Time Sifters Archaeology Society Newsletter June 2021

JUNE-2021 PRESERVATION  EDUCATION  RESEARCH  INSPIRE Dear Members & friends: THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all the fantastic presenters this season. Thank you to the awesome Time Sifters Board for all their work and a big thank you to YOU the Members for supporting Time Sifters during this difficult season. We could not have done it with out your support. We are putting together our 2021/2022 season, which will kick off in September. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a line. If you haven’t been to our website, www.timesifters.org or our YouTube channel, please check them out for the latest society information and other interesting stuff from the world of Archaeology. Have a great summer and thank you for being a Time Sifters member. Darwin “Smitty” Smith, President [email protected] Archaeologists You Should Know months, chiefly in Persia, he returned in 1842 to Sir Austen Henry Layard Constantinople, where he Excavated Nimrod & Nineveh made the acquaintance of Sir Stratford Canning, the British By Smitty, Time Sifters Board Member. Sources: Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Ambassador, who employed Britannica, New World Encyclopedia. him in various unofficial Sir Austen Italy he diplomatic missions in Henry Layard acquired European Turkey. was born in a taste for Paris, France the fine Spending much time in on March 5, arts and a the vicinity of Mosul and 1817 to Henry love of Iraq, Layard became P. J. Layard travel increasingly interested in and Marianne Photos: Wikipedia locating and unearthing Austen. His the great cities of the father was a member of the father. from his Mesopotamia. During British Civil Service serving in 1845–51 he excavated at Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). In 1839, at the age of 22 Nimrud, the ancient Layard was a traveler, and after spending nearly six Assyrian city located on archaeologist, cuneiformist, art years in the London law office of the River Tigris, south of historian, draughtsman, collector, his uncle, Benjamin Austen, he Mosul. He discovered the famous politician and diplomat. He is began a journey on horseback Black Obelisk of best known as the excavator through Anatolia and Syria. Shalmaneser III in 1846. The of Nimrud and Nineveh, After wandering for many monument stands 6 1/2 feet where he uncovered a large tall and commemorates the portion of the Assyrian palace king's victorious campaigns reliefs, and in 1851 the library of 859-824 BCE. The excava- of Ashurbanipal. tions also revealed remarkable Much of his boyhood was bas-reliefs, ivories, and spent in Italy, but because his sculptures. A statue of father’s diplomatic assignments Ashurnasirpal II was found changed frequently, the family in an excellent state of moved often. As a result he preservation, as were the attended schools in Italy, England, colossal winged man-headed France and Switzerland. While in lions guarding the palace Continued on page 4 ...

Did You Know? Battlefield Archaeology Uncovering Untold Stories Reprinted by permission from the American Battlefield Trust they are buried underground, the item itself. they have a story to tell—one DailyExpress Archaeologists use total stations at that has never The Importance of Battlefield been told before. Archaeology To make their discoveries, Battlefield archaeology is important archaeologists for any conflict, but even more so primarily use for the Revolutionary War. Unlike sophisticated the Civil War, Revolutionary War metal detectors, documents such as reports, records, and sometimes and letters, are very scarce. ground penetrating Because of this our understanding of radar, to identify Revolutionary War battles is often any potential imprecise. item's location. \"Military science,\" the rigorous, After locating an almost bureaucratic approach to item, the team warfare that characterized the carefully digs out Civil War, was in its most nascent the item, being American Battlefield Trust stages at the time of the Revolutionary War. Officers were not systematically expected to submit after-action reports or to meticulously map the terrain on which they fought. Even the most dedicated Revolutionary War historians are confronted Atlasobscura.com with deep fields of gray when it comes time to reconstruct military maneuvers. Except for exceptional cases, there is simply no written evidence of exactly where men marched, fought, and died. In the Civil War, Daniel Sutherlin we can locate indi- careful not to vidual regiments on the field; in the Revolutionary War, we strug- damage or gle to identify which units were disturb the FoxNews.com even present. potential Battlefield archaeology is essential to artifact. Each item is dutifully improving our understanding of catalogued and identified. Location Minute Man National Historical Park to map the locations of the Revolutionary War. Where is critical, so when an item is artifacts. When used by qualified historians see only inexact written uncovered it is placed in a references to embattled landscapes, protective bag, assigned a professionals, total stations, as very accurate, distance-measuring archaeologists see treasure troves unique catalogue number, and a devices, record the location of of new historical information waiting small flag is placed where it was artifacts as they are spread to be discovered. Battlefields are located. This process ensures across the landscape - a key covered in martial debris— that the artifact's location can be component in fully understanding buttons, cartridges, bayonets, later verified. A found item’s a battle site. shrapnel, and more. Even though location is more important than Continued on page 3 ...

Continued from page 2 ... Battlefield Archaeology … Photos by Smitty After the dig, the artifacts are buckles, and other pieces of inputted into Geographic equipment can help identify Information Software (GIS), and which unit traversed a location. a map of the survey site is creat- This is particularly helpful with ed. This software, combined with well-equipped and distinctively a laser measuring and GPS sys- marked British troops. Because tem, ensures that an artifact's of the wide variation in Revolutionary exact location is identified. War weaponry, both small arms and artillery, the size and type of Location is the critical element of battlefield archaeology Emanuel Leutze; Metropolitan Museum of Art that enables us to expand our understanding of a battle. When ammunition becomes a sort of uncover the untold stories of the the dig is complete and the map is unit fingerprint that can help Revolutionary War, and provide compiled, the distribution of arti- identify movements and positions us a more complete understanding of facts can show fields of fire, areas on the field. the battles that forged our nation. of engagement, and unit positions. Reprinted by permission from the Grouping of spent and deformed Historic discoveries sometimes American Battlefield Trust musket balls show where units require futuristic technologies. came under heavy fire. Similarly, Battlefield archaeology can help concentrations of dropped cartridges can show where the lines were located. Identifying canister, grapeshot, and solid shot, all help show what the artillery was targeting. The items themselves, tied to their location, are also important to constructing the narrative of a Revolutionary War battle. Buttons, A Time Sifters Book Review A Little History of Archaeology Review by Yale Books “An entertaining account of the development of archaeology across the world. . . Fagan’s recollections . . . help bring the history to life.” - Current World Archaeology “Learned and lively.” - Wall Street Journal A Little History of Archaeology Mayan ruins, and the first colonial readers of every age. By: Brian Fagan settlements at Jamestown, Brian Fagan is emeritus mysterious Stonehenge, the What is archaeology? The word incredibly preserved Pompeii, professor of anthropology, may bring to mind images of golden and many, many more. In 40 University of California, Santa pharaohs and lost civilizations, or brief, exciting chapters, the book Barbara, an internationally Neanderthal skulls and Ice Age recounts archaeology’s development recognized authority on global cave art. Archaeology is all of from its 18th-century origins to prehistory, and the author of these, but also far more: the only its 21st-century technological dozens of books on archaeological science to encompass the entire advances. Shining light on the topics, including Fishing: How span of human history - more most intriguing events in the history the Sea Fed Civilization. than three million years! of the field, this absolutely up-to- ISBN: 9780300224641 date book illuminates archaeology’s Publication Date: April 10, 2018 This Little History tells the controversies, discoveries, heroes 288 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 riveting stories of some of the and scoundrels, global sites, and 40 b/w illus. great archaeologists and their newest methods for curious amazing discoveries around the globe: ancient Egyptian tombs,

Continued from page 1 ... Sir Austen Henry Layard … entrance. The large number of rediscovered the lost palace, Babylon”, also beautifully cuneiform inscriptions dealing with its 71 rooms and colossal illustrated and titled A Second with King Ashurnasirpal II provide base-reliefs. He also unearthed Series of the Monuments of more details about him and his the palace and famous library Nineveh, which was published reign than are known for any of Ashurbanipal with 22,000 in 1853. He also worked at other ruler of this epoch. inscribed clay tablets. These Ashur, Babylon, Nippur, and other artifacts have become the most sites in Babylonia and Assyria. In 1847, Layard explored the valued treasures of the British mound of Kuyunjik near Mosul, Museum. During his later career in correctly identifying the site as government and diplomacy, Layard the remains of the ancient His well-documented served in the British Parliament Assyrian capital of Nineveh. In findings are included, with (1852–57 and 1860–69), became the Kuyunjik mound, Layard his beautiful illustrations, in undersecretary of foreign affairs Photos: Wikipedia; the British Museum his renowned publications (1861–66), and the British including a two volume set Ambassador at Istanbul (1877–80). published in 1848–1849, He was knighted in 1878. Nineveh and Its Remains which illustrated and document- On March 9, 1869 he married ed the first excavation and most of his first cousin once removed, the artifacts discovered. Another Mary Enid Evelyn Guest. In publication described the later 1874, they retired to Venice expeditions, “Discoveries in where he devoted his time to the Ruins of Nineveh and collecting artwork of the Venetian school, and to writing on Italian art. He died on July 5, 1894 and is buried in the cemetery of Canford Magna Parish Church in Dorset, England. Board of Officers: Lifetime: $350 Pay online at: Directors Darwin \"Smitty\" Smith, President Individual: $25 WWW.TimeSifters.org Sherry Svekis, Vice President Family: $35 Or mail checks to: Mary S. Maisel, Secretary Student: $10 Time Sifters, Inc. Laura Harrison, Treasurer Supporting $50 PO Box 5283 Karen Jensen, Membership Sarasota, FL. 34277 Marion Almy Jean Louise Lammie Evelyn Mangie Don Nelson Copyright © 2021 Time SiftersArchaeology Society,Inc., All rights reserved.