Dead cities of the Syrian hill country

Article Abstract:

Reasons for the abandonment of over 700 ancient settlements in northern Syria, deserted a thousand years ago, have been identified by extensive excavation. Earlier explorers theorized the inhabitants, who flourished under the Christian Roman empire from the fourth century, were part of a rural aristocracy overcome by the rise of Islam or deforestation. The latest findings show prosperous peasants lived in these villages. Invasions, plague, and drought were the main causes for the villages' decline.

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Day of the dead

Article Abstract:

The Day of the Dead is an annual festival in Morrope, Peru. It sheds much light on the burial practices of the Moche, who disappeared from the area a thousand years ago. The festival makes use of miniaturized household items like those found in Moche tombs, and ritual offerings of food to the deceased continue in the form of feeding strangers who resemble a particular ancestor.

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Postal propaganda: promoting the present with the past

Article Abstract:

Archaeological themes on postage stamps are used for self-promotion by many countries. National antiquities are featured especially on the stamps of Greece, Egypt, Iran, and Italy. The stamps have been used as symbols of national identity and to mark special dates and anniversaries. The Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini often evoked the past of the Roman Empire on its stamps.

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