Friedrich Nietzsche’s grave under threat from search for brown coal

Friedrich Nietzsche declared famously that “God is dead!” so it is probably safe to assume that he did not much care what happened to his skeleton.

Which may be just as well as bulldozers prepare to turn over the philosopher’s grave and his birthplace in search of brown coal.

The village of Röcken, south of Leipzig, is plastered with posters bearing quotes from Nietzsche’s masterpiece, Thus Spake Zarathustra, announcing “Be true to the soil!” in a desperate attempt to prevent an energy company from turning the region into a lunar landscape.

Ralf Eichberg, head of the Nietzsche Society, said: “We have Nietzsche’s birthplace, the church where he was baptised and where his father preached, the orchard where he played, the school where he learnt to read and write, and the graves; his, that of his sister Elisabeth, his parents.”

Digging the village up — as has happened to 25 east German communities targeted by mining companies since the Second World War — would destroy most of the physical traces of the 19th-century thinker. Röcken, with barely 600 inhabitants, used to be in East Germany and the Communist authorities considered Nietzsche dangerous; a supplier of ideas to the Nazis because his concept of a “Super-man” could be applied to Nordic German heroes.

Read the rest of the article here.

Fossil find is oldest European yet

From the nature.com article:
Spanish palaeontologists have dug up the remains of a 1.2-million-year-old humanlike inhabitant of Western Europe. The fossil find shows that members of our genus, Homo , colonized this region far earlier than many experts had thought.

The primitive hominin — represented by just a fragment of jawbone bearing a handful of wobbly-looking teeth — lived in what is now the Sierra de Atapuerca region of northern Spain, an area already known as a treasure trove of early human remains.

The new fossil, uncovered by an experienced team of palaeoanthropologists led by Eudald Carbonell of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, is by far the oldest human bone ever found in the region. The previous oldest fossils have been perhaps 800,000 years old, leading some anthropologists to believe that primitive humans did not reach Western Europe until around half a million years ago.

Now it seems that the earliest inhabitants of modern-day Spain lived there much longer ago. And like many of today’s Spaniards, it seems they were enthusiastic meat-eaters — Carbonell and his team also uncovered primitive stone tools and animal bones bearing signs of butchery. They report the find in this week’s Nature.

Read the rest of the article here.

New twist to matter-antimatter mystery

A new particle-smashing experiment has uncovered surprising evidence that nature treats matter and antimatter differently.

The findings, detailed today in the U.K. journal Nature, suggests that a complete solution to the mystery of why the observable universe is dominated by matter, and not antimatter, may have to await the discovery of novel particles or the invention of new physics.

Antimatter is the weird twin of matter. For every particle of normal matter, there is a particle of equal mass but opposite electric charge. When a normal particle and an anti-particle collide, they annihilate one another in an explosion of pure energy.

According to the standard model of physics, matter and antimatter were created in equal quantities shortly after the Big Bang. The two types of particles should have thus cancelled each other out and the universe should be permeated by energy.

But as our existence attests, that did not happen. Experiments suggests the universe today is composed of about 75 per cent dark energy, 20 per cent dark matter, and five per cent matter/antimatter, with the overwhelming bulk of the latter consisting of normal matter.

A major mystery of modern physics is why normal matter particles are the building blocks of the observable universe. Why are we not made of antimatter? Or pure energy? Scientists speculate that a tiny imbalance in the early universe allowed a small fraction of normal matter – one particle for every one billion – to avoid annihilation and survive to form stars, planets, and humans.

Read the rest of the article here.

Top 10 Outdoor Survival Tools

From the wired.com article:
Many outdoor enthusiasts love to agonize over what belongs in their survival kit. Here are the supplies that we think belong in a small pack for quick trips into the wilderness. Of course, a GPS unit and a satellite phone would be handy, but this collection is meant to be a cheap backup for times when those items are damaged or inaccessible.

10. High-Calorie Protein Bars

Hunting and fishing may be more trouble than they are worth. You may burn more calories in search of prey than you would gain from eating their flesh. Save yourself from some agony by packing a few snacks.

9. Flashlight

Flashlights can be seen by search and rescue teams from a great distance. They are a great way to attract attention to yourself and could come in handy if you have trouble making a fire.

8. Whistle

When you are lost in the woods, signaling for help should be a high priority. Blowing a whistle periodically requires much less energy than yelling and the high pitch sound may travel further.

7. Backpacker Hammock

In extremely hot or cold environments, protecting yourself from the elements is half the battle. You can always disassemble it to construct a more elaborate shelter.

6. Water Purification Supplies

Drinking brackish water can do more harm than good. By properly filtering and decontaminating your beverages, you can avoid getting in even more trouble.

Read the rest of the list here.

The Ides of March

That fateful day in 44 BC when the course of history was altered dramatically.

Julius Caesar
Ides of March

Ancient Brain Surgery Patient Found?

From the nationalgeographic.com article:

Greek archaeologists believe a large hole in the skull of a third-century A.D. skeleton is rare evidence of ancient—and failed—brain surgery.

The patient, a young woman, is believed to have died during or shortly after the operation.

Although references to such delicate operations abound in ancient writings, discoveries of surgically perforated skulls are uncommon in Greece.
Read the rest of the article here.

House of Augustus opens to public

From the bbc.co.uk article:
lmost 50 years ago, archaeologists searching for the ruined house of Augustus found a tiny clue buried deep in 2,000 years’ worth of rubble overlooking the Forum in Rome.

The single fragment of painted plaster, discovered in masonry-filled rooms, led the experts to unearth a series of exquisite frescoes commissioned by the man who would later become Rome’s first emperor.

On Sunday following decades of painstaking restoration, the frescoes in vivid shades of blue, red and ochre went on public show for the first time since they were painted in about 30BC.

One large room boasts a theatrical theme, its walls painted to resemble a stage with narrow side-doors.

High on the wall a comic mask peers through a small window.

Other trompe l’oeil designs include an elegant garden vista, yellow columns and even a meticulously sketched blackbird.
…

In 31BC Augustus – or Octavian, as he was then known – had triumphed over the combined forces of Mark Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

The victory brought Egypt, and with it immense wealth, into the empire.

But if the frescoes on the walls are exquisite, their surroundings, though impressive, with vaulted ceilings, are less than palatial.

The Roman historian Suetonius described how Augustus lived in a modest house on the Palatine before he assumed supreme power and built a sprawling imperial complex higher up the hill.

Read the rest of the article here.

Update 03/17/08
There is a good video clip about this story here.

New Archeological Finds in Greece

Two stories about archeological finds in Greece.

1,000 Ancient Graves Unearthed in Greece

Ancient Tomb Found on Greek Isle

Hannibal, and Rome’s Tenacious Nature

What made Hannibal successful? What principals did he follow? How was his way of thinking different from other generals of the time? The 100falcons site provides a concise study of Hannibal’s success.

The thing that impresses me most about the story of Hannibal however is Rome’s tenacious reaction, refusing to surrender even in the face of catastrophic failure. And this tenacious attitude eventually led to their victory over Hannibal and finally the complete destruction of Carthage and its total elimination as a future threat. This period of time is a perfect example of pure unadulterated self-interest, something that has long since been demonized in Western Civilization and this illustrates modern mans deficiencies and lack of virility compared to the ancients.

Check out the 100falcons post here.
 

Take the MythQuiz

Test your knowledge of Greek Mythology by taking the MythQuiz. There is a beginner, intermediate and advanced version of the quiz.

You can find the quiz here.