Parthenon fragment repatriated from Sicily to Greece

Mon, 10 January 2022

The fragment is thought to depict the goddess Artemis (AFP/Giorgos KONTARINIS)

Greece on Monday welcomed Italy's return of a marble fragment from the Parthenon, calling on the British Museum to open talks on returning those parts of the archaeological monument it still holds.

The Greek culture ministry said the 2,500-year-old fragment had been returned from a museum in Sicily as "a deposit, not a loan" and would remain in the Greek capital for the next eight years.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis said that two "very important exhibits" would be sent to the Antonino Salinas Museum in Palermo in recognition of the gesture.

And he welcomed its arrival as a "very important step" towards Greece's ultimate goal -- the return of a large collection of Parthenon sculptures held by the British Museum.

"I think it paves the way also for the British Museum to enter into serious discussions with the Greek authorities, to find a solution that will be mutually acceptable," Mitsotakis said at the Acropolis Museum, which has housed the Parthenon sculptures since 2009.

"When there is a will, there is a way... sooner or later it will happen," he added, citing favourable opinion polls in the UK.

The fragment -- a foot and lower tunic from a sculpture thought to depict the huntress goddess Artemis -- was returned following an agreement between the museum and the Greek culture ministry.

It was in the collection of Robert Fagan, a 19th-century British consul to Sicily and Malta before the museum acquired it in 1836, the Greek PM's office said.

- The 'Elgin Marbles' dispute -

The Parthenon temple was built in the 5th century BCE on the Acropolis to honour Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.

After a Venetian bombardment partially destroyed it in 1687, workmen stripped entire friezes from the monument on the orders of Scottish nobleman Thomas Bruce, known as Lord Elgin, in the early 1800s.

Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which in 1817 passed them on to the British Museum where they remain one of its most prized exhibits.

London has long argued that the sculptures had been taken with permission from the Ottoman Turks who ruled Greece at the time, but Athens insists they were stolen.

In an interview in March, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out the return of the marbles to Greece. They had been legally acquired by Britain and legally owned by the British Museum's Trustees since their acquisition, he said.

After a meeting with Mitsotakis in November, Johnson reiterated that the issue must be resolved by the trustees of the British Museum, not the British government.

Athens, which has received backing from a groundswell of celebrities on the issue, has repeatedly said it does not wish to pursue legal action to settle the bitter dispute.

It has called for the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO to act as mediator, an offer rejected by the British Museum.

Smaller Parthenon frieze collections and fragments are also in the Louvre and museums in Copenhagen, Munich, the Vatican, Vienna and Wurzburg.

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Time has come for UK to return Parthenon marbles, says Greek PM

Kyriakos Mitsotakis says deal with Sicily ‘opens way’ for return of marbles from British Museum

Parthenon sculptures displayed at the British Museum. Lord Elgin had the sculptures hacked from their monument more than 200 years ago.

 Photograph: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB


Helena Smith in Athens
Mon 10 Jan 2022

The long-awaited homecoming of a marble fragment, honed to adorn the Parthenon but long in exile in Italy, must “open the way” for other masterpieces to be reunited with the monument, the Greek prime minister has said.

As the artwork was unveiled at the Acropolis Museum, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said its restitution – sealed in a breakthrough deal between Sicily and Athens – offered a blueprint for similar accords to be reached, for example with the UK.

“This important step today opens the way, I believe, for other museums to be able to move in a similar direction,” he told attenders at Monday’s ceremony. “Most importantly, of course, the British Museum should understand that the time has come for the Parthenon marbles … to finally return here, to their natural home.”

The exquisite piece is barely the size of a shoebox. Carved 2,500 years ago, it depicts the foot of a draped Artemis, goddess of the hunt, peeking out from beneath an elaborate tunic. The fragment once embellished the eastern part of the Parthenon temple’s monumental frieze, long regarded as the high point of classical art.

The treasure was returned last week to Greece by the Antonio Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Sicily, ostensibly as part of a cultural exchange.

Conservators at the Acropolis Museum in Athens place the Parthenon fragment sent from Sicily. 

Photograph: Panayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Under the deal it was agreed that the loan, due to expire in 2026, could be extended for a further four years. In return, Athens has lent the Palermo Museum a headless fifth-century BC statue of the goddess Athena and an eighth-century BC amphora.

But culture ministry officials acknowledged negotiations were under way to ensure that the artefact’s repatriation was “indefinite”, in what would amount to added pressure on the British Museum to follow suit.

More than half of what survives of the 160-metre long frieze is on display in London. Lord Elgin, Britain’s then ambassador to the Sublime Porte, had the sculptures hacked from the monument more than 200 years ago before he sold them, bankrupt and despondent, to the British Museum in 1816.

Eight museums across Europe house other parts of the frieze; the Acropolis Museum in Athens, custom-built to exhibit the treasures, exhibits about 50 metres worth.

Mitsotakis, who has reinvigorated Greece’s decades-long campaign for the antiquities’ reunification in Athens, made the marbles’ restitution the central issue of his first Downing Street talks with the prime minister, Boris Johnson, in November.

Athens has long argued that the marbles were stolen by Elgin at a time when stateless Greece was under Ottoman rule.

Although once a passionate champion of the sculptures’ return to the country, Johnson has changed course, insisting that the carvings were legally acquired. He rejected Mitsotakis’ assertion that the row should be resolved as an intergovernmental matter, saying it was an issue for the British Museum to discuss.

But the Greek leader said on Monday that Athens remained undeterred in its battle to retrieve the treasures, and that the deal with the Palermo museum had proved that where there was a will, a “mutually acceptable solution” could be found. Athens has offered to give London antiquities that have never before left Greece in return for the masterpieces.

“I am especially encouraged by the fact that the majority of Britons appear to support our demand,” Mitsotakis said, referring to successive polls that have shown most UK citizens believe the marbles should be returned to Athens.

Prehistoric rock art carved over by vandals at Texas national park

Elisha Fieldstadt
Mon, January 10, 2022

Ancient rock art at a Texas national park was "irreparably damaged" last month, prompting officials to urge the public to come forward with information about the vandals.

"On December 26th, a panel of ancient petroglyphs in the Indian Head area of Big Bend National Park was irreparably damaged when vandals chose to boldly scratch their names and the date across the prehistoric art," the National Park Service said in a statement.

The carvings that were destroyed are between 3,000 and 8,500 years old, Tom VandenBerg, chief of interpretation and visitor services with Big Bend National Park, told NBC News.


"The particular style of rock art that was damaged in this instance is classified by archeologists as the 'Pecked Abstract Tradition," VandenBerg said. "It is characterized by abstract, complex, geometric shapes and lines."

Damaging park resources violates the Code of Federal Regulations. Additionally, rock art and ancient cultural sites are protected under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.

"Park managers have seen an increase in vandalism and graffiti in the area, and ask anyone with information about these incidents, or the persons involved, to contact the law enforcement staff of Big Bend National Park," officials said.

Image: Big Bend petroglyphs (National Park Service)

The petroglyphs, or rock carvings, in Big Bend appeared to be carved over with the names Issac, Ariel, Norma and Adrian; the year 2021; and the date 12-26-21, according to a photo from the park service.

"National Parks are treasured lands and protect our national heritage," the park service's statement said. "Graffiti is vandalism, is costly, and extremely difficult if not impossible to remove."

Big Bend archeologists have seen more than 50 instances of vandalism since 2015, according to the statement. The park service asked people not to try to clean graffiti or vandalism themselves, but rather contact park staff who "will attempt to mitigate the damage as quickly as possible, using highly specialized techniques."

Staff have worked to treat the rock carving, but "much of the damage is, unfortunately, permanent," officials said.

VandenBerg said the vandalism is under investigation, and the park service has received "a number of potential leads."

Ancient giant "sea dragon" fossil discovered in U.K.
Li Cohen 

Paleontologists have made a massive discovery in the United Kingdom's smallest county — the fossilized remains of a giant Jurassic sea creature. The fossil, which researchers said is "very well-preserved," is said to be the "palaeontological discovery of a lifetime," according to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

The fossil was found at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in central England in February 2021, according to an announcement from the wildlife trust. Joe Davis, who works on the water conservation team for the trust, found it during a routine draining procedure for re-landscaping.

© Provided by CBS News Ichthyosaur skeleton found at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in central England, August 26, 2021. / Credit: Matthew Power Photography/Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust

At first, he said in a statement, he thought the remains were clay pipes sticking out of the mud, except that "they looked organic." He told a colleague that they looked like vertebrae, and when they got closer, they saw "what indisputably looked like a spine" as well as a jawbone at the spine's end.

"We couldn't quite believe it," Davis said. "The find has been absolutely fascinating and a real career highlight. It's great to learn so much from the discovery and to think that this amazing creature was once swimming in seas above us."

The fossil was excavated in August and September, and has since been identified as an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that somewhat resembled dolphins. This particular fossil, found nearly complete, is nearly 33 feet long and is roughly 180 million years old, researchers said. Its skull measures at more than 6.5 feet long.

Davis told the BBC that the fossil was "very well-preserved, better than I think we could have all imagined."

Video:  Drone footage shows huge sea reptile fossil

Ichthyosaur expert Dean Lomax, who helped with the fossil's research, said that the find is the "largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever discovered in Britain."

"These animals, they first appeared in a time called the Triassic period around roughly 250 million years ago," Lomax said in a video for Rutland Water Nature Reserve. "Our specimen, the Rutland Ichthyosaur, or the Rutland Sea Dragon, is the biggest complete ichthyosaur ever found in Britain in over 200 years of collecting these things scientifically, which is an incredible feat."

Ichthyosaurs are not swimming dinosaurs, he clarified.

According to company Anglian Water, which helps maintain the reservoir in which the fossil was found, ichthyosaurs of this size and completeness are "incredibly rare," especially in the U.K., with most comparable examples being found in Germany and North America.

Alicia Kearns, who represents Rutland Melton in Parliament, said the discovery "surpassed every possible expectation."

"It is utterly awe-inspiring," she said.

Though the largest, this was not the first ichthyosaur fossil found in the reservoir. The Wildlife Trust said that two incomplete and "much smaller" remains were found in the '70s when the reservoir was first being constructed.

The paleontologists working on the remains are continuing their research and are working on an academic paper about the findings.

 

Like humans, clitoris key to pleasure for female dolphins

Dolphins are well known for having sex not just for reproduction but also bonding and self-gratification.

Now, a new study in the journal Current Biology has shown females of the species have a large clitoris packed with sensory nerves and erectile tissue, features suggesting it has a strong role in providing pleasure.

Lead author and animal genital expert Patricia Brennan of Mount Holyoke College told AFP that non-human sexuality was a neglected area of study, particularly when it comes to females. 

“These are things that are critically important for us to understand evolutionarily. They may actually have something to teach us about our own sexuality,” she said.

Outside primates, dolphins are one of the main species known for using sex as a way of creating and maintaining social bonds. 

The aquatic mammals have sex — including females with other females and males with other males — throughout the year, and the clitoris is located in a spot where it would be stimulated during copulation.

They rub against sand to masturbate and there have also been reports of females rubbing each other’s clitorises with their snouts, flippers and flukes.

All of these behaviors signal they enjoy the experience, but Brennan and colleagues wanted to confirm the idea and to deepen biological understanding.

As it is difficult to analyze dolphins having sex under lab conditions to collect data like heart rate, or scan their brains, they decided to study the features of the dolphin clitoris to make inferences.

For the paper, they carried out detailed analysis on the clitorises of 11 females that had died naturally and found strong evidence to support the organ’s functionality.

The first feature was the presence of erectile tissue structures, with many blood vessels.

“What that means is these are tissues that actually engorge with blood, very much like a penis, and the human clitoris,” said Brennan.

The shape of these structures changed from calves to adults, indicating their use when the animal became sexually mature.

Secondly, the clitoris has large nerves and many nerve endings right underneath the skin, similar to in human fingertips, and indeed genitals. 

Moreover, the skin of the clitoris was very thin to heighten sensitivity.

Finally, they found sensory structures called genital corpuscles, which are very similar to those found in human penises and clitorises and are known to exist specifically for pleasure. 

Humans last shared a common ancestor with cetaceans some 95 million years ago, making the similarities surprising — unlike commonalities with primates, from whom we diverged around six million years ago.

– Discomfort – 

For Brennan, the lack of previous research into dolphins, but also female animal sexuality more generally, was “baffling,” and might speak to a sense of discomfort among scientists and the public.

Nevertheless, it is important to study, she said. 

For example, past research has shown that the success of artificial insemination of heifers and pigs increases drastically when a person stimulates the animal’s genitals.

“People might be uncomfortable if they knew that in order for me to have my beef, somebody had to stimulate the clitoris of a cow,” she said.

Studying animal sexuality could also have implications for human health, said Brennan.

“There are certainly plenty of females who have problems during sex, for example, related to arousal, or related to pain during sex or inability to orgasm,” she said, and studying fellow mammals can improve understanding about why, as well as provide possible solutions.

Part of the reason for the neglect of female sexuality specifically might stem from a historic imbalance in the number of female scientists, said Brennan. Even the human clitoris wasn’t fully described until the 1990s.

Brennan next plans to turn her attention to alpacas, which copulate for up to half an hour, far longer than fellow ungulates. She suspects the males might be stimulating the females’ clitorises, facilitating reproduction.

Gigantic water snake climbs onto family dock to sunbathe

Jan 10, 2022

Water snakes can grow to 1.5m (4.5 feet) in length. They are often confused with venomous rattlesnakes and cottonmouths. Snakes strike fear in the hearts of many, even though they are beneficial to our own existence. Perhaps it is the fear of the venomous snakes that could potentially cause us illness, or worse. Perhaps it is more rooted in the common fear of snakes that is the second most common fear in the world. It is helpful to at least understand which of the snakes pose a threat and which do not. Unprovoked attacks by snakes are rare and most of these are caused by an accidental close encounter that makes the snake react in self defence. Another common cause for mishap is when snakes are handled irresponsibly. 

This common northern water snake has similar markings as Massassauga rattlesnakes and cotton mouths. They are often mistaken for the more dangerous varieties. Water snakes swim beneath the water, able to hold their breath and completely submerge while hunting or moving in the water. Rattlesnakes keep their head above water when they swim. Watersnakes prey on fish, frogs, and other small animals along the shore. Although they can inflict a painful bite, they are not capable of seriously harming a human. 

Even the bite of a Massassauga rattlesnake, Canada's only venomous snake, is not powerful enough to cause life threatening symptoms for most humans. These snake make a loud buzzing sound when threatened and people and animals often have ample opportunity to avoid a regrettable encounter. Understanding snakes and their benefit to us is an important step in avoiding a problem with them, and preventing unfounded fear. Without them, rodent populations would go unchecked and we would have serious problems with parasites and other illness. Rodents are also an extreme problem for farmers, causing crop damage and increased costs.

Burrowing badger unearths Roman-era treasure in Spain

The coins were likely dug up by a badger searching for food during the vast snowstorm

 which paralysed Spain in January 2021.

A treasure trove of some 200 Roman-era coins was discovered in northwestern Spain thanks to the apparent efforts of a hungry badger hunting for food, archaeologists have said.

Described as "an exceptional find", the coins were discovered in April 2021 in La Cuesta cave in Bercio in the Asturias region, with details outlined in the Journal of Prehistory and Archaeology published last month by Madrid's Autonomous University.

The coins were likely dug up by a badger searching for food during the vast snowstorm which paralysed Spain in January 2021.

At that time, many creatures struggled to find berries, worms or insects to eat, with this luckless mammal only unearthing a handful of inedible metal discs that were later spotted by a local.

"On the floor of the cave... in the sand likely dug up by badger at the entrance to its sett, we found the coins with more inside," the archaeologists wrote after finding 209 coins dating back to between the 3rd and the 5th century AD.

Most of these late Roman era coins "originate from the north and eastern Mediterranean" from Antioch, Constantinople, Thessaloniki which later passed through Rome and Arles and Lyon in southern France, although at least one coin came from London, they wrote.

"The quantity of coins recovered, as well as the undoubted archaeological interest of the transition to the early medieval period, make the hoard discovered at Bercio an exceptional find," they wrote.

The researchers said the coins had likely been moved there in the "context of political instability" linked in particular to the invasion of the Suebians, a Germanic people, who pushed into the northwestern part of the Iberian peninsula in the 5th century.

Israeli archaeologists find treasures in ancient shipwrecks

© 2022 AFP

Shark seen looming in floodwaters after heavy rain in northeast Australian city

By Adam Douty, Accuweather.com

Jan. 10 -- After heavy rain in Australia brought on by Tropical Cyclone Seth last week, a damaged levee system failed and caused water to inundate downtown Maryborough, Queensland. And if the flooding wasn't, a bull shark was spotted swimming in the murky waters.

The storm brought extremely heavy rainfall to the central and southeastern coast of Queensland late last week and into the weekend. Around 24 inches of rain fell in parts of southeast Queensland and sparked major flooding along the Mary River in and around Gympie and Maryborough.

On Saturday, a valve within the levee protecting the central business district of Maryborough was damaged which lead to water rushing into downtown parts of the city. Emergency evacuation orders were promptly issued for more then 30 downtown city blocks.

Maryborough has a population of about 15,000 and is located about 130 miles north of Brisbane.

There has already been one death attributed to the flooding, according to Yahoo News. A 14-year-old girl remains missing after she was swept away by floodwaters while abandoning a flooded car.

As if the floodwaters were not enough, a video showed the fin of a small bull shark swimming through the waters at one of the city's parks.

"I do want to remind people about the dangers of floodwaters," said Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Mike Wassing. "We've had the shark in the park, we've got contaminated water, you've seen what can occur with roads in the local areas and how dangerous that is."

In nearby Gympie, Mayor Glen Hartwig said "very significant damage" had already been discovered, according to The Guardian. "I've been in this area for 40 years, and we haven't seen anything like it," he said.

BOO

As of late Sunday, floodwaters were cresting along the Mary River around the Maryborough area. Upstream areas are seeing floodwaters recede, which is expected to translate into the Maryborough area. Without significant additional rainfall in the forecast, AccuWeather Meteorologists expect the flooding around Maryborough to slowly fall in the coming days.

Meanwhile, northern Queensland is bracing for a hit from Tropical Cyclone Tiffany which is gaining strength across the Coral Sea

"Some strengthening is possible and Tiffany can intensity to the strength of a strong tropical storm or minimal Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday night, local time," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls. This would make Tiffany a Category 2 cyclone on the Australia intensity scale.

Tiffany can bring flooding across the Cape York Peninsula through Tuesday before tracking into the Gulf of Carpentaria. Localized wind damage is expected near landfall in northeast Queensland. This is the most likely between Cape Malville National Park and Lockhart.

"Tiffany may then reach the Northern Territory with heavy rain and gusty winds later in the week," added Nicholls.

 

Record snow is making moose cranky and dangerous, Alaska park says. ‘Be ready to run’



Mark Price
Mon, January 10, 2022

Tourists daring to visit Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve are advise to “be ready to run,” because the moose population has become extremely cranky.

There’s been a record-breaking 5 feet of snow that blankets the park — “an armpit-deep wallow” — and temperatures have been a consistent minus 40 degrees, officials says.

Moose are not handling the situation well, given it’s nearly impossible for them to walk.

“The moose around the park are highly stressed out,” Denali officials wrote on Facebook.

“If you are out and about in the park, stay vigilant, keep your head on a swivel, moose are dangerous. Even though these are pretty big animals, they can be extremely quiet, if not downright sneaky, sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere. Be ready to run if needed.”

Part of the problem is moose are now gravitating to spots cleared of snow by the maintenance crew and those are the same roads, parking lots and sidewalks where visitors tend to linger.

Moose, which can weigh up to 1,400 pounds, have always had a reputation for being aggressive if they feel threatened, experts say. The snow has worsened their paranoia.

“Moose typically respond to threat by flight or fight. Flight is no longer an efficient option, so fight is the dominant response under these conditions,” the park explained.

The National Park Service reported Dec. 31 that Denali National Park and Preserve had broken a series of weather records dating to 1923. The site saw 74.5 inches of snow last month and nearly 55 inches of it fell the week of Dec. 23-29.

The park posted a series of moose safety tips for visitors, including:

“Keep your head up and look around before you walk out the door or around the corner and especially while walking on trails or in the dark. Moose can be anywhere and are often hard to see until you are too close.

If you see a moose, alter your route and give them a very wide berth. Do not approach! If a moose charges, run away!

Don’t try to scare moose away. No yelling, clapping, or approaching on foot or by vehicle, no horn honking, to get them to move. This just makes them ornery and may result in a charge.”

Rarely seen Everglades mink captures ‘giant’ snake

Pete Thomas
Mon, January 10, 2022


A Florida resident has captured extraordinary footage showing an Everglades mink scurrying across a dirt road with a large snake it had just captured.

Hannah Cardenas sent her footage to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The FWC, explaining that mink sightings are rare because of the animals’ elusive nature, shared the footage via Facebook on Monday, stating:

“Imagine the surprise seeing this Everglades mink scampering across the road carrying DINNER! A mother and daughter were on their way home from a nature hike in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park when they spotted this mink run across the road in front of them – seconds later, it ran BACK across the road with a GIANT SNAKE in its mouth!”

Mink occasionally prey on snakes longer than their body lengths. They also eat fish, birds, and small mammals

According to the FWC website, mink are difficult to study in terms of abundance and distribution “because this species is small sized, fast moving, and excellent at remaining out of sight. They are often confused with the much larger and more common river otter.”

Mink are listed as threatened in Florida.

–Image courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 Hungry bear finds lost GoPro in Wyoming, records itself trying to eat it, video shows

If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to get French kissed by a bear, the experience was caught in vivid detail on a lost GoPro recently recovered in Wyoming.

The video — which is both disgusting and fascinating — was posted Sept. 21 on Facebook by Dylan Schilt of Laramie, Wyoming.

 “Last week when I was up archery hunting, I stumbled across a GoPro that was lost while snowmobiling. When I got back to camp I charged it up and couldn’t believe what I saw,” he wrote in his post.

 “After four months of it sitting there, a big old black bear found it and not only managed to turn it on but also started recording himself playing with it. Hands down the craziest thing I’ve ever found!” 

Schilt told ViralHog he believes the bear “was playing with it,” rather than trying to eat it.

The nearly 5-minute long video shows the bear finding the camera, sniffing it, tasting it and appearing to pull it apart with its teeth.

Claws are seen and some views look past stained teeth and a sticky tongue, straight down the bear’s throat.

Read more at: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article254557467.html#storylink=cpy