Month: August 2013

Latest on the Search for Cleopatra’s Tomb (2013)

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Brief item from Dominican Today … probably not surprising:

The ongoing crisis in Egypt could affect Dominican archeologist Kathleen Martínez’s search for Cleopatra and her lover, the Roman general Mark Anthony.

Martínez said that all government offices in Egypt are practically closed, and she is waiting for a renewal of her permit to continue excavation work.

“At present there is no quorum for the Permanent Supreme Council of Antiquities to meet; it is made up of about 100 university professors and right now they have other priorities, like how to prevent museums from being looted”, she said.

Nonetheless, she is hopeful to be able to renew her search, due to start in mid October or November, continuing until April or May. Martínez said she was not too worried yet because the excavation work is scheduled for October.

If you’re interested in following the whole story, you can work back from our similarly-titled piece last year: Latest in the Search for Cleopatra’s Tomb . Near as I have been able to find out, nothing has gone on dig-wise for a year, but as stated above, that’s probably not surprising, given the ongoing events in Egypt.

Follow Up: Antony and Cleopatra Coin from Bethsaida

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned a report about a nice Antony and Cleopatra coin which had been found at Bethsaida last year (Antony + Cleopatra Coin from Bethsaida!). The article wasn’t accompanied by a photo, but the ‘official photographer’, Hanan Shafir kindly did send one to me with permission to post it:

Photo by Hanan Shafir
Photo by Hanan Shafir

We stress that the coin was found last year, as the photographer confirms, and not this year, as stated in Simcha Jacobovici’s coverage of the find which includes the same photo (Ancient Lovers’ Coin).

Macedonians in China? Yeah, about that …

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

We’ll preface this by noting it’s written by the same author who spread the misinformation about Amphipolis for the Greek Reporter:

In antiquity when the Ancient Greeks and Romans referred to the Chinese they used to call them by the Latin name Sinae, which the Chinese have kept until today (China). The greatest proof is the fact that the most important monument of China is known worldwide as the Great Sinic Wall.

Throughout the years, among other archaeological findings discovered in China, there is the Sampul tapestry, a woolen wall-hanging which depicts a soldier, probably Greek, and a Centaur. Moreover, there are also statues of Greek soldiers of the 3rd century B.C. Several statuettes and representations of Greek soldiers have been found north of Tien Shan. The above are both displayed in the Xinjiang Museum, Urumqi, China.

Moving on, today we know that the Chinese pyramids are in fact tombs-mausoleums, internationally known as tumulus mounds. But only ancient Macedonians used to build tombs for their kings. The existence of such sacred monuments in the “forbidden zone”, means that the local emperors of the time actually followed the sacred “road” chosen or suggested by the Macedonians, apparently soldiers of Alexander the Great, who did not wish to go their way back.They even adopted the same magnificent Macedonian way for burying their kings.

So far there have been at least 12 ancient Greek cities unearthed in China. That is the real reason why the Chinese government, dissatisfied, decided to put an end to all these archaeological missions.

However, since 1980 the ongoing archaeological interest around China once again pushed a group of both Chinese and Japanese researchers to begin searching for the rumored lost Kashgar Old city.

But it was in 1993, when an archaeological discovery really shook the historic waters. An ancient Greek civilization was revealed in the Chinese city of Niya in Taklamakan. Within the ruins, archaeologists found iron axes and sickles, wooden clubs, pottery urns and jars in the homes, coins bronze mirrors, rings and other possessions that were all of Greek origin.

Furthermore, all eight mummies and skeletons that were found had blonde and brown hair (European characteristics and not Chinese) along with other Greek features.

So, from all the above the following question is now raised: Since Alexander the Great officially reached the Ganges River, how on earth were Greek cities discovered beyond it in China?

Just some food for thought as it probably seems that history should be rewritten…

Wow … just wow. We should note that much of this seems to derive from the finds associated with the find of Chercen Man ages ago (see, e.g., Celtic Mummies in China) and the mysterious Yingpan Man (Yingpan Man), both of whom (along with others) were determined to be of Celtic ancestry DNA-wise, as far as I’m aware. Whatever the case, it seems Greek Reporter has someone covering the archaeology beat with a, shall we say, less-than-archaeological agenda.

Alexander the Great Tomb in Amphipolis? Yeah … about that

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 9 Comments

This is another one of those mind bogglers which I don’t really understand … Back on August 21, a typically vague and brief item appeared in Greek Reporter:

A group of archaeologists in Amphipolis, a municipality in Serres, claim to have made one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever, as they believe they have uncovered the tomb of Alexander the Great.

They said the tomb has a circumference of 498 meters, an artwork of perfection would only be built for a king.

Th masterpiece is externally covered with high quality exquisitely-carved marble, a remarkable feat given the tools available at the time.

The tomb once was covered with soil and topped with a lion, the one that has been reassembled further uphill and known as the Lion of Amphipolis which was found by Greek soldiers in 1912.

… which struck me as odd, especially given that none of the archaeologists involved were named, or even quoted. It struck me as odd especially because back in October, when this find was actually initially announced, there were plenty of names and quotes (see, e.g., Roxane’s Tomb?). In March, there were more developments and video coverage (Roxane’s Tomb Redux … click on the links therein as well for Dorothy King’s comments). In any event, because of this it wasn’t surprising to read an AP/Washington Post piece within a few hours suggesting it was ‘too early to tell’ … an excerpt:

[…] A Culture Ministry statement Thursday said the partly-excavated mound has yielded a “very remarkable” marble-faced wall from the late 4th century B.C. It is an impressive 500 meters (yards) long and three meters high.

But the ministry warned it would be “overbold” to link the site near ancient Amphipolis, 370 miles (600 kilometers) north of Athens, with “historic personages” before the excavation is completed. […]

It’s worth noting that the info in the Washington Post piece is essentially the same (in that it really adds nothing) to the info we read back in October (including the name of the archaeologist who seems to be heading the dig (Aikaterini Peristeri). Again, though, it’s probably not surprising that we had the Greek Reporter (via  a different author), trying to do some face saving:

On Aug. 22, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports published an announcement on its official website about the way the media handled the recent excavation of a big built precinct of the 4th century B.C. in Kasta near Amphipolis, in the Serres regional unit of Greece.

As many Greek websites rushed to link the monument that was discovered to the long-sought tomb of warrior-king Alexander the Great, the Culture Ministry and in particular the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage felt it had to calm things down.

“The finding of Amphipolis is certainly very important, but before the excavation proceeds, any interpretation and mainly any identification with historical figures lacks scientific justification and is too risky,” the Ministry announced.

However, the Ministry admitted that the discovery of the marble-faced wall from the late 4th century B.C., 500 meters long and three meters high, is indeed very remarkable and of high archaeological importance.

I really can’t tell, but one suspects Enet (another English-language Greek newspaper) took great joy in posting only: Mound fuels heady speculation about Alexander the Great. Ditto for Kathimerini: Ministry warns against speculation that Alexander the Great’s grave has been found. Turkish Weekly is probably in the same boat: Greece: too early to say whether grave of Alexander the Great found.

So you’d think that would be the end of it and most people who read this blog are shaking their collective heads muttering things about Ptolemy and Alexandria. But nooooo … we read the International Business Times, which includes this bit, inter alia:

Lead archaeologist Aikaterini Peristeri said the grave could contain a “significant individual” or individuals, hinting at the possibility that the remains of Alexander and his wife Roxanne, as well as his young successor, are inside the tomb. […]

“Hinting”? Really? Didn’t know ‘hinting’ was the equivalent of a journalistic source. The ‘significant individual’ thing was made back in October. Speculation about others (including Roxane) was being made by municipal politician types.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mailhas been even more creative in its cutting and pasting of things written elsewhere, again, inter alia:

Site archaeologist Aikaterini Peristeri has voiced hopes of finding ‘a significant individual or individuals’ within.

A Culture Ministry statement has enthused that the archaeologists have partly excavated a mound that has yielded a ‘very remarkable’ marble-faced wall from the late 4th century BC.

Experts believe the ancient artificial mound could contain the remains of the king, or is at least an important royal Macedonian grave. […]

MSN then takes things to their illogical conclusion and cites the Daily Mail as the source for its brief item:

If found, the tomb of Alexander the Great would be one of the world’s greatest treasures. Now, archaeologists think they may have found it — not in Egypt, as long believed, but in Greece, around 400 miles north of Athens in the ancient city of Amphipolis. There researchers discovered “an impressive wall,” lined with marble, that might shield a “royal grave” for the 4th-century BC warrior king, whose distinctions include creating one of the biggest empires the world has ever seen. Alexander died young, perhaps at 32, after becoming ill or being poisoned

In short (or TL:DR), no archaeologist has actually made any suggestion that Alexander the Great might be buried in this mound. The only coverage where archaeologists have actually said anything comes back in October and then in March. All this speculation seems to have been made by some reporter at Greek Reporter with too much time on his hands who probably was chatting with some business folks in Serres who are trying to get some tourist bucks while the Culture Ministry was quick to try to bring some sanity back. Sadly, however, other news outlets ran-with-scissors-like to make this into the silliness we’ve witnessed these past few days and, no doubt, will see more in the next few.

By the way, if you’re new to this Alexander Tomb business, you might want to check out some of our previous posts:

… I could give more, but you get the idea. I’ll just sit here and let my mind boggle a bit more …