#unesco world heritage post

[agentem]

We should have a vote to turn World Heritage posts into The 7 Wonders of Tumblr posts.

[stars-inthe-sky]

Travel ask: 2, 5, 21

2. Best place you traveled to in your country?

Arches National Park was pretty terrific. Also the inside of any Broadway theater.

5. Coolest country you have ever visited?

Iceland!

21. How many “Wonders of the World” have you seen/visited?

Based on this compilation of lists...I've been over the Golden Gate and Brooklyn Bridges, the Old City of Jerusalem, the Grand Canyon, the Roman Colosseum, and Ha Long Bay. According to the Eighth Wonder of the World list, I've also been to Niagara Falls, Angkor Wat, the Statue of Liberty, and Stonehenge. So 10, depending on how you count? But none of the ancient wonders, if that's what this question is about.

[strange-lamp-stranger]

i fell down a wikipedia rabbit hole and now it's one a.m. and i have to wake up at 8 this morning. so. there goes my hopes of productivity tomorrow i guess (i have so many things i need to do) (and i don't have the executive function skills to do them all) (ideally i should've finished 2-3x as much stuff as i actually have by now) (oops that turned into a bit of a vent) (i'm fine, none of this is world-shattering, life goes on even if i miss a few assignments. i will be kind to myself no matter what)

[heritageposts]

What does life in North Korea look like outside of Pyongyang? 🇰🇵

Hey, I'm back again with a very scary "tankie" post that asks you to think of North Koreans as people, and to consider their country not as a cartoonish dystopia, but as a nation that, like any other place on earth, has culture, traditions, and history.

Below is a collection of pictures from various cities and places in North Korea, along with a brief dive into some of the historical events that informs life in the so-called "hermit kingdom."

Warning: very long post

Kaesong, the historic city

Beginning this post with Kaesong, one of the oldest cities in Korea. It's also one of the few major cities in the DPRK (i.e. "North Korea") that was not completely destroyed during the Korean war.

Every single city you'll see from this point on were victims of intense aerial bombardments from the U.S. and its allies, and had to be either partially or completely rebuilt after the war.

From 1951 to 1953, during what has now become known as the "forgotten war" in the West, the U.S. dropped 635,000 tons of bombs over Korea — most of it in the North, and on civilian population centers. An additional 32,000 tons of napalm was also deployed, engulfing whole cities in fire and inflicting people with horrific burns:

For such a simple thing to make, napalm had horrific human consequences. A bit of liquid fire, a sort of jellied gasoline, napalm clung to human skin on contact and melted off the flesh. Witnesses to napalm's impact described eyelids so burned they could not be shut and flesh that looked like "swollen, raw meat." - PBS

Ever wondered why North Koreans seem to hate the U.S so much? Well...

Keep in mind that only a few years prior to this, the U.S. had, as the first and only country in the world, used the atomic bomb as a weapon of war. Consider, too, the proximity between Japan and Korea — both geographically and as an "Other" in the Western imagination.

As the war dragged on, and it became clear the U.S. and its allies would not "win" in any conventional sense, the fear that the U.S. would resort to nuclear weapons again loomed large, adding another frightening dimension to the war that can probably go a long way in explaining the DPRK's later obsession with acquiring their own nuclear bomb.

But even without the use of nuclear weapons, the indiscriminate attack on civilians, particularly from U.S. saturation bombings, was still horrific:

"The number of Korean dead, injured or missing by war’s end approached three million, ten percent of the overall population. The majority of those killed were in the North, which had half of the population of the South; although the DPRK does not have official figures, possibly twelve to fifteen percent of the population was killed in the war, a figure close to or surpassing the proportion of Soviet citizens killed in World War II" - Charles K. Armstrong

On top of the loss of life, there's also the material damage. By the end of the war, the U.S. Air Force had, by its own estimations, destroyed somewhere around 85% of all buildings in the DPRK, leaving most cities in complete ruin. There are even stories of U.S. bombers dropping their loads into the ocean because they couldn't find any visible targets to bomb.

What you'll see below of Kaesong, then, provides both a rare glimpse of what life in North Korea looked like before the war, and a reminder of what was destroyed.

Kaesong's main street, pictured below.

Due the stifling sanctions imposed on the DPRK—which has, in various forms and intensities, been in effect since the 1950s—car ownership is still low throughout the country, with most people getting around either by walking or biking, or by bus or train for longer distances.

Kaesong, which is regarded as an educational center, is also notable for its many Koryŏ-era monuments. A group of twelve such sites were granted UNESCO world heritage status in 2013.

Included is the Hyonjongnung Royal Tomb, a 14th-century mausoleum located just outside the city of Kaesong.

One of the statues guarding the tomb.

Before moving on the other cities, I also wanted to showcase one more of the DPRK's historical sites: Pohyonsa, a thousand-year-old Buddhist temple complex located in the Myohyang Mountains.

Like many of DPRK's historic sites, the temple complex suffered extensive damage during the Korean war, with the U.S. led bombings destroying over half of its 24 pre-war buildings.

The complex has since been restored and is in use today both as a residence for Buddhist monks, and as a historic site open to visitors.

Hamhung, the second largest city in the DPRK.

A coastal city located in the South Hamgyŏng Province. It has long served as a major industrial hub in the DPRK, and has one of the largest and busiest ports in the country.

Hamhung, like most of the coastal cities in the DPRK, was hit particularly hard during the war. Through relentless aerial bombardments, the US and its allies destroyed somewhere around 80-90% percent of all buildings, roads, and other infrastructure in the city.

Now, more than seventy years later, unexploded bombs, mortars and pieces of live ammunition are still being unearthed by the thousands in the area. As recently as 2016, one of North Korea's bomb squads—there's one in every province, faced with the same cleanup task—retrieved 370 unexploded mortar rounds... from an elementary school playground.

Experts in the DPRK estimate it will probably take over a hundred years to clean up all the unexploded ordnance—and that's just in and around Hamhung.

Hamhung's fertilizer plant, the biggest in North Korea.

When the war broke out, Hamhung was home to the largest nitrogen fertilizer plant in Asia. Since its product could be used in the creation of explosives, the existence of the plant is considered to have made Hamhung a target for U.S. aggression (though it's worth repeating that the U.S. carried out saturation bombings of most population centers in the country, irrespective of any so-called 'military value').

The plant was immediately rebuilt after the war, and—beyond its practical use—serves now as a monument of resistance to U.S. imperialism, and as a functional and symbolic site of self-reliance.

Chongjin, the third largest city in the DPRK.

Another coastal city and industrial hub. It underwent a massive development prior to the Korean war, housing around 300,000 people by the time the war broke out.

By 1953, the U.S. had destroyed most of Chongjin's industry, bombed its harbors, and killed one third of the population.

Wonsan, a rebuilt seaside city.

The city of Wonsan is a vital link between the DPRK's east and west coasts, and acts today as both a popular holiday destination for North Koreans, and as a central location for the country's growing tourism industry.

Considered a strategically important location during the war, Wonsan is notable for having endured one of the longest naval blockades in modern history, lasting a total of 861 days.

By the end of the war, the U.S. estimated that they had destroyed around 80% of the city.

Masikryong Ski Resort, located close to Wonsan. It opened to the public in 2014 and is the first, I believe, that was built with foreign tourists in mind.

Sariwon, another rebuilt city

One of the worst hit cities during the Korean War, with an estimated destruction level of 95%.

I've written about its Wikipedia page here before, which used to mockingly describe its 'folk customs street'—a project built to preserve old Korean traditions and customs—as an "inaccurate romanticized recreation of an ancient Korean street."

No mention, of course, of the destruction caused by the US-led aerial bombings, or any historical context at all that could possibly even hint at why the preservation of old traditions might be particularly important for the city.

Life outside of the towns and cities

In the rural parts of the DPRK, life primarily revolves around agriculture. As the sanctions they're under make it difficult to acquire fuel, farming in the DPRK relies heavily on manual labour, which again, to avoid food shortages, requires that a large portion of the labour force resides in the countryside.

Unlike what many may think, the reliance on manual labour in farming is a relatively "new" development. Up until the crisis of the 1990s, the DPRK was a highly industrialized nation, with a modernized agricultural system and a high urbanization rate. But, as the access to cheap fuel from the USSR and China disappeared, and the sanctions placed upon them by Western nations heavily restricted their ability to import fuel from other sources, having a fuel-dependent agricultural industry became a recipe for disaster, and required an immediate and brutal restructuring.

For a more detailed breakdown of what lead to the crisis in the 90s, and how it reshaped the DPRKs approach to agriculture, check out this article by Zhun Xu.

Some typical newly built rural housing, surrounded by farmland.

Tumblr only allows 20 pictures per post, but if you want to see more pictures of life outside Pyongyang, check out this imgur album.

[blueiscoool]

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Mosaic in Sea off Italy

Researchers studying an underwater city in Italy say they have found an ancient mosaic floor that was once the base of a Roman villa, a discovery that the local mayor called "stupendous."

The discovery was made in Bay Sommersa, a marine-protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site off the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. The area was once the Roman city of Baia, but it has become submerged over the centuries thanks to volcanic activity in the area. The underwater structures remain somewhat intact, allowing researchers to make discoveries like the mosaic floor

The Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park announced the latest discovery, which includes "thousands of marble slabs" in "hundreds of different shapes," on social media.

"This marble floor has been at the center of the largest underwater restoration work," the park said, calling the research "a new challenge" and made "very complicated due to the extreme fragment of the remains and their large expansion."

The marble floor is made of recovered, second-hand marble that had previously been used to decorate other floors or walls, the park said. Each piece of marble was sharpened into a square and inscribed with circles. The floor is likely from the third century A.D., the park said in another post, citing the style of the room and the repurposing of the materials as practices that were common during that time.

Researchers are working carefully to extract the marble pieces from the site, the park said. The recovery work will require careful digging around collapsed walls and other fragmented slabs, but researchers hope to "be able to save some of the geometries."

Once recovered, the slabs are being brought to land and cleaned in freshwater tanks. The marble pieces are then being studied "slab by slab" to try to recreate the former mosaic, the park said.

"The work is still long and complex, but we are sure that it will offer many prompts and great satisfactions," the park said.

By Kerry Breen

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET EIGHT - ROUND TWO - MATCH ONE

"Blue Plate Special” (2017 - Jeff Lee Johnson) / "The Great Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba" (c.700 AD)

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL: Very much a "scroll past it, scroll back up, scroll again, scroll up again" work for me. Every time I look at it(including this upload) I've caught something I missed before. It's not world-shaking, but it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be a world that's just a little off. (@hugintheraven)

THE GREAT MOSQUE-CATHEDRAL OF CÓRDOBA: i feel like standing in it would be a religious experience on its own. like i would fall to my knees in here and start worshipping whoever the architect is this is so stunning. (@chaoticwhoknows) (the previous poll had the entire commentary)

("Blue Plate Special" is a digital painting created by Jeff Lee Johnson and posted to his deviantart in 2017.

The "Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba" is located in Andalusia, Spain. It was likely originally a Visigoth church, and later turned into a mosque in 785. It was expanded numerous times and converted into a cathedral in 1236. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

[juliasgoodusername]

Ley Lines Map for All the Gansey-core Girlies

Have you ever wished there was an interactive map that not only graphs the ley lines described in TRC, but also has layers full of possible spiritual points, arranged in loose categories and sloppily curated by sheer force of mental illness?? Okay baby here you go:

FAQ under the cut 😘

Was this necessary?

Genuinely it was not. My investigations uncovered that Maggie Stiefvater does not really care about geography, nor does she remain consistent about the ley lines, so I can't even really say that it's book-accurate.

Example 1 - There are multiple understandings of ley lines. Some are circles, patterns, connect the dots, etc. but TRC goes with the definition of "perfectly straight" lines "that crisscross the globe" (The Raven Boys Chapter 2, Chapter 15). One of the big three lines connects Boston to St. Louis (The Raven Boys Chapter 22). And the main line also passes through Boston (see example #2)! But half of all the Pynch drama in Call Down the Hawk specifically blames Boston/Harvard for not being on the ley line. Hello?? It's on TWO of them!

Example 2 - Maggie makes it clear that the connection between D.C. and New York, which also connects to the UK and Pilot Mountain, is the main line that Glendower's squad traveled on (The Raven Boys Chapter 7, Chapter 22). The weird part is how after defining this line, all of Adam's ley line adventures place it directly along the Shenandoah National Park/Blue Ridge Mountains (Blue Lily, Lily Blue Chapter 2 + many other quotes I don't feel like looking up). There's no way to connect the DC-Pilot Mt line to Shenandoah, but I can totally see how Maggie Stiefvater would think it connects when looking at a flat map.

So yeah. It doesn't really matter, but thanks to my research we can CONFIRM that it doesn't really matter. You're welcome.

So why did you make this?

For fun...it wasn't exactly worth it. But by sharing it with y'all, hopefully no one else will make the same mistake.

What about line #3?

The third line never has specific connection points in the books so I basically made it up :) but I narrowed it down to 2 candidates, with my chosen line based on Ronan's mention of the "Pando thing" in Greywaren's epilogue.

How did you decide on/find points?

Honestly it was a lot of vibes. You can read in the description of the map how I started from certain resources, like all the stuff in the books, and other people's Google maps. My big discovery was realizing that UNESCO World Heritage Sites covered a lot of territory between history and nature, but before that I was literally googling things like "strange places Kentucky" and pouring through articles. If a place seemed weird and magical, I added it.

Yes this took forever. Easily 3x as long as the 300 Fox Way floorplan, if not longer.

Is this map complete?

I had other ideas for things I should add to it but I got tired, so nah.

You've put down everything from urban legends to alien sightings, but why don't I see many hauntings on the map?

Blatant author bias; I firmly don't believe in famously haunted houses! The vast majority of "haunted" places operate as tourist attractions, so if I took them at their word I'd have to also log Disney World for being the most magical place on earth, wouldn't I? Also Re: I got tired.

Can I copy this map / add to it / use it for reference?

Please please please please

I found a typo

I bet you did! I'm not even proof reading this post bestie.

[pwlanier]

NCIENT BAT FROM MESSEL

Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon

Middle Eocene, 47.8 – 38 million years

Messel, Darmstadt, Germany

Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon is an extinct species of bat from the Middle Eocene of Europe, more accurately from the famous Messel Pit in Germany. They are one of the oldest bats known, existing around 48 million years ago. Despite this, they were already quite advanced, showing evidence of the ability to hunt by echolocation like modern bats.

This fossilized bat was found at the renowned Messel Pit in Germany, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. Initially a site for petroleum extraction, the Messel Pit transitioned into an invaluable palaeontological treasure trove post-mining. Countless excavations have yielded remarkably preserved fossils. To this day, they provide invaluable insights into species diversity, environmental conditions, and the evolution of flora and fauna of the Eocene ecosystem (56–33.9 million years ago).

The specimen presented here was found complete and exceptionally preserved, even retaining the outlines of its ears and teeth. Due to its high quality, no restoration was needed.

Koller

[marykk1990]

My next post in support of Ukraine is:

Next site, is one we visited much earlier in the thread. The ancient city of Chersonesus in Crimea. It was a Greek colony dating from the 6th century BC. I decided to post about it again as it has now been pretty much completely destroyed. The muscovite barbarians have built "russian" Orthodox Church that now overlooks the site, but even worse, they have now built a brand new theater right on top of the ancient city. They also have stolen antiquities from the museum that were onsite and taken those to Volvograd. muscovy doesn't value actual real history. It only steals and destroys. It is now trying to rewrite the history of Crimea in an effort to legitimize its illegal annexation. It won't work.

#CrimeaIsUkraine

#StandWithUkraine

#СлаваУкраїні 🇺🇦🌻

[feckcops]

What does it mean to erase a people – a nation, culture, identity? In Gaza, we are beginning to find out

“Earlier this month, Gaza’s oldest mosque was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. The Omari mosque was originally a fifth century Byzantine church, and was an iconic landmark of Gaza: 44,000 sq ft of history, architecture and cultural heritage. But it was also a live site of contemporary practice and worship. A 45-year-old Gazan told Reuters that he had been ‘praying there and playing around it all through my childhood‘. Israel, he said, is ‘trying to wipe out our memories’.

“St Porphyrius church, the oldest in Gaza, also dating back to the fifth century and believed to be the third oldest church in the world, was damaged in another strike in October. It was sheltering displaced people, among them members of the oldest Christian community in the world, one that dates back to the first century. So far, more than 100 heritage sites in Gaza have been damaged or levelled. Among them are a 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery and the Rafah Museum, which was dedicated to the region’s long and mixed religious and architectural heritage.

“As the past is being uprooted, the future is also being curtailed. The Islamic University of Gaza, the first higher education institution established in the Gaza Strip in 1978, and which trains, among others, Gaza’s doctors and engineers, has been destroyed, along with more than 200 schools. Sufian Tayeh, the rector of the university, was killed along with his family in an airstrike. He was the Unesco chair of physical, astrophysical and space sciences in Palestine. Other high-profile academics who have been killed include the microbiologist Dr Muhammad Eid Shabir, and the prominent poet and writer Dr Refaat Alareer, whose poem, If I must die, was widely shared after his death ...

“As the ability to tell these stories publicly comes under attack, so do the private rituals of mourning and memorialisation. According to a New York Times investigation, Israel ground forces are bulldozing cemeteries in their advance on the Gaza Strip, destroying at least six. Ahmed Masoud, a British Palestinian writer from Gaza, posted a picture of him visiting his father’s grave, alongside a video of its ruins. ‘This is the graveyard in Jabalia camp,’ he wrote, where his father was buried. ‘I went to visit him in May. The Israeli tanks have now destroyed it, and my dad’s grave has gone. I won’t be able to visit or talk to him again.’

“A memory gap is forming. Libraries and museums are being levelled, and what is lost in the documents that have burned joins a larger toll of record-keeping. Meanwhile, the scale of the killings is so large that entire extended families are disappearing. The result is like tearing pages out of a book. Dina Matar, a professor at Soas University of London, told the Financial Times that ‘such loss results in the erasure of shared memories and identities for those who survive. Remembering matters. These are important elements when you want to put together histories and stories of ordinary lives’ ...

“This is what it would look like, to erase a people. In short, to void the architecture of belonging that we all take so much for granted so that, no matter how many Gazans survive, there is, over time, less and less to bind them together into a valid whole. This is what it would look like, when you deprive them of telling their story, of producing their art, of sharing in music, song and poetry, and of a foundational history that lives in their landmarks, mosques, churches, and even in their graves.”

[catpriciousmarjara]

Pavitr Prabhakar: The Design

Pavitr Prabhakar my beloved!

I love him. I absolutely love Pavitr and everything about him. And the best thing about him, other than his everything, is his design. So let's get to it!

PART 1: THE MASK

He was so cool and such a total sunshine but the most striking aspect was the immaculate design. Huge upgrade on his old model which was pretty much just a normal spider-suit with a white dhoti, which, not gonna lie, was just disappointing and underwhelming. But they went off on Pavitr's design in the movie and everyone's talking about it so let's also talk about it.

First of all,

LOOK AT MY BOY!!!

Just look at that design! So cool! So awesome! And so so Desi!!!

Its these desi aspects that I want to shed light on cos I know there are non-Indian fans who didn't catch a lot of the nuances cos they're not familiar enough with Indian culture and even Indian fans who didn't know about some details cos they aren't from the areas the inspiration for these elements were drawn from.

Mainly I hope to help artists and writers with this, so they have more information to create with, as well as the casual fans so they have more info and can immerse themselves better as well as appreciate just how much effort went into making this spectacular movie.

This might be a long post with me just rambling away so braze yourself people.

So lets get into it.

{WARNING: Infodump incoming}

First, lets start with the Mask

So here we have two different angles of his mask. The most prominent features of his mask are his eyes. There is a multi-layer outline for them in black, blue, red, and white, which of course are the classic spiderman colours but never quite used like this. Usually there is only a single outline in shades of, or adjacent colours of black, red, or white.

(Disclaimer: I'm not a 100% sure of this being actually the inspo behind the eyes. I'm pretty sure though, like 80%. So this has not been confirmed.)

The design for his eyes reminded me of one specific thing:

Koodiyattam, which is a 2000 year old ancient temple artform from the southern Indian state of Kerala. Koodiyattam is not just the only surviving Sanskrit theatre in the world, but it also includes elements of koothu, from the Sangam era, the golden age of Tamizh culture, and thus was declared by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Below is a picture of a Koodiyattam performer.

Instantly you'll realize that this is a costume drama, with extensive makeup, and complicated dress, especially with regards to the headgear, and is overall similar to the Beijing opera, not in terms of make or design or performance, but rather in elaborateness of ensemble. Japanese art forms like Noh or Kabuki could also come to mind along with certain Balinese dances.

Here is another photo which will give you a better look.

Notice the layered eye makeup in black, red, and white.

Here we have a closeup of a different performer where you can see it even more clearly.

The first time I saw Pavitr's eyes on screen, this is what immediately came to my mind as someone interested in traditional theaters of all kinds. Notice that Koodiyattam extensively uses reds and blacks, along with whites, which is also the colour palette that most spiderpeople choose, which is a cool coincidence. Blue is not that heavily used unlike the others however, but you can see it more in some costumes but generally not in makeup.

If we're talking less of what it reminded me of and more in terms of what the actual inspiration for the eye design probably was, it was most likely Kathakali, Koodiyattam's much younger, more well known, and very popular relative.

As you can see, Kathakali took its cues for costuming from Koodiyattam. (Actually it took its costuming cues from earlier art forms called Krishnattam, and Ramanattam, but they took it from Koodiyattam so it works.)

Again you can see the layered eye makeup, most prominently in black. (Cool fact, the costume and makeup changes according to the characters being portrayed on stage.)

Below is a picture of a Kathakali character with more elaborate eye makeup.

(I know a lot of you might think its the same makeup as Koodiyattam but I promise you its not. Inspired yes, same no.)

Because of the elaborate makeup and costume, expression can be a challenge so the art forms make maximum use of exaggerated body movements, hand signs, dance, lyrics etc. But the crowning element of acting in Koodiyattam and Kathakali are the eye techniques and how much simple eye movements can convey to the audience, which if you think about it, is also the case for spider-people. They're the most expressive superheroes in any medium, but they're fully covered so a lot of their expressiveness, both in comics and animation is conveyed through the shape of the eyes, body language, and speech. Another cool coincidence.

Below is a link to a short video which gives an brief overview of Kathakali and the importance of eyes in its performance.

This second link is a closeup of the eye movements of a female Kathakali character (women characters are called 'Minukku'). It shows how these highly trained artists can even move their eyes according to music. I have been told this can be uncomfortable to watch for some people so here's a warning for those who find eyeballs discomfiting.

And finally this one right here is a link to a short video on Koodiyattam.

{All three of these links are mainly aimed at people who find this sort of stuff interesting and want to check them out so if you're not, you can scroll past it, no big deal!}

(Oh man this is getting way too long and more like me gushing about traditional theatre than spiderman. Sorry about that.)

Now lets get back to our boy Pavitr. The second most noticeable feature of his mask is the curved, white line underneath his eyes, which gives off the impression of tusks. The first two pictures on this post already show the lines quite clearly but I'll attach one more angle.

Something that immediately came to mind when I saw them was Theyyam but I wasn't sure until I saw this post.

This was the same account that talked about how Pavitr's movements are inspired from Kalaripayattu so I was inclined to trust this. And after this one of the animators did confirm this so I was right on the money.

What exactly is Theyyam?

It is an ancient Hindu folk ritual practiced in northern Kerala, predominantly in the North Malabar region. Its origins can be traced back to the neolithic and chalcolithic eras. And unlike Koodiyattam and Kathakali which are associated with temples and the Koothambalam(temple theatre where temple artforms are performed), Theyyam is performed in the open air in Kaavu, the sacred groves of Kerala. The Theyyam performers become channels and vessels for the gods. Connect this to the 'Great Weaver'/ 'Master Weaver' who gave Pavitr his powers.

(Btw, these sacred groves are also ecological treasure troves and one of the ancient ways of nature preservation and they're really cool so check them out if you can.)

Below are two images of different Theyyams.

[Puliyoor Kali Theyyam]

[Porrkali Theyyam]

See that on the cheeks? It resembles Pavitr's design closely right? While Pavitr's are drawn on his mask, these are singular metallic pieces, bound or clutched in the mouth to evoke the imagery and impression of tusks.

Theyyam is not alone in this particular imagery. A variety of folk arts use this, especially animism and folk rituals to show animal physical characteristics, as well as supernatural powers and elements.

For example, below is an image of Thirayttam, a ritual folk practice from the South Malabar region of Kerala. You can see the tusks here too. (Its not that clear, sorry about that.)

{Reminder: A lot of people think of Theyyam and Thirayattam as the same thing. While there are many similarities, with both being from the Malabar region, they are different practices. Theyyam is also called Tiṟa, and this is the main cause of the confusion but its not Thirayattam.}

Another example is Kalamezhuthu pattu, another religious folk art from Kerala. Mainly associated with the worship of the goddess Badhrakali, it is a sacred floor art done with powder and the result is called a Kalam. Below is a picture of a Kalam.

See those tusks? Yeah.

So they represent divinity, animal characteristics, inhuman powers etc.

[Interesting Info: Drawing Kalams are an integral part of Mudiyettu, a traditional ritual theatre and folk dance drama from Central Kerala. It is inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. So do check it out if you're interested.]

{Oh my god I'm going off topic again. Come back bitch.}

To conclude, those lines are inspired by Theyyam markings, and stand for tusks and fangs, and as a spiderperson, who has the powers of a spider, gifted by some spiritual channel, its really apt that he was given such a design.

Next, lets talk about the lower half of Pavitr's mask.

See those delicate red webs underneath the eyes?

This also reminded me of Theyyam. Its overshadowed by the more vibrant aspects of the costume, but a Theyyam's face has these intricate red patterns as well.

(Look at those eyes, reminds you of Pavitr's eye design right?)

And as you can see in this next image, after the headgear is put on, the designs mainly concentrate on the lower half of the face, much like Pavitr's mask.

I admit I might be stretching this as web designs on the mask is a spiderman thing in general but I think I'm the pretty much on the dot on this one, and most likely its a combination of both.

[A 100% sure about that tusk thing though :)]

Also sometimes Theyyams would have these metallic eye coverings.

[Muchilot Baghavati Theyyam]

A closer look.

This is just my opinion but those silver eye masks kind of reminded me of the classic Spiderman eyes. Single colour, pupil-less, black outline, no idea how they see out of it etc. This one in particular reminded me of the classic spiderman especially with the eyes outlined in black like that.

Overall, the tusks, plus the thin web design on the mask, and the eyes, the spiderman red colour palette, they all evoked the image of Theyyam for me when I first saw Pavitr on screen.

{There is a very similar art form to Theyyam called Bhootakola in the coastal region of Karnataka, another southern Indian state. Those curious about Theyyam can check out the Kannada movie Kantara which deals with Bhootakola and you'll get an idea about Theyyam as well. The movie is awesome by the way. Watch it if you can.)

(This is getting way too long and image heavy. And I'm also going off tangent too much. Gotta wrap this up!)

Finally lets talk the last aspect of Pavitr's mask. This might actually be the feature that most of the non-Indian audience identified as Indian without anyone pointing it out.

I'm talking about the white, diamond shaped marking on Pavitr's forehead.

This decorative marking, bindi/pottu/tilaku, might actually be the most recognizable aspect of Indian culture across the world.

If you scroll back to all the previous images I provided, you can see some variation of this in all of them, either drawn on, or as an ornament. While there are some cultural differences in how they're worn, like women in southern India wearing them in all stage of life while their northern counterparts wear them only after marriage(I could be wrong about this, as I've seen children wearing them often, and things could've changed in modern times so please do correct me if I'm wrong), its one of the most common motifs you'll see across the country.

It can be a simple, round mark.

It can be ornamented.

It can be a different shape altogether.

(From the musical sequence 'Pinga' in the Hindi film Bajirao Mastani)

A different colour.

You get the idea.

Men can wear it as well. though styles and decoration maybe different.

(From the Tamizh film Ponniyin Selvan 1)

A more modern version.

Geography wise, the bindi/pottu/tilak is predominantly seen in India, but its also found in other countries of the Indian subcontinent and neighbouring nations, as well as South-East Asia(as they were both part of the ancient Indosphere and had a past of Hindu Kingdoms. See: Srivijaya(Sriwijaya) empire, Indonesia).

Similar forehead markings were even common in China in the past. Those who have seen wuxia and xianxia dramas and movies definitely have seen them before and know what I'm talking about. (Huadian 花鈿)

Religion wise, its predominantly a Hindu motif, but its also part of Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, as well as several other indigenous religions.

{I've actually seen several Indian Christians and Muslims wear it as well, because its their culture, even if its not their religion.}

EDIT: Gaaaaah! I forgot to include this even though I'd intended to from the beginning.

This is not about the mask but some of the prototype designs for Pavitr so I thought I'll just talk about them a bit here.

Again I can't believe all the effort that went into making this movie. Just look at those designs. Absolutely stellar and inspired. The colour palette itself is amazing.

Honestly everyone else just has no excuse anymore.

[I'll focus on the theatre aspect like I've been doing and talk about the architecture bit sometime else.]

This one is obviously the Theyyam inspired one.

(Look at the eyes of 4 and 3, you can see they're inspired by the silver eye-mask I mentioned before. Also the headband is silver and looks similar to the bands securing a theyyam's headgear in place.)

A lot more Theyyam elements than what made it to the final cut. Especially the jewellery and the sharp-eyed among you must've already noticed the similarity between the necklaces of the design and the necklaces of the theyyams whose images I provided. The bangles and the anklets are also very distinctively Theyyam and they're called Katakam and Chutakam respectively but the final design seems to have made the bangles gold and more bracelet-like, and the anklets more like ankle-cuffs.

(I so badly wish the necklace stayed in but yeah that could've hindered movement.)

Now lets come to the Yakshagana inspired one.

(Notice how the shape of the eyes have changed? And the colour palette took a turn? A lot more gold coming in.)

Yakshagana is a form of traditional theatre originating in modern day Karnataka state of India, and currently practiced in both Karnataka and Kerala. It is primarily an art form from the coastal Karnataka region and the neighbouring Kasargod district of Kerala.

Below is a link to more information on Yakshagana so you can take a look at the costuming and see the influences in the above prototype more clearly.

(I'm not gonna go into detail about all the design choices in the Yakshagana prototype, maybe in another post.)

Now lets come to the final prototype.

(Again the colour palette has shifted, a lot more greens and blues. I do believe that 8 is koothu and not Yakshagana even though it was included in the image above. I say that because of all the white in the design which is very distinctive of a kind of koothu as far as I'm aware.)

I actually already mentioned koothu once before in this post when I was talking about Koodiyattam in the very beginning. So lets go back to it.

Koothu is a folk theatre art that originated in early Tamizh country(Tamizhakam), and broadly speaking, its of two types, Terrukuttu, and Kattaikkuttu. It reached its peak in the golden age of Tamizh culture, the Sangam era and it mainly depicts scene from the epics. Currently types of Koothu are practiced in modern day Tamil Nadu and Kerala(Kerala was once part of ancient Tamizhakam).

Below is a link that will give you more info and an image of the costume with makeup similar to 6.

And this one is a link to a particular kind of koothu in Kerala known as Chakyar Koothu cos all the white on the make of prototype version 8 reminded me of it. (Also Chakyar Koothu is a form of social satire and criticism, it was basically ancient Stand-up comedy and the Chakyar is supposed to be really witty, which fits Spiderman to a T I gotta say.)

Again I'm not gonna go into further details and nuances of the design as this is a prototype design, maybe some other time. But I have to say that this colour palette does make Pavitr a lot more spideresque or evoke a more primal spider energy cos how it connects the viewer to jungle like and more animalistic environments more than the other designs.

And that's it for the mask and the prototypes everybody! Yay!

Holy shit that was long!

I'm gonna stop here for now cos this is already way too much. Can't believe I thought I'd be able to look through the entirety of Pavitr's design in one post. What was I on?

Seriously what kind of drug?

Anyway I'll be making a part 2 for this, looking through Pavitr's clothes and and movements and all. I say Part 2 but considering what happened with the mask I'm pretty sure it might go up to Part 3 or 4. Here's to hoping I learn some moderation by then lol.

(All the images are from google images and I have taken and have credit for exactly none of them. The verbiage is mine completely though.)

[fatehbaz]

A major interest in that work [...] was the era of post-war decolonization, and how archaeology connected with it (or not). As the territory of what became the Arab Republic of Egypt emerged from various forms of British rule and Egyptian monarchy, I wanted to know how that process impacted upon archaeology, a field that had been dominated by Euro-Americans (and whose major official institution, the Egyptian Antiquities Service, had been run entirely by French men). [...] The book revolves around, but is not limited to, a major event in the development of what became World Heritage, at least in UNESCO’s -- and, put bluntly, many other people’s -- telling.

UNESCO promotes its International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, which took place in the adjoining regions of Egyptian and Sudanese Nubia from 1960 until 1980, as central to the development of the 1972 World Heritage Convention. The campaign -- to a large, but not total, extent staffed by teams from the Euro-American institutions who had long excavated in Egypt -- sought to preserve and record ancient temples and archaeological sites in Nubia. Those sites were due to be flooded by the construction of the Aswan High Dam, which, despite having been planned many years earlier, became a centerpiece of Nasser-era modernization plans. Among them the temples at Abu Simbel and Philae, the monuments on the Egyptian -- but not Sudanese -- side of the Nubian border were listed as part of the second tranche of World Heritage sites in 1979, and today Nubian temples are located around the world: “gifts-in-return” for financial contributions to UNESCO’s project, perhaps most famous among them the temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The World Heritage Convention, meanwhile, remains the major international piece of legislation in the heritage arena, and at the time of writing has been ratified by 194 States Parties. Oddly, however, beyond an official history published in the 1980s, there has never been a book-length, critical treatment of the Nubian campaign, nor have the articles and book chapters written about the event really addressed it in terms of the “local” (which is to say Egyptian and Sudanese) perspective, let alone the Nubian one.

Flooded Pasts discusses how, in combination with the politics of irrigation and development, UNESCO’s Nubian campaign built on and transformed colonial-era archaeological understandings of Nubia as a region of picturesque ruination: a place filled with ancient, Nile-side ruins, and not a place where people -- Nubians -- lived.

---

During the early decades of the twentieth century (and before and after the British declaration of nominal Egyptian independence in 1922), the building and heightening of the original Aswan Dam had, to increasingly destructive levels, flooded Nubian settlements on the Egyptian side of the Nubian border. These settlements were located alongside the many ancient ruins located in the region, which were also increasingly submerged. Eventually receiving some compensation from the Egyptian government, Nubia’s population were forced to move their homes higher up the Nile’s banks, and many Nubians moved to Cairo and Alexandria to work in domestic service. Meanwhile, Egypt’s antiquities service launched two archaeological surveys directed by colonial officials that sought to record ancient sites before they were flooded.

This process, I argue, made it much easier to separate an ancient Nubian past from the region’s present: one dominated by a territorially novel kingdom of Egypt whose permanence was extrapolated backwards in time.

---

Accordingly, as Egypt and Sudan signed the Nile Waters Agreement of 1959 and confirmed the impending construction of the High Dam, that process precipitated a continuation of earlier archaeological work [...]. Simultaneously, separate “ethnological” surveys either side of the newly hardened Egyptian-Sudanese border prepared for the relocation of the now-separated Nubian population to new, government-planned settlements elsewhere (the Egyptian survey was supported by the Ford Foundation and based at the American University in Cairo; the Sudanese one was supported by the Sudan Antiquities Service).

Even in the face of Nubian demonstrations -- particularly strong in Wadi Halfa in the very north of Sudan -- this forced, state-backed process of migration made the job of archaeological survey easier, constituting further representations of the desolate desert dotted by ancient monuments that earlier work had made possible.

That those monuments -- and that “desert” -- clearly had a far more complex history was a fact elided by most involved.

To a great extent, too, that elision continues, even as the Nubian diaspora has in recent years become much more vocal about its plight. [...]

---

[T]here is no doubt that the Nubian campaign, and the Nubian archaeological surveys before it, affected tens of thousands of lives for the worse. [...] I would hope that Flooded Pasts enjoys a readership beyond the academic, not least because issues around heritage -- what it is, who has a say in it, how its governance operates -- have become so salient in the last few years [...]. There has been a growing amount of work on the histories of archaeology and heritage -- and a corresponding amount of discussion around what it might mean to decolonize those fields [...]. More pressingly, then, I hope that the book catalyzes discussion around the lives of contemporary Nubians [...].

---

All text above are the words of William Carruthers. As interviewed by staff at the Jadaliyya e-zine. Transcript titled “William Carruthers, Flooded Pasts: UNESCO, Nubia, and the Recolonization of Archaeology (New Texts Out Now).” Published online at Jadaliyya. 22 December 2022. [Image from the cover of the book. Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[blueiscoool]

4,300-Year-Old Tomb of Palace Official Found in Egypt

A gentle wind blew the sand around the base of some pyramids in Egypt. The ancient structures dominated the landscape and likely drew attention away from an intricately decorated tomb nearby.

Not anymore.

Archaeologists were excavating an ancient cemetery at the Dahshūr archaeological site when they unearthed the long-forgotten tomb, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a March 21 Facebook post.

The 4,300-year-old tomb was built of mud bricks and partially buried in the sandy soil, archaeologists said and a photo shows.

The ancient grave was decorated with “wonderful inscriptions and scenes,” according to a news release from Egypt’s State Information Service.

Some inscriptions showed a glimpse of daily life such as people threshing grain, markets, ships sailing along the Nile River and offerings being presented, archaeologists said.

Photos show a few of these colorfully depicted scenes. In one scene, several people appear to herd a group of donkeys. Another shows several people in a procession carrying a bird and other objects, possibly offerings.

Based on the tomb’s inscriptions, archaeologists identified the its owner as a man named Seneb-Neb-Af and his wife, Idet, Egypt’s State Information Service reported. Seneb-Neb-Af was a palace official in charge of the “administration of tenants,” and Idet was the “Priestess of Hathor and Lady of the Sycamore.”

Archaeologists said the tomb dates to around 2300 B.C. or slightly earlier.

The Dahshūr archaeological site is in Dahshūr and about 25 miles south of Cairo. The area is part of the ancient Memphis UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to Britannica, and has five pyramids built between 2575 B.C. and 1756 B.C.

By Aspen Pflughoeft.

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

On this date, October 24 in 1260, Chartres Cathedral, which had begun reconstruction after a fire in 1194, was consecrated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, this much-visited cathedral is well-preserved and restored, with the majority of the original stained glass windows still intact, and with only minor changes in the architecture since the early 13th century. Its west entrance is dominated by two spires, one built in 1160 that survived the fire, the other that includes an  early 16th-century Flamboyant Gothic addition. Its three great façades are adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.

To commemorate its consecration 762 years ago, we are showing photographs of Chartres Cathedral by American artist Samuel Chamberlain (1895-1975), reproduced as photogravures for the 1957 Limited Editions Club production of Henry Adams’s tourist-journal style narrative Mont Saint-Michel and Chartres, printed at the Press of A. Colish in an edition of 1500 copies signed by the artist.

View other Milestone Monday posts.

[nevzatboyraz44]

Kars, Türkiye 🇹🇷

The Archaeological Site of Ani in Kars, with its residential, religious, and military structures, is worth a trip for the views alone.

A medieval site with outstanding universal value, Ani has always been an important crossroads for caravans.

It is now featured on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site List.

Its beauty is easy to appreciate;

which makes it hard to resist stopping for some photographs.

Save this post now, thank us later.

Learn more at:

kars.goturkiye.com

📸 IG: mbeyazdag

#GoTürkiye #GoKars #Kars #GoSustainable #Sustainability #Ani

[adventure-alex]

10 Things to do in Nara - Japan city guide! - Series

🌸🦌 Dive into the enchanting world of Nara! 🦌🌸

Looking to add a touch of magic to your travel bucket list? Let me introduce you to Nara, Japan's hidden gem nestled in the heart of the Kansai region. 🗾✨

From the moment you step foot in this ancient city, you'll be greeted by a serene atmosphere and a sense of wonder that's truly incomparable. But what exactly awaits you in Nara? Allow me to give you a sneak peek into the wonders that await!

🏯 Explore Nara Park and its Iconic Deer: Picture this – lush greenery, serene ponds, and friendly deer roaming freely around you...

🎎 Visit Todaiji Temple, Home to the Great Buddha: Prepare to be awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the Great Buddha housed within Todaiji Temple...

⛩️ Stroll through Kasuga Taisha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Immerse yourself in the mystical atmosphere of Kasuga Taisha, where thousands of hanging lanterns illuminate...

🏞️ Hike up to Mount Wakakusa for Panoramic Views: For breathtaking vistas of Nara City and its picturesque surroundings, look no further than Mount Wakakusa...

🌿 Discover the Serene Beauty of Isuien Garden: Lose yourself in the tranquility of Isuien Garden...

But that's just the tip of the iceberg! From marveling at the ancient architecture of Kofukuji Temple to indulging in delicious local delicacies at Nara's food stalls, there's something for everyone in this enchanting city.

So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey through Nara's rich cultural heritage and natural beauty. Trust me, this is one adventure you won't want to miss! ✈️🌟

Read the full blog post here:

Join me as we uncover the secrets of Nara – Japan's best-kept treasure! 🇯🇵🔍