Long before GATT, the TWO and global trade, there was the Vietnamese port city of Hội An. From 2,000 years back the little settlement with the giant harbor served as a conduit for goods coming and going throughout the Pacific Rim and beyond. In the 10th Century spices, silks and ivory from Hội An were [...]
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La Bastida – Spain’s Most Unique Archaeological Park
Just last September (2012) archaeological excavations at La Bastida in Murcia, Spain revealed some astonishing discoveries. La Bastida Spain was perhaps the most powerful Bronze Age (~4000 years ago) city in Europe, and excavations turned up a unique and imposing construction and fortification system matched only by the Minoans. For travelers, these discoveries are now [...]
Five Archaeological Sites in the Dominican Republic
I’m planning a return trip to Haiti sometime in 2013. In short, I was deeply taken by the place. This second visit will be in a radically different way than the first trip down. A second trip will involve a much better look at Haiti’s history and cultures. Interestingly, much of my research into Haitian [...]
Top 10 Must See Archaeological Sites in Colorado
Infatuated by archaeology since the age of seven, I was lucky enough to grow up in a state chock-full of amazing history and a plethora of archaeological sites. So, I thought I’d share what I think are the top ten archaeological sites in Colorado. My father took me out to the canyons east of our town [...]
The Petroglyphs on the Rio Grande – My Shot of the Day. August 27, 2012
The kids and I made a dusk foray down to the petroglyphs in the Rio Grande Gorge for a look at some of the magnificent ancient works lining the walls of the canyon. The figures here are located in the John Dunn Bridge area south of these that we photographed last year. It was dark [...]
A Quick Guide to Marrakech’s Medieval Attractions
Thinking about traveling to Morrocco’s ever-popular Marrakech? If the food, markets and nightlife aren’t tempting enough, the city’s incredible medieval features are reason alone to make the trip. Here’s a quick guide of what not to miss: Ben Youssef Madrasa Thought to be the most beautiful building in Marrakech, this Islamic school was rebuilt in the 1560s [...]
A Short Guide to Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, New Mexico
Of the six surviving seventeenth-century Franciscan mission churches in the United States, the four in New Mexico are are located within the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. Located in a rather remote section of the central part of the state, the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument preserves, via an act of Congress, the four mission churches and [...]
The Gallery of Lost Art. You Know It’s Better Gone.
Sometimes it is good to be lost. Van Gogh’s sunflower painting left from France on the mail steamer Binna in late May of 1920. It arrived in Japan on December 12 of that same year. The new owner, Koyata Yamamoto was the executive director of the Yamamoto Sholen Corporation and managed the Osaka branch as the [...]
Famous People Dead : Five Incorrupt Saints You Have to Meet
Of course the Portuguese had gotten all out of control. Timayya had done his work well and the Bijapur kings were out of the way. Goa belonged to Portugal and everyone was rich from slaving and spices. Other than to wait for next year’s spice fleet, there was not much to do beyond bearing the [...]
Oh Good. Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Urinal Discovered In Baltic Sea Shipwreck
HuffPo German archaeologists believe that they have found Kaiser Wilhelm II’s urinal at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, once again proving the old saying, “One man’s Kaiser Wilhelm II’s urinal is another man’s treasure.” [Snip] The porcelain potty in question was discovered when German maritime archaeologists were probing the wrecks of the Udine, a [...]
The End of the World – Time to Panic?
Ok. We might indeed be screwed. Or not. Archaelogists at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History have announced that a second reference the end of the world in 2012 exists on a carved fragment. Until now, we’ve known of only one reference to the 2012 date in Mayan glyphs. The Tortuguero tablet from Tabasco. [...]
Johnny Rotten is a Cave Artist and Other Silliness
A tempest in a teapot has erupted over the proposed preservation of some graffiti drawn by members of the band The Sex Pistols in the 1970s that was recently found in a central London flat. That’s right. The drawings, mostly done by Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) were discovered behind a cupboard in a flat the [...]
Purchase Fine Art Prints and Books by Jim O’Donnell
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Twenty-One Beautiful Birds of Panama – Birdgasm!
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Cemetery Junction – Eight Groovy Graveyard Pictures
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Spring Rainstorm Pictures – My Shot of the Day – April 1, 2013
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Seeking Some Sassy Ceviche at the Fish Market in Panama City
