Archaeology Odyssey

In the first half of the second millennium B.C.E., the Minoans on Crete invented a script, the as-yet undeciphered Linear A, to write their own language. When Mycenaeans from the Greek mainland conquered Crete, they adapted Linear A to record an ancient form of Greek; this script, called Linear B, was deciphered by the English architect Michael Ventris in the 1950s. Tablets inscribed with Linear B have been found on Crete and at Mycenaean sites on the Peloponnesus.

See Cemal Pulak, “Shipwrecked! Recovering 3,000-Year-Old Cargo,” AO 02:04.

The AIA’s Code of Ethics defines undocumented antiquities as follows: “Undocumented antiquities are those which are mot documented as belonging to a public or private collection before December 30, 1970, when the AIA Council endorsed the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property, or which have not be excavated and exported from the country of origin in accordance with the laws of that country.

See David Soren, “‘Carthage Must Be Destroyed!’ But Must It be Forgotten?” AO 03:06.

See Robert Schick, “The Image Destroyers,” AO 02:05.

The Buddha performs several miracles at Sravasti, a town in northeastern India where he taught for most of his enlightened life. In the miracle usually referred to as the Miracle at Sravasti, the Buddha appears seated on a 1,000-petaled lotus blossom to prove to his detractors that he has found nirvana.

While the Buddha meditates, Mara, a symbol of worldly attachments, tempts him with women, food and other luxuries to prevent him from attaining enlightenment. The Buddha is able to resist these allurements, and he summons the earth itself to witness his triumph over temptation.

No inscription from the site mentions its ancient name; however, Bernard associated the site with the Alexandria Oxiana referred to by Ptolemy (c. 90–168 A.D.) in his Geography 6.12.5–6.

The Persian dynasty descended from Achaemenes (c. 700 B.C.) ruled over a vast empire, which Darius I (521–486 B.C.) expanded from the Nile to the Indus. Yet Darius failed to conquer Greece in the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., and his son Xerxes was defeated at Salamis ten years later.