View allAll Photos Tagged excavating
Found these excavating machines working hard in moderate to heavy fog with their lights on removing the remains of a large building torn down. Even though around 7:30 am it was extremely dark and eerie looking due to the fog so had to grab some photos. These are how it looked to the eye. Reminded me of scenes from War Of The Worlds, but then I have a weird imagination. :-) Went back an hour or so later with more light but still dark enough they still had to use their lights, shown in last 4 photos. Didn't use a tripod so detail not very good.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO TAKES THE TIME TO COMMENT OR FAVE, TRULY APPRECIATED!
The other three sites have been visited and worked on. Only minutes at each site were spent. Which leads me to think they are decoy sites. The female has put in some work visiting the other sites and chipping away at them. Twenty minutes later she is waiting across the river carrying on. I think this will be the active site for this year.
Willow tits are between blue and great tits in size, with no yellow, green or blue. They have a large sooty-black cap extending to the back of the neck and a small untidy black bib. It is mid-brown above, with whiter cheeks and pale buff-grey underparts. Its wings show a pale panel not found in marsh tits.
Its recent population declines make it a Red List species. The willow tit is strongly associated with wet woodland and willow carr growing in wetlands, bogs and around gravel pits. It is so similar to the marsh tit that it was not recognised as a separate species until 1897. Willow tits eat mostly insects, but will also eat berries and seeds when food is scarce in the winter. They use their small bills to excavate nest holes in decaying wood, which is unusual among the tit family. The female lays between six and eight eggs in a clutch.
How to identify
The willow tit is black, pale brown and white in colour, and is easily confused with the marsh tit. However, it has a pale panel on the wings and a sooty-black cap and bib. It has a distinctive, nasal 'zee, zee, zee' call, which is often the most reliable way to identify it. Willow tits excavate their own nest holes in standing, decaying birch and willow, and use the resulting woodchippings as the base of their nest. As time progressed, a number of ways to tell apart Marsh and Willow Tits were identified. For example, the cap of the former appears glossy compared to the duller tones of the willow, whose cap also extends further on to the nape. Similarly, the Marsh tits possess a larger bib; while the white cheeks of the Willow are often larger and more conspicuous than that of the Marsh. Additionally, Willow Tits also show a pale wing panel caused by the pale edging of the bird’s secondary wing feathers. Once a nest hole has been excavated and lined, Willow Tits can still be noisy around their breeding site, leaving them vulnerable to detection by Great Spotted Woodpeckers, which are accomplished at extracting prey from rotten wood. Willow Tits are single-brooded and if predation occurs at the chick stage, the pair is extremely unlikely to breed again that year. Numbers of Great Spotted Woodpeckers have increased dramatically in the UK (by 314% between 1970 and 2006), and
Willow Tits may have suffered a corresponding increase in predation rate.
The stone floor was excavated from a 500 year old
Chinese Temple in Fujian Province. It's hand chiseled granite.
The door portal is a replica of the old stavkirke (stave church) at Heddal, Norway. The bench, carved in repurposed 350 year old TEAK, was inspired by a bench in the National Museum in Oslo. The carved roundel above the bench is a replica of an old piece sold at auction in Vienna years ago, of a Bavarian Hunt Scene. The saying over the front entry is an from an old Hanse trading post proverb.
www.britannica.com/topic/Hanseatic-League
The reclaimed beams and log siding come from an old barn in Manitoba. The front door is 3 inches thick and made from repurposed 350 year old TEAK from a farmhouse on the island of Java.
The lighting fixture is from an auction in Boston, and the doorbell is an old "chow bell" from a lumber camp in Maine.
We call this little baita…. Zakopane in the Sierras, after the alpine village of the same name on the Polish/Slovakian border in the Tatras Range of the Carpathian Mountains.
The robin is local, and was being very protective of three young chicks.
In stillness I meet the mess of my mind—
a shovel, a seed, a ringing bell.
Thoughts rise like dust and fall like rain.
Breath by breath, I come home again.
I found this impressive and chunky little boy sheltered under a limestone slab right on the edge of this coastal cliff overlooking the turquoise sea at Marion Bay on the lower Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. He was in amazing condition at the end of the season and had obviously been stocking up the internal pantry for the pending months of cool weather. He was a welcome find too, given that the species typically occupies shallow burrows they've excavated amongst shrubs on exposed and well-drained, sandy slopes. His colors were surprisingly bright too, considering it was right on winters doorstep. I witnessed a sizeable pod of dolphins cruising past just offshore while I was taking his pic before carefully returning him to his beach house. A magic moment in a special place.
Painted Dragon (Ctenophorus pictus). Wide angle portrait taken on a Canon 5D IV DSLR, EF mount Laowa 15/4 1:1 macro lens and lit with a dash of fill-flash.
Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.
....from a walk through Oxley Creek Common. Oxley Creek Common is home to a remarkable variety of birds. An experienced observer can find as many as 70 species in one hour of observation during the spring about 10% of all Australia's bird species and several times the diversity one could find walking the suburbs. In the past eleven years over 190 species have been recorded on the Common. (Source: University of Queensland)
Sacred Kingfisher
Scientific Name: Todiramphus sanctus
Description: The Sacred Kingfisher is a medium sized kingfisher. It has a turquoise back, turquoise blue rump and tail, buff-white underparts and a broad cream collar. There is a broad black eye stripe extending from bill to nape of neck. Both sexes are similar, although the female is generally lighter with duller upper parts. Young birds are similar to the female, but have varying amounts of rusty-brown edging to feathers on the collar and underparts, and buff edges on the wing coverts.
Distribution: The Sacred Kingfisher is common and familiar throughout the coastal regions of mainland Australia and less common throughout Tasmania. The species is also found on islands from Australasia to Indonesia and New Zealand.
Habitat: The Sacred Kingfisher inhabits woodlands, mangroves and paperbark forests, tall open eucalypt forest and melaleuca forest.
Seasonal movements: In Australia, Sacred Kingfishers spend the winter in the north of their range and return south in the spring to breed.
Feeding: Sacred Kingfishers forage mainly on the land, only occasionally capturing prey in the water. They feed on crustaceans, reptiles, insects and their larvae and, infrequently, fish. The birds perch on low exposed branch on the lookout for prey. Once prey is located, the Sacred Kingfisher swoops down and grasps it in its bill, returning to the perch to eat it.
Breeding: For most of the year Sacred Kingfishers are mainly solitary, pairing only for the breeding season. Usually two clutches are laid in a season. Both sexes excavate the nest, which is normally a burrow in a termite mound, hollow branch or river bank. The nest chamber is unlined and can be up to 20m above the ground. Both sexes also incubate the eggs and care for the young.
Calls: The voice of the Sacred Kingfisher is a loud "ek ek ek ek" repeated continuously throughout breeding season. Birds also give a "kee kee kee" in excitement and a series of chirring, scolding notes when alarmed.
Minimum Size: 19cm
Maximum Size: 24cm
Average size: 21cm
Average weight: 45g
Breeding season: September to December; occasionally extended to March, if conditions are favourable.
Clutch Size: 3 to 6
Incubation: 18 days
Nestling Period: 26 days
(Sources: www.birdsinbackyards.net and "The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds - Second Edition")
© Chris Burns 2017
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This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
Excavated ruins of the churches
In the Middle Adges, the outline of the Pskov Kremlin was totally different. From behind the city walls loomed cupolas of the numerous churches. It is hard to beleive that all of them were built on a tiny plot of land half a hectare in size. This unique city construction, unmatched both in Pskov and in the whole world, was called Dowmont town, after Prince Dowmont, who was held in high esteem in Pskov.
Xylocopa (Latreille, 1802) in my garden. La Ceja, Colombia.
The species of the genus Xylocopa are big bees, robust, hairy, with coloration from black to blue or metallic green in females and yellow in males of many species.
The name “carpenter bees” is mainly associated to Xylocopini, because they excavate their galleries within hard and usually dead wood, excepting the palearctic subgenus Proxylocopa.
They arepolilectic bees, that is, they visit a great variety of plants. Their provisions consist of a compact and dry mixture of pollen.
repository.humboldt.org.co/bitstream/handle/20.500.11761/...
It’s called the junk drawer. There’s the tape that I need which, i swanee, wasn’t in this very drawer two days ago when I looked :-/. I also found the 3d glasses now that I don’t need them anymore.
In stillness I meet the mess of my mind—
a shovel, a seed, a ringing bell.
Thoughts rise like dust and fall like rain.
Breath by breath, I come home again.
Apollonia in Illyria (modern Albania), known as Apollonia was founded in 588 BCE by Greek colonists from Kerkyra (Corfu) and Corinth, and was perhaps the most important of the several classical towns known as Apollonia (Απολλωνία).
The Bouleuterion (Monument of the Agonothets) is seen in the background. This was the seat of the
Boulea (City Council).
Toni Duarte Freelance Photographer
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media
without my explicit permission.
© All rights reserved
Contac: fotografia@toniduarte.tk
Slow Jerk by The Sherrys
Written/produced by Joe Cook
When I was shopping in The Record Collector in Antwerp, after I dug out the reggae dub albums I was retrieving for friends in Hong Kong, after a few reggae singles for myself (an excellent Leroy Smart from 2000 produced by Sugar Minott over the Greenbay Killing rhythm) I decided to dip into the soul 45rpms. This is the stuff close to the European heart – Deep Groove, Northern Soul, obscure Doo-Wop . . . enzovoort. I picked a random box and decided to take a chance on an unknown label/artist. But something rang a bell: Joe Cook . . . why does that sound familiar?
Yeah . . . that Joe Cook. Little Joe Cook, who had a long running residency at The Cantab Lounge, Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, my home town and long term environs (until I got way over here). Check it out:
www.cantab-lounge.com/public_html/cantab_little_joe_cook....
Talk about retrieving!?!?
The Sherrys were put together by Joe Cook, and featured some of his daughters. You can follow the story here: www.thatphillysound.com/artists/sherrys.html
But the mystery with the 45rpm I bought is that the title doesn’t come up in any of the online records of their highly limited oeuvre. While “Slow Jerk” has a decidedly early 1960s pre-Soul, post-Doo-Wop, girl group feel, and the label also captures certain aspects of that era, the vinyl itself is relatively crisp and clean. Maybe I’m just lucky, but I’m wondering if it was a self-produced reissue distributed during one of Joe Cook’s European tours . . . or perhaps something more precious: the record BEFORE their big record.
Shoveling sand to build a burrow and an adjacent sandcastle, this horn-eyed ghost crab scoops and carries with the smaller left claw then flings the sand onto the pile. Individuals exhibit laterality so they are right or left clawed. Males heap the excavated sand high in the intertidal zone of a broad sandy beach, thought to be a territorial signal to other crabs or to attract a potential mate. Able to run along the beach at speeds of 5 to 10 mph, they must be the world’s fastest crustacean.
2022-09-02, Day 7
The hunched shoulders of Mount Machray (9,019 ft; 2,749 m), carved and excavated by a once massive glacier, reflect with morning light in a small tarn cupped amongst heather, wildflowers, and spruce, Jasper National Park, Alberta.
After the finest colors of sunrise subsided and gave way to brighter tones, I filled a pot with water from the creek and set it to boil over the alcohol stove while I went to retrieve our hanging bags of food. For breakfast: home-made granola with dried strawberries and toasted hazelnuts, hot coffee, and dried fruit. Not fancy, but high in energy, nutrients, fiber, and most critically, caffeine. Thus fortified, we stepped across the stream and began traversing the meadow along the banks, heading south toward the low saddle of Grant Pass and then the center route through Miette Pass after that. Just before we crested the first pass, a series of small tarns dotted the hill slope and the mountain was beautifully caught in the still basin.
Technical notes: Stitch of two hand-held, vertically-oriented frames.
“Charlestown grew out of the small fishing village of West Polmear, which consisted of a few cottages and three cellars, in which the catch of pilchards were processed. The population amounted to nine fishermen and their families in 1790. Before the harbour was built, trading vessels landed and loaded on the beach. Charles Rashleigh, who moved to Duporth Manor, just outside the village, used plans prepared by John Smeaton to begin the construction of a harbour and dock in 1791. After building the outer pier, he excavated a natural inlet to form the main dock and a shipyard at its inner end that was demolished when the dock was extended. The first dock gates were completed in 1799. To maintain water levels in the dock, a leat was constructed, which brought water from the Luxulyan Valley, some 6.4 km away.”
Excavating a nest hole.
These birds lay their eggs at the end of a 1-2m long burrow in an river banks, where they lay from 2-5 eggs. This is a bank along the Luangua River.
Generally these birds are very sociable but nesting holes are prime real estate and are fiercely guarded.
I had another great day on the beach, at high tide, and managed to drop my celery and chorizo into a rock pool , note, don't eat and walk across rocks at the same time! I loved the light on the wet cliffs, so thought I'd have another go at the zooming effect to see how it would work with highlights. I quite like it, and as any title will do, I thought Excavating Rita, by Half Man Half Biscuit gave a sense of descent and movement.
On a blustery dreary Sunday afternoon in late February, I spotted from the living room window this pileated woodpecker in the backyard. I frantically grabbed my camera and took some quick photos from inside thinking it would be a fleeting moment. Much to my surprise, the woodpecker remained on the tree for a better part of an hour.
During this time, I ventured outside, quietly trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. This shot I grabbed from about 7 feet away. I also got some video showcasing it’s pecking mastery on the old growth Douglas fir tree with bits of wood flying into the air.
The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatuson) is largest of the common woodpeckers in North America, a rather large striking bird with a flaming red crest. They excavate deep into rotten wood to get at the nests of carpenter ants.
Part of the grade excavated by laborers and Allied POWs during World War II. They were building a railroad through Thailand to Burma .
Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber and Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and commonly considered as the ancient capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares (100 acres) with a 2.6 km (1.6 mi) circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine town-houses with large mosaic floors.
The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the state of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Volubilis.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire
Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber and Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and commonly considered as the ancient capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares (100 acres) with a 2.6 km (1.6 mi) circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine town-houses with large mosaic floors.
The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the state of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Volubilis.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire
Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber and Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and commonly considered as the ancient capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares (100 acres) with a 2.6 km (1.6 mi) circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine town-houses with large mosaic floors.
The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the state of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Volubilis.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire
Lake Hawea - Excavated by massive glaciers more than 18,000 years ago, Lake Hāwea is an stunning lake in the Otago Region of New Zealand. Lying side by side with its more famous sister, Lake Wanaka, Lake Hāwea offers a perfect location for a getaway filled with adventure or relaxation.
History
“Hāwea” comes from the indigenous Maori language. The name is thought to be from a local tribe, although its exact meaning is unknown.
In 1958, the lake was raised artificially by 20 meters to store more water for increased hydroelectric power generation.
Geology
The lake is situated at an altitude of 348 meters, and covers 141 square kilometers. At its deepest, the lake is 392 meters deep. The lake is 35 kilometers long.
The lake lies in a glacial valley formed during the last Ice Age, and is fed by the Hunter River. Nearby Lake Wanaka lies in a parallel glacial valley eight kilometers to the west. Lake Hāwea is dammed to the south by an ancient terminal moraine created some 18,000 years ago.
The only flat land around the lake lies at its southern end, surrounding its outflow into the Hāwea River.
A rainy day in Washington DC.
Central Heating Plant, Washington, DC:
a crumbling network of old utility tunnels under Capitol Hill connects 24 government buildings to the Capitol Power Plant. The original tunnels (marked above with yellow dashes) were excavated in 1908 to supply steam and electricity to new congressional office buildings and the recently completed Library of Congress.
The porticoed Clarendon Building of 1715 in the distance.
One the left hand side, the building with the green shutters is Blackwell's original bookshop, an Oxford institution.
They first started trading here on January 1st 1879 and have expanded in every direction ever since, wrapping themselves around the tiny White Horse pub. Their most famous expansion was downwards when in 1966 they excavated a vast and cavernous basement known as the Norrington Room. It was named after Sir Arthur Norrington, who was then President of Trinity College next door. At the time of its creation, it was the world’s largest single display of books in one room, holding over 150,000 volumes on two and a half miles of shelves. It is still a shock to see the scale of it and a delight for any lover of books.
Squeezed between Blackwell's shops is the tiny White Horse pub dating to the 16th century. A small narrow pub, it reminds me of the inside of an old sailing ship and was popular filming location for Inspector Morse.
The excavated remains of the Forum can be seen in the foreground. In the back ground is the replica Roman Town House constructed using traditional tools in 2010/11 for a Channel 4 documentary series.
For more photographs of Wroxeter Roman City, please click here: www.jhluxton.com/England/Shropshire/Wroxeter-Roman-City/
Roman Wroxeter, near the end of the Watling Street Roman road that ran across Romanised Celtic Britain from Dubris (Dover), was a key frontier position lying on the bank of the River Severn whose valley penetrated deep into what later became Wales, and also on a route south leading to the Wye valley.
Archaeology has shown that the site of the later city first was established about AD 55 as a frontier post for a Thracian legionary cohort located at a fort near the Severn river crossing. A few years later a legionary fortress (castrum) was built within the site of the later city for the Legio XIV Gemina during their invasion of Wales.
The local British tribe of the Cornovii had their original capital (also thought to have been named *Uiroconion) at the hillfort on the Wrekin. When the Cornovii were eventually subdued their capital was moved to Wroxeter and given its Roman name.
This legion XIV Gemina was later replaced by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which in turn relocated to Chester around AD 88. As the military abandoned the fortress the site was taken over by the Cornovians' civilian settlement.
The name of the settlement, meaning "Viroconium of the Cornovians", preserves a native Brittonic name that has been reconstructed as *Uiroconion.
Viroconium prospered over the next century, with the construction of many public buildings, including thermae and a colonnaded forum. At its peak, it is thought to have been the 4th-largest settlement in Roman Britain, with a population of more than 15,000.
Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain around AD 410, the Cornovians seem to have divided into Pengwern and Powys. The minor Magonsæte sub-kingdom also emerged in the area in the interlude between Powysian and Mercian rule. Viroconium may have served as the early post-Roman capital of Powys prior to its removal to Mathrafal sometime before 717, following famine and plague in the area.
The Roman city was rediscovered in 1859 when workmen began excavating the baths complex. A replica Roman villa was constructed in 2010 for a Channel 4 television programme called Rome Wasn't Built in a Day and was opened to the public on 19 February 2011.
Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber and Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and commonly considered as the ancient capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares (100 acres) with a 2.6 km (1.6 mi) circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine town-houses with large mosaic floors.
The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the state of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Volubilis.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire
RYNEK UNDERGROUND
Human skull found under the surface of the Rynek Glòwny in the centre of Krakòw.
Opened in a blaze of publicity in September 2010, this hi-tech and highly popular museum takes visitors four metres under the surface of the market square to explore the recently excavated medieval merchant stalls that predate today’s Cloth Hall, and to experience the city’s entire history - from its first settlers right up to the death of Pope John Paul II – over the course of some 6,000 metres of multimedia exhibits.
Krakòw, Lesser Poland, Poland
“Plasticene, n. & adj. (2011) an era in Earth’s history, within the Anthropocene, commencing in the 1950s, marked stratigraphically in the depositional record by a new and increasing layer of plastic (Curt Stager: 'Deep Future: The Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth').”
As I explore and photograph the almost magical geological forms in Utah, often find myself wondering what future archeologists and geologists will make of all of the junk we have abandoned in the wilderness and which by then will have become a part of the rocks themselves. We are already finding "plastic rocks" washing up on our beaches. Burned plastic shards have melted and mingled with sand and dirt to form literal rocks. These little nuggets will someday become part of the deposits which will become the future sandstone and limestone layers we ooh and ahh over in Utah landscape.
Happy Earth Month
Excavated in small increments of sand and pebbles over millions of years, these mountains of material have been carried away by a river. Washed hundreds of miles downstream into the ocean where they begin the process of layering all over again. And perhaps in the future, another set of canyon walls will form between their stratum. Distant canyons in time and place.
Another day, another bull-slinging match between Larry and Mo, the two largest bulls.
Larry wandered over to the truck to beg treats after this match.
Volubilis is a partly excavated Berber and Roman city in Morocco situated near the city of Meknes, and commonly considered as the ancient capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. Built in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC onward as a Berber, then proto-Carthaginian, settlement before being the capital of the kingdom of Mauretania. It grew rapidly under Roman rule from the 1st century AD onward and expanded to cover about 42 hectares (100 acres) with a 2.6 km (1.6 mi) circuit of walls. The city gained a number of major public buildings in the 2nd century, including a basilica, temple and triumphal arch. Its prosperity, which was derived principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine town-houses with large mosaic floors.
The city fell to local tribes around 285 and was never retaken by Rome because of its remoteness and indefensibility on the south-western border of the Roman Empire. It continued to be inhabited for at least another 700 years, first as a Latinised Christian community, then as an early Islamic settlement. In the late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder of the Idrisid dynasty and the state of Morocco. By the 11th century Volubilis had been abandoned after the seat of power was relocated to Fes. Much of the local population was transferred to the new town of Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Volubilis.
The ruins remained substantially intact until they were devastated by an earthquake in the mid-18th century and subsequently looted by Moroccan rulers seeking stone for building Meknes. It was not until the latter part of the 19th century that the site was definitively identified as that of the ancient city of Volubilis. During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of the site was excavated, revealing many fine mosaics, and some of the more prominent public buildings and high-status houses were restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire