Medieval History
Archaeologists in contact with colleagues in Libya say that their nation's antiquities appear safe despite the chaos in the country. That news is contrary to reports earlier this week, which claimed that Libya's museums were being plundered and sites destroyed in NATO bombing raids. Libya boasts a host of ancient Phoenician and Roman sites, as well as major collections of ancient artifacts in Tripoli's Jamahiriya Museum and other smaller museums around the country. So the claims of damage prompted fears of a replay of Baghdad in 2003, when the famous Iraq Museum was looted. But Western archaeologists and Libyan sources say that there is no evidence that such destruction is taking place.
"The antiquities in the major sites are unscathed," says Hafed Walda, an archaeologist at King's College London, who has been in frequent contact with his Libyan colleagues during the recent arrival of rebels in the capital city last week. "But a few sites in the interior sustained minor damage and are in need of assessments." As for Tripoli's museum, located in the city's Red Castle, "it has been protected very well."
Click here to read this article from Science Insider
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Medieval History
Claims of Mass Libyan Looting Rejected by Archaeologists
"The antiquities in the major sites are unscathed," says Hafed Walda, an archaeologist at King's College London, who has been in frequent contact with his Libyan colleagues during the recent arrival of rebels in the capital city last week. "But a few sites in the interior sustained minor damage and are in need of assessments." As for Tripoli's museum, located in the city's Red Castle, "it has been protected very well."
Click here to read this article from Science Insider
- Seeking To Preserve The Past, But Stumbling On The Present
On land where Assyrian kings once reigned, an Iraqi farmer named Araf Khalaf surveyed the scrap of earth that has nurtured three generations of his family. It is little more than a mud hut and a scraggly vegetable patch, yet his land has become a battleground,...
- Castles In The Desert ? Satellites Reveal Lost Cities Of Libya
Satellite imagery has uncovered new evidence of a lost civilisation of the Sahara in Libya?s south-western desert wastes that will help re-write the history of the country. The fall of Gaddafi has opened the way for archaeologists to explore the country?s...
- Jordan Creates Online Archaeology Treasure Trove
Jordan on Tuesday launched the world's largest online antiquities database, which details every archaeological site in the country and aims to help preserve its treasures. Its creators said the Web platform could be a model for Iraq, where looters...
- Egyptian Museum Attacked, Artifacts Damaged
The heads of two mummies have been ripped off and several artifacts damaged by looters at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, as unrest spreads throughout the country. The looters were captured by Egyptian soldiers before they were able to remove anything from...
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Digital Classicist/Institute for Classical Studies Work in Progress Seminar, Summer 2008 Friday 25th July at 16:30, in room NG16, Senate House, Malet Street, London Charlotte Tupman (KCL) 'Markup of the epigraphy and archaeology of Roman Libya'...