October 3, 2000

Ancient Greek-Roman City Excavated Before Flood

(photo: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/turkish_city001002.html)
By Harmonie Toros
The Associated Press
B E L K I S, Turkey, Oct. 2 - It was a race against time - and archaeologists say they won. Water crept in a foot a day over the past three months, slowly submerging the ancient city of Zeugma, a key transit point across the Euphrates River believed to have been more than three times the size of the Roman city of Pompeii. More than 250 archaeologists and other specialists fought to rescue elaborate mosaics and other ancient Greek and Roman remains. The operation finishes Thursday, when the water of the Birecik Dam - part of a multibillion dollar energy and irrigation project in southeastern Turkey - is due to reach its maximum size, covering 30 percent of Zeugma.
A Team of 50 on Dig But everyone agrees: It's a success story. "It was one of the most ambitious archaeological rescue campaigns ever," said Robert Early, head of the Oxford Archaeology Unit team of 50 people who took part in the digs. Teams from France, Turkey, Britain and Italy joined in the effort to excavate and record the city's ruins, extract mosaics and statues, and carefully rebury the section to be flooded for future generations to rediscover. "We should now be able to rewrite the history of Zeugma from the third century B.C. to the 10th century A.D.," Early said. Zeugma was founded by the Greeks around 300 B.C., and later became a headquarters of the Roman Legions. It continued to be a wealthy city until the Middle Ages. "Through the study of Zeugma we can discover more about the expansion and administration of the Roman Empire, the crossing of the Euphrates, daily life in Mesopotamia," said Kemal Sertok, Gaziantep Museum director in charge of the work.

'The Most Beautiful Mosaic'

The first section of the city was flooded in May, and a dozen figurative mosaics were rescued from the rising waters. Three more were cut in pieces and lifted off their floors, including a 225-square-foot pastel-colored mosaic depicting three women surrounded by cupids and geometrical designs. "It is the most beautiful mosaic I've ever worked on," said Aurea Pica of the Centro di Conservazione Archeologica outside Rome, as she painstakingly chipped the mortar from the back of part of the mosaic. It was the discovery of the mosaics that focused world attention on Zeugma. Until then, a Turkish-French team which had been excavating the area for years had tried without success to get the funding to rescue what it was convinced were precious archaeological remains. Widespread news coverage as the waters started covering the ruins brought in much-needed money: U.S.-based Packard Humanities Institute gave $5 million for the operation. With funding secured, it became a race against the rising waters. "Usually we would spend three months just on planning the excavations. Here we had three months to do everything," Early said. Christian Schneider of the Italian team recalls working three days and two nights nonstop to carry out the necessary conservation work on mosaics about to be flooded.

Ready for Another Thousand Years

This involved covering the mosaics with mortar, followed by a specifically designed fabric covering, then with sand and pebbles. Under such conditions, the art can remain intact for up to a thousand years. Meanwhile, the archaeologists recorded each layer of earth and rock they peeled away, discovering thousands of bronze seals - used to record trade and customs transactions - as well as the remains of homes, a temple and a later Byzantine church. The Oxford Archaeology Unit is analyzing the recorded data. Through computer-generated images, team members already have discovered that a two-story house in the Roman period was in fact a public square during the city's earlier, Greek times. The field work in the zone to be flooded is over, although the Birecik dam company said it will not flood the last few yards until November, giving experts a little more time. Asked why so few artifacts were extracted, conservators said it was preferable to leave the remains in their original environment. "And we have to keep something for archaeologists of the future generations," Early added. The remaining 70 percent of the city, which will not be flooded, still lies under hills covered with pistachio trees. Who will carry out later excavation work, and with what money, has yet to be decided, although both Packard Humanities Institute and the Southeastern Anatolian Project - the state institution in charge of dam projects - have said they are willing to continue the work. An open-air museum is also planned, along with a mosaic museum.

AUCTION HOUSE BOMBSHELL

By PAUL THARP
Could it have happened just over love? As lawyers tie up loose ends in the $512 million settlement of a price-fixing scandal that nearly wrecked the art auction world, insiders are saying the real story hasn't been fully told.
"It was a love affair that caused the whole mess," said an art auction source familiar with the case.
Sotheby's and Christie's were dragged nine months ago into price-fixing allegations and numerous lawsuits after Christie's top executive - Christopher Davidge - turned over a box of damning evidence to authorities alleging that bosses at both houses may have broken laws on two continents and cheated customers worldwide.
The bombshell caused heads to roll at both venerable houses, wiped out $1 billion of Sotheby's stock value, sparked a federal grand jury probe and sent privately-held Christie's scrambling to cover its back.
Why did Davidge blow the whistle on a company where he toiled for more than 30 years?
Simple revenge, say sources. He also got immunity - and he got even. Davidge, 54, had been openly having a two-year relationship with a beautiful young socialite from India - Amrita Jhaveri, now 29 - who had been one of Christie's experts on Indian artworks, sources say.
Many senior people at Christie's frowned on their romance. Among them was its owner, French billionaire Francois Pinault, who purchased Christie's three years ago.
"Davidge and Pinault were already having a falling out over Pinault's plan to turn the London headquarters into an office building and boutique mall," said an art world source. "They didn't like each other from the start."
Sources said Davidge sensed Pinault was planning to dump him, using the affair as a reason, so Davidge struck first.
"Making an issue of his relationship with her would have been only a part of [a campaign to fire him], but if it could have been used against him, it would have been," a source close to the firm recently told the Financial Mail in London. Davidge had kept careful notes from conversations between himself and the two top people at rival Sotheby's, former President-CEO Diana Brooks and ex-Chairman Alfred Taubman. The notes are the cornerstone of the government case, legal experts say.
Davidge also implicated himself in the price-fixing allegations with his private memos and notes, but he was granted immunity by federal prosecutors here and agreed to testify against his counterparts at Sotheby's, and against others.
Davidge also got a $10.2 million severance from Pinault, and took a long vacation with Jhaveri to South America and elsewhere, an insider said. Now reportedly engaged, they live in London and keep an $800-a-night suite at the swank Manor Hotel in Delhi when they visit there.
"He's been recovering in the arms of his very rich girlfriend," the insider said.
Although Davidge was pushed out at Christie's, Jhaveri continued to work for Christie's in London, and had consulted on sales in the U.S. and in India. But earlier this month, she quietly left Christie's.
Jhaveri and Davidge couldn't be reached for comment in London or Delhi. Christie's in London had no comment.
Jhaveri and Davidge became an item soon after they met in 1998 in a corridor at Christie's in New York. She had joined Christie's shortly after graduating from Brown University in 1991, and had worked in Christie's offices in India and London before they met.
Davidge met Jhaveri after breaking up with his second wife, former Russian model Olga Visiascheva. He was smitten with Jhaveri because she was also an accomplished art expert and collector of Indian art, living on her family's wealth, their friends said.
Insiders said Davidge never fit that well with Christie's inner circle. His father had worked his way up to company secretary at Christie's, but Davidge did not come from the Oxford-Cambridge set that dominates the English auction world. Davidge, who favored tailored clothes and had other expensive tastes, was also constantly criticized by his enemies at Christie's.
They saw him as a dandy and an arriviste who wore flashy clothes to hide his humble family roots, sources said. The story in the office was that he never put on his pants until he was ready to leave the house for fear he might wrinkle them.
But Davidge's no-holds-barred management style while leading Christie's for the last 10 years pulled it into a leading auction house, at times passing rival Sotheby's.
http://www.nypost.com/10012000/business/11967.htm

Boy sought Ł1m ransom for painting

BY ANDREW NORFOLK
A MUSEUM director spoke yesterday of the ordeal he and his family suffered after receiving death threats from a schoolboy blackmailer who falsely claimed to be the mastermind behind the theft of a Ł3 million Cézanne painting. Dr Christopher Brown, director of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, received a series of threatening telephone calls and e-mails demanding the payment of a Ł1 million ransom for the painting, which was stolen during a daring raid on Millennium Eve.
He was told that his family would be "culled" unless the money was paid. Another message said: "If you make the wrong choice you will be able to watch your family and friends die around you."
Thames Valley Police, convinced that the blackmailer was the person responsible for the theft of Cézanne's Auvers-sur-Oise, launched a big investigation to track down the culprit.
Oxford Crown Court was told that the 16-year-old schoolboy responsible for the threats was a "highly intelligent and cold-blooded" youngster who evaded police for almost a month before specialist computer officers managed to hunt him down. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had become obsessed by the theft and made his first phone call to Dr Brown a week after the painting went missing.
Dr Brown, his wife and two children lived in a state of virtual siege in their London home, where police installed special alarm systems during the month-long blackmail campaign. His children suffered nightmares and his wife described the impact on their social and business lives as "devastating". Dr Brown said yesterday: "This whole episode has been very distressing for me and my family." The terror began on January 7 when the boy, using the pseudonym Mr Jones, telephoned Dr Brown to say that he had the Cézanne and would return it for Ł1 million. Days later, two further telephone calls were made to the museum before he wrote a letter on his computer and sent it to the director, warning him that "your family might get upset" if the ransom was not paid.
The boy set up two false e-mail addresses under the name of Mr Jones and downloaded an encryption program from the Internet which he used to disguise his true identity. It took police almost a month to track the young blackmailer to an American Internet service provider and from there to his home in west Oxford. When officers raided his home they found news cuttings about the theft and library books with details about the painting, which is still missing. The boy, who was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order on Friday, pleaded guilty to attempting to extort money using computers. He told police he had sent the e-mails "for a prank", but Judge Tom Corrie told him that he had committed "a very serious offence".
http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/10/03/timnwsnws01025.html

Woodworm invade Venetian art

FROM RICHARD OWEN IN ROME
AFTER flooding, pollution, depopulation and mass tourism, a new threat is endangering Venice: woodworm. The nuisance, attributed to warm, humid weather, is devouring not only ancient books and precious paintings but also the beams and panels of some of the city's most beautiful churches, local officials said yesterday.
The main victim is Venice's magnificent Frari church, which was built in the 13th century, and its 124 intricately inlaid wooden choirstalls, which date from the 15th century. Giovanna Nepi Scire, Superintendent of Fine Art in Venice, said: "The problem of woodworm and their larvae has to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. The problem has been getting progressively worse since the hot and humid conditions this summer."
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From: "David Liston" LISTOND@ops.si.edu
Subject:

Re: Rules of Decorum

This responds to Jim Holley's request for a gallery rules of decorum * with a set of generic suggestions that 'explain' why we must have rules in a document called FLOORULES. (People often want to know 'why'.) In a similar vein is * a suggested outline of institutional security rules called REGS, which the director needs to endorse for all organizational employees and building users.
David Liston

Dear Subscribers,

David sent me two WORD files. I have pasted one below as a plain text file.

The second text:

"Physical Security Regulations Recommended for a Cultural Institution at
Institution Level and at Security Department Level"

is available on line at:
http://museum-security.org/listtext.html

Does the AAM have a model for the requested rules?
http://www.aam-us.org/index.htm

at:
http://www.museumvereniging.nl/nmv/publicaties/mwijzer/mw2-99eng.html
you can find a Model 'Conditions for Visitors'
T.C.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GALLERY VISITING RULES

protect the objects and those who visit them. We take them seriously.

PLEASE ENTER. MUSE. IMAGINE. THINK. WANDER. REMEMBER. LEARN. AND ENJOY

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHS

may deteriorate objects on exhibit and may violate the copyright of lenders or owners. Ask first. They may be allowed in certain places with permission. Professionals apply for permission to photograph during closed hours only.

BULKY OBJECTS

-- back packs, strollers, non?collapsible umbrellas, tripods, sacks, brief cases and large purses-- may interfere with other visitors in the galleries and may permit the entry of dangerous objects. Ask first. They may need to be examined before entry, be left at the door or left outside.

DRAWING BOARDS AND PAINTING EASELS

may interfere with visitors by their placement or attraction. When they are used by permission, they are positioned by museum staff and moved by museum staff. Paint and ink in limited quantity should inspected by staff before use.

POINTING NEAR ART WORK WITH SHARP OBJECTS

-- canes, umbrellas, pens, pencils, paintbrushes-- May cause accidental damage to objects on exhibit. When in doubt, ask first. They cannot be carried in the hand for pointing at art work.

SMOKING, EATING, CHEWING AND DRINKING

from open containers endanger the objects by polluting the gallery. School lunches are left outside or at the door. Staff lunches should be carried in fully closed bags and containers.

MISBEHAVIOR

-- running, shouting and rough housing-- may disturb other visitors and may threatens the objects and other people. Take it outside.

SHOES AND SHIRTS REQUIRED

. Shoes are usually an insurance requirement. Shirts are a modesty and courtesy.

ANIMAL PETS

may interfere with visitors, detract from the objects, or cause accidents. Leave them outside. Seeing eye dogs and other service animals for the disabled--assistance animals-are most welcome.

GUNS, KNIVES ON BELTS, EXPLOSIVES AND ALCOHOL

may endanger the people or objects, distract everyone inside and may be illegal. Legal or not, they are better left outside.

BANNERS, SIGNS AND LEAFLET DISTRIBUTION

detract from the objects on exhibit and freedom from advertising of any kind. Only approved events can be noted.

SPEECHES, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GATHERINGS

detract from the objects and distract visitors. Approved presentations and even tour groups are limited and may require registration in advance.

OBEY SIGNS, RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS

. The staff want to give everyone the same ground rules to enjoy the gallery. The staff have written and oral instructions. Violators must leave or be penalized. This applies to our property outside, also.

TOUCHING EXHIBITS

produces millions of oily fingerprints that will destroy most objects. Ask first. There may be limited touching for a few sample objects as well as special 'touch' tours for the blind.

ALL BAGS AND PARCELS ARE SUBJECT TO INSPECTION.

For the protection of all persons present, any bags or parcels entering or leaving may need to be checked or approved by staff to ensure that nothing unsafe enters and nothing is illegally removed. This may be enforced irregularly according to our needs.

FREE TO MODIFY AND USE-
David Liston