UNESCO studies Pompeii troubles

by Sean McLachlan on


A UNESCO team has arrived at Pompeii to investigate the recent collapses of ancient walls and buildings, All Headline News reports.

Two Roman walls collapsed earlier this week, and in November the House of Gladiators fell down. Authorities blame heavy rains but there’s a growing controversy over the lack of maintenance at the site.

The Roman city was buried in ash during an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. The ash kept the city remarkably preserved, making it one of the world’s top archaeological treasures.

The team will study the site and give suggestions as to how to preserve it, but the investigators have made clear that it is Italy’s responsibility to do the work. The Italian government has created a task force of archaeologists, craftsmen, and architects to shore up the walls and buildings. Considering that the last conservation project at Pompeii is under investigation for mob connections, it remains to be seen how effective this new task force will be.

[Photo courtesy user Alago via Wikimedia Commons]

Controversy rages as Pompeii continues to crumble

by Sean McLachlan on

More bad news from Pompeii. The famous Roman city, preserved by volcanic ash from an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, is starting to fall apart.

The BBC reports that two ancient walls have fallen down this week in separate parts of the city.

Officials say the problems are due to heavy rainfall, but the site has been underfunded for years. A recent cash injection was so badly managed that there’s now an investigation into possible mob connections. There are also calls for Italy’s culture minister to step down.

The problem first received global attention with the collapse of the House of Gladiators early in November. Unlike the House of Gladiators, officials say the walls that fell down this week had no artistic value, which is totally missing the point. They have a priceless archaeological value, so much so that Pompeii has long been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hopefully Italy will realize that a site can be taken off the World Heritage List if it’s not properly maintained, and find some money to save one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.

[Photo courtesy user jon|k via Gadling’s flickr pool]

Treasures of ancient Egypt discovered at bank

by Sean McLachlan on

The Al-Ahly Bank has recently handed over two hundred ancient Egyptian artifacts that have been sitting in safety deposit boxes for a century.

The artifacts were collected by expats and visitors in Egypt and deposited in the bank in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were never recovered and sat untouched for years. The artifacts include Islamic coins and statues of Egyptian deities such as Hathor, pictured here.

Egypt has been fighting for the return of archaeological treasures taken by various countries in the past. Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has spearheaded the fight and got an unexpected victory when the bank announced it had artifacts and was handing them over.

The artifacts are now being studied and will hopefully appear in one of Egypt’s museums sometime soon.

[Image courtesy user Néfermaât via Wikimedia Commons. This is an image of a Hathor statue from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and not one of the recovered artifacts]

Archaeological treasure trove found at Three Gorges Project in China

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists excavating during the Three Gorges dam project in China have discovered nearly a quarter of a million artifacts, the state-run Xinhua News Agency says.

The world’s largest dam project has created a reservoir that’s 410 miles long and more than half a mile wide. Before that reservoir was flooded, China spent $285 million to hunt for cultural treasures, at times using teams of more than a thousand archaeologists. They’ve uncovered artifacts ranging from medieval statues to early stone tools two million years old. While the sites they came from are now lost beneath the water, the artifacts they yielded will give fresh insight into China’s long history.

Now museums across China are busy conserving the artifacts and hopefully soon many of them will be on display for China’s growing tourist industry.

The Three Gorges Project is itself becoming a tourist attraction. It’s the largest dam project in the world, and the largest electrical generating facility. It’s also highly controversial because it displaced 1.3 million people.

[Photo courtesy user Rehman via Wikimedia Commons]

Mystery tunnel discovered at Lincoln Castle

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists excavating at Lincoln Castle in England have discovered a mysterious tunnel under the courtyard. The tunnel is linked to a circular structure of unknown use and delves into the ground. The archaeological team hasn’t finished its work or discovered where the tunnel leads.

Europe has many traditions of hidden tunnels connecting buildings or going to secret caves or hideouts.

The excavation is taking place in preparation for building an elevator to allow handicapped access to the walls. The archaeologists believe the structure and tunnel could date to the early 12th century. It’s the only medieval building to have been found inside the castle’s bailey.

Lincoln Castle is a well-preserved Norman castle built in 1068 on the foundations of an earlier Roman fort. William the Conqueror, after defeating the English king at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, built this castle to control the important town of Lincoln and its surrounding area. The structure has been added to over the years but remains an excellent example of Norman architecture.

[Photo courtesy user Rodhullandemu via Wikimedia Commons]

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