For a chance to win a fantastic prize email your answer to www. billbailey. co. uk/ tourquiz ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? them answer this question: What type of hat does a leopard wear? K Z A Q T D H H A M S T E R B R E P P O R J N Q B Z M M U P W H I S P E R N Q M K Y Y N C B S T M J B O R E D O M X S N U A Z R O R R K K Y C I I W O R E F L E C T I O N K G B L E W I R X R Q N V W R M A R K E T E R U E G E B T M Y D G D R E K E S K D B D N E I R F D T A D T A E S J E O V L L R A I Y O O B L R P K Z C S A R X E X M O X Z A S T Q O S H O R U N E V H T L K X L Y O T U H E V K O U C A V F R E A V L S F E C D I G L C Z V Z S D N I M Z K R Y B D C U A T O N X R I O Q E S F E Z G V Y T V E D O E C I I H A Z A N M L R O M L S N E E U Y B M M R O L N G C N P G M M W T I F Q I G Z R C P J T Q L L G L B A H I A F A G F F H Z N A A I I E C A M P A I G N I M N W A N A A P E E W I V N T W D F G C P W T C L D C D L I B N E H C B G E G S R L Q A M H B U H T S G X A F F H E Y L A L N Y A I B G A D M L W H T P N T R E W N C J I U A O C I T S Y E C Q R I S U Y T J M S O O O N C P T B A S E O E I X E D L N P K X E F T B T K L K V S K R U R M T S U O I T E C A F L S O R I P C I C O Q I H S U A O Y O A J W J O L B R E T T U N N U N M P T M U S H R O O M X P V Y B W C K R V W G B N K S N Z A Q T D H B R P P O R O J N Q Z M L A M R O N E M U P Q M Y N C B S M X B A D N E G A S N U Z O R R K K Y C I P I N E A P P L E T R I C K W G W C I NormalClickingAgendaRevealDemographic ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? StonehengeMayorTivertonQuiveringManifesto ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? WhisperInhalerWheezingRootlingPineapple AlarmDoorbellNutterCampaignMarketer Naked Friend BeachBoredTypewriters EnthusiasticTrickConspiracyBlokeMagic LocustsCandles Nostalgia Boredom 4 6 past horizons 5 editorial Stepping off the plane from Jordan into the freezing Scottish winter was a bit of a shock to the system. We had just spent the past three weeks surveying the Jerash hinterland, getting up at 5.30am before the sun became too hot. Development is happening fast in Jerash and it has already swallowed up about thirty per cent of the sites we surveyed in 2005. We really felt that it was a race against time this year to cover the most threatened areas before they also disappeared for good. At the end of the three weeks we decided to take a trip to Damascus, Syria, for a well- earned rest, despite the car bomb there a few days previously. We arrived close to the end of September, so the whole of Damascus was preparing up for Eid, a three- day festival that follows the end of Ramadan. Families crowded into the historic old town to buy food and presents, and there was a general feeling of great excitement all around us. Many of the Damascene houses in the old town are now being meticulously restored and we were treated to a tour of them by a Syrian friend, Anas, who had come over from London to visit his family during Ramadan. Although we didn't have much time in Syria we decided that we just had to visit the mighty Crusader Castle, Krak des Chevaliers. To our surprise we managed to secure a hotel room with stunning views from the balcony. With a glass of Lebanese wine we could finally relax, away from the hustle bustle of Damascus, watching the sun go down over what is possibly one of the most beautiful castles in the world. When driving into Syria from Jordan, one of the first things that strikes you is the change from brown deserts to green farmland. The Fertile Plain, as it is known, was one of the earliest places where Neolithic people made the change from hunter gatherers into farmers. The knock- on effect of this would have undoubtedly put stresses on society, reflected in the ritual and burial practises of the time. On page 20, an article on the Israeli pre- pottery Neolithic B site of Kfar HaHoresh discusses these possibilities, and over 13 seasons of excavation have uncovered many unusual artefacts and strange skeleton alignments, along with a few plastered human skulls. Understanding the meanings and intentions of our ancestors is always difficult and often comes down to intelligent guess- work and assumption. Although some societies retain the fragile link with their past, the connection remains elusive to most people in the modern world - and perhaps that is what makes it more fascinating to us. So, it is heartening to learn that in a remote part of South Western Australia there are moves afoot to re- connect with the ancestors through a partnership consisting of Traditional Owners and professionals from around the world. On page 14 you can read about the Gabbie Kylie Foundation and what kind of work it does. You can also be involved in this partnership by participating in the heritage management courses, involving conservation, survey and archaeology of this beautiful but little known part of Australia. Actually, come to think of it, a bit of Australian sun would be just the antidote to a Scottish winter. Maggie Struckmeier Maggie Struckmeier editor@ pasthorizons. com ?

past horizons6 news British Museum assists Sudan in rescue archaeology project The Fourth Cataract is currently being flooded to provide hydroelectricity for Sudan. The British Museum/ SARS team is one of nine international missions under the banner of the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project ( MDASP) which have uncovered thousands of sites dating from the Middle Palaeolithic ( 150,000 years ago) to the very recent past. Until recently, the cataract zone was considered a poor and inhospitable region, marginalised at all periods. It was viewed as a border zone and primarily a place of refuge. The MDASP, with the discovery of vast numbers of sites of all periods ( some of them of high status such as a granite pyramid and massive fortresses), is forcing a total reappraisal of the nature and role of the region in its Nile Valley context. As a final phase of the project an appeal was made by the Sudan National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums ( NCAM) for missions to save from inundation rock art, rock gongs and any buildings that could be moved, for display in a proposed new museum to be dedicated to the ancient and modern cultures of the region. In response to this appeal the British Museum and NCAM mounted a project in November 2007 aimed at relocating over 50 pieces of rock art and rock gongs dating from 5000 BC to AD 1500, as well as the 390 blocks of an early Kushite ( c. 8th- 5th century BC) granite pyramid, along with its offering chapel and enclosure wall. In recognition of the efforts of this mission, 20 blocks were donated to the British Museum and it is hoped that some of these can be put on permanent display early next year along with other material from the region of the Fourth Cataract. This will allow the museum to highlight these rich and vibrant cultures, as well as the efforts of the Sudan Antiquities Service and the international community to research and preserve, where possible, the ancient cultures of this important part of the Nile Valley. The blocks include examples of early rock art on basalt and granite featuring anthropomorphs, camels, sheep and cows, an animal of particular importance to the people living in the region. One block features a small but finely executed human figure with a feather in its hair, the traditional way the people of this region were depicted by the ancient Egyptians. Two rock gongs have also been given to the British Museum. These slabs of rock would have been played by striking them with quartzite pebbles, producing an extraordinary range of melodious sounds. Rock gongs and rock art are often found together, and are suggestive of an important ritual landscape. Derek Welsby, curator in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum and head of the mission, said, " The work at the Fourth Cataract has transformed our view of the Middle Nile Valley in northern Sudan and we are pleased to have been able to assist in the rescue of these important archaeological objects." For the past 10 years, the British Museum, in conjunction with the Sudan Archaeological Research Society ( SARS), has been working to survey, record and excavate the region surrounding the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in Sudan, prior to the damming of the river, a project that is revolutionising knowledge of ancient Sudan. Photographs & text courtesy of the British Museum.