In the current issue of the German magazine “Archäologie Weltweit”, one of our reconstructions of the Oxus Temple is featured! The project of the Oxus Temple is not online on our website yet, but we will change that soon. You can have a look at the magazine for free here.
I will present a talk at the upcoming archeoworks 3 at the Humboldt University in Berlin on the 10th of May. The topic is Digital Archaeology and how archaeologists can use 3D software to visualise scientific results. I will present examples from Mari and Uruk. The talk will be in the lecture hall 2094, starts at 2 pm, last roughly one hour and be in German. If you are there, come by and say hi!
This project was completed last year and I finally found the time to bring it online. Building E of Uruk is one of the biggest buildings of the ancient city and most certainly one of the most interesting ones. Check out our description and more pictures.
We have a winner! Yanis Diaz from Cottbus has won the lottery for the book “Cities that shaped the ancient World”! We wish you a lot of fun with your new book!
Photo: © Yanis Diaz
With a little luck, you can win this book by John Julius Norwich published by Thames & Hudson this November. Cities that shaped the Ancient World is an anthology of ancient cities, that had a major impact on our shared history. The hard-cover book has 240 pages and 151 illustrations and is definitely worth a read. Here is how you can win:
You have to follow us either on Facebook or Twitter and either share this post on Facebook or re-tweet this tweet on Twitter. After you have done that, send us a mail to competiton@artefacts-berlin.de with your Facebook or Twitter name, so we can check. Also, include your shipping address in case you win. I will randomly select a winner on the 24th of December, well because its Christmas. We will send the book to you free of charge. Good luck!
During the last Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies (CHNT18) I held a presentation of the visualisations of Uruk. Finally, the online-publication is out and you can read the article.
The visualisation of Uruk (PDF, 800 KB)
Also check out the conferences website.
I will participate in a conference called “Archäologie und Rekonstruktion” (Archaeology and Reconstruction) held at the Brugsch-Pascha-Saal, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 2-8, 10117 Berlin from the 11th to the 12th December 2014.
Topic of this conference is to define the term “reconstruction” in the field of archaeology as well as to talk about the methodology of visualisation. My personal contribution will talk about the use of archaeological reconstructions as a didactic tool in exhibitions and more general in museums. If you are in Berlin, come by and say hi!
You can find more information about the conference as well as the program here.
The reconstruction of the White Temple on the Anu Ziggurat was published in a brand new anthology by John Julius Norwich. In this book, ancient cities from all over the world are described. Of course, the beginning is made by… Uruk!
Norwich, J.J. (Ed.) 2014: Cities that shaped the Ancient World, London: Thames & Hudson.
Until the 20th of April 2015, you will be able to watch a TV documentary of the German TV station ARD. The documentary offers an insight over the art trade that is dealing with Syrian artefacts that finance directly the terrorist group of ISIS. The documentary shows the work of Syrian archaeologist Cheikhmous Ali as well as the efforts done by the German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation. Also, you’ll get a glimpse of the now closed Baghdad Museum! The documentary is a must-see for everyone interested in Archaeology and the Near East. Unfortunately, it is only available in German.
On the 20th of September 2014, Prof. Dr. Markus Hilgert, Director of the Near Eastern Department of the Pergamonmuseum Berlin, was presenting a talk about the necessity of modern-day museums within our society. In it he argues, that today the digitalisation of ancient artefacts and the presentation of virtual models are becoming more and more important for modern exhibitions. To underline these examples he showed some of our visualisations.
You can listen to his presentation (in German) on YouTube:
Besides our animations during the exhibition “Uruk – 5000 years of megacity”, there was also one made by the “Deutsche Luft- und Raumfahrtgesellschaft” (DLR). We provided the models and the DLR created a flight through space down to Iraq and into Uruk, during the Seleucid Period. You can find the animation and a comprehensive description in the link below.
I will present a talk at the University of Strasbourg on the 20th of October 2014. The presentation starts at 6 pm and is held at MISHA, salle des conférences. The title of the talk will be “The Reconstruction of Uruk: Theory, Method and the example of the White Temple”.
If you are around by any chance, come by and say hello!