Posted on 12/16/2006 5:49:07 PM PST by blam
By Carol Kaufmann
Photographs by Arne Hodaliè
Why did Romans, Celts, and even prehistoric settlers submerge their personal belongings, from swords to dishes, in a shallow river in Slovenia?
Archaeologist Andrej Gaspari is haunted by pieces of the past. His hometown river, the Ljubljanica, has yielded thousands of them—Celtic coins, Roman luxuries, medieval swords—all from a shallow 12-mile (19 kilometers) stretch. Those who lived near and traveled along the stream that winds through Slovenia's capital of Ljubljana considered it sacred, Gaspari believes. That would explain why generations of Celts, Romans, and earlier inhabitants offered treasures—far too many to be accidental—to the river during rites of passage, in mourning, or as thanksgiving for battles won.
But Gaspari may never be able to explain for certain why the Ljubljanica holds one of Europe's richest stores of river treasures, many of them remarkably preserved by the soft sediments and gentle waters. Too many pieces of the puzzle have already disappeared.
During the past two decades, sport divers have made the river their playground, removing most of some 10,000 to 13,000 objects found so far. Even though removing artifacts from the Ljubljanica has long been illegal, professional archaeologists have been forced to compete with private collectors. Some divers sold their loot to museums; others to the highest bidder. Some kept their treasures private. Many artifacts have left the country, untraceable. Gaspari's greatest torment comes from the knowledge that few maverick collectors know—or care—where exactly their prizes were found. For an archaeologist, an object's meaning comes as much from its context—location, association with other objects—as from the prize itself. Without context, there is no story.
Mladen Mück is one of Gaspari's tormentors. Now in his 40s, the Bosnian-born architect began diving in the river in 1985 and has brought up about a thousand pieces. In his kitchen in Ljubljana, a plastic box contains prehistoric tools. Upstairs, dusty cases hold other rare artifacts, including deer antler axes. Mück says he has no intention of selling what he has found. Like many collectors, he babies his goods and claims they are better off with him than with the authorities.
"More people see these artifacts in my house than if I gave them to a museum," he says with a dismissive wave. "There they would sit in a basement."
Gaspari disagrees. A team at the National Museum of Slovenia is preparing an exhibit of the river's treasures that will tour Europe in 2008, he says. Still, he hopes that someday Mück will hand over his items. "My heart is strong," quips the 33-year-old archaeologist. If Mück is obstinate, "I will outlive him."
Get the whole story in the pages of National Geographic magazine.
LOL!
"Enjoy Your Tigershark"
What's in your pasta salad?
Tuna! No shark salad, tuna are safer and tastier.
Another LOL for you!
BTTT
I mean, if I went around saying I was an Emperor because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, people would put me away!
Help, I am being oppressed!
Bloody peasants...
Oh, Did you hear that! What a give-away.
LOL. I can't remember any more of it.
I usually forget also...Here is my little helper:
http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_scripts/mp-holy.asp
Don't you wish there was some way you could pay mags like NG or whatever BY THE STORY to read on line?
Looks like they'd make a ton of money from folks who don't want to subscribe or run down to the nearest Barnes & NOble to buy a copy.
Absolutely not.. !!!
I want to read it for FREE..
I already pay a monthly fee for internet access...
The broadcast media ( not just TV but radio before them ) made multi-millions, and later, billions from... (dramatic pause..) Advertising revenues !!!!
The "big 3" networks made so much money they were able to put their own satellites into orbit.. ( yes, deals were made, politician's palms were greased, but consider 1960's dollars in present day numbers.. expensive...)
And not one person in america had to subscribe to cable TV or Dish network, it was broadcast for FREE !!! ( still is.. )
Even those UHF network broadcasters made big bucks, and still do.. You get those local channels on your paid cable or satellite menus, but you can still get them with a $40 antenna on the roof.. for FREE..
Then there's local newspapers and magazine subscriptions..
Do you think they make their money on the price of the newspaper? NO...
Does the cost of the magazine on the newsstand constitute the lion's share of profits ?? NO..
It's advertising revenues...
Why the subscriptions? Why not free newspapers and magazines??
The sales figures and the subscriptions show how many people are reached by the Advertising..
Advertisers pay for space based on how many people will be reached...
The more subscribers, the more copies sold, the higher the rates for ad space, ad times.. per inch, per minute..
Pay NG by the story just to read it??
NO THANKS...
I don't think you understood why I wanted to pay by the story. The NG link to their website only gave a short summary of the story--about what was on FR. The full story was 17 pages and I'd pay a quarter or 50 cents for that.
No need to go into a rant about the cost of the internet, Dude, because some sites are gonna make you pay and others make you pay with those damn popup ads. How much time do you spend clicking those off?
In the long run, somebody has to pay for content if it is any good.
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