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Exhibition ‘Neanderthals in Europe’. Detail of the exhibition folder. © Gallo-Romeins Museum.
In this issue:
News on the activities of the PalArch Foundation 2 The travelling exhibition ‘Neanderthals in Europe’
(B. Demarsin) 5 Tour-de-Celt in West-central Europe. A 5-day
excursion through Iron Age western Germany and eastern France (R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens) 9
Egypt in photographs (Z. Kosc) 15 Ely Kish. Recreating a vanished world (S. Costello) 15 Colophon 20
Edited by A.J. Veldmeijer, E.N.A. Heirbaut, B.L. BeattyIllustration editing M.H. Kriek© 2006 PalArch Foundation
www.PalArch.nl Newsletter 3, 1 (2006)
In the late 19th and early 20th century, scientists were eager to find the ‘missing link’ between man and its predecessor. In 1912, pieces of a fossilised human skull and a jaw fragment were found by Charles Dawson near Pilt Down Common, Sussex. The stone tools and animal bones that were found together with the jaw fragment suggested a late Pliocene or early Pleistocene date. Dawson’s discovery had a huge impact on the archaeological world, as the human skull and the ape-like jaw came up to the expectations of what the ‘missing link’ had to look like. In 1915, more fragments were discovered in the same area. However, it turned out to be very difficult to place the Piltdown Man in the line of evolution; in fact, this line of evolution made
Examination of the Piltdown skull by different scientists (from: McIntosh, J. 1986.Archeologisch Handboek. – Veenendaal, Gaade Uitgevers).
News on the activities of the PalArch Foundation
By André Veldmeijer
Let me start to wish all of you, on behalf
of the PalArch Foundation and www.PalArch.nl a good and healthy 2006!
The current issue contains one paper on archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, concerning the dating of the Sphinx, by Gerd Vandecruys. Besides, the two publications on the LACMA scarabs (paper and catalogue) are still online. Our palaeontological section contains two papers. The first one, by Brian Beatty, deals with rediscovered materials of Cornwallius and the second paper, by Dr Kumar presents comments on a previously published paper.
The first issue of the Newsletter in 2006 is almost entirely dedicated to our new section ‘archaeology of northwest Europe.’ You can read all about this below. Enjoy! News on our section archaeology of northwest
Europe
By Elly Heirbaut
A new year has arrived, and full of excitement we are looking forward to see what this year has to offer. Full of excitement, especially because this new year is another milestone in the history of our Journal. On January 1st, PalArch – Archaeology of northwest Europe will go completely online with its first publication.
It is a tradition that, with the beginning of a new year, one makes a lot of good intentions. But it is not a lesser tradition that, as soon as the first day has gone by, most of these intentions have already faded away……However, concerning PalArch, we will do our outmost best to make them come true! By promoting the youngest section of the Journal, we will keep trying to reach as many archaeologists and enthusiasts as possible. We made a good start with our first publication, and we hope that many more will follow. We will also continue to expand the Centre of Book Reviews, and make sure that - next to the Journal - the Newsletter will contain many interesting articles as well.
Our editorial board is still growing. In the fall of last year, Dr. Francesco Menotti joined our board. He is working at the Oxford Institute of Archaeology. His main field of research is wetland archaeology, with a special emphasis on the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Europe. He was the editor of the book ‘Living on the lake in prehistoric Europe. 150 years of lake-dwelling research’ which was reviewed in the previous issue. Next to his work in prehistoric Europe, he is also working on Inca archaeology, more specifically on the Sacred Valley of Cuzco in the Peruvian Andes.
As I mentioned before, this is a ‘special issue’ since it contains the first publication in the section Archaeology of northwest Europe. This manuscript deals with the Piltdown Man, without any doubt one of the most famous forgeries in history.
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much more sense when the Piltdown Man was simply left out. This led to the discussion whether these remains were authentic or a fraud. Although in the following decades scientists remained divided roughly equally over the skull-with-jaw issue, the authenticity of the items went unquestioned. It was only in 1953 that the forgery was exposed. Tom Turritin, the author of ‘An annotated bibliography of the Piltdown Man forgery, 1953-2005’, describes all the events related to the discovery of the Piltdown Man and, eventually, to the exposure of this fascinating forgery, but also offers the reader a nearly complete bibliography on this forgery, and includes not only scientific books and articles, but also newspaper articles, radio/television documentaries and even poetry. Anybody interested in this topic can find whatever he/she is looking for in this publication.
The newsletter contains two equally interesting essays. The first one is the account of the ‘Tour de Celt’, in which the two authors (Roosje de Leeuwe & Lucas Meurkens) describe the journey they undertook to visit some of the most interesting remains of Bronze Age and Iron Age burial mounds in Germany and France. In what can be described as a kind of ‘road journal’, they portray the prehistoric monuments and give detailed and useful information about the sites and how to get there. The breathtaking pictures in this essay only give a glimpse of the real thing. The second essay deals with the fascinating exhibition ‘Neanderthals in Europe’, which could be visited in the Gallo-Roman Museum at Tongeren (Belgium), but is now going to the Drents Museum in Assen (The Netherlands), where it will open its doors on July 15, 2006. In his richly illustrated article, Bart Demarsin describes the captivating life of the Neanderthals, their way of surviving and the possible theories about their disappearance. ‘Neanderthal Man tickles the imagination’, but it is not only the mystery that has drawn so many people to the Gallo-Roman Museum. The museum has chosen for a 3D presentation concept which enables the visitors literally to come face to face with the Neanderthals, and this makes a visit certainly worthwhile! I can only hope that our readers will enjoy the articles of this issue as much as I did.
Having written all of this, I can only finish by wishing everybody a happy new year, and hoping that all good intentions may come true… News on our section vertebrate palaeontology
By Brian Beatty
Since our last newsletter we have gotten a little further in several tasks I had set out to do.
Our editorial board is now being better and more fully utilised in the review process, which should prove to make the review of papers much more effective and efficient!
The goal to make PalArch compliant with Article 8.6 of the ICZN is nearly in effect. Thanks to the help of some from the ICZN itself we should be able to publish new zoological nomenclature that is recognised by the ICZN VERY soon. For more on the subject of the ICZN and online journals, see the article by J. Harris at: http://www.iczn.org/BZNSep2004general%20articles.htm.
We finally have an alpha version of a style file (ens.) for the popular reference management software EndNote for PalArch. This initial version may be flawed and it is stressed that some details from the guide for authors should still be checked over in one’s final manuscript before submission. Until we have final authorisation managed with EndNote, this file will not be available on our website. If eager for this early version, please email me at [email protected].
Lastly, thanks to all who have submitted manuscripts, book reviews, and articles for the newsletter. Please, keep them coming!
Publications in the January issue
Papers, www.PalArch.nl 1, archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology
Vandecruys, G. 2006. The Sphinx: dramatising
data … and dating. – PalArch, series archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 1, 1: 1-13.
Cooney, K.M. & J. Tyrrell. 2005. Scarabs in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Part I. Distributed propaganda or intimate protection? – PalArch, series
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archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 4, 1: 1–14.
Cooney, K.M. & J. Tyrrell. 2005. Scarabs in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Part II. Catalogue. Online version. – PalArch, series archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 4, 2: 15–98.
Cooney, K.M. & J. Tyrrell. 2005. Scarabs in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Part II. Catalogue. ImageCD version. – PalArch, series archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 4, 2: 15–98.
Papers, www.PalArch.nl 1, vertebrate
palaeontology Beatty, B.L. 2006. Rediscovered specimens of
Cornwallius (Mammalia, Desmostylia) from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. – PalArch, series vertebrate palaeontology 1, 1: 1–6.
Kumar, K. 2006. Comments on ‘Early Eocene land mammals from Vastan Lignite Mine, District Surat (Gujarat), western India’ by Bajpai, S. et al. published in Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India 50, 1: 101-113, 2005. – PalArch, series vertebrate palaeontology 1, 2: 7–13.
Papers, www.PalArch.nl 1, northwest Europe
Turrittin, T.H. 2006. An annotated bibliography
of the Piltdown Man forgery, 1953-2005. – PalArch, series archaeology of northwest Europe 1, 1: 1–50.
PalArch Foundation’s Centre of Book Reviews Beatty, B.L. 2006. Book review of: Natali, A.
Ed. 2003. Dental Biomechanics. (New York, Taylor & Francis). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Campagno, M. 2006. Book review of: Yoffee, N. 2005. Myths of the archaic state. Evolution of the earliest cities, states, and civilizations. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Cowie, P.J. 2006. Book review of: Morris, E.F. 2005. The architecture of imperialism. Military bases and the evolution of foreign policy in Egypt’s New Kingdom. (Leiden, Brill). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Duinmaijer, C.P. 2006. Book review of: El–Daly, O. 2005. Egyptology. The missing millennium. (London, UCL Press). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Ikram, S. 2006. Book review of: Henare, A.J.M. 2005. Museums, anthropology and imperial exchange. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Nieuwland, I.J.J. 2006. Book review of: Galaty, M.L. & C. Watkinson. Eds. 2005. Archaeology under dictatorship. (New York, Kluwer Academic Press/Plenum Publishers). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Nieuwland, I.J.J. 2006. Book review of: Lustig, A., R.J. Richards & M. Ruse. Eds. 2004. Darwinian heresies. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press) & Shanahan, S. 2004. The evolution of Darwinism. Selection, adaptation and progress in evolutionary biology. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Panadés I Blas, X. 2006. Book review of: Norell, M.A. & M, Ellison. 2005. Unearthing the dragon. The great feathered dinosaur discovery. (New York, Pi Press). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
Reumer, J.W.F. 2006. Book review of: Lewin, R. 2005. Human evolution (5th edition). (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing). – PalArch, book reviews (http://www.palarch.nl/Non_scientific/bookreview.htm).
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The research results were moulded into a concept that enables the visitor literally to come face to face with Neanderthal Man. In a 3D presentation concept - surprising, to say the
Exhibition ‘Neanderthals in Europe’. Detail of the exhibition folder. © Gallo-Romeins Museum.
The travelling exhibition ‘Neanderthals in Europe’
By B. Demarsin1
From 1998 to 2003, the Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) organised six archaeological excavation campaigns in a loam quarry in Veldwezelt, in the valley of the Hezerwater. Archaeologists from the Prehistory Lab have found the remains of five Neanderthal campsites. The oldest remains are about 130,000 years old - the oldest human artefacts ever found in Flanders. The most recent remains are about 50,000 years old. These remarkable findings and the new scientific insights provided by the excavations at the Veldwezelt-Hezerwater site led the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren (Belgium) to organise a large travelling exhibition called ‘Neanderthals in Europe’. After the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren and the Helms Museum in Hamburg (Germany), the exhibition will open its doors on July 15, 2006 at the Drents Museum in Assen (The Netherlands).
A surprising concept
Neanderthal Man tickles the imagination. As far back as the 19th century, when the first skeletal remains were discovered, people wondered what Neanderthals looked like. Numerous drawings, paintings, and sculptures from that era depict the Neanderthals as a primitive being. This perception did not change until the 1960s. As a result of intensive research and sophisticated techniques, our vision of the life of the Neanderthals has changed dramatically. Nowadays, we are more likely to give the Neanderthals a human appearance. With the ‘Neanderthals in Europe’ exhibition, the Gallo-Roman Museum aims to present these new insights to a wide audience.
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1 Exhibition co-ordinator Gallo-Romeins Museum, Kielenstraat 15 B-3700 Tongeren, tel +32 12 670 330, fax +32 12 670 333. www.galloromeinsmuseum.be www.neanderthalers.be
least - a group of 23 lifelike Neanderthals simply continues with their lives of more than 30,000 years ago. They sit around a fire and make tools, go hunting, laugh, cry, and play. The hyperrealism of the personages is further accentuated by the highly abstract and
Reconstruction of a Neanderthal woman. © Gallo-Romeins Museum.
www.PalArch.nl Newsletter 3, 1 (2006)
Chemical research on remains of bones tells us quite a bit about the food habits and the menu of Neanderthal Man. The skeletal remains in the caves are especially suitable for this, because they are well-preserved. Although he was an omnivore, the Neanderthal’s menu was made up mainly of meat, such as bison, mammoth, woolly rhino, ibex, and chamois. The meat provided him the energy necessary to survive in harsh conditions. The herbivores roamed the land in large herds and were almost constantly followed by the Neanderthals. A part of this prey could be hunted by Neanderthals thanks to the improvement of his hunting techniques and more efficient weaponry. The exhibition
Reconstruction of a Neanderthal hunter holding a spear. © Gal o-Romeins Museum. l
contrasting surroundings. A sober, blue-green platform evokes the open steppe, the original habitat of Neanderthal Man. In those surroundings roam the most marvellous and exotic of animals: hyenas, musk oxen, a woolly rhino. The blue-green platform is marked out by a long wall of cabinet shelves. These hold original artefacts, remains of bones, and replicas. The design is by Niek Kortekaas, and the 3D figures of the Neanderthals were made by the Flemish artist Dirk Claesen, who has years of experience doing this kind of work.
Surviving in the Ice Age
Neanderthal Man lived from about 150,000 to 30,000 years ago on a wide stretch of land from the British Isles to Central Asia. He was nomadic, always moving from one place to the other, and from one camp to the other. He was permanently looking for suitable food and raw materials with which to make tools. Neanderthal Man was highly dependent on the local climatic conditions and his surroundings. Recent research in Veldwezelt-Hezerwater and other Neanderthal sites in north-western Europe shows that Neanderthal Man was present in north-western Europe only during the most moderate phases of the ice ages and intermediate ice ages that prevailed in Europe at those times. Only then did he find sufficient food and raw materials to support himself.
More than cave dwellers
The idea that Neanderthals only lived in caves is a misconception held by many people. Whenever they could, Neanderthals would look for cover in caves against the weather or the dangers of the night. Where there were no caves, they were forced to set up camp in the open field, as is shown by the excavations in Veldwezelt-Hezerwater and, near that site, Maastricht-Belvédère (The Netherlands). Since, until today, the majority of the Neanderthal legacy has been found in caves, Neanderthal Man is still often (and wrongly) seen as a caveman. Traces of a cave habitat are more likely to be conserved than traces out in the open field. Moreover, caves have always been fascinating and appealing to people and
were much more readily selected as scientific sites in the past.
The hunt for protein
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shows a replica of the oldest remaining complete weapon in the world, a spear found in the German Schöningen and used by an early ancestor of Neanderthal Man about 400,000 years ago. In Schöningen, nine specimens were found, the longest of which reached 2.5m. The centre of gravity of the spears lay in the front third part of the spear, and they can easily compete with contemporary spears in contests. Using lifelike replicas, the exhibition also shows a real Neanderthal hunting scene. That hunting scene, depicting a group of musk oxen being cornered by a group of Neanderthals, is supported comprehensively using archaeological findings from the region. For example, at the La Cotte de St. Brélade site, on the island of Jersey, at the foot of a high cliff near the sea, an impressive amount of remains of mammoth and woolly rhino bones was found. They showed cutting marks of Neanderthal tools. Apparently, Neanderthals chased the animals and drove them off the cliff. Below, all they had to do was pick up the dead animals’ meat. In Veldwezelt-Hezerwater, a stone pruning knife was found, indented and clearly used to work vegetable material or wood. The knife was used possibly to straighten the wooden shaft of a spear. Finally, at multiple Neanderthal sites in Spy and Goyet (Belgium), stone bullets were discovered, which might have been part of prehistoric bolas, or hurling weapons. The 3D hunting scene also strongly emphasizes that Neanderthals did not go hunting individually, but in groups. Moreover, he made use of very well-organised and sophisticated hunting practices. Mountains and valleys, rivers and rocks, and the undergrowth were part of this technique. There is, then, a world of difference with the stereotype image of the hairy, brute Neanderthal with a wooden club that came into being in the 19th century.
All for one . . .
Research on a number of Neanderthal skeletons shows that Neanderthal Man must have had some system of care for the elderly. The Neanderthal skeletons of La Chapelle-aux-Saints (France) and Shanidar (Iraq) clearly appear to belong to individuals who had been able to survive only with the help of others. The ‘old man’ (as he is known) of La Chapelle-aux-
Neanderthal hunting scene: Neanderthals chasing a group of musk oxen. © GalloRomeins Museum.
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Saints had only one tooth, suffered from deformity of the joints, and had broken ribs. The Shanidar individual, a man of around 40, suffered a traumatic accident. He was lame and presumably blind, and the right half of his body was shattered. Nevertheless, he survived for a couple a years. No doubt, the members of his group must have taken care of him.
The size of such Neanderthal groups remains an open question. Most researchers reckon about 25 people. Also hard to guess is the average age of the people. But everything does indicate that Neanderthals were buried by the members of his tribe. That would make Neanderthals the first human species to offer their dead a final resting place. Until now, Neanderthal graves have been found only in caves or under overhanging rocks. Many of these cases concern multiple burials in one place, where children (and even a foetus) were also found often. At the exhibition, an evocation of the so-called flower burial of Shanidar (Iraq) can be seen. Pollen research brought to light that, during the burial ritual, various kinds of flowers would have been laid around the dead person.
Encounter and farewell
About 40,000 years ago, Homo sapiens reached Europe from Africa. He would share the continent with Neanderthal Man for 10,000 years. We know little about possible contact between the two. But we do conclude that the Neanderthals, in the last phase of their existence, made important cultural progress. They improved their tool kit, worked and used bone and ivory more often, revamped the
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About 30,000 years ago, Neanderthal Man vanished from the face of the earth. We still don’t know what happened. The idea that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens merged does not seem probable. That is why researchers are looking for other explanations for the disappearance of the Neanderthals. One hypothesis states that Homo sapiens outcompeted the Neanderthals. For 10,000 years, they had to use the same raw materials and food sources. One possibility is that the Neanderthals lost the competitive struggle to the Homo sapiens for the means of existence when the climate deteriorated during the Ice
Neanderthal ivory pendant from the Grotte du Renne in Arcy-sur-Cure (France). © Gal o-Romeins Museum.
organisation of their dwellings, and produced objets d’art. Until recently, the explanation for those developments was that Neanderthal Man had cribbed from the superior Homo sapiens. But numerous findings have taught us that these cultural innovations had started much earlier and that Homo sapiens has had little to do with them.
Age. Homo sapiens became the sole human species on earth. His survival was probably due to his creativity and adaptability.
The hypothesis that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens merged does not look very plausible. Homo sapiens does not have Neanderthal DNA. In the case of contact, one can imagine sexual intercourse having taken place. According to most researchers, this did not produce any - or, at least, any fertile - offspring. Anatomically, the differences would have been too great.
An open ending
In spite of intensive research, Neanderthal Man remains a being with many unknown aspects. Consequently, the exhibition ends like a story with an open ending. Their ultimate fate in particular remains a mystery to this day.
A travelling exhibition
‘Neanderthals in Europe’ attracted almost 150.000 visitors in the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren. It was set up as a travelling exhibition, which started its journey at the beginning of 2005. From July 15, 2006 to October 29, 2006, it will run in the Drents Museum in Assen (The Netherlands). For more information, please contact the Gallo-Roman Museum, Kielenstraat 15, B-3700 Tongeren, tel. +32 12 670 330, fax +32 12 670 333, http://www.galloromeinsmuseum.be, http://www.neanderthalers.be
Temporary closing of the Gallo-Roman Museum
On November 14, 2005, the Gallo-
Roman Museum in Tongeren welcomed its 1-millionth visitor. This milestone is the result of 11 years of audience-oriented policy: temporary expositions about appealing themes, a professional educational operation with dynamic workshops, and surprising events. And, it goes without saying, always on the basis of scientific research. In 10 years’ time, the number of visitors has grown from 20,000 to 150,000 per year.
The present museum building cannot cope with the large number of visitors. It
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Gallo-Roman Museum. Virtual impression of the new museum build ng. © Gallo-Romeins Museum.
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impedes further growth. That is why the museum is expanding. A new building is being constructed to merge with the present one. As a result, the museum will close its doors in 2006 and 2007. There will be a completely new start at the beginning of 2008. The architects De Gregorio & Partners from Hasselt were poised for intensive co-operation with the museum staff, which gradually gave form to the new building. The permanent and temporary exhibition area will increase substantially. Four polyvalent workshop areas for educational purposes and a separate lunchroom for school groups will be created. The present circulation problems and logistical bottlenecks will be resolved. A museum square with a café and a shop will make the museum a lively meeting place.
For the new presentation of the permanent collection, the museum will collaborate with the London design agency Event Communications. In conjunction with the staff of the museum, a permanent exposition will be developed, tailored to the needs of the various target groups. Learning and relaxing will go hand in hand.
The Province of Limburg, the Flemish Community (LISOM), and Europe (EFRO) each will finance a third of the planned investment of €13.5 million.
Interested? Discover the reasons for this new project. Catch a glimpse of the architecture and closely follow the building process. Cast a first glance on the new presentation of our collection. Visit our Web site at http://www.galloromeinsmuseum.be.
Tour-de-Celt in west-central Europe. A 5-day excursion through Iron Age western
Germany and eastern France
By R. de Leeuwe2 & L. Meurkens3
Burial mounds with a chamber underneath, Fürstensi zen, Viereckschanze, Oppida, golden torques, really large bronze vases and statues with funny hats. What is the connection between them? A tour along some of the most impressive sites in west-central Europe gives some insight into the interconnectedness between these for prehistoric archaeologists familiar terms.
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Starting from Utrecht a 2200 km round can be done by car in five days, or if you would like a more relaxed pace than we took, a sixth day might be recommendable. Most of the time you just follow the rivers upstream. First the Rhine into Germany, then the Neckar, the Danube, across the Rhine and the French Saône into the valley of the Rhone and finally to the source of the Seine.
Day 1
A 400 km drive along the banks of the
Rhine takes us to the first stop just northeast of
Map of places visited on the tour. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens. 2 Drs. R. de Leeuwe, Archeologisch Onderzoek Leiden bv (Archol), Reuvensplaats 3, Postbus 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, [email protected]
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3 Drs. L. Meurkens, Archeologisch Onderzoek Leiden bv (Archol), Reuvensplaats 3, Postbus 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, [email protected]
www.PalArch.nl Newsletter 3, 1 (2006)
Burial mound, Glauber. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens. Frankfurt. It is the Fürstensitz of Glauberg, or rather the reinforced courtyard and settlement of a local ruler of the Early Iron Age (8th and 7th century BC) on a hilltop. The royal man himself was buried right next to his home underneath a large burial mount. During an excavation an extraordinary statue was found with a rather odd-looking hat, among other artefacts like a golden necklace. Nearby in a small museum some of these goodies can be seen. However, the museum is being renovated and the plan is to make a large museum dedicated to Celts, which is to open
Glauberg statue. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens.
its doors in 2007. A local enthusiast connected to the museum gave us an interesting three- hour tour across the Glauberg. These tours can be booked in advance and differ in length.
After this, a three hour ride south takes us to Stuttgart for the night.
Day 2
The morning is used to visit the Wurttembergisches Landesmuseum in Stuttgart which is housed inside a (partly original) 13th century moated castle. It opens at 10 a.m. The original artefacts from the famous Hochdorf burial are arguably some of the most exciting objects there. The gigantic collection of Merovingian grave goods, an interesting display of Bronze Age moulds, Iron Age swords and Roman statues and pottery are among the other reasons not to miss this museum.
After lunch the course is set on the so-called Kel enweg, a road just west of Stuttgart (view the website). It takes us along some important Early Iron Age sites, starting at the
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Hohenasperg. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens.
Replica of the Hochdorf buria chamber n the Kel enmuseum Hochdorf. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens.
l it
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Burial mounts of the Heuneberg group. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens. Hohenasperg, a probable Fürstensitz. The site is largely occupied by a Medieval castle which is currently used to house an asylum. The outer walls can be visited, but entrance into the castle will understandably be rather difficult.
Further on, the museum in Hochdorf houses an exact replica of the famous burial chamber, while the building in itself represents the actual size of the mount in a stylistic architectural scope. The original skeleton of the Fürst and a reconstruction of his face are on display. The reconstructed mound is nearby just outside the village. On top an imaginative standing stone is placed and some benches that can be used to enjoy the view of the German countryside. In the distance the Hohenasperg can be seen as it sticks out as a confined high plateau above the surrounding low hills.
Many burial mounds are known in the vicinity, like the one of Hirschlanden. Stops can be made along the scenic route to go for a walk and discover the monuments for yourself. Another night is spent in Stuttgart.
Day 3
We leave Stuttgart after breakfast and head south about a 100 km to the Heuneburg. This site is situated high above the Danube, which is actually only a small river on this particular location. The area contains many interesting archaeological sites which can be visited on foot on a 8 km walking route called the ‘Archäologischer Rundwanderweg’ or by car, which is handy for those without a great amount of time on their hands (view their
website http://www.dhm.de/museen/heuneburg).
The road starts at the Heuneburg Keltenmuseum and leads along several large tumuli towards the Fürstensitz Heuneburg. Here, the Celtic reinforced settlement is partly reconstructed. It shows part of the broad wall and several large houses. All can be visited and are constructed in a manner closely resembling the original building methods. For the occupational fanatics among us, the details are quite interesting. The view across the plain of the Danube is nice, but to the north it is obscured by a forest which we are to go into next.
Speaking out of experience, it is advisable to closely follow the way-pointing signs, for they are few and far between and therefore easily missed. Also, a compass and a map to find the many burial mounds in between the trees do come in handy. Deep inside the bewildering forest the prize is great: the highest burial mound in Central Europe, Hohmichele. Its diameter is 85 m and its height is 13,5 m. On top a few trees are planted and again there is a seating facility. The view makes you realise this is indeed very high for a man made mound. It was excavated almost in its entirety in the 1930s, in a method which now would never be approved of. In addition to the central burial chamber, which had been robbed, the mound was found to contain several other burial chambers which belonged to later phases in the mound's history. All, but one of these chambers were robbed. A reconstruction of the former can be seen in the museum: a chamber with the remains of a man
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Bibracte. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens. and a woman, a four-wheeled wagon and many grave-goods.
Hohmichele does not stand on its own. Next to the mount lie many small tumuli and a hard to recognise Viereckschanze (a square enclosure consisting mainly of low earthen walls).
Finally finding our way out of the woods we drive 85 km westwards to the edge of another far greater collection of trees, better known as the Black Forest. Close to the medieval town of Villingen we find the largest tumulus in Central Europe, the Magdalenenberg. Dating from the 6th century BC, it has a diameter of 104 meters and is 8 meters high. Including the prince who was buried in the central chamber the mount counted no less than 127 graves. The princely burial was robbed, but the other graves which were placed concentric to the royal one contained many finds. On the top of this gigantic tomb an open fireplace is used by local youths. It is a nice place to watch the sun set over the dreamily stretching Black Forest.
Villingen itself is well worth a visit. A cosy old city within its original walls and four entrance gates, each with a tower and a varying colour clock on it. The Franziskamer Museum is supposed to be nice and has a reconstruction of the Magdalenenberg burial chamber. Unfortunately we were late on our schedule and did not visit it. We spend the night 140 km west of Villingen just across the French border in Mulhouse.
Day 4
More than three hours further west we arrive at the great Late Iron Age oppidum of Bibracte. In its time Bibracte was the capital of the Aedui tribe. It is the place where Vercingétorix was elected head of the coalition of the Celtic tribes of Gaul to fight against the Roman general Gaius Julius Caesar and his vast army in the 1st century BC. It is also the place where Caesar spend the winter after his decisive victory over the Gauls and worked on his famous ‘Commentaries on the Gallic Wars’.
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The oppidum of Alesia is a mythical place, a site at the town of Alise-Sainte-Reine. In the Asterix & Obelix comics its very
The Roman temple of Janus in Autun. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens
Several years after Gaul was conquered the oppidum was abandoned. The people went to live in the nearby settlement which was founded by emperor Augustus and is now called Autun.
Before climbing up to the reconstructed entrance gate, visit the museum. This must be one of the best museums of its kind. The museum has a beautiful display of artefacts and scale models, all accompanied by texts in three languages: French, English and German. Also, the tour can be done with a head set which supposedly tells you everything about the subject you are standing in front of. Archaeologists can marvel over the nice typologies of fibulae and glass objects, which were found during the many excavations inside the oppidum. A nice extra is the lower hall which shows how things were made in the Iron Age in a sort of interactive manner.
The oppidum itself is massive. The best thing to do is take a whole day and explore the excavations between the trees. When the weather is nice and warm, take along a bottle of wine and some cheese and seat yourself on the grass on the far end of the oppidum. The view is breathtaking. Anyone could spend several hours there contemplating over blue-painted heroes and fierce battles with Roman armies and think about old days long past.
The end of the day we drive 23 km east to the town of Autun. Especially in the summer months this place is a centre for artistic and cultural activities. Some interesting Roman ruins remind us that in those days the town must have been almost the same size as it is at present. Worth visiting are the theatre, the two remaining entrance gates and the temple of Janus.
Day 5
Our last day is a long one. On our way back north we make several stops, the first one being the oppidum of Alesia, a drive of about 87 km. Just off the highway we pass the beautiful medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois. A five minute stop is obligated to enjoy the view on the old city across the river when we approach it from the south.
existence is denied, for it was the location of the last deciding battle between the Gauls and their nemesis Caesar. All who participated in the battle tried hard to forget its location. After the Roman victory Vercingétorix was taken prisoner and forced to lay down his sword and shield at Caesars feet (and not ON them as was suggested in an Asterix comic). Alesia was the stronghold of the Mandubii tribe, which was besieged for about two months in 52 BC. Vercingétorix' army of about 80.000 Celts faced some 50.000 to 60.000 Romans. Ceasars camp was supposedly positioned on a high plateau (similar to Alesia) on the other side of a valley. The final battle took place somewhere in the middle.
A museum where many Roman and Celtic artefacts are displayed is located in Alise-Sainte-Reine. The museum appears to have changed little since its opening in 1900. Its appearance and display rooms are a bit conservative or romantic if you like, but the collection is nice.
The oppidum mainly contains ruins of the Roman town that was build on top of it after it was conquered. A large statue of Vercingétorix, erected in the 19th century, guards the battlefield. This might be considered odd, since he was the one who
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Vercingétorix. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens. lost. Perhaps it has something to do with him being a local, or Caesar is still not being liked enough after two thousand years…
But no time to linger. The road takes us north to the town of Chatillon-sur-Seine (52 km north) for a spectacular last stop at the Musée du Chatillonnais. This charming building holds the spectacular grave goods from nearby Vix, which were found in a burial mound dating from the 5th century BC. The burial contained the remains of a woman, the so-called ‘Princess of Vix’. Accompanying the princess on her deathbed (consisting of the body of a four-wheeled wagon) were several spectacular artefacts, the most famous of which is a stunning Greek crater, which was used for mixing wine. It is a mind-bogglingly large vase, richly decorated (see the handle detail) with a height of 1.64 meters and a weight of 208 kg. It dates from 530 BC, at least 50 years before it was used in the burial. One can only wonder how they ever got it into the museum at the first floor.
With this in our minds we turn to the long road back home, just hoping to find something even remotely similar in our own excavation some day.
Handle detai of the Vix crater. © R. de Leeuwe & L. Meurkens.
l
For more information, admission fees
and opening hours of the museums:
Glauberg: http://www.glauberg.de/ Wurttembergisches Landesmuseum in Stuttgart: http://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/deutsch/stuttgart/museen/landesmuseum.html Keltenweg: http://www.schwieberdingen.de/de/freizeit/keltenweg/keltenweg_0.htm Hochdorf: http://www.keltenmuseum.de/ Heuneburg: http://www.dhm.de/museen/heuneburg/ Bibracte: www.bibracte.fr Alesia: http://www.aupaysdalesia.com/village/alise/H-et-L-Site-et-Monument.php Vix: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/mairie.chatillon-sur-seine/Museex.html France: http://www.musee-antiquitesnationales.fr/ Note that most museums are closed on Mondays.
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Egypt in photographs
By Z. Kosc
Bisharin boy and a goat baby, Egypt, Shelatin camel bazaar, 2001. Photography Z. Kosc © 2005 (See also:
l /http://members.chel o.nl zkosc/index.html).
Ely Kish
Recreating a vanished world
By S. Costello
The big woman stands hunched before the vast blank canvas, head cocked forward on shoulders as strong as any man's. A stray lock of hair hangs unheeded over a brow that is furrowed with concentration, and long, knowing fingers guide a brush that is not yet there. The prodigious canvas is the most intimidating she has faced in a lifelong career, and the most
Ely Kish behind her drawing table.
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Diplodocus. © Ely Kish Studio.
Quetzalcoatlus. © Ely Kish Studio. compelling. To those milling purposefully about her, it is a seamless white wall, worthy of only the most cursory scrutiny. But to the feisty, rugged woman who now stands dwarfed before it, all manner of wonder has begun to stir within its boundaries.
Briny ocean water seeps in from an unseen corner, flooding the canvas and giving it depth. Life begins to appear, sleek and aquatic, arrowing up front the shaded fathoms. The species seem at first familiar, scaled and gilled, wall-eyed and unremarkable. But
Dromaeosaurus, Lambeosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio.
Massospondylus.© Ely Kish Studio.
Corythosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio. gradually, impossible shapes begin to congeal in the misted depths, beasts of alarming proportion and long-extinct grace, creatures of a godless age about to he resurrected. Not content merely to visualise them she propels them about on the canvas, creating a blood battle here or a feeding frenzy there, imbuing these brutes with a life no human has ever witnessed. Slowly, methodically, she choreographs this forgotten assemblage, until the images burn in her memory.
For Ely Kish, artist, creation begins like this, a ghostly birth through squinted eyes.
Saurornithoides. © Ely Kish Studio.
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Daspletosaurus, Champsosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio.
Apatosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio. What follows is a lengthy period of preparation. The artist will create upwards of twenty meticulously detailed carvings of the various prehistoric sea creatures her 14 by 150 foot canvas will include. That done, she will go on to produce a series of scale drawings in pencil, followed by a panoramic series of oils, also done to scale. Of the two years this venture is slated to take, this preparatory phase will consume the lion's share.
Entitled ‘Life in the ancient seas’, this landmark mural will grace the celebrated
Tyrannosaurus, Edmontosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio.
Chasmosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio.
Triceratops. © Ely Kish Studio. galleries of the Smithsonian's Museurn of Natural History in Washington. Chosen from a competing group of internationally acclaimed artists, Ely is already hard to work on this immense undertaking. Its completion will mark the highpoint of a career which began a lifetime ago, in a small Newark farmhouse in New Jersey. Born in 1924, Ely Kish has moved singlemindedly toward this achievement, a voyage that began the first time her chubby child's hand pushed a new Crayola across an unmarked page.
From New Jersey, where she spent her formative years, Ely described a nomadic
Fabrosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio.
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Strygimoloch. © Ely Kish Studio.
Platecarpus. © Ely Kish Studio. course through the United States, drawing, painting and building for a living. While it was often a lean, hand-to-mouth existence, Ely rarely lost heart. "When I need it, it comes," she says of the funds upon which she subsists. This dauntless belief in an essentially kind Fate has seen her a long way. From the States. where she exhibited at the Cleveland Museum of Art, she dipped south to Mexico. Here, her native works were displayed in the Museo de Allende. The late fifties found her an entire continent away, in Canada, where her talents were fast to flourish. Employing her uncanny eye, in conjunction with an inborn sense of
Sauropelta. © Ely Kish Studio.
Stegosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio. physical laws, she constructed as much as she designed, wielding hammer and saw with the same easy mastery as the trained professional. "If I can watch it being done, I can do it." Bold words, but proven time after time. As her reputation in the Ottawa area burgeoned Ely was able to lean more toward the finer arts, where her true love lay. Gradually, her works found their way into galleries of local prestige, Gallery Five, and Wallach's Gallery in Ottawa.
But the real turning point for this prolific artist came in1974, when she was invited to paint a ‘Thanksgiving mural’ for the reopening of the National Museum of Man in Ottawa. It
Triceratops. © Ely Kish Studio.
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Maiasaura. © Ely Kish Studio.
Corythosaurus, Albertosaurus. © Ely Kish Studio. was during the completion of this work that Ely met a man whose tireless ambition would soon change her life. A palaeobiologist attached to the museum, Dr Dale Russel saw in Ely's art the perfect medium for the illustration of his dreams. Thus began her immersion into the world of prehistory. The ten paintings which sprang fro this union have been reproduced in Russel's book, ‘A vanished world: the dinosaurs of Western Canada’, and are currently part of a ten-year travelling exhibit, which will end with the decade and span the entire country. The impact of these paintings led to a commission from the Smithsonian Institution for another four, all of which appear in ‘The American Land’, published by the same institution. In addition, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History provided an enormous, 37 by 40 foot canvas for Ely’s genius; in return, Ely created a towering, sun-drenched vista of unimaginable lifeforms. Her list of accomplishments mushrooms outward from her: dozens of plates taken from her paintings and employed in a half-dozen major hardcover publications; television productions ranging as far afield as the BBC in London and including a feature spot on ‘The nature of things’, hosted by David Suzuki; illustrated articles in almost a dozen magazines, including such notable titles as ‘Equinor’ and ‘Horizon: The Magazine of the Arts’. The commission which perhaps best illustrates Ely’s growing international appeal is the oil on canvas she recently completed for the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan. And the list goes on. But there is much more to Ely Kish than mastadons and murals. If magic exists, its lines of force impinge on this woman. Something eerie takes place when Ely settles her eye on a
prospective subject, be it a misty landscape or a lounging nude, a fidgeting child or a strutting white goose. Some mystic process is brought into play. “It’s like I’m not controlling it,” the artist will tell you in a dreamy whisper, her eyes aglitter with awe……and perhaps a little fear. “It’s like it’s flowing through me, from the outside.” And to watch her work is to witness this process. With each sure stroke of pencil or brush the veneer of her subject is pared away. Ely Kish can sit you down and look straight into your secret heart, composing on paper an image which may unsettle you with its telling accuracy, but which most assuredly will please and astound you. What she creates is more than art. It is a moment in time, preparing to shift, about to give voice in the thought or whim which just a heartbeat before had held it in thrall. She is intimately linked to both the physical and spiritual worlds, fascinated by the myriad machinations of the human mind, sensitive to the suffering of others. No medium is closed to her. In her mind there reside masterpieces as yet unrealised, works which will embody all in mankind that has outraged her, and all that has given her cause to rejoice.
She is one of the great masters, and in time the world will revere her.
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Colophon The Newsletter is an initiative of the
PalArch Foundation and is edited by A.J. Veldmeijer ([email protected]), E.N.A. Heirbaut ([email protected]) and B.L. Beatty ([email protected]). The illustration editing is done by M.H. Kriek (http://www.bcl–support.nl/). The Newsletter is offered for free to the supporters of the Foundation (see http://www.palarch.nl/information.htm, 3.6 Membership); back issues will be offered for sale at the website (www.PalArch.nl) at 5 euro each (excluding dispatch costs) .
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