Ancient manuscript returns home to Greek monastery on Mount Athos

The Getty Museum is returning a 12th century illuminated New Testament to the Monastery of Dionysiou on Greece's Mount Athos after it came to light that it had been illegally removed from the monastery more than 50 years ago.

The treasured manuscript is currently being displayed at the Getty Center in Brentwood as part of the exhibition "Heaven and Earth: Byzantine Illumination at the Cultural Crossroad" and will be returned at its conclusion in June. The exhibition features ancient texts and works of art belonging to the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453 AD), which was greatly admired for its courtly splendour and rich visual arts. Inspired by the legacy of Greco–Roman antiquity, Byzantine manuscript painters in Greece and Asia Minor are noted for their prominent use of gold, a striking sense of naturalism, and a distinctive spiritual character.

Officials at Getty said that the museum acquired the manuscript in 1983 as part of a "large, well-documented" collection and were unaware of its illegal status. However, during research into the manuscript conducted alongside the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, a 1960 monastery record was discovered, which indicated that the book had been illegally removed.

"Based on new information that came to light through this process, the museum decided that the right course of action was to return the manuscript to the Holy Monastery of Dionysiou from which it disappeared over 50 years ago," said Timothy Potts, director of Getty Museum. 

The Dionysiou Monastery,

Founded in the fourteenth century by St. Dionysios of Koreseos, the Dionysiou Monastery is one of the twenty monasteries located on the peninsula of Mount Athos in north-eastern Greece.  Mount Athos, also known as “Holy Mountains” is a World Heritage Site and an autonomous polity in the Hellenic Republic. According to legend, Mount Athos was formed when Athos, the name of one of the Gigantes that challenged the Greek gods during the Gigantomachia, threw a massive rock against Poseidon which feel in the Aegean Sea. It is believed that monks have inhabited the island since the 3rd century AD.

Upon its return, the 12th century New Testament will join the well-organised monastery library, which includes 804 codices, more than 5,000 old printed books, and an illuminated Gospel from the 13th century. 

Source: AO

Do the ancient stone walls of Saksaywaman in Peru contain hidden communication?

Lying on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco in Peru, lies the remarkable walled complex of Saksaywaman (Sacsayhuaman), believed to have been built by the Inca. The site is famous for its remarkable large dry stone walls with boulders carefully cut to fit together tightly without mortar, displaying a precision of fitting that is unmatched in the Americas. This, combined with the variety of interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward has puzzled scientists for decades. But there is another puzzle hidden in the stones of Saksaywaman – the angles of the stones, according to researcher Dr Derek Cunningham, correspond to astronomical alignments.

Dr Cunningham, author of ‘400,000 Years of Stone Age Science’, has put forward a theory that ancient civilizations developed writing from a very archaic geometrical form that is based on the study of the motion of the moon and the sun. According to his hypothesis, astronomical values considered central to the prediction of eclipses, are converted into angular values. In total, there are approximately 9 standard values which Dr Cunningham has identified in a large number of ancient drawings, with a small number of secondary values that are occasionally seen in regional art. Some examples, include the Stonehenge lozenge, the Kharga Oasis Spider, and religious statues from Cyprus.

Now he has discovered the same values are present in the construction of the Saksaywaman stone wall.

The most important of these astronomical values is the sidereal month, which is drawn in early astronomical texts as an angular value at either 13.66 or 27.32 degrees to represent the half and full month values. After the sidereal month value is known it is then a simple matter for astronomers to calculate that the earth is moving approximately 1 degree per day around the sun, and through more careful observations to deduce there is an eclipse season every 6.511 draconic months, this being a time period a time period equivalent to 6 synodic months. Other parameters important for predicting eclipses are the 5.1 degree angle of inclination of the moon’s orbit, and the 9.3/18.6 year lunar nutation cycle. Finally a value of 11 degrees is found on many early Stone Age artefacts, which corresponds to the 11 day difference between the lunar and solar year. 

Arrangement of stones in a wall at Saksaywaman. Astronomical values can be found in the form of an angular array, offset to either above or below the horizontal, or the right or left of the vertical. Photo credit: Derek Cunningham

The astronomical values are also represented in the layout of the walls when viewed from above. 

Astronomical values can be observed in the overhead layout of Saksaywaman. Photo credit: Derek Cunningham 

Despite the theory being developed only recently, to date many sites now show a striking ability to align to the exact same angular values. This includes the causeways located in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, as well as the lines making up the body of the Atacama Giant. As Dr Cunningham notes, it is impossible to yet verify that the theory is correct, because many images of important artefacts are distorted during uploading to the internet, and satellite images cannot replace direct ground studies, but so far the results are incredibly consistent, and can even be seen in artifacts dating back tens of thousands of years.

“The potential of the idea to explain some things about so many sites from the pyramids of Egypt to the Atacama Giant in Chile is obviously very controversial, and it should be,” said Dr Cunningham in an article on Popular Archaeology. “But if correct, it could rewrite some aspects of our understanding of not only the Stone Age but also world history. If, on the other hand, scholars prove this specific astronomical theory wrong, then we can move on, knowing that it has been sufficiently tested. What is most intriguing is that a complete new window may have been opened into the past." 

Source: AO

Accidental Discovery of 8,000-Year-Old Settlements and Necropolis in Greece

An impressive discovery of ancient lacustrine settlements and a huge necropolis, dating back as early as 8,000 years ago, has been brought to light by an archaeological excavation in the area between the villages of St. Panteleimon, Anargyros Amyntaiou, and Vegora Philotas in Greece. 

Although excavations took place in the region more than a century ago, in 1898, by the Russian Institute of Constantinople, nothing was ever reported or announced and excavations stopped for more than 100 years.  In 2001, excavations resumed in the area due to lignite mining operations by the Greek Electricity company, leading to the accidental discovery of the ruins by a group of workers.  Since then, an incredible 54 ancient settlements have been discovered with 24 discovered in the last two years alone.  The details of the findings have just been reported by an archaeological representative of the Government. 

The discoveries include the remains of numerous rectangular buildings, measuring 4x6 metres and oriented southeast to southwest, arranged in ‘neighbourhoods’ of 4 to 6 buildings in each.  The floors of the buildings were constructed with successive layers of clay resting on wooden beams. Some of the larger buildings consisted of two levels with a balcony on the second floor, demonstrating remarkably advanced architecture for the period between 6,000 BC and 3,000 BC.  Inside the buildings, archaeologists have found the remains of fireplaces, which would probably have been used for both heating and cooking. In order to avoid flooding they had created fortifications to protect the settlements. Each house was raised on layers of clay to avoid water gathering beneath.

Many tools, pottery, various jewellery and clay figurines were found including anthropomorphic and zoomorphic representations. One of the most impressive artifacts was a chair with legs (as opposed to a seat with a solid base), which until now had only been found in Greece dating back to the 6th century BC. The findings also shed light on the dietary habits of the ancient people, as scientists have found the remains of wheat, lentils, and pomegranate, as well as blackberry and elderberry seeds.

Archaeologists discovered jewellery, pottery and many other artifacts. Photo source. The civilisation that occupied this area has since been named the ‘Civilisation of the Four Lakes’, as most of the settlements were found in the vicinity of a set of lakes in the region. The civilisation is believed to have settled in the area beginning around 6,000 BC and extending until 3,000 BC. It appears that a great fire destroyed the settlements, with many remains becoming submerged in the depths of the lakes.

The necropolis that was found consists of cist graves in an entirely circular and radial arrangement with each tomb accompanied by a large number of offerings like ceramic and bronze vases, jewellery, clothing, weapons and tools. More than 148 tombs have been found to date. The discovery of the remains of some women wearing elaborate clothing and valuable jewellery indicates the existence of a hierarchical social system. The discovery reflects an incredibly advanced civilisation existing in northern Greece 8,000 years ago.


Source: AO

The symbol of the Swastika and its 12,000-year-old history

The swastika is a symbol used by of one of the most hated men on Earth, a symbol that represents the slaughter of millions of people and one of the most destructive wars on Earth.

But Adolf Hitler was not the first to use this symbol. In fact, it was used as a powerful symbol thousands of years before him, across many cultures and continents. For the Hindus and Buddhists in India and other Asian countries, the swastika was an important symbol for many thousands of years and, to this day, the symbol can still be seen in abundance - on temples, buses, taxis, and on the cover of books. It was also used in Ancient Greece and can be found in the remains of the ancient city of Troy, which existed 4,000 years ago. 

The ancient Druids and the Celts also used the symbol, reflected in many artefacts that have been discovered. It was used by Nordic tribes and even early Christians used the Swastika as one of their symbols, including the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order, which became a purely religious Catholic Order. But why is this symbol so important and why did Adolf Hitler decide to use it? The word ‘swastika’ is a Sanskrit word (‘svasktika’) meaning ‘It is’, ‘Well Being’, ‘Good Existence, and ‘Good Luck’. However, it is also known by different names in different countries - like ‘Wan’ in China, ‘Manji’ in Japan, ‘Fylfot’ in England, ‘Hakenkreuz’ in Germany and ‘Tetraskelion’ or ‘Tetragammadion’ in Greece. 

A Sanskrit scholar P. R. Sarkar in 1979 said that the deeper meaning of the word is ‘Permanent Victory’. He also said that as any symbol it can have positive and negative meaning depending on how it is drawn. So in Hinduism, the right-hand swastika is a symbol of the God Vishnu and the Sun, while the left-hand swastika is a symbol of Kali and Magic. The double meaning of symbols is common in ancient traditions, like for example the symbol of the pentagram (five pointed star), which is viewed as negative when pointing downwards, and positive when pointing upwards.

The earliest swastika ever found was uncovered in Mezine, Ukraine, carved on an ivory figurine, which dates an incredible 12,000 years, and one of the earliest cultures that are known to have used the Swastika was a Neolithic culture in Southern Europe, in the area that is now Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as the Vinca Culture, which dates back around 8,000 years. In Buddhism, the swastika is a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, abundance and eternity. It is directly related to Buddha and can be found carved on statues on the soles of his feet and on his heart.  It is said that it contains Buddha’s mind. 

On the walls of the Christian catacombs in Rome, the symbol of the Swastika appears next to the words “ZOTIKO ZOTIKO” which means “Life of Life”. It can also be found on the window openings of the mysterious Lalibela Rock churches of Ethiopia, and in various other churches around the world.

In Nordic Myths, Odin is represented passing through space as a whirling disk or swastika looking down through all worlds. In North America, the swastika was used by the Navajos. In Ancient Greece, Pythagoras used the Swastika under the name ‘Tetraktys’ and it was a symbol linking heaven and earth, with the right arm pointing to heaven and its left arm pointing to Earth. It has been used by the Phoenicians as a symbol of the Sun and it was a sacred symbol used by the priestesses. 

The swastika, the Phoenician sun symbol, on the Phoenician Craig-Narget stone in Scotland, and on the robe of a Phoenician high priestess. (Source) How and why did so many diverse countries and cultures, across many eras, use the same symbol and apparently with the same meaning?    It is ironic, and unfortunate, that a symbol of life and eternity was used by the Nazis to exterminate, kill, enslave and destroy, creating in the minds of people a negative association with a symbol that was seen as sacred for thousands of years.

Source: AO

For the First Time Ever, Explore Angkor Wat With Google Street View

With more than 90,000 panoramic images, you can see the stunning Cambodian ruins up close from anywhere in the world ngkor, what remains of the capital of the Khmer Empire, is an incredibly beautiful place, but it's also very remote: tucked in the Cambodian jungle, at the intersection of jumbled ancient roads, its ruins remain off the beaten path and seemingly untouched by the modern world. Or at least it remained untouched until the 2000s, when the Cambodian government granted the oil company Sokimex rights to the money earned from ticket concessions to Angkor, and tourism to the ancient ruins skyrocketed—today, nearly two million visitors traipse over the temples' stones, causing irreversible damage to the site's foundations. Like Machu Picchu, once hidden from human view and then endangered by an influx of tourism, Angkor could eventually fall into complete ruin because of its appeal. But now, those interested in exploring the wonder of Angkor don't need to make a trek to Southeast Asia—and risk contributing to the damage of the site—to enjoy what the ruins have to offer. For the first time ever, Google Maps is granting users an up-close view of Angkor, through Google's Street View project. The move is an extension of Google Maps' mission to make sure that its maps are the most accurate, comprehensive and useful available to users. While to most people, this might materialize in the form of directions—using Google Maps to get you from Point A to Point B— the company doesn't see this as the limit for the product's technology. "Increasingly, if you look at the amount of power we have in our cellphones, the ability for those phones to know your location and customize an experience around you, they are becoming fairly good at making sure that people are able to explore the world around them," says Manik Gupta, Google Maps Product Manager. "We want to make sure that we have the ability to share all these places with users all over the world."

Google Street View started in 2007, with the Street View car—an SUV with several computers in the back and a camera/laser apparatus strapped on top. Through the years, its technology has gotten more imaginative, using snowmobiles, trikes and trolleys with attached cameras to capture images. But in 2012, with the introduction of the Trekker—a backpack outfitted with a camera on top, complete with 15 lenses to take panoramic images—Street View could finally go off-road, bringing the world's most remote locations to users around the world. With the Trekker, the group has taken images of the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and Venice. "We want to do this all over the world, wherever we can," Gupta says. "We want to bring the world, in all its glory to all our users, wherever they are."

For the Google Street View team, mapping Angkor was a logical step in its mission to map the world's most amazing places. "Angkor is one of the most important sites in the world—people say it’s the 8th Wonder of the World—and it was obvious to us to start framing this project," Gupta explains. Google Maps worked in conjunction with the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and the Apsara Authority (the body in charge of the protection and management of Angkor), which helped Google send people out to Angkor with the Trekker in order to capture the massive, nearly 250-square-mile ruined city. In order to create a Street View image of the expansive area, Google took 90,000 shots, all 360-degree views, of Angkors temples, which number more than 100. "It’s Cambodia sharing its culture with the rest of the world, which I think is pretty awesome," Gupta says.

Users can explore parts of Angkor in stunning detail, like the Bayon Temple, the central temple of the city Angkor Thom. Though the temple is Buddhist, it includes elements of Hindu mythology in its art. Built as a square, at the center of the city, it represents the intersection between heaven and earth. The detailed art of Angkor can also be seen in the Street View images. Users can get an up-close look at the relief carvings that embellish the walls of Angkor Wat, perhaps the most famous temple complex in Angkor. Angkor Wat's famous bas-relief spans over 12,917 square feet of sandstone carvings. Street View's digitization of Angkor isn't just valuable for short-term users looking to explore the ancient grounds—it creates a digital record of a place that can be used for posterity. "This is a record and a digital mirror of what the world looks like at a particular moment," says Susan Cadrecha, ‎Senior Communications Associate for Google Maps and Street View. "In that sense, we’re definitely working to preserve what this place is today, so that no matter what happens in the future, there will be a record of what it looked like in 2014." Source: Smithsonian

Translation of Tempest Stela could change ancient timeline

The Tempest Stela is a 6-foot-tall calcite block found in the 3rd Pylon of the temple of Karnak in Thebes, modern Luxor. In a new translation of the 40-line inscription, scholars affirm previous beliefs that its description of unusual weather patterns are consistent with the massive volcano eruption of Thera (Santorini). The implications could cause a revision in chronology, particularly in relation to the reign of the pharaoh Ahmose, the first pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. The Tempest Stela was erected by King Ahmose I, who is believed to have ruled from 1550 BC. His reign marked the beginning of the New Kingdom, a time when Egypt’s power reached its height.

Egyptian pharaoh Ahmose. Photo credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art The stela describes rain, darkness and 'the sky being in storm without cessation, louder than the cries of the masses.'  The great storm is described as destroying tombs, temples and pyramids in the Theban region and the work of restoration ordered by the king.  The passages also describe bodies floating down the Nile like "skiffs of papyrus." Could this inscription be one of the world’s oldest weather reports and an eye-witness account of the volcanic eruption of Thera? Researchers Nadine Moeller and Robert Ritner from the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, believe the answer is yes. In their study, which appears in the spring issue of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, the researchers explain that if the stela describe the aftermath of the Thera catastrophe, the correct dating of the stela and therefore Ahmose's reign, would be 30 to 50 years earlier than currently believed, a finding that could change scholars' understanding of a critical juncture in human history as Bronze Age empires realigned. "This is important to scholars of the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean, generally because the chronology that archaeologists use is based on the lists of Egyptian pharaohs, and this new information could adjust those dates," said Moeller.

 A depiction of the volcanic eruption of Thera. Image source. The revised dating of Ahmose's reign could mean the dates of other key events in the ancient Near East fit together more logically, scholars said. For example, David Schloen, associate professor in the Oriental Institute, says that it realigns the dates of the fall of the Canaanites and the collapse of the Babylonian Empire.  The Thera eruption would have destroyed the Hyksos’ ports, weakened their sea power, and disrupted trade and agriculture, undermining the power of the Babylonian Empire, and allowing Ahmose to rise to power, taking over the Hyksos (Canaanite rules of Egypt). 

However, not everyone agrees with the conclusion of the study authors.  Marina Baldi, a scientist in climatology and meteorology at the Institute of Biometeorology of the National Research Council in Italy, analysed the information on the stela along with her colleagues and compared it to known weather patterns in Egypt. She believes the description could relate to the ‘Red Sea Trough’ weather pattern which, when disrupted, brings severe weather, heavy rain, and flash flooding. Other scholars, such as Egyptologist Ian Shaw believes the stela is propaganda put out by the pharaoh to rationalise a man-made disaster.

Source: AO

Byzantine monks used asbestos in wall paintings centuries before Industrial Revolution

Researchers have discovered that Byzantine monks used asbestos in plaster coatings underlying their wall paintings centuries before the fibrous material began to be used in the construction industry.  The material, which is now known to cause serious and fatal lung conditions, was found in the 11th century Byzantine monastery of Enkleistra of St Neophytos in Cyprus. Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals known for their ability to separate into long, flexible fibres.  Although asbestos mining began more than 4,000 years ago in the town of Asbestos, Quebec, it was not believed to have been used in construction until the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.  It became a popular material to use as plaster, and in cement, finish coatings and floors, because of its corrosion- and combustion-resistant properties.  However, the material is now banned in many countries as prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres is known to cause serious illness. 

Fibrous tremolite asbestos. Photo source: Wikipedia Researchers from the 

University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) were investigating the technological process used in creation the 12th-century paintings of the Byzantine monastery in Cyprus, when they discovered asbestos in the finish coating of the plaster underneath a portion of a wall painting.  The magnesium silicate material (white asbestos) which they had used provided a smooth layer with a mirror-like surface for painting. "[The monks] probably wanted to give more shine and different properties to this layer," said UCLA archaeological scientist Ioanna Kakoulli, lead author of the new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. "It definitely wasn't a casual decision — they must have understood the properties of the material." 

The Byzantine monastery of Enkleistra of St Neophytos in Cyprus. Photo credit: Ioanna Kakoulli, UCLA

Although asbestos has been known about for thousands of years, it was not believed to have been used in construction. Instead, ancient cultures used asbestos to strengthen earthenware pots and cooking utensils, as well as to make fireproof napkins called ‘shostakeh’, which could be cleaned by tossing them into fire.  Archaeological evidence suggests that some shrouds were also made of asbestos, , wherein they burned the bodies of their kings, in order to preserve only their ashes, and prevent their being mixed with those of wood or other combustible materials commonly used in funeral pyres. "It was considered to have magical powers," said Ms Kakoulli. The discovery in Cyprus raises questions about whether asbestos was used in other buildings in Cyprus during the 12th century. Ms Kakoulli said there are plans to revisit wall paintings from other sites to explore this question. In addition, they aim to establish whether they stopped using the fibrous material until the 19th century, and if so, why. 

Source: AO