Cover to Dusty Cover (Dusted Off)

The secret ancient library behind the walls of the world’s oldest monastery.//

The fortress-like Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mt. Sinai houses the world’s oldest continually operating library. -SacredSites.com

Bloggers note: I’ve been visiting a lot of libraries lately but none as old as this old, old, old library. This a re-post of a piece I wrote a while back. Enjoy.

Ever heard of the Sacred and Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount of Sinai? No? It’s also known as Saint Catherine’s Monastery. Nothing?

If you haven’t heard of it, that’s because this ancient monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai is so remote that until modern times only the most devout of seekers could get there via ten-day camel ride.

The monastery was built in the mid-6^th century AD at what is considered to be the spot where Moses saw the burning bush. Known to have been occupied by Christians since at least as far back as the 4^th century AD, the site, in fact, claims to host the original living bush that Moses witnessed.

Monk studying at Saint Catherine’s Monastery library – among the world’s most exclusive libraries. -beautiful-libraries.com

Just as amazing is that Saint Catherine’s also claims the worlds oldest continually operating library, stuffed with 5,000 early books, 3,500 manuscripts and 2,000 scrolls – a collection rivaled only by the Vatican. This is also one of the most exclusive libraries in the world. Only the monks of the monastery and select clergy and scholars are allowed in.

I am so fascinated with libraries – especially old ones – that I made a monolithic, centuries-old library the central battleground of my thriller The League of Delphi. And the fact that this library is surrounded by a virtual fortress makes it ten times more fascinating and meaningful to the story.

After a millenium and a half of cloistered existence Saint Catherine’s is now bringing the collection to the world through the tools of the digital age but the library itself remains inaccessible to most outsiders.

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 books you might find in the world’s oldest library:

1. Twilight: The Dawn of History
2. The Genghis Khan Cookbook: Feeding a Band of Marauding Barbarians on a Budget
3. Fifty Shades of Black: A Monk’s Wardrobe Confessions

SPREAD THE CONSPIRACY – GET “THE DELPHI DECEPTION: BOOK II OF THE DELPHI TRILOGY” NOW!

–

What librarians are saying about The Delphi Trilogy:

“The League of Delphi by Chris Everheart is super suspenseful and unputdownable in the best sense of the word. A great readalike for kids who have plowed through Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games. We have multiple copies of the book and they have not been on the shelf since we bought them. Teen patrons have loved The League of Delphi.” – Hannahlily Smith, Teen Coordinator, Johnson City Public Library, Johnson City, TN.

“Fast-paced and well written, this thrilling mystery sucks readers in and leaves them anxiously waiting for the next installment of the trilogy. This is exactly the type of book teens enjoy and it will draw in even the most reluctant readers.” – Kiersten Doucette, Teen Services Librarian, Naperville Public Library, Naperville, IL

Readers rave about The Delphi Trilogy:

“Read. This. Book! Each chapter leaves you on the edge of your seat, and it all leads up to one of the most exciting endings I’ve read in a long time.”

“It has it all: romance, intrigue and suspense… and very well written characters.”

“From the very first page to the very last page I felt like I was on this wild ride.”

“Even the most reluctant of reluctant readers will have a hard time putting these books down.”

Related articles

• Library Days, Library Nights (chriseverheart.com)
• Rousing the Reading Rabble (chriseverheart.com)
• Electric Libraryland (chriseverheart.com)
• The Ark of the Wilderness, St. Catherine’s Mount Sinai, prepares to share its treasures online (areluctantsinner.blogspot.com) 
• 11 Wonderful Libraries in Africa (mentalfloss.com)

Free Kindle Ebook – The League of Delphi

Grab a piece of dark conspiracy that you won’t want to put down!

Free for Kindle July 14-18

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI: Book I of The Delphi Trilogy is FREE on Kindle until Thursday.

Hey Kindle users, grab a thrilling read to go – for FREE.

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI: Book I of The Delphi Trilogy is free on Kindle Sunday-Thursday!

Readers say they can’t put it down, so pick it up and fall into a dark conspiracy that will keep you turning the pages until the end.

Read it now in advance of Book II’s October release.

Here’s what readers are saying about THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI:

• “Read. This. Book! Each chapter leaves you on the edge of your seat, and it all leads up to one of the most exciting endings I’ve read in a long time.”
• “It has it all: romance, intrigue and suspense … and very well-written characters.”
• “From the very first page to the very last page I felt like I was on this wild ride.”

Read it now – before the October 2013 release of Book II, THE DELPHI DECEPTION!

.

Why would a boy who escaped the clutches of a killer conspiracy return to the most dangerous place on earth? Find out in …

THE SHADOW OF DELPHI
A Short Delphi Trilogy Prequel

 A teen’s funeral. An ominous encounter. A fateful decision.

Also AVAILABLE NOW on Kindle – only 99 cents!

–

Follow author Chris Everheart on Facebook to get updates on books and events!

Announcing: The Delphi Deception

Book II of the thrilling Delphi Trilogy

Available October 2013!

THE DEPHI DECEPTION: Book II of the thrilling Delphi Trilogy will be available October, 2013!

A desperate teen, a dangerous alliance, an ancient foe.

The gripping Delphi Trilogy continues with Book II, THE DELPHI DECEPTION, plunging you deeper into a dark world of conspiracy and danger.

After ten years in hiding 17-year-old Zach made the mistake of returning to his wealthy hometown. He slammed head-on into the conspiracy that killed his parents, drove a childhood friend to suicide, and exploits other teens to fulfill an ancient agenda of greed. Zach should have run. But he stayed, and now the consequences are burying him.

His blind pursuit of the town’s deepest secrets has left him injured and terrified. The answers he’s gotten about his true identity are more disturbing than he could have imagined. And his first love, Ashley, is in more danger than ever.

Desperate to save Ashley, Zach is deterred by the mysterious man he thought was his ally. Forced to team with Ashley’s ambitious sister who’s willing to help—for a price—he enters an alliance fraught with deception and betrayal.

As the League of Delphi’s vicious new security chief closes in on him, Zach is propelled back into the jaws of danger by a cryptic command from beyond this world. Will his misguided mission save Ashley? Or will it get them both killed?

THE DELPHI DECEPTION promises to deliver the same page-turning thrills and suspense that teens and adults alike are loving about The League of Delphi:

• “Read. This. Book! Each chapter leaves you on the edge of your seat, and it all leads up to one of the most exciting endings I’ve read in a long time.”
• “It has it all: romance, intrigue and suspense … and very well-written characters.”
• “From the very first page to the very last page I felt like I was on this wild ride.”

Chris Everheart is author of the YA thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI: Book I of the thrilling Delphi Trilogy

A lone teen. A suspicious death. An ancient conspiracy.

Read it now – before the October 2013 release of Book II, THE DELPHI DECEPTION!

–

Follow author Chris Everheart on Facebook to get updates on books and events!

All We Got Was This Cave Painting

Early hunter-gatherers left 5,000 cave paintings as souvenirs of their lost era.

Abstract vacation photos from a bygone era (we’re not talking the 1950’s here).

Archaeologists in northeastern Mexico recently discovered all the deals they’ve been missing. In a ravine cave complex near the town of Burgos, at least three different groups of ancient hunter-gatherers painted human, animal, landscape, and abstract depictions in eleven locations over a number of generations. And no one knew about this (literal) hole in the wall destination!

“The discovery is important,” said  Mexican National Institute of Anthropology (INAH) archaeologist, “because we have documented the presence of pre-Hispanic groups in Burgos, where before it was said there was nothing.”

Ramirez’s team is still working to date the artwork, which is difficult because seasonal rains have constantly washed away the sedimentary layers that are typically used to peel back the geological clock.

Exceptional natural preservation makes ancient postcards available today.

To further confound their dating efforts, any original tribes who could have provided clues to the pre-Columbian life of the region took a permanent vacation centuries ago. Archaeologist Martha Garcia Sanchez, who is involved in the study, said, “These groups escaped the Spanish rule for almost 200 years because they fled to the Sierra de San Carlos where they had water, plants and animals to feed themselves,” she said.

Some of the images are of exceptional quality, rivaling those of the American Southwest and even Europe – a high-def postcard in stone from a long forgotten hotspot.

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 reasons to go souvenir hunting in a cave:

1. Ancient exotic animal skeletons make better pets than any live impulse purchase.
2. Open on rainy days.
3. The deeper you go, the deeper the discounts!

Chris Everheart is author of the YA thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Related articles

• Cover to Dusty Cover (chriseverheart.com)
• Cave paintings uncovered in Mexico (bbc.co.uk)
• 5,000 cave paintings discovered in Mexico (beta.dawn.com)
• 5,000 Cave Paintings Discovered in Mexico (natureworldnews.com)

Oracle of Death

The Gate to Hell gave the Oracle at Delphi a run for her money.

The Plutonion, Phrygia’s Gate to Hell, on the right (c.190 BCE) -digital reconstruction by Francesco D’Andria

If you’re looking for a hot bath and visit to the edge of hell, you can plan a spa night at home topped off by this week’s episode of The Walking Dead or you can pack your household and make a pilgrimage to the Plutonion.

The ancient temple complex dedicated to Pluto, Greek god of the underworld, was built around a cave emitting fumes so toxic that small animals can barely pass by without dropping dead and prolonged exposure easily kills large animals and people – even today.

Roman and Greek commentators of the time referenced the strange site at Hierapolis (in modern Turkey). Hierapolis’ hot baths and temples attracted people from around the known world for healing and worship, making it one of the ancient Mediterranean’s most popular destinations. But the city was destroyed by repeated earthquakes in the first century CE and eventually shut down as a pagan sanctuary by Christian Rome in the sixth century.

Archaeologists searched for years to confirm the Plutonion’s existence. “We found the Plutonium [its Roman name] by reconstructing the route of a thermal spring,” Francesco D’Andria, leader of the archaeological team, told Discovery News.

Originally misidentified as Apollo (Delphi’s patron god), this huge statue is now known be Pluto, god of the underworld.

Like its famous sister, Delphi, the unique geology of the site provided its mystical power. Underground springs – hot springs, in the case of Hierapolis – running over rocks and minerals produced the intoxicating fumes, considered to be supplied by the gods. The temple was built to manage the gate to hell responsibly.

The Plutonion’s priests – the Eunuchs of Cybele – conducted animal sacrifices for spectators sitting on banks of steps above the low gate, which was constructed around the mouth of the deadly cave. Because they were able to enter and leave the cave safely while their sacrificial animals died, the priests were presumed to have special powers or the protection of their patron god Pluto.

Meanwhile, pilgrims who slept near the temple reported prophetic visions, not unlike those experienced by the Pythia at Delphi. But – beware! – approaching the Gate of Hell no doubt meant a speedy death for the average person.

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 things to do in Hierapolis when you’re dead (from exposure to the Gate of Hell):

1. Stop by the famous shawarma cart for a gyro that’s to die for!
2. Pick a fight with the biggest, baddest eunuch you can find – what’s the worst that could happen? You’re already dead!
3. Take pictures – we all want to know if the doorstep of hell looks like our in-laws’ front stoop at Thanksgiving.

Chris Everheart is author of the YA thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Available Now

Related articles

• Delphi: Goats to Gods (chriseverheart.com)
• Ancient Future Shock (chriseverheart.com)
• Ancient ‘Gate to Hell’ Uncovered in Turkey: Pluto’s Portal to Underworld (latinospost.com)
• Scientists reportedly discover gate to hell (cynsworkshop.wordpress.com)

Goats to Gods: The Delphi Legacy

How a goatherder’s pasture became the center of the world for over 1,000 years.

(Re-post in celebration of my latest author interview at B.L. Kosiner’s Book Blog – Enjoy!)

Model of the temple mount at Delphi, Temple of Apollo top. -Lonely Planet

A crack in a mountainside 100 miles from Athens influenced the ancient Mediterranean world for an entire age. The holy city of Delphi was home to sacred temples, wealthy treasuries, renowned theaters, and active sporting arenas that marked it as the most important cultural, religious and financial hub in the Western world.

The mother of Delphi’s influence was a fissure in the rock breathing a mind-altering vapor, discovered by a goatherder around 1400 BCE. As the ancient mind went, this was obviously a portal into the divine dimension. The spot was considered the navel of the world and a sacred site grew up around it, eventually inspiring a huge Temple of Apollo to awe its visitors.

Priestess of Delphi -John Collier, 1891

Ensconced on a tripod seat over the fissure in the temple’s hallowed chamber, the entranced oracle – called the Pythia – became the conduit for the god Apollo, who would deliver for seekers vague personal messages to be interpreted by the attendant priests. The prophecies covered every human interest from romance to finance to empires.

The oracles were famously, even cruelly, cryptic. In the most infamous military blunder of all time Lydian king Croesus consulted the Oracle before invading Persia and was assured that a great empire would be destroyed if he did. Imagine his surprise when he lost the war he started and it was his empire that was destroyed!

Aegeus Consults the Pythia -ancienthistory.about.com

Among the many seers and oracles of the ancient world, none wielded the power and respect of Delphi. For more than a millennium kings, aristocrats, commoners and colonists paid dearly for a precognitive utterance from the Pythia that would give them some warning, guidance or blessing for their next endeavor.

Delphi’s influence eventually waned and it was shut down by Christian Rome in the 4th Century CE. But the mark of Delphi on our civilization is an undeniable hint at our magical, mythical and humble past.

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger

3 oracles from Delphi we wish we hadn’t followed:

1. “Gerard Butler and the cast of 300 shall go into battle shirtless.”
2. “The great vessel Titanic is indestructible – you shall turn off the radio and sail it anywhere.”
3. “You shall have a new queen and she shall be named ‘Snooki!'”

Chris Everheart is author of the YA thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Available Now

Related articles

• Ancient Future Shock (chriseverheart.com)
• Fault-y Prophet (chriseverheart.com)
• 5 Oddities of the Oracle at Delphi (chriseverheart.com)
• The Oracle of Delphi (bringingeuropehome.com)

Monsters of Archaeology

“Frankenstein” mummies of Scotland rise from the grave to scare the bejeebers out of us rational modernites!

Meet Jeff, Troy, Annie, Pierce, Britta, Shirley, and maybe even Abed – a “Frankenstein” mummy from the community of Cladh Hallan, Scotland (c.1600-1300 BCE). – The Telegraph-UK

Didn’t the Burger tell you about the great job archaeologists have been doing keeping us safe from the monsters waiting to rise from the dust of the past? Well, here’s another example of their heroics.

Four bodies discovered in 2001 at Cladh Hallan village in Scotland have turned out to be the earliest evidence of deliberate mummification in Britain – as old as 1600 BCE. The high-acid, low-oxygen soil of ancient peat bogs like the ones in these northern isles was a perfect preservative for flesh, prompting the bronze-age people of northern Europe to use the bogs as small-scale mummy factories.

2,400-year-old Tollund Man of Denmark is considered an unintentional bog mummy (note the unceremonious noose around his neck).

Immersion in a bog for a year or so was enough to preserve the body of a loved one or an important leader for the ages. It is thought that such mummies were then enshrined for centuries, included in rituals, and even consulted on topics important to their tribes. The job of interpreting a mummy’s thoughts and wisdom no doubt fell to a shaman or priest(ess), like at Delphi and other ancient oracles of the Mediterranean.

But here’s the especially fascinating and macabre thing about the mummies of Cladh Hallan – the body parts of each skeleton are from multiple individuals! Indeed, archaeologists have determined that some body parts are hundreds of years older than others – and of different genders – suggesting that the parts of long-revered mummies were reorganized and buried to sort-of graft together the limbs of multiple family trees.

According to Prof Mike Parker Pearson, an expert in the Bronze Age and burial rituals, such blending of reanimated tribal icons could have been strictly ceremonial or may have been intended to determine property rights or solidify authority. It remains unclear why these mummies were buried in graves after generations of being hosted among the inhabitants of the village.

Boris Karloff played Frankenstein‘s monster and The Mummy – three millennia after the people of Cladh Hallan perfected the mash-up.

Of course, archaeologists are sticking to the official story – that these skeletons were assembled after mummification. But Brain Burgers can put the pieces together (pun intended) and see the truth – that these were proto-Frankenstein monsters walking the earth who stumbled into the bog after a night of stalking and groaning through the village streets. Archaeologists just haven’t found the neck bolts yet. Hehe, stupid monsters.

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 other artefacts found mummified in the peat bogs of Scotland:

1. One sock – argh!
2. An Ancient Navy polar fleece hoodie – those things really do last forever!
3. Twinkies (peat bog soil determined totally unnecessary for preservation)

Chris Everheart is author of the thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Available Now

Read my latest author interview at Chompasaurus!

Related articles

• Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2012 (indianajen.com)
• Ancient Future Shock (chriseverheart.com)
• 5 Oddities of the Oracle at Delphi (chriseverheart.com)
• Archaeologists save the world from vampires, zombies and monsters! (chriseverheart.com)
• 4 monster apocalypse brain-weapons from archaeologists (chriseverheart.com)

The New Oldest Stuff

Archaeologists find evidence of human ancestors controlling fire 1 million years ago.

Prometheus stole fire for the Greeks 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists are stealing it back.

One reliable thing about Brain Burgers is that you won’t miss the newest old stuff that’s discovered. But archaeologists have thrown the Burger a curve by finding new evidence of the oldest of old stuff – fire.

While fire is known to have been used by hominids to cook food (prot0-burgers) as long as 1.9 million years ago, it wasn’t thought to have been under control by our apey grandparents until a mere 700,000 years ago. In other words, up till then we had been bringing the burger to the fire, rather than bringing the fire to the burger.

You could park fifty falafel carts side-by-side in Wonderwerk cave – but the cavemen preferred meat.

Last week, though, archaeologists announced the positive dating of some microscopic grass and wood ash found in South Africa’s Wunderwerk Cave to about 1 million years ago. This evidence was found far enough inside the cave that it could not be the spent fuel of naturally occurring fires blown or washed in by the elements. Though it’s not thought to have been created by pre-human hands, the fire must have been found outside and brought in by them to prepare their food, keep them warm, and give them something to argue about.

Accompanied by evidence of burned bones (but no discarded Spam cans), this new discovery is widely accepted by experts as evidence of the earliest uses of controlled fire in the world – ONE MILLION YEARS AGO. Wow, that’s some old stuff!

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 other million-year-old discoveries at the Wonderwerk fire:

1. Remnants of earliest scented candle, unimaginatively named “Stick”.
2. Lack of cutter-wheel stone tool conclusively proves these hominids did not have frozen pizza as a dietary staple.
3. Wire coat hanger fragment evidence that early humans tried to improve reception while staring into the fire.

Chris Everheart is author of the thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Available Now

Read my new author interview at Chompasaurus!

Related articles

• You’re WAY Older Than You Think! (chriseverheart.com)
• 5 amazing things about Göbekli Tepe (chriseverheart.com)
• ‘Peking Man’ Was a Fashion Plate (2eyeswatching.com)

The Prediction Predilection

You’re thinking about 2013. You can’t help it!

A couple of Druids planned the Stonehenge monument on a bar napkin at a New Years Eve party.

If staying “up-to-date” on next year is driving you crazy, you can stop. The really hard predicting work has already been done. That’s what Stonehenge was built for.

In our times, we don’t need huge monuments to the future. We know that when the old barn-picture calendar is replaced by a new puppy-picture calendar, it’s time to celebrate, declare what we will and won’t do (for the next 46 days or so), and insist to each other what will (definitely, most likely, possibly, maybe) happen next year.

Why the obsession with the near future? Because: a) we can’t stand not knowing; b) we can stand dreaming about it; and c) it’s easier to change tomorrow.

Before there was even the concept of a “2013”, a cave man sat on a hill one day thinking, “I wonder what’ll happen in the days after the sun rises between the peaks of those two mountains over there. In fact, that’ll a great time to quit smoking if I’m going to live my expected 42 years.”

If I wanted to get all Zen on you, I’d suggest that the “tomorrow” we hold in our minds says more about our now than about our future. And if you wanted to get all hedonistic on me, you’d forget I said that so it wouldn’t ruin your New Years Eve partying!

Happy New Year!

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 other reasons we’re obsessed with 2013 predictions:

1. Our overworked worked modern psyches need to believe next year will be easier
2. Our undernourished cave dweller psyches need to believe there will be food to eat
3. Our discerning consumer psyches want to know if we should build an in-ground pool or learn how to build a survivalist log cabin with mud instead of logs

Chris Everheart is author of the thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Available Now

Read my author interview at Chompasaurus!

Related articles

• Ancient Future Shock (chriseverheart.com)
• Fault-y Prophet (chriseverheart.com)
• We Dare You to Not Laugh at These Vintage Visions of the Future (modcloth.com)
• Predicting 2013: Awful Things Will Stay Awful or Get Awfuller (gawker.com)
• Spread the Conspiracy: Read (chriseverheart.com)
• Information of the Ages (chriseverheart.com)

Living History in the Balance

A medieval Indian temple site becomes a monument to what can go wrong with modern archaeology.

The great tower gate of Vijayanagara, India. Photo: Gethin Chamberlain

Let’s admit it – archaeology was messy business for a lot of years – and not just because of the dirt. Today the word “archaeology” elicits images of lines of string tied tightly between surveying posts, dividing a scientist’s attention into one-foot squares, below which someone with tiny towel and brush painstakingly removes a millimeter of soil at a time, searching for the most minuscule relic of people past.

Heinrich Schliemann’s trench, dug at the site of Troy in the 1870’s has been described as “disastrous” to the archeological record. -pb-archaeology.blogspot.com

The truth is that the early methods of exploration, discovery, and excavation were sometimes disastrous and didn’t look much like the archaeology we have today. Until the early-20th century archaeology was little more than a leisure time pursuit for wealthy and curious aristocrats. There wasn’t much of a scientific approach to the endeavor. Many of the excavation methods of the time destroyed or mixed up artifacts and information we could use to accurately date and explain ancient sites. And the assumptions drawn from myths and legends about their origin and use could be just as mystifying. Unfortunately the days of shortsighted archaeology are not exactly over.

In an open letter to Indian antiquities authorities, two scientists John M. Fritz and George Michell, who have worked at the site of Vijayanagara in southern India, describe how a thriving pilgrimage and tourist attraction has been decimated by modern (yet somewhat barbaric) management practices.

The “City of Victory” was founded in the 14th century CE by its namesake the Vijayanagara empire and thrived “as the capital of one of the greatest and wealthiest Hindu empires, which, at its height, ruled almost all of southern India”  for two centuries. It was sacked by a neighboring kingdom in January, 1565 and left to ruin. Though mostly overgrown until it was rediscovered in the mid-19th century, the temple site still hosted pilgrims, an annual festival, and a small bazaar on the avenue leading up to the temple’s 160-foot-tall gateway.

Local residents gather to protest the demolition of Hampi Bazaar.

In 1980 Fritz and Michell began their project surveying and mapping the site in partnership with Indian authorities. “… we examined the planning of the city, the extensive military fortifications, a complex hydraulic system, and even traces of the lives of common people.”

As historians and archaeologists they recognized the appropriateness of the modern-day market occupying the ancient main avenue, the site of the city’s original market. Traders of the middle ages said that the market had been “stocked with food of all kinds, birds and other animals, and even precious stones, including diamonds.” As Indian authorities uncovered select parts of the monuments and temples in the 20th century, tourism and pilgrimage grew and so did the local population who would support and profit from it. The village of Hampi grew up, sprouting shops, small hotels, and restaurants.

Heavy machinery demolishing shops and residences at Hampi bazar outside the Vijayanagara complex.

By 2002 Hampi had become a world-famous site and thrived until 2010 when shortsighted Indian authorities, citing archaeological purity, evicted residents and started bulldozing the houses and shops. Unlike many European sites that honor the original intent of a living, working village at important sites, certain departments within the Indian government still misinterpret site purity only as a sanitized version of the past. Turns out this de-humanized version just might prove to be a better platform for more expensive “5-star tourism” to develop.

In the words of Fritz and Michell: “Hampi Bazaar could have been such a site, under an alternative paradigm, that of ‘living heritage’ … To ignore the full scope of Hampi’s history risks turning a unique relic of medieval commerce and religious faith into a lifeless ruin.”

While we get used to seeing ancient sites as monoliths that exist in their own time and space, it’s easy to forget that people made the monument and the presence of people made it come alive. To believe that there’s no place for people among or around these monuments is to miss the original point of their existence.

Now, here’s the cheese on this Brain Burger.

3 other reasons Indian authorities bulldozed the Hampi marketplace:

1. Last-ditch attempt to get their 30-year-old son out of the basement
2. Misread instructions to bulldoze the treasured medieval monument next door
3. Two words: Super Walmart

Chris Everheart is author of the thriller

THE LEAGUE OF DELPHI

Available Now

Learn more about what makes this writer tick. Read my author interview at PaperBackSwap.com!

Related articles

• Hampi: A Pleasure-Dome. (catchingcards.wordpress.com)
• Happy in Hampi! (ramaterraincognita.com)
• Thieves damage Indian heritage site in treasure hunt (straitstimes.com)
• Archaeologists Save the World (chriseverheart.com)