WALLONIA, BELGIUM—The Brussels Times reports that a human skeleton, amputated limbs, the remains of at least three horses, and ammunition boxes have been found in a ditch at the site of an allied field hospital during the Battle of Waterloo, which was fought on June 18, 1815 by a French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, an army made up of soldiers from Britain and its allies, and a Prussian army. Additional amputated limbs were uncovered nearby during excavations conducted in 2018. “Dead soldiers, horses, amputated limbs, and more would have been quickly buried in a desperate attempt to contain the spread of disease around the hospital,” said archaeologist Véronique Moulaert of the Walloon Heritage Agency. Only one other complete skeleton has been found near the battlefield. Most of the human remains from the bloody battle are thought to have been exhumed and ground into agricultural fertilizer in the nineteenth century. Behind what had been Napoleon’s front line, a metal detector survey has revealed more than 20 musket balls thought to have been left behind by fighting between French and Prussian troops. 

A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all

In 2011, the world reached a population of 7 billion. This year, the number will hit 8 billion, prompting the attendant responses. Some will marvel at the advancements in health that have extended lifespans, reduced maternal mortality and child mortality and given rise to vaccine development in record time. Others will tout technological innovations that have eased our lives and connected us more than ever. Still others will herald gains in gender equality.

But progress is not universal, throwing inequality into razor-sharp relief. The same concerns and challenges raised 11 years ago remain or have worsened: Climate change, violence, discrimination. The world reached a particularly grim milestone in May: More than 100 million forcibly displaced worldwide.

In an ideal world, 8 billion people means 8 billion opportunities for healthier societies empowered by rights and choices. But the playing field is not and has never been even. Based on gender, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability and origin, among other factors, too many are still exposed to discrimination, harassment and violence. We do ourselves no favors when neglecting those left behind.

Let no alarmist headline distract from the work at hand: investing in human and physical capital for inclusive, productive societies that uphold human and reproductive rights. Only then can we tackle the enormous challenges facing our planet and forge a world where health, dignity and education are rights and realities, not privileges and empty promises. In a world of 8 billion, there must always be space for possibility.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

Background

World Population Day, which seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

By resolution 45/216 of December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly decided to continue observing World Population Day to enhance awareness of population issues, including their relations to the environment and development.

The Day was first marked on 11 July 1990 in more than 90 countries. Since then, a number of a number of UNFPA country offices and other organizations and institutions commemorate World Population Day, in partnership with governments and civil society.

Recently, a “National Auction” was held in Tehran, an auction which was strongly protested against by the Iranian cultural advocates. It has been reported that a number of these auctions have been held in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, during which exquisite historical and cultural works of Iranian national heritage have been sold and then sent to buyers outside of Iran. In fact, this week brought forth the seventh round of these auctions, in which 40 works of art and artifacts were sold in an auction called “Iranian and Islamic classics”.

After seven of these auctions selling many pieces of cultural and national heritage and the protests of many cultural advocates, Morteza Adibzadeh, a director of museums and historical properties in Iran, reacted online and announced, “No permission has been issued by the General Directorate of Museums .

However, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has said, “These auctions were licensed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, and it was with such a license that we had promised to send them abroad in our catalogs.” It is clear that the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, which for 40 years has allowed such destruction, unauthorized excavations, and the illegal removal of cultural and historical works of Iranians, has once again denied that it has given permission to auction, sell, and remove these national heritage and cultural works and artifacts which belong to the whole nation.

Adibzadeh told reporters that “the only thing that can be done now is to prevent these works from going abroad” and in this way, the buyers from these seven series of illegal auctions will not be able to get their hands on the purchased works. In order to get these sold items out of Iran, the buyers have to resort to smugglers who also work under the supervision of people affiliated with the Islamic government in Iran.

Source: www.savepasargad.com

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

Background

Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. There are several types of forcibly displaced persons:

Refugees

A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.

UN Action

1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol

Refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol help protect them. They are the only global legal instruments explicitly covering the most important aspects of a refugee’s life. According to their provisions, refugees deserve, as a minimum, the same standards of treatment enjoyed by other foreign nationals in a given country and, in many cases, the same treatment as nationals.

The 1951 Convention contains a number of rights and also highlights the obligations of refugees towards their host country. The cornerstone of the 1951 Convention is the principle of non-refoulement. According to this principle, a refugee should not be returned to a country where he or she faces serious threats to his or her life or freedom. This protection may not be claimed by refugees who are reasonably regarded as a danger to the security of the country, or having been convicted of a particularly serious crime, are considered a danger to the community.

Recently, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has always been opposed to Iran’s non-religious cultural and historical heritage, has entertained the idea of implementing a new policy. This new policy, which is still in discussion, has been described as a “plan to pay the right of discovery to the public” and has been explained as giving the right to any member of the public to excavate and discover historical artifacts in a policy of giving the culture back to the people. The ministry has also said that if this policy goes into effect, they would reward individuals who dig up and discover artifacts.

Since the Islamic Revolution, there has been no Iranian government sympathetic to the secular, and especially non-Shiite, cultural heritage in Iran, and as a result many sites have been destroyed by smugglers and unauthorized diggers searching for artifacts. This new policy, if approved, will no doubt make this worse and result in more destruction of cultural heritage in Iran.

In the face of this anti-cultural act by the Iranian government, supporters of cultural heritage and even some archaeologists and experts from Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism have considered the issue to be a risky one. They firstly believe that such news at the public level and in the current situation is an irresponsible act, and secondly, if for any reason the Ministry cannot manage the “plan to pay the right of discovery to the public,” it will undoubtedly have dire consequences. It will also result in the encroachment upon and destruction of the ancient sites of Iran, which is also a part of world cultural heritage.

www.savepasargad.com

Archaeologists in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala have uncovered underground passages in their excavations that appear to be secret passageways leading to a palace from the Sassanid era, according to the official Iraqi News Agency.

Archaeologists say the site was found within the city of Miqdadiyah in the northeastern part of Diyala province and estimate that it was built more than 1,400 years ago, where it had been repeatedly invaded by different groups.

According to archaeologists, this city was probably the summer residence of Khosrow Parviz, the Sassanid king.

Ahmad Abdul Jabbar Khums, head of Diyala archeology, said the findings show that “the city was an important economic and military center, and since it was built of clay, limestone, and mud, it was probably the residence of royal princes and families.” Life in the city apparently continued after the Arab invasion, but the inner courtyard of the palace was not accessed and even a mosque was built outside the mansion’s grounds.

The satellite images, along with surveys taken over a whole year to conduct and analyze the site, show different locations including a place where the Sassanid king likely spent a great deal of time, with wide corridors to receive guests and visitors.

Mehdi Azarian, director of the Siraf cultural heritage site, announced the beginning of a new round of archeological excavations in the historic port. “These excavations have been started with the cooperation of the University of Tehran and the license of the Archaeological Research Institute of the country since the beginning of June this year,” Azarian stated. The ancient port of Siraf is one of the oldest ports in the Persian Gulf, and played a significant role in trade and commerce in southern Iran for centuries. Much has been written about this port in historical texts.

This ancient port was first formally excavated by archaeologists before the Islamic Revolution for six seasons between 1966 and 1973 by a joint Anglo-Iranian delegation led by the late Professor David Whitehouse and representatives of the Archaeological Center of Iran. During that period, the team uncovered well-preserved architecture and several million objects dating back to the ninth century AD. After the revolution, a new round of excavations was carried out in 2009.

The director of the Siraf cultural heritage site has stated that new excavations will be carried out for 45 days with the aim of further understanding maritime trade and the state of the Sassanids in the historical port of Siraf, as Siraf was Iran’s most important port during the Sassanid period. It bears abundant evidence of Persian mastership and genius in seafaring, international relations, and interactions with other cultures and civilizations near and far.

www.savepasargad.com

Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.

Emphasizing the critical role of parents in the rearing of children, the Global Day of Parents recognizes that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children. For the full and harmonious development of their personality, children should grow up in a family environment and in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.

Designated by the General Assembly in 2012, Global Day of Parents provides an opportunity to appreciate all parents for their “selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship.”

Background

During the 1980’s, the United Nations began focusing attention on the issues related to the family. In 1983, based on the recommendations of the Economic and Social Council, the Commission for Social Development in its resolution on the Role of the family in the development process (1983/23) requested the Secretary-General to enhance awareness among decision makers and the public of the problems and needs of the family, as well as of effective ways of meeting those needs.

In 2012, the General Assembly proclaimed 1 June as the Global Day of Parents, to be observed annually in honor of parents throughout the world.

After uncovering the ruins of an ancient Mayan city on a construction site in Mexico, researchers have presented their discoveries. The site hosts an array of palaces and other buildings.

Archaeologists working in the Yucatan region of Mexico have revealed the remains of a centuries-old Mayan city, local media reported on Friday.

The city of Xiol — which means “the spirit of man” in Mayan — is believed to have been the home of some 4,000 people between 600 and 900 CE, during the late classic period.

The area was first uncovered in 2018 on a construction site for a future industrial park close to the town of Merida on Yucatan’s northern coast. Archaeologists from the National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH) then took over the site.

“The discovery of this Mayan city is important for its monumental architecture and because it has been restored despite being located on private land,” delegate for the INAH center in Yucatan, Arturo Chab Cardenas, told news agency EFE.

Palaces, priests, pyramids

The site is of particular interest due to its Puuc style architecture — famously used for the Chichen Itza pyramid — which is more typically found in the southern part of the Yucatan region.

The archaeologists also highlighted the array of palaces, pyramids and plazas found at the site as well as evidence of various social classes residing there.

“There were people from different social classes … priests, scribes, who lived in these great palaces, and there were also the common people who lived in small buildings,” Carlos Peraza, one of the archaeologists leading the excavations, said.

“With time, urban sprawl (in the area) has grown and many of the archaeological remains have been destroyed … but even we as archaeologists are surprised, because we did not expect to find a site so well preserved,” Peraza added.

Ancient artifacts on display

One of the owners of the land where Xiol was discovered, Mauricio Montalvo, explained to EFE how “at first we saw a giant stone and as we excavated enormous buildings began to appear.”

“It was incredible, so we informed INAH and then we realized the need to change our original plans because for our company, it’s more important to preserve the Mayan heritage,” he said.

The researchers said they had found the bodies of 15 adults and children in nearby burial grounds who had been buried with obsidian — originating from modern-day Guatemala — and other belongings.

Several tools and ceramics dating back as far as the pre-classic period (700-350 BCE) were also displayed by the researchers.

https://www.dw.com/en/mexico-archaeologists-uncover-1500-year-old-mayan-city/a-61961351

HANOI, VIETNAM—According to a Vietnam Plus report, more than 700 artifacts were discovered in a cave in northeastern Vietnam’s Bac Kan province by a team of researchers from the Institute of Archaeology, the Vietnam Archaeology Association, and the Bac Kan Museum. Team member Trinh Nang Chung estimates that Tham Un Cave was used as a residence for about 4,000 years, beginning some 5,000 to 6,000 years ago by people of the Bac Son Culture, and ending in the late Neolithic period. Many of the artifacts, he explained, are stone tools crafted from river pebbles. The researchers will return to the cave for excavations and additional study.