In our time: Marco Polo

On BBC Radio 4 Friday, 25 May 2012 Melvyn Bragg discussed the topic " Marco Polo"
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the celebrated Venetian explorer Marco Polo. In 1271 Polo set off on an epic journey through Asia and he was away for more than twenty years. When he returned, he told extraordinary tales of his adventures. The Travels of Marco Polo was one of the most popular books produced in the age before printing. For centuries it was seen as the first and best account of life in the mysterious East, but today the accuracy and even truth of Marco Polo's work is often disputed. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Frances Wood, Lead Curator of Chinese Collections at the British Library; Joan Pau Rubies, Reader in International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Debra Higgs Strickland, Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Glasgow.
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In Our Time: Marco Polo

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Post categories: Melvyn Bragg, Radio 4

Melvyn Bragg14:27, Friday, 25 May 2012

Editor's note: In Thursday's programme Melvyn Bragg and his guests discussed Marco Polo. As always the programme is available to listen to online or to download and keep - PMcD

Hello

Ingrid told me that I was writing too much again. She must be obeyed. She works both for Start The Week and In Our Time and works with ultimate efficiency and patience. (I bet that was hard for you to type out, Ingrid.)

After the programme there was a lot of talk about Kublai Khan. He was thought of as being the greatest Khan. He was compared with Alexander the Great who, of course, had gone into the East but not with goods, with an army, and dropped only when he had no more worlds to conquer. We're told that there is a Muslim Alexander, a Persian Alexander, an Alexander for all seasons, just as there was a Great Khan for all seasons.

Frances Wood is beguiled by Matthew Paris, who seems to have lived in St Albans all his life and yet reached out right across to the edge of Asia with his information. He knew all the stuff about the Khan and he marvels at how knowledge travelled in those early, so-called rather primitive, medieval days.

The most sensational discovery for me was that the reason why the Mongols stopped at the gates of Vienna was not to do with any superior force, but was because the Great Khan died, and they all turned to go back across the plains and the steppes to be there at his funeral and to help choose his successor. So, we are not Mongol because of the death of the Great Khan.

The Bodleian text of Marco Polo is highly recommended by everyone, especially the illustrations.

London has hit a heat wave and, Murphy's Law, I was so hedged in by work on the imminent renaissance of The South Bank Show and a serious argument with - well, let's leave it at that. Not an individual but ...

So it's been pounding pavements, hitting phones, texting, emailing, and trying to get numbers and addresses and so on. But no bad life at all. Cathy Haslam, with whom I set up a small company to continue to make the television programmes I wanted to make, and I celebrated an anniversary with a quick lunch. But now an evening of relief: off to Michael Frayn's publication party in a garden.

Best wishes

Melvyn Bragg

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In Photos: Mes Aynak, an ancient Buddhist Monastery

Mes Anyak steleCredit: Jaroslav PoncarA newly discovered stele from Mes Aynak, in Afghanistan, reveals a depiction of a prince and monk. It dates back at least 1,600 years and possibly earlier. It is believed to show a young Gautama Siddhārtha Śākyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, at a time when he was still a prince living in a palace. The stele was found beneath the decorative arch of a secondary stupa, a commemorative monument.

Mes AnyakCredit: Jerome Starkey CC Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 GenericMes Aynak is located about 25 miles (40 km) east of Kabul and contains an ancient Buddhist monastic complex. A rich copper deposit is also located there and excavations are underway to explore the site, and rescue the artifacts, before a mine is built.

Tepe Kafiriat MonasteryCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericSo far the finds include three or four monasteries and an ancient mine, with associated habitations, going back to the time of the Kushan Empire. There are also at least two small forts. This image shows the corridor of the Tepe Kafiriat monastery.

Tepe Kafiriat MonasteryCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericA view of Tepe Kafiriat, one of the monasteries of ancient Mes Aynak, many key archaeological finds are located here, including the newly discovered stele.

BuddhaCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericA reclining Buddha, whose feet are still visible, that is located at the Tepe Kafiriat monastery. The artistry at the site would have been very rich in ancient times.

Central Court RuinsCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericThe central court of the ruins of the Kafiriat monastery at Mes Aynak, archaeological work is underway.

Kafiriat Monastery StupaCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericAn example of a stupa at the Kafiriat monastery found at Mes Aynak. These ceremonial monuments held sacred relics related to the Gautama Buddha or other important individuals. There are several stupas at the site, the newly discovered stele was found beside one of them.

Kafiriat MonasteryCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericA niche, from a stupa, that would have been used to hold a statue.

Stamped PotteryCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericThis piece of stamped pottery features a depiction of a pomegranate.

Buddha SteleCredit: S.K. Vemmer/Department of State CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericAnother example of a stele found at Mes Aynak. This one appears to depict a Buddha (can’t tell if it’s Gautama) in robes. It was put on display, along with other artifacts from the site, at an exhibit at the Afghanistan National Museum in Kabul.

Monk's QuartersCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericArchitecture is unearthed in what is believed to be a monk’s quarters at Mes Aynak.

Source of LightCredit: US Embassy, Kabul Afghanistan, CC Attribution NoDerivs 2.0 GenericA tiny oil lamp found at the site.
Source: Livescience.com

"Guardians" ransack ancient archaeological site in Uzbekistan

	A bulldozer has removed a cultural layer at Suyritepa; photo by Uznews.net

June 21, 2012

Guardians ransack ancient archaeological site

In the Ahangaran Valley officers of the inspection department of the Uzbek main scientific and production directorate for the preservation of monument have ransacked a well-known archaeological site at Suyritepa.

“Excavations” using a bulldozer at the Suyritepa township of the mediaeval state of Ilak, a major economic and cultural centre on the Great Silk Road, were conducted in May this year, but archaeologists have learnt about this only now thanks to residents of nearby villages.

“We know that our region has ancient settlements, which is why fellow villagers find various objects of antiquity from time to time,” a local shepherd called Mahmud said.

When he saw a bulldozer remove the surface layer of ground on a hill, he decided to check it out. One of those present showed an ID issued to a certain Server Ashirov and said that they were conducting excavations. After that he drove the shepherd from the site and warned against approaching it again.

It turned out that Ashirov is the director of the monument inspection department of the Uzbek main scientific and production directorate for the preservation of monument; archaeologists believe this department abused its power grossly.

“A bulldozer ploughs the surface layer of ground, and a man with a metal detector, instructed by Ashirov,

	Local residents dag up a burial ground at Suryritepa; photo by Uznews.net

 walks behind it to scan the ground for metal items, above all, coins,” a Tashkent-based archaeologist explained.

He said the robbers used a similar method because they knew archaeologists abandoned the site as they did not plan research at the site in the near future. This means that the trace left by the bulldozer will be covered by grass very quickly and time will hide the trace of crime.

“The ransacked citadel is a rectangular hill covering one hectare and has nine towers,” the archaeologist said. “Around the citadel the ancient township covers 4.5 square kilometres. Without doubt the hill covers the ruins of perhaps the Angren river valley’s largest township of the state of Ilak.”

Initially, the township attracted archaeologists’ attention by its rich “recoverable material” of objects of antiquity – ceramic pieces to labour instruments and coins that are practically lying on the surface. The material was easily accessible and did not require excavations. Moreover, it showed

	At the moment cows and sheep show greater interest in Suyritepa than the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan does; photo by Uznews.net

 that the site still hid a great amount of archaeological wealth.

At the same time, serious and fundamental research has not yet been conducted at Suyritepa.

“Some local residents, in contrast to researchers, did not stay aside from the story,” a local resident called Ismail said. “They started excavating burial grounds for personal ends, which results in the discovery of three caches of coins and crockery. I do not know where it has all ended up, not in the museum that is for sure – you know yourself why.”

Archaeologists said that objects of antiquity had high material value on the black market. They complained about ransacks and destructions of cultural monuments to prosecutors and local administrations in Angren and Ahangaran, but robberies are continuing.

Moreover, now monuments are robbed by those who are supposed to guard them. This causes particular concern, because robbers are not amateurs but professionals.

Uznews.net

Massive Gold Trove originating from Central Asia?

DPA

A 3,300-year-old treasure trove of gold found in northern Germany has stumped German archeologists. One theory suggests that traders transported it thousands of miles from a mine in Central Asia, but other experts are skeptical.

Archeologists in Germany have an unlikely new hero: former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. They have nothing but praise for the cigar-smoking veteran Social Democratic politician.

Why? Because it was Schröder who, together with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, pushed through a plan to pump Russian natural gas to Western Europe. For that purpose, an embankment 440 kilometers (275 miles) long and up to 30 meters (100 feet) wide had to be created from Lubmin, a coastal resort town in northeastern Germany, to Rehden in Lower Saxony near the northwestern city of Bremen.

The result has been a veritable cornucopia of ancient discoveries. The most beautiful find was made in the Gessel district of Lower Saxony, where 117 pieces of gold were found stacked tightly together in a rotten linen cloth. The hidden treasure is about 3,300 years old.

The 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds) of gold, which was found in a field, consists of some jewelry, but primarily spirals of gold wire, which are tied together in chains consisting of 10 spirals each. This isn't jewelry, but an ancient form of gold bullion.

Traveling the Continent

When Johanna Wanka, the Lower Saxony science minister, unveiled the treasure to the press in February, the story became even more surprising. She explained that testing done at the University of Hanover had revealed that the gold had come from a mine in Central Asia.

"Using a mass spectrometer, we examined more than 20 trace elements, allowing us to determine the fingerprint of the metal," explains chemist Robert Lehmann. "The gold vein must have been created deep in the mountains of Kazakhstan, Afghanistan or Uzbekistan over a period of millions of years."

Lower Saxony can now consider itself the owner of what Wanka calls the "find of the century." Merchants trading in luxury goods used to travel across the entire continent, says state archeologist Henning Hassmann. "Trips of 10,000 kilometers were nothing to them."

He suspects that the gold found in Gessel was initially brought in caravans from the mountains to the nearby Indus Valley, where a giant riparian culture flourished until about 1,800 B.C. From there, says Hassmann, the merchandise was sent by ship to Mesopotamia and, after that, somehow reached the northern flatlands.

'Pretty Bold'

But is that really the right explanation? Not everyone has faith in Lehmann's analysis of the gold. Some say that, despite the advanced testing equipment at his disposal, Lehmann is "inexperienced." Ernst Pernicka, an archeologist who studies ancient metallurgical processes in the southwestern city of Tübingen -- known for his groundbreaking metal studies on the famous Nebra sky disk -- calls Lehmann's conclusions "highly speculative."

Because almost nothing is known about ancient mining in Central Asia, Lehmann could only compare the Gessel find with a few Scythian gold coins. To arrive at such ambitious theories on the basis of such scant facts is "pretty bold," says Gregor Borg, an expert on gold deposits at the University of Halle in eastern Germany.

Despite the criticism, Lehmann remains undeterred, noting his use of first-class equipment. With these devices, he says, he can also perform confocal white-light microscopy and laser ablation ICP mass spectrometry. "We're counting individual atoms here," he says.

Who is right?

The Asia Connection

As audacious as the Asia connection seems, it could be true. There is plenty of evidence that human greed led to globalized trade more than 3,000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians' folding-chair designs reached Sweden, and magnificent Spondylus shells from the Mediterranean have been found as far away as Bavaria.

Valuable metals such as tin, copper, gold and silver were a favorite among long-distance traders, who dragged them across the continent in rucksacks or on oxcarts. Ötzi the Iceman, a natural mummy found in the Ötztal Alps, probably traded in gold and flint, and was murdered in the process.

But did the merchants' extensive trading networks reach as far as the remote mines in Central Asia as long ago as the 2nd century B.C.? It certainly would have been worthwhile. A massive gold-and-tin belt extends from the Altai Mountains to the Aral Sea. A prehistoric gold mine, the largest in the central Caucasus region, was also recently discovered in Armenia.

This could explain the origins of the myth of the Argonauts, who in the story sail through the Black Sea to steal the Golden Fleece.

Whether the treasure found inland from the North Sea coast truly originated in the faraway steppes remains disputable for now. Lehmann has invited his critics to attend a presentation in Hanover on July 13, when he intends to elucidate the details of his research. "It will be a closed meeting," he says.

Apparently Lehmann doesn't want anyone to lose face in the dispute over the prehistoric gold.

Source: Der Spiegel

New Terra-Cotta Warriors—And Unprecedented Armor

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Brushes With Greatness

Photograph by Ruan Banhui, Imaginechina/AP

With the greatest of care, archaeologists in early June clean the head of a terra-cotta warrior in the funerary complex of China's first emperor—one of more than a hundred life-size figures uncovered during the latest phase of the excavation, which began in 2009.

Archaeologists have also recently found terra-cotta horses, chariots, weaponry, and drums as well as the clay army's first known shield—proof of the equipment real-life soldiers would have carried.

Excavations have been carried out here since the site, near the city of Xi'an, was discovered in 1974. The artifacts belonged to a vast man-made army meant to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang Di, the third-century-B.C. leader whose dynasty, Qin (pronounced CHIN), likely gave the country its modern name.

When the emperor was buried more than 2,000 years ago, the warriors were brightly painted. Archaeologists are surprised that so much of the color has survived on the figures they've just uncovered.

(See National Geographic magazine pictures: "Terra-Cotta Warriors in Color.")

—A.R. Williams

Published June 20, 2012

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Source: National Geographic