Archaeologists working in the deserts of the Middle East have discovered a board game in an ancient settlement that people played four thousand years ago.
The excavations are carried out within the framework of the Omani-Polish project “Development of settlements in the mountains of Northern Oman in the Bronze and Iron Ages” under the joint supervision of Professor Piotr Bieliński from the Polish Center for Mediterranean Archeology of the University of Warsaw and Dr. Sultan al-Bakri (Sultan al-Bakri) from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism of Oman. Project specialists are exploring the development and forms of settlements in one of the least studied corners of Oman – in the mountain valleys of the northern part of the Hajar Range.
In the completed season, archaeologists focused on the cultural monuments of Umm al-Nar (2600-2000 BC), located near the village of Ain Bani Saadah. This settlement is located at the intersection of routes along which several large objects of the Umm al-Nar period have already been found. The new object was previously also attributed to this archaeological culture.
According to Polish archaeologists, the settlement is extremely interesting, since it includes at least four towers: three round and one corner. One of the round towers was not visible on the surface, despite its large size – up to 20 meters in diameter; it was discovered only during excavations. In general, the culture of Umm al-Nar is characterized by such large stone buildings, similar to towers: several hundred have already been found. Some are collective burials. The functions of others are not entirely clear, and there is no indication that they were used as living quarters.
In addition, the researchers found evidence of copper processing at the site, as well as some copper objects. This shows that the settlement was involved in the lucrative copper trade for which Oman was famous at the time: references to Omani copper appear in cuneiform texts from geographically close ancient Mesopotamia.
But perhaps one of the most interesting finds in the excavations around Ain Bani Saada is a board game made of stone. The playing field is marked with squares, each of which has a central recess. There are at least 13 squares, but part of the found board is broken off, so there could be more of them. Bones or stones that replace chips have not yet been found. Therefore, one can only guess what kind of game it is.
Archaeologists say that this is a similarity to the royal game of Ur – an ancient board game, the appearance of which historians date back to the 3rd millennium BC. Findings of playing fields for it were made in Mesopotamia, and the rules are known to us thanks to Babylonian clay tablets. This is a game for two people, similar to modern backgammon. It is interesting that the first royal game, found in the first half of the 20th century by the English archaeologist Leonard Woolley, during excavations of the royal burial in Ur, dates back to approximately the same time as the stone playing field that has now been discovered.
It should be noted that archaeologists have unearthed layers belonging to at least five different archaeological periods. They found traces of people from the late Neolithic period (4300-4000 BC), the Umm al-Nar culture of the Bronze Age (2600-2000 BC) and the Iron Age (1100-600 BC). In addition, there are finds dated to around the beginning of the 1st millennium AD (they have not yet been attributed), the ruins of a settlement of the early Islamic period, standing on top of earlier remains. Such an abundance of traces of settlements proves that this valley was an important place for people at various times.
And it is not surprising, because the coastal strip of Oman is one of the main ways for the settlement of people from Africa to South and Southeast Asia. But if we are talking about the culture of Umm al-Nar, then we cannot fail to mention the mysterious kingdom of Magan, which historians are increasingly localizing in Oman. We know about it from Mesopotamian sources, and it is described as an extremely developed state. It is mentioned that Magan traded with the Sumerians and Mellukha (presumably located in Western India). Also, this state is known as a source of copper (we said above about the found evidence of smelting) and diorite – a coarse-grained igneous rock consisting of basalt and granite. It is on the diorite stele that the main text of the Code of Hammurabi is carved.
Brett Chamberlain, 50, of Tiverton, refueled his car for £ 60 with diesel at a Tesco petrol station and demanded payment of £ 100 end of 2021.
This caused a scandal because it was clear to everyone that such a coin was not in circulation, the story was silent about the words that were spoken during the scandal, but in the end the manager of Tesco in Exter called the police.
The uniformed men handcuffed Brett without hesitation and took him to a nearby police station, accusing him of trying to deceive the cashier and even running away from the gas station, although the latter was not quite so.
But what happened after Mr. Chamberlain’s lawyer came? He quickly explained that his client was a numismatist and that the coin could not be counterfeit. A quick search on the Internet showed that the coin in question with a value of 100 British pounds was a jubilee production and even had one – “Trafalgar Square £ 100 Coin”.
The lawyer for the arrested numismatist, who was actually an amateur and worked as a carpenter, quickly established that under the 1971 Mint Act, all coins minted by the British Mint were legal tender and even illegal not to be accepted as such.
The police made the arrest and their superiors were not very impressed by the curiosity of the lawyer, who actually proved that the arrest of Brett Chamberlain was absolutely illegal, and this is a big quarrel for the uniformed in democratic Britain.
The frowning behavior of the police and their refusal to write off Brett’s arrest led to a claim for compensation, which was approved by the court and the police in Exeter had to make an early Christmas present to the illegally detained numismatist worth 5,000 British pounds. In fact, they transferred them directly to his personal bank account without protesting.
In the Italian city of Catania, the Catholic diocese has decided to ban the appointment of godparents for three years. This is reported by Jason Horowitz, head of the New York Times Bureau in Rome.
The Vicar General of Catania, Salvatore Cristina, explained this decision by the loss of the true religious significance of the godfather figure. According to him, many are specifically looking for influential patrons for their children in order to strengthen their own material and social situation. Christina also added that he himself has 15 godchildren, and the ex-president of Sicily has 20, given that he accepted only 5% of such proposals.
In addition, the figure of the godfather is of great importance to the mafia. By recruiting a large number of godchildren, mafia bosses spread their influence and attracted new faces to the gangs.
He was born 100 years ago and goes down in history as one of the most successful nuclear weapons developers in the history of the world. His project managed to be felt all over the world, quickly managing to equalize in the Cold War. Curious or not, the same inventor received the Nobel Peace Prize. How did one of the creators of nuclear weapons win this award? Let’s get acquainted in more detail with Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov. His life began in Moscow on May 21, 1921 in the family of a physics professor who would point to science as the only solution for Andrei, his mother was the daughter of General Alexei Sofiano, who would also help shape the young person.
In 1938, Sakharov entered Moscow University, but did not have much time to complete it, the evacuation of Moscow would move him to present-day Turkmenistan, and during the war he would work in a military laboratory, and then return to Moscow to take a doctorate in theoretical physics. His first interests were in the cosmic rays, and although his work showed a good foundation for the development of new theories, the USSR would soon need all the scientists to create an atomic bomb. In this project, Andrew will give a very interesting solution, placing pure and unenriched uranium around the deutirium – isotope, expanding the boundaries of the structure.
During the thermonuclear reaction, uranium can also capture its own neutrons, ensuring higher power and radius of effect. This effect is called the “cake” by himself. At first it became clear that the first tests could not work as expected. Of course, the idea is quite original and with the help of some accelerators and weak radiation rays, Andrei managed to put the nuclear weapon in the hands of the USSR. The first hydrogen bomb codenamed RDS-37 was produced and detonated, with an original power of about 3 megatons, for real tests, the power will be reduced to 50%. Only 6 years later, his model will be used for the well-known “King Bomb” with a capacity of 50 megatons – to this day it remains one of the most powerful atomic bombs in history.
With the demonstration of such power, it is clear that the world will never be the same, and success at some point becomes a special scourge for the creator. The fate of Oppenheimer and Edward Teller is similar in this respect. Many do see the creation of such a weapon as too extreme a measure, but this is where another reasoning emerges. For the inventor himself, it became clear that about 40 years after the creation of such a weapon, World War III was avoided, and probably one great merit is the fact that nuclear terror and constant threats keep each side in open conflict.
In 1965 he began working on theoretical physics and studying proton decay. Such theories have already been proposed, but have not yet been proven. He researched the big bang theory and then even suggested the presence of so-called induced gravity, a proposal that first appeared from Einstein and Bose.
In the 1950s, the scientist would express serious concerns about the detonation of a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere. In 1967, he will be one of the people who will try to reason with the United States and the Soviet Union about the creation of long-range ballistic missiles, which are likely to be developed, accompanied by the possible creation of defenses against such missiles. In general, the scientist’s idea is to show that if this armament continues, nuclear war will become the only option.
He finally wrote his own manifesto, and although he had permission to publish it, he never managed to find a place to express himself in the USSR. On the other hand, we must not forget that it has been a huge success outside the country. But why is Sakharov such an ardent opponent? As you know, the Rainbow anti-radar system malfunctions at one point, leaving only one person to decide whether they really need to notify their superiors of the first phase of nuclear war or simply accept that this is a particular system error. It is during this period that one person saves the whole world, and what can we imagine if there were more than one radar. After Andrei’s literary appearance, he received an official forgetfulness to work in the military industry, to conduct various experiments or to work as a theoretical physicist.
The iconographic canon is a set of rules and norms that regulate the writing of icons. It basically contains a concept of image and symbol and fixes those features of the iconographic image that separate the divine, upper world from the earthly (lower) world.
The iconographic canon is realized in the so-called erminia (from the Greek explanation, guidance, description) or in the Russian version-originals. They consist of several parts:
• facial originals – these are drawings (outlines) in which the main composition of the icon is fixed, with the corresponding color characteristics;
• Interpretive originals – give a verbal description of the iconographic types and how the various saints are painted.
As Orthodoxy became the official religion, Byzantine priests and theologians gradually established rules for the veneration of icons, which explained in detail how to treat them, what could and should not be depicted.
The decrees of the Seventh Ecumenical Council against the Iconoclasts can be considered the prototype of the iconographic original. Iconoclasts oppose the veneration of icons. They considered sacred images to be idols, and their worship to be idolatry, relying on Old Testament commandments and the fact that the divine nature is inconceivable. The possibility of such an interpretation arises, because there was no uniform rule for the treatment of icons, and in the masses they were surrounded by superstitious worship. For example, they added some of the paint to the icon in the wine for communion and others. This raises the need for a complete teaching of the Church about the icon.
The Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council gathered the church experience from the first times and formulated the dogma of icon worship for all times and peoples who profess the Orthodox faith. on a par with Him. The dogma of icon-worship emphasizes that the veneration and worship of the icon does not refer to the material, not to the wood and the paint, but to the one depicted on it, therefore it does not have the character of idolatry.
It was explained that icon-worship was possible because of the incarnation of Jesus Christ in human form. To the extent that He Himself appeared to mankind, His portrayal is also possible.
An important testimony is the non-manufactured image of the Savior – the imprint of His face on the towel (tablecloth), so the first icon painter became Jesus Christ himself.
The Holy Fathers emphasized the importance of the image as a perception and influence on man. In addition, for illiterate people, icons served as the Gospel. Priests were tasked with explaining to the flock the true way of worshiping icons.
What Gospel expresses through word, the icon must express through image..
The decrees also say that in the future, in order to prevent the incorrect perception of the icons, the holy fathers of the Church will compose the composition of the icons, and the artists will perform the technical part. In this sense, the role of the holy fathers in the future was played by the iconic original or erminia.
The earliest fragments preserved to this day from a Greek icon-painting original are from 993.
Later, along with the adoption of Christianity, the first icons were obtained, and liturgical books were translated from Greek. Among them was translated the icon-painting original, which became a necessary accessory for every icon-painter.
In the history of mankind, there have been only a few powerful spiritual and religious directions of world outlook associated with certain types of writing. In the history of European culture, there are essentially two such types of writing. One is Latin, and as a result of its development, it can be called Western, since it is used primarily by Western European languages. Serving at first to express Roman pagan spirituality, the Latin alphabet in the first centuries A.D. began to simultaneously express Christian spirituality in its Western European manifestation. Barely getting stronger by the 4th-5th centuries, the Christian ministry of the Latin began to weaken more and more under the onslaught of the resurgent pagan culture. The Western European mixture of Christian and magical spirituality reached an intermediate peak during the Renaissance of the XIV-XVI centuries and further, in the Modern Age, only intensified, forming what began to be called the New Babylon of the West. This Western community, magical in its deepest spiritual essence, was made up of peoples whose writing system developed on the basis of the Latin alphabet (including peoples who are not at all Western and not at all European, still being drawn into the world whirlpool of the Western spirit and Latin writing).
Another, relatively speaking, eastern, type of European writing is formed by the dual unity of Greek and Slavic-Cyrillic writing, partly created on its basis. This letter, in its Greek component, at first expressed Hellenic, then Hellenistic pagan spirituality, and according to R.Kh. – with increasing power – the Christian Orthodox faith. At the peak of its mystical growth, Greek writing served as material for the creation of a new Slavic Cyrillic script, created and disseminated by the labors of the holy enlighteners Cyril and Methodius, primarily for the service of the sacred Orthodox worship. The original purpose of the Cyrillic alphabet was preserved as the main one for several centuries, and in essence it remains to this day, since the civil simplified Cyrillic script introduced by Peter I in 1708 only strengthened its liturgical use for Church Slavonic Cyrillic. In the course of the historical development of Europe, the Greek writing itself increasingly lost its significance and strength as Byzantium weakened, and the Slavic Cyrillic alphabet, on the contrary, became more and more asserted, mainly at the expense of Russia, Russia.
The struggle between the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets flared up immediately after the birth of the Cyrillic alphabet: in the 860s-870s. At that time, the West, despite the widespread trilingual heresy, nevertheless had to recognize the right of the Cyrillic alphabet for liturgical use and for translations of sacred Christian books. Since then, this struggle has never faded away, retaining its main features and techniques from era to era, and the success of the parties has been variable.
Western Catholic Rome gradually imposed the Latin alphabet on dependent Slavic peoples: from the 12th century on the Croats (moreover, their Cyrillic resistance ceased only in the 19th century), from the 13th century on the Czechs, from the 14th century on the Poles. Orthodox Romanians did not begin to switch to the Latin alphabet at all until 1860.
In recent history, the case of Serbia is indicative: under powerful Western pressure, since the 1990s, it has been experiencing a rapid romanization of writing. At the state level, the Cyrillic alphabet is still the only alphabet, but in everyday life the Latin alphabet is used very widely, a number of newspapers are published only in the Latin alphabet, and it also prevails in the electronic network. In Montenegro, which broke away from Serbia in 2006, the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets are legally equal in rights, and in everyday life, Latinization is growing.
In Russia, some movement of writing towards the Latin alphabet was initiated by Peter I, when, from 1708, he began to introduce, in addition to Church Slavonic Cyrillic, a simplified civil alphabet, designed to serve non-church literature. In the opinion of many, the appearance of the new Cyrillic alphabet began to somewhat resemble the Latin alphabet: “<…> angular letters began to move closer to rounded Latin ones”[2]. However, foreigners and local Westerners continued to consider the updated domestic writing insufficiently perfect, seeing pure perfection in the Latin alphabet.
In general, during the 19th century, Russia was relatively successful, although with varying degrees of success, in holding back the onslaught of the Latin alphabet. In the 20th century, the struggle continued, and there are two epochs of a relatively successful offensive of Latin writing, however, in both cases it was still stopped. Both offensives coincide with the waves of Western influence on the whole of Russian life, rising in the conditions of coups d’état.
In the first case, this is a decade of the early Soviet era. In 1919, the Scientific Department of the People’s Commissariat of Education and personally People’s Commissar A.V. Lunacharsky propose to translate the letter of all the nationalities of Russia, including Russians, into Latin. Lenin sympathized with this, but for tactical reasons he suspended the work in the part of the Russian language. In the newly created USSR, they began with the Latinization of the languages of national minorities, and among the Turkic peoples, the Arabic script was replaced with the Latin script. The business progressed well in the 1920s. Since 1928, there was a commission for the romanization of the Russian alphabet as well. However, already on January 25, 1930, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, chaired by Stalin, instructed Glavnauka to stop working on this issue. From the mid-1930s, under the leadership of Stalin, a pro-Russian state turn was made, and those alphabets of small peoples, for which the Latin alphabet had already been developed, were translated into Cyrillic. In the next half century, they tried to write down even mathematical formulas, programming languages and scientific transliteration of foreign words in Cyrillic.
A new wave of romanization naturally begins after the 1991 coup. It is reinforced from the outside in various ways, in particular by the rapid growth of the dominance of the English-language Latin alphabet in the global electronic network. Latin captures advertising in all its manifestations, fence and wall inscriptions of different levels of morality and artistry.
In the 1990s, a reverse translation from Cyrillic into Latin was made of the languages of a number of former Soviet republics, which had already experienced the first Latinization in the 1920s. In some cases it was successful (for example, in Moldova, Azerbaijan), in others (for example, in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan) it was slowed down due to multidimensional difficulties. Some new states, such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, not to mention Belarus, then remained faithful to the Cyrillic alphabet, but they are still restless. In Ukraine, at the very beginning of the leadership of the pro-Western President Yushchenko, in 2005, “a draft Decree of the President of Ukraine on the phased translation of the national script from Cyrillic to Latin was prepared. <…> The Decree provides for the replacement of the Ukrainian alphabet, created on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, with the Latin alphabet in the system of education and office work in Ukraine during 2005‒2015. The transition to the Latin alphabet is carried out “with the aim of enhancing the integration of Ukraine into the European Community, expanding the communicative functions of the Ukrainian language … strengthening versatile ties with the states that make up the stronghold of modern civilization””[19]. The implementation of the plan then slowed down, but after the coup d’état in early 2014, one of the first legislative movements of the self-proclaimed pro-Western government was a new formulation of the issue of romanization of writing. In March, it became known that “a temporary special commission for the preparation of a draft law “On the development and use of languages in Ukraine” is considering a gradual abandonment of the use of the Cyrillic alphabet in the country”[20].
In December 2012, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, in his next “Message to the People” stated: “It is necessary to start preparatory work on the translation of the Kazakh alphabet into the Latin script from 2025. This will serve not only the development of the Kazakh language, but also turn it into the language of modern information”[21].
Similar strivings for romanization arose in the 1990s within the newly formed Russia, both at the national level and at the level of individual subjects of the federation. Already in 1992, the parliament of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria allowed the Latin alphabet of the Chechen language, created back in 1925 (and replaced by Cyrillic in 1938). The Chechen Latin alphabet was used to a limited extent (in addition to the Cyrillic alphabet) during the period when the republic was most isolated from Russia (1992‒1994, 1996‒2000). True, the use was reduced to inscriptions in public places.
Similarly, in 1999, a law was passed in Tatarstan to restore the Latin script of the Tatar alphabet.
Primary school teachers are having to buy books to stock their classrooms because of limited access to budgets, a new report reveals.
In a study released for the 25th anniversary of World Book Day, a survey of more than 800 primary school teachers in January 2022 found that six in 10 teachers said that they had no access to new books.
Meanwhile, nearly four in 10 – 38% – said they were having to buy books for their classrooms themselves.
Furthermore, 17% of teachers said they relied on donations in order to update their book stock, while 8% said they never received any new books for their classrooms.
Nearly half of those surveyed – 48% – were unable to change books in their classroom during the school year, “meaning the opportunity for children to discover new books and explore their tastes and interests is severely limited”, the report said.
Most primary school teachers – 95% – said they had a book corner in their classrooms, but over half of these – 57% – contained fewer than 100 books.
“This rises to 84% of classrooms in early years foundation stage (pre-school and Reception) and 73% of classrooms in Year 1,” the report said.
“This is particularly damaging for children whose circumstances mean that they do not have access to books at home and whose reading progress is likely to have been affected adversely by lockdowns,” it added.
“Schools need a wide selection of books to support children to discover and develop a love of reading.”
Louise Johns-Shepherd, chief executive of CLPE, said that classrooms needed “a wide range of books that encourage engagement whoever you are and whatever your starting point”.
“A stagnant and never-changing book stock is not going to support children to develop this life-changing habit,” she added.
“This is even more important for children who may have less access to books at home – and these children are likely to be those who found it difficult to get hold of books during the lockdowns.”
“Our report shows that teachers know and understand this, resorting to resourcing their classrooms themselves to ensure their children have choice in their reading material,” she added.
Cassie Chadderton, chief executive of World Book Day, said: “We know that reading for pleasure has an enormous impact on a child’s future – whether that’s their educational success, wellbeing or mental health, so access to books in the classroom plays a vital role in creating this life-changing habit.
“If children can’t find books they want to read the impact on their own lives – and for society at large – cannot be underestimated.”
She added that the report “clearly shows that this lack of access to books needs addressing urgently”.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We continue to deliver year on year, real terms per pupil increases to school funding with a £7 billion cash increase in the core schools budget by 2024-25, compared with 2021-22.
“Our national funding formula distributes funding fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupils. It is for local authorities to balance the supply and demand of school places, and school leaders to decide how to spend their budgets.”
Security Council vote sets up emergency UN General Assembly session on Ukraine crisis
The Security Council voted on Sunday to call for a rare emergency special session of the 193-member UN General Assembly on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, which will be held on Monday. The measure convening the General Assembly session was adopted by a vote of 11 in favor, with Russia voting against, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.
Today’s request for the Assembly to urgently convene a meeting comes after Russia vetoed on Friday a US-led draft Security Council resolution that would have ‘deplored in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine’.
Since the text acted on today was procedural, none of the five permanent Council members – China France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States – could use their vetoes. The measure needed just nine votes in favor to pass.
That text gives the Assembly the power to take up matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members.
European Commission Press release Brussels, 28 Feb 2022 The European Commission is inviting stakeholders such as primary producers, processors, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and input providers to share their experience with agreements aimed at achieving sustainability objectives in the agri-food supply chains.
Russia has decided to launch a brutal, savage war, based on despicable lies. And you — the Ukrainian people — are the innocent victims of this folly. Of these lies.
This is the Kremlin’s war. Putin’s war, not the Russian peoples’ war.
Since Maidan, you – the Ukrainian people – have made the brave and free choice of liberty, democracy, and rule of law. And today, you are resisting fiercely and heroically. You are defending your land and your dignity. Your freedom and your children. Your integrity. Your democracy.
It is also the dignity, freedom, and democracy of the whole of Europe that is under attack. And that you are defending. This is why we – in the EU – have the moral and political duty to rise to this historic challenge.
We stand by you. Not just with words, but with concrete and immediate action.
Together with our partners, we have mobilised an international anti-war coalition to support you and your country. A rising tide of nations and leaders. All standing up in defence of international law.
Material and military support
We are organising the emergency delivery of defensive military equipment. Guns, ammunition, rockets, and fuel are on their way to your troops. We are also providing significant money and humanitarian assistance.
Sanctions
We are already hitting hard those who launched this war against you. We have decided, together with all our partners, unprecedented sanctions against the Russian leadership.
Including against Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov.
And we are targeting all the oligarchs who support them. With our allies, we are cutting Russia, and its economy, from the international financial system. This will severely cripple Russia’s ability to operate globally.
We are also closing European airspace to Russian airlines.
And we will go further.
We would prefer to solve this conflict through dialogue and negotiations. But let there be no doubt. We will hold to account all those responsible for this war. And all those who violate the law of war and international humanitarian law.
Contact with President Zelensky
I am in constant contact, as far as possible, with your brave President, my dear friend Volodymyr Zelensky. I salute his composure and his courage. They are a reflection of your composure and your courage.
Your President – and you the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian nation – are rising to this historic moment. And today, all of Europe must also rise to this historic moment.
