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Home » Weekly Roundup of Archaeology, History and Historical Fiction October 8-14

Weekly Roundup of Archaeology, History and Historical Fiction October 8-14

photo image Bob Dylan & Joan Baez 1963
Bob Dylan & Joan Baez 1963

I started on FB what has turned out to be a lengthy discussion this week about the Nobel Prize in Literature going to Bob Dylan. I think this discussion is worth having about the nature and boundaries of what literature is and within that what constitutes greatness, prize-worthiness. It’s good to shake up our thinking, so in that spirit, I’ll post here what I asked on FB. One of the arguments the Nobel committee made for Bob Dylan receiving the Prize in literature was that he is in the tradition of Homer and Sappho. Okay, those two greats did sing their words in their own time, although, let’s face it, that isn’t how we’ve savored them. I’m also willing to think about literature in a wide-ranging way, although I think we ought to allow some boundaries, otherwise it’s a meaningless word. So what do we all think about a musician/songwriter winning the Literature prize? About this particular songwriter winning it? Some great lines do come to mind–is that what it takes? I’m still sorting this out in my mind.

Here are some posts I enjoyed this week:

You can tour in 3D one of the villas of Pompeii on Smithsonian.com. Quite fun. I particularly like the reconstructed wall painints. Many thanks to Katrina Shawver for the link. Click here for Smithsonian “Check out 3D tour of villa in Ancient Pompeii” 

Take a walk on the wild side in the streets of ancient Rome—very dangerous and intriguing. Mary Beard at her most entertaining and historically deep. Thanks to Alison Morton for posting this so I noticed it. Click here for BBC History Extra “The Dangerous Streets of Ancient Rome”

Egyptian mumified headAll heart and no brain? Why did the Egyptians preserve the heart but not the brain in the mummification process? Sofia Aziz discusses Egyptian understanding of the body and how it influenced what was preserved. Every culture I’ve studied has a different notion of what’s essential and where our essence lies. Click here for Medicine and Magic in Ancient Egypt blog “Why did Ancient Egyptians Preserve Heart and not Brain”

5,000 year old carbonized grape seeds found on the west coast of Turkey near Izmir. They are identifying them as the “renowned” Bornova Muscat. Ancient Anatolia was one of the earliest areas of grape cultivation. My sense is that sweet wines were often the goal in much of the ancient world, so Muscat grapes make sense, although I’m guessing if these were still in a growable state, the grapes would be very different from today’s Muscat, but maybe not. Click here for “5,000 year old grape seeds found in western Turkey” on Archaeology News Network