If you are interested in a career combining science, social sciences, and archeology, and working on focusing the preservation of archeological artifacts and sites, this could be a great degree for you.

ARCHMAT is a 2-years Erasmus Mundus Master Course (120 European Credit Transfer Scheme – ECTS) within a consortium of 3 HEI (Evora-UE, Rome-UNIROMA1, Thessaloniki-AUTH) as full partners, 5 HEI (Avignon-UA, Palermo-UNIPA, Zaragoza-UNIZAR-ICMA, Fez-UF and Rio de Janeiro-UERJ) and 3 non HEI Research centres  (Laboratorio Jose Figueiredo/Instituto dos Museus e da Conservacao-IMC, Scientific Laboratory Musei Vaticani-MV, Archaeological Museum of AIANI) as associated members, providing students with specialized skills in archaeology and analytical charaterization of materials from prehistory (megalithic) to classical times (Greek and Roman).

The study and conservation of Cultural Heritage materials is a research area with a strong multidisciplinary connotation and requires skills that span across the Humanities and Science research fields. ARCHMAT provides a common, integrated platform for high quality students coming from different educational backgrounds (Science and Humanities) to understand the advanced scientific methods used to investigate archaeological materials and aims to form highly specialized professional experts in the emerging field of Archaeometry, i.e.  Physical Sciences applied to the study of Archaeological and Cultural Heritage materials.

For more information and/or to apply for this degree program, you can visit:

http://www.erasmusmundus-archmat.uevora.pt/overview.html

We thank Professor Nick Schiavon, University of Evora, Portugal and the Coordinator for ARCHMAT: ERASMUS MUNDUS Master in ARCHaeological MATerials Science for sending us information about this program.

The Iranian Cave-fish Iranocypris typhlops is one of the rare and endemic Iranian species of our time. Iranocypris typhlops, the Iran cave barb, is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family, and the only member of the monotypic genus Iranocypris. It is endangered species which inhabits a cave in Lorestan province in Iran and is considered to be the first true cave fish in the world (freshwater, cave dwelling species). It was registered as one of the national heritage species in Iran in 2005, and it has been recognized as a vulnerable species for its threatened habitat according to the IUCN Red Data Book since 1990.

Many factors have contributed to the present situation and currently threatening the existence of this unique species. These factors include: Human intrusion of their living cave, lack of funding for researchers for further research and improvement of the conditions, accumulated agricultural waste in the water and as a result in the cave, inadequate environmental monitoring, lack of additional fish-farms outside the fish’s natural living zone (for additional breeding) and small populations of fish.

Lastly, the construction of a new dam within 500 meters of these caves makes environmentalists and researchers even more concerned than ever before. The authorities have recently made a number of promises for new measures but none has been fulfilled yet.

For more information for Iranocypris typhlops being on the Vulnerable Red List visit http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/10849/0

The Road to Persiana: The Cyrus Cylinder 2013 U. S. Tour

Book by author A.J. Cave

The Road to Persiana:The Cyrus Cylinder 2013

U. S. Tour, is an informal look at the ground-breaking tour of the Cyrus Cylinder across 5 U.S. museums. It is the first known declaration of Human Rights, issued by the emperor Cyrus II of Persia. In the 1970s, the Cyrus Cylinder has been described as the world’s first charter of human rights (Wikipedia).  A free eBook download is available on our Education page under the Literature tab.

Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10, 2013. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations.

Human Rights Day is normally marked both by high-level political conferences and meetings and by cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. In addition, it is traditionally on 10 December that the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize are awarded. Many governmental and nongovernmental organizations active in the human rights field also schedule special events to commemorate the day, as do many civil and social-cause organisations.

The Declaration of Human Rights arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. It consists of 30 articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions and laws. The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the “Most Translated Document” in the world.

While not a treaty itself, the Declaration of Human Rights was explicitly adopted for the purpose of defining the meaning of the words “fundamental freedoms” and “human rights” appearing in the United Nations Charter, which is binding on all member states. For this reason the Universal Declaration is a fundamental constitutive document of the United Nations. Many international lawyers, in addition, believe that the Declaration forms part of customary international law[ and is a powerful tool in applying diplomatic and moral pressure to governments that violate any of its articles.

In South Africa, Human Rights Day is celebrated on 21 March, in remembrance of the Sharpeville massacre which took place on 21 March 1960. This massacre occurred as a result of protests against the Apartheid regime in South Africa. (With material from: Wikipedia)

When Professor Nicolò Marchetti of Bologna University found out that his team had won a bid to excavate in the ancient city of Karkemish beating a Japanese group that had offered to pay $1 million, the news came as mixed blessings – we assume.  In 2011, for the first time since the Turkish War of Independence, a joint team of Italian and Turkish archaeologists returned to Karkemish, an ancient city on the Syria-Turkey border, building on the work of British Museum teams that included T.E. Lawrence, who later became famous as “Lawrence of Arabia”.

Marchetti, a sort of new version of Indiana Jones as described by the New York Times is surely the only archeologist in the world as we know- digging for national heritage under the watchful eye of al-Qaeda machine guns where the everyday events include seeing pick-up trucks with the black al-Qaeda flag packed with armed militias, passing just a few feet away from the site. The team is unearthing the mythical Hittite capital of Karkemish, which has been named in the Bible. On the banks of the Euphrates River, the excavation site spans the border between Turkey and war-torn Syria. The site was first discovered and briefly explored in the early 20th century. Karkemish now lies within a mine-infested military zone, 65% of it in Turkey and 35% in Syria.

What drives Marchetti to work in such conditions?  Marchetti is proudest of a stele, or commemorative slab, carved with the face of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, the conqueror of Karkemish. He destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple of Salomon in 587 BC, and built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were the seventh wonder of the ancient world. Marchetti who reportedly speaks the native language and is highly respected by the local people, hopes to conserve the area and most likely help the Turkish government to apply for the UNESCO National Heritage designation. He hopes for the creation of a national park that covers the archaeological site and the natural beauty of the nearby river.

Last year, an Associated Press (AP) wire story about Karkemish shone new light on the site, from its ancient history as a strategic city along the Euphrates held by the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo-Assyrian Empires, to the artifacts and remains of palaces and temples uncovered by the British archaeologists in the early 20th century, to Marchetti’s team’s plans to open Karkemish to the public in 2014.