Category History

Will Parthenon Marbles return to Greece?

 

Speculation has been intensifying over recent months that a deal could be struck to return some of the marble sculptures, which have been on display in the British Museum since 1832 after being controversially stripped from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin, a British diplomat.

Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, became British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1799. In 1801, he negotiated what he claimed was permission from the Turks – who then controlled Athens – to remove statues from the Parthenon.

The British Museum maintains that Elgin was an official diplomat and had acted with the permission of Turkish authorities. Greece argues that the Turks were a foreign force acting against the will of the people they had invaded.

The Marbles which were taken to Britain include about a half-around 75 metres – of the sculpted frieze that once ran all round the building, plus 17 life-sized marble figures from its pediments and 15 of the 92 metopes, or sculpted panels, originally displayed high up above its columns.

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Which is the highest gateway in India?

Buland Darwaza, prime monument of Mughal architecture, is the highest gateway in the world. Buland Darwaza was built by the emperor Akbar in memory of his victory over Gujarat. The 15-storey-high gateway is the southern entrance to Fatehpur Sikri, which is a city, located 43 km away from Agra. It was formerly called Fatahabad, derived from the Persian word Fatah meaning victory. The city flourished as Akbar’s capital till 1585. During that year, it was abandoned because it was near the Rajputana neighbourhood with limited water resources. Subsequently, the capital was changed to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri became a ghost town.

Standing tall in the courtyard of the mosque, Buland Darwaza is a prominent monument in Fatehpur Sikri. The central face of Buland Darwaza carries an inscription that talks about Akbar’s religious tolerance and how broad-minded he was. The eastern archway of Buland Darwaza has a Persian inscription, which is a record of Akbar’s conquest of the Deccan in 1601 AD. Along with decorations in carving and inlaying of white and black marble, it has 42 approach steps and is 53.63 metres high and 35 metres wide. It has a consolidated height of about 54 metres from the ground level.

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Which is the largest diamond ever found?

The largest diamond that has ever been found is the Cullinan Diamond, and it weighed 3106.75 carats (621.35 g) at the time of its discovery. It was found in Cullinan of South Africa, in a mine called Premier No.2 on 26 January 1905. The diamond was named after the owner of the mine, Thomas Cullinan. But this gem was not sold for two years after it was put on sale in London on April 1905, and was later bought by the Transvaal Colony government in 1907. It was gifted to Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom, by the Prime Minister Louis Botha. The diamond was however cut by Joseph Asscher & Co. in Amsterdam based on the King’s liking.

Through the years, the Cullinan mine has produced stones of various cuts and sizes. Cullinanlor the Great Star of Africa, which is the largest clear cut diamond in the world, weighs 530.4 carats (106.08 g), and adorns the head of the British Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, which is a part of the Crown Jewels of the British monarch.

The second-largest diamondalso comes from Cullinan and is named Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, weighing 317.4 carats (63.48 g). It is mounted in the Imperial State Crown. The two of the largest diamonds are thus part of the British Crown Jewels. Seven other major diamonds, that is, total of 208.29 carats (41.66 g), were owned by Elizabeth II privately. She inherited them from her grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1953. Apart from these, the Queen also owned minor stones and a set of unpolished fragments from Cullinan.

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What are the interesting facts about the Pyramids of Giza?

The Great Pyramid of Giza, located on the bank of River Nile in Egypt is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Relics of Egypt’s Old Kingdom era, they were constructed nearly 4,500 years ago. Egyptian pharaohs (kings) erected temples and giant tombs for themselves to sustain them in their afterlife. These tombs that we know as pyramids were filled with all the things the pharaohs would need in their afterlife, including gold, boats to carry them. and small tombs for the officials and relatives they would like to accompany them. Today, the Great Pyramid is the oldest and the only remaining ancient wonder of the world.

1. The three pyramids

The Giza pyramid complex has three pyramids. The first pyramid, known as the Great Pyramid of Khufu, was built by Pharaoh Khufu. It is the tallest among the three and was built around 2550 BC. It stands at 481 feet above the plateau.

The second pyramid was built by Khufu’s son, Pharaoh Khafre in 2520 BC. Khafre also built the Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument of a lion with a pharaoh’s face.

The third pyramid, which is the smallest of the three, was built by Pharaoh Menkaure, son of Khafre, in 2490 BC.

2. The weight of the Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid of Khufu took nearly 20 years to build. The massive structure required 2.5 million limestone and granite blocks to build. While some of the limestone blocks were quarried from near the site. the larger granite stones were fetched from Aswan, nearly 800 km away. Each stone block on average weighed 2.5 tonnes. The pyramid was built by skilled Egyptian workers who lived in a temporary city close by. When it was completed, the Great Pyramid was the tallest structure in the world. It retained the title for nearly 3,800 years, when it was finally overtaken by the Lincoln Cathedral in the 1300s. Experts estimate that the Great Pyramid would cost over 1 billion dollars if it were to be built today.

3. Aligned to the stars

The three pyramids of the Giza necropolis are built in such a way that they are perfectly aligned with the Orion constellation.

4. The monument of Glorious Light

In its initial years, the Great Pyramid was covered in highly polished limestone blocks known as casing stones. These stones reflected the Sun’s light so well that the people of ancient Egypt used to call the Great Pyramid Ikhet, meaning GloriouS Light. The casing stones are now gone. It is suspected that massive earthquakes loosened the stones and they were taken away to build mosques in Cairo.

5. Depicting life in ancient Egypt

The interiors of the Pyramids of Giza are decorator with scenes from every aspect of life in ancient Egypt. The art includes depictions of carpentry, costumes, ancient farmers working in their fields, fishing, religious rituals and burial practices among others. The pyramids also contain inscriptions and texts that allow experts to research ancient Egyptian language and grammar.

 

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How the name ‘Eskimo’ originated?

The name ‘Eskimo’ comes from the language of the northern Red Indians and means ‘a person who eats raw meat’. It is an appropriate name because the Eskimos live mainly by hunting and fishing and in winter do not always cook the animals they catch.

This is because it is impossible to find any fuel for a fire in the icy waste that they inhabit. The only form of fire they have is produced by burning the oil of seals or whales in shallow, saucer-shaped lamps, made from pottery or stone. These lamps are used primarily to give light but the Eskimos can also boil their meat and fish over them. These foods are also frozen or dried.

There is another reason why the Eskimos sometimes eat raw meat: in this way they get the greatest possible nourishment. The Eskimos make up for the lack of vitamins from vegetables by eating the kidneys and liver of their prey raw. These organs have an abundant store of all the vitamins needed by the human body.

 

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Why the Polynesians build their huts?

In Polynesia the construction of a house is accompanied by a ceremony that combines politics with religion. The building contract has to be drawn up with the tafugas, a guild of skilled craftmen regarded as the guardians of the art of the god Tangaroa.

Once the Contract has been agreed the whole village celebrates the erection of the main pole. This part of the house symbolizes the link between the world of mankind and that of the gods. The rafters of the house are fixed to the main pole and to the poles that form the outer sections of the house. The dome-shaped roof is then placed on this framework.

Polynesians use no precision instruments and do all the building by eye. Their accuracy is amazing. Every house has an individual design reflecting the tafugas who   built it. When the house is finished the tafugas put his own special mark on the timber and the end of the job is celebrated by feasting.

 

Picture Credit : Google