https://www.amsterdammuseum.nl/ Het Amsterdam Museum, opgericht in 1926, nodigt als innovatief stadsmuseum bewoners en bezoekers van Amsterdam uit om mede-eigenaar te worden van onze stad – een metropool in het klein. Dat doen we door de stad te vieren, maar ook door de mindere kanten bespreekbaar te maken en te onderzoeken wat beter kan.

The Palermo Stone is an ancient Egyptian artifact dates back to the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, around 2400 BC. It is one of the seven surviving fragments of a larger piece, known collectively as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom, which recorded the reigns of the early Egyptian pharaohs. The stone was discovered in 1866 in the city of Palermo, Sicily, Italy, by an Italian collector named Ferdinand Guidano, who later donated it to the Palermo Archaeological Museum where it remains today. It’s a polished, black basalt slab that measures approximately 43.5 centimeters high, 25 centimeters wide, and 6.5 centimeters thick. The stone is inscribed on both sides with horizontal registers containing hieroglyphic text. Each register is divided into a series of compartments, with each compartment recording the events of a single year of a king’s reign. The hieroglyphs detail the names of kings, religious ceremonies, tax records, and other significant occurrences. https://x.com/histories_arch/status/1834877188295815293

Antikythera Mechanism. Portable Byzantine sundial and geared mechanical calendar, dated to 400-600 AD, is the second oldest known of its kind after the famous Antikythera Mechanism. The instrument comprises two practically independent parts: a sundial for use at any latitude, and a geared calendrical device showing the phase of the Moon, the day of the month and the places of the Sun and the Moon in the Zodiac. The device could tell the time in 16 locations and they are inscribed in Greek on the sundial plate, translated as: Constantinople, Syene, Thebaid, Africa, Alexandria, Antioch, Rhodes, Athens, Sicily, Thessalonika, Rome, Dalmatia, Doclea, Caesarea Sratonis, Palestine, and Ascalon. The Byzantine device may be created almost half a millennium after the Antikythera Mechanism and be simpler but it provides a proof that the technological achievements of the ancient Greek world weren't lost in the Eastern Roman Empire. This is also a masterpiece that is obviously based on deep knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and technological achievements, such as metalworking, automation and gear construction. Today it is exhibited in Science Museum of London. https://x.com/histories_arch/status/1834667405291016564

Assyrian (gypsum-alabaster) Relief Panel (883–859 BC) - Iraq : This panel from the Northwest Palace at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) depicts a winged supernatural figure. Such figures appear throughout the palace, sometimes flanking either the figure of the Assyrian king or a stylized "sacred tree." The reliefs were painted, but today almost none of the original pigment survives. However, the reliefs themselves retain incredible detail, including intricate incised designs on many of the figures’ clothing. The figure depicted on the panel is eagle-headed and faces left, holding in his left hand a bucket and in his right hand a cone whose exact nature is unclear. One suggestion has been that the gesture, sometimes performed by figures flanking a sacred tree, is symbolic of fertilization: the "cone" resembles the male date spathe used by Mesopotamian farmers to artificially fertilize female date-palm trees. It does seem likely that the cone was supposed to hold and dispense water from the bucket in this way, but it is described in Akkadian as a "purifier," and the fact that figures performing this gesture are also shown flanking the king suggests that some purifying or protective meaning is present. The figure is richly dressed, with jewelry including a collar whose front bead appears pomegranate-shaped, a further collar with pendant tassels, armlets, and bracelets, one artificially reversed so that the large central rosette symbols, associated with divinity and perhaps particularly with the goddess Ishtar, are visible on both. Although we cannot know how these elements were originally painted, excavated parallels include elaborate jewelry in gold, inlaid with semi-precious stones. The figure carries two knives, tucked into a belt with their handles visible at chest level. The figures are supernatural but do not represent any of the great gods. Rather, they are part of the vast supernatural population that for ancient Mesopotamians animated every aspect of the world. They appear as either eagle-headed or human-headed and wear a horned crown to indicate divinity. Both types of figure usually have wings. Because of their resemblance to groups of figurines buried under doorways for protection whose identities are known through ritual texts, it has been suggested that the figures in the palace reliefs represent the apkallu, wise sages from the distant past. This may indeed be one level of their symbolism, but protective figures of this kind are likely to have held multiple meanings and mythological connections. Figures such as this continued to be depicted in later Assyrian palaces, though less frequently. Only in the Northwest Palace do they form such a dominant feature of the relief program. (236.2 x 177.8 x 10.8 cm) MET Museum - (not on view) https://x.com/histories_arch/status/1829461681811988600

Antikythera-mechanisme, een oud Grieks handaangedreven planetarium (model van het zonnestelsel), beschreven als het oudst bekende voorbeeld van een analoge computer die decennia van tevoren werd gebruikt om astronomische posities en verduisteringen te voorspellen. Het zou ook kunnen worden gebruikt om de vierjarige cyclus van atletiekspelen te volgen, vergelijkbaar met een Olympiade, de cyclus van de oude Olympische Spelen. Dit artefact bevond zich tussen de wrakstukken die in 1901 uit een scheepswrak voor de kust van het Griekse eiland Antikythera waren gehaald. In 1902 werd door archeoloog Valerios Stais vastgesteld dat het een uitrusting bevatte. Het apparaat, gehuisvest in de overblijfselen van een kist met een houten frame met een (onzekere) totale grootte van 34 x 18 x 9 cm, werd gevonden als één klomp, later gescheiden in drie hoofdfragmenten die nu na conserveringsinspanningen in 82 afzonderlijke fragmenten zijn verdeeld. Vier van deze fragmenten bevatten tandwielen, terwijl op veel andere fragmenten inscripties te vinden zijn. Het grootste tandwiel heeft een diameter van ongeveer 13 cm en had oorspronkelijk 223 tanden. Al deze fragmenten van het mechanisme worden bewaard in het Nationaal Archeologisch Museum in Athene, samen met reconstructies en replica's, om te laten zien hoe het er mogelijk In 2005 gebruikte een team van de Universiteit van Cardiff computerröntgentomografie en scannen met hoge resolutie om fragmenten van het met korst omhulde mechanisme in beeld te brengen en de zwakste inscripties te lezen die ooit de buitenbehuizing bedekten. Dit suggereert dat het 37 in elkaar grijpende bronzen tandwielen had waardoor het de bewegingen van de maan en de zon door de dierenriem kon volgen, verduisteringen kon voorspellen en de onregelmatige baan van de maan kon modelleren, waar de snelheid van de maan hoger is in zijn perigeum dan in zijn hoogtepunt. Deze beweging werd in de 2e eeuw voor Christus bestudeerd door astronoom Hipparchus van Rhodos, en hij is mogelijk geraadpleegd bij de constructie van de machine. Er wordt gespeculeerd dat een deel van het mechanisme ontbreekt en dat het de posities van de vijf klassieke planeten berekende. De inscripties werden in 2016 verder ontcijferd, waarbij cijfers werden onthuld die verband hielden met de synodische cycli van Venus en Saturnus. Aangenomen wordt dat het instrument is ontworpen en gebouwd door hellenistische wetenschappers en op verschillende manieren gedateerd is rond 87 voor Christus, tussen 150 en 100 voor Christus, of 205 voor Christus. Het moet gebouwd zijn vóór het scheepswrak, dat door meerdere bewijslijnen wordt gedateerd op ongeveer 70-60 v.Chr. In 2022 stelden onderzoekers voor dat de oorspronkelijke kalibratiedatum, en niet de bouwdatum, 23 december 178 voor Christus had kunnen zijn. Andere experts stellen 204 v.Chr. voor als een waarschijnlijkere kalibratiedatum. Machines met een vergelijkbare complexiteit verschenen pas weer met de astronomische klokken van Richard van Wallingford in de 14e eeuw. Het Antikythera-mechanisme wordt algemeen de eerste bekende analoge computer genoemd. De kwaliteit en complexiteit van de constructie van het mechanisme suggereert dat het tijdens de Hellenistische periode onontdekte voorgangers moet hebben gehad. De constructie ervan was gebaseerd op theorieën over astronomie en wiskunde, ontwikkeld door Griekse astronomen in de 2e eeuw voor Christus, en er wordt geschat dat het eind 2e eeuw voor Christus of begin 1e eeuw voor Christus is gebouwd. 📷: Antikythera-mechanisme (fragment A – voor en achter); zichtbaar is het grootste tandwiel in het mechanisme, ongeveer 13 cm in diameter. Icoon voor Geverifieerd door de community https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpLcnAIpVRA More than 21 centuries ago, a mechanism of fabulous ingenuity was created in Greece, a device capable of indicating exactly how the sky would look for decades to come -- the position of the moon and sun, lunar phases and even eclipses. But this incredible invention would be drowned in the sea and its secret forgotten for two thousand years. This video is a tribute from Swiss clock-maker Hublot and film-maker Philippe Nicolet to this device, known as the Antikythera Mechanism, or the world's "first computer". The fragments of the Mechanism were discovered in 1901 by sponge divers near the island of Antikythera. It is kept since then at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. For more than a century, researchers were trying to understand its functions. Since 2005, a pluridisciplinary research team, the "Antikythera Mechanism Research Project", is studying the Mechanism with the latest high tech available. The results of this ongoing research has enabled the construction of many models. Amongst them, the unique mechanism of a watch, designed by Hublot as a tribute to the Mechanism, is incorporating the known functions of this mysterious and fascinating ancient Mechanism. A model of the Antikythera Mechanism, built by the Aristotle University in Greece, together with the mechanism of the watch and this film in 3D are featuring in an exhibition about the Mechanism that is taking place in Paris, at the Musée des Arts et Métiers. The original fragments of the Mechanism, its main models and the watch designed by Hublot are on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece.

30th century trumpets sound wonderfull After 3000 years or more, the trumpets of king Tutankhamen were played and broadcasted by BBC in 1939. The BBC presented a made-up piece with a "cavalry tune" in between on 3,000-year-old trumpets said to have been found at Tutankhamen's Tomb. The trumpets were discovered in 1922 by Haward Carter in the tomb of King Tut in the Valley of Kings, Luxor Egypt. In the silver trumpet, Tut his name was included in the delicate design. It was found in the burial chamber itself, while the bronze or copper horn only made it as far as the antechamber. The trumpets from Tut’s tomb are the oldest trumpets anywhere in the world. A british army trumpeter James Tappern played on King Tut s trumpets on April 16, 1939. The performance was recorded using a BBC studio microphone. James Tappern used a modern mouthpiece into the 3,500-year-old instruments, and played improvised a false sounding cavalry charge song. Some 150 million people listened to the broadcast and were shocked. Without the use of a modern world mouthpiece, those ancient trumpets are only capable of playing “one good note” according to Percival Robson Kirby, who had attempted an earlier trumpet performance while visiting Cairo in 1933. Kirby disapproved the BBC broadcast, which presented a misleading rendition of ancient Egyptian trumpet music. Kirby dicovered a wooden insert in the Tut tomb trumpet, which others have guessed was a kind of mute perhaps used in the manner of Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong to play the “good note.” However Kirby, surmised that the insert was merely used to protect the trumpet, and especially prevent denting. In his opinion King Tut was happy with just one good tone. Ancient Egyptians believed that the trumpets possessed magical properties. After the bronze/copper trumpets were stolen during the Egyptian riots of 2011, museum curator Hala Hassan warned that “whenever someone blows into it a war occurs.” Just a week before the Arab Spring rioting, a member of the museum staff had done just that, and soon there was violence in the streets. The same thing had happened before the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1991 Gulf War. The BBC broadcast of 1939 took place just five months before the outbreak of WW II. Tooting on Tut’s horn, may in 1941, have led to Pearl Harbor and tooting many years later could have caused 09 11. These are lessons, they help understand why an Egyptian Pharaoh required a trumpet in his tomb.

https://www.plantmuseum.com/about/the-museum Henry B. Plant Museum Since 1933, the Tampa Bay Hotel has been home to the Henry B. Plant Museum and The University of Tampa. The building, renamed Plant Hall, is a National Historic Landmark. The Henry B. Plant Museum holds the distinction of accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums. Its mission is to interpret the Tampa Bay Hotel and the experiences of the diverse individuals who contributed to its success. The Museum ignites thought and transports visitors to another era through exhibits and innovative programs, so that they may be educated and inspired by the lifestyles, times and experiences of Florida’s early tourist industry. Original furnishings and artifacts and a dynamic self-guided audio tour immerse visitors in the opulence of the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel and its rich history. Long view of ornate Hotel, topped with minarets The building was bought by the city in 1905 after the death of Henry Plant in 1899. It operated as a hotel until 1932. In 1933, the Tampa Municipal Museum was established in the south wing of the first floor in order to preserve the legacy of the Tampa Bay Hotel. The remainder of the building, as well as the property, became home to The University of Tampa. The Museum houses original Hotel furnishings and art objects collected by Mr. and Mrs. Plant from Europe and the Orient. The Tampa Municipal Museum became the Henry B. Plant Museum in 1974. Since then, its mission has been to interpret the Tampa Bay Hotel and the experiences of the diverse individuals who contributed to its success. The Museum ignites thought and transports visitors to another era through exhibits and innovative programs, so that they may be educated and inspired by the lifestyles, times and experiences of Florida’s early tourist industry.

Cracking Ancient Codes: Cuneiform Writing - with Irving Finkel Writing seems to have been invented in the late fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia in the form of wedge-shaped marks pressed into soft clay with a reed stylus: the script known as cuneiform. Through his work on this ancient language, Irving Finkel, has uncovered amazing secrets from over five thousand years ago, including the story behind Noah’s ark. Irving Finkel is the curator in charge of cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia at the British Museum, of which the Middle East Department has the largest collection of any modern museum. This work involves reading and translating all sorts of inscriptions, sometimes working on ancient archives to identify manuscripts that belong together, or even join to one another. He is the author of The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood. This talk was filmed in the Ri on 18 January 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfYYraMgiBA

https://twitter.com/Concertgebouw/status/1701895919040426277 Met 5000 bezoekers vierden we de heropening van de historische Museumpleinentree en de start van het culturele seizoen. Onder anderen indie-band Ão, het UvA-Orkest Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck en singer-songwriter Jeangu Macrooy traden op. #Concertgebouw

https://hartmuseum.nl/nl/ Amsterdam Museum in H'ART Museum Amsterdam Museum met een volledig nieuw aanbod aan tentoonstellingen, publieksprogramma’s en kinderactiviteiten.