blog, archived

I decided to officially archive this blog on the day my DPhil was confirmed. But I have waited for the electronic publication of my thesis, Interrogating Archaeological Ethics in Conflict Zones: Cultural Heritage Work in Cyprus, to announce the archiving. From now on, I will blog at Conflict Antiquities.

protective Turkish Cypriot Hand of Fatima on Greek Cypriot cemetery; graffiti update

Thanks to the multilingual skills of Denizaksulu [and Emma Ruby], I have an update on the open hand painting and the Arabic inscriptions. The most important news is that the open hand painting probably is a Hand of Fatima, a Turkish Cypriot prayer for the protection of the Greek Cypriot cemetery.

Since Denizaksulu was going to look for the ship graffiti on the cropped image of Saint Damian(?), I thought I would post the uncropped photograph, and some others besides.

Turkey's Blogger ban lifted

I've been offline for far too long. Apparently, Turkey's Blogger ban was lifted ages ago (according to Aaron G. Myers, it was gradually lifted between the 14th of March and the 27th of April).

#22agustos: internet censorship, Turkey

Sadly, "Take Your Hands Off the Internet (Çekin Artık Elinizi İnternetten)" is a long-standing demand in Turkey; but there is a grave threat of even more censorship from the 22nd of August (22 Ağustos).

[I got so distracted by internet censorship that I forgot to explain the Blogspot-specific ban in this post; I have now summarised the (now-lifted) Blogger ban.]

Viva DPhil

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day in Brighton - I had (and bizarrely enjoyed) my DPhil viva, then went to the pub and caught up with friends I don't see nearly often enough. Tomorrow, I'll be back in Kayseri, teaching English.

I began this as a doctoral research blog, and had already been considering changing it (or starting a new one) after my PhD; but now Turkey's banned Blogger [for a while], it's [and that] made my decision for me.

Translation? Arabic graffiti in Palea Enklistra, Cyprus

As well as possibly political graffiti, I have some probably religious, Arabic graffiti on Christian buildings - the cave chapel of Palea Enklistra - in Cyprus. Can anyone suggest a translation?

Hopefully Gavin will understand this better than my worryingly poor face-to-face explanation of my interest in graffiti on cultural heritage sites.

Information? Political graffiti on Christian buildings, Cyprus

I have very little internet access in Turkey, and Blogger's (currently [no longer]) banned. But I'm in the UK for my viva, so I can post these photos of political(?) graffiti on Christian buildings in Cyprus - and appeal for information!

I've also got some religious(?) Arabic graffiti on Christian buildings.

stupid injunctions: Israeli bloggers to be prosecuted for linking?

In a potentially worrying development, Israeli bloggers will apparently be prosecuted for linking to foreign websites that contain information suppressed within Israel.

(Some pro-suppression Israeli journalists have even wondered how to 'prevent the Google search engine from violating gag orders'.)

fourth not blogging about blogging archaeology

The fourth question was:

"the act of publication for this blog carnival. How could we best capture the interplay, the multimedia experience of blogging as a more formalized publication? What would be the best outcome for this collection of insights from archaeological bloggers?"

third not blogging about archaeology

The third question (in Middle Savagery's public forum on blogging archaeology) was:

'.... most archaeological blogs that I read have very little in the way of dialog through comments. Often on this blog, I feel like I am talking to myself, which in a way is catharsis, but if an archaeology blogger writes and no one reacts, are we really changing opinions or moving the field forward?' [Dig Girl]

I would add to this, how do you attract readership? Without too much in the way of SEO chatter, who is your audience and how to you interact with this audience? What do you want out of interactivity by means of blogging about archaeology?

second not blogging about blogging archaeology

Brenna, I warn you now, tl;dr - tlll;drrr...


The end of the second question/paragraph (in Middle Savagery's public forum/carnival for blogging archaeology) was:

.... Blogging archaeology is often fraught with tensions that are sometimes not immediately apparent. Beyond the general problems that come with performing as a public intellectual, what risks do archaeologists take when they make themselves available to the public via blogging?

What (if any) are the unexpected consequences of blogging? How do you choose what to share?

first not blogging about blogging archaeology

@alun may not quite have kept up, and @brennawalks may have skipped week 3; but I've missed the whole event.

Kayseri'ye gidiyorum (I'm going to Kayseri)!

Finally, I've got a proper, full-time job. I'm going to be teaching English in Kayseri, a very modern city in central Anatolia, Turkey. It's near magnificent Mount Erciyes, from the peak of which you can see both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

Sto a Roma?

Okay, things have returned to their reassuring Italianness; so I may not be staying in Rome after all. I hope I will, and I'm still looking for teaching and proofreading work (and archaeological or cultural heritage work, though I'm not optimistic about that); but we'll see...

Sto a Roma (I'm staying in Rome)

Finally, I've found a job - teaching English in Rome.

It also means it will be a lot easier for me to get to the annual conference of Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA), which I'm already looking forward to.

non parlo italiano, ma tuttavia vado in Italia!

(I don't speak Italian, but I'm going to Italy anyway!(?))

Little by little, I've been translating a conference paper on Cypriot antiquities rescue into Greek; hopefully, I'll post it soon.

However, it has taken a while - and it may take a while longer yet - because I'm moving to Italy. I'm bored of life on the dole, and exasperated by my visits to the dole office, so I'm going to try and make ends meet teaching and proofreading English.

I'm still going to be applying (anywhere and everywhere) for postdocs/jobs too, and working on my existing research material; but (again, hopefully) I'll be spending a lot of time teaching English and learning Italian.

Cypriot antiquities in Belgium, public and private collections

In 1990, Robert Laffineur and Frieda Vandenabeele published the public and (publicly-known) private collections of Cypriote Antiquities in Belgium.

There isn't much information on looted antiquities' source communities; but there is a load of information on individuals' and institutions' collecting practices.

Ashmolean Museum, Cypriot antiquities

In 1983, David Frankel published some of the Early and Middle Bronze Age Material in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. It fits the general outline of international public museums acquiring probably looted antiquities, including conflict antiquities.

Badischen State Museum, Karlsruhe; Cypriot antiquities

In 1984, Wolfgang Schürmann published a Catalogue of Cypriot Antiquities in Badischen State Museum, Karlsruhe (fn1). Most of its artefacts were ethically-recovered. Its collection showed that it was possible to acquire museum-size collections legally and ethically.

Aigyptoi: pws na 3eperasete ton fragmo ths kybernhshs sto internet!

Αιγύπτιοι! Πώς να ξεπεράσετε τον φραγμό της κυβέρνησης στο ίντερνετ!

Έχω μεταφράσει τι είπε ένας Αιγυπτολόγος, ο Steve Harvey.

(Το μετέφρασα γρήγωρα, έτσι με συγχωρείτε για κανένα λάθος μου...)

Αν ξέρετε κανέναν στην Αίγυπτο, παρακαλώ του τούτο δώσετε.

Να περάσετε απ'το μπλοκ του διαδικτύου, χρησιμοποιήσετε το IP:

Twitter: "128.242.240.52"

Facebook: "69.63.189.34"

Google: "172.14.204.99"

Ένα γάλλικο ISP προσφέρει δωρεάν πρόσβαση στη τηλεφωνική γραμμή +33 1 72 89 01 50 με τον κωδικό toto.

Egyptian Revolution: how to get past government internet block

Egyptologist Steve Harvey says:

If you know anyone in Egypt, please pass this on to them.

To bypass government blocking of websites, use numerical IP addresses:

Twitter "128.242.240.52"

Facebook: "69.63.189.34"

Google: "172.14.204.99"

A French ISP offers free dial up internet access ~ +33 1 72 89 01 50 ~ Login password: toto.

Egyptian Revolution: government thugs looting democracy protesters' communities, museums

I don't know enough to say anything significant about the Egyptian Revolution. However, it is clear that a lot of the looters have been exposed as disguised government thugs, looting democracy protesters' communities and museums in a pathetic attempt to make the democratic revolutionaries look like criminals.

student activism on illicit antiquities trade

An intern at Saving Antiquities For Everyone (SAFE), Meg, is 'designing and launching a campaign' promoting student awareness of and activism against the illicit antiquities trade.

Complementing that, this month, she started a blog on Things You Can't Take Back:

Until now, there has been no discernible widespread effort by college students to promote awareness or incite activism to curb a trade that is inextricably connected to our own lives, from the museums we visit to the terrorism we hear or experience every day....

This blog seeks to fill the huge gap in the existing blogosphere and informational sources in order to enable college students to find the information they need to help prevent making our history and archaeology degrees totally irrelevant.

Boy George returned stolen Cypriot icon

George Alan O'Dowd - Boy George - has quickly and gracefully returned a Greek Cypriot Orthodox Christian icon, stolen from the Church of Agios Charalambous in Neochorio-Kythreas in northern Cyprus. (He returned it to the Orthodox Church in southern Cyprus.)

I should have mentioned this more than a week ago, but two things prevented me: first, Boy George returned the icon quickly and gracefully; and second, my Greek Cypriot friends and I have been laughing ever since about how the Orthodox priests found out he had any icon to return...

Cypriot antiquities, Severis Collection - intercommunal conflict, bicommunal illicit antiquities trade

The Leto and Costakis Severis Collection was largely built from Cypriot antiquities looted during the intercommunal conflict.

Contrary to nationalist histories of the Cyprus Conflict, and of the plundering of Cypriot cultural heritage, it is very clear that, even during the intercommunal conflict, there was a bicommunal illicit antiquities trade; and still now, the only hope of combating this paramilitary-controlled, organised crime is bicommunal cooperation.