Phoenicia, o filme: 6 de nov. de 2009

British Museum Collectinon

Silver bowl with scenes in relief

Phoenician, 8th-7th century BCFrom Amathus, Cyprus

This fragmentary silver bowl was discovered in a tomb at the end of the nineteenth century. The tomb had been looted, and its two chambers contained the broken fragments of fifteen sarcophagi. This bowl was found in a copper cauldron along with an iron dagger and the fragments of a shield. They may have been discarded as of little value - the bowl was heavily corroded and the silver only obvious after conservation.

The bowl is decorated in low relief with Canaanite and Egyptian deities, couchant sphinxes wearing Egyptian headdresses, and a scene showing the siege of a city. The decoration shows clear Egyptian or Egyptianizing and Canaanite motifs, but such mixed influences are typical of Phoenician products. It is comparable to bowls found elsewhere, such as the bronze bowls from Nimrud, several of which are in The British Museum. The outer frieze, with the seige scene, may illustrate a forgotten episode from Phoenician or Syrian mythology.

The use of similar artistic motifs over a wide area shows the extent of commercial contacts established by the Canaanites of the Levant coast (known as Phoenicians) in the first millennium BC. They grew rich by supplying luxury materials to Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Iran. Their natural harbours became major ports for handling international shipping.

L.P. di Cesnola, Cyprus: its ancient cities, to (London, John Murray, 1877)
B.F. Cook (ed.), Cypriot art in the British Mus (London, The British Museum Press, 1979)
S. Moscati, The Phoenicians (New York, Rizzoli, 1999)

The British Museum - Explore/Highlights

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/s/silver_bowl,_scenes_in_relief.aspx

About Phoenicians

Texto extraído do site The British Museum

Phoenicians
The British Museum - Explore/ World cultures
Iraqhttp://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/world_cultures/middle_east/phoenicians.aspx

Image caption: Ivory plaque depicting a winged sphinxPhoenician, 9th-8th century BC. Found at Fort Shalmaneser, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), northern

The Phoenicians were the direct descendents of the Canaanites of the south Syrian and Lebanese coast who, at the end of the second millennium BC, became isolated by population and political changes in the regions surrounding them. The name derives from the Greek, Phoinikes, referring to the purple coloured dye which the Phoenicians extracted from the murex shell, and with which they produced highly prized textiles.

The major Phoenician cities were Tyre, Sidon, Byblos and Arwad. These cities represented a confederation of fiercely independent maritime traders. By the late eighth century BC, the Phoenicians had founded trading posts and colonies around the entire Mediterranean, the greatest of which was Carthage on the north coast of Africa (present day Tunisia). Explorers and traders from Carthage even ventured beyond the Straits of Gibraltar as far as Britain in search of tin.

Phoenician craftsmen and artists perpetuated the purest ideals of their Canaanite ancestors into the first millennium and transmitted them throughout the Mediterranean world. They were extremely skilled in metalworking, ivory carving, jewellery manufacture and glass-making. One of the most significant contributions of the Phoenicians was in developing the alphabet invented by the Canaanites and passing it to the Greeks: it is the same alphabet we use today.

Cavalgando os mares

O Hippo, este cavalo, enfeitava a proa dos navios fenícios

Nas fotos, o Hippo do barco PHOENICIA

MENSAGENS DE HOJE

Um susto no mar

Mensagens enviadas por Vera Sanada

Leia a respeito do susto que nossos aventureiros levaram a noite passada.
Realmente isso acontece no mar.
Yuri e eu já passamos por vários quando navegávamos.
Imagina eles que estão na altura da Somália.
Realmente eles andam muito apreensivos!

Esse é o momento de mais atenção, e levará no mínimo 15 dias até passarem.

Beijos
Vera

6th November 2009
09.32.5N, 58.37.9 E

Message:Blog 7 Suspicious contact at 50° on the starboard side.

It was 18:30 hrs local time yesterday evening and dusk was just descending. At first there was a report of a contact on the starboard side with the spotting of a light. The narrative ran something like this: “What is it?” “It is a large ship”. “How can you tell that?”

“The mast is a at least 10 meters tall”
“How can you tell that?” Ermm....
“How long do you think the ship is?
“About 20 meters”
“The same as Phoenicia then?” “Yes”
“so most likely either a pirate mother ship or a fishing boat?”
“Wow their deck lights are bright”.

“Yes they are obviously doing something on deck, either launching a skiff or two or hauling nets”
.
“Looks like it is getting closer”.

“Yuri can you get the generator started and the LRAD plugged in. Nicolas can you check the satellite phone is ready and switch on our navigation lights.”

“You are 20° off course- for goodness sake’s concentrate or we will be in real trouble. You should be steering 150°, not 130°”.

“That is interesting they have turned off their deck lights but they have their navigation lights still on”.

“Darken ship and get our navigation lights off. They will know we have seen them but if they are coming for us it will be more difficult for them to find us as it is pitch black right now and the full moon won’t rise for an hour or so”.

“There is another contact on the port side, several lights”

“What is it?” “It is a very large ship, a container ship” comes the reply. “Okay it is going to clear us easily- so lets concentrate on the starboard contact”.

“Oh xxxx. It is turning and coming right for us”.

About 10 minutes later. “Actually I think it is a fishing boat and its bearing is moving down our starboard side”.

An hour later- “stand down everybody. But be extremely vigilant on the lookout unless you want an enforced vocation inside a Somali cave. It must have been a lonely fishing boat. We don’t want to see any more of them as they are not good for the nerves”.

“What is for supper and are there any more of those pancakes left?”

Message from Phoenicia UK office: Blog readers please note the latest position report has come in from the ship and all the crew are well with no sign of any problems since the incident last night. Please keep following the blog and satellite tracker for the latest news. You can also leave a personal message for the crew on the Phoenicia message board.

Nota: Veja em box à direita como falar com Phoenicia Expedition