Photos from a Wandering Archaeologist

Hello again, friends! As an archaeologist, I spend a lot of my free time visiting historic ruins and have been privileged to see (and photograph) some fantastic castles. I hope that you'll enjoy them too. (ALL PHOTOS ARE MY OWN.)

THE COLUMNS OF ARTEMIS - 150 AD - Jerash, Jordan

Artemis (the Huntress) was the patron goddess of the Greek colony of Gerasa, likely the re-envisioning of a pre-existing local deity. An earlier temple is known from inscriptions, but the ruined temple visible today was built by the Romans. Though never finished, the temple’s monumental gates were dedicated in 150 AD. Eleven of the original columns still stand, some 43 ft (13.2m) tall, and bear the inscription of Hygenos, the contractor who carved them. In the 4th century, the pagan temple was systematically stripped of his marble cladding and converted to a public hall. In the 6th century, the inner chamber’s roof collapsed and the entire building was repurposed as a fortified residence.

WOOD AND STONE - 1186 AD - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Ta Phrom is one of over a thousand temples in the sprawling ruins of the medieval city of Angkor, capitol of the Khmer Empire (9th to 15th centuries AD). Founded by King Jayavarman VIII, it was originally named “Rajavihara” (Khmer for “Monastery of the King”). The temple's main image is the buddhist personification of wisdom, reflecting its role as both monastery and university. An inscription a the site records that the monastery was originally home to more than 12,500 people, including 18 high priests and 615 dancers.

TO GODS UNKNOWN - 2nd century AD -  Halton Chesters, Northumberland, England

Little is visible of the Roman fort of Halton Chesters (named Onnum) other than the raised earthwork, and a few courses of stones, indicating the walls and interior of the fort. It was once one of 15 forts on Hadrian's Wall, guarding Rome's most northerly frontier. We do not know who dedicated this uninscribed altar, but modern visitors appear to still be offering their sacrifices. Roman religion didn’t resemble what we would recognize today; sacrifices were made to a god in direct exchange for that god’s help. It was polytheistic, of course, with many gods to choose from depending on what was needed. It wasn’t just the famous Venus and Mars either. Wall soldiers incorporated otherwise unknown local gods, like Antenociticus and Coventina, as well as eastern “mystery cults” to Mithras and Jupiter-Dolichenus.

NO ESCAPE - 79 AD - Herculaneum (near Pompeii), Italy

When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, Herculaneum was engulfed (and preserved) by the superheated pyroclastic flow. Excavations in the 1980s revealed the horrific last moments of more than 300 Roman townsfolk who waited too long to escape. These people must have fled to the beach, only to find all the boats already gone. Their remains serve as a stark reminder that today's tourists wander though not just the empty streets of a remarkably preserved city, but a mausoleum to the dead.

DESPERATE DEFENSE - c.1945 - near Naha, Okinawa, Japan

At the close of WWII, Japanese forces defending Okinawa numbered over 100,000 (including Okinawan conscripts) but they were massively outnumbered by the well supplied American forces (250,000 combat troops and more support personnel). The Japanese defense thus relied on an astonishing network fortifications. Sixty miles of tunnels were dug, concentrated in the southern part of the narrow island. The most common features were "pillbox" caves. The emplacement shown here was unusual for being built in concrete, a resource in short supply by the end of the war and generally reserved for command structures.

BAKING IN THE SUN - early 20th century - 'Asir Province, Saudi Arabia

Mudbrick is the usual construction material for traditional houses in the Sarat region of Saudi Arabia's 'Asiri Highlands (near Yemen). Due to (relatively) high levels of rainfall, the mud brick is protected by overlapping rows of shale slates (rakaf) embedded in regular intervals all the way around the building's exterior. Villages are divided into densely grouped residential quarters with covered corridors, light wells, fortified towers (qasaba), and storage rooms.

THE SPIRES OF PRAMBANAN - 9th century AD - Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia

The complex at Prambanan is the site of the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, 154 ft (47m) tall, and surrounded by 240 ancillary temples. It is dedicated to the Trimūrti, the supreme divinity encompassing the triad of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. Shiva's temple lies at the heart of the giant compound and is flanked by the smaller, but still imposing, shrines to Brahma & Vishnu. In the 930s, the royal court moved east, possibly due to an eruption of nearby Mt. Merapi. Prambanan soon declined, was abandoned, and disappeared into the Javanese jungle.

PRAMBANAN CAT TAX

If you'd like to see more of my archaeology/heritage/history themed photography, click below:

Photos from a Wandering Archaeologist:
Part 1 https://imgur.com/gallery/EhjtRfP
Part 2 https://imgur.com/gallery/8GuSk7l
Part 3 https://imgur.com/gallery/WtWFr8p
Part 4 https://imgur.com/gallery/vBINpbm
Part 5 https://imgur.com/gallery/pgnDjR8
Part 6 https://imgur.com/gallery/I6Rxxr1

Lost Tombs of Nabat (Jordan/Arabia) https://imgur.com/gallery/utOchfy
Hadrian's Wall (Roman Britain) https://imgur.com/gallery/g8cRhlp
“The Works of the Old Men” (Arabia) https://imgur.com/gallery/7gTtPDj
Castles https://imgur.com/gallery/25hZ8ti
7 Ancient Wonders https://imgur.com/gallery/Lvw5FTH

or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/internationalmanofhistory/