ArchaeoKarma

Monday, May 28, 2012

28th Congress of the Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores FROM BROKEN POTTERY TO LOST IDENTITY IN ROMAN TIMES Catania (Italy) 23-30 September 2012

http://www.rcrfcatania2012.it/index.php

Call for papers: Ananda Coomaraswamy Memorial Conference on Asian Art and Culture University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka 8th -10th September 2012

Call for papers Ananda Coomaraswamy Memorial Conference on Asian Art and Culture University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka 8th -10th September 2012 An international conference to mark the 135th birth anniversary and 65th death anniversary of Ananda Coomaraswamy will be held on 8th-10th September 2012 at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The conference is being organized by the Centre for Asian Studies and the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Kelaniya with the collaboration of several other National and International Institutes. It will be inclusive of a two day academic session and a day tour. To be considered for presenting at the conference, we would like to invite academics to submit their abstracts of research papers on the following themes before the 15th of June 2012. The abstracts should be in English and about 300-500 words in twelve point, Times New Roman. It should include the title of the paper, name of the author, institution affiliation, e-mail id, text and a few keywords. A short bio- data of the author or authors, not exceeding one typed page should be sent along with the abstract. The acceptance of the abstracts will be notified by 30th June 2012. The abstracts should be sent to Coomaraswamyananda@yahoo.com, the official e-mail address of the conference secretariat on or before the closing date. Any other details could be obtained via the same mail address. Themes: 1. Coomaraswamy: his life and work 2. Art History: Paintings, Sculpture and Minor Art 3. Ancient Architecture 4. Traditional Crafts: Metallurgy, Carpentry, Pottery etc. 5. Pre-Modern Society 6. Buddhism and Hinduism 7. Social Philosophy All conference participants should be registered by paying the fee prescribed below. The registration fee can be paid at the conference secretariat on or before the 8th of September, before attending the conference. We regret to inform you that we are unable to assist you with your travel expenses. However, we are able to provide accommodation with limited facilities for those who are unable to make their own arrangements. Registration fee: (The registration fee includes the conference kit and meals during conference days.) Foreign Delegates (Non South Asian) - 50 $ Foreign Delegates (South Asians) - 30 $ Foreign Delegates (Students) - 20 $ Sri Lankan Delegates – 1500 SL Rupees Sri Lankan Students - 500 SL Rupees. Professor Anura Manatunga Centre for Asian Studies University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka Please note: In addition to the conference proceedings, we are planning to launch a commemoration volume on Ananda Coomaraswamy. If you are interested in having your paper published in this volume, please be kind enough to send it in for consideration, by the 15th of July 2012.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The beginning...

As a child, I often asked myself the question, why do we live such stationary lives? What did fascinate me was movement. Right from my history lessons till now, I have learnt and firmly believe, that Man is infact a nomad, a restless soul eager to know what lies ahead, be it in any field! Travelling is indeed in our chromosomes but we have left this very basic desire and become living zombies marooned in jungle like cities, far away from nature's call and our roots. My love for travelling started from childhood, my father instilled in me that real knowledge is gained by being on your own and travelling was definitely being on my own! My love for history grew when I travelled to various countries, this eventually made me take up History for higher education. Taking up Archaeology as a career where past met present was not a favorable proposition as it for one did not pay and the key word for surviving in today's world happens to be " survival of the fittest." In the present tense I am a lawyer licensed to practice in India and now after a journey of sorts am pursuing my PhD in archaeology. There hardly seems to be any correlation between law and the archaic but for me the similarity is in digging- one is either digging peoples files or peoples lives- it is the same isn't it? And so I believe the twain meet, I mean Travelling-History & Law ...So here I am!...travelling in BYTES and meeting friends which feels just right..:) and hopefully the blog brings the ones who wonder closer to the ones who wander and wonder :) Sonali

Kamrej Gujarat-Excavations

Kamrej is a very promising site on the western coast of India and its excavation has been an attempt to corroborate literary sources with archaeological evidence. In this instance the source was the famous 'periplus of the erythraean sea' or Periplus Maris Erythraei. Kamrej was mentioned in the book which survives in the form of extracts quoted by Greek historians and geographers as 'Kammoni'. The site provides evidence of goods traded in the ancient world. However, excavations stopped in 2004 due to legal issues pertaining to land ownership. Once the case is decided in Court, we are all hopeful that work at the site will commence.I handled the ceramic repertoire at the site and have written articles on the evidence of trade between the Indian ports of Kamrej(Gujarat)and the Greco-Roman world. Articles written on Kamrej can be found here: indarchaeology.org & on http://www.sciencedirect.com/ I shall post more details and the article on Kamrej shortly.