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Posts tagged ‘archaeology’

Aug 28

Urn display, Bodrum

Underwater Archaeology Museum

Urn display, Bodrum

Amphora display showing how containers were set upright into the ship’s hull and lashed together

Over the last 4000 years, small ships have darted throughout the Eastern Mediterranean with oil, olives, wine, raw metals and other trading goods.  Since most of these early vessels were not particularly sophisticated, the waters around Turkey are littered with shipwrecks.  After a tip from local sponge divers in the 1960s, the first underwater archaeology excavations were begun along the Bodrum coast.  A lot of these findings can be seen today in the Museum of Underwater Archaeology housed in the 14th century Bodrum Castle.

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Jul 25

Tetrapylon detail - Aphrodisias, Turkey
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You Must See Aphrodisias, Turkey

Everyone knows Ephesus and its iconic library.  Maybe you even know Troy or Alexander the Great’s Pergamon.  These are wonderful archaeological sites, but if you are in Turkey and love classical ruins, you absolutely have to visit Aphrodisias.  A mere side-note in most guidebooks, I found that Aphrodisias had some of the most impressive architectural and sculptural pieces in Turkey and was completely devoid of tourists when we visited.

Western Turkey archaeology map

Major archaeological sites in central western Turkey: Aphrodisias (A), Pamukkale/Hierapolis (P) and Ephesus (E)   (Adapted from Google)

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Jun 14

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul
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Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul

Basilica Cistern entrance view, Istanbul (Photo: Daydream Tourist)

How does a city surrounded by the ocean get enough fresh water to support a population of nearly half a million people?  The answer for Byzantine Emperors Constantine and Justinian I was a 19km aqueduct that emptied into a massive reservoir beneath Constantinople.  Today you can visit the Basilica Cistern; the entrance is about a block away from the Hagia Sophia.  The cavernous pool is cool, dimly lit and a quiet retreat from the tourist commotion above.  I thought it was incredibly beautiful and peaceful and spent about an hour very slowly wandering through it.

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Jun 6

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Back from Turkey

Aphrodisias Agora theater frieze, Turkey, ancient Roman

Aphrodisias Agora theater frieze (Photo: Daydream Tourist)

I just returned from two incredible weeks in Turkey!  I’m still processing the experience and my impressions of the country.  But on a more practical matter, I’ve only just started looking at my 1300 photographs!

I’ll start with a detail from the Agora at Aphrodisias.  The ancient Roman market there was encircled with this Theater Frieze depicting known mythological characters and dramatic masks linked with a floral and fruit garland.  The blocks are stacked near the entrance to the site forming a wall of quirky and unique faces.  Aphrodisias itself was one of the most impressive archaeological sites I have ever seen and we had it almost completely to ourselves.

Nov 21

Help Transcribe an Ancient Text Online

So, how is your Ancient Greek?

Greek papyrusIf you can recognize shapes, then you can help researchers transcribe 500,000 papyri fragments as part of the Ancient Lives Project.  In 1897, two British researchers began excavating the remnants of a Greco-Roman city in Egypt known as Oxrhynchus or ‘City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish’.  What resulted from the dig was a treasury of texts which have yet to be completely translated.

To expedite the process, the papyri have been scanned and are presented on-line so that the greater internet world can help transcribe the pieces.  Through an easy user interface, you are presented a fragment and need to identify letters with the help of an ancient alphabet at the bottom of the screen.  The Ancient Lives project is sponsored by several organizations: Oxford Papyrologists and Researchers, The Imaging Papyri Project, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project, the Egypt Exploration Society, Citizen Science Alliance, the University of Oxford and the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

I’ve done about a dozen fragments myself which was pretty cool.  How often does 5-10minutes of down time turn into an archaeological project?  Enjoy!

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