Broadcast by George Richards
Panorama, May 19, 2015
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Kulturen på NEWS, Nov 10, 2014
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Worlds Apart, Nov 6, 2014
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The Monocle Daily, Sep 25, 2014
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Good Morning Scotland, Aug 12, 2014
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Good Morning Scotland, Jun 16, 2014
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Papers by George Richards
Early Christian apologists argued against astrology as part of a strategy to make Christianity mo... more Early Christian apologists argued against astrology as part of a strategy to make Christianity more acceptable to Roman society. Contemporary Salafi scholars, in emphasising the principles of early Islam, oppose astrology on strict doctrinal grounds. Despite very different contexts, early Christian apologists and contemporary Salafis have adduced similar lines of argument against astrology: as incompatible with God’s
omnipotence; as idolatry; as magic; and as a social ill. The similarity of the arguments raises the possibility that contemporary Salafis are transmitting echoes of the early Christian apologists’ arguments.
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Just as the built environment can reflect society (King, 2005: 1), so the destruction of building... more Just as the built environment can reflect society (King, 2005: 1), so the destruction of buildings can shatter the community reflected in them, like a brick through a mirror or a stone in a quiet pool. For this reason the rehabilitation of monuments is an act redolent with the symbolism of community rehabilitation. This paper examines how UNESCO has taken this relationship between the rehabilitation of heritage and the rehabilitation of communities into consideration in its approach to the rehabilitation of World Heritage sites, and how UNESCO's approach has developed over time, with reference to two cases: the old bridge in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina; and the mosques and mausolea of Timbuktu, Mali. This paper, considering UNESCO official decisions and communications as primary source material, will show how UNESCO's approach has developed from placing a focus solely on the symbolic value of rehabilitating heritage for communities to a more practical appreciation of the benefits that can arise from involving communities in heritage rehabilitation.
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The ease of archaeological discoveries in the Middle East is exploited by black-market dealers, c... more The ease of archaeological discoveries in the Middle East is exploited by black-market dealers, criminal gangs and ISIL.
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With most other tombs looted in antiquity by grave-robbers, the prospect of finding new treasure ... more With most other tombs looted in antiquity by grave-robbers, the prospect of finding new treasure is tantalising.
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The engagement of local communities is integral to the protection of cultural heritage in Syria, ... more The engagement of local communities is integral to the protection of cultural heritage in Syria, Iraq, and beyond.
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Newsweek Europe, Jul 10, 2015
Forged in battle by the legendary T E Lawrence, the country is now the calmest in the Middle East.
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Camden, May 2015
The eradication of cultural heritage is by no means new to the Middle East. Today, Carthage is a... more The eradication of cultural heritage is by no means new to the Middle East. Today, Carthage is a suburb of the Tunisian capital, Tunis; but it was once a powerful city-state with a maritime empire that stretched across North Africa and to Spain, Sardinia and Sicily. For a while, Carthage rivalled the Roman empire, against which it fought three wars. In the most famous campaign, a Carthaginian prince, Hannibal, led an army of war-elephants on rafts across the River Rhone and through the snow-bound passes of the Alps to threaten the very gates of Rome. So deep ran the Romans' hatred of Carthage that, when at last the Carthaginians had been defeated, their empire vanquished and their city sacked, the Romans were still not satisfied: they ploughed furrows through the rubble of the city and then sowed the land with salt, so that nothing would ever grow there again.
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Monastic Musicians , May 2015
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Iraq Heritage, Apr 29, 2015
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Newsweek Europe, Apr 17, 2015
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Rudaw, Aug 12, 2014
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Rudaw, Aug 6, 2014
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Broadcast by George Richards
Papers by George Richards
omnipotence; as idolatry; as magic; and as a social ill. The similarity of the arguments raises the possibility that contemporary Salafis are transmitting echoes of the early Christian apologists’ arguments.
omnipotence; as idolatry; as magic; and as a social ill. The similarity of the arguments raises the possibility that contemporary Salafis are transmitting echoes of the early Christian apologists’ arguments.
Specifically, the paper will set out: (1) a close analysis of the hallucination sequence in Hergé's Tintin and the Cigars of the Pharaoh (1934, reissued 1955); (2) analysis of the Sphinx in "Silver Age" American comic-books, including "The Riddle of 'The Superman Sphinx'", Action Comics 1:240 (May 1958); and (3) an analysis of the pseudo-ancient-Egyptian origins of the character Mumm-Ra in ThunderCats (1985). In each case, the main protagonist (Tintin, Superman (or another superhero) and Lion-O) performs the role of "archaeologist" in discovering “hidden” ancient Egyptian sites and artefacts.
My paper will demonstrate parallels in the treatment of the "supernatural" in ancient Egypt across all three works (and across three continents and throughout the twentieth century), particularly: the combination of ancient and extraterrestrial technologies; supernatural forces; and complex, undeciphered cultural phenomena (such as language and religion).