Year: 2015

Survey for a new Magazine

Published by Jan van der Crabben

Ancient Warfare magazine is looking into starting a new magazine about ancient history in general. They are running a survey to better understand what their audience wants, which will help them to decide on whether they should launch the magazine or not. This is, of course, right up our alley… so we thought you might like to give your input, too. Here’s what they have to say: For some time, we’ve had an idea here in the office about starting a new magazine, one devoted more generally to the ancient world. It would, therefore, be broader in scope than Ancient Warfare and cover topics such as ancient politics, society, economics, religion, and culture (art and architecture, and so on). The new magazine – which we’re tentatively calling Ancient History Magazine or AHM for short – will have a format similar to Ancient Warfare. This means that each issue will focus on a particular theme and will be richly illustrated throughout with full-colour photos and custom artwork. We are currently aiming for 60 pages for each …

Visiting the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul

Published by Osama S. M. Amin

I was attending an international neurology conference in Istanbul, Turkey. I had two days left, and I thought to myself: “How about shooting some artifacts in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums?” I visit Istanbul every now and then and this museums’ neighborhood is one of my favorite spots. It’s on a hill in the same complex as the famous Topkapi Palace. It is a group of three museums (Archaeological Museum, Ancient Orient Museum, and Tiled Kiosk Museum). The group lies on the European side of Istanbul at Sultanahmet/Fatih district. You should not miss the nearby Gulhane Park, Topkapi Palace, and Hagia Sofia; all are within the same area! There is a single entrance for all of the museums. The opening hours are from 9 AM to 5 PM. Monday is the Museum’s holiday. The price of the ticket is 15 Turkish Lira (circa 6.50 USD; 5.50 EUR). You can visit the three museums with this ticket. Excellent deal! My first station was the Ancient Orient Museum. The Museum’s logo says that it is founded in 1917 CE. It is a 1-floor …

Bronze statue of Hadrian from the legionary camp at Tel Shalem (Judaea), Israel Museum

Published by Carole Raddato

A magnificent bronze statue of Hadrian, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, was found by chance by an American tourist in Tel Shalem (Beth Shean Valley, Israel) on 25th July 1975 while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Tel Shalem was once occupied by a detachment of the Sixth Roman Legion (Legio VI Ferrata). The 50 fragments of this statue were found in a building which stood at the center of the camp, perhaps in the principia (the headquarters tent or building).

7 Impressive Greek Bronze Statues

Published by Mark Cartwright

Greek Sculpture from 800 to 300 BCE took early inspiration from Egyptian and Near Eastern monumental art, and over centuries evolved into a uniquely Greek vision of the art form. Greek artists would reach a peak of artistic excellence which captured the human form in a way never before seen and which was much copied. Greek sculptors were particularly concerned with proportion, poise, and the idealised perfection of the human body, and their figures, especially in their favoured material of bronze, have become some of the most recognisable pieces of art ever produced by any civilization The larger bronze statues, as in this collection, had a non-bronze core which was sometimes removed to leave a hollow figure. The most common production of bronze statues used the lost-wax technique. This involved making a core almost the size of the desired figure which was then coated in wax and the details sculpted. The whole was then covered in clay fixed to the core at certain points using rods. The wax was then melted out and molten bronze poured …

Defining Beauty Exhibition

Published by Jan van der Crabben

The British Museum in London has just announced an upcoming exhibition that’s right down our alley: Defining beauty – the body in ancient Greek art. The exhibition is on from 26 March to 5 July 2015. Tickets are priced rather heftily at £16.50 (children and museum members go free, discounted tickets are available). Pre-booking is already available, as these types of exhibitions often fill up quickly.

nimrud

Nimrud Ivories at the Sulaymaniyah Museum

Published by Osama S. M. Amin

On October 4, 1961, the Sulaymaniyah Museum received several artifacts, part of the so-called “Nimrud Ivories.” The package was sent from the Iraqi Museum at Baghdad and authorized personnel delivered it. The accompanying documents were written in the Arabic language and very briefly and superficially describe each and every item. I was able to get access to the archives of these ivories at the archives department of the Sulaymaniyah Museum; no details of their excavation history, travel journey, reparation work, or exhibition are available. All these details can be found at the Iraqi Museum, of course.