#archaeological research

[imperium-romanum]

The Lost City of Heracleion | JSTOR Daily

Once a bustling metropolis, this long-lost Egyptian city flooded, sank, and was forgotten -- until archeologists rediscovered it.

By James MacDonald

“When people think of archeology, they typically think of people laboring in the hot sun, or maybe underground. But those excavating the ancient Egyptian city of Heracleion have exchanged their sunblock for scuba gear. According to science writer Laura Geggel, the lost city was first discovered off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt in 2000, and has been the subject of regular excavations ever since. Despite the tough working conditions, the drowned city routinely reveals wonders, including mostly recently the remains of a temple, gold jewelry, coins and the missing piece of a ceremonial boat.”

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[aal-archaeology]

Instagram is the reason why I got a Master’s Dissertation topic and Archaeological Field Work in Cambodia

Hey guys!  I wanted to share a quick bit about how a really awesome opportunity fell into my lap.  About two years ago one of my Professors in undergrad told me to get in contact with an alum who was also doing digital archaeology & interested in similar topics that I was in. I put that note in the back of my mind, planning to contact her when it got closer to the time that I would be applying to a PhD program. 

Fast forward to about a month ago; I’m a couple weeks away from moving to the UK and started my archaeology instagram @lyssthearchaeologist for all of my travel and archaeology related experiences. I get a like on a random photo from, you guessed it, the alum that my professor told me to contact years ago. Mind you, this alum had no idea who I was, but had just found one of my photos because of my hashtags. 

I thought this was a crazy coincidence, so I DM’d her on instagram saying how crazy it was that show found me, talked about our shared professor, and asked if she would be able to call/skype to talk about some of the work that she’s been doing since recently finishing her PhD. 

We talked on the phone for a long time, and eventually she asks me if I have any idea of what topic I’d like to research for my masters dissertation. Then she offered me an opportunity to work with some of the Lidar data that her project in Cambodia had collected, with the potential to travel to Cambodia later this year for a field survey. We decided that this would be an awesome opportunity and research topic for my dissertation this year. 

Fast forward to a couple days ago, I’ve settled in at Grad School and we skype to touch bases on plans for research. She asks if im interested in applying for PhD programs (since applications are due this winter for 2019), and I said that I’m more interested in taking a gap year before entering a PhD. So she suggests to apply for a Fulbright scholarship - where I could spend a full year in Cambodia building off of the research that I’d be doing this year. The fulbright is due in one week (Oct 9th), and now i’m scrambling to make this a thing!

This goes to show that success in archaeology is all about your willingness to reach out to people and ask for opportunity. Just applying for jobs isn’t going to be enough, the connections you make with people are the REAL segues into fieldwork opportunities!

TL;DR I got an awesome opportunity to do archaeological fieldwork in Cambodia because of an Instagram DM

advice: ALWAYS reach out to potential archaeology connections, because you never know what awesome research can come out of it. 

[iowaarchaeology]

Today is #GivingTuesday! As you're considering your end-of-year giving, keep in mind the Douglas W. Jones Research Grant Program through the Iowa Archeological Society. The IAS can accept donations via PayPal at: http://iowaarchaeology.org/dougjones

And don't forget! Undergraduate and graduate students have until February 15th to apply for the first round of research funding!

[imperium-romanum]

Archeology from space — discovering history from a few hundred kilometres up | CBC Radio

Researchers used to getting their hands dirty digging in the dirt, are finding ancient sites using satellite technology

From CBC

“Sarah Parcak can see things from space that the rest of us can't see even when we're standing on top of them. Using eyes in the sky, she's found buried and invisible Roman ruins, Egyptian cities, and even identified a potential Viking site in Newfoundland.”

“Parcak is part of a new breed of archeologists who've been using Earth-observing satellites to hunt for ancient archeological sites. These satellites can take images in extreme wavelengths of light, so she can get a new perspective not just from above, but in light waves beyond what human eyes can perceive.”

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[imperium-romanum]

Researchers studied a small piece of papyrus that was excavated on the island of Elephantine on the River Nile a little over 100 years ago. The team used serval methods including non-destructive techniques at BESSY II.

From ScienceDaily

“The first thing that catches an archaeologist's eye on the small piece of papyrus from Elephantine Island on the Nile is the apparently blank patch. Researchers from the Egyptian Museum, Berlin universities and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have now used the synchrotron radiation from BESSY II to unveil its secret. This pushes the door wide open for analysing the giant Berlin papyrus collection and many more.”

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[imperium-romanum]

Greece opens shipwreck sites to divers as underwater museums | Kathimerini

Lead archeologist for the project of opening wrecks to visitors Dimitris Kourkoumelis dives to a 5th Century BC shipwreck...

Lead archeologist for the project of opening wrecks to visitors Dimitris Kourkoumelis dives to a 5th Century BC shipwreck, the first ancient shipwreck to be opened to the public in Greece, including to recreational divers who will be able to visit the wreck itself, near the coast of Peristera, Greece. Greece’s rich underwater heritage has long been hidden from view, off-limits to all but a select few, mainly archaeologists. Scuba diving was banned throughout the country except in a few specific locations until 2005, for fear that divers might loot the countless antiquities that still lie scattered on the country’s seabed. Now that seems to be gradually changing, with a new project to create underwater museums. 

[imperium-romanum]

New ‘curses’ emerge from Tut’s history-making tomb study

From microbial 'freckles' to sticky dust, conservators have solved some problems in the pharaoh's 3,300-year-old funerary monument, but raised new concerns in the process.

When Howard Carter unsealed the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, he set off a series of discoveries that would capture the imagination of the world and set off an enduring love affair with the brightly painted 3,300-year-old burial chamber of the boy king and his golden treasures. Almost a century later, a team of scientists has now completed the most significant scrutiny of the tomb to date: a decade-long project of painstaking study and conservation that has solved some mysteries but also raised new questions about the future of one of the world’s most famous ancient monuments.

A symposium in Luxor this week details the overall results of the project, undertaken jointly by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Los Angeles-based Getty Conservation Institute. Work on the 1,182 square-foot tomb, carried out by about a dozen conservators at a time, began in 2009 and was originally anticipated to wrap up by 2014. The project was delayed, however, by revolution in Egypt in 2011, and subsequent unrest in 2013.

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[imperium-romanum]

Ancient Egyptians embalmed mummies 1,500 years earlier than thought

The 'recipe' is remarkably similar to the one used by the most skilled ancient Egyptians, at the height of mummification.

“An extensive analysis of a prehistoric mummy that had been gathering dust in an Italian museum showed that sophisticated embalming is far older than we thought. According to the international team of researchers that carried out the analysis, ancient Egyptians practiced embalming since at least 3700-3500 BC and did so over a wide geographical area.”

“The mummy in question has been housed at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, since 1901. Researchers chose it because it had never undergone conservation treatments, providing an extremely rare opportunity to sample unadulterated Egyptian embalming.”

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