2022
YEAR 11 PRELIMINARY
EXAMINATION
Ancient History
Source Booklet
Instructions
Source A: Page 2
Detach this source booklet
Source B: Page 2
Source C: Page 3
Source D: Page 3
Source E: Pages 4
Source F: Pages 4-5
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Source A:
Scarab jewelry from Tomb of Pharaoh
Tutankhamun [Tomb KV62, Valley of the
Kings – 18th dynasty Egypt]
Above the sacred winged scarab sits the
wadjet eye resting on a lunar crescent. At the
top rests a medallion featuring the ancient
Egyptian gods Thoth and Ra-Horakhty
engaged in crowning the young Pharaoh.
Source B:
2022 – Celebrating the Centenary of the Discovery of the Tomb Of the Egyptian
Pharaoh, Tutankhamun
On the centenary of the discovery of the
Tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard
Carter in 1922, New Yorker magazine
journalist Casey Cep commented that
“the thousands of artifacts removed
from his tomb are [either] presented as
the greatest treasures ever found, or as
the spoils of an unforgivable act of
colonial desecration. Depending on
which source you consult, the centenary
is an occasion for celebration, [or] for
apology.” [www.newyorker.com, Feb 2022]
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Source C:
World Heritage Sites Face Major Destruction
Two aspects of the
Temple of Bel,
Palmyra,
before [left] & after
[below] the destruction
by ISIS terrorists &
fanatical
fundementalists
between 2014 & 2017.
The World Heritage site
of Palmyra is currently
undergoing major
reconstruction and
repairs, under the
direction of UNESCO &
the Iraqi government.
Source D: The Role & Responsibilities of Museums – supporting repatriation
Should Western countries return artefacts acquired for their museums during previous
centuries? Or does the context of the original acquisition and the careful preservation
and conservation in these well-equipped museums justify the retention of these world
heritage treasures? This contentious issue is being hotly debated both by museums
and traditional owners, with competing ethical and cultural claims creating
considerable friction for
international relations. For
example, the British Museum has
persistently refused demands from
the Greek government to return the
Parthenon Marbles [see left], citing
government laws and regulations
that prohibit the removal from the
museum of any acquisitions. In
stark contrast, the director of
London’s Victoria & Albert
Museum has recently returned or
loaned several items to their countries of origin, calling on the British government to
be “stripped of its power to block the return of objects looted during the colonial era”
and stating that there was a “strong case” to update the way in which the National
Heritage Act “works in the current era”.
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Source E: The Role & Responsibilities of Museums – opposing repatriation
The Berlin custodians of the renowned
Pergamon Museum have no intention of
returning to Turkey any of the sculptures
or friezes from the massive Pergamon
Altar (2nd century BC), choosing instead
to renovate the Museum and its contents
then reopen to tourists after the COVID
closures. Their claim is strengthened by
the circumstances under which these
Reconstructed Pergamon Altar, Berlin priceless artefacts were acquired in the 19 th
century, when excavation and removal was
deemed urgent to avoid pillaging and destruction of the site by local villagers. A diary
entry from one of the 1878 excavators explains that although “not insensitive to what
it means to remove the remnants of a great monument from their original location and
bring them to a place where we can never again provide the lighting and environment
in which they were created”, the excavators made the decision to “rescue them from a
destruction that was becoming ever more complete. … [so that] the ruins … could be
protected from the stone robbers of the modern city ..” .
Source F:
Opinion: In a World of Chaos, should History and Archaeology ‘still matter’?
When Heinrich Schliemann began to excavate what he believed to be ancient Troy in
1872, he used the techniques available to archaeologists of one hundred and fifty
years ago; namely, workmen with spades and mattocks, who attacked the ancient
walls and shoveled any inconvenient debris into baskets which were dumped on the
nearest spoil heap. With the epic poetry of Homer as his guidebook, he was looking
for evidence that would prove his theory that the Turkish hill of Hisarlik was actually
the site of the fabled Tower of Ilium, where the fair Helen of Troy stood to watch the
heart-stopping battles between Trojan and Greek heroes.
Schliemann’s discovery of towering walls, rich treasures of gold jewelry and bronze
vessels confirmed this belief, which has marked his contribution in the annals of
archaeological history as one of its ‘founding fathers’, irrespective of the collateral
damage to the site caused by the whole scale demolition of structures and artifacts
deemed to be ‘less significant’. At least Schliemann recoiled from the use of
dynamite, unlike earlier predecessors including the British and Italian 19th-century
Egyptologists, Richard Vyse and Giovanni Battista Caviglia, who blasted holes in the
Great Pyramid of the Pharaoh Khufu with dynamite, in search of secret chambers
hopefully filled with treasure.
Although many sites of major heritage significance are under threat of pillaging,
looting and deliberate destruction for ideological reasons, for professional
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archaeologists of today, gratuitous treasure-hunting is a thing of the past. Not only
have the reasons for exploration changed, but the tools of discovery and cultural
mapping are designed to cause minimal interference and leave the site and its artifacts
in pristine condition, so that future scientists can use tools and techniques of
discovery that have still be developed. Conservation, preservation and restoration are
the new mandates for governments, universities and archaeologists, who strive to
balance the needs of heritage listing, cultural preservation, education and the money-
spinner which funds all these endeavors – tourism.
Modern scientific techniques available to archaeologists and scholars who wish to
decipher ancient manuscripts include CT-scanning, 3D-modelling and hyperspectral
imaging. Similarly, the aerial mapping of cities or cemeteries using drones and/or
satellite technology can effortlessly determine ancient structures, crop marks and
tombs without disturbing the terrain, using Lidar, geophysical surveys or
Geographical Information systems (GIS), rather than the spades and mattocks of past
centuries. Even the former reliance on tourism to fund archaeological projects is
feeling the impact of new technologies, with the funding of archaeological
excavations being fostered not by millionaire philanthropists such as Lord Carnarvon,
but by internet businesses such as DigVentures, which uses ‘crowd-funding’ to
provide an ‘archaeological field experience’ for those willing to pay to join a ‘dig’ for
a few weeks.
By using the opportunities provided by new and emerging technologies, scientists and
lovers of the ancient past can collaborate not only to explore and preserve the
wonders of our cultural heritage, but to determine and assess ways in which our
ancestors sought to deal with challenges such as climate change – challenges that are
very much part of our immediate and long-term future. Today, more than ever, it is
clear that ‘History Matters’, and we neglect the past at our peril.
End of Source Booklet
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