Unbelievable. The British Museum is letting the Cyrus Cylinder out of its custody - sending it to IRAN. Absolutely incredibly STUPID.
Cyrus Cylinder row resolved: 'Ancient declaration of human rights' to visit Iran
Submitted by Ann on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 20:12
[Excerpted] The British Museum has announced that it is lending the Cyrus Cylinder to the National Museum of Iran. Together with two fragments of contemporary cuneiform tablets, it will be the centrepiece of an exhibition that celebrates a great moment in the history of the Middle East.
The artefact – which is described as 'an ancient declaration of human rights' by the United Nations – was originally due to arrive in Iran in September 2009. At that time, the British Museum cited the 'political situation' in post-election Iran as the reason for the delay. In August this year, the loan was once again delayed, prompting Iran's Cultural Heritage Organisation to declare it would cut all ties with the British Museum. [I would have given Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization the one finger salute at that threat, one reason why I'm not a Director of a world-famous museum.]
In a statement released today, the British Museum said that “although political relations between Iran and the UK are at the moment difficult”, the Cyrus Cylinder will – after all – be send to Tehran, where it will be on display for four months.
STUPID STUPID STUPID. It's not the people at the National Museum of Iran whose integrity and honor I doubt - it's the Islamic regime in control of Iran that has no honor - none, zero, zip. What's Britain going to do if the regime refuses to return the Cylinder?
STUPID STUPID STUPID.
Showing posts with label Cyrus Cylinder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cyrus Cylinder. Show all posts
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
More on the Cyrus Cylinder Extracts Found in China
Our prior post.
From Payvand.com - Iranian news source
08/08/10
China's Cyrus Cylinder extracts spark debate in academia
Source: Mehr News Agency, Tehran
An Iranian archaeologist believes that more studies are needed to prove the authenticity of alleged extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder carved on two bone fragments found in China.
"We should wait patiently for in-depth studies by experts on ancient languages and other laboratory research to confirm the genuineness of the objects," Kamyar Abdi told the Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
"If the objects are proven authentic, the discovery will begin to transform our knowledge about relations between the Near East, especially the Achaemenid Empire, and China during the first millennium, in particular during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 BC)," he added
The discovery will also extend back the history of relations between China and Iran. Until the discovery, it was believed that political relations between Iran and China dated back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-221 CE) in China and the Parthian dynasty in Iran.
"The Cyrus Cylinder had undoubtedly been important for the people living under the Achaemenid Empire, but, if the objects are proved authentic, the first question would be how the Cyrus text had been transferred to China and why the text was important enough for the Chinese to copy it," he stated.
Considered the world's first declaration of human rights, the Cyrus Cylinder is a document issued by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the form of a clay cylinder inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform script.
The cylinder was created following the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, when Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian king Nabonidus and replaced him as ruler, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and portrays the victorious Cyrus as pleasing to the chief Babylonian god Marduk. It goes on to describe how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples and restored temples and cult sanctuaries.
The cylinder was discovered in 1879 by the Assyro-British archaeologist Hormuz Rassam in the foundations of the Esagila, the main temple of Babylon. Today, it is kept in the British Museum in London.
Two fossilized horse bones bearing cuneiform inscriptions, which are extracts from the text of the Cyrus Cylinder, have recently been discovered in China, the London-based Art Newspaper reported last week. The objects seem to be genuine based on research by British Museum specialist Irving Finkel.
The texts inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text's cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order, Finkel said.
The bones had been donated to the Beijing Palace Museum in 1985 by deceased Chinese traditional doctor Xue Shenwei, who bought the artifacts in 1935 and 1940. Two years after the donation of the objects, specialist Wu Yuhong realized that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation, but the text of the second was not yet identified.
In January 2010, two fragments of a clay tablet with inscriptions of part of the text of the Cyrus proclamation were found in the British Museum's collection. Afterwards, experts hypothesized that the Cyrus proclamation might have been widely copied during ancient times. Thus, Finkel conducted an in-depth study on the pair of Chinese bones to determine whether they might be authentic.
Based on existing photographs, he learned that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation, and requested more information from Beijing. Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong provided a much better image of the text and took the photos to the British Museum for a workshop that was held on June 23-24.
"The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon," Finkel said.
He surmised that it could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely, the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.
There was some skepticism among the scholars attending the workshop, but Finkel believes that the evidence is "completely compelling". He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.
... Payvand News - 08/08/10 ... --
My money's on Finkel.
From Payvand.com - Iranian news source
08/08/10
China's Cyrus Cylinder extracts spark debate in academia
Source: Mehr News Agency, Tehran
An Iranian archaeologist believes that more studies are needed to prove the authenticity of alleged extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder carved on two bone fragments found in China.
"We should wait patiently for in-depth studies by experts on ancient languages and other laboratory research to confirm the genuineness of the objects," Kamyar Abdi told the Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
"If the objects are proven authentic, the discovery will begin to transform our knowledge about relations between the Near East, especially the Achaemenid Empire, and China during the first millennium, in particular during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 BC)," he added
The discovery will also extend back the history of relations between China and Iran. Until the discovery, it was believed that political relations between Iran and China dated back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-221 CE) in China and the Parthian dynasty in Iran.
"The Cyrus Cylinder had undoubtedly been important for the people living under the Achaemenid Empire, but, if the objects are proved authentic, the first question would be how the Cyrus text had been transferred to China and why the text was important enough for the Chinese to copy it," he stated.
Considered the world's first declaration of human rights, the Cyrus Cylinder is a document issued by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the form of a clay cylinder inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform script.
The cylinder was created following the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, when Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian king Nabonidus and replaced him as ruler, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The text of the cylinder denounces Nabonidus as impious and portrays the victorious Cyrus as pleasing to the chief Babylonian god Marduk. It goes on to describe how Cyrus had improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated displaced peoples and restored temples and cult sanctuaries.
The cylinder was discovered in 1879 by the Assyro-British archaeologist Hormuz Rassam in the foundations of the Esagila, the main temple of Babylon. Today, it is kept in the British Museum in London.
Two fossilized horse bones bearing cuneiform inscriptions, which are extracts from the text of the Cyrus Cylinder, have recently been discovered in China, the London-based Art Newspaper reported last week. The objects seem to be genuine based on research by British Museum specialist Irving Finkel.
The texts inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text's cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order, Finkel said.
The bones had been donated to the Beijing Palace Museum in 1985 by deceased Chinese traditional doctor Xue Shenwei, who bought the artifacts in 1935 and 1940. Two years after the donation of the objects, specialist Wu Yuhong realized that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation, but the text of the second was not yet identified.
In January 2010, two fragments of a clay tablet with inscriptions of part of the text of the Cyrus proclamation were found in the British Museum's collection. Afterwards, experts hypothesized that the Cyrus proclamation might have been widely copied during ancient times. Thus, Finkel conducted an in-depth study on the pair of Chinese bones to determine whether they might be authentic.
Based on existing photographs, he learned that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation, and requested more information from Beijing. Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong provided a much better image of the text and took the photos to the British Museum for a workshop that was held on June 23-24.
"The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon," Finkel said.
He surmised that it could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely, the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.
There was some skepticism among the scholars attending the workshop, but Finkel believes that the evidence is "completely compelling". He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.
... Payvand News - 08/08/10 ... --
My money's on Finkel.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder Found Engraved on Horse Bones in China!
Yep, it's no April Fool's joke - it's real. So says Irving Finkel, a name well known to games historians.
Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder found in China
British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones
By Martin Bailey | From issue 215, July-August 2010
Published online 2 Aug 10 (News)
LONDON. Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity.
This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls of Babylon. Its text celebrates the achievements of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian empire. The clay cylinder was excavated by BM archaeologists in 1879 and sent to London, where it is one of the museum’s most important antiquities.
The texts found in China inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order. The two inscribed bones were donated to the Palace Museum in Beijing in 1985 by Xue Shenwei, an elderly Chinese traditional doctor who died later that year. He said that he had learned about the pair of inscriptions in 1928. He bought the first bone in 1935 and the second in 1940, and named the sellers. Xue acquired them because he thought they were written in an unknown ancient script, presumably from China. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, he buried the bones for protection, digging them up later. Chinese scholars who have pursued the story believe that Xue’s account is credible.
In 1983 Xue offered the bones to the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, which collects inscriptions. It was then that specialists told him they were written in cuneiform. It was not until two years later, when Xue donated the objects, that specialist Wu Yuhong realised that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation (the text of the second was not identified).
The discovery
Until this year it was generally assumed that the Cyrus Cylinder was a unique object, created for ceremonial burial, and that the text had not been disseminated. Then in January two fragments of an inscribed clay tablet in the BM’s collection were found to contain part of the proclamation, suggesting that it might have been widely copied. Finkel returned to the pair of Chinese bones, to reconsider whether they might be authentic. He realised that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation (which had been missed in 1985), and requested more information from Beijing.
Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong went to the Palace Museum store to examine the bones, and also arranged a new rubbing of the inscription (done with black wax on paper), which provides a much better image of the text than existing photographs. Yushu took these to London, for a workshop that was held at the BM on 23-24 June.
Are the bones fakes?
The obvious question is whether the inscriptions are fakes—although they would be bizarre objects to fake. Why would a faker use fossilised horse bone, a material never used before for this purpose? If the bones had indeed been acquired by Xue by 1940, it would not have been easy for a Chinese forger to have gained access to the Cyrus text, which only became widely known later in the 20th century. Why would a faker have carved only one in 20 of the characters, which meant that it took years before the Cyrus text was identified? And why would a faker have sold the bones in China, where there has been virtually no market for non-Chinese antiquities?
The clinching factor for Finkel is that the partial text on the bones differs slightly from that on the Cyrus Cylinder, although it is correct in linguistic terms. Cuneiform changed over the centuries, and the signs on the bones are in a less evolved form than that of the cylinder. The individual wedge-like strokes of the signs are also different and have a slightly v-shaped top, a form that was not used in Babylon, but was used by scribes in Persia.
“The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon,” Finkel believes. It could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.
Scholars at the workshop had little time to digest the new evidence, and inevitably there was some scepticism. But Finkel concludes that the evidence is “completely compelling”. He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.
Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder found in China
British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones
By Martin Bailey | From issue 215, July-August 2010
Published online 2 Aug 10 (News)
LONDON. Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity.
This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls of Babylon. Its text celebrates the achievements of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian empire. The clay cylinder was excavated by BM archaeologists in 1879 and sent to London, where it is one of the museum’s most important antiquities.
The texts found in China inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order. The two inscribed bones were donated to the Palace Museum in Beijing in 1985 by Xue Shenwei, an elderly Chinese traditional doctor who died later that year. He said that he had learned about the pair of inscriptions in 1928. He bought the first bone in 1935 and the second in 1940, and named the sellers. Xue acquired them because he thought they were written in an unknown ancient script, presumably from China. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, he buried the bones for protection, digging them up later. Chinese scholars who have pursued the story believe that Xue’s account is credible.
In 1983 Xue offered the bones to the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, which collects inscriptions. It was then that specialists told him they were written in cuneiform. It was not until two years later, when Xue donated the objects, that specialist Wu Yuhong realised that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation (the text of the second was not identified).
The discovery
Until this year it was generally assumed that the Cyrus Cylinder was a unique object, created for ceremonial burial, and that the text had not been disseminated. Then in January two fragments of an inscribed clay tablet in the BM’s collection were found to contain part of the proclamation, suggesting that it might have been widely copied. Finkel returned to the pair of Chinese bones, to reconsider whether they might be authentic. He realised that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation (which had been missed in 1985), and requested more information from Beijing.
Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong went to the Palace Museum store to examine the bones, and also arranged a new rubbing of the inscription (done with black wax on paper), which provides a much better image of the text than existing photographs. Yushu took these to London, for a workshop that was held at the BM on 23-24 June.
Are the bones fakes?
The obvious question is whether the inscriptions are fakes—although they would be bizarre objects to fake. Why would a faker use fossilised horse bone, a material never used before for this purpose? If the bones had indeed been acquired by Xue by 1940, it would not have been easy for a Chinese forger to have gained access to the Cyrus text, which only became widely known later in the 20th century. Why would a faker have carved only one in 20 of the characters, which meant that it took years before the Cyrus text was identified? And why would a faker have sold the bones in China, where there has been virtually no market for non-Chinese antiquities?
The clinching factor for Finkel is that the partial text on the bones differs slightly from that on the Cyrus Cylinder, although it is correct in linguistic terms. Cuneiform changed over the centuries, and the signs on the bones are in a less evolved form than that of the cylinder. The individual wedge-like strokes of the signs are also different and have a slightly v-shaped top, a form that was not used in Babylon, but was used by scribes in Persia.
“The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon,” Finkel believes. It could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.
Scholars at the workshop had little time to digest the new evidence, and inevitably there was some scepticism. But Finkel concludes that the evidence is “completely compelling”. He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.
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