Stele vs. Nefesh

Judith Weingarten uses the stele of Kuttamuwa found in 2008 to initiate a discussion of the two terms in Palmyra.

Zenobia: Empress of the East: The Secret Language of Palmyra (Part II)

There is additional evidence for the use of the two terms. The bilingual inscription of the now destroyed Tomb of Hamrath at Suweida in Syria used 'stele' to refer to itself in Greek, NFS in Aramaic. Interestingly the tomb was decorated on the exterior with relief sculptures of arms and armour, so if it represented the interred, then one can make a guess that Hamrath was a warrior. The tomb is generally dated to the first century BC.

Archaeology Movies and Books on Amazon

I've updated my recommendations for good popular books on Classics and Ancient History - but that I am mean books that are easy to read but have solid research:

Great Ancient History Books on Amazon UK 

Great Ancient History Books on Amazon US

I've also done Amazon Lists for Archaeology Movies:

The Greatest Archaeology Movies Amazon UK
The Greatest Archaeology Movies Amazon US


So if you're stuck for Christmas ideas ...

The Funniest Jihad Movie Ever

Four Lions. I know it sounds odd, but this English black comedy about disillusioned men of Pakistani origin trying to become Holy Warriors is the funniest movie I've seen this year - and for a long time. It's clever, witty and well observed, and if you're looking for a very unseasonal film to get away from the festivities ... then pick this. I almost rolled over laughing in places.

Most of the cast are unknown - Benedict Cumberbatch is billed in the listings but is more of a cameo - but it's directed and co-written by Chris Morris, an often controversial but bitingly funny writer. It's one of those little gems that could get overlooked, but is worth getting your hands on.

Alas it's not available on DVD in the US - I want to say 'yet' but Four Lions had a very limited release there last month.

The trailer:



Four Lions [DVD] [2010] - Amazon.co.uk
(it's much cheaper to buy the Region 2 disc from Amazon UK and get it shipped over than to buy it on Amazon US)

Old Research and Press Releases: Arsinoe Was a Pharoah

I don't fully understand the new fashion in archaeology for issuing press releases when one publishes a thesis, but when it's just recycling a theory that others have published ... it drives me nuts. We've known for years that the Romans recycled glass, but someone published another article about it recently, issued a press release, and so it's been all over the press.

This one from Maria Nilsson of Gothenburg brings together several of my pet hates: Crown reveals new holy female pharaoh ....

Nilsson's written her PhD on Arsinoe II of Egypt, a figure who has been over-looked by researchers for far too, and for that she gets double brownie points.

The PhD dissertation is available here, so I clicked, download and started to read ... and then thought 'sod it' because the PhD is 762 pages long.

A few years back one student presented me with an even longer dissertation. Like an idiot, I read every word because I was one of the supervisors. I failed it because ... well, I prefer quality to quantity, and the research was terrible. Everyone else passed it, I suspect because they couldn't be bothered to read it. Nilsson's thesis may well be brilliant, and I probably will get around to reading more of it eventually, but I find this new move towards encyclopedic dissertations ridiculous - they are easy to produce with computers today, but part of doing a PhD should be an exercise in discipline, and the ability to present research concisely. The same goes for a scholar I know who publishes at least four articles a year, none of which are cited nor worth wiping one's arse with. Academia is increasingly publish or perish, but there has to be a little more quality to it.

Fine, good research is worth publicizing, and I do understand the need to publicise books, etc. So let's look at Nilsson's press release.

Crown reveals new holy female pharaoh

A thesis from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) shows that Cleopatra was not ancient Egypt's only female pharaoh – Queen Arsinoë II came first, 200 years earlier.

Blah, blah, blah the press release continues.

Yet oddly Nilsson's dissertations bibliography includes works Jan Quaegebeur and Lana Troy and others which not only have made the point that Arsinoe II was Pharoah but also list many other women who were Pharaoh before Arsinoe II ... and no, they didn't start with Hatshepsut either. For more information on woman who were Pharaohs, Troy's survey can even be found on Google Books (here).

Laugh If You Must, But It Is Published in a Refereed Journal - Grasping Reality with Both Hands

Laugh If You Must, But It Is Published in a Refereed Journal - Grasping Reality with Both Hands

with thanks to Bruce Bartlett for sending this in. If only I'd thought of this first ...
The full academic article can be found here.

Update -  Scientific research is only valid if it can be replicated, and this research was! see here.