An update from Getty during the Los Angeles fires

The Getty President & CEO Katherine E. Fleming just shared an update on the fires in their Newsletter. Given the particular circumstances, I copied its content hereafter.

Dear Friends,

On behalf of everyone at Getty, I extend our heartfelt sympathy to all who are affected by the unprecedented fires that continue to rage around us. A tragedy is unfolding, one with enormous impact on the beloved city we share.

 

We are especially mindful of those many friends and neighbors whose lives have been upended by evacuations or the loss of their homes, schools, and workplaces.

 

Thank you for the outpouring of concern and support for the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades. I am pleased to report that the Villa remains safe and intact. While trees and vegetation on the property have burned, Getty structures have been unaffected, and the staff and collections are safe.

 

We are deeply grateful for the tireless work and dedication of the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, and other agencies, as well as key Getty staff who have remained on-site at the Villa supporting emergency response efforts. Below is a news link for those wishing more information:

 

LA Times - Getty Villa safe

 

In order to alleviate traffic and aid with recovery efforts, the Getty Center will be closed to the public at least through next Monday, January 20. The Getty Villa will remain closed to the public until further notice.

 

You'll find the next issue of Get Inspired in your mailbox on Thursday, January 23.

 

We will continue to monitor fire conditions and work with local agencies to ensure the safety of our people and collections.

 

The safety and well-being of our community is our greatest concern. Please know that Getty is committed to being a creative and effective resource as the wider Los Angeles community recovers.

 

We’ll send further updates as conditions and plans evolve. In the meantime, we hope you and yours are well. I look forward to a time when we can all celebrate art and beauty together again.

 

Sincerely,

 

Katherine E. Fleming

President & CEO

Fire threatening the Getty Villa in Malibu

Doomsday pictures fill the screens of our computers, televisions, and portable phones. Fierce fires fueled by stormy Santa Ana winds rage over the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Names of famous areas such as Pacific Palisades, Sunset Boulevard, Pasadena, and Malibu appear intermittently. Familiar beaches along the Pacific Coast Highway are almost unrecognizable. 

[Outer Peristyle of the Villa dei Papiri in Malibu]

Many homes and businesses are in ruins and I wondered what was happening to the Getty Villa in Malibu with its priceless art collection from Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquity – more than 40,000 artifacts (see: The renovated Getty Villa in Malibu). 

Although the fire came very close to the Getty Villa burning some trees and vegetation, the museum housed inside the reconstructed Villa dei Papiri from Herculaneum is still safe (see: The Getty Villa, an invitation to Roman life). 

The golden rule for homeowners in southern California is to regularly clear the brush around their property. It appears that Getty had made great efforts to clear the immediate perimeter. They had also implemented additional prevention measures such as on-site water storage and in-house irrigation systems. 

Luckily, the art galleries and the library archives could be efficiently sealed off from the smoke and safely relied on a double-walled construction. 

Let us hope all the means deployed by Getty will suffice to protect the invaluable treasures held within their walls.

Updating the location of the Granicus Battlefield

We like to believe that archaeologists merely scratch the soil to expose some remains of times past and ideally discover some gold and silver treasure. That is a very idealistic picture, far from the truth. 

Many people forget that excavations can take up to a lifetime to yield some results. Famous examples are men like Heinrich Schliemann in Troy, Arthur Evans in Crete, and more recently Prof. Marc Waelkens in Sagalassos and Manolis Andronicos in Vergina. However, the historical picture they created has been revised since. Schliemann erroneously dated the layers of Troy, Evans partially fabricated Crete by wishful thinking, and the occupant of Vergina’s Tomb is still disputed. 

[Picture from Arkeonews]

The Granicus Battlefield is no exception. Based on excavations and observations since the 19th century, the site of the battle had been identified north of the village of Çınarköprü on the River Biga, which in antiquity was known as the Granicus. That was the site I visited in 2007 (see: The Battle of the Granicus). It lies about 100 kilometers east of Çanakkale on the river that empties into the Propontis, modern Sea of Marmara. 

For the past 20 years or so, Prof. Reyhan Korpe, historian from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (ÇOMÜ) led the team that shed new light on the location of the battlefield. It is obvious that I have to revise my standpoint. 

His recent excavations using modern techniques including geomorphologic surveys exposed new evidence. For instance, the city of Hermaion, which Arrian calls Hermoton, was located on Alexander’s route to the Granicus. It also could be determined that the hitherto assumed site of the battle was a marsh in antiquity making it unsuitable for an army to move and that the course of the Granicus River had not changed much in the past two thousand years. Further investigation led to a hill to the east of the battlefield that has now been established near Gümüşçay, i.e. further south than previously reported. Said hill matches the spot where Greek mercenaries in Persian service were positioned as documented in ancient sources. 

Now, 18 years after my last visit to the Granicus the area of the battlefield has shifted further south. In my eyes, this new enlarged location makes more sense since there is more space on the wide plain for both armies to maneuver. I hope the river banks are not as steep as near Çınarköprü where I wondered how the phalanx was able to stay in formation during the crossing. I may well have to return to the Granicus soon! 

                                                  [Picture from Arkeolojikhaber]

It is interesting to read Prof. Reyhan Korpe’s analysis of this part of the Troad region where he has identified nine ancient cities. We tend to forget that this area was one of the richest in the Persian Empire – hence the numerous tumuli that dot the landscape. No wonder the Persians meant to stop Alexander’s advance immediately after he landed in Asia Minor.

It is worth mentioning that the overall landscape of the Granicus Battlefield has retained much of the appearance it would have had in Alexander’s days as the agricultural activities have not led to any substantial destruction. 

Ongoing excavation of Aizanoi

Information about the continuous excavations in Aizanoi is very scant and the information is very scrappy. 

[Picture from Arkeonews]

The description of the findings remains vague. The latest is about the heads of Aphrodite and Dionysus but without the location where they were found or in what context. Down the line, I read that two Aphrodite and three Dionysus statue heads were discovered. No idea where or what happened to them. Also, a statue of Heracles has been found. 

In fact, except for these two heads, there is nothing to be added to my blog The magical site of Aizanoi posted in October 2021. 

Aizanoi has a lot to offer but it is sad that the news about ongoing excavations is not treated with more care.

The wondrous Nymphaeum of Kibyra

Slowly but surely, Kibyra is rising from its ashes as excavation and reconstruction works steadily expose more of its precious monuments. After the unique Bouleuterion/Odeon with its Medusa mosaic floor, the great Stadium that could seat 10,000 people, and the impressive theater that offers a wide view over the landscape, the round Nymphaeum is another magnificent structure (see: The tempting site of Kibyra). 

The Nymphaeum was built at a time when the city of Kibyra was reconstructed in three distinctive steps following the earthquake of 23 AD. The border of the circular central pool was decorated with reliefs. On its edge rested six columns alternating with sculptures supporting a conical roof that collapsed in the earthquake of 417 AD. In the last quarter of the 2^nd century AD, a second surrounding pool was arranged around the existing one. It has been determined that twelve bronze statues were added as testified by the imprints of the feet on the supporting pedestals. 

The Nymphaeum was 7.5 meters high and had a diameter of 15 meters. Notwithstanding repeated modifications and additions, the fountain was used well into the 7^th century AD. 

Presently, the Nymphaeum is restored to its former glory and the water supply has returned from the original ancient source. Water flows into the central pool from the stone figures stretched between the columns, two of which have been attributed to Herakles and Dionysus. The originals have been moved to the Museum of Burdur and replaced with limestone copies. 

It must be a sight for sore eyes as the water brings the city back to life, just like in the Antonine Nymphaeum of Sagalassos (see: Sagalassos in Alexander’s campaign).

[Pictures from TRT Haber]

The Carian language

What a surprise, there was a Carian language! 

So far, I have encountered inscriptions in the Lycian language and in Pamphylian, and even a rare bit in the language of Side but until now, Carian has eluded me. 

A chance revelation came from the Turkish site of Zero Books advertising for this new book “Kaunos Kbid 1966-2021” by Baki Öğün, Cengiz Işık (ISBN-ISSN: 9786256212046).

The front cover displays a very sharp image of a bilingual text from the 4^th century BC, written in Carian and Ancient Greek. A parallel can be made with Lycian which used the Greek alphabet but added extra letters for the sounds that do not exist in Greek. Carian applied the same rule. Useless to say that this bilingual document contributed widely to deciphering the Carian language. 

It is noteworthy that the Carian inscription does not use the Greek city’s name Kaunos or Caunos but Kbid as known by the Carian people. 

The Introduction of the book on Zero Books reads as follows: 

While the numerous inscriptions unearthed at archaeological sites throughout the Eastern Mediterranean help to understand many aspects of the ancient world and its peoples, bilingual ones (Bilingue) are very special and valuable to linguists in deciphering ancient languages and understanding their structures.
The Kaunos Bilingue, written in Carian and Ancient Greek in the 4th century BCE, made a great contribution to the understanding of the Carian language. Although the Carian alphabet superficially resembles the Ancient Greek alphabet, it differs in that some similar-looking letters take on different sounds in the language and there are a few letters specific to Carian. Moreover, the most striking part of this Bilingue, long before the use of Greek name Kaunos, is the use of the original name of the city, KBID, given to their city by the Carians, the indigenous people of Anatolia. 

More information about the unique city of Caunos can be found in my earlier blog post, The surprise of Caunos.

Alexandria’s Graeco-Roman Museum finally reopens

We are all familiar with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo which holds the many treasures from the Egyptian dynasties including the world-famous gold mask of Tutankhamun. 

However, few people are aware of the Graeco-Roman Museum with its 40,000 artifacts from the Greek and Roman eras. It has been closed since 2005 for renovation and finally reopens. It covers artwork from before the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander in 331 BC, the ensuing Ptolemaic Dynasty that ended with Cleopatra in 30 BC, and the Roman occupation up to the Muslim conquest of 641 AD. 

The newly arranged collection is presented in an up-to-date manner as shown in this short video.

The most recent statues and artifacts to enter this museum are those recovered by Franck Goddio and his team during underwater excavations in the broad Nile estuary particularly from Thonis-Heracleion. 

Noteworthy is, for instance, the stele discovered at Thonis-Heracleion in 2000, displayed next to its twin uncovered in Naucratis in 1899. It is quite unique to find two identical inscriptions holding a decree of Nectanebo I. They state that the pharaoh raised subsidies for the temple using the taxes levied from Greek trade and manufacturing in Thonis and Naucratis. The steles also confirm that Thonis and Heracleion were respectively the Egyptian and the Greek name for the same town “at the entrance of the sea of the Greeks”. 

Another striking addition from Thonis-Heracleion is the statue of a Ptolemaic queen, 2.20 meters high made of black granodiorite and dated to the 2^nd century BC. It is attributed to either Cleopatra Selene II (185-180) or Cleopatra III (116-115 BC) and is executed in a mix of Greek and Egyptian styles. Alternatively, it could represent Cleopatra Thea, the queen consort of three Syrian kings of the Seleucid Empire between 150 to 125 BC. 

A new acquisition of the Graeco-Roman Museum is the so-called Neilos-bust, an astonishingly well-preserved rendition of the god of the Nile in greywacke (a variety of hard sandstone). It was found in the temple area of the Nile’s Canopus mouth. 

In-depth research by Franck Goddio revealed that Graeco-Egyptian statues in this dark Egyptian stone were probably made in specialist workshops in Alexandria. The Nile bust is of particular high-quality greywacke. 

Of an entirely different order is the Naos of the Decades, a small chapel-like shrine for statues of the divinities at the most sacred place of the temple. During Franck Goddio’s underwater exploration of the Bay of Abukir, he discovered walls of this exceptional naos, parts of which were already at the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria and the Louvre in Paris. 

The Naos of the Decades was a shrine to Shu, the god of air, which predated the Ptolemaic era by more than fifty years. The most remarkable feature may well be the calendar engraved on the outside surfaces of its walls. The Egyptians divided the year into sections of ten days or decades, 36 in all - represented here by 36 squares - making a total of 360 days. A 37^th square was added for the five days to complete the year. Each square showed a text of an astrological nature about the influence of the stars and Shu on daily life during the specific period of ten days. One such text tells how Shu created the sky and the stars and placed himself between the sky and the earth to separate them. 

The Greek sphere of influence did not die with Alexander. In the first stage, it lived on as Hellenism from the Mediterranean to India after which Greek art and customs gradually fused and mixed with those of the newly formed kingdoms and civilizations. In Egypt, Hellenism officially ended with the death of Cleopatra when many concepts and ideas were continued by the Romans. The Parthian and Bactrian Kings did the same in the East. Greek remained the lingua franca in antiquity and helped to spread Christianity until the Islamic conquest in the 7^th century AD took over.

[Pictures from Franck Goddio's site]

Owner of the Tomb of Vergina still questioned

Historical events are gladly twisted and turned to make an interesting or commercially profitable story. Some or even many of these tales can stay alive for years, even centuries. 

The most absurd theory is about Alexander being buried in Macedonia and not in Egypt. The other recurring discussion is about the Tomb in Vergina that has been attributed to Philip II, Alexander’s father, by Manolis Andronicos in 1977 (see: Vergina, The Royal Tombs by Manolis Andronicos).

[Picture Credit: A. Bartsiokas]

The next best candidate for the Tomb of Vergina is Philip III Arrhideus as discussed in my post Questioning the Tomb of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great in November 2009 and Philip’s Tomb at Vergina, is it or is it not in January 2016. This last one is based on studies by Antonis Bartsiokas, Democritus, University of Thracia, Komotini, who worked on the Vergina tombs. 

Only recently a sacred purple-dyed cotton chiton of Alexander has been discovered in the golden larnax of Tomb II, thought to be Philip’s. 

This garment is most remarkable because cotton was first introduced to the Macedonians when they reached India in 327 BC. According to Antonis Bartsiokas, the tunic matches the description of a ceremonial outfit, a sarapis, as worn by King Darius and later adopted by Alexander. A closer analysis revealed the presence of huntite, a bright white mineral uncommon in Greece but used in ancient Persia, between the layers of cotton. These white stripes are also seen in Alexander’s outfit as depicted in the fresco above the entrance door of what is supposedly Philip’s tomb. This, the author says strengthens his theory that this sarapis is “the same one that Alexander would have worn in official ceremonies”. 

[Picture Credit: A. Bartsiokas]

Why this fabric suddenly appears inside the larnax is puzzling, to say the least since the cremated bones and a large gold wreath of oak leaves and acorns were removed years ago.

Why the chiton is linked to the image of a juvenile Alexander in the fresco of the tomb is not exactly in line with Alexander as King of Persia wearing a cotton chiton with traces of huntite.

And why can we be sure this sarapis is the one Alexander wore and not Philip III Arrhideus as he too became King of Kings? 

Presently, Antonis Bartsiokas also states “that many objects found in Tomb II actually belonged to Alexander the Great” including a golden diadem, a scepter, and the earlier mentioned oak wreath. Here, Philip II is not even mentioned! This would imply that Andronicos had it all wrong. Of course, this is history in the making, and new discoveries and interpretations surface time and again. 

We’ll see…

Epetion, an ancient Greek city in modern Croatia

Speaking of Croatia, the medieval city of Dubrovnik springs to mind followed by the imposing Palace of Emperor Diocletian in Split. At the southeast end of the Split peninsula lays the ancient Greek city of Epetion, near modern Stobreč. It is ideally located on an easily defendable cliff.

[The structures and walls of Epetion. Credit: Ministry of Culture of Croatia]

During recent construction works, archaeologists discovered a well-preserved Greek city wall 70 meters long and more than three meters high, said to be the best example found until now in Croatia (see: Greek presence in Croatia). Nearby, remains of a small canal about 50 centimeters wide were discovered. This probably was part of the sewage system that ran over the entire peninsula to the sea. Evidence of structures from different periods provides valuable insight into the ancient settlement as well. 

The first human activity could be traced back to the Bronze Age, approximately 3,500 years ago. Epetion was founded by the Greeks on the island of Issa, modern Vis, where they established a colony in the 4^th century BC. Other known colonies in the region were Pharos, opposite Stari Grad (see: Peculiar history of Pharos, modern Hvar) from 384 BC, and Tragurion, modern Trogir. 

The city grew to become an important Roman trade hub in the 2^nd century BC thanks to its harbor at the mouth of the Žrnovnica  River, its harvesting of salt, and its rich agricultural hinterland. 

Remains of a Christian Basilica with three naves dated from the 5^th century AD still stand to a height of seven meters. It is one of the most important historical monuments in ancient Epetion. 

The city apparently survived well into the Middle Ages but was eventually superceded by other coastal towns.

Latest finds in Aspendos

Visitors to Aspendos rarely venture beyond the well-preserved Roman theater, ignoring the remains of the city proper behind it. 

Aspendos was an important trade center famous for wheat and horse breeding. The Persians had the exclusive rights to these horses but when Alexander arrived he claimed their yearly contribution, including four thousand horses.

The ancient city can be accessed over a path that starts to the right of the theater as facing it. It leads over a paved Roman road to what is left of a large Nymphaeum. At a right angle with this fountain are the remains of the Basilica, and in between them lies the Agora, now entirely overgrown. Only the 15 two-story shops and warehouses on the opposite side of the Agora are clearly visible (see: Aspendos, the unfaithful). 

It is here that recent excavations have exposed large amounts of coins dating from Hellenistic and Roman times. From the 5^th century BC onwards, Aspendos minted coins following Persian standards, and the obverse of the bronze coins used, very appropriately, the picture of a horse. 

Valuable objects changed hands in these stores although some spaces served as offices for trading. One of these shops yielded a wide array of precious artifacts such as small oil and perfume bottles, rings and precious gemstones, lamps, bronze belt buckles, bone hairpins, etc. 

In some of the two-story shops, bits of wall paintings and hundreds of sand mussel shells were recovered, probably used as decoration. 

[Pictures from Arkeofili]

In May 2024, statues of Zeus and Aphrodite approximately fifty centimeters tall were found in good condition. Zeus is sitting on a throne. Aphrodite is represented holding her cloak with one hand and an imperial armor standing at her feet. The material has not been specified but the statues appear to be made of marble. From a stylistic point of view, they could be dated back to the Roman Imperial Period.