Site preservation at Gordian,an Iron Age city in Anatolia

Abstract

Since excavations began at the Citadel Mound of Gordion in the 1950s, the site has been exposed to the extreme weather conditions of Central Anatolia. The architectural remains, including a unique palace quarter and citadel, are deteriorating to the extent that the legibility of the site is threatened.

The excavated area within the mound, comprising more than two hectares, is too vast to be covered by protective sheltering given the current budget. Conventional backfilling is also precluded, as this would obscure key topographical elements of the site and distort the stratigraphical context of the city within its surrounding citadel.

To preserve the site under these conditions, a technique of sandbag buttressing and clay capping has been implemented at Gordion. Using locally available materials, this system of interpretive stabilization not only preserves the architecture of the ancient city within its stratigraphical context, but improves the legibility of the site as a whole.     

Pascalian Suite. Elements of an Apologia

Abstract

This article considers the thought of Claude Lefort as a response to Leo Strauss. It compares their views on the task of political philosophy as such, and on its specific relation to modernity, religion, and democracy. For Strauss, the revival of political philosophy under modern conditions requires a return to its ancient roots. While Lefort agrees that such a restoration is necessary, he argues that this requires a departure from ancient thought: political philosophy must recognize modern democracy as a new kind of regime, independent of theologico-political norms.     

Painful pasts,painful places: Confronting ambivalence at the Islands of Vanishment conference,Port Arthur Historic Site,Tasmania, 7–10 June 2002

Abstract

This is a museum about Power and Powerlessness

And the struggle for dignity by ordinary people.

Let this never be forgotten.

Let us be mindful of the abuses of the past and celebrate the human capacity

In all its diversity and richness

To overcome.

(From the Kwa Muhle Museum, Durban, South Africa)

Islands of Vanishment was more than just a conference; it was a piece of theatre, acted out in a place which has seen more than its share of suffering over the last 200 years. Throughout the conference the legacy of Port Arthur's painful past, and the sense of hope and emergence that has grown from it, was tangible, the sense of place which envelops the Port Arthur Historic Site contributing much to the success of this important event.     

Illusions of Discovery

Abstract

It is now more than two years since a comprehensive review article with the same title as this note was published as a special supplementary issue of the Review of Modern Physics (Rev. Mod. Phys. 59, S1–S201, 1987). This report had been written by a special study panel, convened under the auspices of the American Physical Society. The present author served as co-chairman of this study panel, together with Dr Kumar Patel. The purpose of this contribution is to review the background leading to the study, its scope and method, and its main conclusions, as well as the public reaction to it since its publication.     

Silvio Berlusconi and the traditions of Italian foreign policy: a comment on Ambassador Romano's presentation

Abstract

While open to criticism on many levels, the foreign policy of Italy under Silvio Berlusconi does not deviate in many significant ways from traditional approaches, especially on its management of Italy's relations with the United States and the European Union. Italy's ‘exceptionalism’ is also similar to that of many other European states.     

Ruins about Merj Hîn in Subalpine Lebanon

Abstract

An attentive examination of the impressive finds of the mausoleum uncovered in 2007 in Herodium has demonstrated that these are not in accord with the characteristics of Herodian architecture as postulated by the late Prof. Ehud Netzer. The following four arguments show that this monument, which was indeed built by Herod, did not serve as his eternal resting place: ? Its moderate dimensions.

? The absence of an appropriate gateway to the burial ground, and an adequate assembly space around the tomb.

? A stratigraphic argument: The stairway leading up to the palace-fortress on the hilltop leaves the mausoleum ‘in its shade’, being also overlaid on top of the single irrigation pool that served the small garden that had surrounded the tomb.

? The absence of any correspondence between the axis of symmetry of the mausoleum, and that of Greater Herodium, indicating that these two were entirely different building projects.

Two alternative proposals are presented for the possible locations of the tomb, which might have disappeared.     

A FRESH LOOK AT A LITTLE-KNOWN SOUTHEASTERN COPPER PLATE

Abstract

Chauga (38OC47) is a mound site now under Lake Hartwell at the head of the Savannah River in Oconee County, South Carolina. Excavations in 1958–1959 by the University of Georgia recovered a Mississippian copper plate. Upon comparison to others of its kind, it is clear that this lesser-known plate encompasses some interesting design features, most notably the presence of the only known depiction of a chunkey stone on copper. We have recently created a more accurate representation of its design. The plate appears to portray many similarities to depictions of Birdman dancers: kilted dancers and dancing elders within the “Stack” style. Birdman themes are common in Mississippian iconography. Given the importance that copper plates have for interpreting Mississippian art and belief systems, this updated examination provides useful new information for researchers studying Mississippian iconography.     

An Early Eighteenth Century Scottish Saltwork: Arran,c.1710 – 1735

Abstract

Historians have paid little attention to Scotland's salt industry. The few physical traces of its existence have not been seriously examined and interpreted by industrial archaeologists. This article presents some new material about saltmaking on the west coast of Scotland but more importantly it argues that the site under review here, on Arran in the Firth of Clyde, represents the earliest known upstanding remains of the type of saltwork which in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ranged along both shores of the river Forth, from where the bulk of Scotland's salt production came.     

The Medieval Village at Garrow Tor,Bodmin Moor,Cornwall

SUMMARY

The site chosen for excavation in the medieval village at Garrow proved to be a platform-house, a variant of the long-house, a widespread form of peasant dwelling. Both types provided for the shelter of man and his beasts under one roof; in its early form, as here, it consisted of a living-room and byre separated by a passage connecting with an entrance in each long side. The platform-house was suited to meet the hard conditions of life in a hilly country of heavy rainfall. It was built on an oblong platform constructed with its long axis at right angles to the contours of the hillside. Thus the house gained considerable protection from wind and rain.

Two outstanding features were the hearth with fireback centrally placed on the floor in the upper room and the manger which was in situ in the byre. Near the house was a small barn. The two buildings stood in a small enclosure. Pottery found in the house and barn and in the fields connected with the settlement showed that there was occupation from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Inhabited farmhouses of this type can still be seen in Cornwall.¹     

Peasant Categories in the Tenth and eleventh centuries

Abstract

The need for the state to protect its fiscal revenues is presented in the tenth-century legislation as a significant factor underlying the efforts made by the imperial administration to check the growing power of its provincial magnates and to make it more difficult for them to extend their properties at the expense of weaker peasants. In practice the most effective way for the state to maintain its revenues was to ensure through the regular activities of its fiscal officials that peasants who owed tax-payments to the state were not brought under the control of powerful lay and ecclesiastical landowners.     

Archaeology,Cultural Property,and the Military

Abstract

Poland's ‘silent revolution’ which led to the disintegration of the Communist regime in 1989 was inevitably reflected in the financial situation of archaeological research. Some well-established institutions which lost their secure government funding were disrupted or even destroyed.

Cuts in the numbers of research staff (by around 30%), the change of research priorities from purely problem-oriented studies towards rescue excavations and the introduction of the market mechanism (in the system of grants and short-term contracts) began a process of painful reorientation and restructuring.

The challenge posed by private enterprise, by a gigantic programme of highways construction and by the emergence of wealthy sponsors brought about changes in the mentality of Polish archaeologists, changes which took place under the influence of growing surveillance by society at large and by the communications media.

Notions of social responsibility, ethics, effectiveness and financial transparency should define this ‘new’ reality which has been taking shape under the pressure of daily problems. However, far from all working archaeologists are able to understand this challenge.     

The Geography Teacher

Ask Dr. de Bli by Dr. Harm de Blij, page 3

Refugees in America by TGT, page 4

TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION:

Guinness and the Irish Pub Company, excerpt: H. J. de Blij, Alexander B. Murphy, Erin M. Fouberg, page 6

LESSON PLANS:

All Locations are Relative: This Place is Mine by Michael S. Murphy, page 7

Reading Our World by The Geography-Literacy Task Force, page 10

Population Changes in Cities and Farms by Eui-kyung Shin, Jason Gold, page 12

ARTICLES AND OPINIONS:

Defining a Highly Qualified K-12 Geography Teacher by GENIP, page 16

When the Rivers Run Dry by Jody Smothers Marcello, page 18

The Five Fundamental Themes and the Six Essential Elements by James F. Marran, page 20

A Firm Foundation, a Sturdy Roof by Ed Grode, page 23

Latitude with Attitude by Lydia Lewis, page 27

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are by Ed Grode, page 28

Literature/Geography Quiz by TGT, page 35

Movies as Teaching Tools by Mary Lynn Everhart, page 40

Review: Travels with MusicTM by Steve Ferringer, page 43

Book Reviews: Adventurers and Geo-facts by Jodi Ann Vendor, page 46     

Reflections on Tudor Green

Abstract

In this article the author suggests that the time has come to revise ideas on Tudor Green ware. He puts forward the suggestion that there was no such thing as a Tudor Green industry, and that it would be more appropriate to group together comparable ceramics from this region under the term Southern Whiteware.     

New maps

EUROPE.

Sweden for Peace. The Programme of Sioeden in the Union Crisis. By Nils Edén, Professor at the University of Upsala. London : David Nutt. Pp. 40.

La Belgique : Institutions, Industrie, Commerce. Brussels : J. Goemaere, 1905.Pp. 870.

Place‐Names of Boss and Cromarty. By W. J. Watson, M.A., Eector of Inverness Royal Academy. Inverness : The Northern Counties Printing Co. 1904.

ASIA.

The Private Diary of Ananda Ranga Pillai. Translated from the Tamil by order of the Government of Madras, and edited by Sir J. Frederick Price, K.O.S.I., late of the Indian Civil Service. Vol. I. Madras : Printed by the Superintendent, Government Press, 1904.

The Central Tian‐Shan Mountains, 1902–1903. By Dr. Gottfried Merzbacher. Published under authority of the Eoyal Geographical Society. Pp. 294, with Map and 20 Photographic Illustrations. London : John Murray, 1905.

AFRICA.

The World of To‐day.—Vol. III. Africa. By A. R. Hope Moncrieff. London : Gresham Publishing Co., 1905. Pp. vi + 280. Numerous Illustrations and Maps.

AMERICA.

Back to Sunny Seas. By Frank T. Bullen, F.R.G.S. London : Smith, Elder and Co., 1905.

GENERAL.

The Oxford Geographies. Vol. II. : The Junior Geography. By A. J. Herbertson, M.A., Ph.D. Oxford : At the Clarendon Press, 1905.     

‘Navigating sovereignty under a Cold War military industrial colonial complex: US military empire and Marshallese decolonization’

Abstract

As World War II unsettled the global balance of power ushering in a wave of decolonization, the postwar period also saw the expansion of US military imperialism into Micronesia. In this central Pacific region, a new colonial era began rooted in US strategic concerns and mandated under a 1947 United Nations Trusteeship Agreement. During the Cold War, the United States buttressed its nuclear arsenal by testing its deadliest weapons of mass destruction (nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile) in the Marshall Islands, residing on the eastern edge of Micronesia. This weapons testing program would inform Marshallese struggles towards self-determination, ultimately shaping the contours of Marshallese sovereignty as the region achieved formal decolonization through a Compact of Free Association in 1986.     

The Geography Teacher

Ask Dr. de Bli by Dr. Harm de Blij, page 3

TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION:

Improving Geographic Understanding with a State Atlas by Jerry T. Mitchell, Monti Caughman, Susan Wise, page 4

Girl Wins Geographic Bee by Scott Norris, NG News, page 9

LESSON PLANS, ARTICLES AND OPINIONS

Playing with the 50 States and the Chemical Elements by Antonio Joaquin Franco Mariscal, Maria Jóse Cano Inglesias, page 10

Why Geography Matters to a Teen by Eric Goldfischer, page 13

Reading Our World by The Geography-Literacy Task Force, page 14

The Uses of Geography by James F. Marran, page 18

World Refugees Interview with Lavinia Limón, page 21

Mapping a Secret by Dawn Bryant, Sue Gerstenberger, Dr. Timothy Lintner, page 28

The World’s Human Population by Chuck Fahrer, page 32

Atlantic Canada in Review by Penny Anderson, page 38

Infidel by book review by Jody Smothers Marcello, page 41

Movies as Teaching Tools by Mary Lynn Everhart, page 43

Book Reviews: Now and Then Lydia Lewis, page 46

International Geographic Bee by NG web site, page 48     

The Public Role of Religion: A Central-European Perspective

Abstract

Church leaders in Europe frequently lament that the environment is non-religious and unchristian. Reflecting on how the European countries which fell under Communist domination have adjusted to the post-Communist era, the paper advances the view that the situation should be characterized differently. European Christianity stands on the threshold of another of its historical metamorphoses. The continent is not simply unchristian or non-religious, but neither is not religious in a Christian way. Christianity is not the religion of present-day Europe, and at the same time European Christianity can no longer be seen as a "religion."     

Orality in Medieval and Modern Greek Poetry: Introduction

Abstract

A colloquium under the above title was held in Oxford on May 12–13, 1989, under the auspices of the British association of university teachers of Modern Greek studies known as SCOMGIU (Standing Committee on Modern Greek in the Universities). The following articles represent a selection of the papers given at this colloquium, some printed with minimal alterations (thus preserving some traces of their oral performance) and others extensively rewritten.     

Across the narrow sea: A Transnational Approach to Anglo-Dutch Travelogues

ABSTRACT

The busy traffic between England and the United Provinces in the seventeenth century produced travel literature by merchants, scholars, soldiers, and diplomats. What can these sources tell us about commonalities and differences among these travellers and between the nations?

This article provides a case study of a transnational approach, setting Dutch and English accounts side by side to enrich our understanding of how travellers sought out specific sites and institutions.

Strikingly, travellers reported on similar themes, such as royalty, universities and war, yet were also keen to draw contrasts with the visited country.

We show how these patterns of travel and imagery can throw light on Anglo-Dutch relations, providing us with the personal nuance often absent from official texts. Simultaneously, Anglo-Dutch relations affected the destinations and outlooks of travellers. The contribution of this article is its presentation of new material in an Anglo-Dutch framework.     

Strategies in northern development in Canada since the late 1960's

From the late 1960's onwards the northern part of North America has undergone the most significant social, political and economic transformation in its history.

This paper will look at some of the main reference points in the political economy of northern Canada, and will overlay this with a review of the evolution of key development strategies, policy statements, and mega‐project impact assessments that have happened during the past two decades.

Significant shifts in northern development perspectives have occured throughout this period; these will be analyzed and some important future trends and issues will be discussed.