Review of Ancient Art & / “JULY/AUGUST 2008 PUBLISHED IN GREAT BRITAIN £4.00/S7.99 USA VOLUME 19 NUMBER 4 | ° NOW IN FULL COLOUR THROUGHOUT THE PHAISTOS DISK: A 100-YEAR-OLD HOAX? HADRIAN AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM THE ORIGINS OF EARLY WALES AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM CARDIFF ANCIENT ISLAMIC WEAPONRY IN NICE SOLVING STONEHENGE: THE KEY TO AN ANCIENT ENIGMA THE ROMAN GARUM RIVIERA OF THE ALGARVE IN PORTUGAL SILIN ROMAN VILLA IN LIBYA GAZIENTEP IN TURKEY: A CITY RICH IN MOSAICS ‘MMroyal-athena galleries ara ath. I cal An Important Large Late Hellenistic Bronze Eros ‘The child god of love and loyalty between young men is nude, standing, with ene ete RM eet eat oe ee ee ee Sieur Peco a Oa Cte CLE aD) Ex J.K. collection, Charlottesville, Virginia, acquired from Royal-Athena Galleries in 1992. Published: Carol Mattusch, et al., The Fire of Hephaistos - Large Classical Bronzes from North American Collections, Harvard, 1996, pp. 251-254, no. 29. Royal-Athena Galleries Sees ROSEN eee Caco Pee a aL updated weekly, to view 14 Old Bond Street, eee rt eeiey Tr) our latest acquisitions PS a on 4 an and over 800 antiquities: 44 (0)20-7495-2590; Poo Sabu itis eather Roma RensVOLUME 19 NUMBER 4 Q_ The Phaistos Disk: FOUNDER, A 100-Year-Old Hoax? TEND Jerome M. Eisenberg WOBLISIIR Bisenberg, Ph.D, EDITOR Dr Mark Merony 25 mn Search of Hadrian: A New British Museum Exhibition ‘Sam Moorhead CONSULTING EDITOR Peter A. Clayton, FSA 29 ve to Church: EDITORIAL igins of Early Wales ASSISTANTS Williamson Price Mark Redknap — faturd ach Bianca Maria Zonta . SOCIATE 35 Solving Stonehengt PUBLISHER The Key to an Ancient Enigma ‘Anthony Law Anthony Johnson qyi8oe hoax” ‘ot Chane Dauphin, Donal Dinw, 39 The Roman Algarve: gant Garum Riviera of Lusitania cme Mark Merrony —— 45 Sublime Silin: ‘CORRESPONDENTS ‘A Luxury Roman Villa on the Libyan desiwartitoa Coastline Roger Wilson orn tninason eee 56 Gazientep & The City of ec Mosaics Patricia Witts — Uy ero are edt onan WS 59 The Warriors of Allah ae cam 75250, Claudine Dauphin "22% mince 2 News 50 Numismatic Section 63 Book Reviews 67 Calendar IN FORTHCOMING ISSUES: Babylon at the British Museum « Ancient Jiaohe in China Bronze Age Temples in Pella * Tourism in Graeco-Roman Egypt Jewish Estates in Hellenistic Jordan * The Drapers' Garden Hoard, London Roman Mosaics of Cyprus + Early Islamic Jerash Page 45 Minerva, July/August 2008 1EDITORIAL The Present Past On 3 May the world awoke to yet another natural dsaster of cataclysmic proportion: Cyclone Nargis, which rv: aged the Irrawady region of Myanmar (Burma), brutally Killing an estimated 100,000 people and leaving 2.5 million homeless, and in peril from disease, starvation, and water shortage. The impact of ths tragic event was of such ‘a magnitude that satelite images have ‘revealed the landscape has been perm rently reshaped. Inevitably this cat strophe will be regarded as an unprecedented phenomenon and linked with global warming. In a simi- lar vein, other most topical issues affecting the modern world = ethnic cleansing in Dazfur, rising sea levels, AIDS pandemic, globalisation of the economy - prompt the daily response "What is the world coming to?” The astonishing truth is that the world has sen it all before, ‘Just nine days after the Myanmar catastrophe, 2 powerful earthquake ‘measuring 8 on the Richter Scale struck Sichuan province in China. As we goto press the news has become increasingly beak, with an estimated 70,000 dead, 300,000 injured, and five million homeless, As topical as this cataclysm may be, histodans of antiquity penned ‘many descriptions of such episodes from the eye-witness accounts of Pliny the Younger, who described in graphic detail the geeat earthquake and vol- ‘canie destruction of Pompell in AD 79, to the more obscure vaitings of the Byzantine court historian Procopius in te mid 6th-century AD. In light of the depressing circumstances in Sichuan Province, his account is expecially poignant: “Farthquakes destroyed Anti- ‘och, the leading city of the East; Seleu cia, which is situated nearby; and AAnazarbus, most renowned city in ile cla (moder Turkey). Who could num= er those that perished in these metropoles? Yet one must add also those who lived in Thora; In Amasea, the chief city of Pontus Gouthern Black Sea) in Polybotus in Phrygia. in Lyel tidus in Epirus (Albania); and in Corinth (Greece) all thickly inhabited cities from of old, All of these were estroyed by earthquakes during this time, with a loss of almost all thelr inhabitants. ‘Arguably the greatest natural diss ter in modern history, the 2006 Asian Tsunami Is understandably regarded as an unparalleled event, leaving nearly 230,000 people dead or missing, and ‘another two milion homeless. Roman historical texts in fact reveal that tsunamis were an unwelcome feature of the ancient world, One of the best accounts of a tsunami is recorded by the Gomer in Wales, evidence of prehistrkstobat warming and a rise sa eel the sich “interglacial, 135,000-73,000, ers a, amg ymne= National ‘Museum Wales Mass Roman grave ‘in loweste, an nipracednted ‘rchaeolagleal example ofthe Dubont plage Tonown from ohare nvaged the Empire in he nud century AD. Phote: Oxford ‘ivehacot. ‘the Roman historian Ammianus Mare cellinus in AD 365. This was caused by fan undersea earthquake with an epi- ‘centre near Crete and an estimated magnitude of 8 or higher on the Richter Scale, causing widespread destruction in Greece, Libya, Cyprus, and Sicily, killing up to one million people. Marcellinus record: ‘the solid ity of the whole earth was made to shake and shudder, and the sea was di ven away... Many ships, then, were stranded as Ifon dry land, and people wandered at will about the paltry remains of the waters to collect fish fand the like in their hands; then the roaring sea as If Insulted by its repulse fises back in tur... the mass of Waters returning when least expected killed ‘many thousands by drowning... huge ships, thrust out by the mad blasts, perched on the roofs of houses. and fthers were hurled nearly two miles from the shore. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION (issues) UK £21; Burope £23 Rest of world ‘Ar £33/U0S866; Surface £25/USSS0 or fll information see ‘wwew.minervamagazine.com, Published bi-monthly. Send subsctiptions to either the London of New York offices below. ADVERTISEMENT SALES (worlwide excepe U9) Minerva, 14 Old Bond Street, London, WIS 4°P. ‘Te: (020) 7495 2580 Fax: (020) 7491 1595 E-mail: minervagminezva magazine.com ws, Suzanne Strachowsky, Sulte 28, 183 Hast S7¢h St, ‘New York, NY 10022, Tok: (212) 355 2033 Fax: (212) 688 0412 Email: anclentart@aol.com "TRADE DISTRIBUTION United Kingdon Diamond Magazine Distribution Lid Te. (01797) 225229, Fax. (01797) 225657 US & Canada: Disticor, Toronto ype & the Near East: American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, Egypt Printed in England by ‘he Scanplus Print Group, London, Al ight esrved no arf tis publation aye rprodves, soe n reeves tase afr ot by any meas, leetrans, mechan, photoopying recor Ing or aherese without eter the prior wi ‘en pension ofthe Rblsheors ence peti esuct copyng acy the Cop ight Ucensing Agee) Ld 33-38 Aled Mace, Tendon, WCIE 7DP ssw ons? 718 ‘© 2008 Aurora Puletons is, Minerva (sn no 0957 7718, i published ‘etme pes aii by arora Jnabucations tad snd dstrioted In he USA] by SOP 75 Aberdeen Rood Eengslle PA 17318-0437, Periodical postage pal at Emigsille A Postmaster send aadess changes Minarva Jo SPP, PO 437 box, “Emigavile PA 17338-0837, ‘Gaerne tnt ected i te ‘he pouty oe pt Minerva, July/August 2008According to Avert, the interna- tional AIDS chanty, an estimated 33.2, million people were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2007 with 2.1 zillion deaths, The world is, however, no stranger to disease, In 2005, archae- ologists from Oxford Archaeology ‘made the gruesome discovery of a mass Roman grave in Gloucester containing the remains of at least 91 skeletons. It {s thought that the cause of death may have been the Antonine plague, an ‘outbreak of smalipox that swept across the Roman Empire from AD 165-189. Recent analysis has demonstrated that the semains were of individuals who had been thrown into the grave lover a short period of time during the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. Louise Loe, Head of Burial Archaeology at Oxford Archacology, has informed Minerva that 'The skeletons of adult males, females and children were lying ina very haphazard fashion, their bones completely entangled, reflecting the fact that they had been dumped, unceremoniously in a hursied man- nef.. This has led us to conclude that the individuals were the vitims of an epidemic that did not discriminate against age or sex’ arlier this year, the remains of hundreds of victims, believed to have been killed in a plague that swept Italy 1500 years ago, have been found south of Rome. The bodies of men, women, And children were found in Castro dei Volse, in the region of Lazio, during excavations cartled out by Lazio archaeological office. The individuals fare believed to have been victims of the Justnianic Plague, a pandemic that kulled as many as 100 million people around the world during a $0-year period in the oth century AD. It spread ‘through Europe as far 38 Denmark and Iieland, Surprisingly, this discovery is the first evidence of the devastating impact of the plague, which swept across the Mediterranean during the telgn of Byzantine Emperor Justinian | in the eatly 540s. According to some historians tis episode changed the course of European history: subse {quenily the Empire entered a period of decline Global warming is without question the biggest issue threatening humanlty Jn the modern era and for this reason is justifiably the most topeal Issue in the ‘media and among the public. Accord ng to the influential Intergovernmen- tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average global air temperature nat the Barth's surface increased 0.74 4 (018°C during the 100 years ending in 2005, and the average global surface ‘temperature is likely to rise a further 1.1 lo 64 °C during the 21st century. ‘The IPCC has concluded that 'most of the observed increase in globally aver aged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the Minerva, July/August 2008 News ‘The Altar area of the Temp of the onic Mother of Gods at Balik Inte intial phase of excavations Photo: gor acarenko. observed increase in anthropogenic {man-macle) greenhouse gas concentra tions,’ They envisage that increasing global temperature will cause the sea level to rise, the intensity of extreme weather events to Increase, a change in the amount and pattem of precipita- tion, changes in agricultural yields, trade routes, glacier cetzeat, species extinctions, and increased disease effects While It is essential to take heed of these predictions in an attempt to pre vent them, it worth considering that Our planet has witnessed sustained ‘Auctuations in temperature and sea level aver millions of years. Tangible evidence for this is provided by the raised beaches on the Gower Peninsula, Wales, caused by the Ipswiehian Inter- slacial, a warming phase whieh began 135,000 years ago and ended about 73,000 years ago. During this phase of prehistoric global warming the sea Fevel was about 7m highee than itis today. A combination of evidence from polar ice cores, alpine glaciers, and ancient tree tng sequences also paints 4 picture of radical climatic and sea Tevel changes as fax back as 800,000 years. Global populations were of Course relatively sparse in prehistory ‘compared with modern levels, but peo- ple were nonetheless forced to aban don their habitats or perish. These changes were not wrought by human- lty, but by the changing orbit of the Earth around the Sun, the varying tlt fof the Earth's axis, and the wobble of the planet (the so-called Milankoviteh yates) So what does this present past tell us? Above all, perhaps, that the planet can be as uncompromising asthe peo ple who populate it. Yes, the world has seen ital Before; but the fundamental difference ia the modern eta is that natural disasters, disease, and climatic change are being exacerbated by Jhumanity. It is of course the collective responsibilty not just of government, bt of invidunt, to do eveything i thele power to reduce carbon emis. sions. Only this wl guarante the sur vival of humanity and retuon the planet to what it was in the past an Ever changing worl, bt 2 more pleas amt place toe Defame M sender, Dr Mark Memon ‘Temple of the Pontic Mother Discovered at Balchik, Bulgaria Recent construction work in the tourist resort of Balchik (ancient Dionysopots) in Black Sea coastal Bulgaria unearthed the exciting discovery of a Greck tem ple, This is currently being excavated by a team from Varna Archaeological ‘Museum under the direction of Dr Igor Lazarenko, and this programme of investigation has yielded an impressive monument and associated finds The temple, aligned on a north- south axis, #8 a rectangular structure ‘measuring 11 by 8.5m, and comprises 2 naos (nner chamber), measuring 7.10 by 7.10m with a south entrance, and a pronaos (antechamber), 7.10 by 3m. With a south facing entrance. In the fentranice area the excavators uncovered 4 small enclosure containing an altar land a platform reached by three steps, marble benches, the remains of ‘engaged fluted columns, an Tonian eap- ita, and fragments of an Tonian entab- lature, and a pediment with the remnants of a bustin relief of the sun god Helios, characteristically with @ fadlant crown stood in his charlot between four horses. A fragmentary edicatory inscription recovered in this area indicates, on stylistic grounds that the temple was constructed around the idle ofthe Sed century BC. ‘Adjacent to the platform area are the well preserved remains of a large{ustal basin about one mete in diame ‘ex. This is associated with a small and the basin most likely served the ‘Purpose of rtually cleansing the priests = by handwashing - during the cere ‘mony of sacrificial rites. The lustral basin is similar to many examples known from the Greek worl. ‘Some ofthe richest finds in the tem= ple were the well preserved statues the nos, Most of these ate representa tions of the goddess Cybele, Originally a Hittite and Phrygian goddess, Cybele ‘was the Mother of Earth, worshipped since Neolithic times in’ Anatolia. In the same vein as Gala (arth?) of het Minoan equivalent Rhea, Cybele ‘embodies the fertile Earth, and was known in Ancient Greece by the title, Potnia Theron (Mistess of the Animal) She became known as a life-death rebirth delty In connection with her resurtection of her son and consort Atts; and is often associated with het lion throne and chariot drawn by lions, Curlously, Inscriptions found in vari fous locations within the temple precinct name her as Mater eon Pont {Pontie Mother of the Gods), Mater Po tia (Mother of the Pont), thea Pontia (Goddess of the Pont), and Mater Kathare (Pure Mother). These may be taken as clear allusions to the goddess a8 Mother of the Gods and Mother of he Sea (Pontus/Black Se). ‘splendid marble representation of Cybele depicts her enthroned, wearing 8 chit (Cloak) andl hlmation (Greek version ofa toga), caressing a small ion with the remnants of a ketiedrum in Left the atar ave ier elarance Sith the smal “altar inthe poresround and ‘he astral ‘oto: gor nzarenke, elo et: the nae ave afer parti tearance withthe ‘allapsed wall statue ofthe Potic Chbete nooner of the ods. 110 Phot: gor Toren, elo right: GjbetePontic Mother enthroned imation amt ct ad wth ‘al on tn orlap nda Aerts her eft a Photo: gor Lacan, her left hand. By contrast, the principal deity in the maos isa life-size eaess statue of Cybele clad in a long chifon With generous drapery lowing over her right shoulder down past her left hip, Collectively the evidence provided by these inscriptions and representations te explilt testimony that the temple was dedicated to a localised version of Cybele - Mother of the Gods and the en interestingly, the inscriptions also provide a crucial social index of off Cials associated with the temple between the end of the 2nd century and begining of the Ist century BC. Venetated cfizens include the famous strategist Polyxenos from the Black Sea city of Messambria, and a dedication 10 Mokapporis from Thrace, appointed by King Remetales [of Thrace as 2 State- ais, who helped defend Dionysopolis, ‘against the common enemy beyond the Danube’ Also preserved i register fof 19 priests and offieiants of the cult fof the Mother of Gods, lntriguingly, nother register includes a list of 84 priests and clergy, members of a rei ‘ious clicle who met to celebrate the cult on the first day of every month; fascinating eviderice for the continuity of the temple's association with Cybele ‘hough the Roman period The latest dedicatory inscription is engraved on the base of a silver statue estored by order of the emperor Liinius (¢. AD 308-324). Bvidence from rooftile stamps indicates that the tem: ‘Minerva, July/August 2008ple was last refurbished in the rlgns of Valentinian I (364-375) and Valens (364.378). Shortly afterwards the tem: ple was destroyed by fire, almost cer tainly in the Gothic invasion of AD 378, rather than by officials in the Christian eta, This assurnption is sup- Ported by the well-preserved Intedor of the maas, which dl not show any signs of desecration, Dr Igor Lazarenko, Curator, Vara Archaeological Museum, Bulgaria Regress and Progress ‘on Stonehenge Jacquetta Hawkes famously wrote that "Every generation gets the Stonehenge It deserves’ The present fasco over the ‘World Heritage site proves the truth of her comment. In September 1998, (Chris Smith, then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, announced his intention to resolve the major prob- lems that led Stonehenge to be described by the Public Accounts Com mittee of the House of Commons as a ‘national disgrace’ (see Minerva May/June 1999, pp, 22-25). His pro- posal was a Master Plan’ that would provide: ‘ree acess for everyone... that would ‘combine the benelits of the ‘4303 {trunk road) improvement with the conservation and enjoyment of the ‘World Heritage Site... the reunification, of Stonehenge which restores its dig nity and its sense of isolation set amongst 450 Scheduled Ancient Mon: ments... and the protection of the archaeology forever” In December 2007 the Department for Transport announced that the A303 Stonhenge Improvement scheme had Minerva, July/August 2008 ProfesorsGeofiey Wain (ef ‘and Tim Dare (gh commencing ‘hele momenta, ‘xcmaton at Stonehenge, Photo: vcs Univer News been scrapped because of ts astronom cal expense (£540 million). This news is essentially a double-edged sword. On the one hand this wil be welcomed by archaeologists and environmentalists ‘who have been campalgning for over & decade for an improvement in the landscape around the momument; on the other, it will also be perceived as a ‘tragedy: after many yeats of consulta tion and expectation about routing the A303 in a tunnel under the monument and providing a word class visitor cen- tre the situation 1s now back at square This is clearly not the case with the first major excavation of the mont _ment for several decades, Most recently Professor Tim Darvll of Bournemouth University and Professor Geoffrey ‘Wainwright, resident of the Society of Antiguaries of London, have carried fut a two.week dig funded by the BBC and filmed as a Timewatch programme to be broadcast in the autumn. A key objective is to find out more about the mysterious bluestones, transported 250km to Stonehenge from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire. Professors Darvill and Walnwright believe that these le at the heart ofthe mystery and that they were chosen for thee healing powers, a factor that may explain the function of the monument. ‘The highlight of their endeavours was the excavation of a 3.5 by 2.5m french in which they unearthed layer containing the sockets for the blue- stones in the frst phase of the mons ment 4500 years ago. A particularly Interesting find was the presence of many bluestone fragments which, according to Professor Datvill were ‘broken up pretty systematically because people wanted bits of those stones to take away,’ a factor he believes to be compatible with his ‘nealing! theory. Another interesting aspect of the excavation was the dis covery that the bluestone sockets were ‘uncovered in an unexpected sequence, cut through and into each other ina way that suggests a much mote fig chronology of the monument’s con- struction than previously thought. ‘The full significance of this exciting ‘excavation will become clearer when the extracted samples of bluestone chippings, flint, pottery, bones, and ‘other organie matter are analysed and Interpreted. Concluding the di, Profes: sor Darvll believes this research ‘is going to fundamentally change pet= spectives on Stonehenge. Recently, as news began to filter theough about this fascinating excava- tion, the Minera offices were informed fof a recent and remarkable interpreta- tion of Stonehenge by Tony Johinson, a former colleague of the writer and one of the most experienced field archaeol- ogists in Britain, His reading of the ‘monument focuses on the inherent archaeological principles of the mont: ment: how it was conceived and planned from a fixed mathematical proportion and piedsely laid out geo- Imetrieally - step-by-step by prehistoric surveyors using cords and pegs. This new interpretation represents 3 refresh ing departure from the scholarly fa tion of Stonehenge’s perceived astrological function, and provides the ‘most important step in understanding the Late Neolitic/Early Bronze Age mindset for a generation (see Minera, this issue, pp. 35-38). If every genera tion gets the Stonehenge it deserves, then the excellent work of Professors Darvll and Wainwright and the inci- sive interpretation of Tony Johnson vill combine to ensure that Future gen- rations are spared the pain and tedium, vented on archaeologists ofthis genera- tion by the New Age fringe based on fallacy rather than hard archaeological evidence, Stonehenge, this most iconic of Bitish monuments, deserves no les, DrMark Merony Monumental Equestrian Statue Found at the Colosseum Just to demonstrate once again that archacology in Rome is a neverending process leading to extraordinary discov: fries, a huge marble fragment of an. over-lifesize equestelan statue was recently discovered near the Golos- seum, The shallow excavation some ‘50cm below street level was begun in conjunction with the repair of the pavement around the Clcus Maxiraus fn the Cellum side of the Colosseum, Its known that a 12th/13th century furnace existed in this location, used for making lime from ancient marble fragments. Amongst the remains of ‘these fragments excavators discovered{Revs statues of a giel wearing a chiton and ‘ment to creating earning opportunities _ Forgery of antiquities has long been. Apollo, The most important discovery dnd increasing publle acces to Its rich rampant. Where there is a market for 1s of the torso and hindquarters of a collections and zesources. A virtual things, they will Inevitably appear to horse and part of the body and arma- exhibition will be hosted on the Soci- meet it, although It does not always ment of its Imperial rider. According to cety’s website. ‘work that way round, The two massive the excavation Director Rossella Rea, “The Exhibition’s guest curator, Dr gold signet rings, the Ring of Nestor the statue may originally have been David Starkey, CBE, FSA, said, ‘Tam and that of Minos, which were pub- part of the lavish furnishings of delighted with this Heritage Lottery lished as genuine by Sir Arthur Evans, emperor Nero's Domus Aurea located Fund Grant. The Grant recognises the in my young days were almost invari nearby. Interestingly, the torso and the Society as the pioneer of cultural her. ably condemned as forgeries by those Jnead of the rider were removable and itage conservation and education; will competent to judge, but they have interchangable, This Is proven by a heip carry its work forward into its since been rehabilitated, and many, if large hole On the back of the hose. By fourth century and, in particular, will not most, competent judges appear contrast, the thighs, legs, and feet of make Its unique treasures familiar to now to accept them as genuine, the rider were fixed, It is hoped that rnew audiences throughout the coun- I think it is good when museums more fragments will come to light as ty that have forgeries exhibit them, with 2 the excavation continus, Dr David Gaimster, PSA proper waming notice of course, I saw Dali Jones General Secretary, this many years ago, as a student, in Society of Antquares of London the museurn at Istanbul, the old Impe- Jal Ottoman Museum. There wasa large case near the entrance labelled, in red I think, and in English as wel as Turkish, as forgeries: largely statuettes of some Heritage Lottery Fund Grant — ee se Takes Making Mtr” on Tour ee ees tance eee ae nok yon roy moc cert tbe on meron Aa ay Seay ence en oe Le Ee ee Desai te GutfAup 20071 soe oot moet Mutu ay have om eee al gt rand oven ous, oe a peg ee Te ee ee ee Serre Tse gue Sr ates eae Te cispmumierbiig PR Eo Cen ee ae Le ng cal Mier Koei cae 3007 wee Mien thet eatal anaes nee ae eS roe Oe pe cxranetycomaincng Looking at your Wahmany thnks pi ed stuck me ho ogy in many wy the Rete important historical collections of think always important. Another point paintings, drawings, prints, and arte whieh struck me was the too perfect facts, It wil be hosted by four eeglonal condition of the pancls, contrasting Bartner-museums 2cr0s the UK they, agg the daage to the gentine decor Sunderland Museum and Winter dey The Poteres Museum In Stoke. gistghamg,talve ronze work ofthe chasis. Cig on-Trent, Salisbury and South- — "placeafrecent places where it does not matter, such as Following a recent court ruling in Aisi Museu, and The colton; inp eae amy mere tdows rot male, a as agen shipment of about 136 Artand Aeheolgy in nese eam, (SOM of wort ofa as now been retuned to "The project will Involve local volun- me ssc Fane ssion when ve entered the Chinese State Administration of ty historeal groupe and inahiduals gf QMBce,, gene cmtanon when Lvs ceed Coral Heritage (SACIH). These fo underlines the Society's commit. ABC Ztail of battle was in connection ed a grup of Tang Dynasty po [shmoean Museum alleged tobe fom 16 figurines and othe items dating oct Gout-wcste Tenkey) Teas, oma the Xia Shang, Yuan, and Ming cle Gout wesem Turkey) Vast, mass, sete Danich police ts them to a passing official of the February 2006. The director of SACH, Iascunt wnewas'g lend nese Shan Jikiang, is espetlly concerned daa ce tend The nest Sout the retentsppeaants of tials "root ite vane an group fom aint onion thea hart pottery fragments, certainly genuine, These have been cut into pieces an Krom the excations there, [rnust con. SuhugNdaoxd fee that I could not see any ference In the day or fling between the veces Indl and the ftagments but the late Roger The govemment i planning to create Moore, avery fine scholar and acute databank of ind’ cultural heritage fudge, who lad been responsible for due to the inceaingy larger numbers Acguling the vases forthe Museum, of thels fom temps and museums. Steady nd his doubts about them. He In 2008, 1012 cases ofthe thet of cu dent them fr tess (othe excellent Art tural propery were repomed hn 2006 and Archatology Laboratory founded this has increased to 1307 incidents by Teddy Hall Oxford, where they wth the gestest number epote om ‘re found by ihemolumlnescence to the satis of Karnataka (40s), formesy be modern, that i fired in recent known as Mysore, and West Bengal times ‘182, 6 Minerva, July/August 2008Italy ‘fine Roman marble head of emperor Lucius Veras, who co-ruled from AD 161 to 169 with Marcus Aurelius, his adopted co-emperor, was amongst more than 12 antiquities found in a aid on a boat garage near Rome According to Captain Massimo Ross o the Ttalian art theft squad, the Cara binieri, the head was Megally excavated from a site in the Naples avea In a Sepa rate operation, a marble head of Faustina Senior (AD 141), wife of th femperor Antoninus Plus, was returned to Italy. This oceureed after an. Amer: can collector was informed that it had ben stolen from an ancient theatre in Minturn, south of Rome. Libya A Roman marble relief of Mercury, hholding the reins of the four horses of a quadriga, was excavated in Shahat (ancient Cyrene) In 1973 and pub- lished soon after. Stolen in 1999 trom an antiquities depot in Shahat, Gabal al Akhdar, in eastern Libya, it was returned fo the Libyan authorities, through the efforts of Dr Eisenberg, during a ceremony held in Paris. Tk was originally sold by an antiquities {dealer in Zatieh, Switzerland, who was Mexico Some 100 antiquities, including an Olmee stone mask, ¢. 1000 BC, and several rare jadeite figurines, were finally returned to the Mexican gov- ernment long after thelr inital seizure in 2001 in south Texas and New Mex Minerva, July/August 2008 = News ico. US Customs officials explained that the long delay was duc in part to the ‘authentication process. It is equally surprising that apparently no charges have been filed against any: one concerning the smuggling of these objects Yemen Two Ttalians and one French national were arested this year in separate inch ‘dents on charges of smuggling a total of SO antiquities out of Yemen, includ ing bronze statuettes, stone celles, ane ancient coins. All thtee had been work ing for foreign oil or gas companies. Authorities say that many of the ‘objects were being smugaled through bl tankers or with people having dipio ‘matic immunity. The Monuments office has recruited four persannel with frchacological backgrounds to identity sites that they believe are of archaeo Togical importance. Some 171 sites have already been identified as con taining cemeteries that date back as far asthe prehistoric period. Jerome M, Fisenberg, PhD. Fourth Century AD Christian Grotto Found in Sinai A rock-hewn cave used by Christian followers or monks has been found by an Egyptian mission from the Supreme Councll of Antiquities at Hammamat Pharaon (‘Pharaoh's bath, only about 25m from the fist Roman marble ead of emperor rect coe stalian potest Faustina Senior, sn of Atontras "Pus oluntarily ‘returned to Italy by an American county of Associated Pes recently discovered cave, but dating about 100-200 years eatler. The plas tered walls were covered with Greek characters in red paint as in the first fave, as well as @ number of Byzan tine-style crosses. In the central adjoining vaulted wall was a scene in ‘oth-7th century style depicting three figures praying: the Martyr St Menas, the 6th century Alexandrian Patri arch lowans, and Asnasious, Patriarch ‘of Constantine's Church, all enclosed within Greek prayer texts Early Christian Church Found in Nubia A Polish archaeological mission rader the direction of Dr Bogdan Wygnanska has uncovered: the remains of an Early Cheistian church in Sellb, a small village on the right bank of the Nile between the 4th and 3rd Cataracts, This isa clicular build Ing 8m in diameter constructed of red brick, surtounded by a large rec tangular building. A stone seliquary, a section of the altar, and some oll lamps were found, confirming that the building was the remains of a church, One kilometre away, the mis- sion also discovered the outline of a 900-square.metre building, thought to be ane ofthe few known palaces of the Meroitie period, c. 300 BC - AD 350 The Sphinx not under Threat from Rising Water Table Following three months of ecological and geophysical studles, a scientific team has determined that the Sphinx and its bedrock are safe from the slowly rising water table and the accumulation of salt, This is being caused by the different irrigation techniques and the blocking of the nearby Al Mansiuriya canal. A master plan has been dravwn up to reduce the level of the plateau's water table. It now stands 4,6m below ground leve), approximately the same as in ancient thnes when a harbour was con structed to protect the boats carrying the huge pyramid blocks from the ‘Aswan ang Tura quarries. Arish National Museum Opened in North Sinat The new museum at Arish, inaugu- rated in Match, has over 2000 objects fon display, selected from elght major museums in Egypt, including Caico’s Egyptian, Coptie, and Islamic muse. tums. Antiquities excavated at sites in North Sinai, such as the Horus mili tary road and Tel Basta, ae featured, as are a collection of weapons and ‘models of early fortresses. A separate section is devoted to the Hyksos, who invaded from the east and introduced the horse into Egypt. Jerome f Bsenberg, PRD,Save with a subscription to 6 Issues (1 Yea) £21 00 EDBerreeseereoeE 12 Issues @ Years) £39. £44. 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The 10th in a series of articles by the Editor-in-Chief of Minerva, Jerome M. Eisenberg, Ph.D., dealing with the problems of forgery and ancient art. INTRODUCTION ‘The Phalstos Disk (Figs 1, 2,13, 14) is small cay disk stamped with a sees of, ‘unique ‘hieroglyphs’ purportedly exea- ‘vated in July 1908 by Ligh Perier in the palace of Phalstos on the island of (Crete It may not ever rank in the pub: lies mind with the Pltdown Man as an fbject of great renown in the field of ‘man’s attempt to fool both the public and countless numbers of scholars, However, its exposure as the most famous fabrication of an ancient seript should certainly end the longstanding, controversy over its origins and the translation of its Intriguing hlero- slyphs. On this 100th anniversary of ts “discovery, the writer hopes to bring to light is dubious origin, ‘One of the most fascinating aspects ‘of the attempts to decipher the disk is Its innumerable interpretations and those of the individual glyphs. In fact, pie, rhe Phaistos ight additional pages have been added’ piste to this issue of Minera in order to pre- sent a comprehensive listing of these ddecipherments and the various inter- pretations of the different signs. The interpretations of the sesipt range from scholarly discussions ofits relationship to ancient Greek scripts such as Proto- Tonian and, obviously, Minoan, to Ana- tolian (Hittite and TLuvwian), as well as often far-fetched links to Basque, Indo European, Proto-Slavonic, Rhodian, Coptic, Semitle, Proto-Byblic, Tatarih Tuskis, scripts from the Black Sea area (South Caucasian/Georgian, Kartvelian, Colchian, Mingrelian-Laz}, and even West Finnish ot Old Estonian, Indian, Chinese, and Polynesian. ‘Attributions have been made of the ‘text’ on the disk relating to deities and events in Greek mythology including Zeus and the Minotaur, Theseus and ‘Ariadne, Dionysos, and Icarus; in the ‘Neat Fast tothe Hitetes and Philstines; and in Egypt to Osiris and Isis, Thoth, and the pharaohs, Over the past 100 years it has been interpreted variously as an advent narrative, a poetic verse, a hymi prayer, a sucted text, a magic insrip= tion ~ perhaps a curse, an alin-heal- ing ritual, a funerary record, an almanac, or a calendar-diary. Others Fig2.The Phalstas suggest an administrative document, isideB. record of gifs made to a temple, a jie Minerva, July/August 2008 9| The Phaistos Disk «lal court lista political treaty, a palace Schedule, a palace site plan description, proof of a geometric theorem, a call arms, a list of soldiers, or 4 text for teaching reading, I has also been inter- preted by some as a board game or game of chanee, even musical notes for 4 stringed instrument. Not to be out- done, # Russian scholar recently pro- ‘posed it asa device for the manufacture ‘of metal wares, Pseudo-archaeology, or the unscien- tific, often fantastic, Interpretation of ancient remains comes into play with many interpretations by amateur archaeologists or historians of the disks Contents, They have sugested that it ‘number-philosophical’ document from Atlantis, a message from extrater- restrals, and even a portal or ‘targate™ with which a wormhole (# theoretical Connection in time ar space) can be ‘created to enable one to achieve tele- portation to cosmic distances It would be very dificult to actually decipher the disk, if genuine, unless further texts with additional glyphs were discovered. Statistically its too short and it does not provide enough lugs as to its content. Also, if the ‘writers corsect in his assessment of the blsk as a 100-year-old forgery, It would be virtually impossible to provide a cor- rect translation. Then, the only person who could disclose the ‘meaning’ of the glyphs is the one who invented them. The writer doubts that they actu ally represent any Kind of text but that they were cleverly chosen to purposely confuse the scholarly world. Background The story of the disk begins with the excavations of the Italian archaeolo- gists In Crete in the 1880s, led by the 10 ‘noted Federico Halbhert He was most famous for his discovery in 1884 at Gortyna of the early Sth century BC “Great Inscription’ inscribed on the walls of the city’s Odeum of the earliest Tegal code found in Europe. The long Greek text detailed the statutes for suilty individuals and the punishments for crimes, Halbherr, an epigraphist, concentrated on the study of ancient Greek insceiptions from 1884 to 1888 and was compiling a corpus of Cretan inscriptions with hs mentor Domenico Comparetti. Later, Halbherr and his, Italian colleagues, Roberto Paribeni, André Savignon, and especially Lulgh Vernier, conducted excavations uncov- cring the Minoan palace complex of Phaistos, between 1900 and 1907 Halbhere had often expressed his wish that written texts would be dis- ‘covered at Phaistos, In 1900 he wrote that the excavation of the palace of Phaistos ‘has produced some very. lovely Mycenaean vases, terracotta fg turines,.. But to date there are no Inscribed tablets, though we are hope- ful that they will be found elsewhere: At the same time, the renowned Eng: lish archaeologist (Sir) Arthur Evans (1851-1941), had already received ‘much acclaim for his studies of the carly hieroglyphic inscriptions on tan seals, and especially later on for his ‘excavations of the site of the palace at Knossos. Bvans visited Crete in 1894 to investigate the earliest pictographic script, or hieroglyphlcs, that appeared fn Cretan seals (Fig 3) arid also the two other unknown scripts: Linear & (ig 4), €, 1780-1450 BC, and Linear B (Fg 5), «, 1450-1375 BC. Just one year later vans published his Cretan Pictogmphs ‘and Pra Phoenician Sit, the called the Minoan ‘hieroglyphs ‘pictographs’ and Linear A and B ‘Prac Phoenician Later this small book would be expanded into his classic work Scripta ‘Minoa (vol. 1, 1909; vo. 2, 1952). Tn the opinion of the writer, Pernier was jealous of the success of Halbherr and Evans and decided to outdo them Min baal ‘wth hee saw tise on oi the tw Pie de, Linear Atabiet, Irom the palace ‘of Phases, C1750 Figs (above right) Tinea bar 058 from tie Ilrogypi archive ‘a Kass, uzs0 BC. 1 tow ie. Tiered Magiano Dik USSG fond ‘hon, ay, intaes The snsription spate ‘ent eth sides ut theater Side ees met hve the spiral lne Nantes ‘owt top aed once for punctuation Copal oe fest om the att Disk Pig 7 gh. Minar cay label In the form ofa fat bisave sel, sre cgi "ert from the palace of Knossos. both by making a discovery that would astound the archaeological commu- aity. He had found nothing at Phaestos hat could in any way surpass or even, qual the amazing finds at Knossos by rans, begun in 1900, By 1903 Evans aad uncovered much of the founda ons of the Palace (that he later ‘amously overly-reconstructed), in ‘dition to the Throne Room, the won Srous frescoes, and the falence female ‘igurines. Evans also found many Lin- ‘Aand Linear B tablets during the ourve of his excavations at Knossos. Inspiration forthe Phalstos Disk What could! Pemier ‘discover’ to bring fhm fare ad glory aid to rival sal of Halbherr and Fans? He soon came up withthe anssver~ the creation of a relic With an untranslatable pictographic text - the Phaestos Disk, Evans was ‘obviously quite excited about the dis. covery of the disk Ia. Seripta Minoa he published the preliminary details of the tunearthing of the Phalstos Disk and a 21-page analysis based upon Pesnier's publication of the disk in 1908: disco {1 Phacstos con carater pittografia in “Ansonia Ht, 255-302 (a 48-page study published in the same year ofits dis- covery). It must be emphasised that forgerle are not just made for Financial ‘gin, but often to boost the reputation fof ah excavator or scholar, as im the case ofthe Piltdowin Man in 1912. Pemier (1874-1937) was trained as an archaeologist in Italy and among his readings he would have been quite familiar with the discovery of the Magliano Disk, found in Magilano, aly in 1884, and published by L. A Milani in 1893, This nearxound Tead disk (Fig 6) contained an Etruscan inscription spiraling inwvaed on both sis, Since the Etmuscan language had rot yet been deciphered, Its contents remained a mystery. Pethaps Pernier could create a similar disk but forthe Minerva, July/August 2008,‘Minoans, Lead was rarely used in Crete except for smaller objects. It would. hhave seemed more logical to make it out of clay, since most of the larger inscribed objects found on Crete were ade of clay, such as the many tablets from Knossos that were later published ‘in detall by Evans in Scripta Minoa in 1909. Perhaps another source of Insp ration for the design of the disk were the two offering tables found at Phas tos with relief spiral decorations ten: tioned by Halblier In 2 1900 letter to Comparetti, He may also have taken notice ofthe stamped designs on large Cretan pitho’ (large storage pots) of the petiod, In addition, another source of Inspiration may have been the semi round clay labels with ‘hieroglyphic’ seript from the palace of Knossos (Fig 2 The ploy was to create a completely now script that would confound Evans and the ather scholars since it would be virtually untranslatable, le would elev erly construct new, more elaborate Symbols that would’ not just, im past, mimic the yet-undeciphered three ‘other scripts, but would elaborate upon them, He would also include elements ‘that would reflect influence from for. ign sources, uch asthe Luwian hiero- slyphs from Anatolia, an early form of Tuvan used by the Hittites between (© 1400 and c. 1200 BC (Figs 8, 34). For ‘example, the writer has found four def- inite parallels (Fig 8) - compare no. 128CS to disk sign no. 12, no. 12932 to disk sgn no, 15, no, 1287A to disk sign no. 26, and 128CD to disk sign no. 38. Epigraphers would certainly suggest several more links since there are over 500 signs in the Lawian hieroglyphic text. A monumental Luswian Inscrp- tion was first described in 1850, another in 1870, and a third in 1884, Sot certainly would have been familiar to.a scholar versed in Bronze Age lin ulstics in the early 1900s, This mixture ‘on the disk of Minoan and Lanvian ele ‘ments would also puzzle scholars since ‘e was not necessanily created at Phais: tos but could! have come from another ‘undiscovered Cretan site with an Ana- tolian influence. It could also have ‘originated ftom another Aegean site oF even Anatolia itself. To add further Confusion, a link to Egyptian hiero. alyphs is found in such signs as nos.18, land 45, and especially to Fayptian wall paintings of the New Kingdom, as in signs nos. 1, 2, 3,4, and 6. ‘To further confuse the linguists Pernier included several signs that resemble those of Lincar A and Linear 8 ~ according to the writer, a total of about fen that show a relatively close for exact ink. Six for Linear A (Fig 9: Sign no. 12, an elaboration of AB78; No. 15, similar to A364; no. 16, simi lar to ABB7; no. 17, somewhat similar to A322; no. 24, an elaboration of Minerva, July/August 2008 The Phaistos Disk | — ABS4; and no. 4, similiar to AB76; and four for Linear B (Fig 10: Sign no. 12, an elaboration of Linear B 78; no. 14,2 version of 87; no. 36, an elaboration of 30; and no. 45, an elaboration of 76. ‘Some epigtaphers link even more ff the Phaistos Disk signs to Linear A and Linear B. For instance, Torsten Timm demonstrates 19 Hinks Just for Linear A. The forger then quite often rotated the direction of a sign some 90 degrees or more, especially those of the cat head, sign’no. 29. This how: fever, nas a mistake, for st would not be the practice of a scribe carefully, executing such a sophisticated script. ‘The Uniqueness of the Phaistos Disk In making the clay disk, he made the error of creating a terracotta ‘pancake’ with a cleanly cut edge. Ancient clay tablets do not have such sharp edges, because they would easily have dam- age from usage. He also fired the fine hhand-formed clay disk uniformly. It is therefore unique in that Minoan clay tablets were not fired purposefully Laie hergpts Gy accidentally. They were Only from Anatoli. baked as a result of the fires accompa- tying the destruction of the palaces. Perier may not have realised this at the time, Tt is unique on several other more lunportant counts. Second, there is no other ancient ‘moveable type’ in fact none until Gutenberg (AD 1454}, Third, there is no other large, thin clay disk in the Bronze Age. Last, but AB certainly not least, there is no other A hieroglyphic script of this type. The only advanced Aegean or Mediter 54 ranean hieroglyphic scripts are those of Egypt and Luwian and these are rot related, except for the Few signs R that Pernier borrowed or adapted, These counts of uniqueness each in 76 completely different category, point to the disk asa forgery. ind Spo of the Disk 78 The palace grounds and town of Phls- tos ae located on one ofthe tee 70- ig 9. Linear A sigs relating to Phatstos Disk sigs. 4g 10 6h) near sigs ‘elating Phaistos DK sens ‘metrechigh hills tsing from the Mes sara Plain on the west of the island, Skm from the coast. It was named after a grandson of Herakles. Legend has It that an oracle ordered him to go to Crete Phalstos was the legendary home Of Rhadamanthys, its ruler, and one of the three sons of Europa and Zeus, With his brother Sarpedon, ruler of Malia, he was forced to depart from Crete following an argument with Minos, the third brother and the rulet of Knossos. The frst palatial building at Phaistos was erected c. 1900 BC, at about the same time as the palaces at Knossos and Malla, This Early Palatiat Period ended c, 1700 BC as the result of a major earthquake and the consequen- tial burning of the palaces. This destruction was previously thought by some scholars to be due to foreign invasions, perhaps by Greeks or by Luwians from Anatolla. The palaces were rebuilt, but another disastous earthquake, or a military invasion by , the Mycenaean Greeks, took place «1450 BC. This time only Knossos and fone other palatial site, Archanes, were rebut According to Permier, the disk was found on the ground in Room 8 of the palace, close to the north-east commer, About 80cm above the bedrock, in dark farth that was mixed with ash, char- coal, and some pottery sherds. The arth, however, was not compacted And contained objects from other peri- (ds including part of a Hellenistic vase [Nearby was a Linear A tablet, PHT, with which he fixed the date of the disk at Middle Minoan IM, c. 1700-1600 BC. ‘There are several ather proposed dat lings. The eallest Is 2100 BC, proposea by Vietor J. Kean, the atest, ¢ 1100 BC, by Kristian Jeppesen. Most scholars agree with Pemnier that it was made ¢ 41700-1600 BC. It should be noted aso thatthe oom contained several Middle Minoan IIIB vases that date ¢. 1650. 1600 BC Creation of the Disk ‘The disk fs a hand-formed, irregular disk of fine-grained clay, It has been noted that the clay, even though as fine as that used for the local Kamares ware pottery, did not appear to be of a local origin, pechaps not even from Grete, The dlameter varies from 15.8 to T6.Sem and the thickness from 1.6 to 2.tem. Ske A Is thickest at the edges, side B is thickest at the centre. It was perfectly fired, unlike the tablets and seals that were baked by fires created by ‘the destruction of the different sites, ‘Opinions differ as to the way that ‘the two sides were printed. Ernest Gru mach (1969) thought that each side was Imprinted separately, then the to sides joined, ‘the seam can still be ‘larly seen along the edge ofthe Disk. Reinler Van Meerten (1977) suggested uthat the basie disk, about 1.2cm thick, ‘was fired frst, chen ‘thick were applied to 7 ‘was insribed, the edges smooth Finally it was Fired, Louis Coda (1990) believed that it was created in one piece, fist imprinted on side A, then side B, the Tatter being impressed less deeply. 12 The Phaistos Disk '-— Photos courtesy of ‘ne. Peskin, Michigan Histetcal chia tc ies sandstone Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing. Fig 13 ‘he Phaistos Disk, drawing fide ‘The Phatsos Disk, dawns ofsideB. Minerva, July/August 2008EEE EEE EEE EE The Phaistos Disk 445-48). They were apparently used to do ~ with the exception of signs such press into the soft clay tablets and as the vertical ship and fish. The fe- other clay ‘relics’ which they pro- quency of the signs varies consider ‘duced, They were sald to be the first ably according to the whim of the evidence of the migration of an crestor. Thomas Baistier (1998) points ancient Near Eastern people to mod- out that the shield, no. 12, appears 15 fem Michigan. Were these inspired by times on side A, but only twice on side the Phalstos Disk — or were they possi-_B, whereas the breast or helmet, no. 7, bly one of the principal sources for appears just twice on side A, but 16 Pemnier for the creation of the disk? times on side B Unfortunately we do not know when Many of the signs on the disk are the Michigan forges, James Scotford, unusually naturalistic, depicting a live created his stamps, before or atte the liness not found to such a great extent ‘discovery’ of the disk. Some were in pictographic seripts of the time, found in a tin dating to 1910, such as Egyptian hieroglyphics, Clearly outlined representations, such ‘The Signs of the Disk as the striding man (no. 1), a bound Cela dara ea GigiS, ine [anaes eee a mumbers are those phy and too many for an alphabet on. ihn Sr Tne disk, Tt has been suggested DY ria beoandnger Neumann (1968) thatthe = ‘Saleseyt rip sa sylabery with some signs dcting as pletographs. Thomas 8 rt Barthel (1988), 1. T. Hooker, and Michal rath (590) also ape that itis similar mixture P| Bete tape ane pictographic script the sign Pieatated rele seopesens the object that It depts, me 18th far spat eof “fone of thet soc of fe tea? tot opt “ne The frets asshown mine ornate theo fo onion 18 mite cn rel tie pe drs repeting the tanker on scar O57 Fie G3) | i i | © | gas] > | ato! D | aD | Be rs sr 7 4 i 7 ee] RSS) ) o | right), The Arkatochort axe found by Spyro b > Minerva, July/August 2008 13 er ca fer y ® & A i & Ss 4 we S om | we | eS ig 18th). Inscription on the haf ofthe Arklochon ae. i Q o db Ythe image, not the word as such, ‘There are foo few signs on the disk and too many repetitions for this to be a functional pictographie script. Such a system would require many hun dreds or even thousands of signs for this type of script and it would be Impractcal to make a stamp for each sign. Some scholars, however, such as Lenard Delekat (1979) andl Victor J Kean (1996) support this theory. Ernst Schertel (1948) believed that the script is a mixture of alphabet and syllabary, while Derk Ohlenroth (1996) argued that it was a sophisti cated early Greek phonetic alphabetic system with more than double the number of letters than the regular Greek alphabet of just 4 letters ‘The Direction ofthe Signs Although there had been much dis agreement about the direction in ‘which the signs should be read ~ from. the centre out or from the outside in, Ithas been accepted by most scholars that it reads from the Outside in, from ‘ght to Tet, as with the Egyptian and Anatolian hieroglyphs - towards the “tection that the heads of the people and animals face, in Linear A and Lin car B the reading diction is from lef to right, but some scholars such as Godiart argue that it has no relation ship to these scripts, ‘The Strokes, Dotted Bar, land Corrections There is considerable argument regatd= Ing the meaning ofthe 16 or 17 slanted strokes that appear below the sign fute thest to the left In some groups (Fig 4 [| The Phaistos Disk |--— Fig 19, "The gold ing Irom Mavro Spe with Lear ‘inscription (anzy 13) 4g20 etow te) The Maia altar stone herp ‘nscrpton. 8g 21 (gh The Vedio isk A foyer ‘provoypeora copy of he ovignal forgery? “io otrvat| ay tiow| 16), Furthermore, on exch side of the disk there is single “dotted bar! com- posed of five dots (Some scholars con: tend only fous) on side A (also Fig 16) and five dots on side B. The strokes and dotted bars were incised by hand, as ‘were the main spiral lines and the verti- cal dividers. The dotted bars led Alice E. Kober (1948) to surmise that there were other disks and that these were the fourth fand fifth sides of a long document. Rudolf Hoschek considered them to indicate pages or chapters in a group of several disks, It the writer's con- tention that the strokes and dotted bars ‘were added merely to Jead scholars astray ~ another oxity to puzzle them ~ and a common trick amongst forge Indeed, Ditk Ohenroth (1996), because of the strokes, regards the disk as ‘the fldest example of the use of natural punctuation’. The writer notes the sim- larity of the five dots on Linear B bas 057 (Fig 44) to the five dots on the disk, The dot in Cretan script represent ‘the number 10; five dots represents $0 (ig 15). Was this numbering system ‘the soutce forthe forger’s dotted bars? The writer notes that the vertical bat represents the Cretan script number 100 ~is this the inspiration for the ve. ‘cal lines of the disk? (See Fig 7 for a vertical bar and two dots, Fg 44 for & bar and five dots) In 16 instances signs were erased and replaced by different signs. One Would not expect so many corrections in such an elaborate production if it was an ancient document, Eenst Gri ‘mach (1962) suggested that the scribe was not correcting mistakes but actu: ally improving the content o* form. COMPARISONS ‘The Arkalochori Axe or years local peasants had been dig aging ina shallow cave in Arkalochos in tentraleastem Crete and unearthing @ large variety of bronze weapons and other metal objects, Sadly, many of these have been lost because they were foften melted down and made into fae tools. & Greek archaeologist, Joseph CChatodaks, frst excavated the eave in. 1912 and found many weapons ~ swords and daggers and a large group ‘of votive double axes, Soon thereafter a gold double axe was found by some children. The cave was then rapidly plundered by the locals In 1934 Spyridon Marinatos, the Director of the Herakleion Museum, confiscated many of the objects and renewed the excavations. One of {old axes and one of six or seven silver axes found had short inscriptions in Linear A. A bronze axe (Fig 17), how: fever, was inscribed with 15 hiero- slyphic signs in three columns (Fig 18). (Of the 15 signs, ten of them (with two repeated) seem to be unique. In her January/March 1935 American Joual of “Archaeology report ktizabeth Werce le- igen mentions the discovery in 1934 of the double axes in silver and gold, and bronze axes, knives, and swords ‘nuzm- bered by the hundreds, but, oddly, no ‘mention of any inscribed items. Godart stresses that ‘thece ate no definite com= parisons between the signs of the Dise and the syllabograms of the three known Cretan scripts (Hieroglyphics, Linear A and Linea 8)... The Gold Ring and Silver Pin from Mavro Spit. 2 gold ring found in 1926 at Maveo Spill, Crete, by Sir Arthur Evans has 3 spiral arrangment of the text which conists of 19 signs in Linear A (Fig 19) The ting, with an inner diameter of ‘only Tamm, was certainly too small ‘wear and, In fact, Is authenticity has been questioned, A silver pin fom the same ste also has an inscription in Lin ar A ‘The Malia Altar Stone A stone slab excavated tn 1937 in Malia, Crete, by Fernand Chaputhier, has 16 insctibed hieroglyphs, three repeated twice, and isthe only example of a Cretan hieroglyphic inscription on stone (Fig 20), Alice Kober (1938) stated that ‘the resemblance between the signs of this inscription and that of the Phaistos Disks very sight” ‘The Vladikavkaz Disk Ady fragment of a disk with 20 signs (fig 21) was found in the basement of a hhouse built in 1880 in Viadikavkaa, in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia- Alania, in 1991. It copies some of the signs and groups on the Phaists Disk but they are incised rather than. stamped, Ie is said that 1 was recog nised by the local museum asa forgery and retumed to the owner but has now apparently disappeared. It could poss\- bly be a forgers prototype for the disk ‘Minerva, July/August 2008or merely an attempt at copying the original forgery. CONCLUSION Several of the errors made by the forger of the disk fit inta the cate- gories tabulated by the writer in his "Aesthetics of the Forger: Stylistic Cri terla in Ancient Att Forgery” (Minerva, May/June 1992, 10-15). They include: 1. A disparity In the style of execution of the elements, 2, A disparity in the degree of abstrac. < Fig 22 Sign on Linear A tablet, PH fom Phaistos. Cf to disk slg. the ‘pedestrian Fig 23. Advancing boxer on Hagia Triad ‘Boner Ryton, to disk i no. 1. ils hands ave boumad with st wrappings slr to SK sign 0.8. tion of the elements. 3. A unigue element in the compost 4..A ‘unique style the appearance of a fully developed style or type hith texto unknown, 5. Repeated favourite ancient motifs and devices of the forger - in periods or regions where they do not ordinar Aly occur, or invented types. 6. Reversal of image. 7. A synthesis of geographically dis- parate styles, 8. A disparity in time-placement of elements 9. Correction by elimination. ‘One ean allow for a small number of these elements to occur in a gen: tine antiquity, but the preponderance fof such elements for the disk leads to the conclusion that it is certainly a forgery. However, only a thermolum nescence test to determine whether the disk was created in the past cen fury or two oF ver three millennia ago will finaly settle this intriguing. problem to everyone's satisfaction ‘The writer has attempted to have this test carried out several times in the past but to no avail, It is not even possible to physically examine the isk outside of the case at the ‘museum. In a reply to @ most recent request to the museum to examine the disk, the Director, Dr Nota Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, wrote "Dear Dr kisenberg, In reply to your e-mail of July 25, 2007, we Would lke to inform you that wnfor tunately we are not able to satisfy Your request to examine the Phaistos fise and the insctibed Arkalochor! axe. Specifically, the inscribed Arkalo- chon axe Is encased and stored, thereas the Phaistos dise because of its uniqueness is considered as non movable. Fig 24 (elow te. Sea Peopes in plan 100 Dynasty wal reli Cf headareses 0 Meadress of ask Sign no. 2 the plumed head Pig 26. Cretan captive with tatoo from "yptian 18th Dynasty wal painting {Cf tatoo on face of sk sgn no. the atte head ig 27. ony figurine ofa edith ‘haven head from Patahastro. (Cask sign no 5, the hia — ~ sg 25 ‘The Lala sg ss that resembles the plumes on disk ‘fen no. 2 the lune head Figs 29 (igh. Seatstone from the controversial Treasure of Thisbe, Bootie. Cf. hair ‘an garment of Pare at Lf tt tsk sgn no. 6 the woman. ‘lg 28, Plychrome cay female figurine {rom the lst palace at Past, 1750 "BC. Cf sk sgn. 6, the wer Minerva, July/August 2008 15nessun, mage, fo | seta a 4 | commie coer heres, as ig 34 Anatole sik seal of Marais Mine 13221298 BC, ‘pom the tite imple asian hicrogyph sins ‘nine centre surat by Hiete eos “the Lanta sign Fig 32, fora winged sin [Fg30.Mycencan ory rel ofa man’s ——_Ideagram foram_—_disk resembles the ‘head with a boar task helmet. carow on Linear —dlsksign no, 11, the {gk sgn. 7, the helmet ‘abe from. “bowls, the saw oss. CF-to signs very case to iskstgn nas 10, asp no. 16, ‘he arom. ‘hese ANALYSIS OF THE PHAISTOS DISK SIGNS ‘The 45 different signs on the disk are numbered here according tothe system set up by Sir Arthur Evans. The number in parentheses following Evans’ name for the sign (used here with some mod. ification) Is the number of times that the symbol appears on the disk. The first notations In most of the sign entles are the possible sources of the ‘sign a suggested by various writers. For {ull references forthe names of scholars ‘mentioned, see Appendix: Attempts at Deciphering 1, PEDESTRIAN (11) Crete, Egypt. CE slick figure on Linear A tablet PHI8 from Phaistos (Fig 21); Mycenaeans in 419th dynasty wall paintings in Egypt lan tombs. JME (the writer): Possible souxce for Pernier: The advancing box: iene fers on the Haghla Tada steatite hyton, ee aeodicagtna8, © the "boxer vase’ (Fig 22), coincidentally fhe gelet. Se also Fy 22 excavated (1900-1908) by Halbhert with Pernier Also see the Lawian signs Meanwhile the disk, which has for'walking man’ or ‘walking legs long been considered to be ‘One of ie 35 telow ef). Me 36, Pottery vase the most famous mysteries of archae- "Kemer offering fom Knossos with ology’ (Wikipedia) remains an table) fromthe stamped devin. Cf enigma, Our readers! comments, 2s _Palaccof Malia, design to disk sh ‘usual, are welcomed. ‘not the shila P37, Abnormal tong ‘Minoan white steal foursided ea ea with ergy ign of mountains (ontts sid). Ce Mk sign mo. te mamas Fig 38. Minow wnte éaratian prism seal from eastern Crete with Merogiypie pick ‘ig Cf disk ‘ig 15, the mattock, 16 Minerva, July/August 20082. PLUMED HEAD (19) Sea Peoples (Peleseds, Denyen, Tjekker), Pgypt; Crete. Cf. Sea Peoples in 19th Dynasty wall reliefs on Egyptian temples (Fig, 23). Teis vaguely similar to one of the signs on the Atkalokhori axe (Fig 18), ‘though itis facing; and the hairstyles on terracotta male figures from Traostalos near Ksato Zaktos, but far more sophisticated in its depiction (Evans, Godard, Pernier: feathered helmet.) JME: CE. Luwian sign for mu (Fig 25). The closest comparison, however is the feathered headdress of the American Indian which required ro visible skull cap, 3. TATTOOED HEAD (2) Crete, Egypt. CE. Minoan man with figure: ofeight tattoo in Egyptian 18th Dynasty wall painting (Fig 26). (Dettmer: not a tattoo, but a Cretan Gouble earring.) IME: It was certainly Serived from the Egyptian wall paint ing. 4. CAPTIVE (1) Asia Minor, Bgypt. CE Asian prisoners on 19th dynasty tem ple walls. (Aartun: walking farmer dis: tributing seed; Dettmer: female prisoner.) JME: Ie was most probably \erived from the Egyptian depictions bf prisoners with their hands tied behind their backs, such as those depicted on Seti Ys Temple of Amon at Karnak 5 CHILD (1) Crete, Cf. ory figurine of a child with shaven head from Zakros for the use ofa ‘bald’ child in Cretan art (ig 27), JME: The fist five signs for heads and persons all have bald heads making comparisons with ‘the hairdos of people in other septs for signs perhaps purposefully di ‘cult. The source for the bald heads was pethaps one or more of the Ivory figutines of children with shaven hheads from Zakeos and Haghla Triada. 6. WOMAN (4) Crete, Sea Peoples, Egypt. Cf. hairstyle to that of the Sea Peoples in 19th dynasty wall rliets on Egyptian temples. (Evans: sharp contrast to Minoan-Mycenaean female type; Ipsen: relates it to Cretan gatb; Doto Levi: found ‘parallel’ to female idols found at Phalstos,) JME: The apparent source for this sign was a small figurine with pendulous breasts, hair flowing behind, and a flounced skirt from room XCVTI- XCVIM of the fitst palace at Phaistos (ig 28) or another pethaps found pre viously by Pernier. Another source might be the sealstone from the con- troversial Treasure of Thisbe from Boeotls, This depicts a woman with hair flowing bebind and flounced skirts (Fig 29) 7, HELMET or BREASY (18) Europe. Cé. Bronze Age helmets. (Godard: hel- ‘met; Evans, Dettmer: breast; Perier: cap.) JME: Possible source for Pernler: the Phoenician ot Bronze Age helmet (Fig 30). IF it was a breast it would be Minerva, July/August 2008 The Phaistos Disk Po \ nl ANSI CE disk sign no. 1, arpenty plane Fig 0 righ, obsidian doa Shell found in the Tittle Palace at ‘atia Tried Pig 41 (gh, ‘hay seat pression on tocument HM 992 "rom Phalstos (eccavated by Perm? faok sgn 0.21,comb or ‘place par rig tomb ato. Cf ken soba behive Fie, eo 179 on ‘near B table rors Kase. cla sign na 24 Pig da cgh), Fourie Minoan ‘lay Linc B bar ‘sz with iragyphs. The tert bar and five dos represent {he mumber 1500, Chait sgn no. 24 “amd five dots on ch Sie of aS more logical to show two of them ‘There is no ancient parallel for asin gle breast as a sign, 8, GAUNTLET (5) Crete. Cf. boxers with hands bandaged. (Godart: fight Ing glove; Dettmer: workman’s glove.) IME: Possible source for Pernier: the fist wrappings of the boxers on the Haghia Triada steatite rhyton ~ the "Boxer Vase’ (Fig 23) - excavated by Halbert with Pernier; or the classical cess (boxing glove) Fig 3). 9. TIARA (2) Hittite: Cf. seals and rock carvings for similar headgear, JME: The most likely source for Pernier would be the nearly identical tiara which appeats on rock carvings such as the one in a Hittite shrine at Yazllkaya, c. 1280-1220 BC (Fig 33). 10. ARROW (4) Grete: Cf. Linear A Ideogram, But no arrowhead? (Ohlen- roth: ear of grain.) JME: The Minoan sign of an arrowhead appears with oF without a shaft, but no babs, as well as one with no arrow point but with barbs — a complete reversal. However, on a Linear B tablet from Knossos the ideogram for an arrow Is quite close (Fig 32), though simplified since itis Incised on clay. A comparison made to Linear A sign AB79 is rather far fetched, 11. BOW (1) Crete. Cf. Minoan seals IMP: CF. the Luwian sign of a winged sun-disk (Fig 34). 12. SHIELD OR PLATE (17) Crete. Ct Mycenaean shield examples. (Perier: Ik resembles a kemos (offering table) found at the palace of Malia fig 35), but it has 34 circular depressions around the tim, not six; Duhowx: a design stamped on a pottery vase feom Knossos (Fig 36); Dettmer: a disk with seven points for the solar year) IMB: Perier’s source certainly would have been the Luivian sign for bread, 128CS, a disc with up to seven dots, the seven dots being placed in the same positions (Fig 8) of, less likely, a slnnilaz Egyptian hieroglyph with four or five dots representing corn on the threshing floor. Also, Linear A sign ABTS Isa clicle with 3 dots. 13. CLUB (6) Greece. (Evans: cub of, Herakles; Dettmer: a plant; Ohlen- roth: ‘cyprese”) The club of Herakles, to which It has been compared, frst appears considerably later 1d. MANACLES (2) (Aartun: foot [vA| _ The Phaistos Disk _ stool; Dettmer: yoke; Evans: manacles for handcuffs; Pernier: mountains.) JME: CE. a Minoan white steatite bead seal with a hieroglyphic sign of mountains (Fig 37). This sign appears only vertically, not horizontally as often depicted 18, MATTOCK OR PICK (1) Crete. Cf. actual mattocks (or picks); Linear A sign A364; Linear B sign 232. JME: Ch: Minoan white comelian prism seal (fig 38) A similar bronze mattock was found by Pernier at Phaistos. If this were a Minoan disk, the use of a sin gle-headed pick rather than the dou- ble-headed axe would be unusual Also, the direction is changed 90 degrees 16. SAW OR KNIFE (2) Ch. Linear A sign AB74, though quite different JME; Cf. Minoan bead seal (Fig 3) and Linear B bar 066 (Fig). A close paral- lel can be found in a Luwian hiero- alyphic sign (ig 34); also an Egyptian, hleroglyphic sign ~ set. 17. LID or TOOL (1) Crete, Cf ‘Minoan and Mycenaean lids; Linear A sign A322 Is somewhat similai though the direction is changed 90 degrees (Fig 9). (Evans: tool for cut- ting leather; Godart: lid.) JME: The source would be the Linear A ideogram, 18, BOOMERANG or SET-SQUARE (12) Rgypt. Cf. weapons in Egyptian tombs. (Aartun: comer/angle; Evans: carpenter's "angle; Godart: boomerang.) JME: The source could be the Linear A sign AB37, though it hhas a much narrower angle and the direction Is changed 90 degrees; or the Egyptian sign and amulet for the set square (kub), though it has an angle of 90 degrees, 19. CARPENTRY PLANE (2) Crete (Aartun: branch; Dettmer: ruler with Fig 45 cp. Predymastic optian vase with Nile shir ensign ‘or standard on cabin. Nagada 1, Chetisk sen 25 ah, Fig 46 (ghd, Gold ‘ng fom Mochlos ‘hth none shi, Hg47 above rigid. Cyc ‘rin pa vest ‘huh depen of ship, pias ‘pubie ‘lange’ bow. Note ensign on prov. Syos, Early Geta period, 28002300 BC, 28cm. of ask Sion no. 28 Fig. 48 (etow ‘Minoan er shone symbols for Ships Cf ask slg no. 25. Fig 49 (below) Red eometian rks with eat with {acing hea found fn 1898; cover ststration for Fan’ Sept. ‘Mina 11908). GF ds sign no. 2, ‘head profile cond guite erent. Fig $0 (btw ght. Egyptian wal painting fom ‘he 18th Dynasty tomb of Useramon a Thebes © 1460 BG, showing Cretan carping tiytons(ibation esses) Cf disk ‘ign ma 30 18 angles; Godart: carpenter's plane) 20, DOLIUM (2) Crete: Cf. the obsid lan dolium (sa shell) from Haghia Tet ada (Fig 40) (Aartun: dry-measure container; Dettmer: vessel Evans: vvase; Godart: ton shell.) JME: The shading or use of parailel lines is unique for this sign on the disk 21. COMB OR FLOOR PLAN (2) Crete: palace floor plan (Aartun: hoe for rake; Dettmer: weaving comb; Godart: comb.) JME: The source is cer- tainly the sign on Proto-Palatian clay seal impressions on document HM 902 (Eig 41) at Phaisto (excavated by Pernier?) The suggestion by Woud= Fhulzen that It resembies Swedish rock carvings of a team of plowing oxen Is abit extreme, 22. SLING or DOUBLE FLUTE (5) It has been compared to Linear A sign A318, but there is litle eesemblance (Aartun: whisk; Dettmer: curve mex sure; Evans: double flute; Godart: slingshot or catapult; Ohlenroth forked stick) 23, COLUMN or HAMMER (11) Cf Linear A sigh AOS, though it consists only of lines at right angle. (Aartun: club; Evans: hammer; Dettmer: a disk stamp; Pernier: column with capital) 24. BEEHIVE or STRUCTURE (6) Lycla: ef. rock-cut tomb (Fig 42), Egypt: ef, Punt Somalia) hut on 18th dynasty Hatshepsut temple wall clic Crete f. very simplified Linear A sign ABS4 (Fig 9); Linear B sign 179 (hig 43), also from Knossos. (Aartun, Dettmer: house; Evans: pagoda-like ‘building, animal coop, ot bied cage; Godart: beehive; Erika Spann-Reinsch covered palanquin.) JME: Cf. Cretan hieroglyph as on a foursided clay bar (ig 44). The forger, however, most probably used the Lycian tomb as the 25. SHIP (?) Rgypt: small Predynastic pots, ¢. 3200 BC, with symbols om the cabins of Nilotic ships (Fig 44): Cyclades (see below); Crete: gold ring from Mochilos (Fig 46). (Aartun: sav bow; Dettmer: plow) JME: Cf. ships fon Gyeladic ‘frying pan’ vessels, c, 2300 BC (Fig 47) An unusual case of 3 90 degree shift in the position of the Image to save space; most probably the only instance of a ship repre. sented om its side as a symbol, though it is also depicted horizontally once fon side B (therefore why should the vertical depiction be considered a space-saver?), It is lacking a mast; ships as Minoan hieroglyphle signs almost always have masts (ig 48). 26. HORN (6) (Ox horn) (Aartun tall) IME: Cf. Luwian sign no. 12874 (ig 8) whichis a more than probable 27. MIDE (15) Crete: Ch. Linear B |dcogram *258 from Knossos and *184 from Pylos. (Evans, Godart: cowskin; Dettmer: goatskin.) JME: Why is the hide inverted twice in the same group fon side A? 28. BULL'S LEG or COW'S LEG (2) Crete. Ci. steatite seals with bulls’ legs from Malla. JME: An unusual case of reversal of mage, in this case turning, an animal part upside down. There are several instances of a Minoan hieroglyphic sign for a human leg (Fig 49), but none for an animal leg. Cf. Egyptian sign for the leg ofan ox 29, CAT HEAD (11) Crete: Cf. seal impressions on. vases from Malia; fac: ing heads appear in Linear A sign ASO, though extremely simplified. ‘The direction, however, i changed from right profile to a facing head. Linear A sign L149 is found only on clay tablets. (Evans, Godart, Ohlen roth: cat; Dettmer: wild dog: Pernler: bulldog.) JME: Cf. cat with facing head on a red comnelian prism found In 1898 (Fig 49). Why is the cat head imprinted in different directions on the disk, some 90 degrees or more from the horizontal? It would not be the practice ofa seribe executing such a sophisticated script; this is certainly Minerva, July/August 2008not a schoolboy’s practice tablet. See the possible explanation below (for sign no. 30) 30. RAM HEAD (1) Some scholars relate this to the Linear A symbol of a am - sign ABI, but this is a bit fare fetched, as the Linear A sign is highly abstract. JME: An Egyptian wall paint- ing from the tomb of Useramon, 1460 BC, depicts Cretans bringing tib- ute to Egypt including animal-head rhytons (Fig $0). The weiter believes that this may be the inspiration for the tam head sign (rather than using the ‘more common bull's head rhyton. The Minoan hieroglyphle signs for the ram do not show the hors projecting beyond the profile of the head although there isa goat head with out wardly curving horns on a Minoan seal (Fig 37) The single ram head and. tro eat heads on side B face upward, the same positon as the animal head rhytons in the Egyptian wall painting It should be pointed out that the writer is using the drawing from Robinson's book and he notes that the ram head ~ on side B had been mis: takenly replaced In the drawing by the artist fora helmet, disk sign no. 7. We have comected this in our copy of the raving. 31, EAGLE AND SERPENT (5) (Aar- tun, Ohlenroth: faleon; Evans, Dettmer, Godart: eagle.) JME: Imprinted in different positions; upward, to the left, and to the right, Signs for the eagle in Crete, ABSI (Fig S51), and Egypt are quite different, the former again being highly abstract. 32. DOVE (3) (Aartun: goose; Dettmer: duck; Evans, Godart, Ohlenzoth: ove.) JME: It Is unlike the preening, and pecking birds of Cretan hiero- lyphic script (Fig 52), however the source is certainly one of the Knossos frescoes with partidges (Fig $5), a bind no one has appatently considered pre- viously 33, TUNNY (6) (Dettmer: the seribe ‘meant a “large fish’, but it Isa dolphin; vans, Pernier: tuna.) JME: cf. the fish on a Minoan bead seal (Fig $6). It ould be an elaboration of a Minoan symbol or the fish on the Cycladie ‘ry ing pan’ vessels, as the one from Naxos ‘with four fish, . 2500 BC, published by A. Stephanos in 1905 (Fig 57). 34, BEE (3) (Aartun: wineskin: Dettmer: bird's-eye view of cov.) JME: Not a Minoan or Egyptian depiction of a bee, the symbol for which is done in profile. Pernier’s inspiration for using this insect was probably a Linear A sign with the vertical line removed (Big 38, PLANE TREE (11) Crete. Cf. Linear A Sign ABO4, though only with one branch, (Aartun: fruit; Dettmer: oak; vans: plant or tree; Godatt: bush or branch with broad leaves; Pernler branch of plane tee.) Minerva, July/August 2008 The Phaistos Disk } —__—____ - rigs Linea gn for thecal, ABBI Ts ‘te abstract compared othe ‘mnie hong make, Fag, Fresco with parties (etal), from the pion of the Caravansera? Ut knosow. Cf sk sign mo. #2 dove (hut probably a parte). 36, VINE oF BUSH (4) Grete. Cf. Lin. fear A sign AB3O or hieroglyph no. 101, both somewhat similar. (Aartun black coral; Dettmer, Godart grapevine; Evans: olive branch) hlenroth: shrub.) JME: Linear A sign AB30 has horizontal branches; it is ‘not branching out from a single stem, 7. PAPYRUS (4) Egypt. Cf. papyri on Theban wall palntings. (Aartun: plece of straw; Dettmer: flax plant; Godart papyrus; Ohlentoth: Illy.) 438, ROSETTE (4) Crete. Cf, several 8 petaled rosettes on the ‘rosette Krater” from Phaists (Fig 58) and a gold pin from Malla, (Aartua: blossom; Dettmer: lots; Evans: local flovwer adapted from Egyptian lotus blossom; Godart, Oblencoth: rosette.) JME: The rosette is a popular symbol for the forger 39. LILY (4) (Aartun: husk; Dettmer: ‘meadow saffron; Godact: lly; Oblen- roth: crocus; Pernier: saffron.) JME: The suggested compatison to Linear A sign AB28, a tident, Is far-fetched, as is the Luvwian sign ‘W’ for a thunder- bolt, itis certainly a plant. Cf, to ergy sk for ‘deve, quite une ‘as sgn no. 32 representing a dove Pigs Linea A sign possibly used mae 2 dis sign Fig 6, Minoan bead seal with ‘38 ee AGE Cf ask sg no 3, uy ig 87. Cycle ‘feying pan” ysse with epition offi, spas ad su. Sos, Early Cytae I period, 2800-2800 BC (fe ok sign mo. 33, a tury. Pisa Linear 8 sig AB76 ‘most pray ‘hese frais ‘en no. 45, sassany band or owing wate, Fig 88 ight-peta rosettes om the rosette ater from the Test palace at Pastas Minoan hieroglyphic sign no. 88 for a saffron flower. 40. OX BACK (6). (Godart: ox's back: uuntecognisable sign to others) JME: IF itis an ox’s back, it is a unique ancient hieroglyphic depiction of an fsnimal's rear end. The suggested com: parison to Linear A signs AB26 and AAB27 is extreme, 41. FLUTE. (2) (Aartun: bone; Deltmer: copper bars; Godart: flute.) JME: Itis certainly not a flute with this irregular outline, Copper bars would be in the form of ingots ~ rec ‘angular with flaring ends. Why use a bone for a symbol? 42. GRATER (1) (Aartun: coral; Dettmer: saw; Godart: grater of rasp.) JME: There are too many dots for a small ancient hieroglyphic sgn. 443, STRAINER (1) Crete: Cf, Linear A sign ABG6. (Aartun, Dettmer: female pubic region; Evans: a puzaling sign; ig 9, Cyc ‘fying pun vese ith tries led wit dots pub age ‘below. yay, Par Cyt pero, ‘2800-2500 BCL 27m 19= The Phaistos Disk /———__—— — Goda sieve; Ohleroth rangle) _Amazon Research Center (web- an astronomical ele calendar. | JME: The amused angle pope site)" clan tet see sigs oe Sn goes beyond the base zodiac to Tae devige for the forget (ee the lurvosokengavings In Neh Alc FRetode’ planetary movements, wears ‘eset of the Tonge, no. "Batter Thomas (2000) = The Including the posslote realty of Tagan thse ar too many dos for Phas Dbe-at acon ft wae ‘Mans the Ata athe po 1 ooal hroyyphie sign source mpste (orginally publhed as Det {sion by the Minoan of extensive Inayhve ber the angie wth Dies von Bhatphos: Zur Geschichte Knowledge of the outer sla syst Tul dos on the soeated Cylade) ens fs un dn Vasu seine ‘This good example of pecudo. ‘ng pans (39) Supers 1938). Discusion of 0c Teleco” ESNALL AXE () Gatun: aquatic phermns of harun, Onlensoth, Cartel, Puglese (1985) ~ “12 plant leaf Dettmer: bulls hides Detimer, and other", howe setae Prelate Hoga ade" due smavhatet) JE None of every sean sar sburd to sume tm Grea e dle Grecia Penal, these suggestions would propery at Wisa lke” ante Cetan, comparable to tne ths oddvsuped sige feetemimegu,Ballota, Paola (1978) — Le ait onthe Afalaco axe an the in auchioment da Disque de Past BR vacstone BE wavy ann oe lowne ian wing ‘Chadwick Tol (1988) ~The Dc WATER () (Detmer water channel "Barger, Jorn (2001, website) - emer of ar Godart wavy bandieyOhlencotte Probably fie funeral aan of King Chadvlek, Toe (1987) — Lina # srve Pier owing water avin the Aone. 1800 Bo om ands eat and Rented Sept A sniple sable pian Metopyriesgns JME The Toy System. "None ofthe more comp ske'h prsbubit te lena Linear Hacthel, Thomas 8. (1988) — Sted and tus dsntve sigs canbe Waipu Ae iy 9) near high 76 ‘Forschungsperspentiven far den parle Minoan onginmost ths Geese) on the equvalnt Lawisn Dishes von Phatstos' hn Minchner Fos in doubt until move evgence i & Beige tr Verkade vol 3.2 Taube’ he wens st ype Tine are 22 disk signs that are ‘The ference in conte rom side A ten docunet” thas been tone clouely or somewhat scat to Liner Wade B presents themate change tou my nek for dca’ fo Linear By expel the former, om dy tonight and mae female Goppens, Philip (2000) ~The bur thre ae ho Soule axes, owns) Cals) aise BAL In Poti Jancy Fo Pull nets or opus, snob that "Bet Jan, and Woudhuizen, Fred fury. could be used for Doth eddie tnked te Minoan Crete C, (10) ncn Spt of Ce ad ‘hance game and ale game ke Ona facie, APPENDIX: ATTEMPTS AT Jn, and Woudhalzen, Fred ‘Cort, Marco Guldo (2002208, DECIPHERING THE PHAISTOS DISK ©, (1969) "Lost Languages fom ie webte) "The apotheosis of See; ‘avtun, Kj (1992) =e Dskon von Meanean, Bs an aba Of or one Tao t/thadamantiys 6.1884 hunts Be beschitere Bronsart)teopondence between King Nestor of He ton the Phattos Dao). Greco: Dh isch dor Targonetael Wes. Achat (outgoing letter On sie A of Gretta, 16001580 Dann De Minute Se spate the dst) and the King of Phalsts the Due the aan Rhadamanys, tnd Tete, wl 1A Sou Seite sy Tanantvigts or Kuna) (con Rhadamanthys was a pharaoh of itic tex n metal se spoken In ng eter o Side B) (Se Bred C Greek origins Gnd, following the thesout of Aula (ere) tre the Weadhulasn) Het dates the fs Grea wadion ing of Phalsose The Tonge Age anda angunge to which lft ath entry BC Apaheoss of Hadas vas then modem Arabic and-some ihiopean Behm, Hans Stafford Boor, ana posted in te agves ofthe fal Inmgungs long He beeen har te David Sura (1547) = Pete t Co phase of the fst place of Plt, wating stem & the Some that on pues-‘The Then. A two month el Rhadamantnys wa borin Greck > the adele axe, Near Eats Endaror daly salves Ine plc, speaking ly, probably halts Go CravSemitte cass In ancient ete C1708. TBvtng the wad tat he nas So Minick provides pola! ledersp° Bowsert, H. (981) -"Unentafete Imofyna, whlch descendcdn ong Indculturl guidance during the und undbersetze Insehnften’ In from Mali, thecal ofthe Mes Minoanera’‘An extremely cote ants Linde/VOer itn, 219-26, sha, yhere ince 1700 RG the lon poem 'peaciption forthe ecaton An impor ors Anatoli Saat ts adopted the septa Mista Besotualetc he Palace of Pray. ie sac htouyph sit tay afd byt sta ool, toe? We heseate to quote from, "Bowen, Edgar (1992) Cy he Ib ofthe clin and protects of Seep the mild ging T wank axeqcdst: Ailteae vee near the pyramid The daughter of Crean toon plow your ed Tes towel, elope of the Pte Megha consecrate tere to You, the deap plow, Jour table under the de Grek altetve vere mete aiegter of Creo inte eal of the you tes deserting an Anatolia religious fabyrinth, che daughter of Creon Mhehterberg, Winfred Jan Best, Slt “Gele Axe Godden Rn Megua eoaserate thee to Youshe Kees Encl tin Wleteeld, ant Fred Son Hippo tet Wonshatscn (2008) The Patton" ih, Seve (1988, webs) — An Combet, Femand (1880:1970)- Dir Lavi Leer’ Nester, An Ano. astoromilInspetton sing the Crt ts Ge ol 3), Money Tolan eroglyohe sep A tuwlan ste Teele To the ejle ofthe fate plctopaphic signs a Cope * oeument ef nd ownership, after sunove the esr: tear Stbague ougin Relatesthe fiom Great King TarKhundgadus of burage, Champlin (1921) ~ St vents of fears sed sss board Aotearoa King Nasr of lcs in the Micon troglypnic game, Cronbette based tat he ist Pyot'in hale tn Mess Phat scons’ tn ard Sade Clas Ting of Clete the son ofthe fst Po'Nestor tothe great [nan Ins bilan, 32,17, Inept 3s Kingof the Is Dynasty of Ea [rniyiws: Hat half 6 heath ene Semite ot ME notes 96871) Cxysal Links (website) — "The — ler Alan (1999)"- The Bronze disk see stout the sang nature left, H, Peter (1982, ebook) - Age Comper Dic Asem of mest of rely and cretion Wh ins to tne Bintd Gane nthe Phasts DDK. gine space and atone. "The pe Sacred Geometry he Golden Mean An ancient guncboatd lated fo the mary teaming of the text was Spiral © Par avo the manner in Aeypln en and sone games tmatpatial rather tha Ung fnleh consetousness moves Bele 20 Minerva, July/August 2008 ee eerealities’ ‘in conclusion, the Phaistos Disk is another one of the ‘Games of Thoth’ created to bring awareness about the nature of reality.” Cuny, Albert (1911) ~ ‘De Vemploy des 'Virgules’ sur le disque de Phaestos’ In Revue des Etudes Anct fennes, 13, 297-312 {and vol. 14, 1912), Egyptian, syllabic-tdeographic script (Grom Wikipedia), Davaras, Costis (1967) ~ ‘Zur Herkunft des Diskos von Phalstos! in Kadmos, 6, 101-108. Because of the finding of the clay ‘plumed’ heads (cf, sign no. 2) at Traostalos near Kato Zakros, the disk’s non-Cretan origin is ‘Hosing more and more credibility. Davis, Simon (1967) ~ The Dect- ‘pherment of the Minoan Linear A and Pietagraphic Scripts. An acrophonic syl- labary in a Minoan or Hittite lan- guage. A resemblance to Anatolian hieroglyphs. Relating to the manufac ture of seals... sealings spirals stamps sealings T made stamps sealings great (one) stamps.’ Duhoux terms this translation ‘wiztually gibberish’. elekat, Lienhard (1979) ~ ‘Der Diskus von Phaistos ~ Entwart einer ‘Textlesung und ~deutung’ in Usari Forschung = Intemationaes Jahrbuch fr die Altrurnskunde Syrien-Palstina, 11, 165-178. Greek pletographs. An inv tation to the Anthesteria festival (Feast of Flowers, dedicated to Dionysos), ‘Helmsman’s-zhythm-beat- {ing-call of the blossoming (Antheste ria-festive) radiant heaven’s-tree dweller (Dionsysos): With both arms fishowaving, ye lamb-herdsman (peo- ple of Tyr), go to Amycla Dettmer, Otto (1989) ~ Das Rutset des Diskos von Phaistos: Das schwerste Kreviwordntsel de Well. A sylabary of Messenian origin (the western Pelo- pponnese). ‘In invocation to the earth. ‘goddess Gea in the cave of Ino to pre vent earthaquakes..’ in a ‘rare form of Greek with phonetic values for the pictographs.’'A greeting by Talaio, king ot god of the Acgeatians, to the surviving Cretans following the earth- quake: (fom Baise). Dow, S. (1984) - ‘Minoan Wilting’ 1 American Journal of Archaeology, 8, 2 (80pp.) He thought that the disk was t00 fragile an object to be an Import from Anatolia Duhoux, Yves (1977) ~ Le Disque tu Phasstos. Archeologie. Epigraphte. dition Critique. Luwian, ‘Duhoux, Yves (2000) ~ ‘How not to decipher the Phaistos Disc’, Ame ‘can Journal of Archaeology, 104, 3, 597. 600, Cretan provenance, ¢, 1850-1600 BC. Could be related to Linear A. A review of Faucounau’s Le déciffement ‘du disque de Phaistos. Preuves et Conse ‘quences, "The Minoan character of the ‘isc, regularly debated in the past, is assured thanks to an Impressive series ff points in common with indis- Minerva, July/August 2008 -| The Phaistos Disk pputable Minoan artifacts." He claims that the signs have ‘clear affinities with the Arkalokhorl axe’ Dunand, Maurice (1945) ~ Byblia Grammata. There is a strong resem blance ta the Proto-Byblic script. Eisenberg, Jerome M. (1999) — In fetter to The Economist, 16 January ‘a joke perpeteated by a clever archae- ologist from the Halian mission to Crete upon his fellow excavators Taking a thermoluminescence test, which should date the fiting of the clay at about 100 years ago, can solve the mystery of the dls.” Ephron, Henry D, (1962) ~ "Hygleia Tharso and aon: The Phais- tos Disk’ in Harvard Studies in Classlal Philology, 66, 1-91. Late Minoan period (from Wikipedia). Evans, Arthur J. (1909) ~ Scripta Minoa I, the written documents of Minoan Crete... Non-Minoan, from Asia Minor (1921). The human figures and costume are non-Minoan and ‘no more than ten more or less resemble Cretan hieroglyphic forms’. He com pared sign no, 2, the plumed head, with the Philistine headdress and sign no, 24, the building, with the Lycian rock-cut tombs, Possibly a hymn or religious chant to the earth goddess, the goddess of fertility, or the Anato- lian Great Mother who was wor shipped in both Asia Minor and ete Fattah, Nurihan (n.d.) ~ The Lan _guage of Gods and Pharaohs, The disk is a text In Tatarish-Turkish about the {east of a nobleman, Fattah, a Kazan University professor, also claims that the written and spoken language in Atlantis was Turkish, Faucounau, Jean (1975), (1999, 2001) ~ Le déchiffement du disque de Phaistos. Preuves et Consequences. He Claims that it comes from the Syros cclture of the Cyclades. ‘Proto-Jonic’ Greek dialect, a syllabic acrophonic script comparable to near B. The invention of an early Aegean people, the Proto-onlans, borrowing the idea from 6th Dynasty Egypt. A funerary hymn to Arion, child of Argos, destroyer of lasos. Duhioux states In fact, this study commits enough seri fous errors of all sorts to warrant a secure place in the anthology of mis- guided decipherments.” He mixes tue syllabograms (tepresenting sounds) with some purely alphabetic conso- nants, a combination unknown In ‘deciphered Aegean scrips. Faure, P. (2003) ~ ‘Tourne disque, Venigme du disque de Phaistos’ in Notre Histoire, 213, October 2003, He considers the dsk to be a forgery. Fell, Howard Barraclough (1973) ~ Polynesian tablets and Protopolyne: sian. A newly deciphered European tongue of the Minoan subgroup. The Phaistos disk ca, 1600 B.C.’ In Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Unl- versity, 200-217. He found Polynesian clements and suggested early contacts between the two civilisations. Fell, Howard Barraclough (1976) ~ ‘The Decipherment of the Phaistos Disk’, The Epigraphic Society Occasional Publications and Papers, 4, 79. An Ana tolian language. A verse in feminine rhyme, ‘an oracular ald in the inter. pretation of omen’. Other side: In prose, ‘how a priest may determine the fate of a client by observing the behavior of birds Fischer, Steven R. (1988) ~ Ev dence for Hellenic Dialect in the Phistos Disk. Greek dialect, syllabic script. A Minoan call to arms to repel Carian invaders from Anatolia, “Like Ventris, Fischer gradually came to the idea that he might be dealing with early Greek or at least Indo-European,” The luanslation offered involves a pub- lished announcement, or the tran- scription of a speech, by the ‘commander of a Minoan naval force, urging his teoops on to battle (appar: tently near Naxos) against Invaders from Anatolia’ ‘Hear ye, Cretans and Greeks: my great, my quick! Hear ye, Danaidans, the great, the worthy! Hear ye, all blacks, and hear ye, Pudaan and Libyan immigrants!” Fischer, Steven R. (1997) ~ Glyph: Breaker. [tis written in a Hellenic dialect of Minoan, 'a sister language of Mycenaean Greek’ Franklin, Kenneth (with Leon Pomerance) ~ A calendar or an almanac (see Leon Pomerance). Frenkel, M. (1999) ~ "The Phaistos disk as an astronomical calculator.” A paper presented at the Oxford VI and. SEAC 99 Conference (27 May 1999). Georgiev, Viadimir (1976) ~ On the similarity t0 Lavian (ite) hiero- slyphs and Linear B. An acrophonic, syllabic hieroglyphic seript (noted ear- lier by H. Bossert (1932) and Simon Davis (1967). A story in Luwian about ‘the Cretan king Minos. Gleye, Arthur (1912) ~ Kretische Studion, Die westfinnische Inschrift aud dem Diskus von Phaestos. The language is West Finnish or Old Estonian, Godart, Louis (1990, 1995) ~ The Phaistos Disc ~ the enigma of an Aegean scrip. From an Aegean culture, Middle or Late Minoan, c, 15S0clate 13th cen- tury BC. ‘Among the writen testimo- nla from ancient Crete there is not @ single text that permits us to define any relationship whatsoever with the Phatstos dise, Thus we can say with certainty that the script on the disc is totally alien to the scripts of Minoan Myceneaean Crete’ Godatt points out that ‘there are no definite compar isons between the signs of the Disc and the syllabograms of the three known Cretan scripts (Hieroglyphics, Linear A and Linest 8) 21Gordon, Cyrus H. (1966) - Evie dence for the Minoan Language. A syl- labie acrophonic legend in 2 Semitic text Gordon, F. G. (1931) ~ Through Basque to Minoan: transiterations and translations of the Minoan tablets. A hhyma to the ‘rain lord’, associated with Aquarius, in a language allied £0 Basque. ‘...dogfish smiter on the creeping flower, the lord, smiter of ‘the horse-hide; the dog climbing the path, the dog emptying with the foot the water pitchers, climbing the cle cling path, parching the wineskin.” Grumach, Ernst (1962) ~ ‘Die Kor- rekturen des Diskus von Phalstos’ in Kadmos, 1, 16-26. Of Cretan origin. He suggests a change in content at a point near the end of side A from a ‘male to female theme. ‘Grumach, Ernst (1967) ~ Zum Herkunft des Diskus von Phaistos’ in ‘Akten des 2. Intrnationalen Kretologen- Kongresses I, 281-296. ‘Gwynn, B. V., and N. Kolyvanos, IN. (1977) ~The Phaistos Disc. An early form of Greek, of administative sig nifleance, Haarmann, Harald (1990) ~ Lan- guage in Us Cultural Embedding, \deo- graphic writing. A sacred text of a funerary rite, the symbols represent- ing persons, gods, spirits, offerings, events, places, attelbutes, and reli- gious activities. Hagen, Ole 1988, 2001 ~ The Phaistos Disk ~ Alias the Minoan Galen dar, A calendae with the names of months, ‘He claims that the images describe ceremonies or duties that should be performed on the approps! ate date’ all, H.R. (1911) ~A Note on the Dhaistos Disk’ in Journal of Helfenie Studies, 31, 119-123, Non-Cretan, from Asia Minor (1927). He suggests that the plumed head sign has feathered helmet, showing Philistine origin. Hansel, Stanislaw (1999, website) I is probably written in a Semitic Tanguage that he calls Keftian after the Fayptian name for Crete ~ Kea Hausmann, Axel (2002) ~ Der Diskus von Phaistos. Bin Dokument aus Atlantis, An ideographic script {rom ‘Atlantis, e. 4400 BC. Hemple, George (1911) ~ ‘The Solving of an Ancient Riddle: tonic Greek before Home’, Harpers Monthly Magazine, 122, 728, January, 187-198 Tonic Greek, syllabic script. Lo, Xipho the prophetess dedicates spolls from a spoller of the prophetess.” Perhaps the earliest published attempt at its deci- pherment, Henke, Christoph (2003) ~ Die Hierarchie der Zeicher auf dert Diskus von Phaistos. He interprets it as ‘a hlet- archy of character = Hutchinson, R, W, (1973) ~ Prekis- 22 The Phaistos Disk toric Crete. Originating in Asia Minor. Imperiali, Massimo (website, rnd.) — Possibly a political treaty with, alist of geographical places. Ipsen, Gunther (1929) ~ ‘Der Diskos von Phalstos. Ein Versuch der Enteifferung’ in Indogermanische Forschungen, 37, 1-41. Prom some: ‘where in the Aegean, but non-Cretan Symbol values inspired by cunetform; shapes Inspired by Egyptian hicro- lyphs. ‘Jensen, Hans (1925) ~ Geschichte der Shri. OF Cretan origin “Jeppesen, Kristian (1962) ~ ‘Some remarks on the Archaeological Placing (of the Phaistos Disc’ in KUME, 180- 190. A similarity to several Egyptian hieroglyphs. After 1400 BC, probably 1100 BC. Johnson, Glenn (a.d.) ~ Ancient Cretant Languages (The Phaestos Disk). A south-western Anatollan-Syeian or fin, relating to Anatolian and Indo- Aryan scripts. A listing of mobilities, perhaps representing a funerary record, Kaulins, Andis (1980) ~ The Phals- tos Disc: Hieroglyphic Greek with Euclid ean Dimensions ~ The ‘Lost Proof’ of Paralfel Lines, Proof of a geomettic theocem in Greck hierogiyphics. ‘a geometric proof in rather odd Greek, written in an Egyptian-based syl- labary’ Kean, Vietor J. (1985) ~ The Disk from Phaestos. Pictographs filled out with text, 2100-1900 BC. ‘..the printed record of the journeys of an tarly Minoan who crossed to the coast of North Africa and headed ‘deeper into the harsh conditions of ‘the Sahara in the hope of persuading fone particular group of nomadic Ihuntets to cease their destructive way of life. ‘Kober, Alice (1948) - The Minoan Seripts: Facts and Theory’ In American Journal of Archaeology, 52, pp. 82-103. Of Cretan origin until proven other: Kretschmer, Paul (1931) ~ ‘Die Altesten Sprachtschiften auf Kreta! in Glotta. A Carlan document with a ist of soldiers. A possible link to the Ilyr- fans and to the Etrusco-Venetic and late Greek scripts Ktistopoulos, Konstantinos D. (1951) . ‘Die antike Punktierung und der Diskus vor Phaistos’ in Minos, 1, 7.28, According to Mark Newbrook, he ‘decided that the text was in a Semitic language and dealt with gods, stars, prophecies and the white of cage! ‘Kvashilava, Gia D. (2006) ~ The Phaistos Dise ~ Colchian Goldscript. Sy lablelogograms in Old Colchian. The disk was brought from the Black Sea area through traces to Crete Louise, Olivier M. (website) - Greek, about a destruction of Thera Macalister, R. A. S, (1914) ~ "The Philistines’ in Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly, 141 (ME notes, 1968). It has a Libyan connection and simi larity to several Egyptian hieroglyphs. ‘A judicial court list, dated, with the magistates’ and witnesses’ names Mackenzie, Duncan (c. 1908) Cretan Palaces, Mackenzie, Field Direc tor for Sir Arthut Evans and an expert fon Cretan clay tablets and sealings, ‘thought that the clay is of foreign ori- sin, ‘Marinatos, Spyridon (c. 1935-39) = A sacred script. He considers the disk and the Arkalokhorl axe (found bby Marinatos) to be ‘cultural astifacts of the same kind’ Martin, Adam (2000) - Der Diskos von Phaistos - Bin zwelsprachiges Doku ‘ment geschrieber in einer fruhgriechis: chen Alphabetschrift Erhaltlich Greek-Minoan bilingual alphabetic text, Side Ais an early Greek text for a faneral service meant to console a bereaved person. Side B is the Minoan. version of the same text. Massey, Kevin and Keith, A. J. (1997-2003, website) ~ Mysteries of History Solved’, A magical text, per haps a cuts, in an Indo-European sy lable script. ‘this Proto-Byblic script whieh is demonstrated by the Massey twins as being a closely related ortho- {graphic system to the Phalstos Disk. "the underlying language of the Proto-Bybllc script was Semitic, It is @ linear script which displays many identifiable objects, like weapons, hhuman figures, and body parts Later, an unknown Greek script for an Inventory of goods ‘similar to most of the Lincar B tablets!’ What may have happened in the world of the Phaistos Disk is that farmers and merchants brought commodities to a palace, temple, or treasury and deposited. them in this central location. For this deposit, they would be given a record somewhat like & receipt. This Is what Linear B tablets tended to be, listings ‘of commodities and goods. The Phals tos Disks the same thing. Matz, Friedrich (1972) ~ The Art of Greece and Early Greece: the Prelude to Greck Art Ieoriginated in Asia Minor. Mekvedy, Colin (2002) - The New Penguln Atlas of Ancient History. ‘thas ro bea hoax.” ‘Meerten, Reinier J. van (1977) ~ “on the start of printing of the Phats: tos Disc’ in SMI, Journal of Linguistic Calcul, 29-36, A Semitic text. Mellink, Machteld J. (1964) ~ ‘Lycian Wooden Huts and Sign 24 on te Phaistos Disk’ in Kadmos, 3, 1-7. she links sign 24 with a motif of a wooden hut on a large Lycian burlal vase even though the vase is fom the 4d millennium BC. “Meyer, E (1909) ~ ‘Der Diskus von. Phaestas und die Philister auf Kreta’ Minerva, July/August 2008in Sitzugberichte der Konigich Preusis- chen Aadera der Wissenschaften, 33, 1022-1029. Related to the Philistines because of the plumed head sign, no. 2. ‘Muenzer, Paul J. (1985) ~ The Phaistos Disk Deciphered. Ibs 1 Greek text. ‘Myres, J. L. (1930) Who were the Greeks? An Anatolian import. "Nahm, Werner (1975) ~ ‘Vergleich von Zeichen des Diskos mit Linear A’ In Kado, 14, 2, 97-101. ~ Of Cretan oxi gin, made at Phaistos. Comparison. With some symbols to Linear A ~ the walking man, no. 1, to L148 and the cat's head, no. 25, t0 1149, th two found only on tablet PHS from Phals- 10s, ‘Neumann, Giinter (1968) — ‘Zum Forschungsstand beim ‘Diskos von Phaistos’ in Kadmos, vol. 7, no. 1, 27- ‘44, Of Cretan orig. It cannot be dated ‘much earlier than the Arkalokhor axe. Ballistier quotes Neumann: ..whoever chooses this dactment asthe object of hls research must soberly assess the limits of his possibilities, if he does not ‘wish to experience that no one but himself believes his theories to be cor rect’ He notes a clay ritual plate from Phaisos with figures of cattle and spi= nals stamped around he edge. He con- sides the disk, the Arkalokhori axe, and the Malia altar stone scripts to be “individual of local forms! of the same pictographie scrip. Oblenroth, Derk (1996) — Das Aba tom des iykscen Zeus der der Hain der Flaia, OF Cretan origin, made at Phais- tos, ¢ 1850-1550 BC, Free verse in a Greek dialect, a phonetic, alphabetic script, the pictography almost doubling for the Greek alphabet signs. Its about two sanctuaries in the Peloponnese in mainland Greece and isa votive offer: Ing for the appeasement of the gods, probably made following the eruption ‘of Thera. On one side, an execration ‘text cursing those who enter the shrine of Zeus on Mount Lycaeon in the South-west of Arcadia; on the other side fan Invocation of the night goddess lia (the local epiphet for Demeter), 2 ‘curse resulting In the loss of one’s shadow if an attempt is made to enter ‘the shrine, Side A: Zeus is also the radl- lant one. If Zeus is the Lycaean, (he) ‘tom whose beloved grows a shoot of his same essence..’ Side Be “Tinter the grove of Blaia: Ignite smoothened ‘wood all around: Ina crcl around the sacrificial smoke, beat the earth and whinny suddenly like a pair of horses. Olivier, John-Pierre (1975) - ‘Le disque de Phaistos', édition pho- tographigue, Bulletin de Comespondence Hellenique, 99, 5-34. He questions the authenticity of the disk Ovendon, Michael, and Archie, Roy (website of Mark Newbrook) = & ‘suggestion that the zodiac must have Minerva, July/August 2008 ‘been first recorded somewhere in the latitude of Crete at around the time t0 ‘hich the Disk Is dated: Pendlebury, J. D. S, (1939) ~ The Archaeology of Grete. The disk is an Import from Anatolia. Pernier, Luigl (1908) ~ ‘I diseo ai Phaestos con caratteri pittograticy’ in Ausoma, 3, 255-302. OF Cretan origin. ‘The contents are ofa ritual natuce. Plagnol, Philippe (2007) — Ideograms. f shows a greater relation ship to Egyptian hieroglyphs ‘than to ‘the rectilineae and austere tablets of the sylabic writings rediscovered with i. Polygiannakis, Efi (2000) ~ The hast disk speaks in Greek, A prayer in syllable Greek sip. Polymeros, G. (website) ~ A Greek Janguage. "Palace's Prestess/shout loud so that I get healed/holy clothes Ihave brought up here to you,/Respectable, perfect (animals for sacrifices) I have Drought up here to you for the Palace’ (Geom sew Unilang org) Pomerance, Leon (1976) ~ The Phaistas Disk: An Interpretation of Asto- nomical Symbols. Of Cretan origin. An astronomical document in a pictorial form of symbolic communication. He suggests that the entire design had ‘been ‘cut into a soft limestone matelx for each side and then impressed on a pancake of soft clay. The two disks of clay were then trimmed around the edges, not quite accurately, placed back to back, and joined with slipped clay’. ‘Tals would mean that it was not just ‘ease of individual stamps being used & Ja Gutenberg, but that is was indeed an amazingly early precursor of precast Iinotype. Pravilov, Victor (2006? ~ website, {in Russian) ~ A device for the manufac: turing of metal wares, Semantic signs for a “polyideographic language’. It is ‘similar to the internal structure of the ‘deep-sea cephalopod nautilus pompilss, Prendergast, Jane (website) ~ ‘Notes on the Phaistos Dis’, A Hittite ‘origin because of: (1) the similarity betwen the number of differing sym- bbols on the disk and the number of syl- lables in Hittite and Luwian; (2) resemblances of the symbols them selves to Hittite hieroglyphs and arte- facts and (3) correspondence of objects depicted by the symbols and themes from the Histon of Hatusi I tis poss- ble that the disk may be a record of sits made to a temple, possibly that of Arinna. She notes ‘the resemblances between the material of the dise and the text of the Wars of Hats." Read, F. W. (1921) ~ ‘A new Inter- pretation of the Phaestos Disk: the old st music in the world?" in Palestine Exploration Fund, 29-54." Musical notes. Richter-Ushanas, Egbert (2008) ~ ‘The Disk of Phaistos and the Sacred Mar- rage of Theseus and Ariadne. A ‘pseudo- scholatly’decipherment, The Phaistos Disk RJabehikov, Sergel V. (1998) ~ Protoslavonie dialect, syllabie sep. ‘ne makes the observation that the Phaistos Disk signs are the decorative version ofthe Linear A sept He reads the Disk- and Lineat Aas eal Slav ‘more specifically as instructions fr it tals he aso believes that Ems was {lose 0 eaty Slavic Robinson, Andrew (2002) ~ Lest Languages. He quotes the writer (ME) in his eter to The Economist, 16 Janu ay, 1999: ..a joke pespezated by a clever archacologist from the Italian mission to Crete upon his fellow exca- ‘ators. Taking a thermoluminescence tes, hich should date the fing ofthe Clay at about 100 years ago, can solve themystery ofthe dsc” Roolvink, Hedwig (1999, website) ~ "The Disk of Phaistos. The millen- sium problem of Crete solved?" &n Anatolian script of pletogams, probe bly a very primitive Lash script ‘an account of the expedition of group of people who lived in the mountains and ‘wert in search of flat land” Rowe (1919) ~ From Cyprus. ‘Transactions ofthe Royal Sac of Aus. tralia, 8, 142. Also it Arca Joural of Archacolgy, 28, 1921, 176 OME notes, 1968.71) Sankarananda, Swami (1968) ~ Dacipermentof scons or the Pha- tos Disc of Cite. Te language Is nda. Schachermeys, Fait (1964) ~ Die rinoische Kultur des alten Kyeta, He ‘explains the differences between the disk, the Arkalochori axe, and the Malia altar stone by the existence of diferent schools of writing In different places and tha they showed ther inde pendence from one anothe. For hi, ‘he walking man (wo. 1) ana ying bid (no. 31) signs aze “typical Minoan Images of movement Schertl, Ernst (1948) ‘De Diss von Phastos. Wege zu Entifferng’ (Ways towards ts Decipherment) tn Warburg Jhrbicher fir ae Alert. swissenschaft, vol. 3, 334-365. Indo. European, closely cognate with Latin; rot of Cretan origin, but from Rhodes. ‘Armixture of sllaie and alphabetic ‘writing. A double hymn to Zeus and the Minotaur Schomburg, Bernd (2000) - Der Jahrtausend-Kalender der Minoer. A Minoan calendar with ‘schematic winding ideograms’. Free transiation: ‘Minoan calendae with directions for ‘the measurement of the year andthe rill? Schwarz, Benjamin (1989) ~ “The Phalstos disk’ in Joumal of Near Bases Studies, 18, 2, 105-112. Mycenaean Greet, syllabic srpt Related to Linear B. Late Minoan period. Descriptive precinct ists (or ‘Index of religous ple Arimage centers Balser) Sittig, Est (1986) ~ Zur Enter lung der minolsh-Syprischen Tafel von 23Xnkomt’ in Minos, 4 33-42, An early form of Greek Snowden, Clive (website) — 4 prayer in plctxraphs fom Asia Minor. ihe Phalstos Disc: deciphered’ "The General mightiness sought, The High Priest, The offering the greatest in Heaven. Many offerings were killed The General 2 courier gave, To the gyeatest person in highest Heaven" Sori, Karl (2006) ~The ultimate assessment, Grazer Linguistische St en, 65, 151185. Stawell, Horence Metian (1911) ‘an Interpretation of the Phaistos Disk’ in Burlington Magazine, 19, 97, April, 23-29, 32-38, Homeric Greck, syllable script, possibly connected to a Cypsian seript. A mati for religious symbols for 8 prayer, ‘used In thet Gitional rites ofa great goddess” such, fs Rhea, who was similar to Athena Stylon, Nikos (€. 1998) ~ Phoin styios claims to have translated both the Phaistos Disk and the Maglian Disk He claims that the text was used for teaching people to read and that ‘Melanguage ‘aancti. Sundwall, Johannes (1927-28) ‘Phaistos ~ DBkus in Reallevikon der Vorgeschichte 10, 124-126. He com- pres the stamp technique ofthe disk fo the decorative syle of the Midale Minoan I seal impressions (the source for some of te signs on the ais. Thomopoulos, 1. (1912) ~ He pro poses an Albanian connection OME potes, 1968-70), ‘Tim, Torsten (2005) - Der Diskus om Phas ~ FrealeifssoderKretis- ches Erbe? A Minoan stamp script, citer sllable or hieroglypile, with a complete text, in conformity with Lin tar A.A reading experlmen. He com pares 19 signs with Linea A “Trauth, Michaell (1990) ~ “The Phatstos Dise and the Devils Advo- cate, Glotiometrba, 12, 181-172. That itis of Cretan orig ‘can no longer be called into question’, but the language isnot Grek ‘Van Meerten, Reinier J. (1977) ~ ‘on the start of printing ofthe Phats tos Disc’ in SMIL, Journal of Linguistic Caeuls, 29-36. Vieni, Rosario (2008) ~ Il Disco a Fest ei Disco di Nebr: Un calendrario Yeeccio di 4000 ari? ~ h-calendar- diary ‘Watson, Claire Grace (website) - “the Phatstos Disk Mave of Daedalus ‘the disk Isa disk of the world that shows the Minoan’ religion and thelr reasoning about the Minoan Eruption and Tsunami’ ‘The disk Is a Minoan eave splial on which is depicted the Aegean world of Minoan Crete including a eave, a boat, a pyramid, a Sta, plants, a constellation, geome tey, mati, and everyday life jn Crete ‘mat mizrrs the stars above 24 [~The Phaistos Disk — Wenzel, Hermann (1998, website) An sstronomieal document with day symbols yr Westeriaken, W. AG. (website) — cmne fhaton Dise Unvavelled A Hite tie relation? itt, Helene (2008) ~ ‘Socal and Symbol Aspects of Minoan Wi sagt ithe Europea ural of Arce ag Nao-al, wating was also used 2 ante of stats ad prestige and #3 Xommanteation mith the vine whittet, Steve (rebste, 1995) — A calendar. Will, Friedhelm (2000) ~ A nusn- bec philosophieal document originat- {ngiin Atlantis. Another example of “poeudo-archacoogy” ‘Winter, Dan (website) - The lis sits mystery myth The disk, crested ©1600 BG, recor the activities ofthe I-Osts set as they convened inside the Great Pyramid of Cheops and worked to establish thelr group con: Sclousness using the tools of Sacred geometry. It is "portal disk using magnetic portal geometry"! Again, “pasndrarchacology at ts finest ‘Woudhuizen, Fred, C., with an inteection by Jan Best (1992) ~The Language of the Sea Pops, Pom Ana tolla A resemblance to Lawlan (Ana tolian) hieroglyphs. A Lawian letter to King Nestor of Achaia set fom Phat tos Se Jan Best) ‘Zeist, Herbert W. Russian web foram, 2006) = Its vrien ina South Caucasian/Georgian language, Kartvellan, or Colehlan (Kolkian) Mingeliar-La, spoken by the people Of the Black Sea coast, The plctoral Signs are ‘specimens of ‘Coleen Gold septa, The Colchian language was spoken by the pre-olympie Tans, the Son-god. Hellos..[and) Queen Pasiphae, the wife of king Minos of (Crete. The text Isa hymn ‘Nenana’, dedicated to the protector of ‘Aca. Neshka’, Plasgian-Colehlan Great ‘Mother Geddes Nan/Rhea-cybele "A tumber ofthe listings above of attempts to decipher the disk were derived from the book The Phatstos Dise An Acct of ts Unsaed Mystery by Thomas Rallster and the webaltes of Mark Newbrook (htip/www.bad- Tanguage.com/phaistor), Anthony Seoronos (tasers otenctat sro nan/phaistosintm), and Wikipedle ‘Phaestos disc’. Another Important ‘website: hip wo. dsque-phalston Recommended Reading ‘Thomas Balister, The Phaisos Disk: An Acco ofits Unsolved Mystery (2000). A Small but excellent, well-documented account of many of the attempts to ‘decipher the disk Louis Godart, The Phaists Disc: The Enigma of an Aegean Script (1995). A beautifully photographed description ‘of the disk with enlarged details and the author’ efforts to interpret it. Itustration Credits Balistier, T. - The Phaistos Disk: An Account of its Unsolved Mystery (2000): big 1s. Bossert, H.T.-Altiseta (1923): Fg 23. Davari, C.- Phastes ~ Haghia Tada — Gory (4): Big 58 Eisenberg, J.- drawings (1971). Figs 20 (after ‘Ausgrabungen und Funde auf Kreta 1936/37" in Archacotogische ‘Anzeier, 1937, 224-234, Figs 8-9), 53 [Evans A. J.- Scripta Minoa I, the written documents of Minoan Crete... (1903): Figs 3, 7,24, 37-38, 4, 48, 49,52, 56 Everson M, - Anatolian Hieroglyphs (2007, website), Draft N3236: Fig 8 (extrac. Tamoux, A. - Cnassas: Larchéologle dun rive (1993) Fig SS, Godart, L. - The Phaistos Disc: The Enigma of an Aegean Script (995): Figs 1.2, 4-5, 16, 19 (drawing by Iro Athanasiadou), photo by L. Godart), 22, 26, 28, 32,33, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 46, $9. All photos, except Fig 19, by Judith Lange; drawings by Louis Godart Mellersh, H. E. L. - Minoan Crete (1967): Figs 27 (after a drawing in A, vans, Palace of Mis, 1953), 29 rapathanassopoulos, G. - Neolithic and ladle Civilization (1981, Figs 47, 57, Payne, J. C= Catalogue of the Predas: tic Egyptian Collection in the Ashmolean Muszum (1993): Fig 4S, Robinson, A. - Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World’s Undeciphered Seripts (2002): Figs 9 (extract), 10 (extract), 13,14, 17,18, 36, 42, Vieni, Re I Disco di Festoe if Diseo dt Nebra: Un calendrario veechio di 4000: ‘anni? (2005): Fig 21 Wikipedia, Cestus: Fig 31 Woudhuizen, F.- The Language of the Sea Peoples (1992): Fig 6 (after Milani, 1893), 34, 50. www anclentscripts.com/luwian: Fig2s. Reprints of this article are now available. Contact: Minera, 14 Old ‘Bond Street, London WIS 4PP. ‘Tel: (44) 20 7495 2590; Fax (44) 20 7491 1595, Or: 153 Bast S7th Street, [New York, NY 10022, USA. Te: (1) 212 (355-2034; Fax: (1) 212 688-0012. | ‘e-mail - London: | minervateminervamagazine.com; "New York: anclentart@aol.com. {An international conference on ‘the Phalstos Disks planned in ‘London in November 2008. Full detalls | lie pested onthe Minna website by the end of July: ‘wor minervamagazine.com. See also ‘Minerva September/October 2008, Minerva, July/August 2008——— | Hadrian at the British Museum }~—____ = IN SEARCH OF HADRIAN Sam Moorhead assesses the intriguing character of Hadrian and previews an innovative new exhibition at the British Museum. He was in one ard the same person both stern and cheerful affable and harsh, impetuous and hesitant, mean and generous, hypocritical and straightforward, cruel and merciful, and always in all things changeable, Scriptores Historiae Augustae) nn 24 July, a new exhibition opens at the British Museum, ‘Hadrian, Emplre and Conflict’, which will enable a reappraisal of one of Rome's bbest known, but possibly least under. stood, emperors. The curator, and Author ofthe associated book, Thorsten (Opper, has secured 180 objects from 31 institutions to present a Selection of ‘material viewed together for the first time. Amongst the pleces are recently excavated finds from Turkey which are fon show for the first time (Fig 2). For those of us whto have already written about Hadrian itis a wonderful oppor tunlty to reconsider our opinions of a ‘man who strode his empire like a colos sus, but whose character always seems ‘to evade clear definition, as suggested by the quotation by his 4th century biographer (cited above). For the lay- man it will provide a rare chance to view the highpoint of the Roman Empire; traditionally, Ancient History courses on Rome at schools and univer: sities used to end with the reign of Hadrian. Therefore this exhibition In many ways epitomises the pinnacle of oman achievement in the minds of Classical scola Told through the life and reign of Hadrian, tis story of Rome's greatness Is full of violence, artistic brilliance, Minerva, July/August 2008 Fg 1 Bronze head of Hadrian found ‘nthe River ‘Thames near London tridge 2nd century AD. Hem, Inyo. PE 1948, © Trustees ofthe ‘rie seo 1g2.A marble eriifesve head Of Hadran being excavated at Turkey in 2007, BF Phot: courtesy of| Saatasot Archactogtea! Project, ‘Sami Moorhea) 1s the National Finds Adviser for Tron Age and Roman coins in the Department of| Portable Antigu- ties and Treasure ‘atthe British Museum. Intrigue, and mystery. Although born In Rome in AD 76, Hadrian came fom a provincial family in Spain that Claimed its descent from veterans set- ted at Ialica in c. 206 BC by Scipio Alicanus after his campaigns against ‘he Carthaginians in the Second Punic ‘War. A number of influential families became very rich through metal rin= Ing and, in Hadrian's family’s case, the export of vast quantities of olive ofl to Rome, Eighty per cent of the broken o'] Jars on Rome’s Monte Testaccio come from Spain. Hadrian was only nine when his father died, but it did mean that he was adopted by another power- ful Spaniard and future emperor of Rome, Trajan (¢. AD 98-117). Trajan favoured Hadrian who marted 1 srand.nlece, Sabina in AD 100 (Gg 7), Possibly even more important was Plotina, Trajan’s wife, who was proba bly largely responsible for securing Hadrian's (controversial) adoption 35 emperor after Trajan’ death adrian gained a great deal of mili: tary experience under Trajan, serving as a tibune three times and commanding a legion. Trajan, the Optimus Princeps (best of Princes) was a belligerent man ‘who conquered Dacia and thrust deep into Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), push Ing back Rome's great foes, the Partht ans, in 115. It was Hadan who had to eal with the consequences of Trajan’s verstretch. tn 117 we are told that the ‘Moors, Sarmatlans, Bltons, Egyptians, Libyans, and Judacans were all threat ‘ning trouble, although to what extent this is stock hyperbole on the part of the biographer we cannot be sure, Lesser men would probably have ‘taken off uniform and mingled with the crowd, but Hadrian was decisive from the outset. He withdrew from Mesopotamia and redrew the eastern, frontier at the River Euphrates, thus freeing up troops for use elsewhere, Hadkian also reformed the army, Disc pina August becoming the eatchword, and then set about securing frontiers in Germany, Britain, and North Africa Unlike many previous empezors he did not act through proxy but visited and mixed with his troops, sharing their dlet and dressing simply: ‘By the sol: diers he was greatly loved on account of his great attention to the army, and at the same time because he was very generous towards them.’ (SHA). How. lever, to suggest that he was the creator of. static military state behind defined borders is untrue ~ predecessors had already attempted to found frontiers,|" Hadrian at the British Museum ~~ REZ), demonstrate alan hs fen been pose mitiry sep asa snsiecial Plone, dich dome —ondertully ewok ina sate inthe meri yer ish Mase, fom Cyrene, showing feaetyeatay the emperor in Greek dese One sur EONAD TIEED. —frisis not mn fact sate of Hadrian, eigen Wm but an. antiquarian constrict Smetana,” Vadis head ws in fact inserted on the wrong statue (Fig 4). This sal, Haran was partially keen on Gresk + culture ~ he was called “Graeculus sup posed when young he spoke Greek better than Latin, created a Felenic League, and pateonised nuseros Greek cies, notably Athens. Opper + fiso claims that it was Hadrian ‘who united the Greckspeaking World ofthe tcstern Mesiterranean, tothe extent that later they embraced the cult of Antinous, Hains wnorsinate lover notably Augustus in Germany. Further 's most polgnant and potent more, Hadrian could be ruthless legacy to the modern wold (3) Ts towards his enemies, Antagonised by no surprise that later Jesh writers Rome's poy abou Tensalem and ci Inserted the phrase ay hs bones tt who drowned inthe Nile in AD 130. Curncsion, the fevs of udaea eblied after mentions of Hadrian's name in Tadiian' sexuality and velatonship GderSimon bat Rokha and destoyed the Talmud. Exits of simple poses- fy 4(eow ep. with the Greck boy Antinous has three legions. in 152, Hadsian's sions such as baskets and housekeys, Sutucof Madan’ Inspired many commentaries. A Opper response ass inclsve, even Involving of Jensh fees om cave ste In the omOne sas Hadas lationship with Ante Caling over his most expasenced come Judaean Deset standin sack contast — yahevitttle nos would not necessarily have Tarde fom that ether oft tothe many Imposing imperial arte. queer Shocked other Romans; It was his Die Blain Aer four yeas of fighting, fais esewhrein the exhibition (hg "auficearase amazing response to his lovers death bar Kotha was killed alongside almost 5) Btooms that cally highlighted the cltionshp, 600,000 of his countrymen, Jerusalem Hadsian’s martial prowess is shown ,J0.GR,—_Antinous’ image becoming one of the was rechristened Aelia Capitolina (after by vatlous depictions of him asa gen- pff@¥Z127.24 most common of the ancient world Tiadany; more importantly, daca eral inuniform or naked as te god "™fmeayuse” (Eg 6.1 do wonder What happened on was renamed Sia Plating, piohably Mats. However, as Opper cogently “Masi.” the Nile~ was Ht an opportunity for tval cours in the service of ian who must have made ter ves patti alr dificult? Recemt excavations have uncovered what appears to bean gS dow det. gypanstye shrine fo Antinous at, notte ‘a Haan’ enormous lc om daca hos ks lex eo the east of Rome. This Would be (depitainte Uy in keyg with a man whose (rere ettathe pasion for balding wis second proba Eola sinon ry only tote boy tom Syn 2s Travelling the empire today we are 42am ergeontronted by numerous monuments Mincum. inno, from Hadrian's reign, whether they be 3606." the atches at Jerash in Joréan and at 26 Minerva, July/August 2008 relEEE EE _ Le —_—_____—— Hadrian at the British Museum “-—- Fig (lf). The Mondragone marble bust of Hasian’s over Antinos, fund ina Roman Witla near Praseat, 2 contury AD. H. Bsc, tn no. MA 1208. Photo the Lag Fig 7 (below lf). Over fsize marble statue ofthe empress Sabina from the Vila Adriana, TWvol, 2d century AD. H. 204em. Phot: © Villa Adriana Fig § (below sight). Hadrian's Wall at davon. Photo: © Hadrien’s Wall Heritage Trust. Athens, the new housing quarters in cylinder of elegantly decorated space Htalica in Spain, or even the frontier where statues of gods and the imperial walls In Britain and Affia, It has long family stood, and where Hacrian ‘held been thought that Hadtlan’s Wall bears court when in Rome. The columns of ie mark of the emperor, the initial the portico, weighing up to 100 tons, design being a rigidly fixed system were transported all the way from Which one can imagine being drawn Egypt's Eastern Desert and the Firs sp by the emperor without due refer- Cataract ofthe Nil at Aswan. Not only ence to the terrain ~ that it caused a did Hadrian’s grandiose building headache for the soldiers who had to schemes in and around Rome attract Dulld the wall cannot be in doubt Fig exotic materials, masons and sculptors 8). The teason for building the various from across the Eastern Mediterranean, frontier walls is stil discussed, but hav- they’ also started a boom In the local {ng been in Berlin in 1989-90 and hav- brick industry, a business that enriched ing just etuened from the Palestinian some of Rome's leading families, West Rank, Tam well aware that walls Tt {s at Tivoli outside Rome that are more than merely military devices. Hadrian was able to indulge his pas Tn Britain, Hadrian might have also sions for architecture most ofall. Herc, been responsible for a massive building in aver 40 or more hectares, he built a at Stoned in the Cambridgeshire it Is. wide array of innovative structures thought that he drained the wetland with numerous functions to house his Fens. In Rome, however, Hadtlan left court, visitors, and the many staff (wo substantial bulldings. The Temple required to ran an imperial palace (Fig r fof Venus and Rome, sited on & plat. 10). We have to remember today that form between the Colosseum and the rather dull-coloured brick and con. Forum Remarur, was the largest temple crete buildings would have been faced to be built in Rome, When Hadrian and decorated with rich marbles asked Trajan’s celebrated architect mosales, and frescoes, not to men ‘Apollodocus to comment on the archi-- the numerous sculptures that stood all tectural plans, he ertiised them, say- over the palace. To get a feel for what ing the podium was too low and that the buildings might have looked i the heads of the seated gods would go inside, I urge readers to visit, in addi- though the roof when they stood up. tion to the Pantheon, St Peters Basilica Historical texts tell us that Apollodorus and Santa Maria deglt Angell In Rome was executed or exiled for this crti- where Renalssance atiss emulated the ism; modern apologists claim this Is splendour of Roman buildings, often ‘meze fetion. Lam not so sure; Hadrian ‘marble stripped from the origi- could be vindictive, and he did have a nals. The exhibition will highlight the Score from many years before, to settle results of recent excavations at Tivol, with Apollodorus, showing that it stil has many secrets to ‘More revolutionary, and of influ- be uncovered in the future. In many ence upon aumerous later buildings, ways, Tivol is a physical manifestation ranging ftom Hagia Sophia in Istanbul of Hadsian’s psyche ~ it was bullt away to the British Maseum’s Round Reading from Rome and its elements repre Room, is the Pantheon (Fig 9). This sented different parts of the Empire. building was completely rebuilt from Furthermore, it has grand, imposing, two destroyed predecessors and was a and opulent monuments reflecting the ‘riumph of the innovative uses of con- highpoint of the Roman Empire in its crete and vaulting. The widest un-ein- scale and physical reach; however, | forced dome in existence sits atop a find it very hard on a vist to feel the Pe oe Minerva, July/August 2008 27soul of elther Hadrian or its inhabi- Fig 9(rgh, tants rita ! Tivoli was the palace or an emgeror to the who was often on the move, aman Panton dome Solacetfomuavelingicemple bing "dows a amongst Greeks, and initiating more <-AD 125 Buulding projects, than he did from hate ain mingling with traditional aristocratic gum, 1 Roman society. Hadrian di attempt to court popularity in Rome, but failed. 1 took much persuasion on the part of Fadtian’s successor, Antoninus Pius, to get the Senate (o defy Hadrian » his new mausoleum, in all its opulence and dominating the noth bark ofthe 10 elo te. Tiber, was suely only appropdate fora he Maritime god (Hig 1). The Senators apparenty rs Tevet forgave Hadrian for the execi- nove rehtetural tion of four of thelr ranks atthe start of imovadons nhs his reign, although he always denied avis ia he was responsible He was undoubt. Arana at Tvl edly mote populat inthe provinces and Haq und 14 the Greek-speaking east, but our writ. Photo Joe ten sources reflect more the views of Willams, The senatorial Rome, Furthermore, he Bets Museum. wanted to see more of the provinces: versed with friends ~ if it can be ia his desth-bed poem might be fiting He was, indeed, a most ostentatious believes (HA). We cannot deny that around the Round Reading Room, lover of the common people, So fond he consolidated the frontiers, stzength- opening our eyes to likeable facets of was he of travelling that he wanted to ened the army, and made great strides Hadrian's character. Will it comment learn further, at frst hand, about that ‘towards unifying the empire. It meant on the fact that Britannia, who first hhe had read’ concerning the different gy 14 ¢gjyy ‘thE successor, Antoninus Pus, did appeared on Hadrian's coins, has just parts of the world’ SHA). This exhlbl- ght CastGun'e not have to leave Rome and only init been removed from our SOp piece by tion ought to help redress the balance ‘Angela, Hadrian's ated! one major campaign in Scotland. the Royal Mint. This Is the fist time by showing a mote universal and less Imawsoleum Dut This action beats al Me hallmarks of that she has ben relegated from our senatorial view of Haan thea bank carefully orchestrated propagandist coinage in 350 years, ironically at a However we might Judge Hadrian, tla ferBy ene go as to give Antoninus iilitary time when our Prime Minster, a Cale hve was les, a man with abounding compired opis honours n'a notorious region ~ the donian, s promoting Britishness, but energy. Not only did he spend half hs alopidsonand Caledonian were regarded in Rome a flying the Cross af St George over feign touring the empire, he also mul Meer Antaimis— sryongst the most barbarous of barbar! Downing Stet ~ do we need Hadrian tasked in amanner reminiscent of | HSHAB I jung to-come bck and rebrand us again? CChutenit ‘At one and the same time Yaa Je Hadrian does remain an enigma, he wrote, dictated, listened and con- Batre, “Diverse, manifold and multform” as [Hafan Rape and COMME? Wat write bythe author of Fptome de Cue. | the Bish Museum 24th July -26 Saris, and Tdo Took forward to this | "October 2008, Sponsored by BP new exhibition because (wil provide | A catalogue with te same name by me with the chance to reappraise my _|Thorsten Opper, i published by British] + Views of a man who has always | Museum Press 2008; 250pp, 210 Impressed me, Hovtever, Thave never | colour and bw lus; paperback £25), fet any affection for Hadian Ht might Forfusther information, just be thatthe joking soul he refers to |___whebetishmuseum ong Minerva, July/August 2008 etl_—— == [ ~~ Archaeology in Wales EROM CAVE TO CHURCH: THE ORIGINS OF EARLY WALES Mark Redknap introduces the new archaeology galleries at National Museum Cardiff. 1 2007 Amguedafa Cyinn- National Museum Wales celebrated its centenary year, One of the highlights of the centenary programme was the ‘evelopment of new archaeology gal leries at National Museum Cardiff (ig 2), They have now been spectace ularly redesigned, with a new focus fon survival, society, and status, ‘exploring aspects of change from the arrival of the first hominins (humans) to the end of the Middle Aes. The National Museu Wales was founded in 1907, and is now a multi site organisation. The Museum, in the centre of Cardiff, has been the focus for Welsh archacology since Its ‘opening in 1927 (Fig 1). Its interna. tionally renowned archaeological col lections had their beginnings in the modest founding collection of Cardiff Museum and Att Gallery. Under the aegis of archacologists such as Sir Mortimer Wheeler (Director 1924-26) and Sir Cyril Fox (Ditector 1926-48), the Department of Archaeology & Numismatics developed a dynamic combination of collecting, research, excavation, display, and publication, which continues today Minerva, July/August 2008 Fig 1 (below lf Royal opens of the National Macon of Wales ty King Geonge V ‘and cen ary “The fontage looks she same today, Put ‘he galleries are ery ifrent. Fig 2 (below igh “othe new ‘ori galeries, [Dr ware —) Readknap is Curator of Medieval & Later “Archaeology at |ampuedafa Cyr National Museum Wales. While the former archaeological displays installed in the late 1970s were innovative for their time, they were inflexible, and offered out mmoded interpretations and display conditions, As part of an extensive programme of development and refurbishment of National Museum diff, the decision was made to move the archaeology displays to the ‘round floor of the East Wing, incor porating them into the galleries ‘hich lead off the Maln Hall In pulling the narrative together and reinterpreting the collections thematically, the curatorial team set out to explore the relationship between past lives and the present, humanising the stories behind the ‘objects displayed ~ some new, some fold. OF the 1783 objects displayed, 1104 were not exhibited in the old galleries. The exhibition has a clean, simple, flexible installation style and ses chronology as a map within the xallery, providing visitors with a clear orientation within time. ‘The exhibition bogins with a ‘skull wall’ that puts the 230,000-year-old teeth from Pontnewydd Cave in north Wales - Europe's most north westerly Neanderthal remains ~ into context. Many famous and iconic dis coveries are on show, some for the firs time, The ‘Red Lady of Paviland’ from the Gower Peninsula (Fig 3) is on loan from Oxford University. ‘Museum of Natural History, in what is the first exhibition in Wales of these internationally significant Gravettlan (Early Upper Palaeolithic) remains, The male skeleton was exca vated in 1823 by Professor Willlam Buckland, who glossed over the evi dence for Its extreme age and argued ft represented an ‘excise man’ and later a Roman camp follower (female), Later recognised as western Europe's oldest known formal cere monial burial, it has now been radio- carbon dated to around 29,000 years ago ~ significantly placing the burial in a period of slightly warmer climate than previously thought. Some of the accompanying artefacts are also dis: played. Treasures include the remarkable Bronze Age hoard of gold jewellery and tools (Fig 4) from Buston near ‘Wrexhaan (¢, 1300-1150 BC); the gold lunula from Lianllynfi, Gwynedd 2200-2000 BC) and the jet spacer necklace from Pen-y-Bone, Holyhead, Anglesey (c. 2200-1700 BC), both on 29Archaeology in Wales Fig 3 (lf) The ‘Ret Lady’ of Paviland Cave om the Gower Peninsula south Wales, 1 vette Europe's oldest known fora ceremonial bral, 29,000 years Od le (lf), Twisted gold wine brace from the exceptional group of Bronze Axe sold ‘eter and bronce tol fond at Barton, Wrexham in 2008 (c. 130-1180 H. 5 (bow lf). The visually powerful Cape! Garman fired, Conwy, now dated to the Is century AD_ According to Sturt Pggtt (1971, ‘tad ur from all the other rtsh dnd Continental pieces in ts abortion and rocco flarboance’ ig (etowsght). Whe loos could ka” mannequin of a warrior with a Bronze Ae ‘hel dacovered at Gwern Bion Landed Guymedd (1000800 HC) and socked Spearhead, part of he Gullsfild Hoard, Powys (1080-900 BC). joan from the British Museum; the during the Roman campaigning in + CCaergwele Bowl, a representation of a Wales. Also featured Is the right hand boat in shale, tin, and gold foil (c. panel from an elephant ivory diptych 1300-1150 BC), di ed in 1823 made in Paris about AD 1340-60, close to the River Alun by workmen; found at Llandaf just outside Cardiff he fragmentary Cerrigydrudion in the 1840s (Fig 13). This has been Crown, decorated in the La Téne style reunited with a laser cut replica of (400-300 BC), shown with a new — the let panel, separated long ago and ‘construction by Nadge Nolan; and identified in 2006 in the collections the lon Age firedog {rom Capel Gar- of National Museums Liverpool. ‘mon ~ half ox, half horse (Figs) - __ Contextualising the collections described as ‘a masterpiece of Celtie and making that all important link blacksmithing’ (Ist century AD), between artefact and provenance In the early medieval zone, post: gallery space and landscape, has been Roman inscriptions and later free. achieved through photographs and standing crosses (Fig 10), such as the monitor presentations, incorporating spectacularly decorated cross shaft of images provided by the Royal Coni- Eludon’ are Integrated with early mission on the Ancient and Historie * medieval hand-bells, Viking-age Monuments of Wales and Cadw swords ancl lewellery, such as the sil- Another element of the exhibition ver and gold penannlar brooch from focuses on the world beyond Wales Newton Moot In the Vale of Glamor and the concept of common inhert gan. Closing with the impact of the tance, The first of its changing dis- Reformation from the 1830s, exhibits plays features three Corinthian rnclude the rare late 13th-century helmets (two of early type, ¢ 700-650 + rood figure (a crucifix) from Keme Inferior church, Monmouthshiee, and a Jate medieval wall painting showing the ‘Mocking of Christ’ from the church of St Tello, Llandeilo Tal-y Dont, near Swansea. This redundar: church, offered to the museum in 1984, has now been re-erected and refurbished with reconstructions 0 ts pre-Reformation wall paintings a St Fagans; National History Museum, situated just outside Cardiff ‘New discoveries on display include unfinished Neolithic stone axes hammerstone and vaste flakes fror Dr Steve Burrow’s excavations a Mynydd Rhiw, Gwynedd (c. 375 3080 BG; Fig 18), and a late Ist/2nd: century AD bronze vessel hoard from early Roman bronze vessel is a cup 0! Mediterranean form with an exquis ite spotted leopard handle (Fig 11) found recently In a burial near Aber gavenny, Monmouthshire (ist cen tury AD}, This may be contrasted with the Trawsfynydd tankaed, « drinking vessel in the native Iron Age tuadition with an elaborate handle i late La Tene style (c. AD 1-50), or loan from National Museums Liver pool. A donkey mill discovered at the Ist century AD fort at Clyzo, Powys In 2004 (Fig 10), indicates that the fort probably acted as a supply base Minerva, July/August 2008 tl— | Archaeology in Wales I are used, while newly commissioned art, animation, music, and photogra- phy have been incorporated to extend contemporary references within the exhibition: archaeology as a spur to creativity. Cardiff composer land sound artist Simon Thorne was commissioned to write music for the Palaeolithic zone, Asking the ques tion ‘why did we ever make music I the first place”’, he has composed piece for the introduction to the gallery entitled ‘Neanderthals’ exploring expression through song rather than speect Banners by Mary Lloyd Jones have been inspired by Neolithic rock ast and artefacts, and early medieval Inscxlbed stones (Fig 15), Descebin her visits to the remarkable Neolithic chambered tombs of Barclodiad y Gawzes and Bryn Celli Ddu on Angle. sey In locations ‘both dramatic and ‘numinous” as a constant inspiration, as a painter she has been able to HC, one of mature type, ¢. 600-500 extend her vocabulary of mazks BG} which form part of the collection borrowing from prehistoric artists, fof ancient arms and armour assem- ry Celli Dd is, apatt from Stone bled by Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis, henge, the only Neolithic monument the 8th Lord Howard de Walden aligned on the mid-summer solstice 1880-1946). He left the pre-classical which can still be see. and classical pieces from the collec- In a unique blend of art and tion to the National Museum Wales archaeology, multi-media work has fon his death in 1946, been created by artist and animator (One of the greatest challenges isto Sean Harris (Fig 14), who has ani make the distant past relevant to mated Bronze and Iron Age objects many audiences today, Experimental such as one of the two Llyn Fawr juxtapositions of artefacts and images cauldrons in a piece that conveys the to create resonances and meanings power and resonance of such objects ig 7 (above lef) Power resins mannequin of a priestess or arstcrat ‘werng tance Age sold tre, arles, and ings (1500-900 BC) “play power and status in early Wale, (tae a. zag ply of og pe hw of rls and ares possibly of Prec org, rom the Pare y-sete hoard, Daren, Cnty (1150 900 BC) i 9 (right). eta showin ‘plagues ntl sy an enigmatic head decorating on o he copper alloy shila om the Talim hoard, Gnonedd (AD 4080) ig 10 (etow lef), The Rana dud mera displays within the new ‘Origins’ galleries, At righ, he donkey mall excavated fom he Tot contury AD Roman fora iy, Powys Fig 1 below ight). The bronze Roman leopard cp ofa Meiteranean form recovered Troma bural at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire (Ist century AD). Minerva, July/August 2008 31oo Archaeology in Wales | years I have been privileged to have archaeological treasures from W tled ‘Gathering the Hosts of iritatn and Ireland’. Photographer Daniel Mase Liverpoo, Salter's commissioned photographs | = ao provide visual links to Wales and the [ ‘Origins: in search of Early Wales at i world today. David Nash, interna- | National Museum Cardiff (admission | tionally zenowned for working with | fee) isopen Tuesday ~ Sunday and ‘rood and tactile sculptures, has | Banc Holsay Mondays, 1am Spm. Toaned a chard sycodee work asa [Toprebook SS tous and group ous CGunterpoit to ay meaoval stone | el 29) 2087 2995 For fhe erases nino: maseurnles cu] “Me Importance of the exhibition | ad | ig 12 above) Deal of Costin Majesty on a iver st pate scovere th te famous Delia chalc (c AD 1230°80) on the hide of Crs Mach above Dogella, Gwynedd, bt 1850. Fig 13 (ile left). The sight panel ofan ivory dipych found in ‘he 1840s at Llaada, Cari rete wth the If pastel, ‘denied i 2006 inthe collecions of the National Museums Liverpool Copyright: Natonal Muscunns Liverpool ig 14 (below tet). Animation by Sean Harts, incorporating ome of the cauldeons ‘ow Liyn Faw, Wontar Cynon Ta (800.000 HC) aed bronze buttons from the Parc meroh hoard (e 1180900 BC) as shits, ig 15 (low ght). Banner by Mary Hop Jones, inspec by artefacts and marks made by Neath people in Wales beside case containing unfinished anes “an waste from Alyy Rw, Guoyeda (3780-3080 8C) Minerva, July/August 2008Have you missed any issues of MINER‘ VA? Back issues 1990-2007 can be supplied at £4.00 each to UK/Europe, or £4.00/$8.00 to USA/Canada and £4.50/$9.00 to the rest of the world. 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We will purchase collections of any size, act as your agent to sell your objects on commission, or exchange them for other select pieces from our extensive inventory (see our advertisement inside the back cover), Send photographs and full details if possible with your letter: ae royal-athena galleries | Tel: (212)385 -2034 Fax (212) 688-0412 emmail:ancientant@aol.com—| Prehistoric Britain ‘| — SOLVING STONEHENGE: THE KEY TO AN ANCIENT ENIGMA Anthony Johnson presents a groundbreaking interpretation of Britain’s most iconic site. he renowned astronomer the declination, it would be possible that no Bookes doe reach them’. In Edmond Halley visited to arrive at the date for the construc this eloquent single phrase hve antl Stonehenge in 1720 and, _ tion of Stonehenge. Halley propose pated the concept of ‘prehistory’, @ working with his friend, that geomagnetic variation Tollowe Ward that would not be coined for the antiquarian William Stukeley, a regular cycle, and that every 700 almost another 200 years, Stukeley conducted the first ever sclentifie years the compass needle returned t0 founder member of the Society of experiment in dating archaeological the same point with regard to geo: Antiquaries and a Freemason, later to remains sraphic north. Using this guide, their TW 1.Stonehergeat ye ordained as a clergyman, desied Consequently this set in motion a observations suggested three possible aggy""earw,, and needed Stonehenge to be an preoccupation with alignments and dates for the construction of Stone viet ten Ancient British’ construction, He stronomy at Stonehenge that has henge: e. 460 BC, AD 220, o7 AD 920, irom an imagined it as a work Inspired by endured to the present day. Stukeley, the earllest date being the one lowledcamers. descendants of the Biblical patr a doctor by profession, brought @ accepted by Stukeley archs, its design and dimensions keen sense of observation into his Of course we now know from a influenced by the Temple. o fieldwork. He noticed that the series of reliable radiocarbon dates Solomon and presided over by a entrance to Stonehenge was aligned that the construction of Stonehenge priestly order of Druids approximately towards the midsum- was much earlier. The fist earthwork [__A#@Hony There was much intrigue to fo: mer sunrise, though it did not, in his andl tmbes circle was created close to | olson low, with @ considerable amount of ‘own words ‘correspond to the quan- 3000 BC; the relatively small Welsh | Peitsesin eld | Grten vitriolic exchange between tty precisely enough’. Therein Stuke- ‘Bluestones' introduced perhaps soo | | Sevan | snuiquarlans and learned men of the ley saw a remarkable opportunity; year later, followed shortly after. | SPlnsiesandis | 33 Sng vigorously disputed the ori 45 be believed, the stones had been wards by the construction of the | “™™Hlyensused | gins anu function of Stonehenge. set out using a form of magnetic massive Iconic sarsen sandstone | 4am | John, Wood, the famous architect of compass with ‘the needle varying so structure (Fig 1). In Stukeley’s day earchat the | Georgian Bath, made the tts acct ‘much, at that time, from true north’, the idea that Stonehenge was a pre |, Re rate measured survey of Stonehenge the perceived error in the monu: Roman structure was not widely | Laatoryfor | in't740 (Fig 2). However, Stukeley Anchacolegy and ‘the History of ment’s alignment might be the result accepted. Some 80 years earliet the of bistorie variations in the earth’s English antiquarian and writer John | {MH | more than a ‘nonsensical, impert geomagnetic field. If he and Halley Aubrey concluded that stone circles t onlwery | nent and needless, mesuring of the Could determine the angular shift, in general were so ‘exceeding old, i stones... a tedious parade of twenty considered this work to be nothing Minerva, July/August 2008 35Bible and the Classical Greek and Roman texts. We have, of course, moved on, the early scientific ex ‘ments and curlosity driven excavs x| tions have been transformed into the 4 discipline of modern archaeology (ig 9). Yet, curiously, Stonehengs arguably our most Iconic prehistoric pages of fet, inches, alts, Hig 2iabove yp. Structure, remains tn one remarkable ters’. Despite Stukeley's ve etal from the’ respect a backwater. Our uniderstand- Wood was aman of ‘erackt imagina- 1740 surey, ing of the site Is stil encumbered tion’, this survey has proved to be ,l*oreait oh he history of the burden of theories the most important record of the which have aborted on Stuleys the Teth century one of the masive the midsummer sunrise, Over the trthon succes ofthe 9087 gga gyn, trvening 250 pes esl Horseshoe collapsed, followed over {@3(@OEH. —ignment has mulated into a widely the next two centuries by the demise fteraadekt, nc Seer tna the prehistoric mind and movement of several other “‘ytaneenma’* was focused entirely on the theatre tnajor stones. statounsuring of te celestial dome Gg 4). The eatly antiquarlans opened the Stehenge nthe” Need we really be surprised that way to a new understanding of arty 1800 the most important work of prehis. Taclent monuments, one largely tone arenitecture In Burope was Unfettered by the fanciful myths placed on a signitleant cardinal penned by the writers of the Middle Elignment? Does this necessarily Ages. tt ws now apparent that twas itopy thatthe whole stutuce Is of posible ro leam from te structures AE¢(iow astronomical sigicance, with every and material evidence themselves, he midwinter stone having some crypite Mi tnd that there was a temporal — SRSyfafily Tearing? Prodglousinteypreations sion to explore beyond that fafetwathale and’ a preoccupation witht putative ined witha the pages of the a/Stanehenge’—algotmeats have den the fact tht 36 there is another equally, If not more important, dimension to Stone henge. Locked within the iconogra phy of later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain Is a language known to the scholars of classical antiquity, and no less familiar to us today: the elegant and universal symbolism of nurmbers and geome ‘ry. The archaeological evidence con: spires to tell us that the monument ‘was designed and constructed from & carefully premeditated ‘architectural blueprint’ by people who had skill not only In engineering but who had also developed a sophisticated under- standing of geometry and mathemat- + ies, In short it was conceived on the prehistoric equivalent of a drawing board, the stonework largely prefab Heated and then set out on its intended site, not by ‘astronomer priests, rather by “arau Thete are clues in the archacolog cal record which take us on a remark. able journey into te sublime prehistoric dimension. The order of ‘construction revealed by archaeolog ‘al excavation suggests that the prin cipal focus of interest was the aaa ES] Mi erva, July/August 2008 I lymidwinter sunset, which the Great Trilithon was designed to face (Fig 8). The monument sis astride the ‘solae coteidor’ of the midwinter-midsum ‘mer axis, but within the earthwork not one single stone of the mirrored symmetrical plan deviates from the master geometric model. The idea of dividing the year into two halves, summer and winter, light and dark, with themes accommodating the concept of duality of the natural and spiritual world Into harmonious domains may explain the preoccupa on with symmetry, which was expressed in both monuments and contemporary artefacts Stonehenge stands at the dawn of the Western European metal age, a dynamic period in which a techno: logical revolution was about to trans- form the established order forever. It brought wealth, power, and status to the people of the southern chalkland of Salisbury Plain In much the same way that the agrarian economies of Mesopotamia had flourished a thou- sand years earlier by exerting increas. ing control over traded commodities ig 5. The Bush Barrow lozenge. Le 18 and dem, — Prehistoric Britain ig 6. 1he master desk of both Bush Barrow i The Cann sense, whose design ists lozenges yrs based on hexagonal geomet. Here, on the ingens ur of ga detail tne ater example oes [ie ro porto ofthe lager Tare ore shaed Ing). and outlying sources of raw materi als. The communal burial places of Neolithic ancestors, the already ancient long barrows, were aban: doned. Around, or shortly after the period of major structural activity at Stonehenge, smaller round barrows Of the Beaker Period began to appeat in the landscape, Soon these were overtaken by the larger classic earthen round barrows of the so- called Wessex Culture, Within some Of these mounds examples of cemark- ably sophisticated metalworking have been found, some displaying a quality and craftsmanship that would rival the work of any age to follow. Amongst them are elegant ‘geomeule artefacts, perhaps the most Spectacular being the gold lozenges found in 1808 in a burial mound known as Bush Barrow, Tkm to the south-west of Stonehenge (Figs 5, 6) The large gold lozenge, pact of an extensive range of grave goods which also included a smaller example Fig 8 (below). The ruined Great Thon, Stone $6 was straightened tn 1901, Ie parner (Stone $5) tothe hes eo and voken in half Note that he fatter aa smother feof Ste 56 ion the outside ofthe stone n comparison with its neghbours, which have latter faces and rounded, largely nworked, cuter faces Tes the contre of the lt stafaces tht would ‘have been placed aint the rebistri survey marks ax shown In Fig 12 Minerva, July/August 2008 aera ee Se nevus uscd by De Signlenge sarvears to Stott the 30 uprights of the Sarsn Cc Lm, Hig 9 below righ, Professor Gowan (entre er supering around Stone So prior. straightening 1901, whilst £00 of ‘Sleving the spol. accompanied a man of high status who was interred some time after 1700 BC. We do not know how old the artefact was when buried, but at this time Stonchenge was still being embellished (the enigmatic ¥ and Z holes, for example, had probably not yet been cut) Within the design of the Bush Barrow lozenges we see more than the confidence and skil of a prebis- torle master craftsman, for theit Inscribed motifs yleld clues that tell us beyond doubt that a mature and sophisticated knowledge of geometry existed in Britain shorty after Stone: henge was constructed. Analysis shows the Bush Barrow examples to be based on a hexagon and circles, but a litte further south, at Clandon in Dorset, another barrow yielded a similar lozenge whose decorative motif was based not on hexagons, but the remarkable and creative use of a decagon (Fig 7). Similarly, computer analysis has revealed that the early clrcult of $6 ‘Aubrey Holes, the first (dismantled) bluestone settings, and the iconic sarsen monument were all geometric constructions, and field experiments have confirmed that using these ele gantly simple geometric principles the ground plan of the sarsen mon: 37Prehistoric Britain t— ment can be re-created by two people in 2.5 hours using a single length of rope and a few wooden pegs (Fig 13). ‘The prehistoric surveyors and eng! neers translated their ‘design blue- print’ into a largely prefabricated Structure, Then, with skills no less impressive than those employed in ‘moving the stones themselves, they set the centre faces of the massive sagsen uprights against their survey marker pegs to tolerances of just a few centimetres. Moreover, this was all achieved without the need for ‘measured dimensions, for the virtue ff a geometric design is that iis In ritely scaleable from concept to con- struction. ‘A preoccupation with finding single grand ‘explanation’ means that countless small but vitally sig- ig 12, The pristore surveyors lad ou he tichons ssh te markers forthe Saren Cie ard the wo als utersecs (a aed AS) Ta fre straes the ‘telatonship between tition uprights S384 and 578, ‘thee and pegs marking the Sarsen Circle Jig 11. General plan of Stonehenge. nificant archaeological facts have been overlooked. It is within the deals of the construction that real clues to the mindset behind the design of the monument can be found (Figs 10-12}, Convoluted and outlandish inter- pretations must now yield to a new Spirit of enquity led by archaeologi- cal research. Theories marginally “supported by selected facts serve only to create modem myths; itis time to move on. The muses and diversions Of the antiquarian world around which every popular vision of Stone= henge has been fabricated do not reed underpinning, they need to be challenged and tested against the material evidence. Hig 15. uy 38 ‘lasnatons = Fig 1 Aa Sanford, Aerial Cam Fg 2: Bath Preservation Trust ‘& Bath Museum; Fig 3: Trustes of Sir TolnSoane’s Museums Fg 4: James Mitchell, Figs 5, 7:Dr David Clarke, ‘National Museons Scotland, inburgh; Figs 6, 10-13: Tony Johnson; Fig 8: Sean Johnson Fig 9: Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History [This article is adapted fom Song Stonehenge: The New Key to an Ancient Enigma by Anthony Johinson (Thames '& Hudson, London, 2008; 288pp, 139 illus, 45 colour pls. Hardback, £19.95) For futher information: ‘worw.solvingstonehenge.co.uk, io re-create the preistore surveyors! marker pe for the arse Circle and triton array, at aca Minerva, July/August 2008 etlRoman Portugal THE ROMAN ALGARVE: GARUM RIVIERA OF LUSITANIA Mark Merrony Take this costly gif, the proud gift ‘That's made fiom the frst blood Ofa still breathing mackerel * (Martial, Book 13, Epigram 102) lessed with beautiful scenery, an excellent climate, and local cuisine, the Algarve - in the southern part of ancient Lastanla- in Portugal is justifiably pop- Ular as a tourist resort and a natural choice of retirement for many Euro- peans who lived in less favourable ‘limes. For this reason the Algarve is typically overlooked as an archacologl- ‘al destination in favour of the Class ‘al gems in Italy, Greece, Turkey, North ‘Arica, and the Neat East. The region iS p44 tow ef ‘overshadowed by the more famous Srncabiend Roman remains of Conimbriga near Roman vila ‘modern Condeixaa-Novain in novth- _ detlting the fern Portugal, These factors mask the ese Noor fact that the Algarve has @ wealth of Roman remains st Abicada, Mie, Vir cpl om amour, and elsewhere which [sty It as place of special archaeological Jnees it own ight Fie2 fetow rh, Significantly, mary Roman wills in Pot Coe the Algarve functioned as estates for the production and export of garam, as Minerva, July/August 2008 the highly prized fish sauce of antig- tity. These were in a convenient geo- graphical location to take advantage of ‘mackerel, sardines, and tuna, migrating from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and the lucrative maritime export of this commodity to Rome from the port of Lacobriga (modern Lagos), Vitam. and elsewhere on the coast. sherds excavated from Kilns ‘at Martinhal indicate a large-scale pro- ‘duction of vessels specifically for the Roman market. Tis is bome out by the discovery of amphorae in Rome and elsewhere in Italy directly sourced to this site. Abicada is the most poorly Invest gated and preserved gar villain the region. Located off the beaten track about SOkm west of Faro on a fertile river delta, the site was excavated by a local team in 1938 (Fig 1). Pottery evi- dence indicates thatthe villa was con- structed in the late Ist or early 2nd century AD and occupied until the end fof the ath century, The building is ori ented eastowest, and its principal char. acteristics Include a peristyle, leading ‘on to two reception rooms at the rea, flanked by a more unusual azrange- ‘ment of reception rooms planned a8 a hexagon, adjacent ancillary rooms, and a poorly preserved bath-house to the south. A number of the more presi: sious rooms in the peristyle and hexa ‘gon arca are decorated with a variety of on-representational mosales deco- rated with dlaper patterns, intersecting ‘cles of peltae (small shields), mean. ders, and other motifs common in pubs lic and private buildings across the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, when the writer Visited the site In March 2007, the floor mosaics were disinte- ating from the Intrusion of weeds, and the foundation walls were in ‘decay, I is hoped that the local author. {tes wall realise the potential ofthis site as a precious cultural resource in the heat future, and provide a desperately needed programme of conservation. Tin contrast to the Abicada villa, Cero da Villa at Vilamoura is a well: conserved ganum-producing complex laid out on a grandiose scale (Figs 2-7). Located about 25km north-west of Faro, the site was discovered, and ini- Ually excavated, by José Farrajota in 1963, and in subsequent decades exca- vations have been undertaken by Jone Ls de Matos. in terms of Its eommee- lal raison détre, the villa is ideally placed about 10m abave sca level adja ‘ent to a natural harbour, which func Honed as a port In antiquity. Archaeological evidence indicates that the complex was constructed in the early Ist century AD, subsequently embellished in several phases, and abandoned in the Sth century As might be expected, the villa shates similar characteristics to other provincial villas, which represent a fusion of the italic atrium style house with the Hellenistic peristyle dwelling {incorporating a pate, entrance hall, triliniam (dining room), private quar- ters, and a private bath-house contain:ing a caldarum (hot bath), frigidarium the putrefaction of these matters’ (cold bath), and tepidarum (epid bath). (XXXL93). Pliny also informs us that Many of the cooms preserve avarety of the term ‘sant’ derives from ‘sarow’, non-representational floor mosalcs the fis) used by the Greeks to prepare with a similar range of patterns toi those at Ablcada, The remains of sev- Historical writers also record that eral storerooms and two towers are pre- the production of ganom was an odor Sent on the soutiern side of the villa. ous process. Accozcing to an epigram ‘Towers on villa favades are depicted on by the Roman poet Martial, he com several mosaic floors in Nosth Arica, mended any man who could maintain, and many examples ofthis characteris. his arcour for a gil who enjoyed large ticare known from villa remains in the helpings of gnu (X1.27). This factor eastern Provinces of the Roman explains the need for a copious water Empire Supply and drainage, a characteristic of ‘Approximately 100m to the south- the installation at Gezo da Villa, and ‘west of the villa complex are the salting this may aso be linked to the presence tanks for garum production, These are of a separate bath-house to the east. rectangular in plan, measuring around Punctinally, this would have proved a 2x Lom and fed by an aqueduct (Figs boon to te garum producers who prob- 6,7), discharging thet overflow into an ably azcupied the houses to the south celfident channel Historical texts record of the bathing complex, and it almost that the condiment was made by fet- certainly also provided a. public menting and salting fish for up to three amenity for other residents in the port months, ronially, the earliest deserip- area. This is a standard complex tion of how garum was produced comes equiped with a natatio (swimming from the Astronomica, a treatise on pool, apadyterium (changing rooms) astronomy written by Manilius in the caldarum, figidarium, tepidarium, and 1st century AD, This relates how fisher- acon (sauna), and orientated wes men processed their cateh of tuna on east take full advantage of the the shore by cutting them into small noon sun. pieces and flavouring the choicest part Sarapling the excellent full-bodied ff the blood to give ‘a relish to the red wine and delicious olives of the palate’ and! the remaining parts of the Algarve leads to the instant conclusion fish to provide ‘a condiment of general that it would have been a prodigious use’, Staller fish were fermented in wine and olive producing region in the dll (large jas) in which ‘their inwacd Raman period. This s borne out by the parts melt and issue forth asa stream of grandiose vila at Milrey, which in con- ecomposition’ (V. 667-681), Garum trast to the sano producing complexes and its production is similarly at Ah cada and Cero da Villa, fune- described [n Pliny's Natural History a8 tioned as a wine and olive oil proc ‘consisting of the guts of fish and the tion cente. This i located about 10km, other parts that would otherwise be inland to the north-east of Faro and Considered refuse; these ace soaked in was discovered and subsequently exca- salt, so that gorum is really iquot from vated by the local archaeologist ig 3 (below lef), Reconstruction watercolour of Roman Cero da Vila by José A. Cavan. 14g 4 top right), Te frigid cod poo! inthe bathhouse of the main vila comple. "lg 5 (ght, second dow). Geometric mosake ofthe stand second entrance alls. ig 6 (right, this dovn). Cari (fis salting tae) with deta of drain the Andustil procesing area tothe sutees of the vila complex (Dt, Le 2, W. 1-5). P47 ott righ. Ceti the tntustrial processing ave fe by an aqueduct from the Villa The vitor entre of Cevo da Vila ts isle nthe background at right 40 Minerva, July/August 2008——————_ Roman Portugal — ee Sebastia eign in 18 indicates tha sive bath-house to the south-west, 10 of the aftemoon Sum nm pi the 3rd and tl centuries. This site is swimming fis, date on stylistic cite laid out on such an Impressive scale cia to the midedth centuty. Simila that it gave the writer the initial mosaics are knows from Braga in Impression that it was a Roman town northern Portugal and ‘on his si 2007. This is bore itis plausible that ‘ut by its fist description by da Veigae anuutacturest by iinet T discovered an opulent bathing com- ant craftsman from the sanue aftstic plex with 58 roo1s, residential houses, cele. These are technically superior t0 Industrial workshops, stoverooms, a the non-representational floors else strainage system... and the p where in the residential part of the ‘cemetery, completely separate trom the 0 the 2nd and monuinents, and Christian to wich suetounl the majestic temp the Corinthian Order.” His reteren serves a staygering testimony to the production of olive oll on at industrial Scale ~ 2 27m-long room containing five olkpresses (Fig 11). The installation, includes the remain tused to drain the pr Again this villa typical, consisting dolla (ars), for its st the pagan town cemetery was fou fon the mais ‘of an atrium-peristylestriclinium and an access ramp to the level of the anangement. Most of the rooms are main villa, To the east of this installa. Tocated to the south, and the impres- tion isthe swine procction area (Figs iy 8 (below ef) la ofthe and wine producing Roman vila complex at Mire 4¢9 (above right), Eastern pers mosale with dalpins, fish, and shelf na geomet {rae ooking south cowanthe remount of the pers clus andthe water sanctuary. Fig 10 ute ight). Nother peristye mosaic decorated with saw toot mat Fig.1 het right). General view of the live ol pressing nstaaton frm the outh-ast Minerva, July/August 2008 1— — Roman Portugal WI 13, 14). Although much of this installa: of the Amphitheatse at Merida in tion is eclipsed by a medieval church Spain, (Fig 15). As expected, the indus- there are suifcient remains to indicate tral quarter is provided with several that this was at installation uf a cont rooms, which would have funetfoned mon type throughout the Roman as the living quarters of the estate Empite, comprising a tank for crushing workers, the grapes, a tank for the grape must, @ What sets this site apart i the inelw pressing and storage area (in dolia), This ston of an inapressive ath-century tem plocess fs graphically represented on pe to the south-east. The brick core of Bred century mosale floor in the House this enclosing tall cella and low pedi F412 (tap Ket) Jar (ois) the cellar area for Ue storage of ov ol ater pressing, ig 13 lf soca own). ai collection vat for vine processing in the vat he church Fig 14 Gethin down). Collection vat for grape must in the wine processing are, Fig 15 (ottom lef) Flor masa inthe House of the Amphitheatre at Merida in Spain ‘depleting grape harvesting scenes and three me treading grapes Mid So centr AD. , Fig 16 (top right). The water sanctuary viewed fom the mort The low podium and ig ela are characteristics of the amor) type know elsewhere he ‘Nort svestern provinces of the Roman Epi. Parly th century AD. F417 (nae ight). South wall mesa ofthe water sanctuary poo, depicting the contestapecfieenography ofa doplin an isk nan expel ine eligi forthe “century AD: typical mast cus exit a mar corse deity tn ts pio, 14g 18 (bottom right). keconsruction of the water sanctuary building asa Gall Romar Temple the anys century, similar to examples Bain, Gl nd Germany Minerva, July/August 2008 SyRoman Portugal ‘ment - is sill preserved to a height of ‘7m and is framed within a temenos precinct measuring 31 by 24.5m (Fig 16). One of the most curious features is a semi-cicular basin aligned on the axis of the semi-circular apse at the rear "ig 19 (above). Mable bust of Fula Agrippina, discovered near the water sanctuary in the 19th entry excavations. Mid-istcontury AD. Hl. Sem, Archaclagca Museo, Far ely the domina of he Mr la, Haadruante period, AD 117 tom. National Mascun of Archaeol, Lisbon. 421 (below eft). Over fe slze marble bust of Hadtan in a ery cl, fou the 190 century excavations Produced tn Rome, c-AD 120: Archaeologica! Museum, Faro, ‘entry excavations. Hm. Museu of Lagos, the Algarve. ff the ella. This is decorated with fine ‘mosaics depicting swimming fish and betrays the site as a water sanctuary 4 20 (above rit). Marblehead ofan aristocratic woman most Cedicated to the cult of nymphs, and (is, most likely associated with the Imperial Cult. Other fine mosaics depleting, swimming fish decorate the walls of the main sanctuary pool in front of the podium (Fg 17). rough clues exist 10 ‘ig 22 (below right). Marblehead of Gallienus foun inthe 19h ince thatthe temple was of « Gallo- Roman ambulatory type in which the cella was boxed In by a rectangular structure of pedimented colonnades decorated with Corinthian capitals, known at Altbachtal near Trier (Ger- many), Autun (Prance), and Cacrwent (Wales), and elsewhere in the north= western provinces of the Roman Empire (Fig 18) Milreu has also yielded some espe- cially fine imperial busts and an aris ezatic head discovered in the Minerva, July/August 2008 excavations of the 19th century. The fist, discovered near the Water Sanctu= ary, is of Julia Ageippina (AD 15-59), wife of Claudius (©. AD 41-54), mother fof Nero (s. AD 4-68). This charming representation Is defined by a well ‘modeled face, fine nose, a colffure of fine ringlets, and i similar to examples in Hlorence and Milan (Fig 19). \ bust fof Hadrian (¢. AD 117-138) was found fn the same area and may well confirm the association of the sanctuary with the Imperial Cult (Fig 21). This con- forms to an archetype of the emperor wearing @ paludamentum (cloak) with his halt brushed forward curling over his forehead. The third example repre sents Gallienus (f. AD 253.268) with a severe expression combining a coffure of curls and layered hair (Fg 22). An especially fine head of a woman, thought to be from the Hadrianle period, is perhaps the best ofthe Milreu sculptures (Fig 20). She has especially fine features and a noble haisstyle curled and pinned in three tiers, char- acteristics that identify her as the dom ina of the villa or possibly an aristocratic relative. Perception of how these rural villas interacted with local urban centees is clouded by successive phases of devel- opment from the Roman period ‘through to the modern era, asin the cease of other ancient cities, such as ‘Alexandrla and Constantinople (stan: bul). Ths is particularly the case with ‘the coastal cities of anclent Ossonoba (beneath Faro) and Balsa (beneath “Tavira). These cities were fist colonised by the Phoenicians, chosen for their sheltered location behind a lagoon. A Phoenician origin is certainly implied in the second instance by its name ‘Balsa’, deriving from the Phoenician deity Baal Shem, Naturally these cities have yielded some interesting objects and these are scattered in museums and private collections across Portugal (igs 25.27) ‘Thanks to the tourist building boom and a diligent, localised programme of rescue excavation and survey in devel ‘oped and developing azeas, regional experts have managed to gain an Impressive insight into the Roman character of these two cities, expecially ‘through the excellently reconstructed plans of Luis Fraga da Silva (Figs 23, 24). These paint a picture of two cen: ‘tes equipped with the urban amenities characteristic of Roman cities, with well planned streets laid out on a grid, and ‘the usual array of public buildings ora, temples, amphitheatre, theatres, cdrcuses,bath-houss, and markets) and private houses. impaired by a lack of inscriptions to identify the owners of the hinterland villas, it s certain that ‘these were the rural estates of wealthy city officials (cuales) who combined thelr centres of production with the 43Roman Portugal 25 (aon ft, Pan of aman Osby ‘i: Interior Port; Px: Exterir Port; Mo?: Probab Pk: Prbable Republican Prasidhamy 7 Temple, Sine Maritime Sanctuary; Se: Sanctuary, Tk: Possible Temple Pig 24 (above right). Plan of Roman Balsa. 11-2 Necropoises; 21-3; Foams; 81-25 bathhouse: 4.1: Temple Tere ‘$2: Amphitheatv; 8-4 Clrens 6.12: Recreation areas 242,41 Mention wcrc, 81: Various cy quarters S.1¢s Port ures) 10.12 Salt manufacturing areas te Cometens 72,131: Unspecified 148.14 Reconsiacted Springs: 14H. Hypothetial cation of springs Tak Io Reconstructed uquedutsstemt HA12, 16.1 Hypothetical aged ystom city markets and thee ports fr local tie arehacologtea sites to the Algarve may well Oe off the beaten tack forthe. majonty of Ronnanophes, tte sheer quality of the ses the region, coupled Wi the ick of crowds, make It an fe Ste adatom othe modern Grand Tote. Tiss ely to changes Por gals ballooning tourist industty eaigns tel with the lay publics Inereasingebseston yt the Cassel worl ued by popular sm and le ‘ion. Gamo sy nw e Oat OF a tronomte fashion in the Algatse, replaced by the humble ut delious Sin, bu the backbone ofthe econ Simy tthe Roman period =the fh tlvesine tty = reas roa the Sime and fay tig a daw to modern im 4g 25 (left). Mable bus of Ania Galeria Faustina, wife of Marcas Aureus, ‘discovered Bast AD 135-140. 1H. Soom: vera Regional Mase, 426 (middle right). Limestone Dionytac Dla fro als. Mid st contary AD. 1H 210m, L290. Private ellen. 4g 27 (bottom right). Marble stauete ‘of Fortune, Is, Bea Aino Ges (ofthe cor spp, oF Pats godess of Bas, fumed at Baka, ate Bnd o early el century AD. H. 320m. ‘National Museum of Archaeology, Lishon |The writer would Uke to thank Sonja Frisell Schroeder for aranging the visits to Abicada, Cro da Vila, and Mie lata = Figs 1,47, 9-17: Mark Merny: Figs 8, 18: Portugese Ministry of Culture: [Figs 19, 21: Archaeological Museum, Far Figs 20, 27; Notional Museum of Archaeology, Lisbon Fig 22: Lu Praga dal Silvas Fig 25: Bivona Regional Museura Minerva, July/August 2008,— —_| Roman Libya Ke —— SUBLIME SILIN: A LUXURY ROMAN VILLA ON THE LIBYAN COASTLINE ne of the more curious aspects of our knowledge of the archaeology of Roman Notth Africa Is that so few Roman villas at the luxury end of the scale have ever been fully excavated and published. Many farm sites are known ~ the agricultural nerve-enties for the production of oil and cereals, and to a lesser extent wine, on which, the prosperity of Roman Nort Attica ‘was based. Some of these, especially in Tripolitania (western Libya), age ia an exceptional state of preservation, but ‘wealthy vila are another matter. Tue, there are isolated bath-houses richly adorned with figured mosais, like the fone at Sidi Ghrib, SOkm south-west of Carthage, excavated in the early 1980s, fo the 1Sth-century discovery of baths which belonged to a certain Pom- pelanus at Oued Athménia, 32 km South-west of Constantine in Algeria, Both of these lay adjacent to unexca: vated residential villas, but the number Of such sitesi small, “That is what makes the Roman villa at Silin so exceptional in a North ‘Afican context. The site Hles wight on the sea (ig 1), 15km west of the great Roman city of Lepcis Magna In what §s now western Libya. It was discovered RJ.A. Wilson by accident in 1974 and was excavated and restored over the ensuing yeas by the Libyan Department of Aatigulis, tinder the direction of Onrar Al Mahjub; ut although les mosale pave ments have been the subject of to preliminary reports, i emons unpub shed in detall. Sadly, Dr Al Maju has now did and responsi forthe definitive publication has been entrusted to Professor Luisa Musso of the Universit of Roma In the last {eve yeas the villa has been open tothe publ although is currently close the cover bullings are in urgent need of maintenance, a8 are the mosaics, ‘which are begioning to ‘blister’ in places, How the villa was entered in antiq- uty no lear. We donot know if the cena psisyle (ig 2) was closed on a fourth side of tuned outwards to form 2 colonnaded pasage in front of rooms 8 and 15, since part of the complex here has Been destroyed by these But it seems certain that no actual ving zooms have been lost on this sie, The Cental space, presumably planted asa garden, i flanked on three sides by cor Fidors; thaton he south Is set ata py hcsaths rogues cath higher evel, reached by two steps “owe Oe chur grup of rom (34-42 ith tos) The corridor mosaics are largely "and the garden with music decoration is at lower left Fig 1. Te easter part ofthe la at Sin wed from The ai, sowing fs protnty to the sea and alo he prapsion of domes and barrelsoults of ts batt Minerva, July/August 2008 45—f Roman Libya [A 3 (abow). Detail ofthe figured mosaic nthe west coridor ofthe persye: a cucole “and pygmy, the ater wit iter ese he heal aed armed with pas of tc iy 4 Qetow lft) Part of he well reserved fresco showing venatores onthe east, wall ofthe tetra cour. One wears ase iting, graem tune and Is armed wilt tu and sword; the other wears blue ur aad cares. Spear. Racks aad tees have been place nthe arnt site the landscape of real hut composed of rch geometiic carpets of Squares, each containing intricate and varied patterns executed in a four colour scheme ~ dark red, deep yellow, black, and white (Fig 5). The wider west and east corridors have an additional steip of figured mosaic on the garden side depicting charming and humorous scenes of pygmles armed with silver vvesals a8 shields and helmets they are fighting cranes. One detail shows pygmy with pairs of sticks running away from a crocodile (Fig 3), another depicts a fallen fighter attacked by a crane, while a third shows a pygmy. extracting a colleague from the jaws of a crocodile Allis se in a "Niloie and scape of exotic flowers and other plants, with lively ducks contributing to the action. The villa's west wing was reached from the peristyle corridor via a small tetrasiyle (four-columned) light-well, with covered walkways around. The walls here ate preserved high enough to bear substantial remains ofthe orig- nal fresco decoration: the main frieze shows professional hunters, vnaores, doing battle with animals In the amphitheatre Pig 4). The largest ofthe rooms opening off this mini-court (8) has @ geometric mosaic featuring fig. ures of Amor and Psyche, theatre masks, and Oceanus heads alternating in small squares in the framework, with birds and flowers occupying smaller Fig S (below sgh. Part of te elaborate geometric mosstc on floor suring ‘he pense. lozenges between (Fig 7). Of greater Interest are four tiny enclosures in the comers, very plausibly interpreted a tance containing cupboards intended for book-scrolls, The probable Ident cation of this room, therefore, as the owner's library is of great interest While we know from writers such as Cicero and Pliny the Younger that pos session of a library was one of the hall: marks of any country estate of taste and distinction, they have rarely been Identified in excavated villas anywhere In the Roman Empire The other rooms around the {etzastyle court all have mosale floors, some of them with figured panels, Room § has a scene showing King ycurgus being throttled by the vine (ig 6); room 3 contains a scene of the Four Seasons with Aion, personification of eternal time, and the circle of the odie, with Venus and Helios aso in attendance (Fig 8); and room 2 displays a detaled depiction of a chariot race in progeess in a clzcus, with detalls sug- gesting that the design is based ulti- mately on the Circus Maximus in Rome rather than the local one at Lep- cls Magna (Fig 11). If, however, as seems likely, the mosaic reflects an. {interest in chariot racing at the latte, and there was no timber predecessor of the visible stone circus there, the ‘mosaic is surely not earlier than AD 4161/2 when the circus at Lepels was bail. ‘The central room (12) of the south wing is a spacious chamber, a summer sitting-room looking out through two ‘grey marble columns tovvards the peri= Style and the sea in one direction, and through windows towards what was probably a large walled garden on the Minerva, July/August 2008— ————} Roman Libya emer eec sine ig 6, Masai pane atthe entrance to rom S depicting the Thraclan ‘ing Lycurpus, ving dropped his double axe (pena), beng Cote by a vine. ‘everson of the mt cats tha this happened in response toa prayer ‘Donat bythe macnatt Ambros, whom Lycurgus vas pursing Fig 7. Mosaic oor of superlative quality inthe brary. The auare panels are aranged tn rope of four in repeat patter cach unt depicting heatrial mask, «bust of Oceanus, fa Amor ana Pee (ih the buttery wing), most unusual combination, Minerva, July/August 2008, ‘other, This latter space, however, has ‘not been excavated. The floor of room 12 features an arrangement of large slabs of grey sreo seritfo marble from Cap de Garde in Algerla, divided by Sep of rosso antica from Greece; this is framed by a geometric mosale surround in a simple red, yellow, and white checkerboard patter. (OF the rooms flanking it, that in 10 features a panel with a nereld and @ ‘marine centaur, while a cupid flutters in attendance; the minute size of the tesserae here contrasts markedly with that of the coarser geometric border (Fig 9}. OF particular interest is zoom 14, In which the arrangement of the mosaic design suggests that it might Ihave been intended as a bedroom. The striking figured panel here (Fig 10) shows @ condemned prisoner in tunic and trousers being pushed towards a iigantic bull which is about to gore ‘him to death. A ringmaster with a stick is in attendance, and the other two fig- lures are probably meant to represent dead bods (in il-judged perspective), previous victims of the bull, rather ‘han as somersaulting over the animal as It tosses them in the al as has ust ally been claimed, Intriguing also isthe faint inscription above, ‘Floserapis compl..l". The verb has been under- stood as comparavit, ‘prepared’, ‘arranged’, in which cave Philoserapis ight have been the presenter of the games in the emphitheatre where the action took place (presumably at Lepcis Magna), and in al likelihood also the owner of the villa; but more likely Philoserapis (‘Serapis-lover’ is the ‘mosaicist, and the letters comp stand {or composui, composed. To the east lay a second, more loosely-aranged court, with rooms set around two sides of another garden, The flower-beds are separated by low walls bearing mosaic decoration of ani- mals and bieds within a running acan- ‘thus tendrl, a distinctive and highly ‘unusual feature. OF the rooms facing, thls garden, no. 15 was clearly the prin- cipal trclintum, for It featured a large panel of cut marble pleces (opus sete) with a simple geometric mosaic border around it in a -shaped arrangement, ‘on which couches were placed. When the villa was abandoned the marble was robbed, leaving only impressions today in the bedding mortar, ‘A similar fate befell the figured ‘mosaic panel at the centze of room 11, which was clearly also prised out in antiquity for resale (although rather inexpertly: a foot was left behind). By contrast the vestibule to 17 stl has Its ‘marble intact, made up mainly of pieces of giallo antico from Chemtou in ‘Tunisia and ajficano from the Troad in north-west Turkey, The walls of the UUny room beyond (a bedroom’), stil preserved to roof-helght, bear frescoes 47[ Roman Libya | Fig 8 ef. ‘Masa in room 3 epicting te Four Seasons wit Aion, Eternal ‘ines and the tlre of the odie, with Venus ‘amd Helis attendance. Pl 9 (above righ) Mosaic panel ‘om 10 showing a sea ‘conta th enastacea rus ing cles is rat and Nerl layillytaking a Ain no rom im Atop left a pa hong tons (flies af, ‘encouraging the match. The mate fessrae sein the ‘panel are tn skin contrast those inthe seametrc masale ‘toround, but the gwied composition acks ‘the teracotta or marble tray tn whic rue prea Heated emblemata ‘The seat shown by "Pale blue sratght Times: the igang comenton for the sea i ‘Tunisian moses ‘doc not extond topo. tana lors. pushed forward by Fig11 (below te, 48 bo ‘of putti and delicate tendril designs in red, green, and yellow on 2 white ‘round (Fg 13). The other notable room in this east em part of the vila is room 21, a salon (eecus) for relaxation looking out ‘towards the sea through a wide door way. The walls, also preserved to r00f height, have marble panelling in greco scrtto on thelt lower half, and plain plaster above (Fig 14). The latter was originally inset with a number of removable panels (the settings and the comer nail-holes remain), presurnably ‘wooden pinakes containing figured fre coes which were taken away for reuse elsewhere when the villa was given up (an alternative possibility, that the room was never finished, seems unlikely). The niche which forms the room's focal point was presumably the setting fora statue. ‘The final part of the villa is the bathhouse, eached threugh vestbules 28 and 29; the latter has a faded fresco of a pair of Victories above the door into 22, Remarkably, and most unust: ally, the suite of chambers is inscribed ‘within a circular plan, resulting in four ‘odd quadrantshaped rooms, an archi tectural challenge in roofing! there are early examples here of squinches, ance thought to be a Byzantine invention, but recognised over 50 years ago as already present in the Husting Baths at nearby Lepcis Magna, probably c. AD 200. The central octagonal hall (43), the Fighdarlurn with two immersion pools ‘opening of it (40 and 42), fas a mosaic floor featuring Oceanus at the centre, fine Corinthian pilaster capitals of stucco anking the northern pool, and niche with a wall mosaic featuring pair of boxers (Fig 12). Tiny heated rooms lie beyond an intermediate pas: sage-room (35) with another bath poo! ig 10 (mae le) Mosale panel oom 14 showing lrg bull, “about ro gore acondemmed man i the amphitheatre he Being ‘an attendant Two bodies (2) He above the bul, ‘an. farther attendant wih tek appears alongside The inscription above reas iloserapt composed [i Part of the mosalc in room 2 showing a drcus ‘scone. Te starting gates earcenes) ar vse the foreground Separated by status of herms, and four quaargae (four’nrse chariots) ave sprinting atthe tart of he rae. ‘Thee metae (turing markers) atone end of the euripas (Central arse) are vile a te top of the photograph. Minerva, July/August 2008[- Roman Libya again Pandan cet. then fo eae sp hrgh 35 andthe eb peas 3 40 ea 13 onto ef) Roo 17,0 deceit owe te mace in which eed sae hs wealth roe age eee ee ae eee "boiler (testuidy, ‘tortoise’) was tightly fit- properties elsewhere, is unknown, He ‘The Silin villa did not stand alone: councilor) at Lepels Magna, no doubs at least four other luxury villas are with a domus there, and with Silin known or suspected from surface indi- serving as his delightful vila martina, cations along this stretch of the — Pethaps he was responsible for pre- Mediterranean. The only comparable senting at Lepels both the circus gzimes fully-excavated examples in this part of and the amphitheatre spectacles, Alrica, however, ate the Villa of the which were recorded in permanen} ‘ereids at Tagiura, 70km west of Silin, form in the fescoes and mosais af his excavated in the 19605 but curently country villa, The rooms are not large, inaccessible inside a military zone, and nor Is the overall size of the building that at Dar Buc Ammara (Zien), 30km it measures only 80 x 40m - but the east of Lepeis. The latter was dug at the state of the vill’s preservation, with me ofthe Ftst World War and imme- its 2nd-centuay fescoed and floor dee diately after, and is still visible, oration largely intact, Is exceptional although somewhat degraded. Its The Silin villa provides us with a rare Superb figared mosaics, now among and vivid glimpse of the tastes of a the principal glories of the Tripoll member of the wealthy Romana. ‘museum, are believed to date mostly to African élite, at is seaside retreat on the end of the fist or the ftst half of the shores ofthe Mediterranean. the 2nd century AD. The chronology of the Slim villa must awalt fall publlea tion of the finds, but early indications are that itis alittle later, around the middle or in the second half of the 2nd century AD. Certainly there are some Similarities with Zit ~ the later site also has baths based on a circular plan, and a pavement with squares of differ | | RIA, Wilson i Professor of he Archaeology ofthe Rapaan Empire sat the University of British Cofumbia where es also Hea ofthe Depart of Classica, Near Easter san Religious Sti, nt Tages Fig Teorey of Edin del Gieasoe (Revenunn: Fig 2 afer Libya Antiqua 13-14 (1978-9) Figs 6, 7, 10s confess of Arata De Lax (Rome): Fig: Yousef Ad tutti Tipo Fg 11: courtesy ent geometric designs sin the pet Site corridors at Sin, But the figured tmosales at the latter, wiles aspay- ing fine craftsmanship, ae not of the same superative standard as mos {hose from Zit. The profusion of | Syctana ae Cama Lyan with is vary of ronvshapes provid. | SOUP) Alleman photos re ing a constant element of surprise, [_!Yandsmurteyoftheauthor, | Fig 14 (bet lh). Room 21, He with Algerian groca seta marble onthe ws. and ‘with emplacements for portable fresco pancls nthe laser above. The miche atthe back of theron ae hte marble at the ids au greet Laren marble verde aco) fon “cual (eee) asthe achieve at the base ofthe pane. Minerva, July/August 2008 49FINE ANTIQUITIES ~ ARCHAEOLOGY Bronze statuette of a ‘laughing’ stag. Iran, 7th/6th century BC. Length: 7,6cm. Q “=e Mail shes@swissonlinech Website: www-aheagallery.com KUNSTHANDEL MIEKE ZILVERBERG www.dnw.co.uk Crispina, Aureus, 180-2, Rome. Sold for £10,925 on 20 June 2006, Auctioneers and Valuers of all types of Coins, Tokens, Medals and Numismatic Books Eight comprehensive auctions annually For further details, please contact Christopher Webb, DIX NOONAN WEBB 16 Bolton Street Piccadilly London W1} 88Q_ England Telephone 020 7016 1700 Fax 020 7016 1799 E coinsadnw.co.uk — W dnw.co.uk M Can Be Bought At: The British Library, London The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford The Louvre, Paris The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Sackler Gallery (Smithsonian) The Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem Foyles, Borders, Harrods, and many other fine museum shops and bookstores. If your local shop or newsagent does not stock Minerva, please ask them to order it.www.artemission.com|} Exclusively on the Internet Updated Daily Antiquities Coon and an) Ancient Coins ed ‘Anclenne Ambiance Reservations Orders & Payments ‘bout Us Feedback To Regater Antiquities and ancient art gallery ‘artomigsion.com Is updated dally Here ae be of ou ltt adios: uss 2000 ss 4000 By revsterng you wil be able to ‘= ersonaiy reserve an tam fortwo day wth no obligation. 1 lthoseaacy fam the ste by cradt caren US Solar, 8 Pounds or Euros 1 Telus af your pect meres and we wal attempt to fed partir ee for ach item comes with 2 Certitiate oF Authentcty. }\ Classical Numismatic Group, | Biblical, Hany Indian, Medieval European, Remas Greok, Roman, Persian, Cote, Byzantine, Jewish, fff Work, and British Coins. Relates Reference Book ~ www.cngcoins.com eng@engeins.com raved Tecronc om Eero reser condgieg took ew 8 Es tte ka Sang oN contr indo Ofice: 14 OK Bond Sweet, London WIS APR UK. ~ oh +48 (20) 7495 1888 Fane =e (20 7499 57N6 [en rei) Inc. Gallery W. Schmidt Near Eastern MINERVA BINDERS blue rexine-covered binders with the Minerva logo and volume number on the spine ‘Volumes 1 -18 are available. £6.50 UK (ine. VAT) USA & Rest of the World £8,00/US$13.00 Prices include postage and packing. rE Minerva, 14 Old Bond Street, London Ws 4PP Te sd (20249 2890» fs“ (20 79911598 Greek erateTrue Values of History ee Auctions in Switzerland s Purchases and Sales = Expertises and Valuations = The Development and Care of Collections 1 Financial Services = Numismatic Reference Library # Spe: Coins of the Ancient Classical World Medieval and Modern Coins ial Areas: Phone 1 44217 42 42 H Ree 4 44217 4243, infs@LHS nonemasicom ' vrr:LHS-numismatcom Pal as: LAS Naima Lad LHS Numismatics & : GORNY & MoscH Coins Medals Ancient Art Giessener Miinzhandlung seit 1970 Consulting by qualified staff 4 Purchase: fair prices Sale: attractive items in stock Gallery with fine ancient art Authenticity guaranteed Auctions six times a year: ancient, medieval, modern coins, ancient artSHOP ONLINE fo: coins, Banknotes, sedats, Stamps, New Books, Rare and Out of Print books WWW.SPINK.COM 2nd Goin Accessories. eet SANDS TIME ANTIQUITIES ‘Sue MeGovern, ISA Intornstonel Society of Appraisers Museum quality Ancient Art. ‘sue@sandsoRimede,com eee \Weinvte youte vist ournew Greek Geeraion at ated Roman Near Eastern 3003 P St NW Consignments Washington DC 20007 Appraisals Tuesday - Saturday ‘iam-6pm Phone 202.342.0518 Fax 703.997.2410 _ wwwsandsoftimede.com ‘or by appointmentTHE ANGLO-ISRAEL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Keep in touch with the Jatest archaeological discoveries and new researci from the Bible lands with AIAS lectures and the society's annual, internationally acclaimed journal. Annual membership £20; discounted membership £18 with a copy of this advert. The Mona Lisa of the Galilee; House of Dionysos, Sepphoris, 3rd century AD. Photo: Zeev Weiss. For a brochure and further information: Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society, 126 Albert Strect, London NW1 7NF; tel. +(44) 207 691-1467; www.oias.org.uk e eae \ Buslate i LentAUCTIONS & FAIRS FEATURING ANCIENT COINS. 3 Jly. MORTON f& EDEN. Ancient cols and histor ‘al Neon medallons London. Te. (44) 20 7493 S344;emalnlo@mortonandeden com. 1 july. BALDWINS amie cein auction, London. “al. (44) 20 7930 6879; eal coin@baldwin sh; sweatin sh 30 july - 3 August. AMERICAN NUMISMATIC. [ASSOCIATION (ANA) Worl’ ar of Money. Bat ‘more Convention Centar, 8imore, Manyand, Ta ‘410-649-7000; e-mall. ana@money.o19; ww. ‘money 9. 15 August. CLASSICAL NUMISMATIC GROUP. (€NG)- Acton sale of ancient coins. Te (44) (0207 495 1888; exalt: engBengceins.com; woew.eng- ‘ohscom, 127-28 August. BALDWIN'S. HONG KONG COIN ‘AUCTION, Sale of Far Easter coins, and medal, including the Norman jacobs Collection of Chinese coin. Holiday in, Golden Mle, Kowo0n, Hong ong. Tel. (44) 20.7930" 6879; e-mail ‘orsbaldinsh: wish 1.3 September. WESTFALISCHE AUKTIONSGE- SELLSCHAFT (WAG). Acton sale of ancient ois, DDormund Tel. (45) 231 204; mal: nfo@wag-auk- Uonen de; wor muenzuktion com, ‘5.6 September, LEIPZIGER MONZENHANDLUNG. General sale of ancient cons. Lepag wren. aulton con), 15.17 September. WESTFALISCHE AUKTIONSGE- SELLSCHAFT (WAG). Auction sle of ancent cis. Dortmund. Tel (49) 251 2042; ema nf@wag-auk ‘anen.de ww aeration com. 16 Septarber. WESTPHALIAN COIN AND COLLEC: ‘TORS! FAIR. ener far cluding ance cols and ‘medolons, Boru. Tel (9) 231 208 $21; era ‘messe@hestenhalen de women. 20 September. PONTERO & ASSOCIATES. Genera auction ste of ancient coins. Long Beach Tl. (619) 29-0400; 800 854-2885; e-mal: coin@pontei. ‘omy wn ponteri.com, 123.24 September, BALDWINS, Coiex Fair Week Sale of ancent and commemorative medal. Landon. Tal. (44) 20-7930 6879; mal coins@baldvin sh; vos 24.25 September. DIX NOONAN WEBB OFFICIAL ‘CONNEX AUCTION. important ancient cin incl lng sh cols fom a pate cafecton. The Washing ton Hotel, Curzon street, Maya, London. Tel. (44) 20 7018 1700; e-mall colns@dnw.co.uk; doth 24.27 September. GERHARD HIRSCH NACHFOL ‘GER. Gera action sale of ancient coins. Munich Tel +49(0)89 - 29 21 50; exmal:colnhitschet online de: weenie 30 September *02 October. MEISTER & SON. INTAG (AMS). General action including ancient coins Stutgat, Tel. (49) 711 2484 7368; ea infodamsstttgart de wow amssttigart de EXHIBITIONS UNITED KINGDOM Cambridge FARLY ANGLO-SAXON ART IN THE ROUND. The recanily porchased De Wit colecton of 7th can tury geld slings and siverpenies showing designs ‘drawn from Classical and Germanic sourees. FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM (44) 1223 332 900 {tzmuseumcamacil). 23 Moy ~ 7 Septem ter nme stares: South Hadley HEADS AND TALES: PORTRAITS AND PROPA- GANDA ON CLASSICAL COINS. The exhibition ocuses on the recent acquiion of more tan 900 ‘Grek and Roman ens donated by Mark aon and Profesor Nathan Whitman, MOUNT HOLYOKE ART MUSEUM (1) 413 538-2245 (wmtholyoke et). Ong ‘CHINA Beting ANCIENT COIN EXHIBITION HALL Tis facinating ‘exhblion demonstrate the dives forms of ancent Chinese money, inclding conventional round coinage sal hl, bulky shovels cusrency, on ‘nies, and goid bars. With a colection of neariy 1000 items of cureny, his pay aces the eh tion of Chinese coinage while unveling the aesthetic sales of the Chinese people andthe development of the Soci, economie, and cultural condos in ‘China. DESHENG MEN ARROW TOWER (86) 10 {5201 8075, Pomenent |/MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL ART * ARCHITECTURE * GASTRONOMY * ARCHAEOLOGY * HISTORY * MUSIC “... unquestionably the leading Specialist in cultural tours.” Daily Telegraph ‘The widest range of small-group cultural tours - around 180 itineraries in 35 countries — including: Classical Turkey * Ancient Egypt © Sinai Roman & Mediaeval Provence * Classical Greece ¢ Persia Western Ireland * Pompeii & Herculaneum Essential Jordan * Libya * Aleppo & Northern Syria Afitient Rome ¢ Eastern Si www.martinrandall.com/archaeology y Contact us for a copy of our award-winning brochure info@martinrandall.co.uk ® www.martinrandalltravel.com * Tel: 020 8742 3355 ‘Martin Randall Travel * Voysey House * Barley Mow Passage * London W4 4GF— —— -| Gaziantep Mosaic Museum } GAZIANTEP & THE CITY OF MOSAICS Patricia Witts unveils the 21st century began, tone of the major stories in archaeology was the race against time to rescue an impressive number of spectacular i ured mosaies and vibrant patterned flocs from the ite of Zeugma in south castern Turkey. The area was about 10 be flooded following the construction of the Birccik dam on the Euphrates Fg LGaztantep river (see Mineva, September/October Museum wth the 2001, pp. 25-30). Alltoo often, anews- treet af the ly worthy story such as this could have faded in disappointment: many mosaics found in other parts of the oman Empire languish taconserved and crumbling in museum stores, Sacked inaccessibly, and forgotten by al but a handful ofspectalss It's therefore expecially zewarding to report that the Zeugma mosses have the splendid Gaziantep Mosaic Museum in Turkey. escaped such a fate. They are now 120m-square of frescoes can slso be understate, showing pletures of the housed ina modern museum in seen, along with original columns, mosales and frescoes In thelr original Gaziantep (big 1), acessble to all in a Seulpturey and small finds Among the positions. Its sutking that s0 many spacious, atmosphierially it gisplay Inter is a'selection from over 100,000 elaborate figured mosaics came frort that delights a ell ssnforms. ln only seal stamps found at Zeugma, This col such a small acca, amply Justifying the 4 few years, the collection has been lection i currently belng conserved Turkish and international rescue conserved using modern techniques and recorded, Its exceptional siz, and efforts Facing the visitor on entry Is and dsplayed ether on the loa or on the wealth of mages depicted in the the Theonoe moss, a reminder that lightweight supports sgainst the walls, Impressions made by the seals, makes the site is far from exhausted: this rare without being dreelly fixed to them. A F4y2.Mawic this an outstandingly important mythological scene was among those Balcony at first-floor level allows the omtheHaseof research prokt. found in 2002, when the water level ‘visitor to look down on to some of the = Zegna, Visitors to the museum are intro- _ was briefly lowered by the dam com- most spectacular mosaies, while low. “pietlng es” aced to Zeugma by a model of some pany (See Minerva, January/February Tevel platforms have been erected to

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