Behind the Facade of Victorian Womanhood: Cultural Implications of Helena Modjeska’s Coverage in the American Press, 1877–1909
Author(s): Irmina Wawrzyczek / Language(s): English
/ Issue: 52/2021
Keywords: Helena Modrzejewska/Modjeska; actress; Victorian „true womanhood”; „the New Woman”; feminism; penny press; media image; America
Helena Modrzejewska, professionally known also as Modjeska, a renowned Polish-American theatre actress of the second part of the 19th century, lived and performed in the USA in the years 1876–1909. She became an object of interest to the American press soon after her debut in 1877 and stayed in the media spotlight till her death. The present study in cultural and women’s history examines Modjeska’s abundant newspaper reports, notices, stories and reviews in the context of emerging American feminism. Employing content and topical analysis of randomly-selected texts published about her at three different points of time, two parallel yet contradictory femininities have been identified as parts of her mediated identity: an embodied ideal of Victorian „true womanhood” and a genuine New Woman of the fin de siècle. Although Modjeska was keeping up the conventional facade of a perfect gentlewoman for the sake of publicity, her activities were nevertheless consistently subverting the patriarchal codes authorising it. Whether she intended it or not, her media presence moved her to the forefront of feminist ferment in America.
Countless and Uncountable (?) Victims of Chemical Weapons, May 1915
Author(s): Anna Izbaella Zalewska / Language(s): English
/ Issue: 52/2021
Keywords: the Great War; Eastern Front; chemical weapon (CW); 1915; chlorine; fatal and non-fatal poisonings; estimation of the number of fatalities; resting places as memory triggers; war cemeteries
The subject of this discussion are the almost forgotten victims of chemical weapons on the Eastern Front of World War I. Source data related to military operations, in particular to the German gas attacks in the region of the Bzura and Rawka rivers, are the basis for presenting problems related to the estimation of the number of victims of poisonous chlorine gas in the period between May and July 1915. Using the example of selected data relating to the wave attack of May 31, 1915, I show the specificity and complexity of the source documents closely related to the problem under consideration, that is the issue of the countability of victims of chemical weapons. Indirectly, I show the need and legitimacy of systematizing and interpreting all available information on what resulted from the historical use of chemical weapons. This would be conducive to deepening our knowledge about the fallen soldiers and their resting places. It would be helpful to initiate work on a digital repository of knowledge on the use of chemical weapons in the past, taking into account the very diverse descriptions of events and victims of chemical weapons from the Eastern Front of the Great War. Such a digitized resource could contribute to the systematization of highly dispersed source data, their further interpretation and reinterpretation, and their social activation, for the benefit of deepening knowledge about history and historical awareness and preventing the threat of again turning to the use of such weapons of mass destruction.
The aim of the article is to present the attitude of the provincial Yiddish press (based on the example of the Lublin daily „Lubliner Tugblat”) towards regaining independence and forming Polish statehood in November 1918. It discusses both the news content of the title newspaper (focused mainly on local events) and its opinion journalism (concerning almost exclusively national matters) separately. The daily reported on various stages of regaining independence from a strictly Jewish perspective, focusing primarily on matters related to security issues, collective anti-Jewish violence trundling through the country, as well as the role and place of the Jewish community in the reborn state. The newspaper’s attitude to the events of November 1918 went through three distinct phases: recognition, struggle and disappointment, but the constant determinant of its narration was the conviction, taken from folkist ideology, that Jews constitute a separate nation, pursuing an independent policy, expecting from the newly formed state to ensure equal rights to them and, in the longer term, grant them national and cultural autonomy.
The cave settlement at Getahovit-2 in Armenia has a proven record of human occupation from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages, making it the third prehistoric cave site, after Aghitu-3 and Kalavan-1, to be known from this region. The current excavation of an Upper Palaeolithic horizon, discovered in 2014, has yielded a radiocarbon date placing the site within the Last Glacial Maximum, thus filling a gap in the archaeological record between the middle and late Upper Palaeolithic (between 24,000 and 18,000 cal. BP). The short-term occupation by a group of hunters, revealed by the preliminary results, is interpreted with considerable likelihood as a stop during a hunting expedition. Work at the cave site has been resumed under the flag of a newly established Armenian-Polish research cooperation between the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Science of the Republic of Armenia and the Faculty of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw.
Unearthing a Middle Nile crossroads – exploring the prehistory of the Letti Basin (Sudan)
Author(s): Piotr Osypiński,Marta Osypińska,Marek Chłodnicki,Justyna Kokolus,Marzena Cendrowska,Roman Łopaciuk,Beata Piotrowska,Jakub Sobko,Huyam Khalid Madani / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: survey; Letti; early Holocene; Palaeolithic; Neolithic; Kerma;
New research on early Holocene settlement and burial practices in the Southern Dongola Reach focused on the key areas of the Letti region, Argi (adjacent to Affad) and the outlets of Wadi el-Melik and Wadi Howar. The project follows up on ten years of investigations by the PalaeoAffad Project in the Affad region (Northern Province, Sudan). Unique data collected in the course of the first season of fieldwork reopens the debate on cattle domestication and early pottery production in the region (previously classified as the Tergis Group). The new finds, concerning Neolithic and Kerma settlement in the region, enables changes in the currently accepted absolute chronology of prehistoric settlement in the area.
Early comparative research on the material from the site of Kadakol 1 in the Letti Basin (Sudan), which was surveyed in the late 1960s, suggested an association with the Kerma Culture horizon while not excluding multicultural occupation. Investigations, which were resumed in 2022 within the frame of a new research project exploring the significance of the Middle Nile Valley in prehistoric times, have yielded data confirming the early findings and contributing information on younger occupational episodes from Napatan and Christian times, in both cases attested by extensive burial grounds.
There are four main protagonists in Early Dynastic III contest scenes: two heroes, a bull-man and a human-headed bull. They are usually involved in guarding herbivores against predators. Contrary to common opinion, the protected herbivores are identified apparently as wild rather than domesticated species. The paper explores the role of the depicted beings, the interactions between them, and the secondary motifs that accompany them in the contest scenes. Despite the many composition variants and some intricacies of interpretation, the scene as such is considered consistent and imbued with a deeper mythological meaning, rather than being a purely ornamental arrangement of random decorative elements. The author observes the association between specific participants and certain elements of the contest scene and the god Utu/Shamash or else the mountainous region east of Mesopotamia. In both instances, the association points to the eastern horizon—a liminal location where the Sun-god rises, a region with the symbolism of rebirth bestowed upon it, where fates are determined and judgments passed—which is the setting suggested for the perpetual contest depicted in Mesopotamian glyptic art.
Post-New Kingdom topography and chronology of the Hatshepsut Temple at Deir el-Bahari in light of new archaeological evidence
Author(s): Patryk Chudzik / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: Deir el-Bahari; Temple of Hatshepsut; Third Intermediate Period; rock-cut tomb; Roman era; reuse;
Around 1000 BCE, an earthquake brought down many temples in Western Thebes, thus putting an end to the cult centre at Deir el-Bahari which had been a key site for the celebration of the Beautiful Feast of the Valley all through the New Kingdom. Within a few dozen years the deserted chapels and rooms of the Hatshepsut temple were turned into a burial ground. The necropolis established on the ruins of one of the most famous temples of Egypt was first excavated in the 19th century; however, current work by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw expedition in the Hathor cult complex of the temple of the female pharaoh has resulted in the discovery of a group of shaft tombs and a great number of burial remains. These new finds have instigated a revisiting of both the topography and the chronology of this reuse of the older monument, as well as a contextualization of the work of the early explorers which has gradually been forgotten partly through lack of proper documentation.
Keywords: South Caucasus; Iron Age; Urartian pottery; Lchashen–Metsamor pottery;
The morphology and distribution of what is considered as a local pottery assemblage from the Iron I and Iron II phases, which in Metsamor is part of a larger cultural phenomenon designated as the Lchashen–Metsamor pottery horizon, is the subject of continued discussion in terms of its continuity and change. This presentation, expanding on previous, preliminary research (see Iskra and Zakyan 2019; 2022), considers the input of new findings resulting from an examination of the results of the most recent excavations by an Armenian-Polish team, concentrated on phases of peak development (V and IVb) and gradual decline of urban life (IVa) in the Iron Age at this fortress site in Armenia. The discussion also contextualizes current knowledge of the presence of Urartian Red Burnished Ware in the Metsamor settlement, especially during the initial phase of Urartian presence, that is, in Phase IVa.
Recent excavations in the northern part of the Marina el-Alamein archaeological site have uncovered architectural features shedding light on the functioning of this part of the town located close to the putative harbor. It now appears to have been a residential district of an affluent elite, exemplified by House H39 incorporating a small bathhouse. In view of these findings, the location in this part of the town of a large house with a commemorative complex dedicated to the Commodus cult, together with an adjoining banquet hall, does not seem to be accidental.
Author(s): Grzegorz Majcherek / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: Egypt; Alexandria; Kom el-Dikka; Roman period; domestic architecture; floor mosaics; Roman pottery;
Excavations of the central part of the Kom el-Dikka archaeological site in Alexandria have reached early Roman levels and the current investigations of the PCMA UW expedition are focused on completing the excavation of some of the partly uncovered architecture. The southwestern part of House FA was explored, uncovering two fragments of colourful mosaic floors. Building chronology was established based on finds from two deep stratigraphic probes dug inside the structure. The main phases of occupation of House FA turned out to be comprised in a period between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. The archaeological part of the program was accompanied by current preservation and maintenance work that the team is tasked with in different parts of the site; necessary preservation projects were undertaken this year in the theatre, the portico in front of the theatre and the early Roman buildings in the central part of the site. The mosaics on display in the mosaic shelter have also undergone cyclical conservation treatment.
Glass finds from Area F (Houses FA and FB) at the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria (season 2021)
Author(s): Renata Kucharczyk / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: Alexandria; Roman glass; colourless glass; gold-inglass beads;
The collection of early to mid-Roman glasses from the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria has been augmented by new finds from the excavation of substantial remains of Roman domestic architecture (Houses FA and FB) in Sector F in the central part of the site. The range of vessel forms in this new set is not extensive, and shapes known from previous investigations in this sector are repeated to a degree. The most noteworthy contribution is the new data on colourless glassware of the period, a category that has hitherto been represented by a rather limited number of finds from the excavations, and which constitutes key evidence of artisanal activities in the final occupation phase of the Roman houses here.
“Indianisation” of a Roman coin design in Early Historic India: a study of an imitation from the British Museum Emilia
Author(s): Emilia Smagur / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: aureus; Early Historic India; imitation; Roman coins; Indian Ocean trade;
Roman aurei and solidi in India led to imitations of gold being produced there of these coins, with a gradual infiltration of indigenous elements observed in the iconography of some examples. An imitation of a Roman aureus, now in the British Museum collection, demonstrates how the Roman coin design was renegotiated to fit an Early Historic Indian cultural landscape. Specifically, the design of the reverse of this specimen finds no prototype in Roman coinage of the times. It must have been a local development, with the Indian craftsman reworking a representation of a female deity known from issues of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius and adding a temple to it. The Indian form of the building suggests that the figure should be interpreted as a Hindu goddess, possibly Lakshmi, shown in the act of blessing her temple.
Burial practices in early Byzantine Syro-Palestine (4th–7th centuries CE) – review article
Author(s): Mariusz Gwiazda / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: burial practices; Syro-Palestine; early Byzantine; grave goods;
This review paper of current knowledge of burial customs in Syro-Palestine in the early Byzantine period (4th–7th centuries CE) identifies elements that were a continuation of burial practices from the Roman period (1st–3rd centuries CE) while noting new customs. It considers the material in terms of location of the burial grounds, forms of graves, variety of grave goods and body positioning data. A quantitative approach to the data demonstrates a gradual departure from chamber tombs and sarcophagi in the early Byzantine period. An emerging trend in this period are burials being made in monasteries and, to a lesser extent, in churches; this can be related to the spread of Christianity. Discussing the results of available radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis, the paper calls for more widespread use of these methods to further knowledge of burial customs in Syro-Palestine in the final phases of antiquity.
Keywords: Egypt; Roman period; Byzantine period; churches; town; graves;
Being one of the biggest and best preserved archaeological sites in the western hinterland of Alexandria, ‘Marea’/Philoxenite is, therefore, one of the most important points of reference for studies of the Mareotis region. Despite the fact that the site has been investigated for many years, by various excavation teams, the nature and chronology of the different phases of settlement remain unclear. Since 2018, systematic stratigraphic excavations have been carried out at the site with the aim of investigating insufficiently studied parts of the settlement. In 2020 and 2021, this goal was achieved by opening and surveying 11 trenches in the southwestern part of the site. This led to the identification of hitherto unknown structures: two churches, two tombs, an irrigation system and numerous rubbish dumps associated with the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic phases. The study also determined the extent and functional changes of various parts of this settlement, in different historical periods.
Unearthing 6th-century CE occupation on the fringes of the Nile Valley. Closing the PalaeoAffad Project in the Affad Basin (Sudan)
Author(s): Marta Osypińska,Justyna Kokolus,Paweł Wiktorowicz,Marzena Cendrowska,Roman Łopaciuk,Marek Chłodnicki,Beata Piotrowska,Jakub Sobko,Huyam Khalid Madani / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: survey; Nubia; Middle Nile Valley;
Archaeological sites located on the fringes of the current Nile river valley, 7 km inland, in the Affad Basin (Northern Province, Sudan), explored by the PalaeoAffad Project in the final season of fieldwork under the current grant project, revealed cultural affinities with pastoralism in a semi-desert environment dated to the period between the Meroitic and Makurian kingdoms. Excavated structures included possible drinkers for animals and an infant’s grave found under a stone tumulus.
The two pieces of scratch-engraved glass presented in this article, one with lion and the other with camel imagery, are to date the only examples of animal representations executed in this technique that are known from the archaeological excavation of the Kom el-Dikka site in Alexandria (Egypt). As such, they contribute significantly to the still very small assemblage of scratch-engraved glass with zoomorphic themes from the Islamic world, so far made up of altogether no more than seven fragments, including these two. The shards come from cylindrical cups, a popular form in use in the Early Islamic period, dated to the 8th–9th centuries.
The glass finds presented in this article—the catalog encompasses 200 pieces constituting a representative selection of tableware, lamps and windowpanes—span a time from the 1st century through the 9th, corresponding to the Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic/Abbasid periods in Jordan. The assemblage derives from 15 months of uninterrupted fieldwork, carried out within the frame of the Jerash International Project run by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan between October 1982 and the end of 1983, at two locations within the ancient urban site in Jerash, the ancient Gerasa. These locations were: a residential area by the South Decumanus and a small church founded by Bishop Marianos in the vicinity of the hippodrome and Hadrian’s Arch.
Visual Viewshed Simulation: Applying a 3D environment in archaeological research at Faysaliyya (southern Jordan)
Author(s): Jacek Karmowski / Language(s): English
/ Issue: XXXI/2022
Keywords: virtual landscape; 3D in archaeology; simulation; visibility analysis; visibility reconstruction; landscape archaeology; GIS;
The shift from presenting and analyzing threedimensional data in 2D to displaying and analyzing them in a 3D environment is becoming increasingly prevalent in archaeological practice. This approach opens new possibilities, such as a 3D virtual reality, that archaeologists can take advantage of. This paper presents an application of the Visual Viewshed Simulation, a 3D virtual reality tool for (re)constructing the visibility of objects in the field, taking into account factors such as atmospheric and lighting conditions. This approach can provide a new way to research people–place relations and may be particularly useful in landscape archaeology.
Review of:
Amr Abdo, Alexandria Antiqua. A topographical catalogue and reconstruction. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2022; ISBN 978-1-78969-943-2 (print); ISBN 978-1-78969-944-9 (e-Pdf); 378 pages, 246 figures
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