Puritanical Salafis Destroy Shrine on Abraham's Trail

I have twice written about my affinity towards Abraham's Oasis in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.  The site is one of a series of holy spots associated with Abraham on his journey from Ur to the Promise Land.  Another site along the Patriarch's Trail is the Shrine of Abraham in the northeastern Syrian village of Ayn al-Arous.  Tradition says Abraham stopped in the village and placed his tent in the place where the shrine is now.

The shrine was destroyed in May this year by Salafi Sunni rebels.



The Salafis destroyed the shrine because they feel people who pray there are praying and worshiping Abraham and not God.  Salafis are puritanical (not necessarily orthodox) and seek to dissuade anything that they believe takes away worship of God.  In its militant form, Salafis are the Muslim equivalent to the Puritans who stripped the altars, destroyed monasteries, and hunted down priests during the Reformation.

Salafis in general have spent the last twenty years actively destroying land marks because they believe them to be sites of worshiping something other than God.  Tombs of Islamic saints, graves of imams, and even old mosques which locals regarded as special have been destroyed in Afghanistan, Mecca and Medina, Timbuktu  and elsewhere by Muslims influenced by Saudi and Egyptian Salafi teaching.  Sadly, the Shrine of Abraham is the latest victim of aggressive foreign Islam on the local native Syrian Islam.

I fear one day Abraham's Oasis may fall victim to aggressive foreign Islamic thought and actions.  Judeo-Christian-Islamic history is being wiped off the map by those who seek to destroy anything they disagree with.

Virtual Geography Convention 2013: Ancient Mayan Water Storage and Purification

Welcome to the Virtual Geography Convention 2013!  If you have a presentation or blog post you wished published please contact me at catholicgauze [at] gmail [dot] com!

Graduate student  Jeffrey Brewer is presenting “Hinterland Hydrology: Mapping the Medicinal Trail Community, Northwest Belize” at the AAG 2013 conference.

While is presentation is not online the University of Cincinnati has a news article about his research into Ancient Mayan water storage and purification.  An interesting part of the article is

"Brewer ‘s discovery of artificial reservoirs – topographical depressions that were lined with clay to make a water-tight basin – addressed how the Maya conserved water from the heavy rainfall from December to spring, which got them through the region’s extreme dry spells that stretched from summer to winter. “They also controlled the vegetation directly around these reservoirs at this hinterland settlement,” says Brewer. “The types of lily pads and water-borne plants found within these basins helped naturally purify the water. They knew this, and they managed the vegetation by these water sources that were used for six months when there was virtually no rainfall."

His abstract is below

"The Medicinal Trail site, covering an area approximately 1 kilometer in diameter, is a dispersed hinterland community located near the major ancient Maya site of La Milpa in northwestern Belize. Occupied primarily during the Classic Period (AD 250-900), this terraced community consists of at least three closely related formal courtyard groups, a number of informal mound clusters, and multiple landscape modifications including terraces, depressions, and linear features. These plaster-paved surface features served to direct water into the natural depressions, or reservoirs, which served as open catchment basins partially designed to collect wet season rainfall and hold sporadic surface runoff or water from more permanent canalized surfaces. Two years of total station mapping at the site have revealed distinct patterns of settlement selection and water management practices. Survey and mapping have revealed a settlement pattern in which, (a) the largest, and most complex household groups are associated with ridge tops, (b) possible artificial drainages and reservoirs are associated with dense settlement, and (c) numerous terraces are located on the slopes of the ridges, adjacent to some of the drainage features. Mapping data collection will continue in future seasons—as will interpretation of the hydraulic landscape—as we seek gain a clearer understanding of the complex interrelationship between water and people within this peripheral settlement."

Free Online Archaeology Magazine: AncientPlanet

AncientPlanet is an online archaeology journal published bi-monthly by a staff of American and Greek archaeologists.  What I prefer most about this journal is that it is very readable, one does not need an advanced degree to understand what is being discussed.  It is also currently free for online viewing.  Be sure to check the archives which include articles such as beer in the ancient world.  I do not drink but it is an interesting article none the less! 

The Dead Cities of Syria

Abandoned settlements, "ghost towns", or ruins.  As there are many words one can use for the wreckage of past human settlement so there are many feelings these ruins can elicit.  I felt a wonder of forgotten past whenever I traveled by the Indian burial mounds near my hometown yet I felt a sadness, a loss, when I saw all the abandoned farmstead on the Great Plains on the way to my grandparents' farm.  A sense of great evil and injustice was the feeling which moved me when I saw villages destroyed by Saddam Hussein.  One of the most unsettling feelings when coming across ruins is when one encounters something that feels out of place on the physical or cultural landscape.  An alien on the landscape can confuse and even upset if one tries to comprehends the massive turmoil between the ruins' inhabitation and today.

The feelings of confusion, loss, sadness were all felt by me when I first learned about the lost cities in northwest Syria.


View Larger Map

In the northwest of Syria there is an area 25 miles by 90 miles (roughly 40 km by 140 km) in which over 700 ruined cities dating from about 500 BC to around AD 700.  These ruins are collective known as the Dead Cities.

Part of one of the dead cities.  From James Gordon of Los Angeles on Flickr.

Many of these ruins have Roman/Byzantine architecture with the ruins of churches still clearly visible.

The ruins of a once great church.  From James Gordon of Los Angeles on Flickr.

These cities thrived on the trade routes which connected Imperial Asia Minor and Constantinople with the Levant, Persia, and Arabia.  The lack of battle damage on these cities offers physical proof that the Islamic invasion itself did not destroy these cities but economics.  The trade routes of the Islamic traveled differently, more along the coasts and to Arabia, than in Roman/Byzantine times.  The Byzantines and other cultural Greeks left these cities for places like Damascus and greater Arabia.  These lively cities quickly died.



Today these ruins are an UNESCO Heritage Site.  Even with this status they are little known and the current conditions

Use Remote Sensing to Find Genghis Khan's Tomb

The very cool Indiana Jones map has gotten me in an archaeology/adventure frame of mind.  This next blog post is meant to feed into that desire.  Be sure to listen to the Indiana Jones theme song while reading it...



Do you want to do actual geography and archaeology from your computer?  Do you want to be part of an adventure to locate a lost tomb of the founder of the largest empire the Earth has ever seen?  If you do, then sign up for National Geographic's Valley of the Khan's Project!  National Geographic is having users tag images of the earth to tag features, both human and natural, in order to help identifying promising sites which match potential descriptions of the location Genghis Khan's tomb.  (Hat tip: iRevolution)

This remote sensing opportunity will not end with you fighting Nazis, looting ancient treasures, and getting the girl.  However, it will give you bragging rights allowing to state you helped National Geographic in the search for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan.

Hebrew Language Shabbat Stone Found in Lower Galilee

The Jewish sabbath, Shabbat, is one of rest and definitely not work.  There are many things prohibited on the Shabbat including traveling.  Exodus 16:29 states "[L]et no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition).

The ancient Jews were very concerned on making sure they pleased God by not violating His laws, including when it came to traveling.  They knew not to travel too far from home but how far was too far?  Surely one could move around their home.  But could one visit their neighbors? Walk to the other part of the village?  Walk to the next village?  A Jewish website, Ask Moses, gives this as an answer:

B. Negative Mitzvah #321 sets a maximum walking range from one’s city. The rabbis established the limit to be 2,000 cubits (3,049.5 feet, 0.596 miles (960 meters). [However, this measurement starts 70 2/3 cubits (112.24 ft.) from the city limits.] Practically speaking, this means that you may not walk a straight line more than .598 miles (3161.74 ft.) in any direction in the wilds outside your city limits.

The ancient Jews took the rabbi established geographic limits of roaming very serious.  Shabbat stones, showing the limit of freedom of movement during the sabbath, were placed outside towns to ensure one did not fall into sin.

Cross the line and sin! (Photo from the Jerusalem Post)

Previous found stones were marked with the word "Shabbat" in Greek.  The use of the Greek language demonstrated the extent of Hellenization in even faithful Jewish communities.  Now, however, a stone has been found in the lower Galilee region with the word "Shabbat" written in Hebrew.  Shockingly this is the only discovered Shabbat stone in Hebrew.  Since we know Hellenization was limited in the Jewish community one must deduce that erosion, landscape changes, and ethno-political changes over time have wiped most of the Hebrew-text stones from the face of the Earth.

Fayum Mummy Portraits: A Window into the Eastern Roman World

The eastern half of the Roman Empire was a rich melting pot of cultures. Native cultures had long experienced the ebb and flow of both Greek and Persian cultures and adopted certain traits accordingly. The conquering peoples tended to blend into the conquered people. From 300 BC to 30 BC Egypt was ruled by the Greek-Egyptians of the Ptolemaic dynasty. When the Romans conquered Egypt they added a new layer creating a Greco-Roman-Coptic culture which was Greek in thought, Roman in government, and Egyptian in religion.

One of the main locations of the Greco-Roman-Coptic culture was the Fayum Basin area south of present-day Cairo, Egypt. From around A.D. 1 to 350, a popular practice in the culture was to draw portraits of those who passed away and place the portrait next to the mummified body. The portraits show the intermixing of Egyptians and Greeks while also showing how Roman fashion and hair styles influenced the people.

Because of the dry air in the basin the portraits survive today. They are a rich artistic treasure that offer a window into the world of the rich of the Greco-Roman-Coptic world.

Very Early Humans, Possibly Proto-Humans, May Have Sailed the Mediterranean Sea

It has been accepted that the ancestors of present-day Australian Aborigines traveled on sea craft from Indonesia to Australia around 60,000 years ago. Their sea voyage is thought to have been a major advancement and achievement in human thinking, social cohesion, and bravery. The feat is amazing and probably lies beyond the reach of many present-day people.

However, it may have not been the first. According to the New York Times a recent archaeological find could show very early Europeans traveled the seas well before their Australian Aborigine brethren. Tools found on the island of Crete seem to be at least 130,000 years old and maybe up to 700,000 years old. The tools are probably closer to 130,000 years old than the latter but this still pushes seafaring back 70,000 years!

The fascinating thing about this large time period is that it was one where Europe was populated by more than one type of human. Our Homo Sapien forefathers lived alongside and competed against Homo Heidelbergensis and Neanderthals. The fact that the tools look like non-Homo Sapien gives some credence to a proto-human origin (though just because tools like like another tool culture does not automatically mean they are related).

I can only imagine the drive and reason behind the early European seafarers. In the time before trade there would be no material need for sea travel. With very small populations nomadic peoples should have no understandable reason of sailing the Mediterranean. Some spirit of adventure, maybe, inspired a person or small clan to build a raft and travel where the currents and winds took them.

Madaba Map Receives a Great Boost

The Madaba Map is a Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land. The map is found on the floor of an ancient sixth century church in Jordan. The map is famous for its presentation of the first Christian Holy Land era.

One problem historians have had with the map is that it shows a massive road going through the middle the Jerusalem. No such road has been found, until now. Archaeologists digging in Jerusalem have found a piece of that major road running through the old city.

This discovery offers the perfect excuse to reexamine the map or explore it for the first time. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jerusalem Institute, and the Franciscans all have informative and interactive map features. Be sure to check this out!

Nationalisms Continue to Destroy Eastern Archaeological Sites

In Azerbaijan there have been a stream of reports stating Udi Christians have been destroying their own inscriptions on their ancient churches. Meanwhile in Iraq the government is destroying ancient Jewish sites in Al-Kifi, site of Ezekiel's tomb.

The reasons these historical sites have been targeted for demolition is the rise of nationalisms with one being a few decades old and the other slightly less than one hundred years old.

Udis Erasing the Past

The Udi Christians belong to an old stream of Eastern Christianity known as Albanian Christianity. This branch of Orthodoxy had ties to Armenian Christianity though it was autonomous for a period of time until the Islamic conquests. After the rise of Islam few Albanian Christian communities were left in modern-day Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Those few who did survived hold onto Armenian traditions and the Armenian alphabet.

Today Armenia and Azerbaijan are locked in a cold war over ethnically mismatched territory. The Udi are a proud, patriotic Christian minority in a secular Muslim country. As part of their Azeri nationalism the Udi are destroying Armenian-alphabet writings on churches and grave stones. A modern-myth of only recent, forced Armenianization is spreading amongst the Udi who seek to show loyalty to the Azeri cause. The desire to rally around the modern-day flag is leading the Udi to erase their past.

Iraqi for the (Muslim) Iraqis

The Middle East has long been religiously mixed. Even after the final decline of Christianity in the 13th century, a rich diversity of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Yazdis, Zoroastrians, Druze, etc. left a multitude of cultural landscapes in the Middle East. Jews have been in modern-day Iraq since at least the Babylon Exile and they and other religious groups have kept in place many ancient Jewish sites. Saddam Hussein's regime even protected Jewish sites because it was part of the glory of old Iraq.

However, the rise of an independent Iraq saw the rise of an Iraqi nationalism combined with not Islamism but an Islamic identity complex. The 1930s saw a rise in attacks against Christians and Jews who were seen as supporters of the British. The anti-Semitism continued in Saddam's republican Iraq against living Jews but the ancient pre-Islamic sites were seen as part of Iraq's glory days.

Now though, the Islamic identity-complex is seeping into the past with Christians being targeted in the north and Jewish sites being removed for the creation of mosques. A new Iraq is being built, one that will tolerate the existence of minorities living but not representing themselves on the landscape.

Book Review: Between Past and Present - Archaeology, Ideology, and Nationalism in the Modern Middle East

Archaeology is a very political science. Not only are egos running all academic institutions (these egos fight each other to defend the honor of various theories) but politics gets in the game. Questions like who were the first Americans, were white people in New Zealand before Cook, and almost anything to do with Biblical archeology rile passion and politics. Ancient dead people can give living people either legitimacy to the land or prove them as impostors who conquered the territory from actual natives.

Neil Asher Silberman's out of print Between Past and Present: Archaeology, Ideology, and Nationalism in the Modern Middle East is a quick-and-easy introduction various geopolitical archaeological battles ranging from Macedonia to Yemen. Silberman made the various chapters independent of one another so it is easy to pick the book up at your country of interest and just read. The author uses first-person as he recreates his travels to the various archaeological sites and discusses the messages the various interest parties try to convey. Readers deeply familiar with the various controversies covered will learn nothing new; however, those relatively new to the subjects or those who want a light read will surely enjoy Between Past and Present.

Ruamahanga Skull: The Kennewick Man of New Zealand

The Kennewick Man is the remains of a Caucasian-like person who died 9,000 years ago in North America. The very possibility that a non-Paleo-Indian living in North America that long ago quickly became a political archaeological issue. Some scientists see it as a lost Ainu, others see it a deformed Indian, while activists claim it is an American Indian, period. While the consensus goes closer and closer to somesort of early Caucasian American, the close minded science of archaeology is dragging its feet.

Sadly, there is another heritage battle over bones going on the North Island of New Zealand. In October 2004, the spring flood of the Ruamahanga River unveiled part of a skull. After a police investigation and scientific test it looked like the skull belong to a woman of European origin who died around 300 years ago.

This is where the debate starts. The agreed upon history does not make match. The first New Zealanders, the Maori, came from the Pacific and began colonization around AD 1300. The first European to discover New Zealand was Abel Tasman. Tasman encountered the Southern Island in 1642 and left after a naval battle against the Maori. It is disputed whether or not any sailors landed on New Zealand's South Island. The first European to land on the North Island without a doubt is James Cook who came in 1769.

So how could a European woman be on the North Island? There was established European trading in India, Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia but the closest historical trade port was approximately 4,500 miles (7,500 kilometers) away (and that's a direct path through the heart of Australia. If it was the skull belonged to an European woman she was a) lost or b) part of a expedition that ended horribly.

Not everyone agrees that it was a European. Some state the skull dating is wrong or the skull belongs to a Maori. There is a legitimate debate because the history does not work out. Unfortunately there are those who argue it must be Maori so the investigation should be closed. The former point is legitimate and must be weighed while the later is the politicization of science.

Time may tell who the skull belong to. Until then, all everyone can agree on is that history is still an open book.

Institute of Nautical Archaeology's Virtual Museum

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology is a branch of Texas A&M University. The institute is dedicated to the study of humanity's past that has submerged into changing coast lines, rivers, and other bodies of water.

The institutes' website has a virtual museum that documents many of the missions and finds the organization has taken part in. Sites from the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and more are featured. This is a interesting site for anyone who wants to read about sunken ships, lost cities, and ancient trade goods on the sea floor.

Khazar Capital Found

Between East and West: the Khazar Empire's expansion. Yellow are tributaries. From Wikipedia

The Khazars were a Turkic people who lived on the Steppes were Europe and Asia meet. They established the first feudal state in Eastern Europe thus advancing civilization in a land where barbaric tribes still roamed. Their leaders were also Jews who converted out of geopolitical practicality (free from Byzantine Christian and Arabic Muslim cultural pulls). They reigned on the Steppes until 969 when the Rus (proto-Russians) came and destroyed their empire. Rus, Russians, and Mongol assimilated the Khazars until they existed no more as a separate group.

A Russian archaeologist has declared he has found the long lost capital of the Khazars. The city was near the Caspian Sea and along the Silk Road trade route. The city was the only one where the Khazars were allowed to use flame brick, a symbol of permanence in a culture still in a nomadic mindset.

Artifacts from the dig and other Khazar digs are available for viewing on a Russian museum's webpage. One can really see the Turkic nature in the uniforms.

Ley Lines: Where Human Imagination and Geography Intersect

Ley Lines around Rennes-le-Chateau: Keys to the Scared Pattern or Randomness

Human beings excel with imagination. Our imagination helps create scientific theories, find patterns, and allows us to fear the unknown beast waiting behind the bushes ready to eat us. Sometimes; though, a cigar is just a cigar. Or as a geographer would say, lines are just lines.

Ley lines are hypothetical alignments of archaeological sites, mountains, and other things on Earth's surface. There are some alignments that no one doubts. The Egyptian Great Pyramids are made to align with Orion's Belt and many stonehenges and woodhenges acted as calendar systems with each other and the stars.

While some consider these ley lines, when the controversial word is used another meaning is implied. Ley lines are usually brought up when some hidden knowledge, ancient culture, or massive geoengineering is allegedly involved. Today many New Age "geographers" attribute ley lines to magic discovered or made by ancient civilizations.

Part of the reason for ley lines being seen is that there is scared geography. Patterns exist in holy buildings: crosses for churches, east facing buildings for mosques, etc. Humans seek similiar patterns in nature as proof of their beliefs.

A key example of ley lines is the geography of Rennes le Chateau. The history of a priest selling fake masses to become rich turned into a treasure story which turned into a Jesus had a baby which turned into ancients built a geography/geometrical wonderland which turned into aliens etc. The geographical element revolves around several churches on mountains making a pentagram/star pattern. Do these ley lines prove some ancient force that gave a simple priest massive wealth? No, its all random (great read by the way).

Alignments in archeaolgy reveal complexity in civliziations and can help decode its culture. However, geographers must be careful not to fall in the ley line trap. Crazy ideas like Rennes le Chateau aliens hurt real research in alignments.

Department of Defense's Archaeology Playing Cards

When one, if one ever, thinks of how the War on Terrorism affected playing cards the likely sole answer is the Iraq most wanted cards. However, few know that the American Department of Defense also has created playing cards dealing with the archaeology of Iraq and Afghanistan. The moral of the cards can be summed up as "Don't blow things up and don't offend the locals."

The archaeology awareness playing cards (PDF of cards) seeks to impress the importance of archaeology on soldiers. The cards use language that impresses importance to the soldiers like the two of clubs that features the hill in Iraq where Jonah is believed to be buried or the three of diamonds which teaches insurgents sale artifacts, sometimes to soldiers, to finance terrorism.

The cards have limited distribution and hard to come by. However, the fact that soldiers are receiving them is evidence of the Defense Department understanding the correlation between good relations and cultural heritage preservation.

Chocolate: The Byproduct of Beer

The Indians of ancient Central America really knew how to have a good time. Central American Indians were developing cities and complex agricultural which allowed them to have the time and resources to develop products for the greater enjoyment of life.

Over 3,000 years ago the Indians apparently invented chocolate while brewing beer. Archaeologists discovered cacao traces in old pottery in Honduras. The cacao was used by Indians to make their beers but eventually they discovered a bitter byproduct, chocolate. I guess vices come in pairs.

World's Oldest Painting Found

An 11,000 year old painting has been discovered in Syria. The ancient men who made the painting were still unable to farm or domesticate animals but something new was occurring in their brains. The geometric symbols, which unfortunately look like modern art and prove the Catholicgauze's opinions on modern art, meant something so important to the artist(s) that they spent considerable time, energy, and resources to make a prominent display.

Also around 11,000 years ago religion was picking up in Syria. While giant snake gods were known before hand elsewhere, it appears modern man's mind was evolving at a rapid pace during this time period.

The Europeans of Ancient China

1,400 years ago a chief named Yu Hong lived in central China. When he died he and most likely his wife were buried in a tomb in present-day Taiyuan. A recent genetic study has revealed that Hong's genetic origins lie not in China but Europe.

The exact origin Yu Hong is unknown but ancient Europe and China were not mysteries to each other. Rome and China had distant interactions with each other. Artwork in Naples features a Roman citizen in silk. Chinese historians document several ambassadors from Rome. Arabic and Central Asian traders acted as the go between when it came to material goods. Mohammad used China as a device to represent the end of the world.

While the above can explain how goods travelled to the West from China, it does not adequately answer the question of how Yu Hong's people arrived in China. When Marco Polo was crossing the Far East he heard stories of ancient others with similar features who were buried in the in the desert west. This combined with Hong prove a very old migration.

One of the more popular explanations for this phenomenon is a lost Roman legion. This theory is now being used to attract tourists to Chinese villages with people who have European features. Many of these Chinese who have European features like to claim they are descended from the Roman soldiers who were impressed into service by the Persians.

The debate continues on their origin. Some claim they are actually Central Asians who share the M17 origin that Catholicgauze has. No firm answers yet but a interesting mystery indeed.

Poverty Point

For a good aerial view of Poverty Point try this link to Yahoo! Maps

3,500 years ago Louisiana was the center of civilization in the Western Hemisphere (I will avoid commenting on that fact). Deep within the Archaic era, when the Indian inhabitants of North America were moving from place to place as hunters and gatherers, a group of nomads began to at and build mounds at Poverty Point.

The feature of Poverty Mound are the six concentric rings which form about a two-thirds circle. The circle segments rise to an approximate height of six feet. The mounds were formed mostly by moving clay and a little bit of trash. Some signs of temporary structures have been found in the mounds but not inside the circle the mounds form.

To the west of the circular mound formation is Mound A. Mound A originally rose to a height of 70 feet and was accessed via a ramp. The mound had a commanding view of the circle mounds and the nearby area. Nearby are two other mounds of moderate size. These mounds align close to, but not quite, due north.

Some artifacts have been found at the site which have given rise to the term Poverty Point culture. Objects like fire-cracked clay balls to start boiling water, animal figurines, arrow heads, and soapstone bowls have been found at the site. Some of the material to make the objects come from fairly distant areas fifty to one-hundred miles away.

No pottery has been found at the site hinting that these people were like all other groups in North America at the time who did not know how to make pottery yet.

The site brings into question many of the previously held thoughts about Archaic times. Indians were able to build a complex structure. To do this they had to be sedentary for a long time and have a political power structure of order and monitor the construction. The presence of goods made from distant material implies a trade network and the existance of valued goods. The presence of valued goods quickly leads some archaeologist to believe their was a social hierarchy aka "social inequality." Originally archaeologist thought Archaic Indians were all egalitarians who moved constantly from place to place within a territory.

The site was finished around 2,000 years ago and depopulated sometime afterwards. It was rediscovered in the 1800s by Louisianans who promptly decided to put a road right in the middle of it. This was the time before professional archaeology and any possible data finds were lost. The site is currently a State Historic Site and National Historic Place. In 1988 Congress authorized Poverty Point National Monument expecting Louisiana to hand it over to federal control. Louisiana has decided not to and the site is in an odd limbo state.

For more information on Poverty Point

• A 22 minute movie from The Archaeology Channel
• A well done Geocities site on Poverty Point
• Poverty Point Earthworks: Evolutionary Milestones of the Americas
• Poverty Point: The First Complex Delta Culture