Fine article on the excavations at Gath

[Minimalist]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/amer...story.html

This avoids much of the hype normally associated with archaeology in Israel and will still manage to burn the asses of fundie morons.

Gath’s importance is that the “wonderful assemblage of material culture” uncovered there sheds light on how the Philistines lived in the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., said Seymour Gitin, director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and an expert on the Philistines.

That would include the era of the kingdom ruled from Jerusalem by David and Solomon, if such a kingdom existed as described in the Bible. Other Philistine sites have provided archaeologists with information about earlier and later times but not much from that key period.

[Shell B]

This is really interesting.

Diggers at Gath have also uncovered traces of a destruction of the city in the 9th century B.C., including a ditch and embankment built around the city by a besieging army — still visible as a dark line running across the surrounding hills.

Forgive me if this has been mentioned here, but did you read about the Egyptian pyramids they found from space? I know it is old news, but I haven't really come across much discussion about it. I do tend to miss a lot of threads here.

http://news.discovery.com/history/pyrami...10526.html

[Minimalist]

Zahi Hawass commented years ago that, in his opinion, 70% of the ruins of ancient Egypt were still buried under the sands. Partly this is due to the fact that the Nile has altered its course on occasion and areas which were important in antiquity are now off the beaten track.

The concept is not new: the city of Ubar was found using satellite photos in the Arabian desert and in Central America it has been used to pierce the jungle canopy looking for Mayan ruins. Even fundies waste their time looking for Noah's fucking ark with satellite photos.

To be sure this helps in identifying sites but one still needs to go in with a trained archaeological team to see what exactly it is. Detecting anomalies is one thing but until you dig down there you really don't know if it is a mastaba or a British Army Quonset hut from 1942. And, if you do find an archaeologically important site then you have to be ready to incur the costs of excavation and conservation and Egypt may not be in a position to do that at the moment. So, it is a useful tool to avoid wasting time but it doesn't tell us much about a site by itself.

[Shell B]

Zahi Hawass commented years ago that, in his opinion, 70% of the ruins of ancient Egypt were still buried under the sands. Partly this is due to the fact that the Nile has altered its course on occasion and areas which were important in antiquity are now off the beaten track.

I think he is absolutely correct. There is also the fact that shifting desert sands aren't exactly good at keeping things in sight. I'm sure many amazing finds have yet to come.

On an off-topic side note, I spoke to Zahi Hawass via email last year about a proposed interview with him. We exchanged a few emails so far, but the man takes nearly six months in between to respond, as he is obviously very busy. I read a lot of pseudo-archaeologists' crap on how he is such a big bully and won't believe their nonsense. I found him to be very polite and interested in sharing Egyptian history with the world. It is funny how butthurt people can get when someone disagrees with them.

The concept is not new: the city of Ubar was found using satellite photos in the Arabian desert and in Central America it has been used to pierce the jungle canopy looking for Mayan ruins. Even fundies waste their time looking for Noah's fucking ark with satellite photos.

No, the concept is not new. However, I think more fascination lies in Egyptian tombs and pyramids because of the tomb of King Tut. People think Egyptian ruins must have gold in them. A lot of the time, that is true. The problem is, recouping excavation loss by selling off Egyptian artifacts is uncool.

To be sure this helps in identifying sites but one still needs to go in with a trained archaeological team to see what exactly it is. Detecting anomalies is one thing but until you dig down there you really don't know if it is a mastaba or a British Army Quonset hut from 1942. And, if you do find an archaeologically important site then you have to be ready to incur the costs of excavation and conservation and Egypt may not be in a position to do that at the moment. So, it is a useful tool to avoid wasting time but it doesn't tell us much about a site by itself.

Yes, you have to be able to fund a dig with the right people. If I am not mistaken, Egypt isn't too keen on having teams from other countries excavate there, so there is little hope that these sites will be explored until Egypt does it. I could be wrong, but I do remember reading that there is, at least, too much red tape to bother.

[Minimalist]

Hawass' problem is that he isn't just an archaeologist - he is also Defender of the Faith in a way. His job is to tie ancient Egypt to modern Egypt. When you consider how many times Egypt has been overrun by so many different cultures since the New Kingdom his position becomes somewhat absurd. I recall him reacting angrily to Robert Schoch's geologically based position that the Sphinx was built thousands of years earlier than the 4th Dynasty. Hawass was literally screaming that "the Sphinx is the soul of Egypt!" So what? No matter who built it it is still sitting a stone's throw from the Nile and is still a major tourist attraction. People who come to see it don't care if it was built by 4th Dynasty Egyptians but he seems to feel the need to give them a nice, coherent, story.... kind of like what bible-thumpers do.


Yeah....people like gold. It's shiny!


Your last point is not true at all, though. There are French, German, British, Polish, American, even Austrian ( Manfred Bietak has been working at Avaris for a generation ) teams. They all operate under agreement with the Antiquities Department. Even the crazy Simcha Jacobovici got permission to film at archaeological sites in Egypt and he's an Orthodox Jew.

[Shell B]

Hawass' problem is that he isn't just an archaeologist - he is also Defender of the Faith in a way. His job is to tie ancient Egypt to modern Egypt. When you consider how many times Egypt has been overrun by so many different cultures since the New Kingdom his position becomes somewhat absurd. I recall him reacting angrily to Robert Schoch's geologically based position that the Sphinx was built thousands of years earlier than the 4th Dynasty. Hawass was literally screaming that "the Sphinx is the soul of Egypt!" So what? No matter who built it it is still sitting a stone's throw from the Nile and is still a major tourist attraction. People who come to see it don't care if it was built by 4th Dynasty Egyptians but he seems to feel the need to give them a nice, coherent, story.... kind of like what bible-thumpers do.

Good point. He is very fanatical.

As cool as the Sphinx is, I have to say he was wrong on that. There are many more interesting things in Egypt. Luxor (Thebes) comes to mind.

Your last point is not true at all, though. There are French, German, British, Polish, American, even Austrian ( Manfred Bietak has been working at Avaris for a generation ) teams. They all operate under agreement with the Antiquities Department. Even the crazy Simcha Jacobovici got permission to film at archaeological sites in Egypt and he's an Orthodox Jew.

See, that's why I said, "If I'm not mistaken." I could have read that in one of those pseudo archaeology articles I'm often reading for mystery articles. Unfortunately, you pick up tidbits of bullshit when you spend too much time on the internet.

[Minimalist]

I think someone is doing some sort of 3D visualization on Luxor. Not sure if its finished yet.

[Shell B]

I think someone is doing some sort of 3D visualization on Luxor. Not sure if its finished yet.

I would love to actually go there, but I'm a New Englander. Heat is not my thing. I handled it in Mexico and Jamaica for the pure fact that I was shitfaced the whole time I was there.

[Minimalist]

http://www.discoveringegypt.com/luxorpylon1.htm


Here you go. Some interesting stuff.


Much like Arizona, Egypt is a dry heat. You can feel the moisture being sucked right out of your body!

[Shell B]

http://www.discoveringegypt.com/luxorpylon1.htm


Here you go. Some interesting stuff.


Much like Arizona, Egypt is a dry heat. You can feel the moisture being sucked right out of your body!

I'm going to check it now. Thanks, Min!

Ugh, just the thought of it makes me feel like not moving. I get a headache when I go to the beach in Mass. I can only imagine what a week in Egypt would do to me. I would probably bring a camelbak.