This week's Weekly Websites, which should have been on Sunday, is thanks entirely to the efforts of David Petersen of Worthy Science Sources, who has been heroically pointing me at some interesting and previously uninvestigated pages on the Web.
Graeme Book Company Trade Label
Seven Roads Gallery
This is a bit of Egyptomania - an old book company's logo, which used the image of the deity Thoth to represent it. I've no idea how David stumbled across it, but it is really rather nice! The site, a web log, has nothing to do with Egyptology, but belongs to a San Francisco book store - this image comes from the Gallery of Book Trade Labels on the site. It's good to know that highly esoteric interests are alive and well and living in San Francisco!
Ptolemaic Coinage
Digital Library of Classical Numismatic Works
by Catharine C. Lorber
J.N. Svoronos’ classic work on Ptolemaic coinage, Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion (Athens, 1904), has long been inaccessible to the majority of numismatists. It is a rare title and commands a daunting price whenever it comes up for auction. Furthermore, it is the only major numismatic reference that has never been made available in reprint despite years of crying need. The obstacle is its language, modern Greek, in a literary version that is now slightly archaic even in Greece itself.
In summer of 1991 I began my study of Ptolemaic coinage by making a “fast and dirty” translation of the catalogue sections of Svoronos. This document was intended solely for my private use, as the first step in a process of extensive updating and revision. I dispensed with careful proofreading as unnecessary at this first-draft stage. Other shortcuts included truncating the lists of specimens that followed each catalogue description, substituting Roman letters for the Greek alphabetic numerals that identified those specimens, and condensing or even dropping discursive notes in the catalogue. As I produced second and third drafts incorporating more modern scholarship, the initial translation was set aside to gather dust.
When Ed Waddell told me of his plan to post the Svoronos plates on his web site as a public service, I thought that my old translation might be a fitting accompaniment. Ed and his staff have invested many hours correcting typos and other mistakes that caught my eye in a cursory proofing. They have also inserted dozens of monograms that I neglected to draw into the first draft.
The Ptolemies by Jona Lendering
Livius.org
A useful reference for the life and times of each of the Ptolemies.
The fourteen kings of this dynasty were all called Ptolemy and are numbered by modern historians I to XV (Ptolemy VII never reigned). A remarkable aspect of the Ptolemaic monarchy was the prominence of women (seven queens named Cleopatra and four Berenices), who rose to power when their sons or brothers were too young. This was almost unique in Antiquity. Another intriguing aspect was the willingness of the Ptolemies to present themselves to the Egyptians as native pharaohs (cf. the pictures below, some of which are in Egyptian style). This was less unique: the Seleucid dynasty that reigned the Asian parts of Alexander's empire did the same.
Ptolemaic Coinage
Wildwinds.com
The WildWinds website has been created as a reference, attribution and valuation resource in the field of ancient numismatics.
Travellers in Egypt
Sadly, because this is a great site, its owner stopped updating it some time ago, but it is still a magnificent resource for finding out about those who first explored Egypt and reported on their travels.
Egypt has been a destination for travellers since time immemorial.
Physical evidence of this is inscribed on the timeless stones of Giza and the Valley of the Kings. From as far back as 1200 BC, right through to the last century, travellers wrote their names on the monuments in Egypt they reached after many adventures and difficulties. The graffiti they left marks their passage.These pages are dedicated to them, the most disparate of travellers into the unknown.
Siemens AG
This place—you’ve got to see it to believe it. It’s big enough to get lost in without navigation. And it covers everything—literally—because it’s organized like an encyclopedia, except that it’s one you can walk through, talk to, touch, download and more. They call it the Center for Living Memory, and there are wings that cover "The Universe," "Life on Earth," "Man and Science," and of course Prof. Carnadine’s pet, "History and Culture." Carnadine is the boss, and I think he’s a little edgy these days because the Center is due to open soon.
My crew’s been doing all the programming. In fact, even before the automated bulldozers broke ground, we had simulated the main exhibits. Standardized software tools, open systems and an online library of modules helped development and testing to move even faster than our project optimization plan had predicted. And much of the software walk-through, interactive environments possible—actually wrote itself based on demonstrations recorded by industrial robots using 3D-x vision.
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