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@tiffanyjenkins: The dangers of selling off museum collections:Legal challenge from 7th Marquis over Egyptian collections http://t.co/MPC2ZG6Kv2 #Sekhemka

Sarah Bond: Gird Your Loins: The Archaeology of Castration in Antiquity

You probably guessed I like Game of Thrones. It is not just the parallels with the early medieval world that pull me in, it is the characters. One of particular interest is Varys, a eunuch and Master of Whisperers on the king's council. He grew up a slave and was then sold to a sorcerer who castrated him. In Game of Thrones, Varys is constantly mocked by his peers, yet privy to

Varys the eunuch from Game of Thrones. 

special information; something that struck a note of truth. Much as in the fictive world of the Starks and Lannisters, eunuchs in antiquity existed in a simultaneously marginal yet elevated realm in society.

The Greeks often considered the use of eunuchs to be a characteristic of the Persian court. Afterall, Xenophon went to great pains when explaining the use of eunuchs as bodyguards, to note that he was presenting Cyrus' views and not his own (Xen. Cyr. 7.5.59-65). Surely the Greek audience would have remembered the threat (which was perhaps carried through) by the Persians during the Ionian revolt to turn young Greek boys into eunuchs if the Ionian Greeks did not stay loyal. Much has been written on the gender dynamics and perception of eunuchs in ancient society--particularly the fabulous The Manly Eunuch by Mathew Kuefler--and so, today I am more interested in looking at the archaeological evidence for eunuchs and castration.

So how, then, does one become a eunuch? There was always the accidental case. Hippocrates notes a boy who became a eunuch "from hunting and running" (Ep. 7.122). One could even be "eunuch-like" if born with genitals that were mutilated. A more intentional way of getting castrated was with a blade. There was the familiar mythological tale of Uranus' castration with an iron scythe (or flint) by his son, Cronus. Cronus was then commonly depicted with a scythe in his hand; a symbol of his victory over his father. In Rome, the priests of Cybele called galli (probably due to the fact that within

"The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn" by Giorgio Vasari (16th c.).

Galatia, the Gallus River ran beside the original temple for Cybele) were supposed to be eunuchs. They castrated themselves on March 24 using primitive instruments--sometimes a flint, but as Pliny (35.165) and others note, often with jagged pottery sherds (though highly prize Samian pottery!). This was in imitation of the castration of Attis, the consort of Cybele/Magna Mater, a subject which Catullus wrote on extensively in poem 63 (See Beard et al. [1998], 164-166 for analysis). When Roman citizens were allowed to become galli in the first century,

Funerary relief of an archigallus 
(head gallus) from Lavinium.
Now at the Capitoline
Museum in Rome. 

they were forbidden to castrate themselves. In accounts of the priests, the primitive nature of the castration was certainly emphasized, but there were other methods for castration in antiquity besides scythes, flints, and jagged sherds.

Just as today, animals were castrated in antiquity. Columella's De re rustica notes the use of cleft fennel to remove the testicles of calves. It has been alleged that this means that the testicles and spermatic cords were put between two pieces of wood that then inhibited the blood flow. Alternately, horses had a different type of castration involving tying ligatures around the scrotum and the use of a knife. Tools were used by farriers to aid in castration, some of which survive in the archaeological record. You will notice that there is a hole in the tool pictured below, from Roman Chichester, that allows the penis to be put through so as not to be accidentally snipped.

Farrier tools from Sussex. The top one was
for horse hoof trimming, the lower
was for castration.

Probably the most well known and broadly published upon archaeological evidence for castration are the bronze castration clamps found along the Thames in 1840. They are now housed in the British Museum. The two shanks are joined with a hinge at the end, so as to take on the look of a (forgive the imagery here) a nutcracker. There are bronze heads of horses and cattle, as well as deities. It appears to be Cybele at the top of the shank. She is wearing her  mural crown and is joined by Attis. This perhaps indicates that not all galli went about slicing themselves with jagged pottery, but, well, bronze shanks make for a much less sensational ritual than the former. The other busts perhaps represent the days of the week. Moreover, a few years ago, an alleged gallus was found in Yorkshire, buried in full ritual regalia. He was a third century eunuch, and osteologists say he died in his early 20s, indicating that perhaps his castration contributed to his death. Note the effects of becoming a eunuch on one's skeleton, as pointed out by Kathryn Reusch, and further remarks by Kristina Killgrove, who has analyzed the interpretation of castrated skeletons.

Bronze clamps found in the Thames and displayed at
the British Museum in London. 

This is not a complete catalog of the archaeology of castration in antiquity, rather it is just a small window into the practice. I do think it shows us how important it is to investigate Roman ritual and religion in terms of the material evidence, however. In this case, there is strong literary evidence for the role of eunuchs in Roman antiquity, and material evidence that helps us to better understand the various ways that castration was carried out. As usual, the outlandish has been emphasized over the more mundane techniques for castration, but I would posit that clamps were likely much more regularized in the castration of galli than the literary sources would have us believe.

__________

P.S. Thanks to Jim O'Hara for pointing the Catullus passage out to me!

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@portableant: A great initiative using tumblr to document female archaeological pioneers http://t.co/8fdFrPNyl3

Lebanon seizes artifacts smuggled from Syria

via Paul Barford comes another story confirming that looted Syrian antiquities have made their way to the Lebanon - although this time arrests have been made

http://m.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2013/May-16/217369-lebanon-seizes-artifacts-smuggled-from-syria.ashx

I can't see the photos very clearly on my Blackberry, but one frieze looks of extraordinary quality, and the heads ...

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@historyancient: Descendants of Alexander the Great's army fought in ancient China, historian finds http://t.co/RhS8NfRHgA

Ignore this and any variant you see - Homer Dubs' theory was discredited long ago, and these were neither the descendants of Crassus' army nor Alexander the Great's ... Sorry.

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@tiffanyjenkins: Greece Seeks WWII Antiquities From Germany | http://t.co/zf268U4sQP Latest News from Greece http://t.co/M8ZYFNYPsg via @sharethis

Archaeologists' Shoes

Mary Beard does baffle me sometimes (ie what woman goes on TV and then is stupid enough to either Google herself or worry about trolls - if they bother you that much, then stay off TV ... ) but I find it fascinating that Beverley Turner would get so worked up about Beard writing a piece about her love of shoes.

The original piece: Me, ugly? My Jimmy Choos make me feel beautiful: MARY BEARD says there's nothing like a new pair of shoes to bring out your inner sex goddess

Oh Mary Beard, why did you stoop to writing about shoes? - Telegraph

For fuck's sake, she's a mature woman who seems to have few frivolities, one of which is buying Theresa May-style attractive but still wearable shoes. Is that really worthy of a column in The Telegraph.

Women wear shoes, and if we happen to prefer attractive ones, who the hell should care?

Incidentally, my favourite super-comfortable Bionda Castana shoes are currently on sale at Young British Designers so if you wear a 37 or a 41 ... click here.

The Khmer Rouge and Archaeology

Paul Barford highlights Elizabeth Becker's trashing of claims by some cultural property "experts" (she was in Cambodia, BTW).


Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Some Light on Collector's Comment on "Shooting up the Heritage":

During their murderous regime, the one thing the Khmer Rouge protected was that temple complex. They killed or worked to death nearly two million Cambodians, but they preserved those magnificent temples as the symbol of Cambodia’s greatness. In those days would-be thieves would have been hard-pressed to spirit stolen art across the heavily defended border to Thailand. When the Khmer Rouge were overthrown in 1979, some Bangkok collectors were again able to fill their homes and shops with stolen art from the Angkor region.

For the record: Saddam Hussein also cracked down on looters, and it was one of the few offences Iraqis received a public trial for.

Graffiti in the Dura Synagogue

Zenobia: Empress of the East: "I AM HIYA!":

Who was Mr. Hiya that he dared to scrawl his name at least three times on the door posts and walls of the synagogue in Dura Europos? A blasphemer? Or just a little schmuck like men who wrote 'Kilroy was here!'

 It's an interesting post, and one has to wonder why it was left in full view/

Ancient Syrian castles serve again

Ancient Syrian castles serve again as fighting positions - The Washington Post

Not surprising as the Crusaders built them in geographically important positions, and geography rarely changes that dramatically.

Harlan Berk vs Fake"Athens decadrachm"

Courthouse News Service:

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing a coin dealer of selling a phony ancient Greek decadrachm for $410,000, after the buyer acknowledged that the dealer too had been fooled by the forgery.

Harlan Berk, of Chicago, sued Steve Rubinger and his company Antiqua last year, claiming they had sold him a forged "Athens decadrachm" in 2009.

Confirmed: Antiquities Smuggling from Syria

These are snaps of the Palmyran head that an undercover Sunday Times reporter posing as an antiquities buyer was offered in Beirut. And of her dusting off one of the other heads Hala Jaber was offered.

It is one of 11 Palmyran busts they were offered by a dealer calling himself Abu Khaled, along with a dozen Roman capitals. Those items could all have been stolen from archaeological sites but many other smaller items they were offered confirm the story of the Apamea satellite photos - the Syrians are digging holes at archaeological sites and looting them badly.

The article is behind a pay wall but the story is that The Sunday Times did a sting with a journalist posing as an art dealer - presumably the co-author of the piece, George Arbuthnott.

The other pieces they were offered include a carved pillar, third century glass and a lachrymatory. The dealer claimed they were smuggled through the Abboudieh-Dabbousieh crossing, and admitted of several items: "These were dug out from the ground"

Palmyra aka Tadmor (as the looter called it) was hit by shelling in recent months, and there were videos of people possibly taking heads last year.

[Apologies for the disjointed via Blackberry post. If anyone wants to use the photos, just right click and save them.]

UPDATE - the second photo here is clearly a stock photo, as is clear in the higher resolution photo with the article online here (£).

Multi-cultural Britannia

Kristina Killgrove reminds us how multi-cultural Roman Britain was.

Roman Bioarchaeology Carnival XVIII ~ Powered By Osteons:

25 April. The Museum of London has launched their Romans Revealed project to teach the public about immigrants and other lesser-known populations in Roman Britain. There's a fairly long history now of finding Africans in particular in England, which I've covered previously here and here, and a great book called Roman Diasporas  that you can check out for more info.

Looting trenches at Apamea in Syria?

That's at least what they look like on Google Earth (the current photos were taken last year), as can be seen below - zoom in, then fix yourself a stiff drink:



View Larger Map

The only decent accessible to all map of the town I could find is here.

A possibly apocryphal story ...

Mrs. Clare Booth-Luce, the wife of Henry Luce, the founder of TIME magazine, was a well-respected and highly informed writer and journalist.

In the late `60's  at  a gathering of academics and politicians, to honor a prominent Jewish leader, Mrs. Luce was heard to say to the guest of honor:
            "I really feel that the Jews should stop commemorating the Holocaust. Why don't you get on with life, put all those experiences, however painful they may be, behind you and concentrate on the future."
          
Nachum Goldman stood silent for a moment, then, with a noticeably  warm smile on his face he answered:
         "Mrs. Luce, these are exactly my sentiments when I hear people talk about the Crucifixion!"