Gateway to the Gobi<br />
A visit to the magnificent and strategically important M<strong>in</strong>g Dynasty<br />
fort at Jiayuguan, ‘First and greatest pass under heaven’. Ray Dunn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
36 Sack of the Summer Palace<br />
A new look at the Anglo-French military campaign of 1860 that<br />
ended with the destruction of one of Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s most important cultural<br />
sites. James Beresford<br />
40 Between rocks and a hard place<br />
Can Afghanistan’s archaeological heritage survive the war and a<br />
21 st -century gold rush? David Thomas<br />
44 Plott<strong>in</strong>g the past<br />
Historical thriller writer L<strong>in</strong>dsey Davis on modern writ<strong>in</strong>g, her plans<br />
for the future, and her obsession with historical fact. Georg<strong>in</strong>a Read<br />
48 Antiquities sales review<br />
Highlights from Bonhams’ and Christie’s spr<strong>in</strong>g auctions.<br />
52 Militaria sales<br />
Hermann Historica’s April sale of ancient armour.<br />
Regulars<br />
02 From the Editor 03 News<br />
58 Book Reviews 60 Calendar<br />
contents<br />
volume21 number5<br />
20<br />
10<br />
16<br />
24<br />
40
Forum<br />
I have read with grow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
alarm the steady pressure<br />
from Southern European and<br />
develop<strong>in</strong>g countries for the<br />
return of cultural treasures now<br />
displayed <strong>in</strong> the West. What was<br />
clearly highlighted <strong>in</strong> your July/<br />
August 2010 report on the Cairo<br />
conference is the extent to which<br />
the issue is be<strong>in</strong>g run on political<br />
l<strong>in</strong>es likely to appeal to kneeknock<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Western liberals, forever<br />
will<strong>in</strong>g to surrender to any tirade<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st a colonial past.<br />
As I recall, Dr Hawass <strong>in</strong>itially<br />
suggested that the Rosetta Stone<br />
should be lent to Egypt but now<br />
demands its return as part of his<br />
cultural heritage as an ‘icon of our<br />
Egyptian identity’. It is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that as soon as the French<br />
discovered the Stone <strong>in</strong> 1799,<br />
they realised its importance, unlike<br />
it seems those Egyptians who had<br />
ignored it for centuries.<br />
Of course the West has not<br />
been perfect <strong>in</strong> its protection<br />
of these marvels – witness the<br />
bomb<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> World War II – but<br />
where is there any chance today<br />
that a Western government<br />
would act like the barbarous<br />
and fanatical Taliban with their<br />
deliberate dynamit<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
Buddhas of Banyan as be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
‘unIslamic’?<br />
Vernon Rolls<br />
We hope you f<strong>in</strong>d the article <strong>in</strong><br />
this issue of M<strong>in</strong>erva (pp. 36-39),<br />
on attempts by the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
government to reclaim artefacts<br />
looted from the Summer Palace <strong>in</strong><br />
1860 of equal <strong>in</strong>terest.<br />
Ed<br />
I am writ<strong>in</strong>g to thank you for my<br />
copy of Masterpieces of Classical<br />
Art, which arrived a few days ago.<br />
I had visited the British Museum<br />
at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the year,<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>ed the book <strong>in</strong> the shop,<br />
coveted it... so was absolutely<br />
delighted. I am very impressed by<br />
the new-look M<strong>in</strong>erva, especially<br />
the way the illustrations cohere so<br />
much better with the text, and the<br />
much crisper format.<br />
Sylvia Fisher<br />
As I was brows<strong>in</strong>g through the<br />
latest issue, I was appalled to<br />
read the comment <strong>in</strong> the Forum<br />
section that someone was ‘very<br />
upset’ about the use of AD and<br />
BC. It would truly be upsett<strong>in</strong>g<br />
if M<strong>in</strong>erva did change to us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the modern ‘PC’ terms, CE and<br />
BCE. As far as I am aware, AD<br />
has been <strong>in</strong> use at least s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
time of Charlemagne, and surely<br />
Christians should be allowed the<br />
right to use terms that are steeped<br />
<strong>in</strong> their culture and traditions.<br />
Chris Lightfoot<br />
<strong>in</strong>thenews<br />
recent stories from the world of ancient art and archaeology<br />
Somerset co<strong>in</strong> hoard<br />
One of the largest hoards of Roman co<strong>in</strong>s ever found<br />
<strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> was unearthed <strong>in</strong> a field <strong>in</strong> Somerset<br />
by metal detectorist Dave Crisp <strong>in</strong> April. S<strong>in</strong>ce its<br />
discovery, experts from the British Museum have<br />
been exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the f<strong>in</strong>d while local archaeologists<br />
have been excavat<strong>in</strong>g the site, where some 52,000<br />
co<strong>in</strong>s, dat<strong>in</strong>g from the 3 rd century AD, were buried<br />
<strong>in</strong> a large jar.<br />
The co<strong>in</strong>s span 40 years, runn<strong>in</strong>g from AD 253<br />
to 293, and the great majority are radiates, made of<br />
debased silver or bronze. The hoard is probably the<br />
equivalent of about four years’ pay for a legionary<br />
soldier.<br />
Archaeologists believe the hoard sheds light<br />
on the economic crisis and coalition government<br />
<strong>in</strong> the 3 rd century. One of the most important<br />
aspects of the hoard is that it conta<strong>in</strong>s a large<br />
group of co<strong>in</strong>s of Carausius, who ruled Brita<strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>dependently from AD 286–293. The hoard<br />
conta<strong>in</strong>s over 760 of his co<strong>in</strong>s, mak<strong>in</strong>g it the largest<br />
group of Carausius co<strong>in</strong>s ever found. Amongst<br />
these are five rare examples of his silver denarii, the<br />
only co<strong>in</strong>s of their type be<strong>in</strong>g struck anywhere <strong>in</strong><br />
the Roman Empire at the time.<br />
Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities and<br />
Treasure at the British Museum, said: ‘This hoard<br />
has a huge amount to tell about the co<strong>in</strong>age and<br />
history of the period as we study over the next two<br />
Roman to English<br />
A collection of remarkable<br />
sculptural fragments from the<br />
ancient k<strong>in</strong>gdom of Northumbria<br />
reveals contrasts and underly<strong>in</strong>g<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>uities between the Roman<br />
and Anglo Saxon periods. The<br />
exhibition, staged at the Henry<br />
Moore Institute <strong>in</strong> Leeds, presents<br />
a group of carved sandstone<br />
fragments, displayed with<strong>in</strong> a<br />
gallery context for the first time.<br />
The Roman sculptures date from<br />
the 3 rd and 4 th centuries, and the<br />
Anglo-Saxon works from the<br />
late 7 th and early 9 th century.<br />
They illustrate the survival,<br />
revival, reuse or rework<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
styles, symbols and carv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
techniques across the<br />
centuries. Traditionally, these<br />
objects are approached from<br />
an archaeological viewpo<strong>in</strong>t,<br />
exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g their style, subject<br />
matter and historical context.<br />
However, this exhibition presents<br />
the sculptures as works of art<br />
that not only speak to each other,<br />
but are also relevant <strong>in</strong> larger<br />
discourses of political, national<br />
and cultural identity.<br />
years. The late 3 rd century AD was a time when<br />
Brita<strong>in</strong> suffered barbarian <strong>in</strong>vasions, economic<br />
crises and civil wars. Roman rule was f<strong>in</strong>ally<br />
stabilised when the emperor Diocletian formed<br />
a coalition with the emperor Maximian, which<br />
lasted 20 years. This defeated the separatist regime<br />
which had been established <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> by Carausius.<br />
This f<strong>in</strong>d presents us with an opportunity to put<br />
Carausius on the map. School children across the<br />
country have been study<strong>in</strong>g Roman Brita<strong>in</strong> for<br />
decades, but are never taught about Carausius – our<br />
lost British emperor.’<br />
Before his eventual defeat, Carausius became<br />
the first emperor to strike co<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> to give<br />
his reign legitimacy. Five of the Carausius co<strong>in</strong>s<br />
are solid silver, the first such pure co<strong>in</strong>s m<strong>in</strong>ted<br />
anywhere <strong>in</strong> the Roman Empire <strong>in</strong> over 150 years.<br />
The co<strong>in</strong>s have been washed and stabilised by a<br />
team of conservators at the British Museum, led by<br />
Pippa Pearce, and are be<strong>in</strong>g studied by Roger Bland<br />
and the Portable Antiquities Scheme’s Roman co<strong>in</strong>s<br />
specialist, Sam Moorhead. The British Museum is<br />
actively seek<strong>in</strong>g funds to clean the co<strong>in</strong>s fully; this<br />
will be a year’s work for one conservator.<br />
A selection of co<strong>in</strong>s from the hoard was on<br />
display at the British Museum from 15 July until<br />
mid-August.<br />
Sophie Mackenzie<br />
The sculptures are all<br />
from Northumberland, the<br />
northernmost of the early Anglo-<br />
Saxon k<strong>in</strong>gdoms. The Roman<br />
sculptures were found <strong>in</strong> the<br />
area around Hadrian’s Wall.<br />
The Anglo-Saxon fragments are<br />
part of an appropriation and<br />
rework<strong>in</strong>g of a vision of Rome<br />
that both fit the agenda of an<br />
expand<strong>in</strong>g Northumbrian church<br />
and played a significant role <strong>in</strong><br />
the of the mak<strong>in</strong>g of England and<br />
the earliest ideas of Englishness.<br />
The exact nature of the larger<br />
compositions of which they once<br />
formed a part is uncerta<strong>in</strong>.<br />
The exhibition runs until<br />
10 October. For more<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation, please visit<br />
www.henry-moore.org.<br />
Sophie Mackenzie<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 3<br />
RothbuRy CRoss © GReat NoRth MuseuM: haNCoCk, aNd the soCiety of<br />
aNtiquaRies of NewCastle upoN tyNe
<strong>in</strong>thenews<br />
The Ulster Museum w<strong>in</strong>s the Art Fund Prize<br />
On 30 June, it was announced at the Royal<br />
Institute of British Architects that the Ulster<br />
Museum was the w<strong>in</strong>ner of the Art Fund Prize.<br />
Three other British museums – The Ashmolean<br />
Museum <strong>in</strong> Oxford, the Herbert Art Gallery<br />
and Museum <strong>in</strong> Coventry, and the Blists Hill<br />
Victorian Town <strong>in</strong> Shropshire – had been<br />
short-listed for the prestigious award, which<br />
br<strong>in</strong>gs with it a cheque for £100,000. However,<br />
it was the Ulster Museum that scooped the<br />
prize, with Kirsty Young, the Chairwoman<br />
of the judg<strong>in</strong>g panel, emphasis<strong>in</strong>g how the<br />
museum is already ‘build<strong>in</strong>g a last<strong>in</strong>g legacy’,<br />
and demonstrat<strong>in</strong>g a commitment to ‘reach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
all parts of its community which is reflected<br />
<strong>in</strong> the number and diversity of its visitors. The<br />
transformed Ulster Museum is an emblem of<br />
the confidence and cultural rejuvenation of<br />
Northern Ireland’.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce it reopened <strong>in</strong> October 2009, follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a closure of three years dur<strong>in</strong>g which the<br />
museum underwent a redevelopment cost<strong>in</strong>g<br />
£17 million, the Ulster Museum has also<br />
ga<strong>in</strong>ed other plaudits. In May it won the award<br />
for the Best Permanent Exhibition <strong>in</strong> a United<br />
K<strong>in</strong>gdom museum. However, there have been<br />
compla<strong>in</strong>ts that, follow<strong>in</strong>g the reopen<strong>in</strong>g, the<br />
museum is now closed on Mondays, <strong>in</strong> l<strong>in</strong>e<br />
with the other museums and galleries which<br />
constitute the National Museum of Northern<br />
Ireland (NMNI).<br />
Nelson McCausland, Culture M<strong>in</strong>ister for<br />
Northern Ireland, also recently generated<br />
controversy when he wrote a letter to the<br />
trustees of NMNI suggest<strong>in</strong>g that greater<br />
prom<strong>in</strong>ence be given to exhibits focused on<br />
the Ulster-Scots community <strong>in</strong> Northern<br />
Ireland, and the history of the Orange Order.<br />
Mr McCausland’s letter also advocated that<br />
alternative views to that of evolution should be<br />
put forward <strong>in</strong> museum displays. Ironically, the<br />
Art Fund Prize was awarded to the museum<br />
150 years to the day after Thomas Huxley’s<br />
famous defense of Charles Darw<strong>in</strong>’s theory<br />
of Natural Selection from attacks by Samuel<br />
Wilberforce, Lord Bishop of Oxford. It is<br />
bewilder<strong>in</strong>g that, so long after such a sem<strong>in</strong>al<br />
moment <strong>in</strong> Western scientific thought, it is<br />
still considered necessary to debate the relative<br />
merits of creationism and evolution.<br />
James Beresford<br />
The Hittites return to Liverpool<br />
From 1931 through until 1941,<br />
Liverpool Museum was unique<br />
amongst British prov<strong>in</strong>cial<br />
museums <strong>in</strong> hav<strong>in</strong>g a gallery<br />
dedicated to the newly discovered<br />
Hittite civilisation of Turkey.<br />
Liverpool archaeologist John<br />
Garstang (1876–1956) was a<br />
central figure <strong>in</strong> the discovery<br />
of this ancient culture, and<br />
wrote a number of important<br />
books popularis<strong>in</strong>g the study of<br />
Hittitology <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>. The orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
Liverpool Museum gallery<br />
featured cab<strong>in</strong>ets of artefacts<br />
from Garstang’s work <strong>in</strong> Turkey<br />
and elsewhere, and its walls were<br />
adorned with full-sized casts of<br />
Hittite sculptures.<br />
The Hittite Gallery was<br />
destroyed by enemy action dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the air raids of May 1941. While<br />
all the sculptural casts were<br />
destroyed <strong>in</strong> the bomb<strong>in</strong>g, many<br />
of the other artefacts from the<br />
exhibition – <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g pottery,<br />
seals and seal impressions, a stone<br />
bronze-cast<strong>in</strong>g mould, jewellery<br />
and a number of figur<strong>in</strong>es – had<br />
been removed to storage. These<br />
Hittite objects have rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong><br />
storage ever s<strong>in</strong>ce and have never<br />
been on public display s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
early years of World War II.<br />
In addition to the surviv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
artefacts is John Garstang’s archive<br />
of 23,000 glass negatives and<br />
slides, housed at the University<br />
of Liverpool. Garstang was a<br />
photo: tRaCey Gibbs<br />
Victoria Gallery and Museum<br />
clock tower at the University of<br />
Liverpool, where the exhibition<br />
will open <strong>in</strong> January 2011.<br />
pioneer of archaeological<br />
fieldwork techniques and an early<br />
advocate of photography as a<br />
means of record<strong>in</strong>g archaeological<br />
excavations. His collection, which<br />
covered a lifetime’s work <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Near East and Egypt, <strong>in</strong>cludes<br />
about 400 glass negatives and<br />
700 glass lantern slides – many of<br />
which <strong>in</strong>clude images of historic,<br />
archaeological and ethnographic<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest – taken dur<strong>in</strong>g his work<br />
and travels <strong>in</strong> Turkey. In order<br />
to fully recreate the lost gallery,<br />
and to produce a spectacular<br />
new visitor experience, full-sized<br />
reproduction casts of Hittite<br />
sculptures are be<strong>in</strong>g loaned to the<br />
University of Liverpool from the<br />
collections of the British Museum.<br />
With the aid of grants from the<br />
Arts and Humanities Research<br />
Council (AHRC) and the Heritage<br />
Lottery Fund, these artefacts and<br />
slides have been prepared for<br />
public view <strong>in</strong> the exhibition and<br />
via a web site.<br />
In addition to the Hittite<br />
artefacts on display, the new<br />
exhibition will also exam<strong>in</strong>e the<br />
life and works of Garstang, and<br />
the city’s historic connections<br />
Ulster Museum, re-open<strong>in</strong>g day, October 2009<br />
with the archaeology and people<br />
of Turkey. The venue of the<br />
exhibition, the Victoria Gallery<br />
and Museum at the University<br />
of Liverpool, designed by<br />
Alfred Waterhouse <strong>in</strong> 1892, is<br />
particularly fitt<strong>in</strong>g s<strong>in</strong>ce Garstang<br />
himself worked <strong>in</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
It was recently restored and<br />
opened as a public museum and<br />
art gallery <strong>in</strong> 2008, co<strong>in</strong>cid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with Liverpool’s year as European<br />
Capital of Culture. The open<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the new exhibition <strong>in</strong> early<br />
2011 will mark the centenary of<br />
the start of Garstang’s excavations<br />
<strong>in</strong> Turkey and will be a fitt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
tribute to celebrate his life, his<br />
archaeological achievements, and<br />
his life-long commitment to the<br />
people and culture of Turkey.<br />
Dr Alan Greaves<br />
School of Archaeology,<br />
Classics and Egyptology<br />
(SACE)<br />
University of Liverpool<br />
(See the January/February 2011<br />
issue of M<strong>in</strong>erva for a feature article<br />
on the exhibition. Readers can also<br />
follow the progress of the project at<br />
www.liv.ac.uk/sace/hittite)<br />
4 M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
photo: MaChiNe Made
Survey<strong>in</strong>g the Hyskos city of Avaris<br />
Austrian archaeologists work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
at Tell el-Daba, <strong>in</strong> the eastern<br />
Nile delta, have recently<br />
released images derived from<br />
magnetometer and resistivity<br />
surveys of what they believe<br />
are the southern districts of the<br />
ancient city of Avris, the largest<br />
and most important of the<br />
cities established by the Hyskos<br />
(‘Desert Pr<strong>in</strong>ces’). Their arrival<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiated the Second Intermediate<br />
Period <strong>in</strong> c. 1780 BC and which<br />
lasted about a century until the<br />
establishment of the 18 th dynasty<br />
of pharaohs and the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the New K<strong>in</strong>gdom period of<br />
ancient Egyptian history. So far<br />
about 2.6 square kilometres<br />
have been surveyed and the<br />
images have provided outl<strong>in</strong>es of<br />
the city’s street plan, as well as<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
houses <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g large build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
that are probably palaces and<br />
temples. The Austrian researchers<br />
also identified a port <strong>in</strong>side the<br />
city, while Dr Irene Forstner-<br />
Müller, head of the Austrian<br />
Archaeological Institute <strong>in</strong> Egypt,<br />
said that the geophysical survey<br />
had ‘identified one of the Nile<br />
River tributaries that passed<br />
through the city, as well as two<br />
islands’. It was ready access to the<br />
Nile and the sea routes beyond,<br />
that provided the Hyskos with<br />
connections to other civilisations<br />
of the eastern Mediterranean.<br />
Earlier Austrian excavations <strong>in</strong> the<br />
area have famously discovered<br />
a temple complex conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
M<strong>in</strong>oan artefacts and decorated<br />
with frescoes similar to those<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ted at the place of Knossos.<br />
Last October, a Babylonian seal<br />
was also discovered from Avaris,<br />
which, together with a cuneiform<br />
tablet recovered earlier <strong>in</strong> the<br />
year, also <strong>in</strong>dicate economic and<br />
diplomatic contacts between the<br />
Hyskos and the civilisations to the<br />
east.<br />
Avaris appears to have been<br />
abandoned midway through the<br />
16 th century BC, follow<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
f<strong>in</strong>al defeat of the Hyskos by<br />
Ahmose I (r. c. 1550-1525 BC)<br />
and the establishment of the<br />
18 th dynasty. However, the site<br />
was resettled some 250 years<br />
later by pharaohs of the<br />
19 th dynasty, and became capital<br />
of Egypt dur<strong>in</strong>g the reign of<br />
Ramses II (c. 1279-1213 BC)<br />
when the city was modestly<br />
renamed Pi-Ramses Aa-nakhtu<br />
Br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g light to the end of the tunnel<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce November 2007, egyptian<br />
archaeologists have been<br />
excavat<strong>in</strong>g and conserv<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
174m-long tunnel cut through<br />
the bedrock of kV17, the tomb<br />
of seti i (c. 1314–1304 bC) <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Valley of the k<strong>in</strong>gs. although<br />
the tunnel was orig<strong>in</strong>ally<br />
explored <strong>in</strong> 1960, the recent<br />
excavations revealed that<br />
the passage cont<strong>in</strong>ued for a<br />
further 26.6m than had been<br />
previously explored. the recent<br />
excavations also discovered<br />
shabtis, pottery fragments, and<br />
a small model boat made of<br />
faience.<br />
the egyptian archaeologists<br />
also uncovered a false door<br />
with hieratic text: ‘Move the<br />
door jamb up and make the<br />
passage wider.’ it is thought<br />
these were <strong>in</strong>structions left by<br />
the architect of the tomb for<br />
the workmen who were carv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the tunnel.<br />
while the purpose of the<br />
tunnel is unknown, dr Zahi<br />
hawass, of the supreme Council<br />
of antiquities, has theorised<br />
Met acquires Three Graces<br />
An ancient Roman group statue depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the Three Graces was acquired by New York’s<br />
Metropolitan Museum of Art <strong>in</strong> July. The<br />
marble sculpture is a 2 nd -century AD Roman<br />
copy of a Greek work from the 2 nd century BC.<br />
Discovered <strong>in</strong> Rome <strong>in</strong> 1892, the statue has<br />
been on loan to the Museum from a private<br />
collector s<strong>in</strong>ce 1992, and has been on view <strong>in</strong><br />
the centre of the Leon Levy and Shelby White<br />
Sculpture Court s<strong>in</strong>ce it opened <strong>in</strong> 2007.<br />
The museum’s Director, Thomas<br />
P. Campbell, commented: ‘The charm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
dance-like pose of the Three Graces, who<br />
stand <strong>in</strong> alternat<strong>in</strong>g front and back view, with<br />
their hands on each other’s shoulders, is one of<br />
the most famous and endur<strong>in</strong>g compositions<br />
known from antiquity. It was first developed<br />
<strong>in</strong> the 2 nd century BC, cont<strong>in</strong>ued <strong>in</strong> popularity<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Renaissance, and has been <strong>in</strong>fluential<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g every subsequent period of Western<br />
European art. Thanks to the generous support<br />
of several Trustees and other good friends of<br />
the <strong>in</strong>stitution, we are delighted to announce<br />
the addition of this superb, extremely well<br />
preserved, and beautifully carved work to the<br />
Met’s encyclopedic collection.’<br />
(House of Ramses, Great <strong>in</strong><br />
Victory). At its height Pi–Ramses<br />
is believed to have covered more<br />
than 18 square kilometers and<br />
been home to more than 300,000<br />
people. However, by the middle<br />
of the 11 th century BC, the silt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
up of the branch of the Nile on<br />
which it was situated forced the<br />
abandonment of the city and<br />
most of the obelisks, statuary and<br />
other masonry structures were<br />
relocated to the new city of Tanis,<br />
100km to the north-west.<br />
James Beresford<br />
that it may have orig<strong>in</strong>ally been<br />
<strong>in</strong>tended to lead to a secret<br />
burial chamber. however, with<br />
the death of seti i near the end<br />
of the 14 th century bC, work on<br />
the new tunnel was brought to<br />
a halt and the pharaoh’s body<br />
was laid <strong>in</strong> the chamber that<br />
had already been completed.<br />
James Beresford<br />
The Three Graces are Aglaia (Beauty),<br />
Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Abundance).<br />
In mythology, they play an attendant role;<br />
their closest connection is with Aphrodite,<br />
whom they serve as handmaidens. For ancient<br />
authors, the triad also served as an allegory for<br />
the cycle of giv<strong>in</strong>g, accept<strong>in</strong>g, and return<strong>in</strong>g<br />
favours, which were described by the ancient<br />
Roman philosopher Seneca as the ‘chief bond<br />
of human society’. After its discovery <strong>in</strong> Rome<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1892 near the ancient Forum of Nerva and<br />
Vespasian’s Temple of Peace, this sculpture<br />
entered the collection of Joachim Ferroni and<br />
has s<strong>in</strong>ce attracted much scholarly attention.<br />
The Three Graces traditionally are shown as<br />
nudes with water jars covered by drapery at<br />
their feet, a representation that ultimately<br />
derives from the famous classical statue of<br />
Aphrodite by Praxiteles at Knidos.<br />
Sophie Mackenzie<br />
5
<strong>in</strong>thenews<br />
The last day of Pompeii<br />
New research carried out at Pompeii suggests<br />
that most of the victims of the eruption of AD<br />
79 did not die as a result of <strong>in</strong>halation of hot<br />
ash, as has generally been thought. Instead<br />
they were killed through exposure to high<br />
temperatures of at least 250°C.<br />
When Mount Vesuvius first erupted, fastmov<strong>in</strong>g<br />
clouds of super-heated ash, rock and<br />
gas sped down its southern flanks. Known<br />
to scientists as Pyroclastic Density Currents<br />
(PDCs), these clouds of debris can achieve<br />
speeds of 700km/h, and temperatures of over<br />
1000°C. These pyroclastic clouds, surg<strong>in</strong>g over<br />
Pompeii and other districts of Campania <strong>in</strong><br />
AD 79, were described by Pl<strong>in</strong>y the Younger<br />
<strong>in</strong> a letter written to the historian Cornelius<br />
Tacitus as ‘a dreadful black cloud, torn by<br />
gush<strong>in</strong>g flames and tongues of fire like<br />
lightn<strong>in</strong>g that was greatly magnified’.<br />
Previous research has demonstrated that<br />
there were six separate pyroclastic clouds<br />
sent out by Vesuvius dur<strong>in</strong>g the eruption of<br />
AD 79. The first three flows did not reach<br />
the 10km to Pompeii. The population who<br />
died at this stage of the eruption did so as a<br />
result of roofs collaps<strong>in</strong>g under the steady<br />
build up of material blasted upwards from the<br />
volcano which steadily ra<strong>in</strong>ed down on the<br />
city. It was the fourth pyroclastic cloud that<br />
covered Pompeii and it was this that caused<br />
the greatest loss of life. However, new research<br />
published <strong>in</strong> the mid June onl<strong>in</strong>e journal<br />
PLoS ONE entitled ‘Lethal Thermal Impact at<br />
Periphery of Pyroclastic Surges: Evidences at<br />
Pompeii’, <strong>in</strong>dicates that although the fourth<br />
PDC barely covered the city, peter<strong>in</strong>g out just<br />
beyond the southern walls, and while there<br />
was only enough ash left with<strong>in</strong> the cloud<br />
to leave a deposit 3cm thick <strong>in</strong> Pompeii, the<br />
temperatures were sufficiently high to kill<br />
anyone who still rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> the city.<br />
It was the postures of 93 well preserved<br />
plaster casts that po<strong>in</strong>ted the researchers to the<br />
cause of death, suggest<strong>in</strong>g ‘an <strong>in</strong>stantaneous<br />
death followed by sudden muscle contraction<br />
(cadaveric spasm) due to the heat-shock<br />
The Last Day of Pompeii, Karl Briullov (1799-1852). Oil on canvas. Pa<strong>in</strong>ted between 1827-1833.<br />
State Russian Museum, St Petersburg.<br />
<strong>in</strong>duced by the PDC, as also testified by<br />
hyperflexion of hands and feet toes’. Cadaveric<br />
spasm is a rare phenomenon only found <strong>in</strong><br />
corpses that have suffered <strong>in</strong>stant violent<br />
death lead<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>in</strong>stantaneous stiffen<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the muscles. ‘The predom<strong>in</strong>ance of this rare<br />
feature <strong>in</strong> Pompeii victims po<strong>in</strong>ts to an <strong>in</strong>stant<br />
death due to heat exposure.’<br />
The pale yellow or natural bone colour of<br />
the skeletal rema<strong>in</strong>s recovered from Pompeii,<br />
and preservation of DNA with<strong>in</strong> the bones,<br />
also suggests that they were not subject to<br />
temperatures higher than 300°C (572°F).<br />
This differs greatly from rema<strong>in</strong>s found at<br />
Herculaneum, located 3km closer to Vesuvius<br />
than Pompeii. Here no impr<strong>in</strong>ts of bodies<br />
were found <strong>in</strong> the ash deposits, and all the<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s were purely skeletal. The colours of<br />
the bones were darker than those exam<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
at Pompeii, and all DNA had been destroyed<br />
by temperatures of 500°C (932°F) or higher.<br />
Release of the Red List for Central America<br />
At the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of June,<br />
the International Council of<br />
Museums (ICOM) set out the<br />
Red List of Endangered Cultural<br />
Objects of Central America and<br />
Mexico. The document, which was<br />
released at the National Museum<br />
of Anthropology <strong>in</strong> Mexico City,<br />
is designed to combat loot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and destruction of archaeological<br />
sites, and reduce the illegal trade<br />
<strong>in</strong> cultural artefacts. Like the<br />
Red Lists produced for other<br />
areas of the world, it is <strong>in</strong>tended<br />
to help museums, art traders,<br />
collectors and law enforcement<br />
officials identify artefacts that<br />
are threatened with illegal export<br />
from the countries of Mexico,<br />
Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador,<br />
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa<br />
Rica and Panama. The Red List<br />
describes several categories of<br />
objects that are under threat.<br />
From the Prehispanic era,<br />
these <strong>in</strong>clude various types of<br />
ceramics, metalwork, stone and<br />
bone artefacts, weapons and<br />
tools. From the Colonial and<br />
Republican periods pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />
sculpture, reliefs, altarpieces, and<br />
gold and silver objects – many<br />
illegally removed from churches<br />
‘Therefore heat was enough for sudden and<br />
complete vaporization of soft tissues of the<br />
victims at Herculaneum… where the flesh<br />
was suddenly replaced by the ash, but was<br />
<strong>in</strong>sufficient at Pompeii. This accounts for<br />
the nearly perfect preservation of the entire<br />
body impr<strong>in</strong>t (plaster casts) <strong>in</strong> the ash as a<br />
consequence of the delayed disappearance of<br />
flesh of these bodies.’<br />
The f<strong>in</strong>al two pyroclastic clouds sent out<br />
by Vesuvius reached even further than that<br />
which killed all who rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> Pompeii<br />
and Herculaneum. Victims have therefore<br />
been found <strong>in</strong> outly<strong>in</strong>g villas more than 15km<br />
from the volcano. The ability for pyroclastic<br />
clouds to reta<strong>in</strong> lethal levels of heat so far from<br />
the source, once ash levels had decl<strong>in</strong>ed, has<br />
implications for the evacuation plans of the<br />
modern city of Naples and other settlements<br />
clustered near active volcanoes.<br />
James Beresford<br />
– are most at risk. Manuscripts,<br />
maps, plans and pr<strong>in</strong>ts are also<br />
among the objects that require<br />
careful safeguard<strong>in</strong>g. In order to<br />
assist authorities and the public <strong>in</strong><br />
identify<strong>in</strong>g the types of artefacts<br />
most under threat, pictures with<br />
brief descriptions of the various<br />
cultural treasures are <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong><br />
the document.<br />
James Beresford<br />
6 M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
Moves to restrict the importation of Italian<br />
co<strong>in</strong>s to the United States<br />
On 6 May 2010, the US State Department’s<br />
Cultural Property Advisory Committee<br />
(CPAC) met to hear public comments<br />
regard<strong>in</strong>g amendments to be made to the<br />
Memorandum of Understand<strong>in</strong>g (MoU),<br />
signed by the US and Italy <strong>in</strong> 2001 and<br />
extended <strong>in</strong> 2006. The MoU concerns<br />
‘the Imposition of Import Restrictions<br />
on Categories of Archaeological Material<br />
Represent<strong>in</strong>g the Pre-Classical, Classical<br />
and Imperial Roman Periods of Italy’. The<br />
discussion focused on the benefits of the<br />
current MoU, and Italy’s compliance with<br />
its obligations to provide long-term loans to<br />
American museums.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
It rema<strong>in</strong>s unclear whether Italy had<br />
formally requested an amendment to the<br />
MoU <strong>in</strong> order to widen the import restrictions<br />
to <strong>in</strong>clude co<strong>in</strong>s. Nevertheless, the topic<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ated the debate, with several speakers<br />
talk<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>in</strong>clusion. CPAC heard from<br />
20 speakers, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a representative of the<br />
Italian M<strong>in</strong>istry of Culture. Of these, n<strong>in</strong>e<br />
opposed various aspects of the MoU or its<br />
extension to <strong>in</strong>clude co<strong>in</strong>s.<br />
The ma<strong>in</strong> concern raised by chairman<br />
Kather<strong>in</strong>e Reid regard<strong>in</strong>g an extension<br />
to ancient co<strong>in</strong>s would be the difficulty<br />
<strong>in</strong> enforc<strong>in</strong>g the restrictions, especially<br />
consider<strong>in</strong>g the wide circulation of co<strong>in</strong>s across<br />
Return of a Greek youth<br />
Elsewhere <strong>in</strong> this issue of M<strong>in</strong>erva<br />
(see pp. 16-19) is a description<br />
and <strong>in</strong>terpretation of a highly<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g bronze figur<strong>in</strong>e of the<br />
god Hermes, recently acquired<br />
by the Manchester Museum<br />
through the good offices of James<br />
Ede, of Charles Ede Ltd, from<br />
the collection built up by the late<br />
Nicholas Embiricos <strong>in</strong> Lausanne.<br />
However, this was by no means<br />
the only bronze shown to the<br />
Museum by Ede, for Embiricos<br />
had excellent taste, and a lik<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for Archaic pieces. Among other<br />
items was a beautiful little bronze<br />
kouros of the early 6 th century<br />
BC (H. 11cm): while Embiricos<br />
undoubtedly acquired him <strong>in</strong><br />
good faith, further <strong>in</strong>vestigation<br />
showed that he had been looted<br />
from the museum on the island<br />
of Samos dur<strong>in</strong>g World War II,<br />
or perhaps dur<strong>in</strong>g the Greek<br />
Civil War that followed. He is<br />
listed <strong>in</strong> all three editions of<br />
Kouroi, the standard handbook<br />
on these statues by the American<br />
scholar Prof G.M.A. Richter, first<br />
published <strong>in</strong> 1942. To make the<br />
identification secure, the bronze<br />
figur<strong>in</strong>e even shares the same<br />
blemish on the tip of his nose as<br />
<strong>in</strong> the illustration <strong>in</strong> that book;<br />
he is not an aftercast<strong>in</strong>g, for<br />
the dimensions match exactly<br />
those given by Richter. After<br />
confirm<strong>in</strong>g that the bronze had<br />
not been deaccessioned legally,<br />
James Ede was able to return<br />
him to his proper keepers <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Greek Archaeological Service at a<br />
ceremony <strong>in</strong> the lecture hall of the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>istry of Culture <strong>in</strong> Athens on<br />
16 June 2005.<br />
The event was widely reported<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Greek and British press,<br />
photos CouRtesy of ChaRles ede ltd.<br />
but such occasions have become<br />
a regular feature of archaeological<br />
life <strong>in</strong> Greece. The National<br />
Archaeological Museum <strong>in</strong><br />
Athens has regular displays of<br />
objects that have been returned<br />
to Greece, and dur<strong>in</strong>g 2008 there<br />
was a special exhibition <strong>in</strong> the<br />
the ancient world. It was therefore suggested<br />
as a compromise that import restrictions<br />
be placed on South Italian, Sicilian, Punic,<br />
Etruscan and early Roman Republican co<strong>in</strong>s,<br />
while Roman Imperatorial and Imperial co<strong>in</strong>s<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> excluded from the MoU. However,<br />
the International Association of Professional<br />
Numismatists, together with the Professional<br />
Numismatic Guild, has submitted a study to<br />
prove that, long before the establishment of the<br />
Pr<strong>in</strong>cipate, co<strong>in</strong>s m<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong> Italy were <strong>in</strong> wide<br />
circulation and that the pr<strong>in</strong>ciple is flawed.<br />
At present no f<strong>in</strong>al decision has been made.<br />
The renewal of the MoU is due early <strong>in</strong> 2011.<br />
Massimiliano Tursi<br />
new Acropolis Museum <strong>in</strong> Athens<br />
of objects that had been exported<br />
illegally (usually after be<strong>in</strong>g looted<br />
from their f<strong>in</strong>dspots) and were<br />
now com<strong>in</strong>g home. The <strong>in</strong>spired<br />
title of the show was ‘Nostoi’, a<br />
reference to the stories describ<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the returns of the Greek heroes<br />
from Troy. The exhibition was<br />
jo<strong>in</strong>tly curated with their opposite<br />
numbers <strong>in</strong> Italy for many of the<br />
objects had come from there, and<br />
it had already had a show<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
that side of the Adriatic.<br />
For myself there was an<br />
additional happy f<strong>in</strong>al twist to the<br />
story of the kouros. Last year I was<br />
lead<strong>in</strong>g a tour around the Aegean,<br />
which <strong>in</strong>cluded a visit to Samos.<br />
Normally foreigners are forbidden<br />
by Greek law from lectur<strong>in</strong>g or<br />
guid<strong>in</strong>g on sites or <strong>in</strong> museums<br />
without a licensed local guide to<br />
accompany them. However, when<br />
I produced a newspaper cutt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
relat<strong>in</strong>g to the return of the<br />
kouros, we were immediately led<br />
upstairs to the display of bronzes:<br />
there was the little figur<strong>in</strong>e, with a<br />
large label alongside announc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the fact that he had been returned<br />
by a British antiquities dealer.<br />
It was splendid to see him back<br />
<strong>in</strong> his proper home – and of<br />
course the ever-hospitable Greeks<br />
allowed me to tell his story to my<br />
tour group.<br />
Professor John Prag<br />
University of Manchester<br />
7
Conservation technology<br />
Brave new<br />
technological<br />
One of the ma<strong>in</strong> problems<br />
fac<strong>in</strong>g museums today<br />
is lack of display space,<br />
which means that large<br />
parts of many collections are locked<br />
away <strong>in</strong> storage. However, this is not<br />
without its problems – merely keep<strong>in</strong>g<br />
an item beh<strong>in</strong>d a glass cas<strong>in</strong>g is<br />
not enough to stop it from becom<strong>in</strong>g<br />
eroded. Hence most artefacts will often<br />
end up <strong>in</strong> long-term storage, either<br />
deep with<strong>in</strong> the bowels of the museum,<br />
<strong>in</strong> secure warehouses, or occasionally<br />
<strong>in</strong> the dry environment of a salt m<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
In addition to the difficulties of<br />
museum display, archaeologists also<br />
face the problem of how to br<strong>in</strong>g<br />
recent f<strong>in</strong>ds from excavations to public<br />
attention, or to share them with colleagues<br />
work<strong>in</strong>g on the other side<br />
of the world. Traditionally we have<br />
tended to use newspaper articles,<br />
museum displays and television programmes,<br />
and more recently the web.<br />
However, I believe that the archaeological<br />
community is ready for a change<br />
that will benefit us all.<br />
There is a vast amount of heritage<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation already circulat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
cyberspace that is ready to be taken<br />
and manipulated <strong>in</strong>to a holistic vision.<br />
What better way to do it than with<br />
the use of three dimensional design<br />
world<br />
Mike Nevell expla<strong>in</strong>s how 3D can help make archaeology<br />
more ma<strong>in</strong>stream and beneficial to communities and <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
8<br />
Fig 1a. Bronze Age fl<strong>in</strong>t<br />
dagger from Mellor,<br />
Stockport.<br />
Fig 1b. Reconstructed<br />
geometric model of<br />
the dagger from laser<br />
scann<strong>in</strong>g data.<br />
Fig 2. Cloud po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
data with textures<br />
of a laser scan of<br />
Gorton Monastery,<br />
Manchester. Image<br />
courtesy of Andy<br />
Hamilton, School of<br />
the Built Environment,<br />
University of Salford.<br />
Fig 3. Orig<strong>in</strong>al (3b)<br />
and replica (3a)<br />
busts of the emperor<br />
Caligula. The copy<br />
was generated<br />
from data collected<br />
by a triangulation<br />
laser scanner.<br />
Photo courtesy<br />
of Conservation<br />
Technologies, National<br />
Museums Liverpool.<br />
1a<br />
1b<br />
(3D)? While 3D graphics are not<br />
a new concept, there has been a<br />
renewed <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the potential<br />
of the technology over recent<br />
years, as the film <strong>in</strong>dustry has<br />
clearly demonstrated. Today we<br />
have the ability to use the technology<br />
that created blockbuster movies<br />
like Avatar to create exceptionally<br />
detailed images and replicas of artefacts<br />
and generate greater awareness<br />
of them, and to educate communities<br />
about archaeological f<strong>in</strong>ds and sites.<br />
Ancient artefacts such as Roman<br />
co<strong>in</strong>s or prehistoric stone tools are<br />
usually displayed <strong>in</strong> museums with<strong>in</strong><br />
glass cab<strong>in</strong>ets. At best, two-dimensional<br />
representations of them can<br />
be accessed or downloaded from the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternet. However, 3D visualisation<br />
would allow us to see these objects <strong>in</strong><br />
a completely different way, while 3D<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g – which creates a 3D facsimile<br />
of an artefact by build<strong>in</strong>g up layer after<br />
layer of paper – could allow the viewer<br />
to physically pick up the co<strong>in</strong> or knife,<br />
hold it between their f<strong>in</strong>gers and feel<br />
it. Such a technology would help br<strong>in</strong>g<br />
archaeology to life (Figs 1a, 1b).<br />
There are many computer software<br />
and hardware products available for<br />
archaeological researchers and heritage<br />
professionals designed to help<br />
2<br />
3a<br />
them explore these possibilities. In<br />
terms of hardware, scanners range<br />
from triangulation-based devices for<br />
close work on small objects like co<strong>in</strong>s,<br />
pottery or statues (Figs 3a, 3b, 5a, 5b);<br />
through terrestrial time or flight laser<br />
scanners suitable for surveys of the<br />
facades and <strong>in</strong>teriors of build<strong>in</strong>gs (Fig<br />
2); to airborne laser scanners, which<br />
allow the mapp<strong>in</strong>g of entire landscapes<br />
(see M<strong>in</strong>erva, July/August 2010, p. 7)<br />
(Figs 4a, 4b). Clearly, the skills needed<br />
here <strong>in</strong>clude not just mastery of 3D,
3b<br />
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) or<br />
Geographic Information Systems<br />
(GIS) programmes, but also a familiarity<br />
with the 3D laser scann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mach<strong>in</strong>es themselves, as well as the<br />
other data gather<strong>in</strong>g devices that could<br />
be used to supply ancillary <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
such as the Electronic Distance<br />
Measurer (EDM) and digital cameras.<br />
All this may sound confus<strong>in</strong>g or<br />
even <strong>in</strong>timidat<strong>in</strong>g. However, organisations<br />
such as English Heritage publish<br />
guidance papers, which can be<br />
4a<br />
downloaded from their website.<br />
One such paper, entitled ‘3D Laser<br />
Scann<strong>in</strong>g for Heritage: Advice and<br />
guidance to users on laser scann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> archaeology and architecture’,<br />
is a fairly friendly guide<br />
that provides a step-by-step tour<br />
through the 3D world from data<br />
gather<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>in</strong>terpretation. There are<br />
17 case studies cover<strong>in</strong>g a variety of<br />
laser scann<strong>in</strong>g projects, and a useful<br />
list of contacts at the end of the guide.<br />
English Heritage also has a legacy website,<br />
www.heritage3D.org, where heritage<br />
professionals <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> 3D laser<br />
scann<strong>in</strong>g can exchange views, advertise<br />
conferences and tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g days, and<br />
review further case studies.<br />
All this technology offers the potential<br />
to provide archaeologists and the<br />
general public with a better understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the past. Scans of medieval<br />
castles or ancient Near Eastern cities<br />
<strong>in</strong>to a 3D visualisation software programme<br />
would allow people to fly over<br />
the city <strong>in</strong> cyberspace or manipulate<br />
build<strong>in</strong>gs, dissect<strong>in</strong>g their structural<br />
components to see how, when and why<br />
they were built. This technology therefore<br />
has the potential to recreate past<br />
landscapes and allow the user to walk<br />
through them and get a unique feel for<br />
a lost environment.<br />
5a<br />
Fig 4. Aerial view<br />
of Buckton Castle,<br />
Stalybridge, Greater<br />
Manchester (4b), and<br />
the meshed po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
cloud data of the laser<br />
scan of the castle<br />
earthwork (4a).<br />
Fig 5. An orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
stone fragment (5a),<br />
and a reconstructed<br />
geometric model<br />
created from laser<br />
scann<strong>in</strong>g data (5b).<br />
Images courtesy<br />
of Conservation<br />
Technologies, National<br />
Museums Liverpool.<br />
The use of 3D software, comb<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
with 3D pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g, can be used to create<br />
mobile displays and provide the opportunity<br />
to share details with society <strong>in</strong> a<br />
way that has previously been impossible.<br />
Community centres, libraries,<br />
museums and schools should be able<br />
to use this new <strong>in</strong>formation, by download<strong>in</strong>g<br />
it or through dedicated computer<br />
term<strong>in</strong>als act<strong>in</strong>g as portals <strong>in</strong>to a<br />
newly recreated past.<br />
School courses can be supplemented<br />
through 3D technology tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g packs,<br />
which would generate excitement and<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest among students, and give the<br />
past more relevance. The technology<br />
could also be used <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry to<br />
raise awareness of the cultural value of<br />
heritage and archaeology. By actively<br />
acquir<strong>in</strong>g, understand<strong>in</strong>g and us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
cutt<strong>in</strong>g-edge visualisation skills and<br />
record<strong>in</strong>g objects and sites, archaeologists<br />
can br<strong>in</strong>g their f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs to the<br />
wider community and make the past<br />
more accessible and understandable to<br />
our colleagues and the public. n<br />
Dr Mike Nevell is Head of<br />
Archaeology at the new Centre for<br />
Applied Archaeology, part of the<br />
School of Built Environment at the<br />
University of Salford.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 9<br />
4b<br />
5b
Prehistoric art<br />
10<br />
Faces<br />
<strong>in</strong> the<br />
stones<br />
Kate Prendergast takes a new look<br />
at the great henge monument of<br />
Avebury and exam<strong>in</strong>es theories that<br />
Neolithic artists carved cleverly hidden<br />
figures <strong>in</strong>to some of the stones<br />
The World Heritage landscape<br />
of Avebury <strong>in</strong> Wiltshire,<br />
home to a rich collection of<br />
Neolithic monuments, is a<br />
delight to visit. Set <strong>in</strong> a natural bas<strong>in</strong><br />
surrounded by hills, near the source<br />
of the River Kennet, the monuments<br />
follow the lie of the land and provide<br />
surprises at every turn. They <strong>in</strong>clude<br />
chambered tombs, a large stone circle<br />
(Fig 2), two stone avenues and the<br />
enigmatic mound known as Silbury<br />
Hill. The sites were described by 17 th<br />
century antiquarian William Stukeley<br />
as ‘16 square miles of sacred ground’.<br />
Monument build<strong>in</strong>g began <strong>in</strong> this<br />
landscape around 3800 BC and cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />
for more than 2000 years. The<br />
stone circles and avenues at Avebury<br />
date to the middle of this period,<br />
1<br />
Twisted horn<br />
Headband<br />
Hollow eye<br />
Fall<strong>in</strong>g tress of hair<br />
Fig 1. Stone 206 with<br />
a profile of a carved<br />
face.<br />
Fig 2. The large sarsen<br />
stones which form<br />
the Avebury henge<br />
monument.<br />
c. 2900–2400 BC. The architecture<br />
seems primarily designed to facilitate<br />
and orchestrate crowd-gather<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
large-scale ritual activities. The Kennet<br />
and Beckhampton stone avenues beg<strong>in</strong><br />
at the periphery of this landscape and<br />
lead people <strong>in</strong>to the central stone circle<br />
with its bank, ditch, and further <strong>in</strong>ner<br />
stone circles. Stukeley also described<br />
and sketched a monolith known as the<br />
Obelisk, which was located with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
henge monument but was toppled and<br />
destroyed <strong>in</strong> the early 18 th century. An<br />
altar-like sett<strong>in</strong>g of stones known as<br />
‘the Cove’ still partly survives.<br />
Avebury has much <strong>in</strong> common<br />
with its more famous neighbour<br />
Stonehenge. They are of similar<br />
date and both are constructed us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
huge sarsen stones taken from the<br />
Marlborough Downs. But whereas the<br />
design of Stonehenge channels people<br />
<strong>in</strong>to a tightly def<strong>in</strong>ed and controlled<br />
ritual space, the circles and related sett<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
at Avebury were constructed on a<br />
much larger scale. The Avebury henge<br />
also appears more open, and almost<br />
seems to <strong>in</strong>vite meander<strong>in</strong>g journeys,<br />
encourag<strong>in</strong>g a sense of discovery that<br />
is rewarded by unhurried sojourn.<br />
Avebury’s massive sarsen megaliths,<br />
the heaviest weigh<strong>in</strong>g over 60 tonnes,<br />
are among the most magnificent <strong>in</strong><br />
the world. Orig<strong>in</strong>ally up to 600 stones<br />
stood <strong>in</strong> this landscape, but now only<br />
around 80 rema<strong>in</strong>, with the rest either<br />
buried or destroyed. The hardness of<br />
the sandstone sarsens varies greatly, yet<br />
all the stones display the effects of the<br />
natural processes that created them.<br />
The stones reta<strong>in</strong> their mysterious and<br />
evocative natural shapes, and have an<br />
impos<strong>in</strong>g presence <strong>in</strong> the landscape.<br />
Some observers argue there may be far<br />
more to the shape of the stones than<br />
the effects of nature. Many stones at<br />
Avebury have been modified by human<br />
hands to enhance natural effects and to<br />
create a landscape that <strong>in</strong> a very real<br />
sense is <strong>in</strong>habited by ‘be<strong>in</strong>gs’ captured<br />
<strong>in</strong> the stones themselves.<br />
It has long been recognised that<br />
many Neolithic megaliths of northern<br />
Europe have been worked, dressed<br />
and, <strong>in</strong> some cases, elaborately carved.<br />
The rock art at monuments to the<br />
south, west and north of Brita<strong>in</strong>, such<br />
as Gavr<strong>in</strong>is <strong>in</strong> Brittany or Knowth <strong>in</strong><br />
Ireland, has been extensively documented<br />
and <strong>in</strong>terpreted. However, little<br />
work has been done to establish the<br />
existence of a Neolithic rock art tradition<br />
<strong>in</strong> southern England.<br />
In the early 20 th century, Herbert<br />
Stone was one of the first archaeologists<br />
to analyse the megalithic sarsens<br />
of southern England for evidence<br />
of possible stone-work<strong>in</strong>g. He argued<br />
that those of Stonehenge had been<br />
mauled, hammered, pounded and<br />
ground <strong>in</strong>to shape, po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g out that<br />
woodwork<strong>in</strong>g traditions are clearly<br />
echoed <strong>in</strong> the l<strong>in</strong>tel jo<strong>in</strong>ts. Bronze Age<br />
rock art, depict<strong>in</strong>g daggers and axes, is<br />
also clearly present on some of the sarsens<br />
of Stonehenge; as recently as 1999<br />
one f<strong>in</strong>e example of fluent, deep carv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
was discovered on the broad edge<br />
of one of the stones.<br />
In 1936, <strong>Alexander</strong> Keiller, a wealthy<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>essman and enthusiastic archaeologist,<br />
purchased large tracts of land<br />
<strong>in</strong> the area where he carried out a<br />
number of high profile excavations.<br />
Digg<strong>in</strong>g of the Avebury henge by<br />
Keiller, together with archaeologist<br />
Stuart Piggott, began <strong>in</strong> 1937. The site<br />
was cleared of undergrowth, sarsens<br />
that had been buried were uncovered<br />
and replaced <strong>in</strong> their orig<strong>in</strong>al stoneholes,<br />
and holes mark<strong>in</strong>g the sites of<br />
lost stones were denoted with concrete<br />
pylons. Keiller and Piggott also argued<br />
that the stones at Avebury had been<br />
worked and dressed:<br />
‘The stones… have hitherto been<br />
erroneously referred to as “rough<br />
unhewn blocks of sarsen”. Actually<br />
these megaliths have been… very carefully<br />
dressed, although not, it should<br />
be noted, to the flat surface obta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
at Stonehenge. Moreover there can be<br />
no question but that the stones were<br />
dressed deliberately to conform to certa<strong>in</strong><br />
required shapes, and to this end<br />
were <strong>in</strong> the first place selected as near<br />
2<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
to the required form as possible, with a<br />
resultant economy <strong>in</strong> the labour of the<br />
f<strong>in</strong>al dress<strong>in</strong>g’ (Antiquity, 1936, p. 420).<br />
Follow<strong>in</strong>g Keiller, Isobel Smith<br />
argued that the lozenge or diamond,<br />
and long or ‘phallic’ shaped stones<br />
located <strong>in</strong> the Kennet Avenue were<br />
symbolic representations of males and<br />
females. While Keiller’s astute assertion<br />
that many stones at Avebury were<br />
carefully selected and also worked<br />
by Neolithic artists was accepted by<br />
many archaeologists, others assert that<br />
the Avebury sarsens show no sign of<br />
human carv<strong>in</strong>g and were left entirely<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
3<br />
V cuts form<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a horn an the<br />
forehead<br />
Hollow eye<br />
Set of eight<br />
radiat<strong>in</strong>g grooves<br />
round the end of<br />
the nose<br />
Criss-cross cuts<br />
below the nose<br />
Lips formed by<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g two<br />
downward cuts<br />
Fig 3. The evidence for<br />
carv<strong>in</strong>g on stone 206.<br />
Fig 4. Stone 13B, with<br />
a profile of the face of<br />
a young woman.<br />
Some observers argue<br />
there may be far more<br />
to the shape of the<br />
stones than the effects<br />
of nature<br />
<strong>in</strong> their natural state, although it is<br />
acknowledged by all that the stones had<br />
been carefully selected for their shapes.<br />
It took the observational skills of<br />
Terence Meaden, former Professor<br />
of Physics at Dalhousie University <strong>in</strong><br />
Canada, though a native of Wiltshire,<br />
to extend Keiller and Piggott’s work<br />
when he noticed that many of the<br />
Avebury stones appeared to have been<br />
worked to represent human heads<br />
(Figs 5, 6). Meaden published the photographic<br />
evidence for the art <strong>in</strong> The<br />
Secrets of the Avebury Stones (Souvenir<br />
Press, 1999). S<strong>in</strong>ce then, social scientist<br />
and artist Di Pattison has undertaken a<br />
comprehensive assessment of the evidence<br />
for stone-work<strong>in</strong>g at Avebury:<br />
The Avebury Stones: Selected, Shaped,<br />
Carved (British Archaeological<br />
Reports, 2011). With her technical<br />
expertise, Pattison has meticulously<br />
documented the extent and complexity<br />
of such stone-work<strong>in</strong>g, and her<br />
f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs leave no doubt that it was<br />
designed to produce subtle yet still<br />
powerful artistic effects.<br />
The tools Neolithic sculptors were<br />
most likely to have chosen <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />
very hard quartzite nodules, employed<br />
as hammerstones, pounders and mauls<br />
for primary dress<strong>in</strong>g and shap<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
F<strong>in</strong>er work would have been achieved<br />
by chisell<strong>in</strong>g with hard stone tools,<br />
sometimes carefully position<strong>in</strong>g fire<br />
to soften and discolour the sk<strong>in</strong> of the<br />
stone to ease the carv<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
One of the most extraord<strong>in</strong>ary<br />
stones to show evidence for carv<strong>in</strong>g is<br />
Stone 206 (Figs 1, 3). It weighs about<br />
22 tonnes and stands about 3.5 metres<br />
(11.5 feet) high <strong>in</strong> the northernmost<br />
of the two <strong>in</strong>ner stone circles. It fortunately<br />
survived <strong>in</strong>tact and has never<br />
fallen, while most of its neighbours<br />
have been removed or badly broken.<br />
Viewed from the south-west, this stone<br />
has a f<strong>in</strong>ely-executed carved profile of<br />
a head. The mouth and ch<strong>in</strong> are particularly<br />
well shaped: the ch<strong>in</strong> rounded,<br />
the th<strong>in</strong>, precisely formed upper lip<br />
meet<strong>in</strong>g the cheek as it swells out. The<br />
large curved horn has been created<br />
with clearly upturned V-cuts to give<br />
the impression of twists go<strong>in</strong>g back<br />
over the crown of the head.<br />
Careful exam<strong>in</strong>ation reveals a series<br />
of lozenge and ‘V’-shaped <strong>in</strong>dentations<br />
and l<strong>in</strong>ear grooves (Fig 3). These are<br />
Prehistoric art<br />
sculptors’ tool-marks and can be most<br />
readily identified by look<strong>in</strong>g at the<br />
shapes of shadows and the formations<br />
of the liv<strong>in</strong>g lichen, as lichen tends to<br />
grow on the old orig<strong>in</strong>al stone surface<br />
and not on the newer surface cut by<br />
tools. ‘V’-cuts have been used to try<br />
and def<strong>in</strong>e the surface of the cheek and<br />
nose. In good sunlight, at least eight<br />
short chisel-marks are clearly visible at<br />
the tip of the nose. In fact, there is a<br />
network of smaller such marks form<strong>in</strong>g<br />
groups under the nose. Natural features,<br />
like hollows and protuberances,<br />
were accentuated to def<strong>in</strong>e the desired<br />
form, a general characteristic of the<br />
Avebury sculptural style.<br />
The hair and beardless ch<strong>in</strong> of this<br />
impos<strong>in</strong>g character appears to suggest<br />
a female character, while the horn<br />
evokes both mascul<strong>in</strong>e and animal<br />
elements. It looks east-south-east, the<br />
direction of sunrise <strong>in</strong> early November<br />
and early February – the time of year<br />
that heralds the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of w<strong>in</strong>ter<br />
and the start of spr<strong>in</strong>g, and so is a key<br />
period <strong>in</strong> the agricultural year. They<br />
are also moments of ritual significance<br />
and dur<strong>in</strong>g the Iron Age the Celtic<br />
festivals of Samha<strong>in</strong> and Imbolc were<br />
held on these dates, <strong>in</strong> which death<br />
and rebirth were honoured and celebrated.<br />
Is it possible that this stone<br />
has been carved to represent a guardian<br />
of fertility? Clearly of great importance<br />
to the community that created it,<br />
many archetypal roles – herald, protector,<br />
hag and warrior – all appear to be<br />
blended <strong>in</strong>to a s<strong>in</strong>gle character.<br />
Another extraord<strong>in</strong>ary example of<br />
a stone that may have been carved to<br />
depict an archetypal figure is stone<br />
13B <strong>in</strong> the Kennet Avenue (Figs 4, 5,<br />
6, 7). This is only revealed when the<br />
4<br />
11
Prehistoric art<br />
observer walks sun-wise round the<br />
stone, with the effects best experienced<br />
very early on a sunny morn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> June<br />
or July. The first image the observer<br />
encounters is of a three-quarter back<br />
view of the head and neck of a young<br />
adult woman fac<strong>in</strong>g left and look<strong>in</strong>g<br />
down (Fig 4). She has a small, sharply<br />
po<strong>in</strong>ted nose, a hollow eye darkened<br />
by shadow, a full round left cheek and<br />
a high evenly curv<strong>in</strong>g forehead with a<br />
high-piled hairstyle.<br />
Stepp<strong>in</strong>g round the stone, the image<br />
beg<strong>in</strong>s to change. (Fig 5) The woman<br />
still appears to be look<strong>in</strong>g downwards<br />
at the ground, but now her lips have<br />
become visible, the ch<strong>in</strong> has become<br />
more angular, the nose longer, and<br />
the neck thicker. She has grown a little<br />
older.<br />
Pass<strong>in</strong>g on just one more small step<br />
and a new image emerges out of the<br />
old. It is still the same woman, but she<br />
has aged even more. The head is now<br />
erect, the ch<strong>in</strong> is firmer and a lower<br />
th<strong>in</strong>ner mouth replaces the full youthful<br />
lips. The nose beg<strong>in</strong>s to look broken<br />
and bent. She is a mature woman. We<br />
see <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly clear evidence of tool<br />
marks and signs of burn<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
maul marks which are now clearly visible<br />
on the side of the ch<strong>in</strong> and neck.<br />
One more step round, and viewed<br />
almost full frontal, the southern edge<br />
of the stone reveals a much older<br />
woman (Fig 7). Below the nose, fa<strong>in</strong>t<br />
chisel grooves and upturned ‘V’ and<br />
‘W’ formations can be detected and<br />
the full extent of the maul<strong>in</strong>g becomes<br />
clear. She is beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to change from<br />
a lifelike person <strong>in</strong>to a caricature of a<br />
misshapen hag. In a few short steps,<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g the sun, a vision of a woman<br />
who ages half a lifetime is revealed.<br />
Could this stone represent one of<br />
the most endur<strong>in</strong>g archetypes of the<br />
ancient religions of the British Isles: the<br />
goddess <strong>in</strong> her three aspects of maiden,<br />
mother and crone?<br />
In one last display, as the viewer<br />
takes one more step round the stone,<br />
the crone is completely transformed<br />
(Fig 6). The young, downward-gaz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
woman has returned to view, this time<br />
<strong>in</strong> right profile. She has the same neck,<br />
the same sharp nose, the same gaze,<br />
and the h<strong>in</strong>t of a smile. It is almost as<br />
if she has been follow<strong>in</strong>g the viewer<br />
(rather than the other way round) and<br />
now makes eye contact for the first<br />
time. Her return completes the cycle –<br />
youth is followed by age and maturity,<br />
while rebirth and regeneration lie on<br />
the other side of decay and death.<br />
Di Pattison argues that, of the<br />
80 stones still stand<strong>in</strong>g, the majority<br />
have been worked to a greater or<br />
lesser extent, many with comparable<br />
12<br />
More V cuts visible<br />
More of the lips<br />
are visible<br />
Maul scars<br />
Gently fired area<br />
Fig 5. The older female<br />
face on stone 13B.<br />
Fig 6. Stone 13B - The<br />
smil<strong>in</strong>g young woman<br />
reappears.<br />
Fig 7. The woman as<br />
crone on stone 13B.<br />
In overcast<br />
conditions the old<br />
woman’s mouth and<br />
ch<strong>in</strong> are clearer and<br />
more realistic than<br />
the other imagery<br />
5 6<br />
complexity <strong>in</strong> form and effect to stones<br />
206 and 13B. Generic features of this<br />
art <strong>in</strong>clude a consistent <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> figurative<br />
and symbolic art, ambiguity,<br />
archetypal and super-human forms,<br />
and shape-shift<strong>in</strong>g. All this is achieved<br />
by the <strong>in</strong>teraction of the mov<strong>in</strong>g<br />
observer, and partly by the creative use<br />
of the chang<strong>in</strong>g sunlight. These features<br />
are <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sically related to astronomical<br />
knowledge and alignment,<br />
and concepts of fertility and sexuality,<br />
death and regeneration.<br />
It can therefore be argued that at<br />
Avebury there is a unique corpus of<br />
Neolithic rock art – one that reveals<br />
the true extent of the artistic accomplishments<br />
of our ancestors. Such art<br />
is masterful yet subtle; impos<strong>in</strong>g yet<br />
<strong>in</strong> deep sympathy with its sett<strong>in</strong>g. The<br />
characters have moods that frequently<br />
7<br />
change accord<strong>in</strong>g to changes <strong>in</strong> sunlight<br />
or the position of the viewer.<br />
Artfully planned and exquisitely<br />
placed, the figures dwell with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
stones and help to def<strong>in</strong>e a megalithic<br />
temple that appears designed to foster<br />
the <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic human connection with<br />
the forces of nature.<br />
While Avebury has been subject to<br />
systematic destruction and cont<strong>in</strong>uous<br />
habitation s<strong>in</strong>ce the Middle Ages,<br />
its orig<strong>in</strong>al grandeur has not been<br />
eradicated. Writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the early 20 th<br />
century, the anthropologist Walter<br />
Evans-Wentz recorded the persistent<br />
prevalence of the ‘fairy faith’ <strong>in</strong><br />
rural Brittany, Ireland and Scotland –<br />
beliefs that clearly had roots <strong>in</strong> very old<br />
world-views.<br />
One common belief was that certa<strong>in</strong><br />
stones are alive and that be<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
dwell <strong>in</strong> them. At certa<strong>in</strong> times of the<br />
year, such stones can literally walk, and<br />
unfortunate humans can get taken to<br />
the ‘Otherworld’ if they do not respect<br />
their power. It is now possible to see<br />
how many stones at Avebury could<br />
once have been considered animate.<br />
Through their stone-work<strong>in</strong>g ability,<br />
the Neolithic artists created a magical<br />
landscape <strong>in</strong> the liv<strong>in</strong>g qualities that<br />
their stone-work<strong>in</strong>g artistry <strong>in</strong>vokes –<br />
and the magic endures so we too can<br />
discover and enjoy it today. n<br />
Dr Kate Prendergast runs ISIS,<br />
a research and communications<br />
consultancy based <strong>in</strong> Oxford. Her<br />
research <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong>clude prehistoric<br />
ritual and religion, and how they may<br />
help us understand contemporary<br />
culture. All images (except Fig 2)<br />
courtesy of Di Pattison.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
Prehistoric Iberia<br />
Heraldry for the dead<br />
Murray Eiland reviews recent research <strong>in</strong>to the enigmatic engraved stone plaques<br />
fashioned by the Late Neolithic communities of south-west Spa<strong>in</strong> and Portugal<br />
The Neolithic revolution<br />
marked the transition from<br />
hunt<strong>in</strong>g and gather<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
agricultural societies. These<br />
farm<strong>in</strong>g communities would develop<br />
methods of food storage and irrigation,<br />
lead<strong>in</strong>g to the establishment of permanent<br />
villages and towns. This <strong>in</strong> turn<br />
led to the development of new social<br />
networks, reflected <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
complex material culture.<br />
It is the Near East that is usually credited<br />
as be<strong>in</strong>g the first region to undergo<br />
this transformation to farm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
about 10,000 BC. Cultivated plants<br />
such as e<strong>in</strong>korn wheat, millet and spelt<br />
were grown, while dogs, sheep and<br />
goats were kept and, rather later, cattle<br />
and pigs were also domesticated.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the conventional <strong>in</strong>terpretation,<br />
human population levels<br />
rose as farm<strong>in</strong>g and animal husbandry<br />
became more prevalent. Emigrants<br />
spread the ideas and technologies, as<br />
well as the animals and plants, associated<br />
with this new form of subsistence,<br />
trigger<strong>in</strong>g Neolithic revolutions <strong>in</strong><br />
other areas. There was, however, considerable<br />
regional variation.<br />
In Japan, which appears to have<br />
undergone an ‘<strong>in</strong>dependent’ agricultural<br />
revolution, pottery was produced<br />
by non-farm<strong>in</strong>g communities. On<br />
the other hand, some of the farm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
communities <strong>in</strong> the Near East never<br />
adopted pottery. In Brita<strong>in</strong> the earliest<br />
Neolithic people may not have<br />
used domesticated plants, and there is<br />
debate as to whether these first British<br />
farmers lived <strong>in</strong> permanent communities.<br />
Ancient Europe appears to have<br />
entered the Neolithic at different times<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to proximity to the Near<br />
East. In the south-east of the cont<strong>in</strong>ent,<br />
the first agrarian societies appear<br />
about 7000 BC, probably established<br />
by migrants com<strong>in</strong>g from Anatolia.<br />
Central Europe began to transform <strong>in</strong><br />
c. 5500 BC and it is asserted by many<br />
scholars that this was also caused by<br />
migrants who brought new ideas with<br />
them, rather than by the exchange of<br />
ideas.<br />
The earliest Neolithic artwork recovered<br />
from Europe is that created by the<br />
V<strong>in</strong>ča culture, which developed <strong>in</strong> the<br />
northern Balkans and lower Danube<br />
14<br />
1<br />
2<br />
Fig 1. Brissos 6<br />
(Evora). Photo:<br />
K. Lillios, courtesy<br />
of Museu Nacional<br />
de Arqueologia.<br />
Fig 2. Olival da Pega<br />
1 (Evora). Photo:<br />
K. Lillios, courtesy<br />
of Museu Nacional<br />
de Arqueologia.<br />
Fig 3. Castelo de<br />
Vide (Portalegre).<br />
Photo: K. Lillios,<br />
courtesy of<br />
Museu do<br />
Carmo.<br />
region <strong>in</strong> the 6 th –3 rd millennium BC.<br />
Although there are numerous theories<br />
as to how V<strong>in</strong>ča designs should be<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpreted, most scholars believe they<br />
are pictograms or ideograms rather<br />
than an early writ<strong>in</strong>g system.<br />
The Neolithic is usually studied <strong>in</strong><br />
terms of large-scale movements of<br />
peoples and ideas from one place to<br />
another. However, with some Neolithic<br />
3<br />
communities leav<strong>in</strong>g complex assemblages<br />
of material culture, it is possible<br />
to conduct research that is focused<br />
on a particular region. In the case of<br />
Neolithic Iberia this has recently been<br />
done by Prof Kat<strong>in</strong>a Lillios, from the<br />
University of Iowa, who has exam<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
engraved plaques dat<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />
Late Neolithic (3500–2000 BC). These<br />
plaques come from secure contexts,<br />
hav<strong>in</strong>g been recovered from graves <strong>in</strong><br />
south-west Iberia. As long ago as the<br />
19th century, there was speculation<br />
that the geometric designs engraved<br />
on them represented an early writ<strong>in</strong>g<br />
system. More recently, <strong>in</strong> keep<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with the social climate of the age, they<br />
have been <strong>in</strong>terpreted as mother goddess<br />
figur<strong>in</strong>es. Yet, as is the case with so<br />
many theories, there has been little evidence<br />
to support this contention.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the Late Neolithic (c. 6500–<br />
4000), bodies were commonly deposited<br />
<strong>in</strong> collective burials <strong>in</strong> caves, rock<br />
cut tombs, corbel-vaulted tombs, and<br />
passage graves. Crania and long bones<br />
were sometimes arranged <strong>in</strong> these<br />
mortuary structures and leave little<br />
doubt that liv<strong>in</strong>g populations cont<strong>in</strong>ued<br />
to have a close relationship with<br />
the dead. Communal structures, constructed<br />
specifically to commemorate<br />
the dead, certa<strong>in</strong>ly helped l<strong>in</strong>k a community<br />
to the surround<strong>in</strong>g region,<br />
legitimat<strong>in</strong>g their right to farm the<br />
land, someth<strong>in</strong>g that would have been<br />
less of an issue for a nomadic huntergather<strong>in</strong>g<br />
community that was constantly<br />
mov<strong>in</strong>g from place to place.<br />
It is no stretch of the imag<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
to suggest that there was some<br />
form of ancestor worship l<strong>in</strong>ked with<br />
these sacred structures, although it<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
is unknown if Neolithic communities<br />
followed what we would today<br />
regard as a religion. In Early Bronze<br />
Age Iberia (2000-1500 BC) <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />
graves beg<strong>in</strong> to appear <strong>in</strong> the archaeological<br />
record, while the use of grave<br />
monuments and specialist craft goods<br />
decl<strong>in</strong>ed. The Bronze Age also marked<br />
the end of the use of stone plaques. A<br />
case could be made that, rather than<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g just decorative, the plaques and<br />
the symbols they preserve may have<br />
played a dist<strong>in</strong>ctive role <strong>in</strong> Neolithic<br />
society.<br />
The palm-sized engraved stone<br />
plaques were usually made of slate and<br />
schist, and used geometric shapes to<br />
broadly represent the human form. In<br />
some cases it appears that the designs<br />
could represent cloth<strong>in</strong>g. A number<br />
of different types are known, rang<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from ‘owl’ forms (which may represent<br />
a human dressed as an owl) through to<br />
simple shapes with geometric designs.<br />
Of the hundreds of plaques that Prof<br />
Lillios has exam<strong>in</strong>ed, none exhibited<br />
any wear marks, suggest<strong>in</strong>g that they<br />
were produced exclusively for use<br />
with burials. The question of the symbols<br />
used on the plaques is an <strong>in</strong>trigu<strong>in</strong>g<br />
one, as they could have featured <strong>in</strong><br />
more general everyday use. However,<br />
even if wooden plaques bear<strong>in</strong>g similar<br />
designs had been commonly made<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Neolithic, it is unlikely they<br />
would survive to the present. The stone<br />
plaques generally resemble stone axes,<br />
and possibly served as visual metaphors<br />
for agricultural people, represent<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
for example, the power of<br />
humans wield<strong>in</strong>g such tools to transform<br />
a forest <strong>in</strong>to productive agricultural<br />
land. Alternatively, the plaques<br />
could also signify social status.<br />
On another level, the symbols on<br />
the plaques may record genealogical<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation. There may be visual systems<br />
of identify<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dividuals that<br />
are hereditary. The symbols on these<br />
plaques may convey the identity of the<br />
owner, but the symbols certa<strong>in</strong>ly fall<br />
short of be<strong>in</strong>g a language. In her book,<br />
Heraldry for the Dead, Prof Lillios has<br />
therefore stated: ‘Specifically, the number<br />
of design registers on the Classic<br />
plaques may have recorded the number<br />
of generations that separated the<br />
deceased from a found<strong>in</strong>g ancestor.<br />
Thus, a person buried with a four-registered<br />
triangle plaque was four generations<br />
removed from an important<br />
found<strong>in</strong>g ancestor of the clan’ (p. 174).<br />
This hypothesis is supported by ethnographic<br />
parallels such as the lukasa<br />
memory boards of the Luba people of<br />
the Democratic Republic of Congo, or<br />
the wooden whakapapa staffs of the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
Fig 4. Comenda da<br />
Igreja (Evora). Photo:<br />
K. Lillios, courtesy<br />
of Museu Nacional<br />
de Arqueologia.<br />
Fig 5. S. Dionísio 1<br />
(Evora). Photo:<br />
K. Lillios, courtesy<br />
of Museu Nacional<br />
de Arqueologia.<br />
Fig 6. Marquesa<br />
(Portalegre), Photo:<br />
K. Lillios, courtesy of<br />
Museu Nacional de<br />
Arqueologia.<br />
Fig 7. Horta<br />
(Portalegre). Photo:<br />
Jorge de Oliveira,<br />
courtesy<br />
of Museu da<br />
Coudelaria de Alter.<br />
Fig 8. Cueva de la<br />
Mora (Huelva).<br />
Photo: J.T. Thomas,<br />
courtesy of Museo<br />
Arqueológico<br />
de Sevilla, Spa<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Maori from New Zealand, and similar<br />
staffs used to record l<strong>in</strong>eages by other<br />
peoples. Representations of humans,<br />
as well as notches and knobs, could be<br />
used to record ancestry, community<br />
organisation, or numbers of enemies<br />
killed. While Prof Lillios was not the<br />
first to suggest this hypothesis, she has<br />
marshalled together a vast amount of<br />
evidence to support the theory that the<br />
symbols used on the plaques are nonrandom.<br />
As is the case with so many<br />
other works of scholarship directed<br />
towards the Neolithic period, there<br />
will be controversy about the mean<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the symbols. Clearly, however, the<br />
study of early farm<strong>in</strong>g communities <strong>in</strong><br />
a more focused ‘narrow’ sense can be<br />
reveal<strong>in</strong>g, particularly as broad rang<strong>in</strong>g<br />
considerations of migrations across<br />
regions has received the lion’s share of<br />
scholarly attention <strong>in</strong> recent decades. n<br />
This article is based n the research<br />
of Prof Kat<strong>in</strong>a T. Lillios, published<br />
<strong>in</strong> Heraldry for the Dead: Memory,<br />
Identity and the Engraved Stone<br />
Plaques of Neolithic Iberia,<br />
University of Texas Press, Aust<strong>in</strong>,<br />
Prehistoric Iberia<br />
Representations<br />
of humans, as<br />
well as notches<br />
and knobs, could<br />
be used to record<br />
ancestry, community<br />
organisation, or<br />
numbers of enemies<br />
killed<br />
7<br />
8<br />
2008. 218pp. Hardback $60.00.<br />
Prof Kat<strong>in</strong>a Lillios has an extensive<br />
onl<strong>in</strong>e database of stone plaques that<br />
can be viewed at: http://research2.its.<br />
uiowa.edu/iberian/<strong>in</strong>dex.php<br />
15
Arcadian enigma<br />
John Prag<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>es a<br />
Greek bronze<br />
figur<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Manchester<br />
Museum and<br />
explores the<br />
possibility that<br />
it is a unique<br />
depiction<br />
of Hermes<br />
Tragophoros<br />
– Hermes the<br />
Goat-Carrier<br />
In 2001, the Manchester Museum<br />
received a substantial bequest<br />
from Professor Robert Cook,<br />
who had begun his teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
career at Manchester University <strong>in</strong> the<br />
1930s before go<strong>in</strong>g on to Cambridge<br />
to become Laurence Professor of<br />
Classical Archaeology. It was not his<br />
first gift to the museum – he and his<br />
brother John, also a Classical archaeologist,<br />
had given several Greek vases <strong>in</strong><br />
the past. The money was to be spent on<br />
Greek antiquities with<strong>in</strong> seven years of<br />
his death <strong>in</strong> 2000.<br />
With careful husband<strong>in</strong>g of grants<br />
and great help from James Ede, of<br />
Charles Ede Antiquities, I used the<br />
first tranche of Cook’s bequest to<br />
16<br />
1 2<br />
purchase a Cor<strong>in</strong>thian helmet from the<br />
Charterhouse School collection, which<br />
was then be<strong>in</strong>g sold at Sotheby’s. Four<br />
years later, not only was Robert Cook’s<br />
deadl<strong>in</strong>e beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g to loom, but so was<br />
my own retirement from the Manchester<br />
Museum. Aga<strong>in</strong> with Ede’s help, we<br />
purchased a small bronze figur<strong>in</strong>e of<br />
Hermes, god of shepherds and flocks,<br />
messengers and heralds, and also of<br />
thieves (Figs 1, 2). Ede had acquired it<br />
from the widow of the Greek ship-owner<br />
Nicholas Embiricos, who had probably<br />
bought it <strong>in</strong> the 1950s or 1960s, though<br />
it may have been acquired by his father,<br />
a collector of antiquities s<strong>in</strong>ce the 1920s.<br />
The figure stands with the right leg<br />
advanced and both arms outstretched<br />
Figs 1, 2. Bronze<br />
figur<strong>in</strong>e of Hermes,<br />
late 6 th to early<br />
5 th century BC.<br />
Manchester Museum<br />
2006.1. Acquired with<br />
support<strong>in</strong>g grants<br />
from the Purchase<br />
Grant Fund of the<br />
Museums, Libraries<br />
and Archives Council<br />
and the Victoria and<br />
Albert Museum, the<br />
Manchester Museum<br />
Delta Travel Fund<br />
and Lancashire and<br />
Cheshire Antiquarian<br />
Society Fund. Photos<br />
courtesy of Charles<br />
Ede Ltd. H. 9.6cm.<br />
from the elbows, hold<strong>in</strong>g a small goat<br />
on his left forearm. He perhaps held<br />
a shallow offer<strong>in</strong>g-dish (patera) <strong>in</strong> the<br />
right hand, but only part of the fix<strong>in</strong>g<br />
p<strong>in</strong> and a patera-like impression <strong>in</strong> the<br />
palm of the hand rema<strong>in</strong>. He wears<br />
pla<strong>in</strong> boots and a chiton which fits<br />
tightly over his buttocks, and a round<br />
travell<strong>in</strong>g hat with a rolled brim. One<br />
long lock of hair falls over each shoulder,<br />
and two locks fall neatly down<br />
his nape and between the shoulders.<br />
Generally the back is less well f<strong>in</strong>ished<br />
than the front. There are hammered<br />
p<strong>in</strong>s with which he was fastened to a<br />
base (the present base is modern) and<br />
the goat is also fixed by a p<strong>in</strong> that runs<br />
through his chest and shows as a slight<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
ump on his back. He stands 9.6cm<br />
high, and measures 4.2cm from the tip<br />
of the goat’s muzzle to his right elbow.<br />
Aside from surface damage, noted<br />
below, and two t<strong>in</strong>y cast<strong>in</strong>g flaws, he is<br />
<strong>in</strong>tact apart from the left foot, which<br />
is bent upwards slightly and has a split<br />
across it, probably caused by stress<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st the p<strong>in</strong>.<br />
There is much of <strong>in</strong>terest about this<br />
little figure. Its condition is generally<br />
sound, with a very good greenblue<br />
pat<strong>in</strong>a, sometimes dark blue<br />
on the back. Such good pat<strong>in</strong>a often<br />
sounds a warn<strong>in</strong>g for the professionally<br />
suspicious curator, s<strong>in</strong>ce it is easy<br />
to manufacture; there is also some<br />
restoration around the p<strong>in</strong> fix<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
goat to the figure, made good with<br />
res<strong>in</strong>, and some m<strong>in</strong>or damage to the<br />
pat<strong>in</strong>a from fil<strong>in</strong>g on the back. Our<br />
doubts about the pat<strong>in</strong>a and corrosion<br />
products were resolved by scientific<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>ation, k<strong>in</strong>dly carried out at<br />
the Department of Scientific Research<br />
at the British Museum by Dr Susan La<br />
Niece through the offices of Dr Dyfri<br />
Williams, then Keeper of Greek and<br />
Roman Antiquities at the Museum.<br />
The fix<strong>in</strong>g p<strong>in</strong>s also raised some questions:<br />
p<strong>in</strong>s to fasten a figur<strong>in</strong>e to its<br />
base are common, but those to hold<br />
the attachments are unusual because<br />
most composite figur<strong>in</strong>es are cast as<br />
a s<strong>in</strong>gle unit. Dr La Niece noted that<br />
both figures had been cast separately as<br />
complete pieces <strong>in</strong> leaded bronze of a<br />
similar composition, and then attached<br />
by a copper rivet or p<strong>in</strong>, while microscopic<br />
exam<strong>in</strong>ation of the surface and<br />
corrosion products showed that goat<br />
and god had been together s<strong>in</strong>ce antiquity.<br />
The pat<strong>in</strong>a is well bonded to the<br />
metal, so there is no reason to doubt its<br />
authenticity, although under a microscope<br />
one can see the marks of fil<strong>in</strong>g all<br />
over its surface. There is some m<strong>in</strong>or<br />
restoration, but no more than the<br />
k<strong>in</strong>d of ‘mak<strong>in</strong>g good’ that one would<br />
expect from a dealer <strong>in</strong> the 19 th or early<br />
20 th centuries.<br />
There are many parallels for such figures,<br />
and many production centres <strong>in</strong><br />
Greece dur<strong>in</strong>g the Archaic period, but<br />
by the 5 th century BC most had been<br />
absorbed by the larger cities such as<br />
Argos, Cor<strong>in</strong>th and Sikyon. However,<br />
the workshops of Arcadia <strong>in</strong> the rugged<br />
and remote hills of the central<br />
Peloponnese ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed their vitality<br />
and their <strong>in</strong>dependence, both of the<br />
other centres and to a large extent of<br />
one another, with an <strong>in</strong>dividual style<br />
that began <strong>in</strong> the 7 th century BC and<br />
was fully developed by the 6 th . The figure’s<br />
stocky build, with its thick neck<br />
and muscular chest, the rather crude<br />
render<strong>in</strong>g of the facial features, such<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Fig 3. Goat at Brean<br />
Down, Somerset. The<br />
beard is clearly visible,<br />
and the horns rise<br />
straight up from the<br />
centre of the brow.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
David Green.<br />
Fig 4. Scottish<br />
Black-Face ram near<br />
Strontian, Scotland,<br />
clearly show<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
horns grow<strong>in</strong>g out on<br />
either side of the top<br />
of the head. Photo<br />
courtesy of David<br />
Green.<br />
Fig 5. Bronze figur<strong>in</strong>e<br />
of Hermes wear<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
w<strong>in</strong>ged helmet and<br />
boots, hold<strong>in</strong>g a ram,<br />
from Andritsa<strong>in</strong>a,<br />
Arcadia, Greece,<br />
c. 550 BC. National<br />
Archaeological<br />
Museum, Athens<br />
12347. Copyright<br />
Hellenic M<strong>in</strong>istry of<br />
Culture and Tourism/<br />
Archaeological<br />
Receipts Fund.<br />
Fig 6. Bronze figur<strong>in</strong>e<br />
of Hermes from<br />
Arcadia, Greece,<br />
probably late 6 th –<br />
early 5 th century BC.<br />
Stumps of the w<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
on his boots are just<br />
visible, and like the<br />
statuette <strong>in</strong> Fig 5, his<br />
right hand is curved<br />
around a (miss<strong>in</strong>g)<br />
herald’s staff. National<br />
Archaeological<br />
Museum, Athens 13219.<br />
Copyright Hellenic<br />
M<strong>in</strong>istry of Culture and<br />
Tourism/Archaeological<br />
Receipts Fund.<br />
as the boot-button eyes and gashlike<br />
mouth, and the ‘pilos’ travell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
hat and boots, are all typical of southwestern<br />
Arcadian work of the later 6 th<br />
or perhaps early 5 th century BC, fall<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>to what W<strong>in</strong>ifred Lamb <strong>in</strong> her<br />
sem<strong>in</strong>al study of these statuettes <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Annual of the British School at Athens<br />
for 1925/6 described as the ‘Ma<strong>in</strong><br />
Arcadian style’.<br />
Unusually, this figure leads with<br />
the right leg rather than the left. Also<br />
unusual is the animal <strong>in</strong> our little man’s<br />
arms, which perhaps raises the question<br />
of his own identity. ‘The bronzes<br />
themselves, peasants carry<strong>in</strong>g their<br />
sheep and calves, dressed <strong>in</strong> high hats<br />
and embroidered cloaks, gods and<br />
goddesses <strong>in</strong> the likeness of Arcadian<br />
shepherds and Arcadian girls – these<br />
not only <strong>in</strong>terest but also delight us<br />
<strong>in</strong> their naive charm and their fitness<br />
3 4<br />
5 6<br />
Greek sculpture<br />
to the Arcadian uplands from which<br />
they come,’ wrote W<strong>in</strong>ifred Lamb.<br />
Sheep, calves and roosters are common,<br />
and there are even depictions<br />
of the occasional fox, but I have not<br />
so far found a s<strong>in</strong>gle figure carry<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
goat. However, I have little doubt that<br />
this is a goat, partly because of the way<br />
<strong>in</strong> which the shagg<strong>in</strong>ess of its coat is<br />
distributed around the neck and h<strong>in</strong>d<br />
legs, but above all because of the little<br />
tail that turns up from the creature’s<br />
rump, and because of the way <strong>in</strong> which<br />
the horns grow straight and centrally<br />
from the forehead, unlike those of a<br />
sheep, which are more widely set and<br />
normally grow outwards <strong>in</strong> a much<br />
stronger curve (Figs 3, 4). The horns of<br />
our figure are broken short, but when<br />
seen from the front their shape clearly<br />
matches those of a goat rather than a<br />
sheep. Goats often have beards, and<br />
17
Greek sculpture<br />
<strong>in</strong> Greek art this is one of their dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
features, but neither <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Greek countryside nor <strong>in</strong> art are they<br />
universal.<br />
We do not know the provenance of<br />
the Manchester figure, and there were<br />
many sanctuaries scattered through<br />
the mounta<strong>in</strong>s of Arcadia sacred to<br />
a great variety of deities. One of the<br />
most important was the area of Mount<br />
Lykaion, where there were sanctuaries<br />
to both Zeus and Pan, but there was<br />
also a temple of Pan Nomios at Berekla<br />
on the southern slopes, and another at<br />
Melpeia, a little further south aga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Berekla <strong>in</strong> particular has been suggested<br />
as the most likely source for<br />
the majority of bronzes from the area,<br />
along with sites such as Bassae and<br />
Lykosoura. Dr Mary Voyatzis of the<br />
Pennsylvania University Museum<br />
Mount Lykaion Excavation and Survey<br />
Project tells me that although the<br />
Greek archaeologist Konstant<strong>in</strong>os<br />
Kourouniotis found numerous bronze<br />
figur<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> his excavations early<br />
last century near the temenos of the<br />
Lykaion sanctuary, some of which<br />
clearly depict Hermes, further work<br />
here by the Penn project found only<br />
bedrock. Lamb suggests that most of<br />
the bronzes represent the shepherds<br />
and the farmers who dedicated them,<br />
rather than the deity to whom they<br />
were dedicated, and that we should<br />
only identify the figure as Hermes<br />
when he has w<strong>in</strong>gs on his hat or boots,<br />
or carries a caduceus (the wand that<br />
18<br />
8<br />
Fig 7. Panel from Attic<br />
black-figure amphora<br />
of Panathenaic shape<br />
by the Acheloos<br />
Pa<strong>in</strong>ter, depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Iolaos, Herakles and<br />
Hermes <strong>in</strong> a sacrificial<br />
procession: Hermes<br />
leads the way, wear<strong>in</strong>g<br />
w<strong>in</strong>ged boots and<br />
accompany<strong>in</strong>g himself<br />
on a lyre while a<br />
goat walks alongside.<br />
Late 6 th century BC.<br />
From Vulci. British<br />
Museum 1842,0407.3<br />
(B167). Courtesy of the<br />
Trustees of the British<br />
Museum.<br />
Fig 8. Bronze statue<br />
of Mercury with a<br />
goatsk<strong>in</strong> draped over<br />
a tree-stump. From<br />
the workshop of<br />
Massimiliano Soldani<br />
(1656–1740), after an<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong> Florence.<br />
Chatsworth House,<br />
Derbyshire. H. 32.5cm.<br />
Photo courtesy of the<br />
Courtauld Institute.<br />
identified a Greek herald) (Figs 5, 6).<br />
However, there is often so little difference<br />
that it is plausible to suggest<br />
that they may all derive from a common<br />
source <strong>in</strong> the form of a cult statue.<br />
Our figure has no caduceus, while the<br />
way <strong>in</strong> which both hands are held out<br />
before him, palm upwards with the<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s of the fix<strong>in</strong>g p<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the right<br />
hand, is consistent with an offertory<br />
gesture or even one of prayer.<br />
Animals carried by these figures<br />
generally either rest across the bearer’s<br />
shoulders or are clasped firmly<br />
<strong>in</strong> or under the left arm, usually <strong>in</strong> a<br />
vertical position. In contrast, the goat<br />
is depicted <strong>in</strong> a remarkably lively attitude<br />
and is presented <strong>in</strong> what is virtually<br />
a runn<strong>in</strong>g pose while seem<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
be balanced on the man’s left forearm.<br />
However, the fact that it is virtually<br />
unf<strong>in</strong>ished on the back shows that it<br />
was <strong>in</strong>tended for this position, even if<br />
the design looks like an afterthought to<br />
a standard male figure.<br />
While the bronze figure has no<br />
w<strong>in</strong>gs about his cloth<strong>in</strong>g, w<strong>in</strong>ged footwear<br />
is not de rigueur for Hermes, and<br />
it has been suggested that w<strong>in</strong>gs are<br />
generally lack<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> contexts where the<br />
emphasis is not on Hermes’ speed but<br />
on his role as guide, messenger or protector,<br />
which would certa<strong>in</strong>ly apply to<br />
our figure. Even if w<strong>in</strong>gless, our figure’s<br />
boots are elegantly made, and he wears<br />
a short chiton, suitable for rapid movement,<br />
while his hairstyle is dist<strong>in</strong>ctly<br />
more elegant than is the case for most<br />
Arcadian bronzes.<br />
If this is Hermes (and even if not),<br />
then why the goat? Hermes Kriophoros<br />
– Hermes the Sheep-carrier – is a common<br />
theme, both <strong>in</strong> major sculpture<br />
and <strong>in</strong> Kle<strong>in</strong>kunst (‘m<strong>in</strong>or’ arts and<br />
crafts): the Lexicon Iconographicum<br />
Mythologiae Classicae lists 38 examples<br />
along with another 14 duplicates<br />
(<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the bronze from<br />
Andritsa<strong>in</strong>a, Fig 5) and mentions a few<br />
7<br />
more non-Hermetic examples. By contrast,<br />
goats are rarely depicted: <strong>in</strong> the<br />
iconography of Hermes they generally<br />
only appear on vases where Hermes is<br />
sacrific<strong>in</strong>g or <strong>in</strong> scenes of comedy or<br />
parody (Fig 7). The impression given<br />
by the Archaic terracotta figur<strong>in</strong>es<br />
(another area where gods, mortals and<br />
animals are portrayed) is much the<br />
same: virtually all Archaic ‘kriophoroi’<br />
carry rams or sheep.<br />
Nevertheless, sheep and goats often<br />
appear <strong>in</strong>terchangeable <strong>in</strong> Greek and<br />
Roman art and literature. This situation<br />
is reflected <strong>in</strong> the Classical <strong>in</strong>heritance<br />
of the Medieval and Renaissance<br />
worlds, where among the attributes<br />
of Hermes and his Roman equivalent<br />
Mercury is a creature that is sometimes<br />
a sheep, but slightly more often a<br />
goat, sometimes with a s<strong>in</strong>ister, almost<br />
dragon-like appearance. A 17 th -century<br />
bronze Mercury from the workshop of<br />
Massimiliano Soldani <strong>in</strong> Chatsworth<br />
has a goatsk<strong>in</strong> draped over the treestump<br />
that provides support for the<br />
stand<strong>in</strong>g figure of the god (Fig 8). The<br />
creature may serve as a steed for the<br />
god, but I have not found a kriophoros<br />
or tragophoros; that role is reserved for<br />
depictions of Christ (Fig 9).<br />
However, this does not really expla<strong>in</strong><br />
the rarity of goat-carriers – human or<br />
div<strong>in</strong>e – <strong>in</strong> ancient art. There is a curious<br />
little bronze <strong>in</strong> the British Museum<br />
show<strong>in</strong>g Apollo hold<strong>in</strong>g a set of goat’s<br />
horns (Fig 11), and <strong>in</strong> Greek art satyrs<br />
are often associated with goats, but <strong>in</strong><br />
the Classical and Hellenistic terracottas<br />
it is Eros who is sometimes found<br />
carry<strong>in</strong>g a goat or kid, never Hermes.<br />
A Christian parable has the sheep<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g separated from the goats, where<br />
the former <strong>in</strong>herit the K<strong>in</strong>gdom of<br />
Heaven while the latter are damned to<br />
eternal punishment (Matthew 25:31-<br />
46), but there does not appear to be any<br />
particularly negative attitude to goats<br />
<strong>in</strong> Greek and Lat<strong>in</strong> literature. Indeed,<br />
as Juliet Clutton-Brock has noted <strong>in</strong><br />
A Natural History of Domesticated<br />
Mammals (Cambridge University<br />
Press, 1987), there is little reason why<br />
goats should be regarded unfavourably:<br />
‘Goats can provide the peasant<br />
farmer and nomadic pastoralist with<br />
all their physical needs, cloth<strong>in</strong>g, meat<br />
and milk as well as bone and s<strong>in</strong>ew<br />
for artefacts, tallow for light<strong>in</strong>g, and<br />
dung for fuel and manure. Goats will<br />
complement a flock of sheep, which<br />
are perhaps usually easier to herd, by<br />
brows<strong>in</strong>g on thorny scrubland whilst<br />
sheep prefer the grass.’ In the modern<br />
Mediterranean goats are also used<br />
as bellwethers to lead flocks of sheep.<br />
On the other hand, goats are destructive<br />
<strong>in</strong> their omnivorous approach to<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
vegetation (they are held to be one<br />
of the causes of the desertification<br />
of the Sahara and parts of the Near<br />
and Middle East), while many people<br />
have commented on the wildness<br />
and malevolence that appear to sh<strong>in</strong>e<br />
from a goat’s yellow eyes and horizontal<br />
irises.<br />
One reason suggested to me for the<br />
preponderance of sheep-carriers is<br />
that sheep relax when they are lifted<br />
up and carried, while goats are more<br />
capricious and likely to struggle. By<br />
one of those amaz<strong>in</strong>g strokes of serendipity,<br />
Dr Voyatzis put me <strong>in</strong> touch<br />
11<br />
Fig 9. Sta<strong>in</strong>ed glass<br />
w<strong>in</strong>dow at St John<br />
the Baptist’s Anglican<br />
Church, Ashfield, New<br />
South Wales. The<br />
w<strong>in</strong>dow illustrates<br />
Jesus’ description of<br />
himself ‘I am the Good<br />
Shepherd’, John 10:11).<br />
Photo courtesy of Toby<br />
Hudson.<br />
Fig 10. Tom Fenn<br />
(Pennsylvania<br />
University Museum<br />
Mount Lykaion<br />
Excavation and Survey<br />
Project) with a kid<br />
on Mt Lykaion, 2004.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Tom Fenn.<br />
Fig 11. Bronze figur<strong>in</strong>e<br />
of a kouros, perhaps<br />
Apollo, hold<strong>in</strong>g goat’s<br />
horns, dedicated to<br />
Apollo by Ganyaridas,<br />
c. 520 BC. Probably<br />
from Athens.<br />
H. 12.7cm. British<br />
Museum 1908,0413.1.<br />
Courtesy of the<br />
Trustees of the<br />
British Museum.<br />
with Tom Fenn of Arizona University,<br />
a member of the Lykaion project. He<br />
grew up on a farm, and wrote to me<br />
that: ‘The immature and female goats<br />
were generally okay to handle by carry<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> this fashion; not so easy for<br />
the mature male goats. They always<br />
squirmed a bit <strong>in</strong>itially, but when they<br />
realized you weren’t go<strong>in</strong>g to harm<br />
them they calmed down. We also had<br />
many sheep on my farm and what is<br />
said about them is true. In general,<br />
sheep are very stupid and when you<br />
grab them and hold them so they can’t<br />
move their legs they give up completely.<br />
The goats are a little less cooperative<br />
(I th<strong>in</strong>k they are smarter than<br />
sheep, too), but aga<strong>in</strong> if handled properly,<br />
they too will acquiesce and can be<br />
carried relatively easily.’ Fenn was able<br />
to put his knowledge of caprid behaviour<br />
to good use after a storm on Mt<br />
Lykaion, when he rescued a young<br />
kid that had become entangled <strong>in</strong> the<br />
brush and abandoned by its flock.<br />
‘It was cold and wet and when I held<br />
it <strong>in</strong> my arms it immediately calmed<br />
down and got quiet. That was when we<br />
took the photograph (Fig 10). There<br />
are many sanctuaries to Pan <strong>in</strong> the<br />
region and so we thought it appropriate<br />
to document the moment. I carried<br />
that goat back to the village, probably<br />
another 1.5 miles [2.4km] from that<br />
po<strong>in</strong>t, and it was calm <strong>in</strong> my arms the<br />
whole time.’<br />
Perhaps the ancient Greeks’ attitude<br />
is summed up <strong>in</strong> another Hermes story,<br />
told <strong>in</strong> the Homeric Hymn to Pan and<br />
suggested by Ede <strong>in</strong> his catalogue entry<br />
for the bronze figure. While tend<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the flocks of Dryops on Mount Kyllene,<br />
Hermes made love to Dryops’ daughter:<br />
‘He accomplished the fruitful coupl<strong>in</strong>g;<br />
and she bore Hermes a dear<br />
9 10<br />
Greek sculpture<br />
son <strong>in</strong> the house, at once a prodigy<br />
to behold, goat-footed, two-horned,<br />
merry laugher.’<br />
The poem goes on to describe how<br />
the girl ran away <strong>in</strong> terror at the frightful,<br />
bearded face of her offspr<strong>in</strong>g, but<br />
Hermes took him up and laid him<br />
on his hand <strong>in</strong> great delight and then<br />
took him to Olympus ‘wrapp<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
child closely <strong>in</strong> the sk<strong>in</strong>s of mounta<strong>in</strong><br />
hare, and sat down beside Zeus<br />
and the other gods and displayed his<br />
son. All the immortals were delighted,<br />
especially Bacchic Dionysus; and they<br />
took to call<strong>in</strong>g him Pan, because he<br />
delighted them all’. Maybe the little<br />
figure is not just Hermes god of farmers,<br />
but also god of fertility and proud<br />
father of Pan, the other deity whose<br />
home was <strong>in</strong> Arcadia. It gives me not<br />
a little satisfaction to know that the last<br />
acquisition I made <strong>in</strong> 36 years’ service<br />
at the Manchester Museum is of a figure<br />
of the god of thieves, and so surely<br />
also of archaeologists and curators.<br />
And I know Robert Cook would have<br />
felt the same. n<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
The author would like to thank James<br />
Ede, Dyfri Williams, Susan La Niece and<br />
her colleagues at the British Museum,<br />
Brian Shefton, Manolis Pantos, Irit<br />
Narkiss, Elizabeth McGrath, David<br />
Gilman Romano, Mary Voyatzis, Tom<br />
Fenn, Peter Prag, Hamish Forbes, David<br />
Green, Lena Papazouglou-Manioudaki,<br />
and Judith Swaddl<strong>in</strong>g. I am also grateful<br />
to those who have provided fund<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for research that went <strong>in</strong>to this article,<br />
with particular acknowledgement due<br />
to the late Robert Cook, for the bequest<br />
that made the purchase possible, and<br />
to Andreas and Vivi Kanaris of Delta<br />
Travel (Manchester).<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 19
Greek history<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong><br />
the<br />
immortal<br />
A new exhibition at <strong>Amsterdam</strong>’s Hermitage<br />
Museum looks at the endur<strong>in</strong>g legacy of<br />
Macedonia’s most famous son<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> III of Macedonia<br />
(r. 336–323 BC) (Fig 1)<br />
owes his epithet ‘the Great’<br />
to the vast swathe of territory<br />
that he conquered, stretch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from Greece <strong>in</strong> the west to lands<br />
beyond the River Indus <strong>in</strong> the east.<br />
This conquest of much of the known<br />
world was achieved <strong>in</strong> little more than<br />
11 years, follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Alexander</strong>’s accession<br />
to the throne of Macedonia <strong>in</strong> 336<br />
BC, aged 20.<br />
The exhibition features treasures<br />
from the Russian State Hermitage collection,<br />
and has been adapted from<br />
an exhibition held <strong>in</strong> St Petersburg <strong>in</strong><br />
2008. It endeavours to provide a picture<br />
of <strong>Alexander</strong> the man, and the<br />
great cultural and artistic changes that<br />
followed <strong>in</strong> the wake of his conquest of<br />
the Persian Empire.<br />
The exhibition beg<strong>in</strong>s with the myth<br />
of <strong>Alexander</strong> and his heroic deeds<br />
as depicted <strong>in</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, tapestries<br />
and decorative arts from the 17 th to<br />
the 19 th centuries (Fig 3). The exhibition<br />
then moves on to what is titled<br />
‘<strong>Alexander</strong>’s Reality’, focus<strong>in</strong>g on his<br />
native land of Macedonia, his teachers,<br />
his heroes and his ideals. To the<br />
20<br />
Greeks, Macedonians were still violent<br />
barbarians liv<strong>in</strong>g on the edge of the<br />
civilised world. Nevertheless, under<br />
the rule of Philip II (359–336 BC), the<br />
large northerly k<strong>in</strong>gdom had exploded<br />
<strong>in</strong>to military and political importance,<br />
subdu<strong>in</strong>g the city-states to the south,<br />
and impos<strong>in</strong>g control over lands ly<strong>in</strong>g<br />
west of the Hellespont and south of<br />
the Danube. Macedonians were also<br />
prov<strong>in</strong>g the equals of their Greek<br />
neighbours <strong>in</strong>tellectually, and <strong>in</strong> 343<br />
BC Philip arranged for his son to be<br />
tutored by Aristotle (384–322 BC). The<br />
opportunity for Aristotle was too great<br />
to refuse, not only because <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
was described as a quick pupil who was<br />
eager to learn, but also because Philip<br />
had destroyed his native town, Stageira<br />
<strong>in</strong> Chalcidice, not long before; once<br />
Aristotle agreed to teach <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
and his boyhood companions, the<br />
Macedonian k<strong>in</strong>g promised to rebuild<br />
the town and free the citizens from<br />
slavery or exile.<br />
The majority of the exhibition is<br />
devoted to the anabasis of <strong>Alexander</strong>,<br />
the great campaign aga<strong>in</strong>st the might of<br />
the Achaemenid Empire and the journey<br />
to the East. The military campaign<br />
had been planned by his father just<br />
2<br />
Fig 1. F<strong>in</strong>e-gra<strong>in</strong>ed with his dagger under his pillow,<br />
marble portrait of<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> which shows<br />
the characteristic<br />
tilted head and<br />
mane-like hair.<br />
A 1<br />
declar<strong>in</strong>g that he esteemed it a perfect<br />
portable treasure of all military virtue<br />
and knowledge’. Once across the<br />
Hellespont, it was therefore Troy that<br />
became the first goal of <strong>Alexander</strong>.<br />
On reach<strong>in</strong>g the site of the ancient<br />
city, steeped <strong>in</strong> Homeric myth, where<br />
the hero Achilles had won undy<strong>in</strong>g<br />
fame before meet<strong>in</strong>g his long prophesied<br />
early death, <strong>Alexander</strong> made<br />
1 before his assass<strong>in</strong>ation by Pausanias,<br />
one of his bodyguards, at the theatre <strong>in</strong><br />
Aegae. Under <strong>Alexander</strong> the <strong>in</strong>vasion<br />
3<br />
of Persia would develop <strong>in</strong>to an unparalleled<br />
campaign of conquest last<strong>in</strong>g<br />
more than a decade. Treasures produced<br />
<strong>in</strong> the far-flung regions of the<br />
vast empire of the Persian K<strong>in</strong>g Darius<br />
III are on display <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Amsterdam</strong><br />
Hermitage, from Egypt <strong>in</strong> the west,<br />
Sogdiana and Bactria <strong>in</strong> the north, to<br />
India <strong>in</strong> the east. Visitors can follow<br />
the route of his celebrated journey (Fig<br />
6) on <strong>in</strong>teractive maps and computers.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>Alexander</strong>’s biographer<br />
Plutarch, the young Macedonian<br />
k<strong>in</strong>g ‘constantly laid Homer’s Iliad…<br />
st century AD<br />
Roman copy, probably<br />
from Asia M<strong>in</strong>or, from<br />
a Greek orig<strong>in</strong>al of<br />
175–150 BC.<br />
Fig 2. The Courage<br />
of Poros, by Bernard<br />
Picart (1673–1733).<br />
The engrav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
depicts the Battle<br />
of the Hydaspes,<br />
and <strong>Alexander</strong>’s hard<br />
won victory aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
Poros <strong>in</strong> 326 BC.<br />
70.6 x 55cm.<br />
Fig 3. Bronze table<br />
clock, featur<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
seated <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
read<strong>in</strong>g from a scroll,<br />
with weapons beh<strong>in</strong>d<br />
his throne. After an<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>al timepiece by<br />
Pierre Thomire,<br />
(c. 1830–40). H. 70cm.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
sacrifices at his hero’s shr<strong>in</strong>e. At the<br />
same time <strong>Alexander</strong>’s friend and lover,<br />
Hephaestion, honoured Patroclus, who<br />
had shared a similarly close bond with<br />
Achilles (Fig 4).<br />
The first encounter with the Persians<br />
took place on the River Granicus <strong>in</strong><br />
north-west Anatolia. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong>’s biographer Arrian (c.<br />
AD 85–160), the Macedonian cavalry<br />
was crucial to the victory, smash<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the centre of the Persian l<strong>in</strong>e. As<br />
was usual throughout his battles, the<br />
Macedonian k<strong>in</strong>g was <strong>in</strong> the thick of<br />
the fight<strong>in</strong>g when: ‘Rhoesaces rode up<br />
to <strong>Alexander</strong> and hit him on the head<br />
with his scimitar, break<strong>in</strong>g off a piece<br />
of his helmet… <strong>Alexander</strong> struck him<br />
to the ground, hitt<strong>in</strong>g him <strong>in</strong> the chest<br />
through the breastplate with his lance.<br />
At the same moment, and com<strong>in</strong>g at<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> from beh<strong>in</strong>d, Spithridates<br />
had already raised aloft his sword<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st the Macedonian k<strong>in</strong>g, when<br />
Cleitus, son of Dropidas, anticipated<br />
his blow, cutt<strong>in</strong>g off the Persian nobleman’s<br />
arm, scimitar and all’ (Anabasis,<br />
1.15) (Figs 5, 7).<br />
The first battle fought aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
4 5<br />
Fig 4. Black-figure<br />
hydria depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Achilles with the<br />
Body of Hector.<br />
Leagros Group,<br />
The Antiope<br />
Pa<strong>in</strong>ter, Attica,<br />
c. 510 BC. H. 49cm.<br />
Fig 5. Iron helmet<br />
with silver decoration.<br />
Possibly from Melos,<br />
Greece, 360-300 BC.<br />
H. 22cm.<br />
Fig 6. Map outl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
the campaigns that<br />
took <strong>Alexander</strong> from<br />
Greece to India.<br />
Fig 7. Gold figure of<br />
a Persian horseman<br />
with bow. 5 th –4 th<br />
century BC. H. 3.6cm.<br />
Fig 8. Limestone relief<br />
fragment depict<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
member of the Persian<br />
royal bodyguard.<br />
From Iran, c. 500 BC. H.<br />
22.3cm.<br />
Persian army personally directed by<br />
K<strong>in</strong>g Darius took place late the follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
year <strong>in</strong> south-west Asia M<strong>in</strong>or<br />
on the River Issus. Despite rais<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
vast army, which, accord<strong>in</strong>g to ancient<br />
sources numbered as many as 600,000<br />
men (the actual number was probably<br />
closer to 100,000), the result for the<br />
Persians was similar to that of the previous<br />
spr<strong>in</strong>g. The elite Companion cavalry<br />
of the Macedonians cutt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the heart of the Achaemenid forces,<br />
forc<strong>in</strong>g the Great K<strong>in</strong>g to flee the field,<br />
leav<strong>in</strong>g his bodyguard to be butchered<br />
and army routed (Fig 8). Follow<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
8<br />
7<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> the Great<br />
6
attle, the Macedonians discovered the<br />
wife, mother and daughters of Darius<br />
<strong>in</strong> the k<strong>in</strong>g’s tent, and <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
treated them with courtesy and respect<br />
(Fig 10). Darius himself would raise<br />
another vast army and at Gaugamela <strong>in</strong><br />
October 331 BC once aga<strong>in</strong> contested<br />
the fate of his empire. As <strong>in</strong> the previous<br />
battles, <strong>Alexander</strong>’s <strong>in</strong>tegrated use<br />
of cavalry and heavy <strong>in</strong>fantry armed<br />
with long sarrissa spears would prove<br />
decisive. Trapped between this anvil<br />
and hammer Darius aga<strong>in</strong> fled the<br />
field, to be killed early the follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
year by Bessus, his k<strong>in</strong>sman and the<br />
satrap of Bactria. His death brought an<br />
end to the Achaemenid dynasty.<br />
At Gaugamela the Macedonians<br />
had their first experience of fight<strong>in</strong>g<br />
war elephants, and as <strong>Alexander</strong> led<br />
his army further eastwards <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
lands of the Indian k<strong>in</strong>gs, they would<br />
confront large numbers of these formidable<br />
creatures <strong>in</strong> battle. After hard<br />
fight<strong>in</strong>g through the lands of what are<br />
today Afghanistan and Pakistan, <strong>in</strong> 326<br />
BC the Macedonian army crossed the<br />
River Indus before mov<strong>in</strong>g south-east<br />
to the River Hydaspes. Here <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
fought his last great battle aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
Indian ruler Porus, whose army conta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
as many as 100 war elephants<br />
(Fig 2). With the horses refus<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
engage the elephants, the Macedonian<br />
<strong>in</strong>fantry took the brunt of the fight<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and, although they were ultimately<br />
victorious, the number of dead and<br />
wounded was high. Despite his own<br />
personal ambition to reach the Ganges<br />
and follow it to the great encircl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
ocean that Greek philosophers believed<br />
was just beyond, the Hydaspes was to<br />
prove the eastern limit of <strong>Alexander</strong>’s<br />
conquests. Plutarch writes of how ‘this<br />
last combat with Porus took off the<br />
edge of the Macedonians’ courage, and<br />
stayed their further progress <strong>in</strong>to India’<br />
22<br />
Fig 9. Draw<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> pen<br />
and pencil on greenblue<br />
paper by an<br />
unknown Dutch artist<br />
show<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
cutt<strong>in</strong>g the Gordian<br />
knot, c. 1600.<br />
34.8 x 26.7cm.<br />
Fig 10. Tapestry of<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> and Darius’<br />
family. Flanders,<br />
Brussels, Jan Frans<br />
van den Hecke<br />
workshop, 1661-95.<br />
451 x 690cm.<br />
Fig 11. <strong>Alexander</strong> the<br />
Great and Roxana by<br />
Pietro Antonio Rotari<br />
(1707–1762). Oil on<br />
canvas, 1756.<br />
Fig 12. Apelles<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g Campaspe,<br />
by Sebastiano Ricci<br />
(1659–1734). Pl<strong>in</strong>y<br />
the Elder tells the<br />
story of the Greek<br />
artist Apelles, who<br />
was stunned by<br />
Campaspe’s beauty<br />
and fell <strong>in</strong> love with<br />
her. <strong>Alexander</strong> was<br />
so delighted with the<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g that he gave<br />
Campaspe to Apelles.<br />
Oil on canvas, c. 1705.<br />
Fig 13. Chalcedony<br />
<strong>in</strong>taglio depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Methe, goddess of<br />
drunkenness. Aulus<br />
workshop, Egypt,<br />
1 st century BC.<br />
2.2 x 1.7cm.<br />
9 10<br />
11<br />
(Life of <strong>Alexander</strong>, 62.1). Establish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Poros as a client K<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>Alexander</strong> began<br />
the long journey back to Babylon, first<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g the rivers to the Arabian<br />
Sea, and then lead<strong>in</strong>g the army across<br />
the fearsome Gedrosian Desert. It was<br />
a march that left many of his veteran<br />
troops dead, and which many writers –<br />
ancient and modern – have regarded as<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong>’s revenge aga<strong>in</strong>st his army<br />
for their refusal to cont<strong>in</strong>ue the campaign<br />
eastwards <strong>in</strong>to the heart of India.<br />
Throughout this section of the exhibition,<br />
artefacts and pictures relate to<br />
some of the most memorable moments<br />
of <strong>Alexander</strong>’s campaign. A sketch by<br />
an unknown Dutch artist, dat<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />
early 17th century, illustrates the cutt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the Gordian Knot <strong>in</strong> the ancient<br />
Phrygian capital of Gordium<br />
<strong>in</strong> central Anatolia as the<br />
army w<strong>in</strong>tered <strong>in</strong> the<br />
city dur<strong>in</strong>g 333 BC (Fig<br />
9). The staves of an oxcart<br />
dedicated to the<br />
god Sabazios (often<br />
equated by Greeks<br />
with either Zeus or<br />
sometimes Dionysus)<br />
were fastened with a<br />
uniquely elaborate knot.<br />
13<br />
12<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the famous legend, anyone<br />
able to loosen the b<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs would<br />
go on to rule Asia. When <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
found himself unable to untie the<br />
knot he solved the problem by slic<strong>in</strong>g<br />
through it with a blow of his sword.<br />
A beautiful <strong>in</strong>taglio depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Methe, goddess of drunkenness, from<br />
the Aulus workshop <strong>in</strong> Egypt of the<br />
1 st century BC, provides a l<strong>in</strong>k to both<br />
the spread of Greek culture across the<br />
Near East <strong>in</strong> the wake of <strong>Alexander</strong>’s<br />
campaigns, and the heavy dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that was a feature throughout the<br />
Macedonian k<strong>in</strong>g’s life (Fig 13). It was<br />
<strong>in</strong> 328 BC, while <strong>in</strong> a drunken rage,<br />
that <strong>Alexander</strong> murdered Cleitus the<br />
Black, the cavalry commander who had<br />
saved his life six years earlier at the<br />
Battle of the River Granicus.<br />
Plutarch describes the scene:<br />
‘<strong>Alexander</strong> seized a spear<br />
from one of his guards, met<br />
Cleitus as he was draw<strong>in</strong>g<br />
aside the curta<strong>in</strong> before<br />
the door, and ran him<br />
through. No sooner had<br />
Cleitus fallen with a roar<br />
and a groan than the k<strong>in</strong>g’s<br />
anger departed from him.<br />
And when he was come to<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
himself… he drew the spear from the<br />
dead body and would have dashed it<br />
<strong>in</strong>to his own throat, had not his bodyguards<br />
prevented this by seiz<strong>in</strong>g his<br />
hands and carry<strong>in</strong>g him to his chamber’<br />
(Life of <strong>Alexander</strong>, 51. 9-11).<br />
Enter<strong>in</strong>g India <strong>in</strong> 326 BC, <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
was also follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the footsteps of<br />
Dionysus (Fig 14), the god of w<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to myth, the deity had travelled<br />
across the subcont<strong>in</strong>ent teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Indians cultivation of the v<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong>’s mother, Olympias, was<br />
a devotee of Dionysus, god of w<strong>in</strong>e,<br />
while <strong>Alexander</strong> also drank large quantities<br />
of alcohol throughout his life.<br />
Alcohol also played a prom<strong>in</strong>ent role<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Alexander</strong>’s death. Arrian writes of<br />
how <strong>Alexander</strong> became ill follow<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
long dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g session with Medius of<br />
Larissa, while Diodorus Siculus says<br />
the Macedonian k<strong>in</strong>g grew sick after<br />
dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g a large bowl of unmixed w<strong>in</strong>e<br />
<strong>in</strong> honour of Hercules. Follow<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
illness that lasted 12 days, <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
died. Aside from the effects of many<br />
years of consumption of undiluted<br />
w<strong>in</strong>e, poison, malaria,<br />
typhoid, men<strong>in</strong>gitis, and<br />
many other theories<br />
have been put forward<br />
to expla<strong>in</strong> <strong>Alexander</strong>’s<br />
death at the age of 32.<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong>’s early<br />
death, without an heir,<br />
would ultimately lead to<br />
the dismemberment of<br />
his empire. In the spr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Fig 14. Marble<br />
sculpture of Bacchus/<br />
Dionysus. Roman<br />
2 nd century AD copy<br />
of a Greek orig<strong>in</strong>al.<br />
H. 207cm.<br />
Fig 15. Iskandar<br />
and the Hermit.<br />
Illum<strong>in</strong>ation from a<br />
manuscript of Khamse<br />
by Nizami Ghanjavi,<br />
1431 AD.<br />
23.7 x 13.7cm.<br />
Fig 16. Three-layer<br />
sardonyx tw<strong>in</strong> cameo<br />
portrait of Ptolemy II<br />
Philadelphos<br />
and Ars<strong>in</strong>oe II<br />
(Gonzaga Cameo).<br />
From Alexandria,<br />
3 rd century BC.<br />
15.7 x 11.8cm.<br />
Fig 17. Basalt sculpture<br />
of Cleopatra VII,<br />
51–30 BC. H. 104 cm.<br />
16<br />
14<br />
of 327 BC he had married Roxana,<br />
a Bactrian pr<strong>in</strong>cess, described by<br />
some as the most beautiful girl <strong>in</strong> the<br />
whole of Asia (Fig 11). Roxana was<br />
pregnant with her first child at the<br />
time of <strong>Alexander</strong>’s death, and bore<br />
him a posthumous son, <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
IV. However, despite com<strong>in</strong>g under<br />
the protection of Olympias, Roxana<br />
and her son were assass<strong>in</strong>ated some<br />
13 years after <strong>Alexander</strong>’s own death.<br />
There is a tradition that <strong>Alexander</strong> had<br />
previously lived with Campaspe, from<br />
the Thessalian city of Larissa, and had a<br />
child with the noblewomen. However,<br />
while <strong>in</strong>spir<strong>in</strong>g Renaissance and modern<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ters (Fig 12), the relationship<br />
goes unmentioned <strong>in</strong> the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal literary<br />
works that deal with <strong>Alexander</strong>’s<br />
life.<br />
The f<strong>in</strong>al section of the exhibition<br />
focuses on <strong>Alexander</strong>’s legacy. Despite<br />
his empire’s rapid decl<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>Alexander</strong>’s<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluence on the world endured. He<br />
left Greek and Macedonian settlers<br />
scattered <strong>in</strong> the numerous cities he<br />
had founded across his vast empire.<br />
Here they came <strong>in</strong>to contact with local<br />
populations, spread<strong>in</strong>g Greek customs<br />
while assimilat<strong>in</strong>g some of the local<br />
traditions to produce a unique cultural<br />
synthesis. The third part of the exhibition<br />
follows the spread of this new<br />
Hellenistic culture, with terracotta figur<strong>in</strong>es<br />
depict<strong>in</strong>g men and women, gods<br />
and satyrs, as well as stone fragments<br />
of architecture; all of which testify to<br />
the artistic wealth that characterised<br />
territories conquered by <strong>Alexander</strong>,<br />
and which endured for centuries.<br />
The jewel <strong>in</strong> <strong>Alexander</strong>’s empire was<br />
the wealthy land of Egypt. Although<br />
spend<strong>in</strong>g less than a year <strong>in</strong> Egypt dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
his campaigns, he had been greeted<br />
as a liberator from Persian rule and,<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g his famous visit to the<br />
Oracle at Siwa, was proclaimed<br />
son of Amun. Whether or not<br />
he believed <strong>in</strong> his div<strong>in</strong>e parentage,<br />
his worship as a liv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
god by Egyptians and<br />
other peoples <strong>in</strong> the Persian<br />
Empire, as well as the adoption<br />
of other oriental traits,<br />
would cause disquiet among<br />
many <strong>in</strong> the Macedonian<br />
army. Before leav<strong>in</strong>g Egypt<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong> also founded a<br />
city bear<strong>in</strong>g his name on the<br />
Mediterranean coast, on the<br />
western edge of the Delta.<br />
Alexandria would quickly<br />
grow <strong>in</strong>to one of the largest and<br />
most <strong>in</strong>fluential cities <strong>in</strong> the<br />
ancient world. In addition to its<br />
economic and cultural importance,<br />
the city became the capital<br />
of the Ptolemaic rulers of<br />
Egypt (Fig 16), the dynasty that ruled<br />
the country for nearly three centuries<br />
until Cleopatra VII took her own life <strong>in</strong><br />
30 BC, and her young son, Ptolemy XV<br />
Caesarion, was executed later that year<br />
on the orders of Octavian (Fig 17).<br />
The feats of <strong>Alexander</strong> extended<br />
well beyond antiquity, with various<br />
versions of the <strong>Alexander</strong> Romance<br />
popular across Europe and the Middle<br />
East throughout the medieval period.<br />
The story of Dhul-Qarnayn from the<br />
Qur’an and other holy works from<br />
Islam, has also been equated with<br />
<strong>Alexander</strong>. Mean<strong>in</strong>g ‘the man with<br />
two horns’ the name certa<strong>in</strong>ly reflects<br />
depictions of <strong>Alexander</strong> as he appears<br />
on gold staters m<strong>in</strong>ted dur<strong>in</strong>g his<br />
reign. Generally known as Iskander<br />
<strong>in</strong> the countries of the east, <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
would also play a prom<strong>in</strong>ent role <strong>in</strong><br />
Persian literature (Fig 15), and appears<br />
<strong>in</strong> f<strong>in</strong>ely executed m<strong>in</strong>iatures dat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from the early modern period.<br />
Down the centuries, <strong>Alexander</strong> has<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>ed a source of <strong>in</strong>spiration for<br />
writers and artists. His personal courage,<br />
and unparalleled military victories,<br />
often aga<strong>in</strong>st overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
opposition, captured Hellenistic<br />
and Roman imag<strong>in</strong>ations.<br />
Byzant<strong>in</strong>e monarchs liked to see<br />
themselves as the direct descendants<br />
of the Macedonian k<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
and throughout the Middle<br />
Ages his legend was suffused<br />
with Christian piety,<br />
while artwork based on his<br />
life rema<strong>in</strong>ed popular dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the Italian Renaissance. n<br />
The exhibition ‘The<br />
Immortal <strong>Alexander</strong> the<br />
Great’ will be on view from<br />
18 September 2010 until 18<br />
March 2011 <strong>in</strong> the Hermitage,<br />
<strong>Amsterdam</strong>.<br />
All images (except Fig 6)<br />
courtesy of The State Hermitage<br />
Museum, St Petersburg.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 17<br />
23<br />
15
Ancient architecture<br />
Contemporary architecture is<br />
the product of <strong>in</strong>numerable<br />
cultural and historical <strong>in</strong>fluences.<br />
The Roman world<br />
has primarily affected current design<br />
<strong>in</strong> two ways: through its contribution<br />
to the world’s architectural knowledge,<br />
and as a direct <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>in</strong> terms of<br />
style and design. The earliest known<br />
writ<strong>in</strong>g on the subject of the built environment<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Western world is De<br />
architectura, written by the Roman<br />
eng<strong>in</strong>eer and architect Vitruvius <strong>in</strong> the<br />
mid to late 1 st century BC. Over ten<br />
volumes, the book merges pr<strong>in</strong>ciples<br />
of eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g, urban plann<strong>in</strong>g, landscape<br />
and architecture. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
Vitruvius, a good build<strong>in</strong>g should satisfy<br />
the three pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of firmitatis,<br />
utilitatis, venustatis – strength, convenience,<br />
beauty. Architecture should be<br />
sufficiently robust to rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> good<br />
condition; it should be practical for<br />
those us<strong>in</strong>g it; it should delight people<br />
with the beauty of its design. Although<br />
written more than 2000 years ago, the<br />
Vitruvian formula is still used by modern<br />
architects, who design new build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
based on construction knowledge,<br />
the relationship between form and<br />
function, and decoration.<br />
Firmitatis – the prov<strong>in</strong>ce of<br />
the builder<br />
Architecture evolved from a variety of<br />
compet<strong>in</strong>g demands made on build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
– those of shelter, security and<br />
worship – and the materials, skills and<br />
technologies available. Throughout<br />
history until the 20 th century, there<br />
have been two fundamental ways of<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g: either plac<strong>in</strong>g one block upon<br />
another to create a structure, or erect<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a frame and cover<strong>in</strong>g it with a sk<strong>in</strong><br />
(Figs 2, 3). Almost everywhere <strong>in</strong> the<br />
world, people have built by assembl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
blocks, whether of dried mud, fired<br />
bricks or stones. Some societies have<br />
built by mak<strong>in</strong>g a skeleton of wood or<br />
rushes <strong>in</strong> bundles and cover<strong>in</strong>g it with<br />
animal sk<strong>in</strong>s, cloth, or mud and straw.<br />
Later, this would be replaced with iron<br />
or steel frames and slab facades.<br />
Before the Romans, build<strong>in</strong>g designs<br />
<strong>in</strong> the West used post and l<strong>in</strong>tel-framed<br />
construction, <strong>in</strong> which a horizontal<br />
member is supported by two vertical<br />
load-bear<strong>in</strong>g posts (Fig 1). This limited<br />
architectural progress and the size<br />
and height of build<strong>in</strong>g that could be<br />
constructed, because the system could<br />
not bridge large spans, nor roof over<br />
large spaces without forests of support<strong>in</strong>g<br />
posts and columns. Roman eng<strong>in</strong>eers,<br />
however, required build<strong>in</strong>gs of<br />
sufficient size and volume to accommodate<br />
the needs of its grow<strong>in</strong>g population<br />
as well as to impress and impose<br />
24<br />
1<br />
Design for<br />
eternity<br />
Edw<strong>in</strong>a Bland looks at the<br />
endur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>fluence of Roman<br />
architectural pr<strong>in</strong>ciples<br />
Fig 1. Marble<br />
Cor<strong>in</strong>thian columns of<br />
the Temple of Trajan<br />
at Pergamum. S<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
the 1970s, German<br />
archaeologists have<br />
been reconstruct<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the temple, which was<br />
completed dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
reign of Hadrian (AD<br />
117–138).<br />
on citizens and visitors the political<br />
strength of their society.<br />
Roman concrete, opus caementicium,<br />
began to be used near the<br />
beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the 2 nd century BC.<br />
Walls could now be erected by pour<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a mixture of lime mortar, volcanic<br />
sand, small stones and water <strong>in</strong>to<br />
moulds. Concrete allowed walls to be<br />
constructed to any thickness, with the<br />
mixture placed <strong>in</strong> wooden frames and<br />
left to bond with a fac<strong>in</strong>g of brick or<br />
stone. When dry, the wooden shutter<strong>in</strong>g<br />
was removed, leav<strong>in</strong>g the concrete<br />
<strong>in</strong> place. This economical build<strong>in</strong>g<br />
method allowed for rapid construction<br />
by a fairly unskilled workforce. Due to<br />
its exceptional strength, concrete could<br />
span phenomenal distances without<br />
re<strong>in</strong>forcement. Pour<strong>in</strong>g concrete <strong>in</strong>to<br />
moulds also made it possible to fashion<br />
shapes that were impossible to achieve<br />
through masonry construction, most<br />
notably vaulted and domed enclosures.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Photo: AlAskAn DuDe.
These developments enabled the<br />
erection of larger and more elaborate<br />
structures than anyth<strong>in</strong>g previously<br />
designed and built, and Roman<br />
architects were able for the first time to<br />
start envelop<strong>in</strong>g and sculpt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tricate<br />
voids with<strong>in</strong> temples, baths, amphitheatres,<br />
mausolea and early churches<br />
(Fig 5). The most celebrated of these<br />
is the Pantheon <strong>in</strong> Rome, first constructed<br />
by Marcus Agrippa (c. 63–12<br />
BC) and rebuilt dur<strong>in</strong>g the reigns of<br />
Trajan (AD 98–117) and Hadrian (AD<br />
117–138). The entrance leads <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
great circular room. The <strong>in</strong>terior volume<br />
is a cyl<strong>in</strong>der above which rises<br />
the hemispherical dome. Despite its<br />
antiquity, the Pantheon still has the<br />
world’s largest unre<strong>in</strong>forced concrete<br />
dome, testament to the Romans’ mastery<br />
of this versitile build<strong>in</strong>g material.<br />
The only natural light enters through<br />
an unglazed oculus at the centre of the<br />
dome, and strik<strong>in</strong>g patterns of light<br />
illum<strong>in</strong>ate the walls and floors as the<br />
sun makes its daily passage overhead<br />
(Fig 4). Architects cont<strong>in</strong>ue to draw<br />
<strong>in</strong>spiration from the Romans and use<br />
concrete to create complex shapes,<br />
such as Zaha Hadid’s Phaeno Science<br />
Centre, which uses self-compact<strong>in</strong>g<br />
re<strong>in</strong>forced concrete to achieve asymmetrical<br />
forms (Fig 6).<br />
Arches were commonly employed<br />
<strong>in</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g of bridges and aqueducts<br />
across the rapidly expand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
empire (Fig 9). The techniques<br />
required to survey and construct aqueducts<br />
are outl<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> the eighth book<br />
of De Architectura, while the treatise<br />
of Vitruvius was also consulted by<br />
Sextus Front<strong>in</strong>us (c. AD 40–103), who<br />
was appo<strong>in</strong>ted curator aquarum by the<br />
emperor Nerva <strong>in</strong> AD 95, and tasked<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Fig 2. A beehive hut <strong>in</strong><br />
County Kerry, Ireland.<br />
Built from mortarless<br />
blocks, these were<br />
a common form of<br />
accommodation from<br />
at least the early<br />
medieval period.<br />
Fig 3. The latticeframed<br />
yurt, covered<br />
with felt, has been<br />
used for thousands of<br />
years on the steppes<br />
of Central Asia.<br />
Fig 4. The oculus <strong>in</strong><br />
the centre of the<br />
Pantheon. It has been<br />
calculated that the<br />
concrete dome weighs<br />
4535 tons.<br />
Fig 5. The Baths of<br />
Caracalla (Thermae<br />
Anton<strong>in</strong>ianae) were<br />
built between AD<br />
212-216. Concrete was<br />
a crucial component<br />
<strong>in</strong> the construction<br />
process, enabl<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
builders to create<br />
vaults, domes, and<br />
half-domes spann<strong>in</strong>g<br />
wide spaces.<br />
Fig 6. The Phaeno<br />
Science Centre <strong>in</strong><br />
Wolfsburg, Germany,<br />
designed by Zaha<br />
Hadid and opened <strong>in</strong><br />
2005. The ability to<br />
pour concrete <strong>in</strong>to<br />
temporary moulds<br />
allows for jagged<br />
angles, asymmetrical<br />
curves and<br />
protrusions.<br />
2<br />
3<br />
Photo: neil CArey.<br />
tAmbAko the JAguAr.<br />
4<br />
with ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and improv<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
water supply of Rome. His official<br />
report has survived <strong>in</strong> De aquaeductu.<br />
By the end of the 1 st century AD, Rome<br />
was supplied by n<strong>in</strong>e large aqueducts,<br />
which provided the city with approximately<br />
85 million gallons (386 million<br />
litres) of water a day. Rome’s<br />
water supply would <strong>in</strong>fluence cities<br />
built more than 1700 years later <strong>in</strong><br />
Brita<strong>in</strong>, France, and many other modern<br />
states. Likewise, Rome’s transport<br />
system has had an endur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>fluence<br />
on the fabric of the European landscape.<br />
Its <strong>in</strong>tricate network of roads,<br />
Ancient architecture<br />
<strong>in</strong>tended to allow the rapid movement<br />
of troops throughout the empire, also<br />
benefited from the addition of arched<br />
bridges over rivers and gorges, and was<br />
enhanced by large and elaborate triumphal<br />
archways (Fig 7).<br />
Utilitatis – the prov<strong>in</strong>ce of<br />
the client<br />
Utilitatis, or usefulness, is expressed<br />
through the brief set down by the<br />
owner of the property. Roman build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
were steeped <strong>in</strong> cultural and spiritual<br />
mean<strong>in</strong>g, and this conjo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of<br />
practicality with the div<strong>in</strong>e helped give<br />
5<br />
6<br />
25<br />
Photo: eDw<strong>in</strong>.11.<br />
Photo: JAmes beresforD.<br />
Photo: l<strong>in</strong>sPetrol.
Photo: J. brew.<br />
Ancient architecture<br />
rise to their form. Roman villas provide<br />
an excellent example of the harmony of<br />
utility and beauty. Set <strong>in</strong> a rural landscape,<br />
villas married the practicalities<br />
of comfortable liv<strong>in</strong>g with an agrarian<br />
location which allowed those wealthy<br />
enough to afford the cost and upkeep<br />
of a villa the opportunity to enjoy spiritual<br />
withdrawal from the bustle of the<br />
city. Roman architects studied the terra<strong>in</strong><br />
and climate and responded by<br />
design<strong>in</strong>g villas that took full advantage<br />
of the sett<strong>in</strong>g, whether by provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
shelter from the prevail<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>ds,<br />
or position<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>dows to control the<br />
penetration of sunsh<strong>in</strong>e and so regulate<br />
light and warmth with<strong>in</strong> the structure.<br />
The Roman architect therefore<br />
responded to terra<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> very similar<br />
ways to the designers of today.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Pl<strong>in</strong>y the Elder (AD<br />
23–79), there were several types of<br />
villa, although modern scholars usually<br />
divide them <strong>in</strong>to two categories:<br />
the villa urbana, which was occupied<br />
by the owner and his family and often<br />
sumptuously decorated with frescoed<br />
walls and elaborate mosaic floors;<br />
and the villa rustica, a work<strong>in</strong>g estate<br />
where the farm hands and slaves lived<br />
and worked, and where oil, w<strong>in</strong>e, gra<strong>in</strong><br />
and other produce was stored. Pl<strong>in</strong>y<br />
the Younger (c. AD 60–110), one of the<br />
wealthy class of Romans, described his<br />
villa on the shores of the Tyrrhenian<br />
Sea as a practical design that also<br />
allowed sophisticated liv<strong>in</strong>g, with a<br />
personal gymnasium, steam rooms,<br />
sauna, w<strong>in</strong>e-store, granary and underfloor<br />
heat<strong>in</strong>g to rival a modern millionaire’s<br />
residence.<br />
‘… the beauty of the villa, the advantages<br />
of its situation, and the extensive<br />
view of the sea-coast… No w<strong>in</strong>ds<br />
can be heard there except those which<br />
br<strong>in</strong>g the ra<strong>in</strong> clouds. It opens <strong>in</strong>to<br />
a hall, unpretentious but not without<br />
dignity, and then there are two<br />
26<br />
Fig 7. The Triumphal<br />
Arch of Tyre (modern<br />
Sour), southern<br />
Lebanon, dates from<br />
the 2 nd century AD. The<br />
reconstructed archway<br />
stands astride the<br />
Roman road that led<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the city. Runn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
alongside the road is a<br />
Roman aqueduct that<br />
brought water <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the city.<br />
Fig 8. Getty Villa,<br />
Pacific Palisades,<br />
California. The villa<br />
was modelled on that<br />
of the Villa dei Papiri,<br />
which lies slightly<br />
to the north-west<br />
of Herculaneum.<br />
Designed by the<br />
architectural firm of<br />
Langdon and Wilson,<br />
with the architectural<br />
consultant Norman<br />
Neuerburg, the Getty<br />
Villa opened <strong>in</strong> 1974.<br />
Fig 9. The Pont du<br />
Gard <strong>in</strong> southern<br />
France. Constructed<br />
<strong>in</strong> the mid 1 st century<br />
AD, the aqueduct is<br />
supported on three<br />
levels of arches, the<br />
topmost of which runs<br />
for 275m at a height<br />
of almost 50m above<br />
the River Gardon.<br />
7<br />
8 9<br />
Photo: httP2007.<br />
colonnades, rounded like the letter<br />
D, which enclose a small but pleasant<br />
courtyard. This makes a splendid<br />
retreat <strong>in</strong> bad weather, be<strong>in</strong>g protected<br />
by w<strong>in</strong>dows and still more by the overhang<strong>in</strong>g<br />
roof. [The d<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g room] runs<br />
out towards the shore, and whenever<br />
the sea is driven <strong>in</strong>land by the southwest<br />
w<strong>in</strong>d it is lightly washed by the<br />
spray of the spent breakers. Next<br />
comes a bedroom on the other side of<br />
a passage which has a floor raised and<br />
fitted with pipes to receive hot steam<br />
and circulate it at a regulated temperature’<br />
(Letter 23, To Gallus).<br />
His seaside retreat was set <strong>in</strong> terraced<br />
gardens, and looked out on to natural<br />
surround<strong>in</strong>gs through colonnades,<br />
which replaced solid enclos<strong>in</strong>g walls.<br />
Inner courtyards had covered walkways<br />
so they could be used throughout<br />
the year. The experience of the house<br />
unfolded as the visitor journeyed<br />
through, with <strong>in</strong>tertw<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong>terior and<br />
exterior architectural features such as<br />
courtyards and colonnades. Possibly<br />
the best example of how a villa urbana<br />
of the Roman aristocratic elite probably<br />
looked is the Getty Museum <strong>in</strong><br />
Pacific Palisades, California (Fig 8).<br />
Opened <strong>in</strong> 1974, the <strong>in</strong>spiration for the<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g came primarily from the Villa<br />
dei Papyri, which was constructed at<br />
Herculaneum <strong>in</strong> about 60 BC, probably<br />
by Lucius Calpurnius Piso Ceson<strong>in</strong>o,<br />
Consul <strong>in</strong> 58 BC, and father-<strong>in</strong>-law to<br />
Julius Caesar.<br />
Colonnades were perceived as<br />
sophisticated features provid<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
architectural l<strong>in</strong>k to Classical Greece.<br />
The peripatoi (colonnades) gave their<br />
name to the Peripatetics, the followers<br />
of Aristotle whose deliberations took<br />
place <strong>in</strong> the covered walkways of the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
Lyceum gymnasium. The Stoic school<br />
of philosophy, established by Zeno of<br />
Citium (c. 335–260 BC), would later<br />
become popular among the Roman<br />
elite, deriv<strong>in</strong>g its name from the Stoa<br />
Poikile on the northern side of the<br />
Athenian Agora, where Zeno often<br />
carried out his teach<strong>in</strong>g (Fig 10).<br />
Vitruvius wrote of architecture as<br />
an imitation of nature, and one of the<br />
hallmarks of 21 st -century architecture<br />
is an <strong>in</strong>tegration of materials with<br />
their natural surround<strong>in</strong>gs. Interior<br />
and exterior spaces are today designed<br />
to <strong>in</strong>corporate their environment and<br />
make the design an extension of the<br />
natural landscape. This has been taken<br />
a step further <strong>in</strong> recent years with a<br />
desire for architecture to be susta<strong>in</strong>able<br />
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<br />
Venustatis – the prov<strong>in</strong>ce of<br />
the architect<br />
Of Vitruvius’ three conditions,<br />
Venustatis has changed most over time<br />
as fashions have cont<strong>in</strong>ually fluctuated.<br />
Aesthetically pleas<strong>in</strong>g architecture<br />
should result when a structure<br />
is appropriately planned and sturdily<br />
built, but styles change and the perception<br />
of beauty has evolved over the<br />
centuries.<br />
Vitruvius identified a strict set of<br />
components that went <strong>in</strong>to the creation<br />
of beautiful architecture. These have<br />
been listed by Rabun Taylor <strong>in</strong> Roman<br />
Builders (Cambridge University Press,<br />
2003, p. 13) as order, design, shapel<strong>in</strong>ess,<br />
symmetry, correctness and allocation.<br />
Vitruvius regarded the classical<br />
orders as modelled on the human body:<br />
the sturdy Doric order represented a<br />
Photo: JAmes beresforD.<br />
10<br />
Fig 10. The<br />
reconstructed Stoa<br />
of Attalos <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Athenian Agora. It<br />
was <strong>in</strong> structures like<br />
this that Classical<br />
and Hellenistic<br />
philosophers like<br />
Aristotle carried out<br />
their teach<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Fig 11. Completed <strong>in</strong><br />
AD 80, the Colosseum<br />
features the three<br />
classical orders<br />
with Doric columns<br />
decorat<strong>in</strong>g the lowest<br />
level of arches, Ionic<br />
columns on the second<br />
level, while Cor<strong>in</strong>thian<br />
columns were on the<br />
third.<br />
Fig 12. Bankside 123.<br />
Opened <strong>in</strong> 2008, the<br />
architects Allies &<br />
Morrison created a<br />
very formal structure<br />
on the South Bank of<br />
the Thames <strong>in</strong> central<br />
London.<br />
Fig 13. The Hotel<br />
Marqués de Riscal,<br />
<strong>in</strong> Elciego, northern<br />
Spa<strong>in</strong>, was opened <strong>in</strong><br />
2006. With its chaotic<br />
collision of sweep<strong>in</strong>g<br />
forms the architect,<br />
Frank O. Gehry (who<br />
also designed the<br />
iconic Guggenheim<br />
Museum <strong>in</strong> Bilbao),<br />
has created an<br />
exuberant build<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that stands out from<br />
its surround<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />
Photo: mArt<strong>in</strong>.<br />
The colonnades<br />
were perceived as<br />
sophisticated features<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g an architectural<br />
l<strong>in</strong>k to Classical Greece<br />
11<br />
Photo: hAirylime.<br />
young man; the more delicate Ionic a<br />
young woman, while the Cor<strong>in</strong>thian<br />
capital jo<strong>in</strong>ed the two together (Fig 11).<br />
There is perhaps less metaphor present<br />
<strong>in</strong> contemporary architecture, as<br />
aesthetic preference has changed and<br />
moved beyond Vitruvian pr<strong>in</strong>ciples,<br />
but the modern architect still seeks<br />
to create beauty through methodical<br />
design. Depend<strong>in</strong>g on the choice<br />
of plan type, the exterior of a modern<br />
12 13<br />
Ancient architecture<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g might be picturesque (irregular)<br />
or formal (regular). A picturesque<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g is asymmetrical, dynamic,<br />
colourful and visually energetic (Fig<br />
13); a formal build<strong>in</strong>g is symmetrical,<br />
ordered and quiet (Fig 12).<br />
Diversity <strong>in</strong> contemporary design<br />
is generated by differ<strong>in</strong>g climates<br />
(from icy tundra to scorch<strong>in</strong>gly hot<br />
deserts), cultures (from the technologically<br />
advanced secularism of the<br />
West, to traditional rural communities),<br />
and economics (from the wealthy<br />
post-<strong>in</strong>dustrial societies, to develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />
countries still primarily based on<br />
agrarian systems). There are, however,<br />
some common themes. Build<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
have always reflected the society that<br />
required them, the technology available<br />
to build them, and the prevail<strong>in</strong>g<br />
artistic theory that gave them<br />
shape. The ability of Roman architects<br />
to understand both the science and<br />
the physics required to build strong<br />
and reliable structures, and to apply<br />
this knowledge to the development of<br />
their craft, rema<strong>in</strong>s a statement of their<br />
<strong>in</strong>novation and genius, and their aesthetic<br />
legacy offers much to <strong>in</strong>spire and<br />
<strong>in</strong>struct the modern designer. n<br />
15<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 27<br />
Photo: tilemAhos efthimADis.<br />
Photo: ion JAureguiAlzo sArAsolA.
Indian archaeology<br />
Dr Sethuraman<br />
Suresh studies the<br />
archaeology of the port<br />
of Arikamedu, which<br />
provides the clearest<br />
evidence for the largescale<br />
trad<strong>in</strong>g contacts<br />
that existed between<br />
the civilisations of the<br />
ancient Mediterranean<br />
and India<br />
Despite the efforts of numerous<br />
scholars for more than<br />
a century, the trade and<br />
cultural contacts between<br />
the Roman world and the Indian subcont<strong>in</strong>ent<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> vague <strong>in</strong> the m<strong>in</strong>ds<br />
of many contemporary archaeologists<br />
and are rarely <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> university<br />
courses on Roman history and art.<br />
However, these contacts are among<br />
the most significant examples of globalisation<br />
and cultural cross-fertilisation<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g antiquity. Thousands of<br />
Roman traders, and their Egyptian and<br />
Arabian representatives, came to India,<br />
occasionally accompanied by artisans<br />
and craftsmen from Mediterranean<br />
lands. Many of these merchants and<br />
craftsmen even settled <strong>in</strong> India, adjust<strong>in</strong>g<br />
themselves to the Indian climate<br />
and lifestyle (Fig 2).<br />
As early as the 3 rd century BC, foreign<br />
traders came to the west (Malabar or<br />
Kerala) coast of India. From here, they<br />
travelled on to the market towns and<br />
ports on the east (Coromandel) coast<br />
(Fig 3). Thus, trade dur<strong>in</strong>g antiquity<br />
28<br />
1<br />
Rome’s sea route<br />
India<br />
to<br />
Fig 1. Arikamedu on<br />
the banks of the River<br />
Ariyankuppam. Photo:<br />
Mr Ireno, Pondicherry.<br />
Fig 2. Trade sites<br />
around the Indian<br />
Ocean dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Roman period. Map:<br />
Antony Simpson<br />
(repr<strong>in</strong>ted from<br />
Roberta Tomber, ‘The<br />
Ancient Spice Trade’,<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva, March/April,<br />
2009, pp. 35–37).<br />
was largely conf<strong>in</strong>ed to southernmost<br />
India: the modern states of Kerala and<br />
Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory<br />
of Pondicherry, a region called<br />
Tamilakam because the language spoken<br />
here was Tamil.<br />
The trade across the Arabian Sea<br />
between India and the Roman prov<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
of Egypt reached its zenith dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the reign of the Julio-Claudian emperors<br />
(27 BC–AD 68). However, towards<br />
the end of the 1 st century AD, there was<br />
a slow but steady decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the maritime<br />
contacts. Dur<strong>in</strong>g subsequent centuries,<br />
especially after the creation of<br />
the Tetrarchy by Diocletian <strong>in</strong> AD 293,<br />
2 3<br />
which divided the Roman Empire <strong>in</strong>to<br />
East and West, the trade decl<strong>in</strong>ed still<br />
further until it came to an end around<br />
the 7 th century AD.<br />
The Romans came to India <strong>in</strong><br />
search of luxury commodities such<br />
as ivory, sandalwood, silk, cotton and<br />
spices, and exotic animals like peacocks.<br />
Indian gemstones, ma<strong>in</strong>ly beryl,<br />
together with Indian spices, especially<br />
pepper and cardamom, were <strong>in</strong> great<br />
demand <strong>in</strong> the Roman markets. In<br />
return, India imported coral, w<strong>in</strong>e and<br />
olive oil, as well as metals such as gold,<br />
silver and copper. The metals that came<br />
from Rome were mostly <strong>in</strong> the form of<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
co<strong>in</strong>s, medals and jewellery, and, over<br />
time, Indians began to produce co<strong>in</strong>s,<br />
jewellery and other objects with clear<br />
stylistic similarities to Roman imports.<br />
Ancient literary works, both Graeco-<br />
Roman and Tamil, conta<strong>in</strong> copious references<br />
to the Rome–India l<strong>in</strong>ks. The<br />
Tamil works referr<strong>in</strong>g to the Roman<br />
trade are the epic poems composed<br />
from around the 2 nd century BC to the<br />
2 nd century AD. These poems refer to<br />
all foreign traders – Greek, Roman and<br />
West Asian – as Yavanas, a term that<br />
is extensively used <strong>in</strong> both Sanskrit literature<br />
and on ancient Indian stone<br />
<strong>in</strong>scriptions. The Purananuru (composed<br />
c. 200 BC–AD 100) and the<br />
Ahananuru (probably written dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the first two centuries AD, though<br />
some of the poems <strong>in</strong> the work may<br />
date back as far as the 5 th century BC),<br />
are the most important Tamil poems<br />
referr<strong>in</strong>g to the Roman trade. An<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g verse <strong>in</strong> the Ahananuru<br />
(149.7–11) describes the Malabar port<br />
of Muziris, where the Yavanas paid <strong>in</strong><br />
gold for the pepper that they obta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
<strong>in</strong> India and transported back to their<br />
own lands. In the Purananuru (56.17–<br />
20), the poet urges the local k<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
taste the sweet-scented teral (w<strong>in</strong>e),<br />
brought by the lovely ships of the<br />
Yavanas and served on trays of chiseled<br />
gold, by beautiful damsels with<br />
sparkl<strong>in</strong>g wrists. These po<strong>in</strong>ted references<br />
to the Yavanas br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g gold<br />
and w<strong>in</strong>e to south India <strong>in</strong>dicate that<br />
the Yavanas were primarily Romans,<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Fig 3. The ma<strong>in</strong><br />
trad<strong>in</strong>g settlements <strong>in</strong><br />
southern India. Map:<br />
S. Suresh.<br />
Fig 4. Detail of some<br />
of the beads found<br />
at Arikamedu. Photo:<br />
S. Suresh.<br />
Fig 5. Multi-coloured<br />
beads recovered from<br />
Arikamedu. Photo:<br />
S. Suresh.<br />
because we know from other sources<br />
that gold and w<strong>in</strong>e were among the<br />
chief commodities exported from the<br />
Mediterranean region to India.<br />
The pr<strong>in</strong>cipal Graeco-Roman works<br />
deal<strong>in</strong>g with the maritime trade conducted<br />
across the western Indian<br />
Ocean <strong>in</strong>clude Pl<strong>in</strong>y the Elder’s (AD<br />
23–79) Natural History; the anonymously<br />
authored Periplus of the<br />
Erythraean Sea, most likely written<br />
<strong>in</strong> the middle of the 1 st century AD<br />
by a merchant from Egypt; and the<br />
Geography by Claudius Ptolemy (c.<br />
AD 89–170), a Greek-speak<strong>in</strong>g Roman<br />
citizen who lived <strong>in</strong> Alexandria. These<br />
Graeco-Roman works are generally<br />
more useful to modern scholars<br />
research<strong>in</strong>g ancient contacts between<br />
India and the Mediterranean world<br />
than the Tamil poems: they provide<br />
more detailed descriptions of the trad<strong>in</strong>g<br />
networks and the trade goods and<br />
are also easier to date.<br />
Archaeologists have identified<br />
scores of Roman trade centres spread<br />
throughout most of south India. These<br />
sites have revealed Roman material<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g co<strong>in</strong>s, ceramics,<br />
beads, and glass vessels. Among<br />
all these sites, Arikamedu occupies<br />
pride of place. Located on the southern<br />
Coromandel coast, 4km south of<br />
the town of Pondicherry, it lies on the<br />
right bank of the river Ariyankuppam,<br />
at a po<strong>in</strong>t where the river sw<strong>in</strong>gs eastwards<br />
just before it jo<strong>in</strong>s the Bay of<br />
Bengal (Fig 1). The site has been identified<br />
with that of Podouke cited <strong>in</strong><br />
the Periplus, and Podouke emporion,<br />
mentioned by Ptolemy. The Romans<br />
probably chose this site as one of their<br />
major trad<strong>in</strong>g stations on account of its<br />
strategic location, which allowed ready<br />
access to the sea as well as trade l<strong>in</strong>ks<br />
along the river system.<br />
4<br />
5<br />
Indian archaeology<br />
Archaeological studies<br />
and excavation<br />
The earliest known reference to<br />
the archaeological importance of<br />
Arikamedu is found <strong>in</strong> the travel<br />
accounts of French astronomer<br />
Guillaume Le Gentil. He visited the<br />
site between 1768 and 1771, soon<br />
after the Anglo-French Third Carnatic<br />
War (1757–63), which ended with the<br />
Treaty of Paris, establish<strong>in</strong>g French<br />
rule <strong>in</strong> Pondicherry. Le Gentil noted<br />
that digs at the site revealed a wall 3m<br />
<strong>in</strong> height, built with bricks 30cm long<br />
and seven to eight ‘thumbs’ large, and<br />
plastered with mud mortar. He also<br />
recorded the presence of terracotta<br />
r<strong>in</strong>g wells constructed from a series of<br />
earthenware vessels, placed one above<br />
the other. However, Le Gentil drew no<br />
conclusions about the site, apart from<br />
determ<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>g that the ru<strong>in</strong>s that were<br />
the remnants of an old town or village.<br />
After Le Gentil, we have scarcely<br />
any records about the archaeological<br />
importance of Arikamedu until 1937,<br />
when the French scholar Jouveau-<br />
Dubreuil chanced to see a motley collection<br />
of gems and beads – <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
an <strong>in</strong>taglio gem bear<strong>in</strong>g the head of<br />
Augustus – which had been picked<br />
up from the site by a group of local<br />
school-children. These f<strong>in</strong>ds made<br />
him exclaim excitedly that the site<br />
was a ‘ville roma<strong>in</strong>e’. Shortly afterwards,<br />
he sent a collection of glass<br />
and semi-precious stone beads, potsherds<br />
and terracotta figur<strong>in</strong>es from<br />
Arikamedu to the Government<br />
Museum at Madras, along with a special<br />
request to the Super<strong>in</strong>tendent<br />
of the Museum to ‘do someth<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
the site’. Accord<strong>in</strong>gly, the Madras<br />
Museum undertook trial excavations<br />
at Arikamedu, and these revealed the<br />
foundations of several build<strong>in</strong>gs, as<br />
well as Mediterranean amphorae and<br />
beads. The digs proved that Arikamedu<br />
was ‘one of the most ancient sites<br />
<strong>in</strong> Southern India’. Although these<br />
were the first systematic archaeological<br />
excavations at Arikamedu, the<br />
Madras Museum’s digs have been all<br />
but forgotten by most archaeologists.<br />
Between 1941 and 1944, Arikamedu<br />
was excavated by French archaeologists<br />
under the direction of Brother L.<br />
Faucheux and R. Surleau. Meanwhile,<br />
the Madras Museum passed on <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
of its f<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>in</strong> Arikamedu to<br />
Mortimer Wheeler, who had been<br />
appo<strong>in</strong>ted Director-General of the<br />
Archaeological Survey of India<br />
(ASI) <strong>in</strong> 1944. Initially, Wheeler did<br />
not show much <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the site.<br />
However, <strong>in</strong> July 1944, while on<br />
a visit to the Madras Museum, he<br />
chanced to see an amphora fragment<br />
29
<strong>in</strong> a cupboard there. Dur<strong>in</strong>g a visit to<br />
Pondicherry later that same year, he<br />
noticed several fragments of Roman<br />
Arret<strong>in</strong>e ware among the objects excavated<br />
from Arikamedu and exhibited<br />
<strong>in</strong> Pondicherry Town Library. S<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
this red slipped-ware orig<strong>in</strong>ated from<br />
the Roman city of Arretium (modern<br />
Arezzo <strong>in</strong> Tuscany), and was known<br />
to have been produced dur<strong>in</strong>g the 1 st<br />
centuries BC and AD, Wheeler was<br />
conv<strong>in</strong>ced that the same date range<br />
could also be assigned to the ancient<br />
Indian antiquities found <strong>in</strong> association<br />
with this pottery. He therefore felt<br />
that Arikamedu, if excavated carefully,<br />
could provide the much-needed firm<br />
datum-l<strong>in</strong>e for pre-medieval south<br />
Indian archaeology.<br />
With the permission of the French<br />
government, Wheeler excavated Arikamedu<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1945. The excavation divided<br />
the site <strong>in</strong>to two: the Northern Sector<br />
and Southern Sector. The Northern<br />
Sector was an amplification of an area<br />
cleared by the earlier French excavators<br />
<strong>in</strong> or after 1941 and revealed<br />
a large brick structure, over 150 feet<br />
long, identified as a warehouse. The<br />
Southern Sector had a higher elevation,<br />
with the mound ris<strong>in</strong>g to a height<br />
of over 6m above the river. Two tanks<br />
that may have been used as dye<strong>in</strong>g vats<br />
were discovered here. The digs also<br />
30<br />
Fig 6. Shard of Roman<br />
amphora. Photo:<br />
Mr Ireno, Pondicherry.<br />
Fig 7. Fragments of<br />
Roman pottery with<br />
rouletted designs.<br />
Photo: Mr Ireno,<br />
Pondicherry.<br />
Fig 8. View of the<br />
mound at Arikamedu.<br />
Photo: Mr Ireno,<br />
Pondicherry.<br />
6 7<br />
revealed a substantial amount of pottery<br />
and beads, both imported and of<br />
local manufacture (Figs 4, 5, 6, 7). The<br />
excavated structures and antiquities<br />
collectively proved that Arikamedu<br />
was an urban <strong>in</strong>dustrial centre where<br />
different types of pottery, beads, ivory<br />
artefacts and textiles were produced<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g the first two centuries AD.<br />
Close on the heels of Wheeler’s excavation,<br />
another French scholar, Jean-<br />
Marie Casal, excavated Arikamedu<br />
between 1947 and 1950. His excavations<br />
revealed that the site extended<br />
at least 420m north–south along the<br />
river and some 200m east–west <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Northern Sector and 100m or more <strong>in</strong><br />
the Southern Sector. Many of the artefacts<br />
unearthed dur<strong>in</strong>g Casal’s digs are<br />
comparable to those earlier unearthed<br />
by Wheeler at the same site.<br />
After a long gap of nearly 40 years,<br />
Arikamedu was aga<strong>in</strong> excavated<br />
between 1989 and 1992 by a team<br />
of American and Indian archaeologists<br />
led by Vimala Begley from the<br />
University of Pennsylvania. The basic<br />
objectives of this archaeological <strong>in</strong>vestigation<br />
were to attempt to ga<strong>in</strong> a<br />
clearer understand<strong>in</strong>g of the nature<br />
of maritime commerce at the site, and<br />
also learn more about how the town<br />
functioned and what susta<strong>in</strong>ed its<br />
economy. The excavation adopted the<br />
8<br />
latest sophisticated methods of digg<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and documentation – methods<br />
hitherto unknown to Indian archaeology.<br />
Simultaneously, the excavators<br />
attempted a reexam<strong>in</strong>ation and reassessment<br />
of the f<strong>in</strong>ds from the earlier<br />
excavations at Arikamedu – primarily<br />
those conducted under Wheeler and<br />
Casal. The research focused on how<br />
the site related to the Graeco-Roman<br />
Mediterranean rather than southern<br />
India.<br />
The importance of Arikamedu<br />
Unlike many other Roman trade centres,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g those on India’s Malabar<br />
coast, Arikamedu has been relatively<br />
well documented. Aga<strong>in</strong>, unlike several<br />
other Roman trade sites like<br />
Vasavasamudram (Tamil Nadu), which<br />
are still under private ownership,<br />
Arikamedu was declared a protected<br />
site as early as the 1940s. S<strong>in</strong>ce 2003,<br />
the site has been under the ownership<br />
of the ASI, the highest government<br />
agency for archaeological operations <strong>in</strong><br />
India. Cover<strong>in</strong>g more than 14 hectares<br />
(34 acres), Arikamedu is one of the<br />
largest Roman trade centres <strong>in</strong> South<br />
Asia, more than twice the size of many<br />
other Graeco-Roman sites, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Vasavasamudram, are not half this<br />
size. Furthermore, Arikamedu has not<br />
suffered from the modern encroachments<br />
or construction (Figs 1, 8) that<br />
affect other Roman trade centres such<br />
as Karur and Karaikadu (both <strong>in</strong> Tamil<br />
Nadu), which have been heavily built<br />
upon and are no longer available for<br />
large-scale archaeological <strong>in</strong>vestigations<br />
or for tourist development.<br />
Arikamedu enjoys the dist<strong>in</strong>ction of<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g the first site <strong>in</strong> India to provide<br />
archaeological evidence for the importation<br />
of a variety of Roman objects,<br />
rather than just co<strong>in</strong>s. Wheeler’s excavation<br />
of Arikamedu <strong>in</strong> the 1940s<br />
<strong>in</strong>spired the discovery and <strong>in</strong>vestigation<br />
of many other Roman trade<br />
sites throughout India, and most of<br />
these have been dated on the basis of<br />
the chronology of Arikamedu. The<br />
methods and pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of stratigraphy-based<br />
excavation, employed<br />
at Arikamedu by Wheeler, were also<br />
adopted by Indian archaeologists and<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> use to this day.<br />
Among all the Roman trade sites <strong>in</strong><br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
11<br />
India, Arikamedu has yielded the largest<br />
number of Mediterranean amphorae.<br />
Wheeler’s excavation revealed 116<br />
fragments, from approximately the<br />
same number of vessels. Excavations<br />
and explorations at the site, before<br />
and after Wheeler, have revealed many<br />
more fragments (Fig 6). The conta<strong>in</strong>ers<br />
came to India filled with a wide variety<br />
of edible items, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g olive oil, fish<br />
sauces, apples and especially w<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
The ancient port is also one of the<br />
few sites <strong>in</strong> India to have yielded the<br />
prized terra sigillata, the Roman f<strong>in</strong>e<br />
tableware that <strong>in</strong>cluded mould-made<br />
decorated vessels as well as undecorated<br />
wheel-made items, produced<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> Italy. Among the few Indian<br />
sites where this pottery has been found,<br />
Arikamedu has yielded the highest<br />
number of f<strong>in</strong>ds. Wheeler’s excavations<br />
yielded 31 fragments, and subsequent<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestigations at the site have brought<br />
to light a handful of other specimens.<br />
By contrast, the f<strong>in</strong>ds of terra sigillata<br />
from other sites <strong>in</strong> India are meagre <strong>in</strong><br />
quantity and have never been properly<br />
documented.<br />
Arikamedu is also the first site to<br />
have yielded pottery bear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>scriptions<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Tamil language and Tamil<br />
Brahmi script, dat<strong>in</strong>g to the period<br />
from the 2 nd century BC to the 3 rd<br />
century AD. It is also the first site <strong>in</strong><br />
India where pottery bear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>scriptions<br />
<strong>in</strong> the old S<strong>in</strong>halese language<br />
and Brahmi script has been found.<br />
The ancient port is therefore the only<br />
site <strong>in</strong> India that has yielded pottery<br />
with <strong>in</strong>scriptions <strong>in</strong> at least four<br />
12<br />
Fig 9. The gateway<br />
pillars and walls of<br />
the Mission House at<br />
Arikamedu. Photo:<br />
Mr Ireno, Pondicherry.<br />
Fig 10. Interior walls<br />
of the Mission House.<br />
Photo: Mr Ireno,<br />
Pondicherry.<br />
Fig 11. Roman period<br />
brick from Arikamedu.<br />
Photo: Mr Ireno,<br />
Pondicherry.<br />
Fig 12. Plan of the<br />
proposed conceptual<br />
zon<strong>in</strong>g plan of<br />
Arikamedu.<br />
Copyright:<br />
Hous<strong>in</strong>g and Urban<br />
Development<br />
Corporation Ltd,<br />
Chennai and<br />
Department of<br />
Tourism, Government<br />
of Pondicherry.<br />
different languages – Prakrit, Tamil,<br />
Old S<strong>in</strong>halese and Lat<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Unlike many other early historical<br />
sites <strong>in</strong> India, Arikamedu was not<br />
abandoned with the decl<strong>in</strong>e of the<br />
Rome-India trade, and it cont<strong>in</strong>ued to<br />
flourish until relatively recent times.<br />
In the Middle Ages the port was used<br />
for trade with Persia and Ch<strong>in</strong>a, with<br />
pottery from both the Far East and<br />
Middle East discovered at the site. A<br />
medieval Ch<strong>in</strong>ese text even conta<strong>in</strong>s a<br />
description of the port. Around 1773,<br />
a group of Jesuit missionaries from<br />
Siam (Thailand) settled at Arikamedu<br />
and built a sem<strong>in</strong>ary, locally called the<br />
‘Mission House’, now <strong>in</strong> ru<strong>in</strong>s (Figs<br />
9, 10). Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, the missionaries<br />
reused some of the Roman period<br />
bricks dat<strong>in</strong>g from the 1 st century AD,<br />
<strong>in</strong> their build<strong>in</strong>g work (Fig 11).<br />
The artefacts unearthed at the site<br />
are presently dispersed <strong>in</strong> various<br />
museums and private collections <strong>in</strong><br />
Asia and Europe. In India, the major<br />
collections are held <strong>in</strong> the museums<br />
<strong>in</strong> Pondicherry and Madras, while <strong>in</strong><br />
Europe, the British Museum and the<br />
Musée Guimet, Paris, hold material<br />
recovered from the site.<br />
Future plans<br />
Although of immense archaeological<br />
importance, Arikamedu does not<br />
presently attract many students, scholars<br />
or tourists. The site and its potential<br />
for tourist development were, until<br />
recently, never publicised or marketed.<br />
However, the Indian and the Italian<br />
governments have jo<strong>in</strong>tly decided to<br />
develop the site as an archaeological<br />
park with an education centre<br />
and a museum (Fig 12). Meanwhile,<br />
the Indian National Trust for Art and<br />
Cultural Heritage (INTACH), India’s<br />
largest voluntary organisation for promot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
art and culture, periodically<br />
conducts an educational tour, ma<strong>in</strong>ly<br />
aimed at school and college students,<br />
to the major Roman trade sites <strong>in</strong><br />
south India, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Arikamedu. n<br />
Dr Suresh is an expert on Roman<br />
artefacts found <strong>in</strong> India. He is a<br />
former Research Fellow at the Indira<br />
Gandhi National Centre for the Arts,<br />
New Delhi, and the French Institute<br />
of Pondicherry, and Nehru Visit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Fellow at the V&A, London. He is<br />
Tamil Nadu State Convener of the<br />
Indian National Trust for Art and<br />
Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and<br />
is currently the recipient of a grant<br />
from the Italian government to<br />
enable the documentation of Roman<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ds from India held <strong>in</strong> European<br />
collections.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 31<br />
10<br />
9<br />
Indian archaeology
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese heritage<br />
Gateway to the Gobi<br />
Ray Dunn<strong>in</strong>g pays a visit to Jiayuguan, ‘First and greatest pass under heaven’<br />
iayuguan is a remote and dusty<br />
city located on the edge of the<br />
Gobi Desert <strong>in</strong> the west of<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s Gansu Prov<strong>in</strong>ce (Fig 3).<br />
An <strong>in</strong>dustrial centre produc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
chemical fertiliser, cement, coke<br />
and iron from raw materials m<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
<strong>in</strong> the nearby mounta<strong>in</strong>s, the city is<br />
a melt<strong>in</strong>g-pot of people from a wide<br />
range of ethnic groups <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Han, Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Yugu,<br />
Baoan, Hazake, Tu, Sala, Manchu and<br />
Mongolian. It has grown to its present<br />
size (200,000 <strong>in</strong>habitants) <strong>in</strong> just<br />
over four decades and the impression<br />
one gets on first enter<strong>in</strong>g the city is of a<br />
32<br />
soulless and unprepossess<strong>in</strong>g arrangement<br />
of modern build<strong>in</strong>gs l<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g wide,<br />
perpendicular streets. It is a city with<br />
little <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic <strong>in</strong>terest, yet, follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the end of the Cultural Revolution, it<br />
became one of the first <strong>in</strong> which foreigners<br />
were allowed to travel freely by<br />
the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese Government.<br />
The city of Jiayuguan owes its place<br />
<strong>in</strong> history not to its present, charmless<br />
functionality, but to its proximity to a<br />
magnificent and strategically important<br />
M<strong>in</strong>g Dynasty fort (from which<br />
it derives its name), and a number of<br />
other important sites <strong>in</strong> the prefecture.<br />
The significance of the fort lies <strong>in</strong><br />
2<br />
3<br />
its position at the mouth of the Hexi<br />
Corridor, the 1000km-long mounta<strong>in</strong><br />
pass that l<strong>in</strong>ks the heart of Ch<strong>in</strong>a with<br />
Central Asia. Sandwiched between the<br />
Mazhong (Horse’s Mane) Mounta<strong>in</strong>s<br />
to the north and the Qilian Mounta<strong>in</strong><br />
range to the south, the Hexi Corridor<br />
beg<strong>in</strong>s near Dunhuang <strong>in</strong> the far west<br />
of Gansu prov<strong>in</strong>ce and stretches southeastward<br />
via the Jia Yu Pass (Jiayuguan)<br />
to the prov<strong>in</strong>cial capital, Lanzhou.<br />
The corridor forms a natural highway<br />
between otherwise impassable mounta<strong>in</strong>s.<br />
The 10km-wide bottleneck at<br />
Jiayuguan has therefore been a major<br />
gateway between cultures throughout<br />
Fig 1. The Great Wall<br />
descends steeply<br />
southwards from the<br />
fort across the Hexi<br />
Corridor towards the<br />
Qilian Mounta<strong>in</strong>s,<br />
where it ends. It<br />
is broken <strong>in</strong> many<br />
places and almost<br />
buried <strong>in</strong> others.<br />
Fig 2. The view<br />
towards Jiayuguan<br />
City, show<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ner and outer<br />
walls of the fort.<br />
Also visible <strong>in</strong> the<br />
middle distance is the<br />
Great Wall extend<strong>in</strong>g<br />
northwards from the<br />
outer wall.<br />
Fig 3. Gansu Prov<strong>in</strong>ce,<br />
show<strong>in</strong>g Jiayuguan<br />
at the eastern end<br />
of the Hexi Corridor<br />
and Dunhuang to the<br />
west. Photo courtesy<br />
of NASA: Earth<br />
Observatory Team.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
1
4<br />
6<br />
history. When trade along the fabled<br />
Silk Road was <strong>in</strong> its heyday, Jiayuguan<br />
was an unavoidable stop-over and foreign<br />
merchants, their camel caravans<br />
laden with tribute gifts and goods<br />
waited here, sometimes for months at<br />
a time, for permission to proceed eastwards<br />
<strong>in</strong>to Ch<strong>in</strong>a.<br />
In legend, at least, the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
regarded the pass as the last frontier of<br />
civilisation as early as the 5 th century<br />
BC when Lao Tzu, the fabled author<br />
of the classic Tao Te Ch<strong>in</strong>g, is said to<br />
have passed through. At the age of 160,<br />
and disillusioned with moral decay<br />
<strong>in</strong> the k<strong>in</strong>gdom, he rode out <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
unsettled western regions on his black<br />
buffalo to live <strong>in</strong> voluntary exile as a<br />
hermit.<br />
Legends aside, the settlement at<br />
Jiayuguan dates back at least 2000<br />
years, to its beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs as an oasis<br />
encampment <strong>in</strong> the narrowest part<br />
of the mounta<strong>in</strong> corridor. As early as<br />
the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220)<br />
records speak of a pass <strong>in</strong> this place,<br />
through which emperor Han Wudi’s<br />
(r. 141–87 BC) envoys travelled, open<strong>in</strong>g<br />
up the route to traders and pilgrims,<br />
and later to envoys from the<br />
West. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the Song period (AD<br />
960–1276) a checkpo<strong>in</strong>t was said to<br />
have been established at the pass <strong>in</strong> an<br />
attempt to prevent smuggl<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Fig 4. In the centre<br />
of the picture is the<br />
Guandi Temple which<br />
would have offered a<br />
mixture of Buddhist,<br />
Daoist and Confucian<br />
ceremonies. To the<br />
right is the Wenchang<br />
Hall which was the<br />
official meet<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
for visit<strong>in</strong>g dignitaries.<br />
Fig 5. Ornately<br />
decorated eaves on<br />
the gate towers.<br />
Fig 6. The theatre was<br />
a later Q<strong>in</strong> dynasty<br />
addition. It was used<br />
to enterta<strong>in</strong> troops<br />
stationed at the fort<br />
and at garrisons along<br />
the Great Wall.<br />
Fig 7. The Gate of<br />
Sighs and, beh<strong>in</strong>d it to<br />
the right, the tower<br />
above the Gate of<br />
Reconciliation.<br />
Fig 8. The fabled ‘extra<br />
brick’.<br />
The impos<strong>in</strong>g and heavily restored<br />
fort, which today lies 6km southwest<br />
of Jiayuguan city, dates from<br />
the 14 th century. In 1372, the M<strong>in</strong>g<br />
dynasty General Feng Sheng defeated<br />
the last of the Mongol armies of the<br />
Yuan dynasty, which had ruled Ch<strong>in</strong>a<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce 1279. Recognis<strong>in</strong>g the strategic<br />
importance of the pass, he built the<br />
fort to guard the entrance to the Hexi<br />
Corridor and ensure that the Mongols<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>ed beyond the Great Wall.<br />
Centuries before, the wall had been<br />
extended by the Han along the whole<br />
length of the Corridor and, as we know<br />
from the explorations of Sir Aurel Ste<strong>in</strong><br />
(1862–1943) <strong>in</strong> the early 20 th century,<br />
as far as the shores of Lop Nor <strong>in</strong> eastern<br />
X<strong>in</strong>jiang. S<strong>in</strong>ce then, however, the<br />
need to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> the Wall <strong>in</strong> western<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a had dim<strong>in</strong>ished. The capitals of<br />
the rul<strong>in</strong>g dynasties lay far to the east<br />
and the greatest threat to them came<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ly from the north. As a result,<br />
by the 14 th century the Wall was little<br />
more than a crumbl<strong>in</strong>g earthwork.<br />
As well as build<strong>in</strong>g the fort, General<br />
Feng therefore set about rebuild<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and re<strong>in</strong>forc<strong>in</strong>g the Great Wall, more<br />
or less retrac<strong>in</strong>g the orig<strong>in</strong>al Han<br />
dynasty l<strong>in</strong>e (Fig 1). However, unlike<br />
the Wall built more than a thousand<br />
years earlier, the structure constructed<br />
by Feng stretched little further west<br />
than Jiayuguan, which was regarded<br />
at the time as the western limit of the<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese Empire.<br />
The fort is an immense structure.<br />
The mud-brick walls are an impos<strong>in</strong>g<br />
10.7m high, ris<strong>in</strong>g menac<strong>in</strong>gly out<br />
of the desert. The complex consists of<br />
<strong>in</strong>ner and outer walls (Fig 2); the latter,<br />
which del<strong>in</strong>eate a perimeter of 733m,<br />
once enclosed barracks, storehouses<br />
and a freshwater spr<strong>in</strong>g. Today there<br />
is little to be seen besides a temple to<br />
the God of War (Fig 4) and a theatre<br />
(Fig 6). The <strong>in</strong>ner courtyard is empty<br />
apart from avenues of trees and the<br />
accommodation area, which nestles<br />
<strong>in</strong> one corner. At all four corners of<br />
the ramparts there are blockhouses,<br />
archers’ turrets and watchtowers, and<br />
the whole was surrounded by a defensive<br />
ditch. Look<strong>in</strong>g south from the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 33<br />
5<br />
7<br />
8
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese heritage<br />
parapets, the view is dom<strong>in</strong>ated by<br />
the majestic Qilian Mounta<strong>in</strong>s, whose<br />
peaks rema<strong>in</strong> snow-capped even <strong>in</strong> the<br />
pierc<strong>in</strong>g heat of summer. The feel<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
timelessness and isolation as one scans<br />
the surround<strong>in</strong>g grey and yellow desert<br />
is spoiled, however, when look<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> the opposite direction back towards<br />
the <strong>in</strong>dustrial haze that hangs over the<br />
city of Jiayuguan.<br />
Ris<strong>in</strong>g above the <strong>in</strong>ner wall at the<br />
eastern end of the fort is the Guanghua<br />
Men (Gate of Enlightenment), which<br />
overlooks an outer courtyard and<br />
guards a 20m vaulted tunnel through<br />
the wall. Built <strong>in</strong> 1506, it is reached by<br />
a steep ramp up the <strong>in</strong>ner face of the<br />
wall. At the opposite, western end, the<br />
Rouyuan Men (Gate of Conciliation)<br />
leads to the outer gate, the Gate of<br />
Sighs (Fig 7). Besides courageous<br />
monks and merchants us<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Silk Road, this gate was used only by<br />
those who were disgraced and exiled.<br />
Ventur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to the desert from here<br />
was thought to be so hazardous that<br />
depart<strong>in</strong>g travellers adopted the custom<br />
of throw<strong>in</strong>g a stone at the fortress<br />
wall to see if it would rebound. If it did<br />
then they would return safely; if not,<br />
they would never see Ch<strong>in</strong>a aga<strong>in</strong>; if it<br />
echoed aga<strong>in</strong>st the wall, the excursion<br />
would be prosperous.<br />
Over the eastern and western gates<br />
are 17m-high pagoda-like towers<br />
adorned with fly<strong>in</strong>g eaves, which local<br />
tradition holds were built from the top<br />
down (Fig 5). Apparently a similar<br />
technique was used to that employed<br />
by the Egyptians, <strong>in</strong> which earth or<br />
sand was piled up to the required<br />
height and then removed, step by step,<br />
as first the roof and then the lower<br />
parts of the edifice were constructed.<br />
Stories such as this abound about the<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g of the fort. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to one<br />
legend, the official <strong>in</strong> charge questioned<br />
the architect’s estimate of the<br />
number of bricks required, so a s<strong>in</strong>gle<br />
34<br />
9<br />
Fig 9. A highlight<br />
of the Great Wall<br />
Museum is a huge<br />
‘Ten Thousand Mile’<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g of the Wall,<br />
measur<strong>in</strong>g 21m long<br />
by 10.5m high. It<br />
covers an area of<br />
220 square metres.<br />
Fig 10. Hand-pa<strong>in</strong>ted<br />
bricks from the Wei<br />
and J<strong>in</strong> dynasty<br />
tombs on show <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Great Wall Museum,<br />
Jiayuguan.<br />
Fig 11. A tri-coloured<br />
ceramic horse on<br />
display <strong>in</strong> the Great<br />
Wall Museum,<br />
Jiayuguan.<br />
11<br />
10<br />
brick was added to the total to humour<br />
him. When the work was f<strong>in</strong>ished<br />
there was one brick left over, and the<br />
architect placed it loose over one of the<br />
gates. This was <strong>in</strong>terpreted as <strong>in</strong>subord<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
and, to escape punishment,<br />
the architect claimed that the brick<br />
was there to stabilise the structure. If<br />
it was removed, he said, the fort would<br />
collapse. The brick rema<strong>in</strong>s to this day<br />
(Fig 8).<br />
Another story concerns the stone<br />
blocks used for pav<strong>in</strong>g. Each is about<br />
2m long, 50cm wide and 30cm thick,<br />
and they had to be transported from<br />
the quarry <strong>in</strong> the Black Mounta<strong>in</strong> 10km<br />
north-west of the pass. They were too<br />
heavy to carry down the mounta<strong>in</strong><br />
fast enough to meet the schedule, so<br />
a slop<strong>in</strong>g road was constructed and <strong>in</strong><br />
the w<strong>in</strong>ter it was splashed with water<br />
to create a slippery, icy surface. Yet<br />
another tale is about the mud bricks<br />
used to build the walls of the fort. They<br />
were baked 60km west of the pass and<br />
transported by ox-cart to the site. Once<br />
there, they were carried to their f<strong>in</strong>al<br />
positions. As the walls grew higher the<br />
process took longer, exhaust<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
men and delay<strong>in</strong>g the schedule. A solution<br />
was provided by a young goatherd<br />
who volunteered his numerous, surefooted<br />
animals to carry the bricks up<br />
on their backs.<br />
Anecdote gives way to material evidence<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Great Wall Museum,<br />
which forms part of the fort complex.<br />
Opened <strong>in</strong> October 1989, the orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
museum <strong>in</strong> downtown Jiayuguan was<br />
the first to exhibit the history and culture<br />
of the Great Wall comprehensively<br />
and systematically. While the museum<br />
attracted favourable comment from<br />
scholars and tourists alike, it was felt<br />
that the build<strong>in</strong>g was not well situated,<br />
so <strong>in</strong> 1998, the Jiayuguan City Council<br />
decided to move it closer to the fort at<br />
the foot of the pass. The new museum<br />
was completed <strong>in</strong> April 2003. It is a sizable<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g with a ground area of 4253<br />
square metres and, <strong>in</strong> order to limit the<br />
impact on the ancient landscape, the<br />
designers hid much of it underground.<br />
The new museum has four sections<br />
cover<strong>in</strong>g the history of the Great Wall:<br />
the Spr<strong>in</strong>g and Autumn Period and the<br />
Warr<strong>in</strong>g Period (722–221 BC); the Q<strong>in</strong><br />
and Han Dynasties (221 BC–AD 220);<br />
the Sui, Tang, Liao and J<strong>in</strong>g Dynasties<br />
(AD 581–1234); and the M<strong>in</strong>g Dynasty<br />
(AD 1368–1644). It takes the visitor<br />
on a journey through more than 2000<br />
years of history and across 5000km,<br />
illustrat<strong>in</strong>g the results of 50 years of<br />
archaeological research. The displays<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude tableaux, maps, charts, scale<br />
models and diagrams show<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
different routes of the Wall and the<br />
various methods used <strong>in</strong> its construction<br />
along different stretches (Fig 9).<br />
Displays also make use of <strong>in</strong>terpretive<br />
texts, graphics, photos and a wealth<br />
of objects from the Wall itself (Fig<br />
11). As one might expect of a modern<br />
museum, there are lecture, study and<br />
conference facilities and multimedia<br />
resources <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a film and TV hall.<br />
Jiayuguan’s other museum is at<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
X<strong>in</strong>cheng, about 20km north-east of<br />
the city. Described as the largest underground<br />
museum <strong>in</strong> the world, it is <strong>in</strong><br />
fact a burial site, and may conta<strong>in</strong> as<br />
many as 1600 tombs. These were built<br />
between the 3 rd and 5 th centuries AD,<br />
and most conta<strong>in</strong> the rema<strong>in</strong>s of three<br />
or four generations of families who<br />
lived under the Wei (AD 220–265) and<br />
Western J<strong>in</strong> (AD 265–316) dynasties. It<br />
is a significant archeological f<strong>in</strong>d, not<br />
only <strong>in</strong> terms of scale but also for the<br />
light it casts on domestic and social life<br />
<strong>in</strong> western Ch<strong>in</strong>a and central Asia dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
this period.<br />
By 1979, 18 tombs had been excavated.<br />
More have been exam<strong>in</strong>ed s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
then, but only graves 6 and 7 are currently<br />
accessible to the public. Artefacts<br />
from the tombs are on show <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Great Wall Museum <strong>in</strong> Jiayuguan (Fig<br />
10) and, <strong>in</strong> 1999, tomb 5 was removed<br />
completely and its contents, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
600 or more hand-pa<strong>in</strong>ted bricks,<br />
put on display <strong>in</strong> the Gansu Prov<strong>in</strong>cial<br />
Museum <strong>in</strong> Lanzhou.<br />
The burial complex covers 30 square<br />
kilometres, and tombs are identified by<br />
relatively small mounds on the desert<br />
surface. The chambers are 10m below<br />
ground level and are entered through<br />
doors decorated with delicate designs<br />
represent<strong>in</strong>g strange animals, clouds,<br />
water, fire and deities. Once <strong>in</strong>side,<br />
it is possible to stand up and move<br />
around comfortably but, because of<br />
the relatively limited space, parties are<br />
Fig 12. The<br />
underground museum<br />
provides researchers<br />
with a unique example<br />
of pure Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
realism <strong>in</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and fills a gap <strong>in</strong><br />
artistic development<br />
between the Wei and<br />
J<strong>in</strong> periods.<br />
Fig 13. As a result<br />
of water and w<strong>in</strong>d<br />
erosion over hundreds<br />
of years, some parts of<br />
the First Beacon Tower<br />
have been destroyed<br />
and the frustum is<br />
show<strong>in</strong>g its age.<br />
Fig 14. The ‘Hang<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Wall’ near Jiayuguan.<br />
For the convenience of<br />
vistors, 400 steps were<br />
added, but it is still<br />
hard work climb<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
the top.<br />
12 13<br />
restricted to 12 by the authorities.<br />
Tombs are typically divided <strong>in</strong>to<br />
three spaces – two vaulted anterooms<br />
and an arched rear burial area. These<br />
are connected by corridors l<strong>in</strong>ed with<br />
tiles pa<strong>in</strong>ted with flower patterns. In<br />
the chambers, the walls are usually<br />
covered with three to five layers of<br />
hand-pa<strong>in</strong>ted bricks (Fig 12), but as<br />
many as ten layers have been discovered.<br />
Each brick bears a picture depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />
an everyday scene <strong>in</strong> feudal ancient<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a. Occasionally a picture is spread<br />
over more than one brick.<br />
The themes on these m<strong>in</strong>i-murals,<br />
cover<strong>in</strong>g subjects as diverse as the use<br />
of mulberry trees, livestock farm<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
hunt<strong>in</strong>g, pastoral cultivation, camp<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
banquets, music, chess, travel, wagons<br />
and silk costume, provide a unique<br />
<strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to many aspects of life under<br />
the Wei and J<strong>in</strong> Dynasties. It is believed<br />
that the artists lived locally and their art<br />
depicted their lives and times <strong>in</strong> rich,<br />
vivid and realistic detail. They used a<br />
brush pen and worked quickly, with a<br />
precision and detail perfected over generations.<br />
Hence, earlier bricks are duller<br />
and the people depicted are rather stiff,<br />
while later examples are brighter, borders<br />
are more dist<strong>in</strong>ct and the figures<br />
are more animated. Unfortunately there<br />
does not appear to be a comprehensive<br />
catalogue.<br />
Other sights worth see<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Jiayuguan prefecture <strong>in</strong>clude the Hei<br />
Shan rock carv<strong>in</strong>gs, the so-called<br />
‘Hang<strong>in</strong>g Wall’, and the First Beacon<br />
Tower. Discovered <strong>in</strong> 1972, the rock<br />
carv<strong>in</strong>gs are on cliffs <strong>in</strong> the Black<br />
Mounta<strong>in</strong> valley, 15km north-west<br />
of Jiayuguan. They comprise about<br />
140 <strong>in</strong>scriptions, measur<strong>in</strong>g between<br />
0.23m and 3m long, depict<strong>in</strong>g scenes<br />
from daily life <strong>in</strong> the Warr<strong>in</strong>g States<br />
period (475–221 BC). Together they<br />
provide an ethnographic record of<br />
ancient Ch<strong>in</strong>a, show<strong>in</strong>g people hunt<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
rid<strong>in</strong>g and danc<strong>in</strong>g. Images of animals,<br />
both domestic and wild, <strong>in</strong>clude<br />
horses, sheep, oxen, dogs, camels, deer,<br />
tigers, snakes and fish.<br />
The spectacular Xuanbi Changcheng<br />
or ‘Hang<strong>in</strong>g Wall’ is located 6km northwest<br />
of the pass (Fig 14). It is a restored<br />
section of the 16 th century Great Wall,<br />
and connects the fort with the nearby<br />
Black Mounta<strong>in</strong>s. The wall was built<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g local gravels and yellow earth<br />
piled and tamped <strong>in</strong> layers. Orig<strong>in</strong>ally,<br />
this stretch of wall was about 1.5km<br />
long but, due to natural disasters<br />
and human destruction, only 750m<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s, with 230m climb<strong>in</strong>g onto the<br />
north slope of Hei Shan Mounta<strong>in</strong>. The<br />
gradient here is 45 degrees and the wall<br />
appears to be cl<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g precariously to<br />
the steep face of the mounta<strong>in</strong>. There<br />
are three towers along this stretch, one<br />
at each end and one <strong>in</strong> the middle. The<br />
renovation was carried out <strong>in</strong> 1987.<br />
Approximately 6km south of the city,<br />
the First Beacon Tower is perched on<br />
an eroded cliff 82m above the Tao Lai<br />
River. Regarded by some as the world’s<br />
first frustum, or cut-off pyramid (Fig<br />
13), the structure marks the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g<br />
(or the end) of the M<strong>in</strong>g wall <strong>in</strong><br />
the west of Ch<strong>in</strong>a. It was built under<br />
the supervision of Li Han <strong>in</strong> 1539 and<br />
stands some 7m tall, with a flat top and<br />
a base measur<strong>in</strong>g 14.5 square metres.<br />
To preserve the precious relic, the<br />
city government has built a 30m-long<br />
view<strong>in</strong>g platform, from which there is<br />
a tremendous view of the river gorge<br />
and the vast Gobi Desert beyond, a<br />
view that has changed little s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
tower was built. n<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce he retired as Vice-Pr<strong>in</strong>cipal<br />
of K<strong>in</strong>gston College <strong>in</strong> 2007, Dr<br />
Ray Dunn<strong>in</strong>g has been pursu<strong>in</strong>g<br />
his <strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> art, architecture and<br />
archaeology while travell<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 35<br />
14<br />
All imAges courtesy of rAy Dunn<strong>in</strong>g
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese culture<br />
James Beresford<br />
takes a new look at<br />
the Anglo-French<br />
military campaign of<br />
1860 that ended with<br />
the destruction of<br />
one of Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s most<br />
important cultural sites<br />
ord Elg<strong>in</strong> ordered the burn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of part of the Summer Palace.<br />
It was given to the flames on<br />
the 18 th and 19 th of October.<br />
The clouds of smoke, driven by the w<strong>in</strong>d,<br />
hung like a vast pall over Pek<strong>in</strong>g. From<br />
an artistic po<strong>in</strong>t of view it was an act<br />
of vandalism: from that of sound policy<br />
it was statesmanlike’ (Stanley Lane-<br />
Poole, Sir Harry Parkes <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a, 1901,<br />
p. 250).<br />
It is 150 years s<strong>in</strong>ce Brita<strong>in</strong> and<br />
France were engaged <strong>in</strong> the conflict<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st Q<strong>in</strong>g Ch<strong>in</strong>a that has become<br />
known as the Second Opium War.<br />
Scarcely remembered by the populations<br />
of the two European countries,<br />
the war still has great significance for<br />
the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese, who regard it as symbolic<br />
of their national humiliation at<br />
the hands of imperialistic Western<br />
powers. The def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g moment of the<br />
Anglo-French campaign was the day<br />
British forces torched the Summer<br />
Palace, Yuanm<strong>in</strong>gyuan, ‘The Gardens<br />
of Perfect Brightness’, one of the most<br />
beautiful architectural complexes ever<br />
created (Fig 2).<br />
Constructed <strong>in</strong> the early 18 th century,<br />
the Summer Palace was a vast<br />
collection of build<strong>in</strong>gs, set with<strong>in</strong><br />
landscaped parkland 8km north-west<br />
of Beij<strong>in</strong>g (Fig 3). As the Rev R.J.L.<br />
McGee, Chapla<strong>in</strong> to the British Army<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g the 1860 campaign, would<br />
2<br />
36<br />
Photo: Mlogic.<br />
Sack of the<br />
Summer Palace<br />
Fig 1. Reconstructed<br />
pavilion <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Elegant Spr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Garden, Summer<br />
Palace.<br />
Fig 2. Sketch by<br />
Godefroy Durand<br />
of the loot<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
the Summer Palace<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1860. The zodiac<br />
founta<strong>in</strong> decorated<br />
with the 12 bronze<br />
figures, is <strong>in</strong> the<br />
centre, between the<br />
curv<strong>in</strong>g stairs.<br />
recall: ‘If you can, you must imag<strong>in</strong>e a<br />
vast labyr<strong>in</strong>th of picturesque rocks and<br />
noble timber, lakes and streams, summer-houses<br />
roofed with porcela<strong>in</strong> of<br />
the imperial yellow, theatres and their<br />
store-houses… temples more numerous<br />
still… filled with works of Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
art of great age, beauty, and value.’<br />
(How We Got to Pek<strong>in</strong>, 1862, p. 211)<br />
(Figs 1, 3, 4).<br />
The numerous build<strong>in</strong>gs of the palace<br />
conta<strong>in</strong>ed countless artworks from<br />
much earlier periods of Ch<strong>in</strong>ese history,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g some of Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s oldest<br />
and most precious manuscripts,<br />
housed <strong>in</strong> The Wenyuan Hall (Hall of<br />
Literary Profundity). As French writer<br />
Victor Hugo would remark: ‘With all<br />
its treasures, Notre Dame <strong>in</strong> Paris is no<br />
match for Yuan-m<strong>in</strong>g-yuan, that enormous<br />
and magnificent museum <strong>in</strong> the<br />
East.’ The burn<strong>in</strong>g by British troops<br />
swept away virtually all this vast and<br />
remarkable collection of palaces, while<br />
the loot<strong>in</strong>g that preceded the firestorm<br />
led to the destruction of many treasures,<br />
or their removal to Europe. Such<br />
was the loss to Ch<strong>in</strong>ese culture that the<br />
torch<strong>in</strong>g of the Summer Palace can be<br />
likened to the demolition of the House<br />
of Wisdom <strong>in</strong> Baghdad by the Mongols<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1258, the burn<strong>in</strong>g of the library of<br />
Alexandria by Julius Caesar <strong>in</strong> 48 BC,<br />
or Q<strong>in</strong> Shi Huang’s destruction of the<br />
classic works produced by the Hundred<br />
Schools of Thought <strong>in</strong> 221 BC.<br />
For the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese people, the burn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the Summer Palace was an act<br />
of willful destruction, driven primarily<br />
by capitalist desire to cow the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
and open up of the country to Western<br />
commerce; a trade centered on opium,<br />
which ‘turned a British deficit with<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong>to a substantial surplus…<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g massive profits for London<br />
companies and substantial revenues<br />
for the state’ (John News<strong>in</strong>ger, p. 125).<br />
The man lead<strong>in</strong>g the British diplomatic<br />
pressure on Ch<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong> 1860 would<br />
tend to agree with this judgement.<br />
James Bruce (1811–1863) was the 8 th<br />
Earl of Elg<strong>in</strong> (Fig 6), whose father had<br />
become <strong>in</strong>famous at the start of the<br />
century by remov<strong>in</strong>g a large portion<br />
of the marbles from the Parthenon <strong>in</strong><br />
Athens. In his letters and diaries, Elg<strong>in</strong><br />
would write with bitterness that, ‘<strong>in</strong><br />
our relations with these Ch<strong>in</strong>ese we<br />
have acted scandalously’, and would<br />
describe his deal<strong>in</strong>gs with Ch<strong>in</strong>ese officials<br />
as ‘fight<strong>in</strong>g, bully<strong>in</strong>g and gett<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the poor commissioners to concede<br />
one po<strong>in</strong>t after another’.<br />
The burn<strong>in</strong>g of Yuanm<strong>in</strong>gyuan cont<strong>in</strong>ues<br />
to act as a nationalistic rally<strong>in</strong>g<br />
call for the population of modern<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a. The rul<strong>in</strong>g Communist Party is<br />
eager to promote the need for strength<br />
and unity and so avoid the weakness<br />
of the past, when the country was at<br />
the mercy of foreign <strong>in</strong>vaders. Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
history textbooks, films and television<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
Photo: bridget colia (storyvillegirl).<br />
dramas all place great emphasis on<br />
the destruction of the Summer Palace<br />
and the pillag<strong>in</strong>g of cultural treasures<br />
from the site. The ru<strong>in</strong>s also cont<strong>in</strong>ue<br />
to function as a useful propaganda<br />
tool, and at the exhibition hall on the<br />
site there is a diorama featur<strong>in</strong>g British<br />
troops loot<strong>in</strong>g the Palace <strong>in</strong> 1860. Until<br />
the Olympics <strong>in</strong> 2008, a ‘Never Forget<br />
National Humiliation Wall’ outl<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
the history of Western aggression<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st Ch<strong>in</strong>a.<br />
Propaganda notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g, there<br />
should be no doubt<strong>in</strong>g the scale of the<br />
loot<strong>in</strong>g that took place. As Elg<strong>in</strong> would<br />
write a day after the French army<br />
arrived: ‘Such a scene of devastation…<br />
There was not a room I saw <strong>in</strong> which<br />
1<br />
Photo: shizhao.<br />
Fig 3. Draw<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
the Summer Palace<br />
from the east as it<br />
appeared at the start<br />
of the 19 th century.<br />
By William <strong>Alexander</strong>,<br />
published <strong>in</strong> Travels <strong>in</strong><br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a, by John Barrow<br />
(1804).<br />
Fig 4. The ru<strong>in</strong>ed arch<br />
of an ornamental<br />
stone bridge with<br />
a reconstructed<br />
pavilion beh<strong>in</strong>d.<br />
Fig 5. The snow-<br />
covered ru<strong>in</strong>s of the<br />
European-style palace<br />
<strong>in</strong> front of which the<br />
Haiyantang water<br />
clock with the zodiac<br />
bronze heads once<br />
stood.<br />
5<br />
half the th<strong>in</strong>gs had not been taken<br />
away or broken <strong>in</strong> pieces… Plunder<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and devastat<strong>in</strong>g a place like this is bad<br />
enough, but what is much worse is the<br />
waste and breakage… French soldiers<br />
were destroy<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> every way the most<br />
beautiful silks, break<strong>in</strong>g the jade ornaments<br />
and porcela<strong>in</strong> etc. War is a hateful<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>ess.’<br />
It has been estimated by the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
government that about 1.5 million<br />
items looted from the Summer Palace<br />
are today spread around almost 50<br />
countries. While such a figure is highly<br />
speculative, diaries and journals written<br />
by British and French soldiers<br />
emphasise the quantity and quality of<br />
the cultural treasures removed from<br />
the palace. For example, General Hope<br />
Grant (1808–1875), <strong>in</strong> command of the<br />
British Army <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a dur<strong>in</strong>g 1860,<br />
and the brother-<strong>in</strong>-law of Lord Elg<strong>in</strong>,<br />
noted that dur<strong>in</strong>g the British auction<br />
held to sell off the pillaged objects, he<br />
acquired ‘several beautiful jade-stones,<br />
and also a necklace of the f<strong>in</strong>est green<br />
jade, with rubies… I also bought a f<strong>in</strong>e<br />
carv<strong>in</strong>g of lapis lazuli’ (Incidents <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a War of 1860, p. 194). The young<br />
Charles Gordon, who famously met<br />
his fate <strong>in</strong> Khartoum 25 years later,<br />
purchased a throne he donated to the<br />
Royal Eng<strong>in</strong>eers, which, until the 1980s<br />
at least, was to be found <strong>in</strong> the officers’<br />
mess at Chatham <strong>in</strong> Kent. Perhaps the<br />
most unusual prize brought back to<br />
Brita<strong>in</strong> from the Summer Palace was<br />
a Pek<strong>in</strong>gese dog, presented to Queen<br />
Victoria, with the highly appropriate<br />
name of ‘Looty’.<br />
Although there is no legal obligation<br />
for foreign museums and collectors<br />
to return artefacts pillaged from the<br />
Summer Palace, <strong>in</strong> recent years Ch<strong>in</strong>a<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese culture<br />
has begun try<strong>in</strong>g to reclaim some of<br />
these lost treasures. This campaign<br />
made <strong>in</strong>ternational news <strong>in</strong> February<br />
2009, when the bronze heads of a<br />
rabbit and a rat were put up for auction<br />
at Christie’s <strong>in</strong> Paris (Fig 8). The<br />
bronzes had orig<strong>in</strong>ally been part of the<br />
Haiyantang, an ornamental water clock<br />
founta<strong>in</strong> decorated with the 12 animals<br />
of the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese zodiac, designed<br />
<strong>in</strong> the 18 th century by the Italian Jesuit<br />
Giuseppe Castiglione (Figs 2, 5). After<br />
legal action by the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese government<br />
to stop the sale was overruled by the<br />
French courts, bidd<strong>in</strong>g on the bronzes<br />
was sabotaged by the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese bus<strong>in</strong>essman<br />
Cai M<strong>in</strong>gehao, who acquired<br />
them for €15,745,000 then refused<br />
payment, claim<strong>in</strong>g he had acted to stop<br />
the artworks go<strong>in</strong>g to a foreign bidder.<br />
Attempts to recover all 12 bronzes have<br />
certa<strong>in</strong>ly struck an emotional chord<br />
with the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese population. When<br />
the Poly Art Museum acquired three<br />
of the other figures from the founta<strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong> 2000, the Chairman of the Poly<br />
Group, Shan Yihe, claimed: ‘Rescue<br />
of the three bronze animal heads, formerly<br />
of the Summer Palace, particularly<br />
aroused the patriotic passions of<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese sons and daughters.’ The actor<br />
Jackie Chan is also currently shoot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Shi Er Sheng Xiao (The 12 Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
Zodiac Animals), an action film tell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the fictional story of a heroic attempt<br />
to reunite the bronzes <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a.<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a has also begun send<strong>in</strong>g<br />
out delegations to museums, libraries<br />
and private collections <strong>in</strong> the<br />
West to document any artefacts that<br />
might have been removed from the<br />
Summer Palace. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the 18-day<br />
trip to North America <strong>in</strong> November<br />
and December 2009, the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese team<br />
scrut<strong>in</strong>ised collections, and <strong>in</strong>tends to<br />
move on to European and then Asian<br />
museums dur<strong>in</strong>g this year. Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
delegates also attended the Conference<br />
on International Cooperation for the<br />
Protection and Repatriation of Cultural<br />
Heritage held <strong>in</strong> Cairo <strong>in</strong> early April<br />
this year (See M<strong>in</strong>erva, July/August,<br />
pp. 8–11), where they set out demands<br />
for the two bronzes from the Summer<br />
Palace, auctioned at Christie’s.<br />
In propagandis<strong>in</strong>g the issue of<br />
the burn<strong>in</strong>g and destruction of the<br />
Summer Palace, the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese government<br />
does, however, have to face<br />
some uncomfortable questions. While<br />
imperialistic commercial ga<strong>in</strong> was<br />
undoubtedly the driv<strong>in</strong>g force for the<br />
Anglo-French <strong>in</strong>vasion of Ch<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong><br />
1860, the primary motives beh<strong>in</strong>d<br />
the British decision to destroy the<br />
Emperor’s residence are <strong>in</strong>timately<br />
bound up with human rights and the<br />
ill treatment of prisoners.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 37<br />
3<br />
4
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese culture<br />
On 18 September, an Anglo-French<br />
party conduct<strong>in</strong>g negotiations under a<br />
flag of truce was captured by Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
soldiers. The group of 39 men was led<br />
by Harry Parkes, advisor and <strong>in</strong>terpreter<br />
on Elg<strong>in</strong>’s staff. He was accompanied<br />
by Henry Loch, Elg<strong>in</strong>’s Private<br />
Secretary, Thomas Bowlby, a journalist<br />
with The Times, and a small escort<br />
of British, French and Indian soldiers.<br />
Separated from the rest of the party,<br />
Parkes, Loch, and one of the Indian<br />
soldiers were thrown <strong>in</strong>to prison<br />
‘loaded with cha<strong>in</strong>s… connected to<br />
a r<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the roof so tightly, that they<br />
could not sit down… In this state they<br />
were kept badly fed for n<strong>in</strong>e days…<br />
The poor sowar [Indian cavalryman]<br />
was kept cha<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> a separate dark<br />
dungeon. For three days no one came<br />
near him, and he had noth<strong>in</strong>g to eat’<br />
(Hope Grant, Incidents <strong>in</strong> the Ch<strong>in</strong>a<br />
War of 1860, p. 132-33).<br />
The other members of the party were<br />
beaten and had their hands and feet<br />
bound tightly with ropes, which then<br />
had water poured on them to further<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease the tension of the cords. Their<br />
suffer<strong>in</strong>g was noted <strong>in</strong> detail by one<br />
of the Indian troopers who survived<br />
imprisonment. He described how, after<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g taken to the Summer Palace,<br />
‘Lieut. Anderson became delirious, and<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>ed so, with a few lucid <strong>in</strong>tervals,<br />
until his death, which occurred<br />
on the n<strong>in</strong>th day of his imprisonment.<br />
Before his death his nails and f<strong>in</strong>gers<br />
burst from the tightness of the cords,<br />
and mortification set <strong>in</strong>, and the bones<br />
of his wrist were exposed, and whilst<br />
he was alive, worms generated <strong>in</strong> his<br />
wounds and ate <strong>in</strong>to, and crawled over<br />
his body. They [the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese] left the<br />
body there three days, and then took it<br />
away.’ (Henry Loch, Personal Narrative<br />
of Occurrences Dur<strong>in</strong>g Lord Elg<strong>in</strong>’s<br />
Second Embassy to Ch<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong> 1860, p.<br />
82).<br />
Two other Indian cavalrymen,<br />
Bughe I S<strong>in</strong>g and Khan S<strong>in</strong>g, provided<br />
similar testimony of the ill treatment<br />
suffered by the rest of the captives. Of<br />
The Times special correspondent, they<br />
noted: ‘Mr Bowlby died… of maggots<br />
form<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> his wrists… His body<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>ed there for nearly three days,<br />
and the next day it was tied to a crossbeam<br />
and thrown over the wall to<br />
be eaten by dogs and pigs… The next<br />
day the Frenchman died… Two days<br />
after this Jawalla S<strong>in</strong>g died; his hands<br />
burst from his rope wounds, maggots<br />
got <strong>in</strong>to them, and he died.’ (Henry<br />
Loch, Personal Narrative, p. 83). The<br />
list of Indian, British and French<br />
captives who died <strong>in</strong> a similar manner<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ues <strong>in</strong> testimony taken<br />
from the survivors, and it makes grim<br />
38<br />
Fig 6. James Bruce,<br />
8 th Earl of Elg<strong>in</strong>. He<br />
headed the British<br />
delegation dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the campaign of<br />
1860. Courtesy of<br />
The National Portrait<br />
Galllery, London<br />
Fig 7. A re-erected<br />
guardian lion stands<br />
amid the overgrown<br />
ru<strong>in</strong>s of the Summer<br />
Palace.<br />
Fig 8. The February<br />
2009 Christie’s auction<br />
of the bronze head<br />
of a rat (pictured)<br />
together with that<br />
of a rabbit, orig<strong>in</strong>ally<br />
from the Summer<br />
Palace. The sale<br />
caused outrage <strong>in</strong><br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>a when it was<br />
allowed to go ahead<br />
<strong>in</strong> Paris.<br />
8<br />
read<strong>in</strong>g even 150 years after the event.<br />
Other captives were given a quicker<br />
death. Capta<strong>in</strong> Brabazon of the Royal<br />
Artillery, together with Abbé du Luc,<br />
were beheaded soon after be<strong>in</strong>g captured.<br />
The Ch<strong>in</strong>ese claimed both men<br />
had died of natural causes, but a grave<br />
conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g fragments of a British artillery<br />
officer’s trousers and pieces of<br />
French ecclesiastical dress was later<br />
discovered, with both skeletons lack<strong>in</strong>g<br />
skulls.<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese authorities denied any ill<br />
treatment of the prisoners, but the survivors’<br />
ulcerated hands and wrists were<br />
pla<strong>in</strong>ly visible. The bodies of the dead,<br />
returned on 16 October, were almost<br />
unidentifiable, as quicklime had been<br />
added to the coff<strong>in</strong>s to remove evidence<br />
of the torture. Rev. McGee would<br />
write: ‘They were <strong>in</strong>deed wretched<br />
Photo: getty iMages.<br />
6 7<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s, not to be recognized, but<br />
by some part of their dress. Poor De<br />
Norman’s leather coat, which we knew<br />
so well, rema<strong>in</strong>ed, and Bowlby’s socks<br />
were marked with his name.’ (How We<br />
Got to Pek<strong>in</strong>, 1862, p. 254).<br />
Accounts of the fate of the prisoners<br />
obviously led to deep anger with<strong>in</strong><br />
the allied army and public outcry <strong>in</strong><br />
Brita<strong>in</strong> and France. Sidney Herbert,<br />
the British Secretary of State for War<br />
and a close confidant of Florence<br />
Night<strong>in</strong>gale, wrote to General Hope<br />
Grant on Christmas Day, 1860, not<strong>in</strong>g<br />
how the ‘fate of the poor prisoners<br />
has created a most powerful impression<br />
here’.<br />
On 17 October, while the funeral<br />
of the dead British captives took place<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Russian cemetery to the northeast<br />
of Beij<strong>in</strong>g, a proclamation pr<strong>in</strong>ted<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Photo: bridget colia (storyville girl).<br />
Photo: getty iMages.
<strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>ese was circulated, sett<strong>in</strong>g out<br />
the British response to the deaths and<br />
treatment of the prisoners: ‘That no<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividual, however exalted, could<br />
escape from the responsibility and<br />
punishment which must always follow<br />
the commission of acts of falsehood<br />
and deceit; that Yuen-m<strong>in</strong>g-yuen<br />
would be burnt on the 18 th , as a punishment<br />
<strong>in</strong>flicted on the Emperor for<br />
the violation of his word, and the act<br />
of treachery to a flag of truce; that as<br />
the people were not concerned <strong>in</strong> these<br />
acts no harm would befall them, but<br />
the Imperial Government alone would<br />
be held responsible.’ (Henry Loch,<br />
Personal Narrative, p. 85).<br />
As promised, British retribution for<br />
the deaths and torture of the prisoners<br />
began the day after the funerals.<br />
The French were shocked by the decision<br />
to burn the palace, and refused<br />
to jo<strong>in</strong> the British as they set to work<br />
methodically sett<strong>in</strong>g fire to the numerous<br />
build<strong>in</strong>gs. The holocaust which<br />
followed was mov<strong>in</strong>gly described by<br />
Robert Sw<strong>in</strong>hoe, a translator with the<br />
British army: ‘Ere long a dense column<br />
of smoke ris<strong>in</strong>g to the sky <strong>in</strong>dicated<br />
that the work had commenced,<br />
and as the day waned the column<br />
<strong>in</strong>creased <strong>in</strong> magnitude, and grew<br />
denser and denser, waft<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the shape<br />
of a large cloud over Pek<strong>in</strong>, and hav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the semblance of a fearful thunderstorm<br />
impend<strong>in</strong>g. As we approached<br />
the Palace the crackl<strong>in</strong>g and rush<strong>in</strong>g<br />
noise of the fire was appall<strong>in</strong>g, and the<br />
sun sh<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g through the masses of the<br />
smoke gave a sickly hue to every plant<br />
and tree, and the red flame gleam<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
the faces of the troops engaged made<br />
them appear like demons glory<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
the destruction of what they could not<br />
replace.’ (Narrative of the North Ch<strong>in</strong>a<br />
Campaign, pp. 329–31). Once the<br />
Summer Palace was reduced to numerous<br />
smok<strong>in</strong>g ru<strong>in</strong>s, the British erected<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
‘Ere long<br />
a dense<br />
column of<br />
smoke ris<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to the sky<br />
<strong>in</strong>dicated that<br />
the work had<br />
commenced,<br />
and as the<br />
day waned<br />
the column<br />
<strong>in</strong>creased <strong>in</strong><br />
magnitude’<br />
Fig 9. The weedchoked<br />
ru<strong>in</strong>s of the<br />
European-style palaces<br />
designed by Giuseppe<br />
Castiglione <strong>in</strong> the<br />
early 18 th century.<br />
an <strong>in</strong>scription <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>ese stat<strong>in</strong>g, ‘This<br />
is the reward for perfidy and cruelty.’<br />
By order<strong>in</strong>g the destruction of the<br />
palace, Elg<strong>in</strong> was undoubtedly th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of his own political future, know<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that the British public would<br />
expect revenge for the brutal treatment<br />
and deaths of the prisoners. As the earl<br />
would confide to his brother-<strong>in</strong>-law<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g the campaign: ‘What would<br />
The Times say of me if I did not avenge<br />
its correspondent?’ Prime M<strong>in</strong>ister<br />
Palmerston certa<strong>in</strong>ly agreed with<br />
Elg<strong>in</strong>’s decision to burn the Summer<br />
Palace and considered it ‘absolutely<br />
necessary to stamp by some such permanent<br />
record our <strong>in</strong>dignation at<br />
the treachery and brutality of these<br />
Tartars, for Ch<strong>in</strong>ese they are not.’<br />
However, the majority of British officers<br />
serv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the 1860 campaign, as<br />
well as most of Palmerston’s Cab<strong>in</strong>et<br />
colleagues, were later to mourn the<br />
burn<strong>in</strong>g of the Summer Palace. Elg<strong>in</strong><br />
himself must also have been sorely<br />
aware that by reduc<strong>in</strong>g Yuanm<strong>in</strong>gyuan<br />
to ashes he would be regarded as follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> the culturally destructive<br />
footsteps of his father. A year after the<br />
end of the war, Victor Hugo would<br />
write of the burn<strong>in</strong>g and loot<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
place that, ‘Mixed up <strong>in</strong> all this was<br />
the name of Elg<strong>in</strong>, which <strong>in</strong>evitably<br />
calls to m<strong>in</strong>d the Parthenon. What was<br />
done to the Parthenon was done to the<br />
Summer Palace, more thoroughly and<br />
better, so that noth<strong>in</strong>g of it should be<br />
left.’<br />
It is this view that the current<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese government is keen to promote<br />
<strong>in</strong> the quest to recover looted<br />
artefacts. While Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s moral arguments<br />
for the return of looted treasures<br />
are powerful, and many <strong>in</strong> the<br />
West feel sympathy for the country’s<br />
demands, it should not be forgotten<br />
why the Summer Palace was destroyed.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Amnesty International<br />
and Human Rights Watch, Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
9<br />
Ch<strong>in</strong>ese culture<br />
authorities still rout<strong>in</strong>ely carry out<br />
harassment, physical abuse and punitive<br />
detention: ‘In Ch<strong>in</strong>a, serious<br />
human rights violations cont<strong>in</strong>ue to<br />
be committed. This <strong>in</strong>cludes torture,<br />
execution (<strong>in</strong> which Ch<strong>in</strong>a is world<br />
leader), excessive use of force <strong>in</strong> polic<strong>in</strong>g<br />
labour and rural unrest, repression<br />
of dissent and the free exchange<br />
of <strong>in</strong>formation and forced repatriation<br />
of asylum seekers without recourse<br />
to a refugee determ<strong>in</strong>ation procedure.<br />
Foreign governments cont<strong>in</strong>ue<br />
to fail <strong>in</strong> challeng<strong>in</strong>g Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s disastrous<br />
human rights record.’ (Amnesty<br />
International, UK).<br />
Follow<strong>in</strong>g the sabotage of the<br />
Christie’s auction last year, the seller of<br />
the two zodiac bronzes, Pierre Bergé,<br />
suggested that he would be happy to<br />
return the artefacts to Ch<strong>in</strong>a free of<br />
charge, but only on condition the country<br />
improved its human rights record<br />
and allowed democracy and civil liberties<br />
<strong>in</strong> Tibet – a proposal greeted with<br />
hostility by the Ch<strong>in</strong>ese. However,<br />
Western governments, museums and<br />
collectors currently <strong>in</strong> possession of<br />
artefacts removed from the Summer<br />
Palace <strong>in</strong> 1860 may do well to follow<br />
Mr Bergé’s lead. The forg<strong>in</strong>g of an <strong>in</strong>timate<br />
bond between the repatriation of<br />
objects taken from the Summer Palace<br />
and improvements <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s human<br />
rights record may generate some soulsearch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with<strong>in</strong> the country and<br />
could <strong>in</strong>fluence the Communist government<br />
more than the occasional<br />
rebukes from <strong>in</strong>ternational leaders.<br />
The return of cultural treasures taken<br />
from Yuanm<strong>in</strong>gyuan, <strong>in</strong> return for<br />
improved human rights, would certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />
serve as a more fitt<strong>in</strong>g legacy for<br />
the British, French and Indian prisoners<br />
tortured and killed <strong>in</strong> autumn 1860<br />
than does the burn<strong>in</strong>g of the Summer<br />
Palace, with which their deaths have<br />
been <strong>in</strong>extricably connected for the<br />
last 150 years. n<br />
39<br />
Photo: bridget colia (storyvillegirl).
Afghan archaeology<br />
David Thomas<br />
questions whether<br />
Afghanistan’s<br />
archaeological heritage<br />
will survive the war and<br />
a 21 st -century gold rush<br />
The recent discovery of<br />
vast m<strong>in</strong>eral deposits <strong>in</strong><br />
Afghanistan, estimated at<br />
nearly $1 trillion <strong>in</strong> value,<br />
offers hope to one of the world’s poorest<br />
nations. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to an American<br />
geological survey, huge reserves of<br />
gold, copper, iron ore and lithium<br />
(a vital component <strong>in</strong> mobile phone<br />
and computer batteries) lie beneath<br />
the country’s gnarled mounta<strong>in</strong>s and<br />
w<strong>in</strong>d-swept deserts. If these natural<br />
resources can be accessed, and are<br />
managed astutely, the economy and<br />
standard of liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Afghanistan could<br />
be transformed <strong>in</strong> a manner similar to<br />
that of Saudi Arabia <strong>in</strong> the decades<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce its oil boom. Although daunt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
security and logistical challenges face<br />
those plann<strong>in</strong>g to exploit Afghanistan’s<br />
m<strong>in</strong>eral reserves (Fig 1), the drive<br />
to access the country’s resources is<br />
already impact<strong>in</strong>g upon the country’s<br />
extensive archaeological rema<strong>in</strong>s. As<br />
we go to press, Afghan and French<br />
archaeologists are frantically excavat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
extraord<strong>in</strong>ary Buddhist sites at<br />
Mes Aynak, before a Ch<strong>in</strong>ese company<br />
resumes the extraction of copper ore<br />
from the area – a m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g operation<br />
that first began two millennia ago.<br />
Unrestricted and illegal urban<br />
expansion poses another major threat<br />
to the archaeological and architectural<br />
fabric of cities such as Herat, where<br />
over 80 construction projects lack<strong>in</strong>g<br />
official permits were begun <strong>in</strong> the Old<br />
City dur<strong>in</strong>g the first half of 2009 alone.<br />
Numerous road-widen<strong>in</strong>g schemes<br />
have also bisected archaeological sites<br />
such as Chashma-i Shafa <strong>in</strong> the north<br />
of the country (probably the site of<br />
pre-Alexandrian Bactra or its sacred<br />
complex) and endanger other monuments<br />
such as the 12 th -century Ghurid<br />
mausolea at Chisht-i Sharif, Herat<br />
Prov<strong>in</strong>ce, western Afghanistan (Fig 2).<br />
The fact that these projects contravene<br />
exist<strong>in</strong>g Afghan legislation<br />
<strong>in</strong>tended to protect cultural heritage<br />
has done little to halt their progress.<br />
Elsewhere, the prospect of ill considered<br />
restoration projects follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Ghazni’s selection as the 2013<br />
Centre for Islamic Culture is problematic.<br />
Heritage experts fear that the<br />
11 th –12 th -century Ghaznavid capital’s<br />
40<br />
1<br />
Between<br />
rocks<br />
and a<br />
hard place<br />
Fig 1. US Army Sgt.<br />
Robert Newman,<br />
Bravo Company,<br />
1st Battalion, 4 th<br />
Infantry Regiment,<br />
US Army, watch<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the sunrise near<br />
Forward Operat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Base Baylough, Zabul,<br />
Afghanistan. March 19,<br />
2009.<br />
Fig 2. The 12 th -century<br />
Ghurid mausolea at<br />
Chisht-i Sharif, Herat<br />
Prov<strong>in</strong>ce, western<br />
Afghanistan.<br />
2<br />
historical monuments will become little<br />
more than sanitised trophies <strong>in</strong> a<br />
theme park. With the authorities often<br />
seem<strong>in</strong>gly <strong>in</strong>capable of stopp<strong>in</strong>g these<br />
projects – and at times even actively<br />
sanction<strong>in</strong>g some – the <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
community has a crucial role to play<br />
<strong>in</strong> advocat<strong>in</strong>g for, and facilitat<strong>in</strong>g, the<br />
protection of Afghanistan’s cultural<br />
heritage.<br />
A glimpse of what is at stake was<br />
displayed <strong>in</strong> the exhibition of artefacts<br />
from the National Museum of Kabul,<br />
which has been tour<strong>in</strong>g museums <strong>in</strong><br />
Europe and North America s<strong>in</strong>ce 2006<br />
and will go<strong>in</strong>g on display <strong>in</strong> the British<br />
Museum <strong>in</strong> March 2011 (Figs 3, 4).<br />
However, the opulence and exquisite<br />
craftsmanship of the treasures merely<br />
scratches the surface of Afghanistan’s<br />
cultural heritage. In 2009, British<br />
Customs officials returned 3.5 tonnes<br />
of looted artefacts, which had been<br />
seized <strong>in</strong> recent years, while Denmark<br />
has returned a further 4000 objects.<br />
Unfortunately, we will never be able<br />
to recover vital archaeological <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
about these artefacts, nor any<br />
other cultural treasures that were<br />
destroyed when they were removed<br />
from the ground.<br />
Although little proper archaeological<br />
fieldwork has been possible <strong>in</strong><br />
Afghanistan s<strong>in</strong>ce Warwick Ball published<br />
his gazetteer of nearly 1300<br />
archaeological sites <strong>in</strong> 1982, recent<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Photo courtesy of DaviD thomas.
analysis of satellite images <strong>in</strong>dicates<br />
that thousands of sites rema<strong>in</strong><br />
undiscovered. Research by the<br />
Archaeological Sites of Afghanistan<br />
<strong>in</strong> Google Earth (ASAGE) project has<br />
focused on ten study areas, with<strong>in</strong><br />
which more than 650 probable archaeological<br />
sites have been identified (Fig<br />
5). Given that the study areas amount<br />
to 0.4 percent of Afghanistan’s territory,<br />
the total number of undiscovered<br />
and undocumented sites may extend<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the tens or hundreds of thousands.<br />
Few antiquities services around<br />
the world could cope with the task of<br />
record<strong>in</strong>g and protect<strong>in</strong>g such a rich<br />
archaeological legacy, let alone one as<br />
under-staffed and under-resourced<br />
as the National Afghan Institute of<br />
Archaeology (NAIA). Compound<strong>in</strong>g<br />
NAIA’s difficulties is the fact that many<br />
of the sites are located <strong>in</strong> remote areas,<br />
where lawlessness, local poverty, and a<br />
lack of education and awareness make<br />
them vulnerable to plunder<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The scourge of loot<strong>in</strong>g and the illicit<br />
trade <strong>in</strong> antiquities, which has decimated<br />
many archaeological sites <strong>in</strong><br />
Afghanistan over the past couple of<br />
decades, is not new: <strong>in</strong> the 1930s, the<br />
discovery of the Begram Treasure<br />
prompted loot<strong>in</strong>g across the country<br />
(see M<strong>in</strong>erva, January/February, 2010,<br />
pp. 46–49). More recently, <strong>in</strong> 2005<br />
the M<strong>in</strong>aret of Jam Archaeological<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Fig 3. Gold crown<br />
from Tillia Tepe,<br />
northern Afghanistan.<br />
Early 1 st century AD.<br />
W. 45cm.<br />
Fig 4. Gold bootbuckle,<br />
encrusted<br />
with turquoise, from<br />
Tillia Tepe, northern<br />
Afghanistan. Early 1 st<br />
century AD.<br />
Fig 5. One of<br />
the hundreds of<br />
archaeological sites<br />
bisected by a modern<br />
road, identified <strong>in</strong><br />
Google Earth satellite<br />
images.<br />
Photo courtesy of us army, taken by staff sgt. aDam manc<strong>in</strong>i.<br />
Project (MJAP) recorded over 120 robber<br />
holes <strong>in</strong> a 50m wide strip of the<br />
steep valley slope opposite the magnificent<br />
m<strong>in</strong>aret (Fig 6). The robbers<br />
have destroyed an estimated 1300<br />
cubic metres of archaeological rema<strong>in</strong>s<br />
<strong>in</strong> this small area of the site, which is<br />
thought to have been the summer capital<br />
of the 12 th -century Ghurid dynasty.<br />
Detailed study of a high-resolution satellite<br />
image suggests that Jam is pockmarked<br />
with over 1100 robber holes,<br />
although many more are either too<br />
small to show up on the satellite photograph,<br />
or are obscured by spoil from<br />
other holes. Other sites <strong>in</strong> Afghanistan,<br />
such as the Graeco-Bactrian city of Aï<br />
Khanum and the Buddhist religious<br />
and pilgrimage centre of Hadda, have<br />
suffered almost complete obliteration<br />
as a result of recent conflicts and<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustrial-scale loot<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
3<br />
4<br />
Faced with such a depress<strong>in</strong>g catalogue<br />
of potential threats, destruction<br />
and loot<strong>in</strong>g, are there any grounds<br />
for optimism over the future of<br />
Afghanistan’s past? Perhaps surpris<strong>in</strong>gly,<br />
the answer is a tentative ‘yes’.<br />
Despite the significant challenges, the<br />
Délégation Archéologique Française<br />
en Afghanistan (DAFA), together with<br />
scholars and experts <strong>in</strong> heritage management<br />
from NGOs and <strong>in</strong> collaboration<br />
with their Afghan colleagues,<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ues to fight to protect, conserve<br />
and study numerous important<br />
archaeological sites.<br />
In recent years, DAFA, which began<br />
its work <strong>in</strong> Afghanistan <strong>in</strong> 1922, has<br />
uncovered a 3 rd -century AD jeweller’s<br />
quarter at Tepe Zargaran (near Balkh);<br />
discovered the largest Achaemenid<br />
site yet found <strong>in</strong> Afghanistan (about<br />
three kilometres square, and dat<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
5<br />
Photo: national museum, kabul © thierry ollivier/musée guiment.<br />
Photo: national museum, kabul © thierry ollivier/musée guiment.<br />
Photo: © google earth / Dct.
Afghan archaeology<br />
500–600 BC); and undertaken restoration<br />
work at the 9 th -century Masjid-i<br />
Noh Gumbad (Fig 9). A regional<br />
museum <strong>in</strong> Mazar-i Sharif, be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
established <strong>in</strong> collaboration with the<br />
National Museum, is also due to open<br />
later this year.<br />
The work of the Aga Khan Trust<br />
for Culture (AKTC) primarily focuses<br />
on architectural preservation and restoration,<br />
rather than archaeological<br />
fieldwork, through the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and<br />
employment of local craftsmen and<br />
architects. The citadel <strong>in</strong> Herat (Fig 8),<br />
the 18 th -century mausoleum of Timur<br />
Shah <strong>in</strong> Kabul, bath-houses, cisterns,<br />
and numerous mosques, have all benefitted<br />
from AKTC projects. Through<br />
its work, the AKTC aims to create<br />
functional build<strong>in</strong>gs and spaces that<br />
can be re-<strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong>to the social<br />
fabric of the country. The AKTC has<br />
also been <strong>in</strong>strumental <strong>in</strong> advocat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for the protection and preservation of<br />
Herat’s architectural heritage; earlier<br />
this year, Herat’s Old City was added<br />
to the World Monuments Fund’s 2010<br />
World Monuments Watch List.<br />
In a similar ve<strong>in</strong>, the Turquoise<br />
Mounta<strong>in</strong> Foundation (TMF) aims to<br />
revive Afghanistan’s traditional crafts,<br />
by establish<strong>in</strong>g the Institute for Afghan<br />
Arts and Architecture, whose workshops<br />
focus on calligraphy, ceramics,<br />
jewellery and woodwork<strong>in</strong>g. Its efforts<br />
to regenerate Murad Khane, an historic<br />
area of Kabul’s Old City, have won<br />
admiration around the world. More<br />
importantly, the project has enabled<br />
the district’s <strong>in</strong>habitants to rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
their traditional houses, with access to<br />
modern amenities such as electricity,<br />
sewers and runn<strong>in</strong>g water.<br />
It would be mislead<strong>in</strong>g to suggest that<br />
all of this important work is be<strong>in</strong>g led<br />
by Westerners. Afghan architects and<br />
archaeologists such as Zafar Paiman<br />
(work<strong>in</strong>g for the past seven years at<br />
the extensive Sasanian-Kushan monastery<br />
complex of Tepe Narenj) and Prof<br />
Zemaryalai Tarzi (synonymous with<br />
42<br />
Fig 6. The brick<br />
M<strong>in</strong>aret of Jam,<br />
which stands 65m <strong>in</strong><br />
height, was built <strong>in</strong><br />
AD 1174–75, <strong>in</strong> front<br />
of the north bank of<br />
the Hari Rud, which is<br />
now scarred by robber<br />
holes.<br />
Fig 7. Conservation<br />
tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the<br />
National Museum <strong>in</strong><br />
Kabul, 2007.<br />
Fig 8. Herat Citadel,<br />
Qal’a-ye Ikhtiyar al-<br />
D<strong>in</strong>. The two walled<br />
brick enclosures that<br />
comprise the citadel<br />
were built dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
Timurid period (AD<br />
1369–1506). However,<br />
the site was defended<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g earlier periods<br />
and it has been l<strong>in</strong>ked<br />
by some scholars as<br />
the location of a fort<br />
built by <strong>Alexander</strong><br />
the Great.<br />
Fig 9. The 9 th -century<br />
Masjid-i Noh Gumbad<br />
(Mosque of the N<strong>in</strong>e<br />
Domes).<br />
8 9<br />
Photo: marius arnesen.<br />
Photo: © mJaP / Dct.<br />
work on the giant carved Buddhas at<br />
Bamiyan, which were destroyed by the<br />
Taliban <strong>in</strong> 2001) are merely the most<br />
recent <strong>in</strong> a long-stand<strong>in</strong>g tradition of<br />
home-grown scholars. The dedicated<br />
staff of the National Museum of Kabul,<br />
who risked their lives dur<strong>in</strong>g the civil<br />
war to safeguard the museum’s collections,<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ue to work hard to restore<br />
the museum to its former glory.<br />
Key to the success of these efforts<br />
to protect Afghanistan’s heritage is<br />
capacity build<strong>in</strong>g. NAIA and other<br />
Afghan organisations require significant<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestments of personnel, fund<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and equipment. In a<br />
small step <strong>in</strong> this direction, the MJAP<br />
held a series of sem<strong>in</strong>ars on archaeological<br />
survey techniques, funded<br />
by the British Embassy, at Kabul<br />
University <strong>in</strong> 2007. A grant from La<br />
Trobe University, Australia, has s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
enabled the publication of a bil<strong>in</strong>gual<br />
booklet based on the sem<strong>in</strong>ars, copies<br />
of which have been donated to our<br />
Afghan colleagues. In 2007, the MJAP<br />
also provided conservation tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
the National Museum of Kabul (Fig<br />
7); documented stolen Timurid tombstones<br />
seized by the Afghan authorities;<br />
and held a medical cl<strong>in</strong>ic for museum<br />
employees and their families, who are<br />
unable to afford such basic treatment.<br />
As archaeologists have found <strong>in</strong><br />
Iraq, the best way of ensur<strong>in</strong>g sites<br />
6<br />
are protected is by engag<strong>in</strong>g with the<br />
local community. Surveys and excavations<br />
demonstrate to local people that<br />
archaeological rema<strong>in</strong>s are a unique<br />
national treasure, a source of pride<br />
and employment, and not necessarily<br />
an <strong>in</strong>hibitor to development. Where<br />
we have been able to do this, archaeologists<br />
have found that most Afghans<br />
want to protect and preserve their cultural<br />
heritage.<br />
Modern technology provides us with<br />
the means to share <strong>in</strong>formation with the<br />
Afghan authorities, the International<br />
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and<br />
NGOs, to ensure that sites are monitored<br />
and risks to vulnerable archaeological<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s identified before it<br />
is too late. Impact assessments and<br />
cultural heritage management plans<br />
should be part of all projects aimed<br />
at rebuild<strong>in</strong>g Afghanistan’s <strong>in</strong>frastructure<br />
and exploit<strong>in</strong>g its m<strong>in</strong>eral wealth.<br />
The cost of these measures is negligible<br />
compared to the riches that are wait<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to be tapped. It rema<strong>in</strong>s to be seen,<br />
however, whether Afghan or foreign<br />
archaeologists will have the opportunity<br />
to be an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of rebuild<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the country and channell<strong>in</strong>g some of<br />
the revenues ga<strong>in</strong>ed from the m<strong>in</strong>eral<br />
resources <strong>in</strong>to projects to conserve the<br />
heritage of Afghanistan. n<br />
7<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Photo: © mJaP / travis bearD, argus PhotograPhy.<br />
Photo: © alison gascoigne.
Interview<br />
Plott<strong>in</strong>g the past<br />
L<strong>in</strong>dsey Davis, creator of the loveable Roman gumsandal Falco, talks to Georg<strong>in</strong>a Read<br />
about modern writ<strong>in</strong>g, her plans for the future, and her obsession with historical fact<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce the publication of The Silver Pigs<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1989, L<strong>in</strong>dsey Davis’s historical whodunits,<br />
featur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>former, amateur<br />
poet and erstwhile Procurator of the<br />
Sacred Geese, Marcus Didius Falco, have been<br />
a runaway success. They have also been praised<br />
by academics for their historical accuracy and<br />
close attention to the details of what life was<br />
like <strong>in</strong> Rome and the prov<strong>in</strong>ces dur<strong>in</strong>g the reign<br />
of the Flavian emperors <strong>in</strong> the late 1 st century<br />
AD (Fig 5). A further 20 novels have followed<br />
Falco’s perilous <strong>in</strong>vestigations, as well as his<br />
tempestuous relationship with senator’s daughter<br />
Helena. Falco: The Official Companion was<br />
also published <strong>in</strong> June.<br />
44<br />
Fig 1. L<strong>in</strong>dsey Davis.<br />
Fig 2. Etruscan cheese grater, 5 th century BC.<br />
A mislabel<strong>in</strong>g by the British Museum forced<br />
L<strong>in</strong>dsey to create a backstory to justify the<br />
presence of the grater <strong>in</strong> Rome 400 years<br />
later. L. 16.2cm. Photo: Courtesy of the British<br />
Museum.<br />
Born <strong>in</strong> Birm<strong>in</strong>gham, L<strong>in</strong>dsey read English<br />
Language and Literature at Lady Margaret Hall,<br />
Oxford, before go<strong>in</strong>g on to a career <strong>in</strong> the civil<br />
service. So what set her on the track to becom<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a writer of Flavian thrillers? ‘I have always<br />
read historical novels, and I don’t th<strong>in</strong>k there<br />
is any po<strong>in</strong>t writ<strong>in</strong>g them unless you make<br />
them as accurate as you can. I write as if for an<br />
audience who don’t particularly know about a<br />
period <strong>in</strong> history, while at the same time giv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
snippets for people who do know the period<br />
well. Otherwise I might as well write science fiction<br />
or fantasy, which don’t appeal to me at all.’<br />
Historical accuracy is one of the qualities<br />
underp<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g Falco: The Official Companion,<br />
which also <strong>in</strong>cludes nuggets of <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
about L<strong>in</strong>dsey herself. ‘There was scope for a bit<br />
of autobiography, and I answered the most topical<br />
questions that come up so often. I couldn’t<br />
make it a whole encyclopaedia of Roman<br />
life, obviously, as there are plenty of books by<br />
experts on the subject, but I did my best!’<br />
In the <strong>in</strong>troduction to The Silver Pigs, L<strong>in</strong>dsey<br />
admits to a few historical <strong>in</strong>accuracies. Her<br />
readers’ reaction to com<strong>in</strong>g across a perceived<br />
error can be passionate to say the least, she<br />
reveals. ‘People sometimes get very exercised,<br />
angry, even frighten<strong>in</strong>g when they th<strong>in</strong>k you<br />
have made mistakes. Sometimes readers write<br />
very annoyed letters, even if they are wrong<br />
and I’ve put <strong>in</strong> the latest research. It seems to<br />
me that people care too much, given that it is<br />
fiction. I want the books to be accurate, but if<br />
I spent three times as long writ<strong>in</strong>g them then<br />
there wouldn’t be as many for people to read!<br />
‘There was the cheese grater <strong>in</strong>cident <strong>in</strong><br />
Venus and Copper (1991), which wasn’t really<br />
my mistake. I’d seen a display <strong>in</strong> one of the galleries<br />
at the British Museum show<strong>in</strong>g domestic<br />
utensils from the first century AD, which<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded a cheese grater (Fig 2). I therefore<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded it <strong>in</strong> a bag of possessions rescued when<br />
Falco’s build<strong>in</strong>g falls down. However, the British<br />
Museum reassessed the age of the grater and I<br />
subsequently saw it labelled as orig<strong>in</strong>ally com<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from an Etruscan tomb of the 5 th century<br />
BC. I therefore changed part of my novel and<br />
had Falco say<strong>in</strong>g, “Well, my father gave it to me,<br />
know<strong>in</strong>g him he probably robbed an Etruscan<br />
tomb.”’<br />
L<strong>in</strong>dsey has a keen <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> archaeology,<br />
and unlike many other novelists who write<br />
about the ancient world, she uses material<br />
culture as the start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t for her writ<strong>in</strong>g. ‘I<br />
don’t go to the Lat<strong>in</strong> texts first, I only tend to<br />
read them when they’re relevant. Instead I start<br />
with archaeology. But I am never go<strong>in</strong>g to get<br />
on my hands and knees – I’m too old for that,’<br />
she laughs. ‘I’ve never really liked the practical<br />
side of it; I’m not a messy sort of person. I<br />
have good relationships with the British School<br />
at Rome and helpful people work<strong>in</strong>g at places<br />
like Fishbourne Roman Palace help me keep up<br />
with th<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> that sector.’<br />
By us<strong>in</strong>g archaeology and the material culture<br />
of the Roman world as her <strong>in</strong>spiration,<br />
rather than just the literary sources, L<strong>in</strong>dsey<br />
believes she is able to present a broader po<strong>in</strong>t of<br />
view <strong>in</strong> her novels. ‘Most Lat<strong>in</strong> texts were written<br />
by men, and were <strong>in</strong>tended for a very narrow<br />
section of the elite. While Falco constantly<br />
has deal<strong>in</strong>gs with Rome’s aristocracy <strong>in</strong> my novels,<br />
this is a useful way for me to highlight the<br />
contrast between his ideas and theirs. I’m try<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to write about the whole swathe of society at the<br />
height of the Roman Empire; that <strong>in</strong>terests me<br />
more than just deal<strong>in</strong>g with the upper classes.<br />
‘I believe that Rome was much better and<br />
more equal for women than textbooks have<br />
Fig 3. The paved streets of Pompeii provide a<br />
wonderful <strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to the urban landscape of a<br />
Roman city dur<strong>in</strong>g the period <strong>in</strong> which L<strong>in</strong>dsey’s<br />
Falco novels are set. Photo: S.J.P<strong>in</strong>kney.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
Fig 4. The Forum <strong>in</strong> Rome. It is <strong>in</strong> the shadow of the Temple of Saturn, of which eight columns still<br />
survive, that Falco first made his appearance <strong>in</strong> The Silver Pigs (1989). Photo: Oliver Mallich.<br />
always said, certa<strong>in</strong>ly among the lower and<br />
middle classes. I always remember that modern<br />
Italian women – who are certa<strong>in</strong>ly no pushover<br />
– are the descendants of the women of ancient<br />
Rome, so it’s not difficult for me to believe that<br />
they could be fairly outspoken!’<br />
It is a challenge for any historical novelist to<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>e the thought processes of people from<br />
ancient civilisations. The picture L<strong>in</strong>dsey pa<strong>in</strong>ts<br />
of Rome <strong>in</strong> the late 1 st century AD is one filled<br />
with people driven by the same desires and<br />
motivations as today’s men and women, and she<br />
does <strong>in</strong>deed view Roman society as be<strong>in</strong>g very<br />
much like ours.<br />
‘I was a civil servant so I like writ<strong>in</strong>g about<br />
Roman bureaucracy. We don’t actually know<br />
that much about how it worked, but I imag<strong>in</strong>e<br />
it operated rather like ours. I like politics,<br />
I am <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> capitalism, the sense of how<br />
some people have power because they have huge<br />
amounts of money. That is go<strong>in</strong>g to be relevant<br />
when you are writ<strong>in</strong>g about crimes – whether<br />
ancient or modern – where money is a motive.<br />
‘There is a lot of me <strong>in</strong> Falco, as he is speak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> the first person, it is difficult not to write it as<br />
if he were myself. I also see myself <strong>in</strong> Helena. I<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k Falco is becom<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly conscious<br />
of what it is to be a Roman as he becomes a family<br />
man over the series.<br />
‘I start from the po<strong>in</strong>t of view that human<br />
nature doesn’t change, but at the same time I<br />
wanted to show the way <strong>in</strong> which the Roman<br />
world is similar to ours, as well as the ways <strong>in</strong><br />
which it differs. I do cover issues like slavery and<br />
gladiators, which are obviously very uncomfortable<br />
topics for us, but which were part of life <strong>in</strong><br />
first century Rome, so I try to portray them as<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs my characters accept.<br />
‘When I was writ<strong>in</strong>g a book about gladiators, I<br />
saw a documentary completely unrelated to the<br />
ancient world, about young boxers <strong>in</strong> the East<br />
End of London, and I saw a strong l<strong>in</strong>k there <strong>in</strong><br />
that it was a way a poor young man could make<br />
his fortune, and become famous. While most<br />
gladiators would die <strong>in</strong> the amphitheatre, for<br />
somebody who had noth<strong>in</strong>g, it was an occupation<br />
that held out the k<strong>in</strong>d of hope that be<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
good boxer might offer today.’ (Fig 6.)<br />
Did L<strong>in</strong>dsey know from the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
the idea of detective novels set <strong>in</strong> Imperial Rome<br />
would prove to be so popular? ‘I had no qualms<br />
about the readership, but my publishers were<br />
anxious because apart from books like Robert<br />
Graves’ I, Claudius, which had been written <strong>in</strong><br />
the 1930s, there was virtually no popular fiction<br />
set <strong>in</strong> the Roman period. The idea of a modern<br />
novel about a Roman detective was terrify<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
publishers, we had great trouble sell<strong>in</strong>g the idea.<br />
My agent eventually found an editor who wasn’t<br />
fazed by the idea of cross<strong>in</strong>g the genres of historical<br />
fiction and detective stories, and he has<br />
edited every book I have ever done.’<br />
L<strong>in</strong>dsey acknowledges that historical fiction<br />
is often dismissed by critics. ‘I’d like my books<br />
to be seen as good novels, not just genre novels.<br />
If you are a historical novelist that is where<br />
you lose out, because you are judged by different<br />
standards – quite wrongly so, as they have<br />
to be really good page-turners, and you have to<br />
get the history right, or people write you angry<br />
letters! I have created all sorts<br />
of plot l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> the Falco series<br />
– I have deliberately not made<br />
any of them the same. I th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
what has made the series so<br />
successful is that readers never<br />
quite know what they’re go<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to get; I always try to spr<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
few surprises on them. I’ve featured<br />
police procedurals <strong>in</strong> the<br />
ancient world; I’ve done Agatha<br />
Christie-style stories that start<br />
with a body <strong>in</strong> the library and<br />
end with all the suspects gathered<br />
<strong>in</strong> the same library; I’ve<br />
focused on adventures set <strong>in</strong> the<br />
wild woods, and it all seems to<br />
work.’<br />
Famously, L<strong>in</strong>dsey wrote The<br />
Silver Pigs (1989) without hav<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Fig 5. The Triumph of Titus, AD 71, by<br />
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Oil on panel, 1885.<br />
The emperor Vespasian leads the imperial<br />
family <strong>in</strong> procession. Titus follows beh<strong>in</strong>d<br />
with his daughter Julia, while Domitian comes<br />
next. In the background, the menorah, taken<br />
from the Temple <strong>in</strong> Jerusalem, emphasises<br />
Titus’s suppression of the Jewish revolt. Image<br />
courtesy of the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.<br />
ever visited Rome. In fact, she still has not visited<br />
all the ancient sites she describes so vividly.<br />
‘And I defy anybody to tell which ones I have<br />
actually been to and which ones I’ve read about<br />
<strong>in</strong> books! I have to be very careful when writ<strong>in</strong>g<br />
about Rome, as so many build<strong>in</strong>gs and monuments<br />
were actually built later than the late first<br />
century, the period I deal with. One aspect of<br />
ancient Rome that I did misjudge was the scale<br />
of the place. In The Silver Pigs <strong>in</strong> particular,<br />
Falco is very mobile <strong>in</strong> the city and although he<br />
is tough, he could not have physically achieved<br />
all that I had him do<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a day, so I had to do<br />
some re-writ<strong>in</strong>g to make the story possible.<br />
‘Falco hasn’t really done Gaul yet; he has only<br />
passed through. He has made some disparag<strong>in</strong>g<br />
comments about Marseilles<br />
(ancient Massalia) but I’m<br />
not go<strong>in</strong>g to set a story <strong>in</strong> the<br />
prov<strong>in</strong>ce until I want to take<br />
an easy holiday <strong>in</strong> France!<br />
Falco has also not yet been to<br />
the outer reaches of Hungary,<br />
and while Alexandria (2009)<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ly took place <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Egyptian city, and Two for the<br />
Lions (1998) was partly set <strong>in</strong><br />
Tripolitania <strong>in</strong> what is today<br />
Libya (Fig 7), I’ve not set any<br />
of the other novels elsewhere<br />
Fig 6. Grave stele of a<br />
gladiator named Seilonis,<br />
who fought at Ephesus dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the Roman period. Museum<br />
of Ephesus, Turkey. Photo: Ian<br />
W. Scott.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 45
Interview<br />
<strong>in</strong> Roman North Africa, which gives me the<br />
excuse to visit countries like Tunisia to do some<br />
research. There are, however, some places that I<br />
don’t personally like, such as Sicily, which I f<strong>in</strong>d<br />
very s<strong>in</strong>ister, so Falco may never get to go there.<br />
‘Aside from Rome itself, my favourite site<br />
<strong>in</strong> ancient Italy is Ostia Antica, the great harbour<br />
city at the mouth of the Tiber (Fig 8).<br />
The city was also the sett<strong>in</strong>g for Scandal Takes<br />
a Holiday, published <strong>in</strong> 2003). Of the towns on<br />
the Bay of Naples that were buried dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
eruption of Vesuvius, I prefer Herculaneum<br />
over Pompeii (Fig 3). The villas at the nearby<br />
town of Oplontis are also wonderful to visit<br />
(Fig 9). Closer to home, my favourite British<br />
site is probably Fishbourne. In fact, I remember<br />
Prof Barry Cunliffe com<strong>in</strong>g to my school to<br />
give a talk on the Roman palace at Fishbourne<br />
while he was excavat<strong>in</strong>g the site (see M<strong>in</strong>erva<br />
July/August, 2010, pp. 46-48). I can recall that<br />
I couldn’t believe such a place had once stood<br />
<strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong>.’<br />
Many key events <strong>in</strong> antiquity have obviously<br />
had an endur<strong>in</strong>g impact that still resonates <strong>in</strong><br />
the politics of today, requir<strong>in</strong>g delicate handl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
by a writer of fiction. The Roman reconquest of<br />
Judaea follow<strong>in</strong>g the Great Jewish Revolt <strong>in</strong> AD<br />
66 was crucial <strong>in</strong> the rise of the Flavian dynasty,<br />
all three emperors of which feature prom<strong>in</strong>ently<br />
<strong>in</strong> several of L<strong>in</strong>dsey’s novels (Fig 5). Falco’s<br />
brother was also killed fight<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Judaea while<br />
serv<strong>in</strong>g under Vespasian’s son Titus. Poseidon’s<br />
Gold (1993) also features Jewish prisoners of<br />
the wars be<strong>in</strong>g used as slave labour dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g of the Colosseum. ‘The Romans didn’t<br />
just go and start fight<strong>in</strong>g one other, or go for oil<br />
as we have done <strong>in</strong> Iraq. They created a society<br />
that offered benefits and luxuries, and many<br />
people wanted to be part of the Roman world. I<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k the Romans were more successful at this<br />
than the West is today. For almost 400 years, the<br />
<strong>in</strong>habitants of Brita<strong>in</strong> rather seem to have liked<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g part of the Roman Empire; or at least they<br />
Fig 8. Insulae constructed at Ostia <strong>in</strong> the 2 nd century AD. Situated at the<br />
mouth of the River Tiber, the port city was crucial <strong>in</strong> keep<strong>in</strong>g the huge<br />
population of Rome supplied with food and other commodities. The<br />
harbour facilities were upgraded throughout the 1 st and 2 nd centuries AD.<br />
Photo: Charles Gardner.<br />
46<br />
Fig 7. The market place <strong>in</strong> Leptis Magna, Tripolitania. L<strong>in</strong>dsey set part of Two for the Lions <strong>in</strong><br />
the North African city, although most of the architecture that can now be seen at the site was<br />
constructed dur<strong>in</strong>g the reign of Septimius Severus (AD 193–211), a century after the time of Falco.<br />
Photo: Motohiro Sunouchi.<br />
accepted it. I don’t th<strong>in</strong>k that’s likely to happen<br />
<strong>in</strong> Iraq or Afghanistan. I don’t set out to po<strong>in</strong>t<br />
out moral fail<strong>in</strong>gs of contemporary society,<br />
but events do <strong>in</strong>fluence me while I’m writ<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the Falco novels. I clearly remember work<strong>in</strong>g<br />
on the The Iron Hand of Mars<br />
(1992) – much of which is set<br />
<strong>in</strong> Germania – just as the Berl<strong>in</strong><br />
Wall came down.’<br />
Does L<strong>in</strong>dsey have any plans<br />
to build on Falco’s popularity<br />
with another series? ‘It’s certa<strong>in</strong>ly<br />
a possibility. I haven’t<br />
made up my m<strong>in</strong>d about what<br />
I’m go<strong>in</strong>g to do next. I could<br />
write more novels about Falco<br />
and the Roman world dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the rule of the Flavian emperors.<br />
However, I could do someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
entirely new. It was only a few years ago that<br />
I wrote Rebels and Traitors, a novel set at the<br />
time of the English Civil War. And that was a<br />
wonderful experience as it allowed me to carry<br />
out research <strong>in</strong>to a period for which there is<br />
so much more material available<br />
than that which exists for the<br />
Roman world. I was like a child <strong>in</strong><br />
a toyshop! It was very refresh<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
change subject and period. I also<br />
feel the Falco novels that I wrote<br />
at the same time were also better<br />
books because I felt <strong>in</strong>vigorated.’ n<br />
L<strong>in</strong>dsey Davis’s most recent<br />
Falco novel, Nemesis, was<br />
published <strong>in</strong> June (Century Press,<br />
2010, 304pp, hardback, £18.99).<br />
Fig 9. The Villa Poppaea near Oplontis. Orig<strong>in</strong>ally built <strong>in</strong> the 1 st century<br />
BC, it is thought that the villa was later owned by Poppaea Sab<strong>in</strong>a<br />
(AD 30–65), second wife of Nero, who, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Roman writer<br />
Suetonius, died after the emperor kicked her <strong>in</strong> the stomach while she<br />
was pregnant. Photo: Chanel Wheeler.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
Bonhams<br />
Bonhams reports a strong performance<br />
from its spr<strong>in</strong>g antiquities sale, held<br />
on 28 April <strong>in</strong> London. A total of 318<br />
lots were sold on the day, achiev<strong>in</strong>g<br />
£1,639,308. Siobhan Qu<strong>in</strong> of Bonhams antiquities<br />
department told M<strong>in</strong>erva: ‘Overall prices<br />
were strong, particularly <strong>in</strong> the Egyptian market.<br />
Relief fragments and scarabs sold exceptionally<br />
well. Provenance rema<strong>in</strong>s a priority for<br />
our buyers, and several lots were particularly<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this regard.’<br />
The market for vases also rema<strong>in</strong>s strong, and<br />
a private collection of exquisite pieces, lots 178–<br />
184, sold for a total of £460,800. The highest<br />
price of £210,000 was paid for lot 184, an Attic<br />
stamnos <strong>in</strong> Six Technique from the workshop of<br />
the Antimenes Pa<strong>in</strong>ter, c. 510 BC (Fig 7). The<br />
vase depicts a muscular Theseus pursu<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
M<strong>in</strong>otaur (H. 24.5cm).<br />
Many Egyptian antiquities achieved well <strong>in</strong><br />
1<br />
2<br />
Fig 1. Roman herm marble bust of Dionysus, 1<br />
Antiquities sales report<br />
st century AD, H. 15.2cm. Sold for £28,800. Lot 111.<br />
Fig 2. Large Roman breccia c<strong>in</strong>erary urn, 1st century AD, H. 43.2cm. Sold for £60,000. Lot 135.<br />
Fig 3. Marble head of Menander, c. 1st century AD, H. 26.7cm. Sold for £72,000. Lot 134.<br />
Fig 4. An Egyptian cartonnage mummy mask, Ptolemaic period, H. 43.2cm. Sold for £10,800. Lot 12.<br />
Fig 5. Gold Byzant<strong>in</strong>e earr<strong>in</strong>gs, c. 6th –9th century AD, H. 3.5cm. Sold for £1440. Lot 266.<br />
Fig 6. Limestone relief fragment, 18th dynasty, H. 22.2cm. Sold for £12,000. Lot 10.<br />
Fig 7. Attic stamnos, c. 510 BC, H. 24.5cm. Sold for £210,000. Lot 184.<br />
excess of their estimates. Lot 10, a limestone<br />
relief fragment show<strong>in</strong>g a husband and wife<br />
seated on lion-footed chairs (H. 22.5cm), dat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from the early 18 th dynasty, c. 1567–1400 BC<br />
(Fig 6), had an estimated price of £2000–3000,<br />
but achieved £12,000. An Egyptian cartonnage<br />
mummy mask from the Ptolemaic Period (305–<br />
30 BC), decorated with polychrome and gild<strong>in</strong>g<br />
over gypsum, achieved almost double its estimate<br />
to sell for £10,800 (Fig 4).<br />
Several of the Classical pieces were notable<br />
not only for their quality, but for their fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g<br />
provenance. A Roman herm marble bust of<br />
Dionysus (H. 15.2cm), dat<strong>in</strong>g to c. 1 st century<br />
AD (Fig 1), was acquired by the seller’s father<br />
and step-mother <strong>in</strong> 1966 as a wedd<strong>in</strong>g gift from<br />
the film director Franco Zeffirelli, with whom<br />
they has worked on the film ‘The Tam<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
Shrew’. The piece fetched £28,800, more than<br />
tripl<strong>in</strong>g its estimate of £7000–9000.<br />
A marble Roman marble head of Menander,<br />
c. 1 st century AD (H. 26.7cm, Fig 3), sold for<br />
£72,000. The sculpture is a copy of a Greek<br />
bronze herm by Kehisodotos and Timarchos,<br />
the sons of Praxiteles. Dat<strong>in</strong>g from the same<br />
period, a large Roman breccia c<strong>in</strong>erary urn (H.<br />
43.2cm, Fig 2), sold for £60,000. This unusual<br />
piece has a body of conical form, taper<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
a flattened circular base. The upright neck<br />
is carved with a band of six bucrania (bulls’<br />
skulls), laden with garlands and swags, <strong>in</strong>terspersed<br />
with sacrificial implements of a patera,<br />
a knife and an axe.<br />
Ancient jewellery rema<strong>in</strong>s a sound <strong>in</strong>vestment,<br />
and many pieces are also both exquisite<br />
and wearable. A pair of Byzant<strong>in</strong>e gold earr<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />
c. 6 th –9 th century AD, sold for £1440 (Fig 5).<br />
Their lunate form features an openwork design<br />
of stylised foliage flank<strong>in</strong>g a cruciform medallion,<br />
and each has a green glass bead pendant.<br />
48 M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7
ALL Prices <strong>in</strong>cLude buyer’s Premium And excLude VAT.<br />
Christie’s<br />
Christie’s spr<strong>in</strong>g antiquities sale, held on 29<br />
April 2010 <strong>in</strong> South Kens<strong>in</strong>gton, achieved a<br />
total of £3,030,750 – the highest gross<strong>in</strong>g antiquities<br />
sale <strong>in</strong> London s<strong>in</strong>ce 2004. This result<br />
demonstrates the buoyancy of the antiquities<br />
market worldwide. Bidders participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the<br />
sale hailed from 22 countries, and buyers were<br />
30 percent UK, 36 percent Europe, 23 percent<br />
Americas and 11 percent Middle East and Asia.<br />
Georgiana Aitken, head of antiquities at<br />
Christie’s South Kens<strong>in</strong>gton, commented: ‘We<br />
are delighted with this strong result, which<br />
reflects voracious demand for well provenanced<br />
and high quality antiquities. Roman marbles<br />
and Classical pottery saw particularly impressive<br />
prices across the board. Private collections<br />
were highly contested with highlights <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Egyptian bronzes from the Elias-Vaes<br />
Collection, and M<strong>in</strong>oan and Mycenean pottery<br />
from a 19 th century private European collection.<br />
Onl<strong>in</strong>e bidd<strong>in</strong>g was particularly active,<br />
with almost a quarter of all lots either sold to or<br />
directly underbid onl<strong>in</strong>e.’<br />
The top price was paid for a Roman marble<br />
statue of a young satyr with a panther (Fig 8),<br />
c. late 1 st – mid 2 nd century AD, which fetched<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
Fig 8. Marble statue of a young satyr with a panther, c. late 1 st – mid 2 nd century AD, H. 118cm. Sold<br />
for £577,250. Lot 95.<br />
Fig 9. Marble torso of Aphrodite, c. 1 st century AD, H. 77.5cm. Sold for £223,250. Lot 94.<br />
Fig 10. South Italian red-figure fish plate, c. 330 BC, Diam. 20.3cm. Sold for £75,650. Lot 215.<br />
Fig 11. Bronze shabti, 18 th dynasty, H. 16.6cm. Sold for £56,450. Lot 169.<br />
Fig 12. Attic red-figure Nolan amphora, c. 470BC, H 35.5cm. Sold for £181,250. Lot 58.<br />
£577,250. The figure stands on his right leg, supported<br />
by a tree trunk, his left leg relaxed and<br />
crossed over the right, heel lifted. His expression<br />
is mischievous, his lips drawn <strong>in</strong>to a smile.<br />
Bud-like horns are visible at his hairl<strong>in</strong>e, and<br />
he wears a goat-sk<strong>in</strong>, the hooves knotted over<br />
his left shoulder. The panther seated at his feet<br />
has a stocky body and its face, framed by a tufty<br />
mane, gazes up at the satyr. The statue stands<br />
118cm high. It was formerly <strong>in</strong> the collection<br />
of the author Roger Peyrefitte <strong>in</strong> Paris, and was<br />
acquired before 1970.<br />
The second-highest price was achieved<br />
by another Roman marble statue, a torso of<br />
Aphrodite (Fig 9), c. 1 st century AD, purchased<br />
for £223,250. The goddess stands with her<br />
weight on her left leg, and wears a diaphanous<br />
cloak. The figure appears to have been closely<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluenced by the semi-draped ‘Arles’ Aphrodite<br />
of the 4 th century BC sculptor Praxiteles, which<br />
was produced a few years before his fully nude<br />
Aprodite of Knidos (see M<strong>in</strong>erva, May/June,<br />
2010, pp. 12–15). H. 77.5cm.<br />
A record price was achieved for a South<br />
Italian red-figure fish plate (Fig 10). Attributed<br />
to the Pa<strong>in</strong>ter of Boston, c. 330 BC, the plate<br />
11<br />
12<br />
soared above the estimate of £4,500-5,000 to<br />
realise £75,650. The plate depicts three fish<br />
– a striped perch, a torpedo and a cuttlefish –<br />
swimm<strong>in</strong>g around a central garum recess. Its<br />
down-turned rim has a reverse wave band with<br />
details added <strong>in</strong> white. Diam. 20.3cm.<br />
An attic red-figure Nolan amphora (Fig<br />
12), attributed to the Berl<strong>in</strong> Pa<strong>in</strong>ter, c. 470BC,<br />
fetched £181,250. The amphora shows a figure<br />
of Dionysos stand<strong>in</strong>g frontally, wear<strong>in</strong>g a fulllength<br />
chiton and himation draped over his left<br />
shoulder, hold<strong>in</strong>g a thyrsos <strong>in</strong> his left hand and<br />
a kantharos <strong>in</strong> his right. The reverse shows a<br />
flee<strong>in</strong>g maenad, advanc<strong>in</strong>g to the right, look<strong>in</strong>g<br />
back over her right shoulder. H. 35.5cm.<br />
Bronze shabtis are exceptionally rare <strong>in</strong> the<br />
New K<strong>in</strong>gdom. Contrary to the more typical<br />
shabtis <strong>in</strong>tended for use <strong>in</strong> a burial context,<br />
bronze examples served as votive offer<strong>in</strong>gs, presumably<br />
to Osiris, and were placed <strong>in</strong> temples.<br />
The Christie’s sale featured one f<strong>in</strong>e example<br />
dat<strong>in</strong>g to the 18 th dynasty (Fig 11), wear<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
striated tripartite wig and broad beaded collar,<br />
hold<strong>in</strong>g a pick, with seedbag slung over the<br />
right shoulder, with frontal vertical column of<br />
hieroglyphs, H. 16.6cm, fetched £56,450. n<br />
49
Hermann Historica<br />
Fig 2. Illyrian helmet. Bronze,<br />
5 th century BC, H. 25cm. Sold for<br />
€17,000. Lot 350.<br />
Fig 3. Illyrian helmet. Bronze,<br />
6 th century BC, H. 22cm. Sold for<br />
€10,500. Lot 54.<br />
In recent years there has been an emergence<br />
of new collectors with a keen <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong><br />
Graeco-Roman militaria. This was demonstrated<br />
emphatically at Christie’s New<br />
York antiquities sale on 10 June, when an exquisite<br />
Greek bronze helmet of Cretan type (Fig 1),<br />
c. 650–620 BC (H. 43.1cm), decorated with<br />
representational and non-representational<br />
engrav<strong>in</strong>gs, was sold to a European collector<br />
for a stagger<strong>in</strong>g $842,500 (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
buyer’s premium), nearly $300,000 above its<br />
ceil<strong>in</strong>g estimate price. This new trend is perhaps<br />
not surpris<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> light of the fact that<br />
antiquities have, to a large extent, been relatively<br />
undervalued.<br />
In the biannual Hermann Historica sale<br />
of militaria held <strong>in</strong> Munich on 12 April,<br />
the prices realised were more conservative<br />
but nonetheless provided<br />
an <strong>in</strong>dex of the buoyant <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
<strong>in</strong> this extraord<strong>in</strong>ary material.<br />
52<br />
Fig 4. Illyrian helmet. Bronze,<br />
6 th century BC, H. 21cm. Sold for<br />
€16,000. Lot 52.<br />
Fig 5. Apulian-Cor<strong>in</strong>thian helmet.<br />
Bronze, 5 th century BC, H. 27cm<br />
(with crest fork). Sold for €22,000.<br />
Lot 367.<br />
Fig 6. Pilos helmet. Bronze, 4 th /3 rd<br />
century BC, H. 23cm. Sold for<br />
€12,500. Lot 355.<br />
Armour at auction<br />
Mark Merrony reports on the Hermann Historica sale of 12 April<br />
Rightly, provenance has become a major consideration,<br />
both for private buyers and those<br />
represent<strong>in</strong>g museums. The bulk of the military<br />
assemblages offered at this auction were from<br />
the estate of the late Axel Guttmann (d. 2001),<br />
most published towards the end of his lifetime.<br />
From a group of Illyrian bronze helmets<br />
of the 6 th –5 th century BC, three were<br />
estimated at €10,000, €4000 and €4500<br />
and went on to realise prices of €16,500,<br />
€10,500 and €17,000 respectively (Figs<br />
4, 3, 2). Another group of bronze helmets<br />
– on this occasion of the Chalcidian Greek<br />
variety (Figs 7, 8), 5 th –4 th century BC (H. 21,<br />
31cm), the second example offered with a back<br />
plate (41cm) and pair of greaves (H. 26.8cm),<br />
outstripped their estimates of €4000 and<br />
Fig 8. Greek armour with a Chalcidian helmet. Bronze, 4 th century BC,<br />
H. 41cm (back plate), 26.8cm (greaves), 31cm (helmet, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g spiral<br />
socket). Sold for €17,000. Lot 351.<br />
Fig 1. Greek bronze helmet of Cretan<br />
type, c. 650-620 BC (H. 43.1cm). Sold<br />
at Christie’s for $842,500.<br />
Fig 7. Chalcidian helmet. Bronze,<br />
5 th century BC, H. 21cm. Sold for<br />
€9000. Lot 352.<br />
€12,500 with hammer prices of €9000 and<br />
€17,000.<br />
One of the most enigmatic varieties of<br />
ancient helmet <strong>in</strong> public and private collections<br />
is the variant of the Cor<strong>in</strong>thian helmet that<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong> geographical Greece but spread<br />
territorially with the colonisation of low Italy. A<br />
particularly strik<strong>in</strong>g example with three plume<br />
holders, wavy brow decoration, contoured eyebrows,<br />
small eye cutouts, and an elegant leafshaped<br />
nose guard (Fig 5), 5 th century BC (H.<br />
27cm), rocketed above its estimate at €3500 and<br />
was won for €22,000.<br />
From a historical perspective some of the<br />
most <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g artefacts offered <strong>in</strong> this auction<br />
were the exceptionally well preserved sets<br />
of Greek muscle armour and long greaves, contoured<br />
to the bodies of <strong>in</strong>dividual warriors. It<br />
is astonish<strong>in</strong>g to th<strong>in</strong>k that people fought and<br />
died clad <strong>in</strong> this armour <strong>in</strong> one of the most<br />
fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g periods <strong>in</strong> history. Two sets of<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
All hAmmer prices exclude A buyer’s premium (commission) of 27 percent<br />
Fig 9. Greek muscle armour. Bronze, 4 th century BC, H. 52 and 48.5cm<br />
(breast and back plate). Sold for €17,000. Lot 357.<br />
Fig 10. Chalcidian Helmet, Ibero-<br />
Celtic Variant. Bronze, 5 th century<br />
BC, H. 37cm (with cheek pieces).<br />
Sold for €77,000. Lot 376.<br />
4 th -century BC armour were sold, the first<br />
(Fig 14), comprised a back and breastplate<br />
(37.5cm) with long greaves (42cm); the<br />
second (Fig 9), a back and breastplate (48.5,<br />
52cm), estimated at a conservative €5,000 and<br />
€3,500, were hammered down for €23,000<br />
and €17,000. A later set of Samnite geometric<br />
breast- and back-plates, greaves and a Pilos<br />
helmet (Fig 11), 4 th –3 rd century BC (28.5, 42.5,<br />
24.5cm), realised a hammer price of €25,000 –<br />
€10,000 above its estimate. An <strong>in</strong>dividual Pilos<br />
helmet offered (Fig 6), 4 th /3 rd century BC (H.<br />
23cm), with an estimate of €4500, realised a<br />
solid €12,500.<br />
The current vigorous climate of the market<br />
was borne out by the sale of a bronze helmet of<br />
the Montefort<strong>in</strong>o/Canosa type (Fig 12), 4 th /3 rd<br />
century BC (H. 18.3cm). Not the most attractive<br />
example, ow<strong>in</strong>g to its crude condition and<br />
restoration, it nevertheless reached a hammer<br />
price of €13,000 – €6000 above its estimate.<br />
Fig 11. Samnite armour consist<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of a Pilos type helmet, armour and<br />
greaves. Bronze, 4 th /3 rd century<br />
BC, H. 24.5cm (42cm with horns)<br />
(helmet), 28.5cm (armour), 42.5cm<br />
(greaves). Sold for €25,000. Lot 370.<br />
Fig 12. Helmet of the<br />
Montefort<strong>in</strong>o/Canosa type. Bronze,<br />
4th/3rd century BC, H. 18.3cm. Sold<br />
for €13,000. Lot 380.<br />
Without doubt the star attractions <strong>in</strong> this sale<br />
were two particularly f<strong>in</strong>e Chalcidian helmets of<br />
the Ibero-Celtic variety (Fig 10), 5 th century BC.<br />
Each helmet features a riveted re<strong>in</strong>forc<strong>in</strong>g band<br />
along the perimeter, mask-shaped, re<strong>in</strong>forced<br />
eye cutouts, a curved band of decoration above<br />
the brow, a tall riveted crest holder, and curved<br />
cheek pieces. Estimated at €10,000 each, these<br />
beautiful examples provoked a fierce bidd<strong>in</strong>g<br />
war that culm<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong> their be<strong>in</strong>g hammered<br />
down to a Russian collector for €77,000 each.<br />
Won for a slightly more conservative figure,<br />
and at the opposite end of the chronological<br />
spectrum, was a rare Late Roman iron helmet<br />
(Fig 13), 4 th /5 th century AD (H. 27.5cm).<br />
This was hotly contested and soared above its<br />
€12,500 estimate, eventually won by a German<br />
collector for €62,000.<br />
As fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g as these market statistics are,<br />
given the present economic difficulties <strong>in</strong> the<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational sphere, the sheer diversity of the<br />
Fig 13. Late Roman helmet. Iron, c.<br />
4 th /5 th century AD, H. 27.5cm. Sold<br />
for €62,000. Lot 67.<br />
Fig 14. Greek muscle armour and greaves. Bronze, 4 th century BC,<br />
H. 37.5 and 33.5cm (breast and back plate), H. 42cm (greaves). Sold for<br />
€23,000. Lot 356.<br />
material offered is at least of equal <strong>in</strong>terest.<br />
The vary<strong>in</strong>g morphology – from the earliest<br />
Illyrian helmets to the Italo-Cor<strong>in</strong>thian style,<br />
Chalcidian, Pilos, and Late Roman – demonstrates<br />
not only cross-cultural <strong>in</strong>fluences, but<br />
also how forms changed <strong>in</strong> response to tactical<br />
considerations over a span of more than ten<br />
centuries.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva will preview the next round of<br />
antiquities auctions <strong>in</strong> the autumn <strong>in</strong> London<br />
and Munich, and <strong>in</strong> the w<strong>in</strong>ter <strong>in</strong> New York.<br />
For further <strong>in</strong>formation: www.bonhams.com,<br />
www.christies.com, www.hermann-historica.com,<br />
www.sothebys.com. n<br />
Figs 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13 courtesy of<br />
Hermann Historica, Munich.<br />
Figs 4, 6, 8, 9, 14 © Moug<strong>in</strong>s Museum of<br />
Classical Art.<br />
Fig 1 courtesy of Christie’s.<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010 53
ookreviews<br />
AD 410 The Year that Shook Rome<br />
Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard<br />
British Museum Press, 2010<br />
184pp, 62 colour illus<br />
Paperback, £9.99<br />
Many dates <strong>in</strong> the history of the Roman Empire<br />
can be considered momentous, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g its<br />
apparent foundation <strong>in</strong> 753 BC, the assass<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
of Julius Caesar <strong>in</strong> 44 BC, the ascension<br />
of Augustus as first emperor <strong>in</strong> 27 BC, and the<br />
disastrous Battle of Adrianople <strong>in</strong> AD 378 – but<br />
none was symbolically more catastrophic than<br />
the sack of Rome <strong>in</strong> AD 410, the focal date of<br />
this engag<strong>in</strong>g book.<br />
There are several factors that make this an<br />
especially good read. Primarily, it pa<strong>in</strong>ts an<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g background picture of historical<br />
developments prior to 410, such as the adm<strong>in</strong>istrative<br />
reforms of Diocletian, the matur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of Christianity <strong>in</strong>to the religion of State, and<br />
the emerg<strong>in</strong>g barbarian menace of the Huns,<br />
Goths, and Vandals. The physical and cultural<br />
landscape of the Eternal City <strong>in</strong> the early 5 th<br />
century, a period often clouded by obscurity, is<br />
The Anatomy of Denmark: Archaeology and<br />
History from the Ice Age to the Present<br />
Klavs Randsborg<br />
Duckworth, 2009<br />
xii+175pp, b&w illus throughout<br />
Paperback, £14.99<br />
Klavs Randsborg, Professor of World<br />
Archaeology at the University of Copenhagen,<br />
has published on a wide variety of topics over<br />
the years. His latest book, The Anatomy of<br />
Denmark, br<strong>in</strong>gs him back to the history of his<br />
homeland. However, as Prof Randsborg clearly<br />
presented <strong>in</strong> an especially <strong>in</strong>formative manner.<br />
This has been largely achieved by scour<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
comprehensive range of historical texts, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Ammianus Marcell<strong>in</strong>us, Juvenal, Claudian<br />
and others, to present a rounded picture from<br />
vernacular build<strong>in</strong>gs and squalor, to monumental<br />
build<strong>in</strong>gs and villa and palace opulence.<br />
Perhaps the greatest strength of this book<br />
is the carefully orchestrated way <strong>in</strong> which the<br />
authors use primary sources. In turn, detailed<br />
historical portrayals of the lead<strong>in</strong>g players are<br />
another merit – the authors <strong>in</strong>clude Marcella,<br />
founder of the first convent <strong>in</strong> Church history;<br />
the successful campaigns of general Stilicho<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st the Goths; the pretensions of emperor<br />
Honorius; the ill-fated expedition of K<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Alaric to Africa; and Heraclian, commander<br />
of Africa, whose ruthless hand cut off Rome’s<br />
essential gra<strong>in</strong> supply.<br />
As one might expect given the topic of this<br />
publication, an especially good account is<br />
given of the sack of Rome on 24 August 410<br />
and its aftermath. It is extraord<strong>in</strong>ary to learn<br />
that, despite the time and money lavished by<br />
Honorius on strengthen<strong>in</strong>g the fortifications of<br />
sets out <strong>in</strong> the Preface, the <strong>in</strong>tention of his latest<br />
work is to present ‘the country’s development<br />
from a specific perspective, centered on archaeology<br />
and the man-made material world… the<br />
aim is to emphasize a specific perspective often<br />
overlooked <strong>in</strong> general histories based on the<br />
written word’. To a large extent, this approach is<br />
<strong>in</strong>evitable <strong>in</strong> a land <strong>in</strong> which literate clergymen<br />
arrived relatively late, and did not have a secure<br />
foothold until the mid 10 th century. Scholars<br />
have therefore been forced to rely heavily on<br />
material culture when analys<strong>in</strong>g earlier periods<br />
of Danish history. Based on evidence recovered<br />
from archaeology, Randsborg has divided the<br />
history of Denmark <strong>in</strong>to 15 major phases, start<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with the Late Palaeolithic hunters of the 13 th<br />
millennium, who visited Denmark <strong>in</strong> search of<br />
mammoth and other prey (not<strong>in</strong>g that there<br />
are archaeological traces of Neanderthal presence<br />
about 100,000 years ago), runn<strong>in</strong>g through<br />
to the globalised society <strong>in</strong> which the people of<br />
Denmark are now play<strong>in</strong>g a part.<br />
Fortunately, Denmark has a rich archaeological<br />
heritage. There are impressive megalithic<br />
monuments constructed by the Neolithic communities<br />
over the course of a thousand years follow<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the <strong>in</strong>troduction of farm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Denmark<br />
about 4000 BC. Large rune stones from the<br />
Vik<strong>in</strong>g Age also cover the country, the most<br />
famous of which stands on the site of the 10 th<br />
century royal palace of Jell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Jylland, and<br />
which declares Harald ‘Bluetooth’ Gormsson to<br />
have conquered all of Denmark and Norway, and<br />
also ‘made the Danes Christian’. Furthermore,<br />
the environment of Denmark is also conducive<br />
to conserv<strong>in</strong>g artefacts from the country’s prehistoric<br />
past. As Ransborg notes, ‘The Danish<br />
bogs and other wet environments, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Rome shortly before this event, someone simply<br />
let the Goths <strong>in</strong>. Two different accounts of<br />
the siege are presented through the lens of the<br />
historian Procopius. The first, <strong>in</strong>spired by the<br />
Trojan Horse, suggests that 300 Goth troops<br />
entered the city disguised as slaves and opened<br />
the gates; the second account blames Proba, a<br />
the cores of Bronze Age mounds, have been<br />
benign to the preservation of organic materials,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g human bodies, cloth<strong>in</strong>g, wagons and<br />
boats’ (p. 53). Complete sets of woolen cloth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
therefore survive <strong>in</strong> Early Bronze Age oak coff<strong>in</strong><br />
graves, Ransborg describ<strong>in</strong>g how ‘the men wear<br />
a coat or lo<strong>in</strong>cloth and a large mantle; on their<br />
head they have either a soft pixie-cap or a thick<br />
helmet-like hat… The women all wear a sort of<br />
“T-shirt” with sleeves to below the elbows… On<br />
their head they may have a bonnet, on their feet<br />
leather shoes’ (p. 23). The remarkable preservation<br />
of Danish artefacts cont<strong>in</strong>ues <strong>in</strong>to later<br />
periods, and deposits of military equipment<br />
dat<strong>in</strong>g to AD 250–700 provide not only weapons<br />
and other items of war, but rema<strong>in</strong>s of some<br />
of the world’s oldest trousers. The bog-bodies of<br />
Tollund Man (c. 400 BC) and Grauballe Man (c.<br />
300 BC) also preserve the physical appearance<br />
of Iron Age people. The bogs of Denmark have<br />
also preserved precious metal treasures, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the famous Gundestrup silver cauldron<br />
probably dat<strong>in</strong>g to the 1 st century BC.<br />
Cover<strong>in</strong>g such a vast swathe of time over little<br />
more than 150 pages necessarily leads to many<br />
topics be<strong>in</strong>g provided with only a cursory mention.<br />
This is partly addressed by Part III of the<br />
book, which is given over to specific case studies.<br />
These look <strong>in</strong> detail at aspects of Danish<br />
history and archaeology, such as Bronze Age<br />
cosmology, and artefacts such as the model of a<br />
sun chariot dat<strong>in</strong>g to the 14 th century BC, found<br />
<strong>in</strong> Trundholm Bog on Sjælland, which tells us of<br />
sun worship at this time (p. 121). There is also<br />
a short section describ<strong>in</strong>g the 4 th century BC<br />
canoe and weapon deposit found at Hjortspr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
on the island of Als. This sea-go<strong>in</strong>g craft was<br />
capable of carry<strong>in</strong>g more than 20 paddlers and<br />
58 M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010
ich matriarch of the Anicii family, who was disillusioned<br />
by the starv<strong>in</strong>g masses and ordered<br />
her servants to open the gates.<br />
If the reader was <strong>in</strong> any doubt about the status<br />
of Rome <strong>in</strong> this period, this book places it <strong>in</strong><br />
lucid perspective. Although the city was no longer<br />
the focus of imperial power <strong>in</strong> the Western<br />
Empire – this had of course been devolved to<br />
a series of temporary capitals <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Trier,<br />
Milan, Ravenna, and Sirmium – Rome symbolically<br />
and politically rema<strong>in</strong>ed the Capital of the<br />
World.<br />
This is a highly recommended and accessible<br />
book, well produced with soft fold-<strong>in</strong> covers<br />
and good colour images. There also three very<br />
good maps (pp. 179, 180–1): a plan of Rome at<br />
the time of 410, and geographical movements of<br />
barbarians <strong>in</strong> Europe up to 395 and from 395–<br />
415. A prelim<strong>in</strong>ary section gives a brief ‘who’s<br />
who’ (pp. 8–9) and the key figures are summarised<br />
<strong>in</strong> more detail towards the end of the<br />
publication (pp. 153–62). F<strong>in</strong>ally, a concise and<br />
useful account is given of the primary historical<br />
texts and their authors (pp. 163–8).<br />
Dr Mark Merrony<br />
other crew, while replicas of the canoe <strong>in</strong>dicate<br />
it could have covered 100–150km a day. Spears,<br />
shields and swords found <strong>in</strong> the deposit suggest<br />
the lightly constructed craft was used by raid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
parties, cruis<strong>in</strong>g the sea-lanes that connected<br />
the numerous islands of Denmark (p. 124–26).<br />
These studies carry on <strong>in</strong>to the modern period,<br />
with descriptions of Denmark’s struggles<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st the British <strong>in</strong> the first two decades of the<br />
1800s; war with Prussia over Slesvig-Holste<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
the mid 19 th century, and the years of German<br />
occupation dur<strong>in</strong>g World War II.<br />
Important periods <strong>in</strong> Danish history are,<br />
however, treated with excessive brevity. For<br />
example, the Vik<strong>in</strong>g Age conquests made by<br />
Danish k<strong>in</strong>gs like Cnute (r. 1018–1035), and<br />
the vast territorial possessions which <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />
Norway and England as well as Denmark which<br />
he handed on to his son Harthacnute (r. 1035–<br />
1042) are mentioned <strong>in</strong> just a handful of l<strong>in</strong>es.<br />
While the history and archaeology of other<br />
Scand<strong>in</strong>avian countries, let alone that of Brita<strong>in</strong>,<br />
is outside the remit of this book, a little additional<br />
detail on the <strong>in</strong>ternational connections<br />
that bound Denmark to cont<strong>in</strong>ental Europe to<br />
the south, Scand<strong>in</strong>avia to the north, and the<br />
seaways which allowed trade and conquest<br />
with lands border<strong>in</strong>g the Atlantic to the west,<br />
or those that could be reached along the river<br />
systems which emptied <strong>in</strong>to the Baltic from the<br />
east, would have been welcome. Nonetheless,<br />
despite its compressed nature, The Anatomy of<br />
Denmark provides a useful <strong>in</strong>troduction to the<br />
country’s rich and varied archaeology, while<br />
the bibliography provides a useful resource for<br />
readers wish<strong>in</strong>g to look <strong>in</strong> greater detail at some<br />
of the periods covered <strong>in</strong> this book.<br />
James Beresford<br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva September/October 2010<br />
Scientific Investigation of Copies, Fakes and<br />
Forgeries<br />
Paul Craddock<br />
Butterworth-He<strong>in</strong>emann, Elsevier, 2009<br />
xii+628pp. colour and b/w illus<br />
Hardback, US$200, £100<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ally, the first encyclopedic and scientific<br />
work on the subject of forgeries has been<br />
undertaken by one of the outstand<strong>in</strong>g researchers<br />
<strong>in</strong> this fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g field. Dr Craddock, for<br />
many years a materials scientist <strong>in</strong> the British<br />
Museum Department of Conservation and<br />
Scientific Research, is a specialist <strong>in</strong> bronze<br />
metallurgy, but also did many authenticity<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestigations for the museum, f<strong>in</strong>ally retir<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2005. He assisted <strong>in</strong> organis<strong>in</strong>g the museum’s<br />
1990 exhibition ‘Fake?’, lead<strong>in</strong>g him to a serious<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the subject of authenticity, especially<br />
the scientific detection of fakes and forgeries.<br />
This resulted <strong>in</strong> the present magnum opus,<br />
which has no counterpart as a serious reference<br />
book on the technologies <strong>in</strong>volved both <strong>in</strong> produc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
fakes or forgeries, and <strong>in</strong> their scientific<br />
detection.<br />
The first chapters are devoted to the exam<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
of art objects – us<strong>in</strong>g microscopy, radiography,<br />
other non-destructive techniques<br />
such as <strong>in</strong>fra-red and ultra-violet light, and the<br />
evidence of wear. Physical analytical techniques<br />
are discussed <strong>in</strong> great detail <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g emission<br />
spectrography, X-ray fluorescence, neutron<br />
activation analysis, mass spectrometry,<br />
X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy<br />
and microscopy, <strong>in</strong>fra-red spectroscopy<br />
and chromatography – all expla<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> a manner<br />
sufficiently clear for even the nonprofessional<br />
to basically comprehend. Then methods<br />
of copy<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> three dimensions such as mould<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g (now replaced by digital scann<strong>in</strong>g)<br />
and electroform<strong>in</strong>g are followed by 50<br />
pages devoted to an up-to-date and thorough<br />
review of the physical techniques of dat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
such as radiocarbon, thermolum<strong>in</strong>escence and<br />
dendrochronology.<br />
Virtually every possible type of material is<br />
discussed: metalwork and co<strong>in</strong>s, the pat<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
of copper and its alloys, ceramics, faience,<br />
glass and enamels, stone, gold and silver, jewellery,<br />
gems, organic materials, natural and synthetic<br />
materials, pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, and paper. Strangely,<br />
there is no discussion of the bountiful Egyptian<br />
faience forgeries, especially the deceptive 19 th<br />
Dynasty forgeries that have entered the market<br />
<strong>in</strong> recent years, or even of Egyptian faience<br />
itself, except for a brief def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g paragraph without<br />
any references or mention of forgery. There<br />
is an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g section on the problems of<br />
conservation and deceptive restoration. Every<br />
subsection is accompanied by specific general<br />
references <strong>in</strong> addition to the ever-present references<br />
with<strong>in</strong> the text.<br />
There are a large number of fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g case<br />
studies of <strong>in</strong>dividual works of art, primarily<br />
antiquities. The Glozel forgeries, the Jüngl<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from Magdalensberg, the Tur<strong>in</strong> Shroud dat<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
and the V<strong>in</strong>land Map are all treated at length.<br />
While the scientific studies dat<strong>in</strong>g the l<strong>in</strong>en cloth<br />
of the Shroud of Tur<strong>in</strong> conclusively date it to the<br />
14 th century, there is a considerable amount of<br />
controversy as to how the image was formed.<br />
Even supernatural causes are discussed, such as<br />
the resurrected body emitt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tense pulses of<br />
light, ion discharge, or X-rays transferr<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
image of the body to the cloth and <strong>in</strong> the process<br />
also affect<strong>in</strong>g the Carbon 14 <strong>in</strong> the l<strong>in</strong>en<br />
to test for an age of only 650 years rather than<br />
2000 years (see M<strong>in</strong>erva, July/August, 2010,<br />
pp. 42–44). Also <strong>in</strong>cluded are the Hacilar ceramics,<br />
the Metropolitan Museum’s Etruscan warriors,<br />
the Getty Kouros, the Boston Throne (but<br />
not <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the reviewer’s extensive study <strong>in</strong><br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva on this and the Ludovisi Throne; the<br />
Ludovisi is not even mentioned), the Risley lanx,<br />
and the notorious ‘Precolumbian’ crystal skulls.<br />
There is a separate and fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g chapter – 25<br />
pages – on Charles Dawson and his Piltdown<br />
Man. It also <strong>in</strong>cludes a study of Dawson’s littleknown<br />
Beauport Park iron figur<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
The book abounds <strong>in</strong> charts and results of<br />
scientific analyses. For example, 14 pages are<br />
devoted to some of the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal synthetic pigments<br />
and the dates, where known, of their discovery,<br />
commercial production, and first use.<br />
There is an enormous 50-page bibliography –<br />
nearly 2000 books and articles – even <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
several references to articles published <strong>in</strong><br />
M<strong>in</strong>erva such as the reviewer’s ‘The Aesthetics<br />
of the Forger’. There is a well organised and very<br />
detailed 34-page <strong>in</strong>dex. This publication will<br />
prove to be <strong>in</strong>dispensable to conservators, curators,<br />
art historians, collectors, dealers, scientists<br />
<strong>in</strong> the many fields covered, and, of course, those<br />
<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>vestigation of art forgery.<br />
Hopefully it will be issued <strong>in</strong> a paperback<br />
version so that it will be more affordable <strong>in</strong> the<br />
future, especially to students.<br />
Dr Jerome M. Eisenberg<br />
59