Explorations at an Height of 5,000 Metres
Led by museum director Prof. Achim Lichtenberger from the Institute of Classical and Christian Archaeology, a team of archaeologists, glaciologists and mountaineers spent two weeks exploring Mount Ararat. Their aim was to determine whether the ice on Turkey’s highest mountain preserves a unique archive of climate and cultural history. The experts used a combination of ground-penetrating radar and active seismic techniques to map the thickness and subsurface composition of the ice. During the next expedition, an ice core is to be extracted from Mount Ararat for the first time.
“This opens up a new source of information for archaeology,” says project leader Lichtenberger. “Until now, we have had to rely on what lies in the ground. The ice, on the other hand, could preserve a continuous chronicle of human activity – layer by layer, spanning millennia.” The mountain lies at a crossroads of ancient civilisations. Whilst comparable studies have already been carried out in the Mediterranean region and the Alps, the Middle East has so far remained unexplored in this regard.
80 Years of North Rhine-Westphalia
Eighty years ago, the Rhineland and Westphalia were merged to form a single federal state. To mark this occasion, NRW Day will take place in Münster on 29 August, with celebrations running from 28 to 30 August. Among the guests at the eleven themed zones in Münster city centre will be Minister-President Hendrik Wüst.
The Archaeological Museum will be open on Friday from 11 am to 7 pm and will be offering guided tours of the permanent exhibition at 2 pm and 4 pm. No booking is required, and admission is free. On Sunday at 3 pm, curator Dr Torben Schreiber and PhD student Saskia Erhardt will present the excavation of Armenia’s oldest church on the stage of the Science Mile (Universitätsstraße).