"Vampire of Venice" Unmasked: Plague Victim and Witch?
Christine Dell'Amore
National Geographic News
Published February 26, 2010
A female "vampire" unearthed in a mass grave near Venice, Italy, may have been accused of wearing another evil hat: a witch's.
The 16th-century woman was discovered among medieval plague victims in 2006. Her jaw had been forced open by a brick—an exorcism technique used on suspected vampires in Europe at the time.
The discovery marked the first time archaeological remains had been interpreted as those of an alleged vampire, project leader Matteo Borrini, a forensic archaeologist at the University of Florence in Italy, said when the skull was first revealed in March 2009.
New investigations have now shed light on who this "vampire" was, why people may have suspected her of dabbling in the dark arts, and even what she looked like.
"There is a piece of history to rewrite, to see this individual again after 500 years and also try to understand why the myth of vampire started," Borrini says in a new National Geographic Channel documentary. (The National Geographic Channel is part-owned by the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)
Vampire Myth Born of "Blood"
Borrini found the vampire skull while digging up mass graves on the Venetian island of Lazzaretto Nuovo.
Belief in vampires was rampant in the Middle Ages, mostly because the process of decomposition was not well understood, Borrini says.
For instance, as the human stomach decays, it releases a dark "purge fluid." This bloodlike liquid can flow freely from a corpse's nose and mouth.
Since tombs and mass burials were often reopened during plagues to add new bodies, Italian gravediggers saw these decomposing remains and may have confused purge fluid with traces of vampire victims' blood.
In addition, the fluid sometimes moistened the burial shroud near the corpse's mouth so that the cloth sagged into the jaw. This could create tears in the cloth that made it seem as if the corpse had been chewing on its shroud.
Vampires were thought by some to be the causes of plagues, and the superstition took root that shroud-chewing was the "magical way" that vampires infected people, Borrini said. Inserting objects—such as bricks and stones—into the mouths of alleged vampires was thought to halt the spread of disease.
Surprisingly Elderly "Vampire"
To flesh out more details about the Venice vampire, Borrini assembled a team of scientists.
Paleonutritionists pulverized some of the woman's remains—discovered along with the skull—to look for certain elements in food that settle in the bones and endure after death.
The team found that the woman had eaten mostly vegetables and grains, suggesting a lower-class diet. [Oh please - what the hell were the expecting to find - blood residue??? Bwwwwwaaaahhhhhaaaaaaa!!!]
DNA analysis revealed that the woman was European, and a forensic odontologist ascertained the woman's age by examining the skull's long canine teeth with an advanced digital x-ray device. The results showed that the woman was between 61 and 71 years old when she died. Borrini was "quite shocked" by this finding—most women didn't reach such advanced ages in the 16th century, he says in the documentary.
In medieval Europe, when fear of witches was widespread, many people believed the devil gave witches magical powers, including the ability to cheat death. That means such a relatively old woman—suspected after death of being a vampire—may have been accused in life of being a witch, the researchers say.
Witches Were Child-Eaters?
But old age alone probably wouldn't spur an accusation of witchcraft, said Jason Coy, an expert in European witchcraft and superstition at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, who was not part of the new study. Though average life expectancy in medieval Europe was low, around 40, that doesn't mean most people died at 40, he said via email. It means infant mortality was high, bringing down the average.
So the Venice vampire was old, but not "freakishly so," Coy said.
Rather, Europe's misogynistic society specifically linked old women with witchcraft, because people "assumed that old women—especially widows—were poor, lonely, weak, and unhappy, and thus could be lured by the devil's promises of wealth, sex, and power into forming a pact with him," Coy said.
At the height of the European witch-hunts, between A.D. 1550 and 1650, more than 100,000 people were tried as witches and 60,000 were executed—the vast majority of them old women. [Yeah, and who got their money and property after they were killed? Follow the money - an age-old story.]
Germany was the witch-hunt heartland, Coy said. Italy was relatively "mild" in its treatment of witches, although the country was also rife with superstitions and protective charms.
In at least one historical reference, witches were said to eat children—possibly the origin of the Hansel and Gretel story, he added.
"So you could say that there is a tenuous link between flesh-eating zombies like your 'Venetian vampire' and witches: They're both feared for breaking the ultimate taboo—eating human flesh."
"Vampire of Venice" an Ordinary Woman
For the last step in forensic archaeologist Borrini's work, he called on 3-D imaging experts to produce a digital model of the skull.
He then put markers where muscle attachments would have existed to reconstruct and rebuild the Venice vampire's face. The result was the face of an "ordinary woman," which perhaps brings the accused some "historical justice" centuries after her death, he said.
"It's very strange to [leave] her now," he lamented, "because after this year it's sort of a friendship that's created between me and her."
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Admiral Zheng He, Global Navigator, Back in the News
If you haven't read it, please read Gavin Menzies' book "1421: The Year china Discovered America." Lengthy but worthwhile!
From The Washington Post
China, Kenya to search for ancient Chinese wrecks
The Associated Press
Friday, February 26, 2010; 5:34 AM
BEIJING -- China and Kenya plan to search for ancient Chinese ships wrecked almost 600 years ago off Africa's east coast.
An agreement was signed for a three-year project funded by China's Commerce Ministry to explore waters near the popular tourist towns of Malindi and Lamu, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
Exploration work will be conducted for up to three months each year, with the first group of Chinese archaeologists due to arrive as early as July, Xinhua said.
The sunken ships are believed to have been part of a massive fleet led by Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He that reached Malindi in 1418. Kenyan lore has long told of shipwrecked Chinese sailors settling in the region and marrying local women.
Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He - whose name is also spelled Cheng Ho - led armadas with scores of junks and thousands of sailors on voyages to promote trade and recognition of the new dynasty, which had taken power in 1368.
Zheng's seven voyages marked a high point in Chinese power. But imperial rulers soon lost interest in the outside world and canceled further exploration more than a half century before Columbus reached the New World.
Zheng's story has been heavily promoted by China's government in recent years as evidence of China's tradition of nonaggression abroad, although historical records show the treasure fleets carried significant firepower and participated in at least three major military actions.
From The Washington Post
China, Kenya to search for ancient Chinese wrecks
The Associated Press
Friday, February 26, 2010; 5:34 AM
BEIJING -- China and Kenya plan to search for ancient Chinese ships wrecked almost 600 years ago off Africa's east coast.
An agreement was signed for a three-year project funded by China's Commerce Ministry to explore waters near the popular tourist towns of Malindi and Lamu, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
Exploration work will be conducted for up to three months each year, with the first group of Chinese archaeologists due to arrive as early as July, Xinhua said.
The sunken ships are believed to have been part of a massive fleet led by Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He that reached Malindi in 1418. Kenyan lore has long told of shipwrecked Chinese sailors settling in the region and marrying local women.
Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He - whose name is also spelled Cheng Ho - led armadas with scores of junks and thousands of sailors on voyages to promote trade and recognition of the new dynasty, which had taken power in 1368.
Zheng's seven voyages marked a high point in Chinese power. But imperial rulers soon lost interest in the outside world and canceled further exploration more than a half century before Columbus reached the New World.
Zheng's story has been heavily promoted by China's government in recent years as evidence of China's tradition of nonaggression abroad, although historical records show the treasure fleets carried significant firepower and participated in at least three major military actions.
Avast Ye Maties - Where the Hell is My Head?
Foto © Klaus Oppermann 2003
From theaustralian.com.au
Pirate's head taken off again
From: The Times February 24, 2010 12:00AM
WHEN fearsome Baltic pirate Klaus Stortebeker was executed 600 years ago, his headless body is said to have walked 12m along the length of Hamburg quayside.
He had struck a deal with the elders of the port: any of his 70 men he managed to pass in his post-decapitation walk should be spared. The quivering corpse passed 11 fellow pirates before the executioner put out a foot and tripped him up.
Little wonder, then, that the skull of Stortebeker has fascinated Germans for so long -- and that its theft from a Hamburg museum last month has kept police busy. They interrogated members of the often reckless FC St Pauli fan club and dug deep into the city's Goth scene, before concentrating on a new possibility: that the pirate's skull has become a trophy in the turf wars between rival biker gangs.
On Saturday night, a skull was placed outside the offices of the Hamburger Morgenpost with "No Tacos" written on its crown. Tacos is slang for the biker group Bandidos, which is challenging the Hell's Angels for control over northern Germany's lucrative drugs trade. Ralph Wiechmann, the head of archeology at Hamburg Museum, was called in to examine the skull and ruled it belonged to a more recent corpse than that of Stortebeker.
The pirate's skull has a gaping hole on its right side, where it was nailed to a wooden stake outside the harbour gate to deter people from piracy. The latest skull bore axe wounds but no nail hole.
Even so, the local press continues to insist that a Hell's Angels chapter is the likely culprit. The Morgenpost cites an "insider from the biker scene" as saying the skull was offered to the Hell's Angels free of charge by an unnamed thief. "The piratical skull and crossbones is certainly part of the insignia of aggressive motorcycle gangs," a police investigator said.
Stortebeker is regarded as a Robin Hood or even a Che Guevara figure by many north Germans because he robbed the rich merchant ships of the Hanseatic League. However, evidence of him redistributing his booty to the poor is scarce. Legend has it that after his execution, Hamburg senators found the masts of his ships had cores of gold and silver.
The possibility that Stortebeker, who was decapitated in October 1401 (or a year earlier, by some accounts), aged 40, was little more than a bloodthirsty crook has not detracted from his iconic status. He has a statue honouring him in Hamburg and a brewery in Stralsund named after him. "The skull is an important relic of Hamburg history," said Hamburg Museum director Lisa Kosok. "It is priceless." It disappeared for a few centuries but re-emerged in 1878 during excavations to expand Hamburg harbour. The age of the skull was confirmed in 1999.
The Hamburg Senate failed to keep its promise to Stortebeker and the 11 men were not spared. After chopping off the heads of all of Stortebeker's pirates, the executioner was asked if he was not a little tired. He replied that he had enough energy to execute the Senate elders as well. This was probably intended as a joke -- but the Senate ordered the executioner to be beheaded.
More on Stortebeker:
From thepirateking.com: Klaus Stortebeker, German Privateer
From Pirate Biographies: Klaus Störtebeker (Nikolaus Storzenbecher)
A German language site on Klaus Stortebeker
Ancient England was "Multi-Cultural"
I'm glad someone decided to re-study these remains to dispell the notion that people of color buried in Europe were all necessarily slaves! What nonsense - but these remains were discovered in 1901 and despite the fact that she was buried in a stone coffin (come on, what slaves were ever buried in stone coffins during Roman times, heh?) with jewelry and other grave goods. Was she, perhaps, also a Christian? That isn't addressed in this article.
From BBC News
14:01 GMT, Friday, 26 February 2010
Roman remains in York are 'elite' African woman
Archaeologists have revealed the remains of what they say was a "high status" woman of African origin who lived in York during Roman times.
Academics say the discovery goes against the common assumption that all Africans in Roman Britain were low status male slaves.
Remains of the Ivory Bangle Lady, as she has been named, were studied in Reading using forensic techniques.
She was first discovered in the Bootham area of York in August 1901. Her remains were in a stone coffin near Sycamore Terrace in the city. Her grave dates back to the second half of the 4th Century.
She was buried with items including jet and elephant ivory bracelets, earrings, beads and a blue glass jug.
She also had a rectangular piece of bone, which is thought to have originally been mounted in a wooden box, which was carved to read, "Hail, sister, may you live in God'.
Academics say the discovery goes against the common assumption that all Africans in Roman Britain were low status male slaves.
The grave goods and skeletal remains of the Ivory Bangle Lady were studied by the archaeology department of the University of Reading.
The university's Dr Hella Eckardt said a study of the skull's size and facial features along with analysis of the chemical signature of the food and drink she had consumed led to their conclusion that she was of high status and of African origin. Dr Eckardt said: "Multi-cultural Britain is not just a phenomenon of more modern times.
"Analysis of the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' and others like her, contradicts common popular assumptions about the make up of Roman-British populations as well as the view that African immigrants in Roman Britain were of low status, male and likely to have been slaves."
The Ivory Bangle Lady will feature in an exhibition about the diversity of the population of Roman York at the Yorkshire Museum in August.
From BBC News
14:01 GMT, Friday, 26 February 2010
Roman remains in York are 'elite' African woman
Archaeologists have revealed the remains of what they say was a "high status" woman of African origin who lived in York during Roman times.
Academics say the discovery goes against the common assumption that all Africans in Roman Britain were low status male slaves.
Remains of the Ivory Bangle Lady, as she has been named, were studied in Reading using forensic techniques.
She was first discovered in the Bootham area of York in August 1901. Her remains were in a stone coffin near Sycamore Terrace in the city. Her grave dates back to the second half of the 4th Century.
She was buried with items including jet and elephant ivory bracelets, earrings, beads and a blue glass jug.
She also had a rectangular piece of bone, which is thought to have originally been mounted in a wooden box, which was carved to read, "Hail, sister, may you live in God'.
Academics say the discovery goes against the common assumption that all Africans in Roman Britain were low status male slaves.
The grave goods and skeletal remains of the Ivory Bangle Lady were studied by the archaeology department of the University of Reading.
The university's Dr Hella Eckardt said a study of the skull's size and facial features along with analysis of the chemical signature of the food and drink she had consumed led to their conclusion that she was of high status and of African origin. Dr Eckardt said: "Multi-cultural Britain is not just a phenomenon of more modern times.
"Analysis of the 'Ivory Bangle Lady' and others like her, contradicts common popular assumptions about the make up of Roman-British populations as well as the view that African immigrants in Roman Britain were of low status, male and likely to have been slaves."
The Ivory Bangle Lady will feature in an exhibition about the diversity of the population of Roman York at the Yorkshire Museum in August.
Friday, February 26, 2010
And Lest We Forget...
Not-so-great quality of the videos but oh, the memories!
Video of the great Michelle Kwan's breathtaking short program at the 1998 U.S. Nationals. I've yet to see another skater do a better performance to this music by Rachmaniov.
Video of Michelle Kwan's exquisite performance in the free-skate (back then they called it the long program) at the 1998 U.S. Nationals.
Look at what they now call the "transitions" between the elements, her presentation, timing, musicality, that electric connection with the audience that cannot be forced (not to mention her technical skills which at the time were among the best in the world). The edges, the entries into and out of the jumps, her body lines. Her speed, flow, and coverage of the ice. All superb. Kwan scored more perfect 6.0s than any skater in history for these two performances. It gave me chills again to watch them.
Video of the great Michelle Kwan's breathtaking short program at the 1998 U.S. Nationals. I've yet to see another skater do a better performance to this music by Rachmaniov.
Video of Michelle Kwan's exquisite performance in the free-skate (back then they called it the long program) at the 1998 U.S. Nationals.
Look at what they now call the "transitions" between the elements, her presentation, timing, musicality, that electric connection with the audience that cannot be forced (not to mention her technical skills which at the time were among the best in the world). The edges, the entries into and out of the jumps, her body lines. Her speed, flow, and coverage of the ice. All superb. Kwan scored more perfect 6.0s than any skater in history for these two performances. It gave me chills again to watch them.
Computer Labs for Kids: Los Angeles February 6, 2010 Video Report!
United Care Project Success!
Hello Computer Labs for Kids fans!
I am happy to report our successful completion of our first Computer Labs for Kids course at United Care on February 6th.
Twenty foster children were overjoyed to receive their laptops and had a wonderful time thanks to the help of our volunteers.
I've like to invite each of you to see our newly released YouTube video of this project. Click here.
Also you can view photos by following this link. Click here.
Next up Texas! Our next program will be at Buckner Children's Services on March 20th in Dallas, TX.
Thank you for following along. I wish you all a beautiful day and the best in your successes. Feel free to email me back. I love to hear from you!
Shira
2010 Olympics Ladies' Free Skate - A Few Comments
I loved the skating last night. I hated how chopped up the event was presented to the viewers on network television (I don't have cable or satellite - don't know if the coverage was any better). I know that there are other events going on or were going on earlier in the day, but honestly, not to show at least the final 12 skaters with minimal interruption - you would have had a much bigger audience, NBC - really!
I think Yu-Na is an incredible skater and will only get better if she learns to relax a little bit more (of course, it was the Olympics and the hopes of an entire nation were riding on her slender shoulders) and connect with the audience a little bit more (needs work). There is no doubt that she has that "IT" factor, and a lot of IT! There is no question that she earned the gold medal with her short and free skate programs. But - she was WAY over-scored. Mao Asado skated MUCH better than what her scores reflected - or Yu-Na was over-scored. It's as simple as that. Yeah yeah, Asada had a couple of glitches. So did Joannie Rochette. Their scores were high, but within the realm of reality. Yu-Na's scores were not. And, I'm now thinking that as what happened with that scoring really sinks in, there is going to be a backlash in the minds of a lot of figure-skating fans around the world (not, of course, in South Korea). What the hell were those judges thinking?
Rachel Flatt got hosed by the Olympics judges. Rather ironic, considering that her team-mate, Mirai Nagasu, got hosed by the judges at the U.S. Nationals in January (photo of her, above, during one of her spins in the Olympics Ladies' free skate - look at those lines - perfect!) I think Nagasu should have been skating at this Olympics as the U.S. Ladies Championship, not the U.S. silver medalist. That being said, I thought that both U.S. ladies skated outstandingly. I have not seen Flatt ever perform better. I think she reached a whole new level with her skating, in her expression, ease and relating to the audience. Well done, Rachel. The so-called "incomplete rotations" on some of her jumps that were marked down - were not marked down for the other skaters. Period, end of story. I didn't make this up - I read it in plenty of other places but the writers were much more diplomatic about stating their conclusions that I am :)
Mirai Nagasu got super-hosed by the Olympics judges. Joannie Rochette's free-skate was marred by several minor errors (but she stayed on her feet), and Nagasu's free-skate was visually error-free. But for the skewed scoring, Nagasu should have won the Bronze Medal. Politics, sympathy and the fact that, at age 24, Rochette will probably not be competing at Sochi in 2014, all played into her being awarded the Bronze Medal. The fitting end to a career where she was always close but never quite lived up to her promise and, finally at the 2009 Worlds, scored Silver. Did she earn it - yes - for her career. Did she earn it for her performance at the Olympics? Not in my opinion. So, the judges split the difference and give Nagasu 4th place overall, in a nod to the "future" of U.S. figure-skating, which is here already - and should have been recognized as such.
And WHAT was with this scoring Miki Ando in 6th place in the free-skate, two places above Rachel Flatt? Ando looked like a skating zombie in the free-skate, for Goddess sake! She was a World Champion in 2007 and had a good Grand Prix series in 2009 - what happened? I'm sorry to say it because I am a fan of hers, but there was absolutely no life to her free-skate whatsoever. It was as if she had already given up after the short program, knowing that it was a foregone conclusion that the Gold/Silver/Bronze had been decided, barring some spectacular collapse of one of the top three in the free-skater (which did not happen, but there were errors by the #2 and #3 skaters that should have opened the doors). Her eyes were dead. It was scary and sad watching her. Ando's performance did not deserve to be rated above Rachel Flatt's, who radiated joy and confidence all across the ice during her free skate. Flatt received a standing ovation - and deserved it.
Nagasu's and Flatt's performances shine. I find it really really interesting how some commentators are trying to downgrade Nagasu as "not mature." Give me a frigging break. How old was Michelle Kwan when she won her first medal at the Worlds? Look it up, dudes - geez!
Well, it's over - for now. Worlds are next month. I assume that both Flatt and Nagasu will be there, representing the US. I expect both will be elevating their "A" game. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the scores. Will Yu-Na's come back down to reality - or will she decide to skate in the Men's events from now on, as a more "worthy" challenge?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
REALLY Bad Hair Day
So I go to my hairdresser for my regular appointment and we agree that the length of my hair wasn't right. We discuss a blunt cut, shorter. So what does she do? She chops off the sides and leaves the back way too long relative to the length of the sides, plus the right side is longer than the left side. She trimmed my bangs too - crooked.
I didn't realize any of this until I got home though, and took a good look at this haircut in the mirror.
So now I am really pissed off and in tears too. This disaster has to be fixed.
Tonight is the ladies' figure-skating long program. Yu-Na is expected to win the gold medal for South Korea (I do NOT like the baloney of calling the country simply "Korea" - it's South Koreans who are at the Olympics, not a unified North and South Korea, Goddess forbid that should ever happen, although I feel very sorry for the North Korean people.) I do not like Asada's costume for the long program. I am hoping for the best for Joannie Rochette but she has a history of inconsistency that may, unfortunately, come back to haunt her in the long program. I hope I am wrong and that she has another strong, clean performance and finishes this Olympics with a medal. I love Miki Ando's skating - she absolutely blew me away in the 2007 Worlds, but it seems the judges have something against her. She was underscored in her short program relative to both Yu-Na and Asada. Is it that the judges don't want two Japanese skaters on the podium at the same time and so Ando gets shafted?
The Americans - well, I'm very pleased that they are in 5th and 6th places. I think they're very good, better than they were given credit for, and were underscored - or the top three were relatively overscored. However, there's 1-2-3, and since it seems a foregone conclusion that it will be Yu-Na and Asada, that doesn't leave much room for that #3 spot when there are so many skaters who should win a bronze or be given more credit for their artistry and challenge for silver and the gold -- Rochette, Ando (I think she should have been scored in the #3 spot), Flatt (who, to her credit, sold her short program much better than at Nationals) and Nagasu.
So, I'm going to sign off and in-between bouts of crying about my hair and drinking lots of wine I'm going to be watching the women skate.
I didn't realize any of this until I got home though, and took a good look at this haircut in the mirror.
So now I am really pissed off and in tears too. This disaster has to be fixed.
Tonight is the ladies' figure-skating long program. Yu-Na is expected to win the gold medal for South Korea (I do NOT like the baloney of calling the country simply "Korea" - it's South Koreans who are at the Olympics, not a unified North and South Korea, Goddess forbid that should ever happen, although I feel very sorry for the North Korean people.) I do not like Asada's costume for the long program. I am hoping for the best for Joannie Rochette but she has a history of inconsistency that may, unfortunately, come back to haunt her in the long program. I hope I am wrong and that she has another strong, clean performance and finishes this Olympics with a medal. I love Miki Ando's skating - she absolutely blew me away in the 2007 Worlds, but it seems the judges have something against her. She was underscored in her short program relative to both Yu-Na and Asada. Is it that the judges don't want two Japanese skaters on the podium at the same time and so Ando gets shafted?
The Americans - well, I'm very pleased that they are in 5th and 6th places. I think they're very good, better than they were given credit for, and were underscored - or the top three were relatively overscored. However, there's 1-2-3, and since it seems a foregone conclusion that it will be Yu-Na and Asada, that doesn't leave much room for that #3 spot when there are so many skaters who should win a bronze or be given more credit for their artistry and challenge for silver and the gold -- Rochette, Ando (I think she should have been scored in the #3 spot), Flatt (who, to her credit, sold her short program much better than at Nationals) and Nagasu.
So, I'm going to sign off and in-between bouts of crying about my hair and drinking lots of wine I'm going to be watching the women skate.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Judit Polgar - Gregory Kaidanov Scilian-Themed Match
After Game 3, Kaidanov leads 2-1. Round 4, the final game, starts on February 25th at 2:00 p.m.ET. GM Susan Polgar provides analysis of the games at her website. Monroi provides live coverage , games in PGN, a photo-gallery and video.
This match is being sponsored by chess afficianado Jeff Smith.
FIDE Initiatives to Promote Women's Chess
I saw this information tonight at Alexandra Kosteniuk's blog, where you can find GM Kosteniuk's full post. This is an excerpt:
The FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess (WOM) will be organizing in March 2010 several goodwill lectures and simultaneous exhibitions: in San Juan – Puerto Rico; in Guayaquil – Ecuador; and in Detroit – United States to help promote chess among female chess players.
The events will be given by WGM Martha Fierro, reigning Women Continental Champion and Secretary of the WOM. The events are free, Martha is donating her time to promote chess.
Planned events:
Puerto Rico:
March 9, 2010 - Two days full training sessions with young talent CM Danitza Vasquez (10 years old)
March 11, 2010 - Simultaneous Exhibition at the Club de Ajedrez Guaynabo
Ecuador:
March 16-17, 2010 - Various visits to schools to give an impulse to girls to play chessMarch 18, 2010 Lecture at the Federacion Deportiva Del GuayasMarch 19, 2010 Simultaneous Exhibition at the Federacion Deportiva Del Guayas
United States:
March 23, 2010 Lecture for girls, Detroit (exact place to be confirmed)March 24, 2010 Simultaneous Exhibition, Detroit (exact place to be confirmed)
The WOM is working on organizing different good-will events around the world every year, if you think your federation or local club who are doing a lot for chess but need an additional push to make chess even more popular, might be interested in hosting a FIDE Goodwill event, let us know by sending an email to Alexandra or to Martha.
The FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess (WOM) will be organizing in March 2010 several goodwill lectures and simultaneous exhibitions: in San Juan – Puerto Rico; in Guayaquil – Ecuador; and in Detroit – United States to help promote chess among female chess players.
The events will be given by WGM Martha Fierro, reigning Women Continental Champion and Secretary of the WOM. The events are free, Martha is donating her time to promote chess.
Planned events:
Puerto Rico:
March 9, 2010 - Two days full training sessions with young talent CM Danitza Vasquez (10 years old)
March 11, 2010 - Simultaneous Exhibition at the Club de Ajedrez Guaynabo
Ecuador:
March 16-17, 2010 - Various visits to schools to give an impulse to girls to play chessMarch 18, 2010 Lecture at the Federacion Deportiva Del GuayasMarch 19, 2010 Simultaneous Exhibition at the Federacion Deportiva Del Guayas
United States:
March 23, 2010 Lecture for girls, Detroit (exact place to be confirmed)March 24, 2010 Simultaneous Exhibition, Detroit (exact place to be confirmed)
The WOM is working on organizing different good-will events around the world every year, if you think your federation or local club who are doing a lot for chess but need an additional push to make chess even more popular, might be interested in hosting a FIDE Goodwill event, let us know by sending an email to Alexandra or to Martha.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Circular Aztec Temple Found in Mexico
It's absolutely fascinating to me how these circular ruined temples keep cropping up from all around the world. Are we looking at a potential new paradigm here?
Circular Aztec temple found in Mexico
February 23 2010 at 05:21AM
A temple built on a circular base, possibly consecrated to the Aztec wind god, has been found in the historical centre of Mexico City.
Archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma told the German Press Agency Matos Moctezuma, Mexico's most respected archaeologist and coordinator since 1978 of excavations on the remnants of the former Aztec capital, said the building was found behind Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral.
Experts believe it was consecrated to the Aztec wind god, Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, because "such temples had as their characteristic the presence of a circular base and of a square base."
The temple was part of the great Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, and is believed to have been built in the late 15th century, Matos Moctezuma said.
Its precise dimensions were not known, though the researcher said the structure "could have a diameter of over 30 metres," though excavations were ongoing. - Sapa-dpa
Circular Aztec temple found in Mexico
February 23 2010 at 05:21AM
A temple built on a circular base, possibly consecrated to the Aztec wind god, has been found in the historical centre of Mexico City.
Archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma told the German Press Agency Matos Moctezuma, Mexico's most respected archaeologist and coordinator since 1978 of excavations on the remnants of the former Aztec capital, said the building was found behind Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral.
Experts believe it was consecrated to the Aztec wind god, Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, because "such temples had as their characteristic the presence of a circular base and of a square base."
The temple was part of the great Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, and is believed to have been built in the late 15th century, Matos Moctezuma said.
Its precise dimensions were not known, though the researcher said the structure "could have a diameter of over 30 metres," though excavations were ongoing. - Sapa-dpa
2010 Olympics: Ladies' Figure Skating - Tugba Karademir
a very respectable 10th place.
Earlier this evening I had a chance to watch the short program performance of a young lady from Turkey - Tugba Karademir. The back-story is charming - as was the young lady. She is the first figure skater ever to perform in a Winter Olympics from her country, having skated in 2006 in Torino. Even better, in 2010 her mom and dad were able to be in the audience at Vancouver to watch her performance.
I'm pleased to say that I thought she did very well! She is a lovely young lady (born 1985). As far as I could tell, she skated cleanly, but she was a little slow on the ice. She now resides in Barrie, Canada and trains in Canada.
I liked her music and I thought her costume was flattering and also suited the music perfectly. I thought her program was very nicely constructed and also suited the music very well. I would like to see more of this skater. She scored high enough to qualify for the free skate on Thursday. Her total score was 50.74. At this point, I cannot say what her final ranking will be in the short program, there are many skaters yet to perform.
Here is Ms. Karademir's skating resume from the ISUFS website.
Seventh Annual All Girls National Chess Championships
This year, the All Girls Nationals sponsored by the Kasparov Chess Foundation is being run at the same time as the USCF High School Nationals. What if a girl wants to play in the High School Nationals, but would also like to participate in the All-Girls event. Guess she is out of luck, she willl have to choose one or the other. Nice way to diminish the impact of the All Girls Nationals. This sucks big time.
Who arranged this scheduling disaster? It seems as if the All Girls Nationals are being given neither credence nor importance. Should I be sad - or incensed. Or both! Did the Kasparov Chess Foundation know about this doubled-up scheduling ahead of time? I wonder... Here is the November, 2009 announcement from the USCF website - it doesn't say a word about the All Girls Nationals being held in tandem with the High School Nationals! Hmm...
Regardless of the asinine scheduling and whatever equally asinine chess politics may be involved behind USCF's scheduling, the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation continues to serve its constituency to the best of its ability, and will once again be offering lodging and running buses to the U.S. High School Nationals - and now, to the All Girls National too. Here is some info from the WSCF's February, 2010 newsletter. For further details, please visit the WSCF website.
Trip to National Tournaments
This year two national tournaments will be held on the same site at the same time. The USCF High School Nationals and the All Girls Nationals. For complete information and registration to both tournaments please go to the USCF website at http://www.uschess.org/. Both tournaments are April 16 to the 18. Once again WSCF is offering a bus tour and lodging for the events. Below is the itineray and sign up sheets. You can also find this same document on the WSCF website under "Info" for both of these tournaments.
Trip Itinerary
Thursday April 15 7:00 am Leave Brown Deer Park & Ride, Brown Deer.
8:00 am Leave Holt Park & Ride, South Side
4:00 pm Arrival at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Columbus
5:00 pm Blitz Tournament
Friday April 16 1:00 pm Round One
7:00 pm Round Two
Saturday April 17 9:00 am Round Three
2:00 pm Round Four
7:00 pm Round Five
Sunday April 18 9:00 am Round Six
2:00 pm Round Seven
7:00 pm Award Ceremony
8:00 pm Depart for Wisconsin
Monday April 19 4:00 am Arrive at Holt Park & Ride
5:00 am Arrive at Brown Deer Park & Ride
Registration and Deadline: March 23
All registrations must be made by mail and postmarked by March 23.
1/4 Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat (both ways) $235
1/3 Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat $270
1/2 Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat $345
Single Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat $570
Who arranged this scheduling disaster? It seems as if the All Girls Nationals are being given neither credence nor importance. Should I be sad - or incensed. Or both! Did the Kasparov Chess Foundation know about this doubled-up scheduling ahead of time? I wonder... Here is the November, 2009 announcement from the USCF website - it doesn't say a word about the All Girls Nationals being held in tandem with the High School Nationals! Hmm...
Regardless of the asinine scheduling and whatever equally asinine chess politics may be involved behind USCF's scheduling, the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation continues to serve its constituency to the best of its ability, and will once again be offering lodging and running buses to the U.S. High School Nationals - and now, to the All Girls National too. Here is some info from the WSCF's February, 2010 newsletter. For further details, please visit the WSCF website.
Trip to National Tournaments
This year two national tournaments will be held on the same site at the same time. The USCF High School Nationals and the All Girls Nationals. For complete information and registration to both tournaments please go to the USCF website at http://www.uschess.org/. Both tournaments are April 16 to the 18. Once again WSCF is offering a bus tour and lodging for the events. Below is the itineray and sign up sheets. You can also find this same document on the WSCF website under "Info" for both of these tournaments.
Trip Itinerary
Thursday April 15 7:00 am Leave Brown Deer Park & Ride, Brown Deer.
8:00 am Leave Holt Park & Ride, South Side
4:00 pm Arrival at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Columbus
5:00 pm Blitz Tournament
Friday April 16 1:00 pm Round One
7:00 pm Round Two
Saturday April 17 9:00 am Round Three
2:00 pm Round Four
7:00 pm Round Five
Sunday April 18 9:00 am Round Six
2:00 pm Round Seven
7:00 pm Award Ceremony
8:00 pm Depart for Wisconsin
Monday April 19 4:00 am Arrive at Holt Park & Ride
5:00 am Arrive at Brown Deer Park & Ride
Registration and Deadline: March 23
All registrations must be made by mail and postmarked by March 23.
1/4 Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat (both ways) $235
1/3 Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat $270
1/2 Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat $345
Single Occupancy + 1 Bus Seat $570
Southwest Chess Club Action: February and March!
One night only! Blitz Tournament:
Winter Blitzzard V: February 25
10-Round (Round-Robin) in one or more sections (depending on number of players). Game/5 minutes.
USCF Quick-Rated. EF: $5. TD is Becker; ATD is Fogec.
We have a BLOG entry for this event, so feel free to start predicting!
Thursday (March 4), a new tournament:
Lions Turning Into Lambs Swiss: March 4, 11, 18 & 25
4-Round Swiss in Two Sections (Open and U1600).
Game/100 minutes. USCF Rated. EF: $5. (One ½-Point Bye Available for any round (except round four) if requested at least 2-days prior to round). TD is Fogec; ATD is Grochowski.
My adopted chess club's website.
And calendar of upcoming events.
Stay tuned for information on the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XI! Goddesschess is once again sponsoring prizes for the chess femmes.
Winter Blitzzard V: February 25
10-Round (Round-Robin) in one or more sections (depending on number of players). Game/5 minutes.
USCF Quick-Rated. EF: $5. TD is Becker; ATD is Fogec.
We have a BLOG entry for this event, so feel free to start predicting!
Thursday (March 4), a new tournament:
Lions Turning Into Lambs Swiss: March 4, 11, 18 & 25
4-Round Swiss in Two Sections (Open and U1600).
Game/100 minutes. USCF Rated. EF: $5. (One ½-Point Bye Available for any round (except round four) if requested at least 2-days prior to round). TD is Fogec; ATD is Grochowski.
My adopted chess club's website.
And calendar of upcoming events.
Stay tuned for information on the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XI! Goddesschess is once again sponsoring prizes for the chess femmes.
Monday, February 22, 2010
L'Bri Update
FREE FREE FREE! If you're interested in ordering free samples of L'Bri products, you can do so here:
This is Liz the L'Bri Lady's website.
This is the website of my sister, Yvonne, and niece-in-law (is that a word?), Rachel! They became L'Bri consultants after experiencing the products for themselves.
The "click here" for free samples button is top center on each website. These sites are not like those websites where you order a free sample of - whatever - and then automatically get charged every 30 to 60 days for a new "supply." You will, have to pay for shipping and Wisconsin sales tax, since this is a Wisconsin business. Check it out for yourself.
Today at the office I took a few moments to give my skin the once-over under the harsh and unforgiving flourescent lights. I've got six overheads plus an undershelf flourescent so my office is BRIGHT. It might seem like overkill - particularly when I walk into some offices that are about as bright as Cro-Magnon caves - but it sure cuts down on eye strain.
I whipped out my compact and, with glasses on (can't see a thing close-up otherwise, these days) I gave my face the once-over. Keeping in mind that I had make-up on (foundation, sheer powder just for shiny areas, pencil eyeliner and mascara), I have to say the skin is looking mighty good. Improved even, since I wrote up my first report this past Saturday. I really scrutinized it. On the right side of my face, where a pesky zit is slowly healing, a wee bit of flaking skin. I saw no flaking skin on the left side of my face, where an equally pesky zit is also slowsly healing. The skin on my chin which gives me horrid acne eruptions had a few bits of flaking skin here and there. The under-skin bumps are still there, but diminished. Overall I think my pores look better, so the promised improvement in skin texture may be starting. Lo and behold, those "laugh lines" at the corners of my eyes have improved - I didn't think it was possible, but - not sure how to put this - they are still visible, of course, but they aren't as "deep" - not that they were like craters, LOL! Definitely shallower (is that a word?) I also zeroed in on that unfortunate crease across the top of my nose which appeared as if out of nowhere in 2003. It's horizontal, not "frown lines" (which are vertical). That too, looks better. I was shocked by that!
Feather lines around my upper lip, can't say I see any change, but I haven't been using the Maxifirm there either until this morning. I didn't know I was supposed to use it over my entire face 2x a day, I'd only been spot treating around my eyes and hit or miss the slight creases on either side of my mouth. So, I'll see what that area looks like on my next report date, March 2nd.
This is Liz the L'Bri Lady's website.
This is the website of my sister, Yvonne, and niece-in-law (is that a word?), Rachel! They became L'Bri consultants after experiencing the products for themselves.
The "click here" for free samples button is top center on each website. These sites are not like those websites where you order a free sample of - whatever - and then automatically get charged every 30 to 60 days for a new "supply." You will, have to pay for shipping and Wisconsin sales tax, since this is a Wisconsin business. Check it out for yourself.
Today at the office I took a few moments to give my skin the once-over under the harsh and unforgiving flourescent lights. I've got six overheads plus an undershelf flourescent so my office is BRIGHT. It might seem like overkill - particularly when I walk into some offices that are about as bright as Cro-Magnon caves - but it sure cuts down on eye strain.
I whipped out my compact and, with glasses on (can't see a thing close-up otherwise, these days) I gave my face the once-over. Keeping in mind that I had make-up on (foundation, sheer powder just for shiny areas, pencil eyeliner and mascara), I have to say the skin is looking mighty good. Improved even, since I wrote up my first report this past Saturday. I really scrutinized it. On the right side of my face, where a pesky zit is slowly healing, a wee bit of flaking skin. I saw no flaking skin on the left side of my face, where an equally pesky zit is also slowsly healing. The skin on my chin which gives me horrid acne eruptions had a few bits of flaking skin here and there. The under-skin bumps are still there, but diminished. Overall I think my pores look better, so the promised improvement in skin texture may be starting. Lo and behold, those "laugh lines" at the corners of my eyes have improved - I didn't think it was possible, but - not sure how to put this - they are still visible, of course, but they aren't as "deep" - not that they were like craters, LOL! Definitely shallower (is that a word?) I also zeroed in on that unfortunate crease across the top of my nose which appeared as if out of nowhere in 2003. It's horizontal, not "frown lines" (which are vertical). That too, looks better. I was shocked by that!
Feather lines around my upper lip, can't say I see any change, but I haven't been using the Maxifirm there either until this morning. I didn't know I was supposed to use it over my entire face 2x a day, I'd only been spot treating around my eyes and hit or miss the slight creases on either side of my mouth. So, I'll see what that area looks like on my next report date, March 2nd.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Those Old Skulls Aint What They 'Sposed to Be
Oops!
From Physorg.com
The putative skull of St. Bridget can be questioned
February 16, 2010
The putative skull of Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden that has been kept in a shrine in Vadstena Abbey is probably not authentic. A new study conducted at Uppsala University reveals that the two skulls, believed to be from Saint Bridget and her daughter Catherine (Katarina), is not from maternally related individuals. Furthermore, dating show that the skulls are not from the time period when Bridget and Catherine lived. The findings are published in the journal PLoS ONE.
Full story.
From Physorg.com
The putative skull of St. Bridget can be questioned
February 16, 2010
The putative skull of Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden that has been kept in a shrine in Vadstena Abbey is probably not authentic. A new study conducted at Uppsala University reveals that the two skulls, believed to be from Saint Bridget and her daughter Catherine (Katarina), is not from maternally related individuals. Furthermore, dating show that the skulls are not from the time period when Bridget and Catherine lived. The findings are published in the journal PLoS ONE.
Full story.
Original Resting Place of the Golden Bough Found
This one knocked me off my chair. I didn't know that the Golden Bough may have had a base in reality! It makes sense to me, though, if only because trees were highly important as religious symbols in so many ancient cultures.
From the Telegraph.co.uk
Golden Bough from Roman mythology 'found in Italy'
Italian archaeologists claim to have found a stone enclosure which once protected the legendary "Golden Bough".
By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 6:30AM GMT 18 Feb 2010
In Roman mythology, the bough was a tree branch with golden leaves that enabled the Trojan hero Aeneas to travel through the underworld safely.
They discovered the remains while excavating religious sanctuary built in honour of the goddess Diana near an ancient volcanic lake in the Alban Hills, 20 miles south of Rome.
They believe the enclosure protected a huge Cypress or oak tree which was sacred to the Latins, a powerful tribe which ruled the region before the rise of the Roman Empire.
The tree was central to the myth of Aeneas, who was told by a spirit to pluck a branch bearing golden leaves to protect himself when he ventured into Hades to seek counsel from his dead father.
In a second, more historically credible legend, the Latins believed it symbolised the power of their priest-king.
Anyone who broke off a branch, even a fugitive slave, could then challenge the king in a fight to the death. If the king was killed in the battle, the challenger assumed his position as the tribe's leader.
The discovery was made near the town of Nemi by a team led by Filippo Coarelli, a recently retired professor of archaeology at Perugia University.
After months of excavations in the volcanic soil, they unearthed the remains of a stone enclosure.
Shards of pottery surrounding the site date it to the mid to late Bronze Age, between the 12th and 13th centuries BC.
"We found many, many pottery pieces of a votive or ritual nature," said Prof Coarelli. "The location also tells us that it must have been a sacred structure. We spent months excavating, during which we had to cut into enormous blocks of lava."
The stone enclosure is in the middle of an area which contains the ruins of an immense sanctuary dedicated to Diana, the goddess of hunting, along with the remains of terracing, fountains, cisterns and a nymphaeum.
"It's an intriguing discovery and adds evidence to the fact that this was an extraordinarily important sanctuary," said Prof Christopher Smith, the head of the British School at Rome, an archaeological institute.
"We know that trees were grown in containers at temple sites. The Latins gathered here to worship right up until the founding of the Roman republic in 509BC."
The story about the golden bough and Aeneas, who is said to have journeyed from Troy to Italy to found the city of Rome, was documented by Virgil in his epic, the Aeneid.
"Virgil tells us that the sibyls told Aeneas to go to the underworld to take advice from his father but he had to take a branch of gold as a sort of key to allow him access," said Prof Smith.
From the Telegraph.co.uk
Golden Bough from Roman mythology 'found in Italy'
Italian archaeologists claim to have found a stone enclosure which once protected the legendary "Golden Bough".
By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 6:30AM GMT 18 Feb 2010
In Roman mythology, the bough was a tree branch with golden leaves that enabled the Trojan hero Aeneas to travel through the underworld safely.
They discovered the remains while excavating religious sanctuary built in honour of the goddess Diana near an ancient volcanic lake in the Alban Hills, 20 miles south of Rome.
They believe the enclosure protected a huge Cypress or oak tree which was sacred to the Latins, a powerful tribe which ruled the region before the rise of the Roman Empire.
The tree was central to the myth of Aeneas, who was told by a spirit to pluck a branch bearing golden leaves to protect himself when he ventured into Hades to seek counsel from his dead father.
In a second, more historically credible legend, the Latins believed it symbolised the power of their priest-king.
Anyone who broke off a branch, even a fugitive slave, could then challenge the king in a fight to the death. If the king was killed in the battle, the challenger assumed his position as the tribe's leader.
The discovery was made near the town of Nemi by a team led by Filippo Coarelli, a recently retired professor of archaeology at Perugia University.
After months of excavations in the volcanic soil, they unearthed the remains of a stone enclosure.
Shards of pottery surrounding the site date it to the mid to late Bronze Age, between the 12th and 13th centuries BC.
"We found many, many pottery pieces of a votive or ritual nature," said Prof Coarelli. "The location also tells us that it must have been a sacred structure. We spent months excavating, during which we had to cut into enormous blocks of lava."
The stone enclosure is in the middle of an area which contains the ruins of an immense sanctuary dedicated to Diana, the goddess of hunting, along with the remains of terracing, fountains, cisterns and a nymphaeum.
"It's an intriguing discovery and adds evidence to the fact that this was an extraordinarily important sanctuary," said Prof Christopher Smith, the head of the British School at Rome, an archaeological institute.
"We know that trees were grown in containers at temple sites. The Latins gathered here to worship right up until the founding of the Roman republic in 509BC."
The story about the golden bough and Aeneas, who is said to have journeyed from Troy to Italy to found the city of Rome, was documented by Virgil in his epic, the Aeneid.
"Virgil tells us that the sibyls told Aeneas to go to the underworld to take advice from his father but he had to take a branch of gold as a sort of key to allow him access," said Prof Smith.
First Minoan Shipwreck
Excerpts from a lengthy feature article with lots of photographs at Archaeology Magazine online. Photo: Archaeologists Gelli Frangou and Elpida Hadjidaki and architect Dimitri Timologos examining amphoras just after recovery in 2005 (Vasilis Mentoyiannis) First Minoan Shipwreck
by Eti Bonn-Muller
An unprecedented find off the coast of Crete
Crete has seduced archaeologists for more than a century, luring them to its rocky shores with fantastic tales of legendary kings, cunning deities, and mythical creatures. The largest of the Greek islands, Crete was the land of the Minoans (3100-1050 B.C.), a Bronze Age civilization named after its first ruler, King Minos, the "master of the seas" who is said to have rid the waters of pirates. According to Thucydides, he also established the first thalassocracy, or maritime empire. The Minoans were renowned for their seafaring prowess, which opened trade routes with the powerful kingdoms of Egypt, Anatolia, and the Levant.
Depictions of ships abound on Minoan seals and frescoes. They are detailed enough to show that the vessels were impressive: generally, they had 15 oars on each side and square sails, and were probably about 50 feet long. But little more was known about actual Minoan seafaring--until Greek archaeologist Elpida Hadjidaki became the first to discover a Minoan shipwreck.
. . .
. . . she asked team member Giorgos Klontzas to venture down. Hadjidaki anxiously prepared to wait on the boat for five hours, the average total time of a single dive plus stops to decompress. But Klontzas returned only half an hour later. "He came up with his hands full of ancient pots," she beams. "And he said to me, 'There's a whole world of them down there.' So I jumped into the sea and said, 'Let's go!' " Sure enough, cups, jugs, and amphoras lined the seafloor, and over the next couple of days the team brought several more samples to the surface.
In 2004, she expanded the team and mapped the site. The following year, large-scale excavation got underway. "Everything was buried in sand between rocks," Hadjidaki says. "As we excavated, we found more and more and more."
To date, Hadjidaki's team has raised some 209 ceramic vessels, about 80 of which are nearly whole and clearly identifiable as types of amphoras and large jars that would have transported liquids, possibly wine and olive oil, though no residues remain. A handful of artifacts, including cooking pots, jugs, a few cups, and fishing weights, likely belonged to the ship's crew.
Philip Betancourt, a Minoan pottery expert who codirected excavations at Pseira from 1986 to 1996, has examined the finds from the site. Even though no wood from the ship survives, he is convinced they belong to a wreck because they are an unusually large group of ceramic vessels that all date to the same period (Middle Minoan IIB, 1800-1700/1675 B.C.) and were all made on east Crete. "One doesn't get an assemblage like that," he says, "except from a very specialized context--in this case, a shipwreck." Furthermore, the pottery that was still in place was found upside down, which seems to indicate the ship completely capsized and wound up with the hull uppermost and the cargo down. "This may help explain why no wood was preserved," he says.
Hadjidaki has closely studied the arrangement of the finds, working with team architect Dimitri Timologos who drew underwater maps based on the artifacts' location. On the maps, she can trace a narrow trail of pottery about 100 feet long at the northern end of the wreck, where she believes the ship started to founder. The trail broadens into a roughly oval-shaped concentration that extends over an area 50 by 65 feet, from which she estimates--by the distribution of objects--the ship to have been between 32 and 50 feet long. Hadjidaki thinks it was similar to, but larger than, one depicted on a serpentinite seal stone excavated at Pseira in 1991. It shows a ship with a beak-shaped prow, high stern, and single mast connected to the vessel by ropes (but no oars, as in earlier representations of Minoan ships).
. . .
The type of clay from which the pottery was made suggests the ship took on cargo from at least two locations on east Crete. Based on the pottery, Hadjidaki and Betancourt believe this ship was not destined for a voyage abroad, but rather was making local stops. "This was probably a very common sight--these relatively small coastal vessels that dealt with local trade east and west along points of the island," says Betancourt. "The wreck gives us a lot of information on what was likely the normal trade practice of seafaring people." Jan Driessen, director of excavations at the Minoan settlement of Sissi on east Crete, agrees. "We know from frescoes and other iconographic material throughout Crete that the Minoans were good seamen, that they had large ships of different types," he says. "The Pseira wreck seems to represent a coast-hopping activity, short trajectories with specific 'clients.' It helps us visualize that process of distribution."
Hadjidaki completed the final season of excavations at the end of September 2009, recovering 60 more ceramic vessels. At press time, the finds were still soaking in fresh water to remove crusty layers of sea deposits. Next, they will be cleaned by conservators, studied by experts, including Betancourt, and join other artifacts from the site at the archaeological museum in Siteia on east Crete. But Hadjidaki already feels a sense of accomplishment. "It's the only Minoan shipwreck that has ever been found and excavated," she says with a broad smile. "Period."
Tang Dynasty Shipwreck
A very nice article about the discovery and importance of a Tang Dynasty shipwreck discovered off the coast of Indonesia. It evidently was a National Geographic Special on television (?), August 8, 2009. From the Bilingual Times/Taipei Times, August 8, 2009. This wreck is dated to no earlier than 758 CE.
Secrets of the Tang Treasure Ship
Over 1,100 years ago, an international crew of men set sail on a perilous journey. They are returning home from Tang Dynasty China with rare ceramics and gold, created by ninth-century Chinese craftsmen, desired by the rest of the world. For centuries, China has traded with the West over land, via the Silk Road. They traveled safely from the Middle East, all the way to China. But on their return voyage, they made a fateful decision. Here, off the coast of Indonesia, the reef-filled waters are so deadly that ancient sailors called the area the Treacherous Bay.
Tilman Walterfang was lured here in the late 1990s, in search of undersea treasure. An engineer by trade in his native Germany, Walterfang maintains a lifelong passion for ancient art. He comes to Indonesia on a quest for big discoveries. Local fishermen find a mound of ceramics on the seabed. Based on the designs, they appear to have been created between 600 and 900AD, in Tang China. Walterfang hires Mike Flecker, an Australian maritime archaeologist, to manage the excavation. The whole vessel was buried. It had 1,100 years of sediment accumulated on top of that.
Underneath the coral covering are countless jars stacked to the brim with bowls, plates, vases and jewelry. The team recovers some 60,000 pieces, mostly ceramics, but also precious items of gold, silver and bronze. There’s nothing written, there aren’t any archaeological reports. Ancient records tell of Arab and Persian fleets that traversed Asian seas, but no such boat from the time has ever been found.
This one was covered by a layer of sand that prevented worms from attacking the wood. Every element of the wreck is potential evidence that the Maritime Silk Route existed. A bronze mirror bears a compelling clue, with the inscription: "Smelted one hundred times in the city of Yangzhou on the Yangtze river in December 758." Without a doubt, the treasure is from Tang Dynasty China. Radiocarbon analysis dates fragments of the wooden hull to between 700 and 900 AD. During that era, only Arab and Indian craftsmen were building ocean-going ships of this type. The wooden fragments provide crucial evidence of the boat’s origins. Afzilia Africana is a hardwood once prized by the ancient Arab boat builders. The wood is found across Africa, from Senegal to Uganda. If it’s a timber coming from Africa, it’s far more likely that it was just transported the short distance up to Yemen or Oman and the vessel was built there.
Secrets of the Tang Treasure Ship
Over 1,100 years ago, an international crew of men set sail on a perilous journey. They are returning home from Tang Dynasty China with rare ceramics and gold, created by ninth-century Chinese craftsmen, desired by the rest of the world. For centuries, China has traded with the West over land, via the Silk Road. They traveled safely from the Middle East, all the way to China. But on their return voyage, they made a fateful decision. Here, off the coast of Indonesia, the reef-filled waters are so deadly that ancient sailors called the area the Treacherous Bay.
Tilman Walterfang was lured here in the late 1990s, in search of undersea treasure. An engineer by trade in his native Germany, Walterfang maintains a lifelong passion for ancient art. He comes to Indonesia on a quest for big discoveries. Local fishermen find a mound of ceramics on the seabed. Based on the designs, they appear to have been created between 600 and 900AD, in Tang China. Walterfang hires Mike Flecker, an Australian maritime archaeologist, to manage the excavation. The whole vessel was buried. It had 1,100 years of sediment accumulated on top of that.
Underneath the coral covering are countless jars stacked to the brim with bowls, plates, vases and jewelry. The team recovers some 60,000 pieces, mostly ceramics, but also precious items of gold, silver and bronze. There’s nothing written, there aren’t any archaeological reports. Ancient records tell of Arab and Persian fleets that traversed Asian seas, but no such boat from the time has ever been found.
This one was covered by a layer of sand that prevented worms from attacking the wood. Every element of the wreck is potential evidence that the Maritime Silk Route existed. A bronze mirror bears a compelling clue, with the inscription: "Smelted one hundred times in the city of Yangzhou on the Yangtze river in December 758." Without a doubt, the treasure is from Tang Dynasty China. Radiocarbon analysis dates fragments of the wooden hull to between 700 and 900 AD. During that era, only Arab and Indian craftsmen were building ocean-going ships of this type. The wooden fragments provide crucial evidence of the boat’s origins. Afzilia Africana is a hardwood once prized by the ancient Arab boat builders. The wood is found across Africa, from Senegal to Uganda. If it’s a timber coming from Africa, it’s far more likely that it was just transported the short distance up to Yemen or Oman and the vessel was built there.
Does Latest Study Really Disprove Child Sacrifice in Ancient Carthage?
I don't think so. But judge for yourself.
Study Debunks Millennia-Old Claims of Systematic Infant Sacrifice in Ancient Carthage
ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2010) — A study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers could finally lay to rest the millennia-old conjecture that the ancient empire of Carthage regularly sacrificed its youngest citizens. An examination of the remains of Carthaginian children revealed that most infants perished prenatally or very shortly after birth and were unlikely to have lived long enough to be sacrificed, according to a Feb. 17 report in PLoS One.
The findings -- based on the first published analysis of the skeletal remains found in Carthaginian burial urns -- refute claims from as early as the 3rd century BCE of systematic infant sacrifice at Carthage that remain a subject of debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists, said lead researcher Jeffrey H. Schwartz, a professor of anthropology and history and philosophy of science in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences and president of the World Academy of Art and Science. Schwartz and his colleagues present the more benign interpretation that very young Punic children were cremated and interred in burial urns regardless of how they died.
"Our study emphasizes that historical scientists must consider all evidence when deciphering ancient societal behavior," Schwartz said. "The idea of regular infant sacrifice in Carthage is not based on a study of the cremated remains, but on instances of human sacrifice reported by a few ancient chroniclers, inferred from ambiguous Carthaginian inscriptions, and referenced in the Old Testament. Our results show that some children were sacrificed, but they contradict the conclusion that Carthaginians were a brutal bunch who regularly sacrificed their own children." [So it was only the biblical Philistines who regularly sacrificed their children by tossing them into a sacred fire? Hmmm, I don't think so...]
Schwartz worked with Frank Houghton of the Veterans Research Foundation of Pittsburgh, Roberto Macchiarelli of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, and Luca Bondioli of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography in Rome to inspect the remains of children found in Tophets, burial sites peripheral to conventional Carthaginian cemeteries for older children and adults. Tophets housed urns containing the cremated remains of young children and animals, which led to the theory that they were reserved for victims of sacrifice. [Seems a reasonable assumption to me - if the children were NOT sacrifices, why were they buried with animals and not with the other humans? Such separation seems to convey the thought that these children were not thought of as human until they attained a certain age.]
Schwartz and his coauthors tested the all-sacrifice claim by examining the skeletal remains from 348 urns for developmental markers that would determine the children's age at death. Schwartz and Houghton recorded skull, hip, long bone, and tooth measurements that indicated most of the children died in their first year with a sizeable number aged only two to five months, and that at least 20 percent of the sample was prenatal. [20% prenatal deaths, the implication being that these festuses could not possibly have been sacrifices to whatever god {Molech?}. But what about the other 80%? Obviously, with the acknowldgement by the researchers that child sacrifice did take place, not all of those children died 'natural' deaths!
[Another question: How would the researchers be able to tell which children were cremated after death and which children were "thrown into the fire" alive as a sacrifice? Does technology exist to make such a determination? If it does, was it employed?]
Schwartz and Houghton then selected teeth from 50 individuals they concluded had died before or shortly after birth and sent them to Macchiarelli and Bondioli, who examined the samples for a neonatal line. This opaque band forms in human teeth between the interruption of enamel production at birth and its resumption within two weeks of life. Identification of this line is commonly used to determine an infant's age at death. Macchiarelli and Bondioli found a neonatal line in the teeth of 24 individuals, meaning that the remaining 26 individuals died prenatally or within two weeks of birth, the researchers reported.
The contents of the urns also dispel the possibility of mass infant sacrifice, Schwartz and Houghton noted. No urn contained enough skeletal material to suggest the presence of more than two complete individuals. Although many urns contained some superfluous fragments belonging to additional children, the researchers concluded that these bones remained from previous cremations and may have inadvertently been mixed with the ashes of subsequent cremations. [Really? How frugal of the ancient Carthaginians, to re-use a burial urn again while, how careless of them, neglecting to empty it totally of its prior human remains. I do not believe this. A possible explanation for this mixing of remains in the burial urns that occurs to me is that more than one child was cremated together after death or more than one child was sacrificed alive together in a fire and afterward the parents or - someone - did the best they could to collect the remains and bury them - or else the remains were just scooped into pots and it was the luck of the draw that some children's ashes and bone fragments were more together and not mixed up with the remains of others.]
The team's report also disputes the contention that Carthaginians specifically sacrificed first-born males. Schwartz and Houghton determined sex by measuring the sciatic notch -- a crevice at the rear of the pelvis that's wider in females -- of 70 hipbones. They discovered that 38 pelvises came from females and 26 from males. Two others were likely female, one likely male, and three undetermined. [That's only 64 infants; what about the others of the 348 that were tested?]
Schwartz and his colleagues conclude that the high incidence of prenate and infant mortality are consistent with modern data on stillbirths, miscarriages, and infant death. [Modern data? From what countries? How could modern data possibly have anything to say about what happened in the 3rd century BCE?] They write that if conditions in other ancient cities held in Carthage, young and unborn children could have easily succumbed to the diseases and sanitary shortcomings found in such cities as Rome and Pompeii.
Study Debunks Millennia-Old Claims of Systematic Infant Sacrifice in Ancient Carthage
ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2010) — A study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers could finally lay to rest the millennia-old conjecture that the ancient empire of Carthage regularly sacrificed its youngest citizens. An examination of the remains of Carthaginian children revealed that most infants perished prenatally or very shortly after birth and were unlikely to have lived long enough to be sacrificed, according to a Feb. 17 report in PLoS One.
The findings -- based on the first published analysis of the skeletal remains found in Carthaginian burial urns -- refute claims from as early as the 3rd century BCE of systematic infant sacrifice at Carthage that remain a subject of debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists, said lead researcher Jeffrey H. Schwartz, a professor of anthropology and history and philosophy of science in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences and president of the World Academy of Art and Science. Schwartz and his colleagues present the more benign interpretation that very young Punic children were cremated and interred in burial urns regardless of how they died.
"Our study emphasizes that historical scientists must consider all evidence when deciphering ancient societal behavior," Schwartz said. "The idea of regular infant sacrifice in Carthage is not based on a study of the cremated remains, but on instances of human sacrifice reported by a few ancient chroniclers, inferred from ambiguous Carthaginian inscriptions, and referenced in the Old Testament. Our results show that some children were sacrificed, but they contradict the conclusion that Carthaginians were a brutal bunch who regularly sacrificed their own children." [So it was only the biblical Philistines who regularly sacrificed their children by tossing them into a sacred fire? Hmmm, I don't think so...]
Schwartz worked with Frank Houghton of the Veterans Research Foundation of Pittsburgh, Roberto Macchiarelli of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, and Luca Bondioli of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography in Rome to inspect the remains of children found in Tophets, burial sites peripheral to conventional Carthaginian cemeteries for older children and adults. Tophets housed urns containing the cremated remains of young children and animals, which led to the theory that they were reserved for victims of sacrifice. [Seems a reasonable assumption to me - if the children were NOT sacrifices, why were they buried with animals and not with the other humans? Such separation seems to convey the thought that these children were not thought of as human until they attained a certain age.]
Schwartz and his coauthors tested the all-sacrifice claim by examining the skeletal remains from 348 urns for developmental markers that would determine the children's age at death. Schwartz and Houghton recorded skull, hip, long bone, and tooth measurements that indicated most of the children died in their first year with a sizeable number aged only two to five months, and that at least 20 percent of the sample was prenatal. [20% prenatal deaths, the implication being that these festuses could not possibly have been sacrifices to whatever god {Molech?}. But what about the other 80%? Obviously, with the acknowldgement by the researchers that child sacrifice did take place, not all of those children died 'natural' deaths!
[Another question: How would the researchers be able to tell which children were cremated after death and which children were "thrown into the fire" alive as a sacrifice? Does technology exist to make such a determination? If it does, was it employed?]
Schwartz and Houghton then selected teeth from 50 individuals they concluded had died before or shortly after birth and sent them to Macchiarelli and Bondioli, who examined the samples for a neonatal line. This opaque band forms in human teeth between the interruption of enamel production at birth and its resumption within two weeks of life. Identification of this line is commonly used to determine an infant's age at death. Macchiarelli and Bondioli found a neonatal line in the teeth of 24 individuals, meaning that the remaining 26 individuals died prenatally or within two weeks of birth, the researchers reported.
The contents of the urns also dispel the possibility of mass infant sacrifice, Schwartz and Houghton noted. No urn contained enough skeletal material to suggest the presence of more than two complete individuals. Although many urns contained some superfluous fragments belonging to additional children, the researchers concluded that these bones remained from previous cremations and may have inadvertently been mixed with the ashes of subsequent cremations. [Really? How frugal of the ancient Carthaginians, to re-use a burial urn again while, how careless of them, neglecting to empty it totally of its prior human remains. I do not believe this. A possible explanation for this mixing of remains in the burial urns that occurs to me is that more than one child was cremated together after death or more than one child was sacrificed alive together in a fire and afterward the parents or - someone - did the best they could to collect the remains and bury them - or else the remains were just scooped into pots and it was the luck of the draw that some children's ashes and bone fragments were more together and not mixed up with the remains of others.]
The team's report also disputes the contention that Carthaginians specifically sacrificed first-born males. Schwartz and Houghton determined sex by measuring the sciatic notch -- a crevice at the rear of the pelvis that's wider in females -- of 70 hipbones. They discovered that 38 pelvises came from females and 26 from males. Two others were likely female, one likely male, and three undetermined. [That's only 64 infants; what about the others of the 348 that were tested?]
Schwartz and his colleagues conclude that the high incidence of prenate and infant mortality are consistent with modern data on stillbirths, miscarriages, and infant death. [Modern data? From what countries? How could modern data possibly have anything to say about what happened in the 3rd century BCE?] They write that if conditions in other ancient cities held in Carthage, young and unborn children could have easily succumbed to the diseases and sanitary shortcomings found in such cities as Rome and Pompeii.
Pre-Islamic Discoveries in Ghana
When all is said and done, we know so little about ancient civlizations in Africa, other than what we know about Egypt, which I believe is usually classified as belonging to the Middle Eastern civilizations and/or the Mediterranean civlizations. Why is archaeology in sub-Saharan Africa so neglected? If mankind arose out of Africa, then is it not likely that there were ancient centers where people amassed and created civilizations? And yet, in my visits to the museums I have been able to get to through my travels, African exhibits mostly feature 19th and 20th century objects. Does this mean that before this time African cultures produced nothing? I don't believe that for a second! So - where is the stuff? Where is the history?
From BBC News
Page last updated at 13:12 GMT, Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Ghana dig reveals ancient society
Archaeologists have unearthed dozens of clay figures in Ghana, shedding light on a sophisticated society which existed before the arrival of Islam.
Experts from the University of Ghana found 80 sculptures believed to be between 800 and 1,400 years old.
They believe the figures, depicting animal and human forms, are part of a burial ground or shrine.
Archaeologists say the societies that constructed the figures simply disappeared when Islam arrived.
"What is interesting is that the people now living in this area seem to have no connection with the makers of the figurines," said the university's Benjamin Kankpeyeng.
"That would suggest that that they have more in common with peoples living in other parts of West Africa - but we need to do more work before we can be certain."
Arab slave theory
The statues were found amid hundreds of mounds in a densely packed 30km-square area. [Surely this is evidence of a major settlement!] Mr Kankpeyeng intends to analyse the position and arrangement of the statues with Tim Insoll from the UK's Manchester University.
Mr Insoll told the BBC very little was known about civilisations in the area between 600 and 1200 AD because no written history was kept and the societies ceased to exist when Islam arrived.
He said experts still did not know why the civilisations came to an end - whether the people converted en masse to Islam, or were captured by Arab slave traders.
The statues, he said, could tell historians what kind of people inhabited West Africa in that time.
"Figures have been found in this area before, but what we can do with the latest find is map their arrangement to find out what their purpose was - whether for sacrifice or some other ritual," he said.
The northern Ghana site, near the village of Yikpabongo, was first excavated in 1985, and the dig was restarted in 2007.
The latest batch of figures was discovered in January.
Figurines provide clues to lost African civilisation
By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent
Thursday, 18 February 2010
The round clay outline of a human body decorated with necklace, belt and bracelets has provided archaeologists with the first glimpse in possibly 1,400 years of a lost West African civilisation.
The discovery of 80 clay figurines from burial mounds in a remote area of northern Ghana is being hailed as evidence of the existence of a hitherto unknown but sophisticated society. It is hoped that the find will provide information about the region's pre-Islamic history.
A combined research team from the universities of Ghana and Manchester believe that the hundreds of mounds in the 20 square mile area of the dig were ancient shrines.
"These finds will help to fill a significant gap in our scant knowledge of this period before the Islamic empires developed in West Africa," said Professor Tim Insoll of Manchester University. "They were a sophisticated and technically advanced society: for example, some of the figurines were built in sections."
However, so far the find has thrown up more questions than answers as scientists puzzle over what appears to be a deliberate practice of breaking the figures into sections and placing them beside human skulls. Ghana's Dr Benjamin Kankpeyeng said: "The relative position of the figurines surrounded by human skulls means the mounds were the location of an ancient shrine. The skulls had their jawbones removed with teeth placed nearby – an act of religious significance."
The figures, including beautifully carved human and animal sculptures, are believed to be between 800 and 1,400 years old. The next step for the research team will be to carry out analysis of the residues of material which were packed into holes within the figurines to provide more clues about the society.
"We are certain that these people filled the holes with something, but the question is: was it a medicinal substance, or blood, or other material from a sacrifice?" Professor Insoll asked.
The scientists face a race against time to safely remove the current batch of figurines they have found – the first of which were located in 2007 – as illegal excavations are already encroaching on the site.
Looters have carried out hundreds of illegal digs nearby in search of Komaland terracottas, which were first unearthed in 1987. In the year following that official find, so-called Komaland figures started appearing in ever-increasing quantities in the art markets of Dakar, Paris and New York.
Page last updated at 13:12 GMT, Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Ghana dig reveals ancient society
Archaeologists have unearthed dozens of clay figures in Ghana, shedding light on a sophisticated society which existed before the arrival of Islam.
Experts from the University of Ghana found 80 sculptures believed to be between 800 and 1,400 years old.
They believe the figures, depicting animal and human forms, are part of a burial ground or shrine.
Archaeologists say the societies that constructed the figures simply disappeared when Islam arrived.
"What is interesting is that the people now living in this area seem to have no connection with the makers of the figurines," said the university's Benjamin Kankpeyeng.
"That would suggest that that they have more in common with peoples living in other parts of West Africa - but we need to do more work before we can be certain."
Arab slave theory
The statues were found amid hundreds of mounds in a densely packed 30km-square area. [Surely this is evidence of a major settlement!] Mr Kankpeyeng intends to analyse the position and arrangement of the statues with Tim Insoll from the UK's Manchester University.
Mr Insoll told the BBC very little was known about civilisations in the area between 600 and 1200 AD because no written history was kept and the societies ceased to exist when Islam arrived.
He said experts still did not know why the civilisations came to an end - whether the people converted en masse to Islam, or were captured by Arab slave traders.
The statues, he said, could tell historians what kind of people inhabited West Africa in that time.
"Figures have been found in this area before, but what we can do with the latest find is map their arrangement to find out what their purpose was - whether for sacrifice or some other ritual," he said.
The northern Ghana site, near the village of Yikpabongo, was first excavated in 1985, and the dig was restarted in 2007.
The latest batch of figures was discovered in January.
**********************************************
Even more fascinating details in this article from The Independent:Figurines provide clues to lost African civilisation
By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent
Thursday, 18 February 2010
The round clay outline of a human body decorated with necklace, belt and bracelets has provided archaeologists with the first glimpse in possibly 1,400 years of a lost West African civilisation.
The discovery of 80 clay figurines from burial mounds in a remote area of northern Ghana is being hailed as evidence of the existence of a hitherto unknown but sophisticated society. It is hoped that the find will provide information about the region's pre-Islamic history.
A combined research team from the universities of Ghana and Manchester believe that the hundreds of mounds in the 20 square mile area of the dig were ancient shrines.
"These finds will help to fill a significant gap in our scant knowledge of this period before the Islamic empires developed in West Africa," said Professor Tim Insoll of Manchester University. "They were a sophisticated and technically advanced society: for example, some of the figurines were built in sections."
However, so far the find has thrown up more questions than answers as scientists puzzle over what appears to be a deliberate practice of breaking the figures into sections and placing them beside human skulls. Ghana's Dr Benjamin Kankpeyeng said: "The relative position of the figurines surrounded by human skulls means the mounds were the location of an ancient shrine. The skulls had their jawbones removed with teeth placed nearby – an act of religious significance."
The figures, including beautifully carved human and animal sculptures, are believed to be between 800 and 1,400 years old. The next step for the research team will be to carry out analysis of the residues of material which were packed into holes within the figurines to provide more clues about the society.
"We are certain that these people filled the holes with something, but the question is: was it a medicinal substance, or blood, or other material from a sacrifice?" Professor Insoll asked.
The scientists face a race against time to safely remove the current batch of figurines they have found – the first of which were located in 2007 – as illegal excavations are already encroaching on the site.
Looters have carried out hundreds of illegal digs nearby in search of Komaland terracottas, which were first unearthed in 1987. In the year following that official find, so-called Komaland figures started appearing in ever-increasing quantities in the art markets of Dakar, Paris and New York.
Cappelle-la-Grande 2010
Normes de Maître International:Deysi CORI T. (PER)Deimante DAULYTE (LTU)
Florian DINGER (GER)
Kamil DRAGUN (POL)
Marcin KRZYZANOWSKI (POL)
Alexander RAYKHMAN (GER)
Marcin SIECIECHOWICZ (POL)
Andreas STRUNSKI (GER)
Floris VAN ASSENDELFT (NED)
Oksana VOZOVIC (UKR)
Norme de Grand Maître Féminin:
Deysi CORI T. (PER)
This is a very large open - 653 players!
1 g ZHEREBUKH Yaroslav 2527 UKR 7,5 43 2734
26 mf CORI T. Deysi 2412 PER 6,5 40 2562
57 gf DAULYTE Deimante 2272 LTU 6 40 2464
100 gf VOZOVIC Oksana 2309 UKR 5,5 40 2482
123 gf ZDEBSKAJA Natalia 2408 UKR 5,5 38 2339
128 gf MAISURADZE Nino 2249 FRA 5,5 37,5 2219
131 mf SCHNEIDER Veronika 2315 HUN 5,5 37 2297
134 mf VAN WEERSEL Arlette 2179 NED 5,5 37 2249
138 HORTENSIUS Lisa 2022 NED 5,5 36,5 2259
140 mf FUCHS Judith 2193 GER 5,5 36 2290
141 mf CHULIVSKA Vita 2290 UKR 5,5 36 2263
142 m KOSTIUKOVA Liubov 2215 UKR 5,5 36 2210
146 HAAST Anne 2234 NED 5,5 35 2216
150 mf BORIC Elena 2260 BIH 5,5 34,5 2226
152 ff KULON Klaudia 2202 POL 5,5 34,5 2190
165 m ZOZULIA Anna 2321 BEL 5 41 2328
171 mf AMBARTSUMOVA Karina 2297 RUS 5 39,5 2305
179 mf LIMONTAITE Simona 2222 LTU 5 38,5 2345
187 m KLINOVA Masha 2305 ISR 5 38 2277
188 mf DELORME Laurie 2219 FRA 5 38 2265
214 ff FRISK Ellinor 2127 SWE 5 36 2147
217 mf ZEPEDA Lorena 2152 ESA 5 35,5 2182
218 MAUPIN Valerie 2023 FRA 5 35,5 2158
220 gf GREEFF Melissa 2079 RSA 5 35,5 2149
231 KLEK Hanna-Marie 2085 GER 5 35 2149
249 mf MONCAYO ROMERO Evelyn 2142 ECU 5 33 2091
252 BOYARCHENKO Marie 2008 LUX 5 33 2015
262 ff TRAISTARU Teodora 2195 ROU 5 32 2133
263 ff STEIL-ANTONI Fiona 2198 LUX 5 32 2106
265 mf VRUBLEVSKAYA Olga 2106 RUS 5 32 2001
266 MERTENS Pauline 2011 GER 5 32 1932
276 PAPP Petra 2276 HUN 4,5 37,5 2197
287 ff SGIRCEA Silvia-Raluca 2206 ROU 4,5 35,5 2158
289 BAEKELANT Eva 1946 BEL 4,5 35,5 2145
300 HORTENSIUS Myrre 1789 NED 4,5 35 1884
304 ff ADAMOWICZ Katarzyna 2125 POL 4,5 34,5 2036
305 mf ZEPEDA Sonia 2117 ESA 4,5 34,5 2029
328 DE RIDDER Naomi 1580 NED 4,5 33 1787
340 RIGOLOT Lucie 1873 FRA 4,5 32 1969
350 BITALZADEH Mahsa 1788 NED 4,5 31,5 1789
354 VINCKIER Delphine 1812 FRA 4,5 31 1898
379 NEUHAUSER Salome 1988 FRA 4 36,5 2167
382 DALEMANS Diana 1853 NED 4 35,5 2103
384 DIRKSEN Marieke 1925 NED 4 35 2
387 SOISSONG Elzbieta 1672 FRA 4 35 1788
409 AUVRAY Juliette 1963 FRA 4 33 1875
437 GOI Veronika 1944 ITA 4 31 1870
446 OGES Helene 1699 FRA 4 31 1716
450 ROELOFS Iris 1571 NED 4 31 1669
453 mf LEBEL-ARIAS Julia 1969 MNC 4 30,5 1873
469 DUBOIS Emmanuelle 1775 FRA 4 29,5 1782
470 DUROT Edwige 1751 FRA 4 29,5 1727
473 SWIERCZ Sonia 1781 FRA 4 29 1804
482 MAUPIN Kristel 1575 FRA 4 28 1572
483 LEBRET Loriane 1550 FRA 4 27,5 1630
487 WOLFANGEL Jocelyne 1454 FRA 4 24,5 1529
489 COX Maud 1200 NED 4 24 1497
497 HOUCK Veronique 1714 FRA 3,5 33,5 1780
509 LUCAS Maurane 1530 FRA 3,5 31 1724
530 AUVRAY Honorine 1703 FRA 3,5 28,5 1583
548 VAN MEEGEN Judith 1171 NED 3,5 27 1435
553 GREGOIRE Michele 1518 FRA 3,5 25,5 1650
576 GARLOPEAU Brigitte 1678 FRA 3 29 1570
587 BEUKEMA Louise 1313 NED 3 28 1486
589 VANDEVOORT Chantal 1807 BEL 3 27,5 1666
602 DE RIDDER Gertie 1499 NED 3 26 1421
606 CALOONE Claire 1300 FRA 3 24,5 1358
609 DEKOKER Patricia 1150 BEL 3 22,5 1266
613 MARCHYLLIE Michele 1210 FRA 3 20,5 1264
616 HENRI Jacqueline 1448 FRA 2,5 26,5 1455
619 CASTIEN Annie 1140 FRA 2,5 26 1292
624 DUROT Amandine 1210 FRA 2,5 25 1233
625 DOYEN Sylvie 1330 FRA 2,5 24,5 1451
627 DENAES DUFLOU Marie-Therese 1190 FRA 2,5 23 1272
641 GALOPPA Camille 1099 FRA 2 20,5 1095
645 QUETEL Angelina 1120 FRA 1,5 23 1150
646 BULTE Mathilde 1099 FRA 1,5 22 1123
650 PRUVOST Lola 1009 FRA 1 19,5 1000
651 LEDEZ Lilou 1010 FRA 1 18,5 1000