Latin American author Gabriel Garcia Marquez passed away on Thursday April 17. Garcia Marquez was born in 1927 on the Colombian coast and was the master of a style known as magic realism, and his novels were filled with miraculous and enchanting events and characters; love and madness; wars, politics, dreams and death.

Marquez won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1982. In his acceptance speech he spoke about Latin America’s wars, military coups, dictatorships and ethnocide: “We, the inventors of tales, who will believe anything, feel entitled to believe that it is not yet too late to engage in the creation of … a new and sweeping utopia of life, where no one will be able to decide for others how they die, where love will prove true and happiness be possible, and where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity on earth.”

Chilean novelist Ariel Dorfman says the speech was one of the author’s most important messages to the world.”(in his speech) Garcia Marquez is speaking about all the people who are marginal to history, who have not had a voice.” Dorfman said.

Marquez was 87. He had learned that he had lymphatic cancer in 1999, and it is believed that he had been suffering from senile dementia since 2012.

On the eleventh of April, some supporters of the Islamic government in a hostile demonstration objected to the request by Richard Frye to be buried in the historic city of Isfahan, Iran. These demonstrators claimed that Frye was a US spy and should not be allowed to buried in Iran.

As the demonstrations were happening in Isfahan, the government’s publications actually reflected on the protests and expressed support for them. These demonstrators who also have a publication named the “revolutionary youth” stated that they will attempt to demolish Pope’s tomb. In fact, it looks like that at the same time, his tomb was vandalized and paint was used to write all over his beautiful tomb.

Arthur Upham Pope(1881–1969) was best known as a pioneering American expert on Persian/Iranian art and the editor of the authoritative Survey of Persian Art. He was also a university professor of philosophy and aesthetics, archaeologist, photographer, political activist, museum director and planner, pianist, interior designer, and founder of an international scholarly organization. Both Pope and his wife Phyllis Ackerman are buried in Isfahan, Iran.

Many reports from Iran show the outrage by other Iranian youth groups who love Persian culture and history and in their own way have been protesting the action of these government supported protestors in Iran in weblogs, and Heritage Sites. They strictly and adamantly express their outrage in these actions and state that these protests in Isfahan do not represent the opinions and thoughts of millions of Iranians who have supported and preserved professor Pope’s tomb in Iran and also support eventual burial of professor Frye in Iran.

Here is a video of Dr. Frye discussing his wishes.

In 2012, Mali experienced occupation by armed extremists in the north and centre of the country and during that period a number of World Heritage sites were either badly damaged or destroyed as we have reported here on WCHV website.

These historical sites and edifices were examples of history and the golden age of Timbuktu as an economic, intellectual and spiritual center in the 15^th and 16^th centuries. These buildings are also exceptional examples of unique architecture of that period which had been preserved by the citizens of Mali for centuries.

The reconstruction project which will focus on the sixteen of them are part of the World Heritage site has been financed by Mali and UNESCO with contributions from Andorra, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Croatia and Mauritius as well as logistical support from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) as reported by UNESCO.

Earlier this month (April 2014), Mali’s Minister of Culture, Bruno Maiga, laid the first earthen brick on the mausoleums of Sheik Baber Baba Idjè and Sheik Mahamane Al Fullani, in the presence of UN and UNESCO officials. Diplomats from France, South Africa and Switzerland were also present at the ceremony.

Damavand or Mount Damavand which is the highest peak in Iran, and has had long history and roots in Iranian mythology and a symbol of the nation’s history and identity, is in danger. According to Fararud News Agency, over a long period of time, private companies permitted by the government, have been active in daily transfer of 300 loaded trucks of mineral ore to different destinations. Major organizations and activists working in the field of preservation of cultural and natural heritage have objected but have received no response from the private companies while they have continued their activities. This has been happening in spite of the fact that there have been ongoing work on preparation of the application to  UNESCO for listing of the Damavand on the World Heritage.

Yesterday, Japan officially canceled all plans to hunt whales in the Southern Ocean in 2014 just days after an international court ruled against the killings. This Japanese annual ritual which has drawn criticism from all over the world is now cancelled for the first time in over 25 years.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would comply with the court order for this year, but he expressed his disappointment in the ruling during a meeting with members of the Japanese government’s legal delegation. As a result, it is very possible that that Japan will try to revive the program under different legal reasoning next year.

It is important to note that the hunt had taken advantage of a loophole in a 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling that allowed killings for research purposes as reported by the New York Times. The ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday said the scientific output from Japan’s whaling program in Antarctica “appears limited” and suggested that the hunt was continued because of politics, rather than science.

Japanese government has confirmed that Japan would abide by international legal rulings as Japan may not have any other choices but to obey the court as reported by several news outlets. This is a critical time for Japan as the country is calling on China to adhere to international legal laws in the territorial dispute over East China Sea islands claimed by both countries.

In a recent study by researchers from Columbia University and West Virginia University and published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, the team concluded with a theory, that the weather might have helped the Mongol army conquer the largest contiguous empire in history.

About eight hundred years ago, Genghis Khan and his sons ruled most of modern-day Russia, China, Korea, southeast Asia, Persia, India, the Middle East and eastern Europe after Mongols ruthlessly conquered all these territories.

Historians for a long time have believed that the Mongols’ fast horses and brilliant cavalry tactics were two of their major advantage, but what other factor could have helped their rapid rise and overcoming so many other territories and countries? Well, the answer could have been climate change or good weather to be exact according to the team of scientists. 

Researchers have been working in Mongolia since 1995 and they have been looking at many ecological factors including tree-rings. Annual rings of many species reflect rainfall or temperature in predictable ways. These can be read like books; and trees in the driest, harshest sites like this are exquisitely sensitive to rain, live to extraordinary ages, and leave trunks that may stand for centuries after they die. In addition, researchers have been looking at grass production, while reasoning that the mild weather could have brought an unusual boom in grass production, and therefore affecting favorably livestock numbers including camels, yaks, cattle, and sheep. So, it looks like that the Mongolian army and Mongol cavalryman had many warhorses and animals for food that could have enabled fighters to travel fast and long.  Researchers are also looking at lake-bottom sediments, soil and all the date will eventually go into a computer modeling program at University of Alabama. 

Researchers also propose that the Mongols could have suffered a climatic setback, too: a cold snap in 1260-1266 and subsequent return to more normal weather in Mongolia appears to coincide with the decline of Karakorum, whose heyday lasted only 30 years. The empire soon fragmented. Today, barely anything of Karakorum remains but a giant stone turtle that once marked one of its corners.

Excerpts from PastHorizonspr.com by permission.  http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2014/rise-of-genghis-khan-linked-to-mongolian-climate-change

Earlier this year, here on WCHV website, we discussed in our blog about a new trend which could gradually become a new trend for funding restoration and preservation of heritage sites (Privatization of Restoration: http://worldculturalheritagevoices.org/?p=3486). This new trend which we called Privatization of Restoration could be a great solution where public funds are not available or are limited.  Just yesterday, Italy’s new Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, called on private companies to fund repairs to the ancient city of Pompeii. The ancient city of Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the world’s greatest archaeological treasures. It has been estimated that every year, over two million tourists visit the site in Southern Italy.

Pompeii has been suffering from neglect and inadequate restoration for a while. In fact, BBC and other news networks have reported that last year, 105mil-euro ($145m) was raised (including 41.8m euros from EU) allocated for a “Great Pompeii” rehabilitation project. However, it has been reported that only 588,000 euros had been spent so far. 

Due to heavy rain falls and flooding, several areas including walls and buildings have been damaged just in the last several days, therefore, new measures should be undertaken to reduce damage from flooding.  

Mr. Renzi who became Italy’s prime minister last month made the plea yesterday, to private companies and businesses to step in and help with restoring one of Italy’s greatest treasures.  In fact, the Italian government in the past had also requested private assistance for restoration of other ancient monuments, including the Colosseum in Rome and the Trevi fountain. 

Archaeologists have continued work on a Late Iron Age/Early Roman period necropolis, with a total of 74 graves uncovered, including 31 new inhumations in Central France. As modernization has rapidly changed the area with housing expansions, the outskirts of the historic town of Esvres-sur-Indre  has also been the site for the new findings and study.

The necropolis itself has been known since 1909 after the publication of a preliminary study carried out at the time of the planting of a vineyard. In fact, in 1999 a group of 29 burials were excavated at Vaugrignon.  The graves found at the time were clustered in discreet areas corresponding perhaps to social or family groups and organized around enclosures whose function is not yet clear but may relate to funeral rites.  Archeologists believe that the extent, number and diversity of burials found in the area, show the importance of the site during the late Gallic and Gallo-Roman periods, and the tombs must relate to a substantial settlement that lies beneath the current town and suggests a continuous occupation for over 2200 years.

A very interesting finding was that most of the tombs excavated have contained children. However, since the acidity of the subsoil often does not allow good preservation of organic matter including skeletal material and many of graves were found to be ‘empty’. Twenty four did however contain enough skeletal material to be able to identify 18 children and 6 adults.
The graves frequently contain wooden coffins, of which only the nails are preserved. The dead are accompanied by a rich selection of objects, sometimes mounted on wooden supports arranged within the grave including terracotta pottery including jugs, cups, plates and pots.

Excerpts by permission from original article published by www.pasthorizonspr.com
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2014/new-discoveries-at-the-gallic-necropolis-of-esvres-sur-indre.

Just about a week ago a Spanish team of archeologists working in Egypt in collaboration with the Egyptian antiquities ministry unearthed a 3,600-year-old mummy in the ancient city of Luxor as reported by the Associated Press and Al-Ahram newspaper.

Archeologists believe that this rare find dates back to 1600 BC, when the Pharaonic 17th Dynasty reigned. The sarcophagus which still bears its original coloring and writings was well preserved in wooden sarcophagus. Archeologists also believe that the mummy most probably belong to a high official since the sarcophagus is engraved with titles of the official. The sarcophagus is engraved with hieroglyphs and decorated with inscriptions of birds’ feathers. However, the exact identity that official will have to be studied.

The Spanish-Egyptian team also found two other burials while digging at the Draa Abul-Naga necropolis on Luxor’s west bank, but they were both empty and believed to have been robbed by grave robbers.

About a year ago a team of archeologists from University of Leicester announced that they had discovered beneath an ordinary parking lot in the town of Leicester, bones that believed to belong to King Richard III. Now as reported by several news outlets, researchers at the University of Leicester, have announced that they are planning to sequence the King’s entire genome by using the DNA from his skeleton.

After finding the skeleton, the researchers used several evidences including the fact that the bones showed signs of scoliosis – the king had a hunched back as well as a raised right shoulder. In addition, carbon dating placed the bones somewhere between 1455 and 1540 (Richard died in 1485), and a DNA test showed that the skeleton’s DNA was a perfect match to that of two known descendants. The archeologists believe that King Richard III experienced a very traumatic death since the skeleton showed several wounds including to the head.

Archeologists and geneticist who will be working with the team are hoping that sequencing DNA from the skeleton can reveal more information about the monarch including facial features like eye colors. In addition, researchers can obtain more information about the genetics of the monarch.