DEWEY began blogging at The Hidden Side of a Leaf in April 2007. While her main topic was books - book reviews, book discussions, reading challenges, book giveaways - her focus was always on building community, as she said herself:

My main focus in blogging is community. I want to share my love for books with other bloggers, hear what they think of what they’re reading, and have lots of bookish fun. My non-review blog activities...are all meant to build community.

In just over a year and a half as a book blogger, Dewey quickly became a leader in the community she sought to foster. Her book reviews were well-thought-out, insightful, and thorough; her style of reviewing and the books she wrote about influenced the reading and blogging choices of many other book bloggers - and while she was a prolific reviewer, her reading outpaced her reviewing, and she often remarked about being behind on her reviews. In addition to her own reading and reviewing, Dewey organized and managed several reading challenges, and founded three events which spread across the book-blogging community: the semi-annual 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, the monthly Bookworms Carnivals, and Weekly Geeks.

In April 2008, Dewey proposed a new sort of "challenge" at her blog; not a reading challenge, but a blogging challenge, to be called "Weekly Geeks" - her initial post to gauge interest in the idea prompted 150 people to sign up! The challenge would involve a weekly assignment - a question, a task, a theme - to be completed and posted on the Geeks' individual blogs and linked at the main assignment post. Not every Geek participated every week, some assignments were more popular than others, and new Geeks joined in as the word spread. Visiting other Geeks' posts for that week was part of the assignment as well, which is where Dewey's community-building focus kicked in.

The book-blogging community was stunned and saddened by the news that Dewey passed away on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - but it never doubted that Dewey's contributions to it would live on, and there was a drive to continue the events she founded. It will take committees of bloggers and several blogs to keep them going, though. Welcome to the new home of Weekly Geeks, part of Dewey's legacy to the community she was so important to.

Written by Florinda

The following table contains links to the many posts that have been written in memory of Dewey:

Blog Name
Tribute Post
Weekly Geek Post
1 More Chapter Dewey You'll Be Missed -- 1330V Dewey Thinking Of Dewey 3 Rs Reading, ‘Riting Randomness Book Bloggers Say Goodbye Blogging For Dewey A Garden Carried In The Pocket Requiem -- A Girl Walks Into A Bookstore Dewey -- A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook Goodbye Dewey -- A Reader’s Respite Rest In Peace Dewey -- A Striped Armchair Rest In Peace Dewey -- APOOO Books RIP Dewey -- Armenian Odar Dewey, Thank You For Everything -- At Home With Books In Honor Of Dewey -- B&B ex libris Dewey -- Back To Books A Sad Loss To The World -- Bart’s Bookshelf :( -- Beastmomma Losing A Blogging Pal -- Becky’s Book Reviews Sad News Indeed In Her Own Words Belle Of The Books Dewey Will Be Missed -- Bibliolatry A Great Loss -- BlogHer Remembering Dewey -- Bloody Hell It’s A Book Barrage Farewell, Beautiful Dewey -- Bluestocking Guide Loss In Our Community -- Bluestocking Society Goodbye To Dewey -- Bold. Blue. Adventure We’ll Miss You Dewey -- Book-A-Rama Unbelievably Sad News For Dewey Book Addiction -- Remembering Dewey Book And Cranny Shock and Sadness -- The Book Mine Set Rest In Peace Dewey -- Book Dads The Butterfly Award -- Book Nut -- Geeky Tribute Book Zombie Remembering Dewey This One's For You Bookfoolery And Babble This One's For Dewey -- Bookgirls Nightstand For Dewey -- Bookish Ruth Farewell Dewey -- Booklorn Sad Day -- Bookopolis Bookworms Carnival -- Bookroom Reviews God Bless You Dew -- Books And Border Collies In Memoriam -- Books And Movies A Huge Loss -- Books And Other Thoughts Remembering Dewey -- Books I Done Read Sad News -- Books Of Mee Bye Dewey -- Books On The Brain A Sad Goodbye -- Bookstack Loss Of A Builder -- Bookworm In Memory Tribute Post brideofthebookgod -- Dewey Care’s Online Book Club -- Weekly Geeks Caribousmom Remembering Dewey -- A Loss In Memory Of Dewey Casual Dread -- Dewey ChainReading -- Remembering Dewey Deus ex machina complex Oh Fuck In The Land Of Denial Everyday Reads Prayerful Weekly Geeks Fizzy Thoughts In Memory Of Dewey For Dewey Fyrefly Books In Memoriam -- Galley Cat Book Blogger Dewey -- Giving Reading A Chance Dewey, You Will Be Missed -- Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading? We Love You Dewey -- In Search Of Giants In Memory Of Dewey -- In Spring It Is The Dawn Farewell Dewey -- Incurable Logophilia Bookshelf Peeping -- It’s All About Books Dewey We’ll Miss You Dewey Tribute Just Add Books Huge Loss Making It Count The Kea <3 -- For Dewey -- Kids Book Buzz Farewell To Dewey -- Kittling Books Dewey's Community -- Kristina’s Favorites For Dewey -- Leafing Through Life Missing You -- Life Happens While Books Wait Dewey -- Literary Escapism Sadness In The Book Blogosphere -- Literate Housewife In Remembrance -- Lit*chick Two Things -- Madeleine’s Book Blog In Memory Of Dewey -- Maggie Reads My Eyes Are Dewey -- Maw Books Blog In Which We Say Goodbye -- Melody’s Reading Corner Dewey ... You’ll Be Missed Honouring Dewey Musings Remembering Dewey -- Musings Of A Bookish Kitty In Memory Of Dewey -- My Friend Amy Farewell Dewey For Dewey My Own Little Reading Room My Prayers For Dewey Remembering Dewey My Years Of Reading Seriously Life... -- Naked Without Books Dewey -- Fortress Is Their Library -- Nothing Of Importance This Is Real Life Tribute To Dewey Out Of The Blue Dewey Remembering Dewey Page After Page Life Is So Fleeting Dewey Edition Pages Turned Remembering Dewey -- Passion For The Page -- RIP Dewey The Printed Page Thoughts And Prayers -- Random Wonder In Remembrance -- Reading Adventures Sad News Indeed -- Reading Derby Dewey You Are Missed -- Reading In Appalachia For Dewey -- Reading Is My SuperPower Oh Dewey -- Reading, Writing and Retirement Candle For Dewey For Dewey Ready When You Are C.B. In Memory Of Dewey -- Rebecca Reads A Farewell -- Savvy Verse & Wit My Dearest Dewey Dewey Tribute She Reads Books In Memoria -- Shelf Life Sad News -- Should Be Reading In Memory Of Dewey -- Sleepy Reader For Dewey -- So Many Books, So Little Time Hole In Our World -- So Many Precious Books Today Is A Sad Day In Memory Of Dewey Some Reads So Sad -- Sophisticated Dorkiness Sad News Remembering Dewey Sprite Writes Dewey -- Stephanies Confessions A Terrible Loss... -- Stephanie’s Written Word The Hidden Side Of A Leaf -- Stuff As Dreams Are Made On Oh No... Weekly Geeks Subliminal Intervention -- Dewey Tales From The Reading Room Saying Goodbye -- Tammy’s Book Nook For Dewey, With Love -- Things Mean A Lot Dewey For Dewey Thoughts Of Joy Extremely Sad News -- Tiny Little Reading Room Rest In Peace Dewey -- Tripping Toward Lucidity Loss -- Trish’s Reading Nook In Memory Of Dewey -- True Confessions Of A Book Lover Dewey -- Valentina’s Room -- For Dewey West Of Mars Public Service Announcement -- Word Lily For Dewey Remembering Dewey Worducopia Goodbye -- In Memory Of Dewey Dear Dewey The Written World In Memory Of Dewey -- You Can Never Have Too Many Books Dewey --

Lisa Roe, an online publicist wrote a three part guest post in memory of Dewey. The posts can be found on these blogs:
1. Part 1 Dewey, Our Blog Friend Remembered @ AndiLit.com
2. Part 2 Lisa Roe’s Memorial Post For Dewey @ BookingMama
3. Part 2 Lisa Roe Remembers Dewey @ Reading Is My SuperPower

The items were seized by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers and Federal Arts Department representatives from an auction house and private home in Sydney under laws designed to protect cultural objects.

Local authorities were tipped off by Interpol about the historic items including a Coptic textile fragment and large saucer lamp.

Macquarie University's Ancient Cultures Research Centre director Naguib Kanawati was one of several examiners who was asked to assess the cultural significance of the artefacts.

"While the provenance is unknown, the objects are all funerary in nature and would have been found in a cemetery or multiple cemeteries," he said.

They include a wooden hand belonging to an anthropoid coffin, small statuettes of a man and woman to serve the deceased in the afterlife, as well as a number of amulets.

A preliminary examination by Australian Egyptologists suggested the items date from the New Kingdom to Coptic periods and that some pieces may be over 3,000-years-old.

"As sites were used for burials by successive generations at different stratigraphic levels it is not unusual to find objects belonging to different periods at the same site," Professor Kanawati said.

Federal Arts Minister George Brandis handed the artefacts back at a formal ceremony at the Egyptian Embassy in Yarralumla.

"This is a splendid and significant occasion because it is not often that one government has the opportunity to return to another government, artefacts that are precious not only to Egypt but significant to the history of civilisation itself," he said.

Egypt's ambassador Dr Hassan El-Laithy welcomed the return of the significant items.

"One of the pieces that the Honourable Minister handed back over was a piece that witnessed the Coptic history and Christianity in Egypt... something we are very proud of," he said.

"Egypt was not only privileged by having its old civilisation of the Pharaohs, but also having prophets Moses and Jesus living in Egypt."

Last year Prime Minister Tony Abbott returned a 900-year-old bronze statue of the god Shiva to India that was found to have been looted from a temple in Tamil Nadu.

The statue had been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 2008 from a New York art dealer who became embroiled in a stolen art trafficking scandal.

Author: Liz Foschia | Source: ABC News Website [April 08, 2015]

For Weekly Geeks 2009-08, we revisited a theme from Dewey's Weekly Geeks: Political and Social Issues, originally presented in May 2008. The instructions were the same as before:

1. Choose a political or social issue that matters to you. If you were a Weekly Geek last May and already did this theme, pick a different theme than the one you did at that time.

2. Educate readers about your topic by telling us a little about it and any involvement you've had in this issue.

3. Find books addressing your issue; they do not necessarily have to be books you’ve read. They can be non fiction, fiction, poetry, etc...Give a little synopsis of the book or a link to the description.

4. Use images which you feel illustrate your topic.

The theme inspired posts on a wide range of issues. Be sure to go back to this week's assignment post to see everyone who participated and signed Mr. Linky! Meanwhile, here are some of the posts and topics that caught my attention:

• Two moms talked about children's issues that affect more than just their own families - Julie of Booking Mama discussed food allergies, while Julie from A Small Accomplishment wrote about living with ADHD.
• Crime-fiction bloggers Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise and Dorte of DJ's Krimiblog both looked at how social issues are addressed as themes in their preferred genre.
• Encounters between a believer and an atheist prompted Ariel Dalloway to tackle the science vs. religion debate.
• At Worducopia, Ali wrote about the challenges of avoiding things "made in China" (labeled or not).
  
• News and the media interested a few of the WG participants. Kim from Page after Page wrote about media bias, and Nymeth of Things Mean a Lot pondered racism in the media; meanwhile, Maree at Just Add Books wondered why celebrities are "news" in the first place. Maybe it's because they get people to read? On a related note, Frances of Nonsuch Books talked about literacy initiatives.
• And please forgive the self-promotion, but I really do hope you'll read my own WG contribution on the topic of comprehensive sex education for teens at The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness.
  

According to the Assyrian website www.ankawa.com, ISIS is planning to destroy the walls of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire and one of the most important archaeological sites in Iraq. Nineveh was sacked in 612 B.C. when the Assyrian Empire was overthrown.

Residents of the Bab Nergal area of Mosul said ISIS has informed them that it will blow up the walls of Nineveh with the start of operations to liberate Mosul by the Iraqi army.

In the last month ISIS has seized the content of the cultural museum in Mosul as well as destroyed Assyrian monuments in the city, which ISIS claims "distort Islam."

Assyrians are the the only indigenous people of Iraq, going back to 4750 B.C. In 2003, just before the U.S. invasion, there were 1.5 million Assyrians living in Iraq. Today there are about 500,000 remaining. A sustained, low grade genocide (report) perpetrated by Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds drove hundreds of thousands of Assyrians into exile in Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

On August 7 of 2014, ISIS moved into the Nineveh Plain, the last stronghold of Assyrians in Iraq, forcing nearly 200,000 Assyrians to flee their homes and villages, where they now live as refugees in the Dohuk and Arbel areas.

Source: AINA News [January 02, 2015]

The mound, located in the eastern part of the Erbaa district and is claimed to be home to the Anatolian civilization of the Hatti between 2500 and 1700 B.C., has been covered with earth over time and become a hill with an altitude of 325 meters. The first excavations were carried out on the mound in 1940. Many artifacts from the Hittite and Phrygian eras have been unearthed during past excavations.

It was also reported that the region had characteristics of the best known Alacahöyük mound in the Central Anatolian province of Çorum, although work has since ceased in the area.

Tobacco field 

The field of roughly three hectares, which was owned by Yusuf Şerbetçi, who died a few years ago, and was then bequeathed to his inheritors, was declared as a first-degree archaeological site in 1996. But because archaeological activity did not start, the owners rented the field to five families, upon which tobacco was planted in the field.

Following the news that tobacco was planted on the field, officials took action.

Frankfurt Goethe University Director of Archaeology Dirk Wicke has come to the region with the invitation of the Erbaa Municipality and examined the mound. Examining the reports of the drilling works in Horoztepe, Wicke said they had found traces of the existence of three different civilizations in the mound, and it would be cleared during the excavations, which will start in August with the permission of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

The excavations are set to start in the necropolis (graveyard) area, owned by the Erbaa Municipality. After the Sivas Cultural Heritage Protection Board gives permission to the excavation, 40 graves will be unearthed before the excavations begin.

A long-term project

Erbaa Mayor Hüseyin Yıldırım said Horoztepe was very important for the district, and continued:

“As a result of the drilling works, the archaeological site, which was about three hectares, was increased to roughly nine hectares by the Sivas Cultural Heritage Protection Board. We wanted to unearth this area and started looking for an expert, but failed to find an expert to work here. We had two choices to make this happen; either with Turkish experts via the Culture and Tourism Ministry or with the museum. But since the museum does not have personnel for this work, we applied to foreign countries.”

Until retirement

Yıldırım said at the end, they invited Wicke to Turkey. “He came to Erbaa and examined the area. ‘Once I start excavations here, I will continue until retirement,’ he said. This will be a long-term project. We have finished our file on Horoztepe and delivered it to the ministry. We will receive permission around April.

Excavations will start in the necropolis first. We hope that it will be heard about all around the world,” the mayor said.

Artifacts unearthed during the first excavations in Horoztepe are today on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [February 05, 2015]

City design

VIA «Fosters and FXFOWLE have won award World Architecture News»

The advert describes "a first degree archaeological site, facing the Bird Heaven Lake near Bogazici village, with full sea and lake view". Prospective buyers will need deep pockets - it's on the market for 22m Turkish liras ($9.6m; £6.3m). But those willing to splash out could find all sorts of treasures beneath the unexcavated ground. It's thought the site includes the remains of an amphitheatre, temple and Byzantine-era necropolis.

Archaeologists want the site and others like it to be bought by the government, to ensure they're properly looked after, but say the funding isn't available.

"Private ownership of those sites is obstructing archaeological work," says Binnur Celebi from the Archaeologists Association.

"However, the person or persons who acquire those sites can absolutely not conduct any construction activities."

The site even comes with a bit of Greek mythology. It's said that the mythical hero Bellerophon named it after his friend Bargylos, who died after being kicked by the winged horse Pegasus.

Source: BBC News Website [January 14, 2015]

The report analyzes six of the 12 sites that Syria has nominated as World Heritage Sites: Dura Europos, Ebla, Hama's Waterwheels, Mari, Raqqa, and Ugarit. A forthcoming report will analyze the additional six sites.

"As we continue to study the conditions at Syria's important cultural sites, we have observed significant destruction that is largely the result of conflict. However, unlike our previous analysis of Syria's World Heritage Sites, we're seeing a lot of damage that appears to be the result of widespread looting," said Susan Wolfinbarger, director of the AAAS Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project, which authored the report. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Penn Cultural Heritage Center and the Smithsonian Institution also contributed to the research.

"This report helps us understand how the extensive the actual damage is to Syria's cultural heritage. It will inform future emergency preservation efforts," said Brian Daniels, director of research and programs at the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Penn Cultural Heritage Center.

In the report, images from 2014 show numerous pits throughout three sites where ancient cities once stood. The pits generally do not appear in similar images from 2011, when the conflict in Syria began. "We interpret these pits as evidence of looting due to the distinct craters visible within the satellite images," said Jonathan Drake, a senior program associate at AAAS.

"This type of documentation really allows us to make a firm statement based on scientific observation of things that have happened at a site," said Wolfinbarger.

"Sometimes when things are reported in the news media or social media, details can be obscured or purposefully misconstrued. But this analysis is replicable. We can say definitively, 'we see this.' And when it is tied it in with other types of information, satellite imagery can give us a more complete picture in parts of the world that are difficult to access."

"These images show the destruction of ancient artifacts, architecture, and most importantly, archaeological context that is the record of humanity's past," said Katharyn Hanson, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Penn Cultural Heritage Center and a visiting scholar at AAAS. "From the origins of civilization to the first international empires, Syria's cultural heritage and these sites in particular are vitally important to our understanding of history."

The most extensive looting identified in the report was at Dura-Europos, which was founded in the 3rd century B.C. and served as a frontier city as well as the main hub for caravan routes. The site represents a blend of cultural traditions, including Greek, Mesopotamian, Aramaic, Persian, and Roman influences. There have been numerous reports of damage through social media and news reports, and the AAAS report now documents the extent of this activity.

Based on the imagery analysis, 76% of the area within the city wall had been damaged by April 2014, and the looting pits were so close together it was impossible to distinguish individual pits, the researchers report. Looting pits outside the city wall were less dense but still numerous; approximately 3,750 individual pits were observed. Images from 2 April 2014 show four vehicles among the ancient Roman ruins in close proximity to the looting, suggesting that the disturbances at the site may have been ongoing at that time, according to the report.

The second site described in the report is Ebla, the site of an important kingdom in the Early Bronze Age. The site is best known for its archive of several thousand written tablets that "revolutionized knowledge regarding the ancient history and political economy of the region," the report says. Ebla is constructed out of mud brick, so without preservation it is vulnerable to erosion.

The images in the analysis show looting pits, including 45 new holes observed between 18 August 2013 and 4 August 2014, as well as eroded walls, earthen berm fortifications, and heavy vehicle tracks. Military compounds have been constructed on the site, likely due to the fact that the site is elevated over the surrounding plain and provides a good view of the area.

Looting is also widespread at the ancient Mesopotamian city of Mari, which was founded in the early 3rd millennium B.C. and prospered as a node on the trade routes. Like Dura-Europos, Mari is located in the Deir ez-Zor province that has seen violent clashes during the conflict. The Albu Kamal region, where Mari is located, came under the control of ISIS in June 2014.

The looting appears to have ramped up during the last year. The researchers identified 165 visible pits dug between August 2011 and March 2014 (an average of 0.17 pits formed per day). Between 25 March and 11 November 2014, however, they identified 1,286 new pits, an average rate of 5.5 pits dug every day over the seven-month period.

The fourth site is Raqqa, and important city center that exemplifies the transition of a Greek/Byzantine urban center into an Islamic city by 796 A.D. Since 2013 Raqqa has been at the center of the conflict in Syria. After fighting by opposition groups, ISIS took control of the city in October 2013, and in September 2014, the United States and partner nations began an airstrike campaign against ISIS in Raqqa.

The observed damage in vicinity of the Tentative World Heritage site in Raqqa appears to be different from that of the other sites in the analysis, according to the report, with little evidence of direct military conflict. "Rather, when damage is present, it appears to be nearly total and targeted, with specific buildings disappearing while the surrounding buildings remain untouched," the report states.

This phenomenon appears too precise to have been caused by the Syrian Arab Republic Government's military forces, and while it is well known that the United States and other partner air forces have the ability to deliver munitions with high precision, the destroyed sites are all cultural sites located within the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage site boundary, according to the report. "The more plausible explanation is that the demolitions in the vicinity of the Tentative World Heritage site's boundaries are the result of actions by ISIS," the report states.

The two other areas that the researchers analyzed -- the historic waterwheels of Hama, which raised water up to aqueducts for drinking and irrigation, and the ancient site of Ugarit, a mostly stone city that connected the ancient empires of Mesopotamia with those of the Mediterranean -- do not appear to have been damaged.

Copies of the report can be downloaded at http://www.aaas.org/geotech/culturalheritage-SyrianTWHS-122014.html.

Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science [December 17, 2014]

Some media reported that the wooden gilded chair of the boy king Tutankhamun was broken during its transportation between the Egyptian museum in Tahrir Square to the planned Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) overlooking Giza plateau.

Almost two months ago news broke about the flawed restoration work on Tutankhamun's golden mask at the Egyptian museum.

It was reported that three other artifacts of Tutankhamun’s collection were also damaged during their transportation. These objects, according to reports, are the top of the sarcophagus, a round offering table, and a marble vessel.

The reports also accused the Ministry of Antiquities of negligence.

“What has been published in newspapers are unfounded claims,” GEM's director general Tarek Tawfik told Ahram Online.

He continued to say that the objects that were transported to the GEM were not broken and do not even belong to the boy king’s funerary collection, despite photos in the media which suggest this to be the case.

“They are non-royal objects from the Old and Middle Kingdoms discovered in Dahshour necropolis and were dismantled at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, and not broken as claimed,” confirmed Tawfik.

The objects which were identified in the media as Tutankhamun’s chair, he asserted, is instead a non-royal table from the Middle Kingdom. The sarcophagus, the vessel and the offering table have been in two pieces since they were discovered last century and were not broken during transportation.

Eissa Zidan, the head of restoration at the GEM, told Ahram Online that what was thought to be a sarcophagus, was in fact an Old Kingdom alabaster plaque that was discovered last century in two pieces.

All the newly transported objects, Zidan continued, are safe and none of them were broken. They came to the museum in their current condition and were subjected to normal restoration procedures like any other transported objects.

An archaeologist at the GEM who spoke to Ahram Online on condition of anonymity, said that the person behind the publishing of the false news is a former restorer at the GEM. The administration terminated his contract and transferred him to his original job as a restorer in the Al Manial Palace restoration department.

The official said that the former restorer at the GEM made up the rumours as revenge for his demotion.

Author: Nevine El-Aref | Source: Ahram Online [March 26, 2015]

“This is a salvage operation to get as much as we can,” said archaeologist Jera Davis, who is part of the team excavating the site.

The sites along the bank overlooking the river have been endangered by rapid erosion caused by a shift in the river channel. The salvage effort is a stopgap measure until UA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can agree on a plan to stabilize the stretch of riverbank along the wooded northern border of the park, according to Matt Gage, director of the UA Office of Archaeological Research.

“Since 2010, we have really seen a major change in what is happening with the erosion in this area,” Gage said.

The university and the Corps are trying to work on a feasibility study, he said.

The stabilization work would likely be funded by local and federal matching funds, with the Corps responsible for the stabilization and the university assisting with the archaeological work at the site.

At a site below the raised walkway that runs along the edge of the bank, the team has been excavating a midden heap — or trash pit — for about a week.

The bank below the excavation is a steep slope of exposed sandy soil where the trunks of toppled cypress and gum trees protrude from the silt at the water’s edge.

Gage estimated the staff has about six to eight months of salvage work along the riverbank on the edge of the park. The salvage by the archaeologists needs to be done before the stabilization work begins and before the valuable archaeological deposits slide down the slope into the river.

Only about 15 percent of the massive Moundville complex has been excavated. The section threatened by the river is among the least explored, according to Davis.

The site overlooking the river was likely one of the first and last places to be occupied at the complex, which was inhabited from roughly the 11th to 16th centuries by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture. The site was a religious and commercial center, home to both elite and commoners of the culture.

Based on materials found in the trash pit, experts say the sites near the river were likely the residential areas for the elite members of the society. The items include such things as shards of elaborate ceramics and mineral pigments from the Midwest, Davis said.

The trash pits offer glimpses of daily life at the sprawling complex, once the second largest of its kind in what is now the United States.

Moundville is eligible as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage site, Gage said.

Erosion along the bank is speeding up, he warned.

“Every day, we are losing a little bit of Moundville,” he said.

In the past, a natural jetty formed by silt deposits at the mouth of Carthage Branch to the east of the park helped protect the stretch of riverbank by redirecting the current. The recent changes to the river channel eroded the natural barrier and began to cut away at the bank along the Moundville site, Gage said. He estimated that approximately 30 meters of riverbank has been lost since 1969. The Corps of Engineers stabilized a stretch of riverbank northwest of the park roughly 25 years ago with riprap and other stone to prevent erosion.

While the Corps was previously able to stabilize the riverbank on the northwest corner of the park with aggregate, the erosion occurring now is a more challenging engineering problem because of the steep slope of the bank, which drops almost immediately into the river channel, Gage said.

Gage anticipates the project could cost anywhere from $7 million to $11 million.

“It all depends on what the Army Corps of Engineers decides is a possibility,” he said.

Author: Ed Enoch | Source: The Tuscaloosa News [January 26, 2015]

VIA rachel zoe project 2011 best top news

The site dates back to the time of the Achaemenid king Darius the Great in the 5th century BCE. It involves two main diversion canals on the Karun River, one of which, Gargar canal, is still in use providing water to the city of Shushtar via a series of tunnels that supply water to mills.

The system forms a cliff from which water cascades into a downstream basin and enters south of the city enabling people in Shushtar to plant orchards and create farms over an area of 40,000 hectares.

Source: Iran Front Page [December 25, 2014]

This is Ashley talking — just so we are all clear. Readers of my blog, Hey there! What's up guys?!
Readers of Misty's blog — I have taken over temporarily. I have locked Misty in a tower for a few minutes, because I had a lot of really awesome stuff to share with you, but I promise to give her back soon... Really. I promise.

Alright, fine. I'll pinky swear. Now, can I move on? Thanks. I appreciate it.

Anyway, Last Friday (April 22) my cousin Emily and I spent 3 hours in the car driving down to Logan, Utah to attend an author event with some seriously awesome authors. Attending the event were Shannon Hale, Brandon Mull, Ally Condie, James Dashner, and (yup) Jessica Day George!

I'll say more on the event on my blog after the awesomeness that is Fairy Tale Fortnight has ended, but for now, it is simply important for you to know that I went there, and that I was able to meet all five of these awesome authors. I had emailed Jessica prior to the event, letting her know I was coming, and asking if it would be alright for me to record her saying something nice to all you awesome Fairy Tale Fortnight readers.

And, she said yes!! I am going to apologize in advance for the bad sound on the video — There were over 1,000 people at the event, and it was loud in there! But, you can still hear Jessica, so here she is! Saying hello to all you awesome readers!

As if that wasn't cool enough, Misty and I had a strange visitor last weekend. I won't tell you how or why or what really happened (I'm not really sure I even know). But, Misty and I were visited by this magical being, known as the Giveaway Fairy. She sprinkled some magic dust (don't ask me how she managed to be in both Michigan and Idaho at the same time. She's a magic fairy, remember?!) and suddenly, it would seem that all of the giveaways for Fairy Tale Fortnight have been changed! Don't be alarmed, the giveaway fairy only brings good tidings. (It's that nasty giveback fairy you have to really watch out for).

So, thanks to the giveaway fairy, and the awesomeness that is Misty and myself, all Fairy Tale Fortnight giveaways will now end on Sunday, May 8th!! That gives you even more time to enter, tell your friends, comment away and get those extra entries in by spreading the word! (Note, not all the giveaways have extra entries, but many of them do! And, I imagine that, since we are dealing with fairies after all, good Karma definitely doesn't hurt!)

Misty escapes and comes bursting in, gasping and out of breath; She says: Ashley! What are you doing? Three hours. I have been in that tower for three hours, Ashley! Without any books!

Ashley freezes* (said in falsely cheerful voice) Misty! Hi! Umm... Hi! Oh, I said that already. I... Well, I... I just had to, okay?! I just had to share the awesome news with everyone and I didn't think you'd mind.

The awesome news? *lowers her voice* About the fairy? But Ashley... I don't know if they can take much more awesome. The fairy warned us --

Ashley interrupts: I know that. I know, I know... But I just had to risk it! I figured keeping that much awesome to ourselves would cause that whole global meltdown from awesome faster. Spontaneous awesome combustion, and all that.

Misty: Well, I guess when you put it that way. Okay go ahead and tell them.

Ashley: Oh, ya... Well, about that... You were gone for three hours... And, I kinda sorta... Well, I... I already told them.

Misty looks at Ashley. Sighs. Walks away, mumbling.

Ashley: Enjoy the rest of the Fortnight, everybody!

Young Michael Jasik is killed in a car accident at the hands of his drug abusing friend, Brad Brennan. His mother, Jenny, a single mom, is destroyed by the news. When she learns that her son’s death was influenced by Brad’s drug addiction, she has to take action. She storms into the local police station and demands to be put on the undercover drug enforcement task force that she heard about on the news. Police Lieutenant Steve Morrity is leading the task force. While civilians aren’t typically involved in this type of police work, Morrity knows Jenny will take action on her own if she isn’t selected. So, after a grueling physical test, Jenny passes and becomes an undercover informant. She is forced to hide this from her two surviving children, Scott and Alicia. They notice a change in her behavior and contact their father, who has never really been a part of their lives. Jenny risks her life, and the custody of her children for this mission. I commend Jenny’s character for her strength, and the fearless acts she performed in an effort to bring down a big time drug pusher. ONE SMALL VICTORY is an amazing, heart pounding, emotional tale about one mother’s love of her children, and the steps she takes to protect them from harm.

More than 5,000 ancient coins found in a Buckinghamshire field are an "unprecedented" find, the county's keeper of archaeology has said.

A member of the Weekend Wanderers Metal Detecting Club discovered the 11th Century coins buried in a field near Aylesbury four days before Christmas.

Brett Thorn from Bucks County Museum said it was the largest hoard of Saxon coins ever found in the county and the second largest in the UK.

"It just doesn't happen," he said.

Paul Coleman, from Southampton, was taking part in a dig in the Padbury area on 21 December when he found the coins from the late Anglo Saxon, early Norman period, depicting the heads of kings Ethelred the Unready and Canute.

"I saw one shiny disk," he told BBC News. "It was reflecting in the sky and I immediately knew it was a coin, you just know. So I bent down to pick the coin up and as I could focus down in the hole I could see lots of circular shapes behind it. Club spokesman Peter Welch said the coins, which were buried in a lead bucket, had "looked almost uncirculated, like they were straight from a mint".

Mr Thorn said the find was "massive" and the largest find of Saxon coins since 1840 when about 7,000 were unearthed in Cuerdale, near Preston in Lancashire.

'Very significant'

"I was absolutely astounded," he said. "To give an idea of scale, people normally find between five and 20 [Saxon] coins. We have about 4,000 Roman coins in the Bucks County Museum and only 30 Saxon ones, so it is very significant both nationally and for the county, it is just unprecedented."

The coins, which feature at least two kings, will be cleaned and examined by the British Museum to establish which mint they came from.

"Until they are cleaned and dated [to find the oldest] we can't begin to find out why they were collected or why they were carefully wrapped and very definitely hidden," said Mr Thorn.

A coroner must rule if they are "treasure" under the Treasure Act.

Mr Thorn could not comment on their estimated value but said if the museum decided, in conjunction with the British Museum, to acquire them "it would be a major fundraising effort".

The largest UK hoard of Anglo Saxon treasure was about 1,600 items, including helmet parts and processional crosses.

It was found in a Staffordshire field in July 2009 and valued at £3.285m.

Source: BBC News Website [January 03, 2015]

It's no secret that I love classic lit, and I love literary jokes (I think it's safe to say this to other book lovers) so when I saw the book Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook by Sarah Schmelling I had to buy it. Literally had to, I couldn't wait to get it. And let me tell you my friends, it was worth full-price. Let me sum up the book for you the short way: Classic Lit characters and authors on Facebook. Status updates, groups, poking and all. This book at me laughing for a week.

I loved the passage on Jane Eyre, obviously. I'll give you a little taste of Jane's News Feed so you get an idea of what this book is like:

"Jane Eyre has "Hard Knock Life" on repeat.
John Reed sent his cousin Jane a Book (at her head).
John PICKED A FIGHT with Jane using the Violent British Children application.
Result: SWEET! Jane won! Her fuming little British girl just taught John's irritating British boy the meaning of pain. Ouch!
Mrs. Reed does not see how in fact Jane won.
Jane took the Quiz: What Color Room Should You Not Be In? with the result "Red.""

Another one of my favorites was from the Oedipus Rex section: "Oedipus has some things to talk over with the wife." I just couldn't help myself with this book. I laughed out loud everywhere. In my bedroom, at work, secretly reading in lecture. It was just too funny. I'll be honest though, I only read the sections about books I read or authors I was familiar with, which was actually about 75% of the book. I know this is a book I will come back to when I read some of the other selections included. I'll admit it, I've read the Jane Eyre section four times already.

I really don't have any complaints with this book. I thought the sections were dead on, the quizzes were hilarious, and honestly I can't imagine what book lover would not enjoy this book. And that is why this book earned an A. Also, I don't usually plug my Amazon links, but this book is bargain priced on Amazon right now for $6, so if you're going to buy it now would be a good time! It's normally $15 in case you were wondering.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Bitlis Eren University academic Associated Professor Mehmet Demirtaş said the ancient city was registered by the Culture and Tourism Ministry in 1986.

The ancient city, part of which is underground and part of which is submerged beneath the lake, had all the traces of a city and settlement, Demirtaş said, adding it should be protected from illegal excavators and those who want to use it for commercial purposes.

Demirtaş called for the ministry and the Van Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board to take action. “The region has a history of 5,000 years. Lots of findings from the 3rd century B.C. have been unearthed there so far. There are two ancient cities in the district; one is in Şahmiran village and the other is this one on the coast of the lake. It is known as the ancient city of Tatvan. There are rock-carved niches, geometric shapes and paintings. These are the most common features of an ancient city and they were all registered in 1986.”

Demirtaş said many structures which had been unearthed during previous excavations remained underground because they were not taken under protection.

“[Potential excavation] work will completely unearth the ancient city. This place will be a focus of interest in the world. But there are those who want the area to be zoned for housing and build a holiday village or drill for water. Also, treasure hunters cause a large amount of damage to this area. A common project should be made for its  protection,” he said.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [March 25, 2015]

Have you I mentioned to you all that Jason is the best guy ever? He has gotten me two bookish gifts recently. Two things I've wanted for a very long time. For Valentine's Day he got me a reading pillow. I mentioned this on my first Best Gifts for English Majors post and I never got one. I was so excited to open it on Valentine's Day and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it.

This is perfect for reading in bed at night. I don't have to hold the book up so my arms don't get tired-- a major problem with reading in bed. I just put the pillow in my lap, hold the book open and read away. You can order these Peeramid Bookrests on Amazon if you're interested. They are hard to find.

He also got me a great t-shirt from the greatest store in world, Raygun. Raygun is a local thing, they make great t-shirts about towns in Iowa because those of us who love Iowa love to show our pride. Someone else really liked Iowa, especially the girls that live there...

Yeah, that's right, Jack Kerouac. I've wanted this shirt for a long time since On the Road is one of my all time favorite books. Sigh. I'm just so happy I have this shirt. If you're not from Des Moines you'll probably find it less exciting, so thanks for humoring me.

In other news, it's midterms which means I have way too much crap going on this week. I have several books to make, a paper to write, a presentation, and an exam. Blargh. I'm really looking forward to spring break, even if I'm only dog-sitting. Lots of time to read and relax. In my lifelong attempt to make you all read essays I posted a three sentence essay yesterday! You should all go read it! I even challenged you to write your own and so far one person has taken the challenge.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Spring break is almost over and I'm quite sad about the whole thing. I've had a taste of summer and now it's all I can think about. I'm feeling a little sick today, or maybe I'm just embracing my last lazy day. I'm planning on spending time in bed, watching TV, and reading. I haven't finished five books quite yet, but I think I can make it happen by the end of the day. Essex County

is the real stand-out book I finished and I can't wait to review it. I think it might be my favorite graphic novel.

I'm still hard at work on my Day Zero Project. I've come close to completing two more projects on my list and have several of the long term projects going too. The project has really forced me to change my attitude about life. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the things I need to and want to do (and not doing them) I now just see these as things I will finish eventually. Something that will be checked off a list. It's a little freeing, and empowering to realize you can complete your goals with planning and passion.

In other news, my book buying ban has twelve days left. I went to Barnes and Noble this week and even thought I felt like buying a lot of things I resisted. And you know what? I'm still alive. Two things are getting me through this ban. The first is the $40 I taped to my calendar. If I get to April 1st then that money is mine to buy books with. The second is the Goodreads application on my iPod. Now if I see a book I want in the store I just scan it and add it to my wishlist. Once the ban is over I can go through my wishlist and see what what books I'm still pining for and what I can probably forget about.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

The throne, made of rosewood and inlaid with gold and a floral pattern, was owned by philanthropist Li Chunping.

It took him three years to buy the throne from a descendant of a royal highness of the Qing Dynasty in Tianjin.

Li said the final price was lower than he expected and that the throne will have a higher value after two or three years.

A buyer from Beijing bought the throne after three rounds of bidding.

Source: China Org [January 13, 2015]