"We could be heroes, just for one day ...."

Spelling quiz ....

How do you spell heroes?

United States military, as in closing down shop in Afghanistan ....

How do you spell dumb ass?

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., as in closing down shop in Afghanistan ....

The "birth" of modern archaeology ....

Found in Tomb V in Mycenae by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, he named this gold sheet, death-mask the "Mask of Agamemnon," believing he had found the body of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans in "The Iliad," Homer's epic poem of the Trojan War. Modern research indicates the mask dates to about 1600 BCE, pre-dating the period of the Trojan War by about 400 years. The mask is on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. 

And, perhaps most importantly in a personal sense, welcome to the first day of autumn 2021 -- may it be one of picture-perfect memories for you ....

The truth of Homer's "Iliad"

Since mentioning it in a post long/long ago (September 11, which probably is long/long ago to some people), I have been perusing Kurt Wilhelm Marek's book, "Gods, Graves and Scholars," which is to say an archaeological "masterpiece" from C. W. Ceram. Marek was a German journalist and writer and student of archaeology who used the pseudonym Ceram when publishing most of his books.

(Does anyone besides me think "perusing" is a weird word? I suppose it depends upon the context in which the word is used ....)

"Gods/Graves” covers Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian archaeology and that in other regions, as well, including the Americas. It also offers biographical material about several notable figures in the field.

Using Homer's books "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad" and the writings of other "ancients," a German millionaire merchant, Heinrich Schliemann, excavated Hisarlık, "Place of Fortresses," often spelled Hissarlik, in modern Turkey beginning in 1870. He believed it to be the Troy of Priam and Paris and Helen and Hector and Achilles and Odysseus. He found nine cities stacked one atop another and concluded the Trojan War Troy was either the second or third level city. Level VIIa, first suggested by Minnesota native, archaeologist Carl Blegen, is now considered the actual Troy of 1200 BCE.

As an aside, one of Blegen's younger brothers, Theodore, was a noted historian/author/teacher. His resume included being first managing editor of the Norwegian-American Historical Association, in which "our friend," Ole Edvart Rølvaag, was a central player as the first secretary and archivist, and being knighted into the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. Theodore's papers are housed at the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota.

I am not sure at what age history and archaeology became one of my interests, but a sixth grade teacher turned them into near-obsessions through numerous field trips to Indian and early white settlement sites. The past and the present here are laden with the names of famous and near-famous individuals and events.

The intent of this post is not to elaborate on Ceram/ Marek or Schliemann or Troy, but, hopefully, to stir a bit of interest in archaeology and the study of "our" past, and for me to be a link in the love of history chain for which my sixth grade teacher was a remarkable envoy. There is a three-segment program produced by the BBC on YouTube entitled "Heinrich Schliemann and the discovery of Troy," for anyone who is curious to learn more.

For the literary-types among you, Ceram's "Gods, Graves and Scholars" is an exceptional place to taste the hors d'oeuvres of history. The book was first published in German in 1949, with an English translation appearing in 1951. An expanded edition was published in 1994, which is the copy I have and use. As must be expected, discoveries and technologies have progressed since then and might affect Ceram's work, which he readily warns about .... but, it still serves as an valuable archaeological primer and resource. Here are some of Ceram's own words:

"If we human beings want to feel humility, there is no need to look at the starred infinity above. It suffices to turn our gaze upon the world cultures that existed thousands of years before us, achieved greatness before us, and perished before us."

Some sort of anniversary today, right?

While cruising the unfathomable domain of "believe-it-or-not" -- commonly called the internet -- on an otherwise lackluster day, I sort of stumbled onto "Our Banner in the Sky," originally oil on paper by Frederick Edwin Church. Church painted this dramatic and symbolic colorful sunset in 1861 to reflect "divine" support for the Union during the American Civil War. Seems just as relevant today, would you not agree? Our fundamental problem seems to stem from a lack of consensus about good guys and bad guys and our inability to agree to disagree in a cultured manner. Church, by the way, was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters and, for a time, the most renowned American artist.

"Oh baby, I really gotta go now"

"Every time you dig up something from the past, you give more meaning to the present."

That sentence was spoken by Robert Taylor portraying archaeologist Mark Brandon in "Valley of the Kings," a 1954 adventure film written and directed by Robert Pirosh from a screenplay by Pirosh and Karl Tunberg, "suggested by historical data" in the book, "Gods, Graves and Scholars," by C. W. Ceram.

I watched the film a few days ago and, since my life is a series of "what ifs," pulled out my copy of “Gods/Graves” to try for an "imaginary glimpse" of what life would have been like for me had I followed my "once-upon-a-time" plan to degree in and to pursue a career in archaeology.

Ceram was German journalist and writer Kurt Wilhelm Marek, who published "Götter, Gräber und Gelehrte" in 1949. In translation, it became "Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology," an account of the historical development of archaeology. Marek chose to use a pseudonym to mask his earlier work as a propagandist for the Third Reich. (Probably a good idea.)

The book covers Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian archaeology and  other regions, as well. It also provides short biographies of several notable figures in the field, including Heinrich Schliemann, a German businessman and archaeological pioneer, who excavated Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with Mycenae and Tiryns, and English Egyptologist Howard Carter, who found the intact tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings.

Ceram later published more books, including "Yestermorrow: Notes on Man's Progress." Never read it, so far, but the title has hold of my curiosity ....

Yestermorrow .... what a great word, I think .... from Wiktionary:

"Noun yestermorrow (plural yestermorrows) A day in the sequence of days from past to future, emphasizing the connection between past and future events .... a time outside of time .... a time that cannot be fit into the normal timeline, possibly due to relativistic effects."

Author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury, known primarily for science fiction and fantasy novels and short-stories, such as "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles," also had a book titled "Yestermorrow." His was a series of essays, poetry and philosophical reflections, a few of which make stimulating reading, while others are pretty much a drag.

Back on point (whatever it might be .... your guess is as good as mine): I do keep up with what is happening in the field of archaeology to a degree, and recently have been feeling engulfed by the near-countless finds these days .... cemetery after cemetery in Great Britain; 400,000-year-old bone tools in Italy; hundreds of Bronze Age artifacts uncovered in France; thousands of previously unknown campsites and towns pinpointed in Europe and Africa through study of satellite photographs.

Well, you get my drift .....

My thought has been that at some point any shovelful of earth will reveal some manner of "archaeological treasures," most of them items not worthy of storage, much less of display.

I still think that, but I also think about the sentence: "Every time you dig up something from the past, you give more meaning to the present."

Could be, but are there such things as too much knowledge about the past, too many often trivial artifacts from eras stretching back even into prehistory?

"Time -- he's waiting in the wings"

I liberated this illustration from the depths of the infinite forbidden zone known as the notional environment of cyberspace.  I would give credit to its creator if I knew the identity, but, since I do not, I simply will say, "thank you .... you do good work .... I like your work." It seems to represent to me a creature whose name is Memory trying to find its way back to its owner .... or whatever.

"Memories light the corners of my mind"

Rutger Hauer was a Dutch actor and an environmentalist (although I think the role of environmentalist is the more important of the two and should be noted first) who died in 2019 of undisclosed causes at the age of 75. His most well-known role, many would argue, was in the 1982 film, "Blade Runner," as the self-aware replicant Roy Batty.

"Blade Runner" was an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1968 science fiction novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" The film takes place in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as replicants are bio-engineered by a powerful corporation to work at space colonies. When a fugitive group of advanced replicants led by Batty escapes back to Earth, burnt-out police officer Rick Deckard agrees to hunt them down.

Batty's body begins to fail as the end of his lifespan nears -- planned obsolescence, you understand. As the film draws toward its conclusion, he saves Deckard's life and, as he is dying, Batty delivers a masterful monologue about his memories:

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."

The monologue had been composed by screenwriter David Peoples and altered by Hauer. An earlier version read: "I've known adventures, seen places you people will never see, I've been Offworld and back .... frontiers! I've stood on the back deck of a blinker bound for the Plutition Camps with sweat in my eyes watching stars fight on the shoulder of Orion .... I've felt wind in my hair, riding test boats off the black galaxies and seen an attack fleet burn like a match and disappear. I've seen it, felt it ...."

The original script, before Hauer's rewrite, was: "I've seen things .... seen things you little people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion bright as magnesium .... I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments .... they'll be gone."

Hauer said later that he "put a knife" to the final lines to cut the "opera talk" and to show Batty wanted to "make his mark on existence .... the replicant in the final scene, by dying, shows Deckard what a real man is made of ...."

How many of us think similar thoughts, I have no idea. In a self-centered way, I think about it frequently, of how my memories -- the recollection of my experiences -- will be lost when I die. At some point along the way, I began to understand it as one of the things we all have in common. Our memories, I assume, disappear into oblivion when we depart our lives on Earth. Our lives intermingle, but each and every one of us is an entity onto itself .... onto ourself.

I guess in a sense of finality, Hauer might be described as an editor with a sharp knife, an environmentalist who put his money where his mouth was and an actor who could bridge the distinction between a replicant and a very human being.

Watch the film and read the novel, if you are so inclined and have not already done so, and think about that final, brief soliloquy and your own memories.

Perhaps, it is for the best our memories fade into oblivion when our switch is flicked off .... but / but / but the simple thought of it is ever so annoying and frustrating ....

"He say I know you, you know me"

This is the once-upon-a-time Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Mall of America now rests atop the former location of the "Old Met." This is how it looked the evening of August 21, 1965, during the only Minnesota appearance by The Beatles. The stage, you might gather, is sort of in the middle of the frame on the left side and the almost-visible, miniscule black dots on it (listed according to my preferences) are none other than John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. The photograph came from the Minnesota Historical Society.

The night the "Fab Four" came to town

Had you driven by Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, 56 years ago this evening, you might have thought by the measure of the noise emanating from the "Old Met" that the Minnesota Twins baseball team was massacring (metaphorically) the New York Yankees.

In fact, the Twins' locker room was occupied the evening of August 21, 1965, by four individuals more familiar with "football" (soccer) and cricket than with baseball.  Although The Beatles toured the United States three times between 1964 and 1966, this was the only stop by the "Fab Four" in Minnesota. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 fans were at the event, something less than the nearly 46,000 seating capacity by the time of the concert.

Other than the performance itself, the highlights of the appearance were a press conference by "the lads," the presentation to George Harrison of a new Rickenbacker 360-12, an electric 12-string guitar in a Fireglo red sunburst finish, and the apparent after-midnight presence of a young lady in Paul McCartney's room at the Leamington Motor Inn. The other three Beatles reportedly had gone to bed (and right to sleep) after the concert.

For those who keep score, the guitar was used on "If I Needed Someone" on 1965's Rubber Soul album.

I suppose it is noteworthy to also mention that prior to the concert, all four took saunas for the first time, according to the stadium clubhouse manager Ray Crump, and played roulette with Brian Epstein for the proceeds of the souvenir programs. Tickets for the concert were priced at $2.50, $3.50, $4.50 and $5.50, and The Beatles were paid $50,000.

The setlist that evening featured 11 songs: "She's A Woman" / "I Feel Fine" / "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" / "Ticket To Ride" / "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" / "Can't Buy Me Love" / "Baby's In Black" / "I Wanna Be Your Man" / "A Hard Day's Night" / "Help!" / "I'm Down" ....

"Come Together" was not among the tunes performed that night, but it is here today in two renditions, one by The Beatles, acting goofy and having fun, and the other a cover by Sershen&Zaritskaya, who almost always are acting goofy and having fun.

In case you are curious, no, I was not in attendance at the concert .... but, would love to have been had it been possible .... "and it's too late, baby," as Carole King sang, to ever witness The Beatles perform any song live ....