ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH PAPER Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ARCHAEOLOGICAL - Research Paper Example Anubis shared with another god, Osiris, the kingdom of the departed. He is known to have guided the dead toward perfection and the life after death according to Buzzle (par 1). As such, Anubis depicted rebirth and life after death even as he â€Å"attended† the process of mummification or sat atop a tomb. Anubis was commonly depicted having a jackal or dog head considering that jackals often unearthed whatever had been buried in cemeteries and consumed the remains. To the ancient Egyptians, this symbolized him as god of the underworld. The following sections of this paper will discuss the discovery of mummified dogs in Egypt and the significance of this finding to the understanding of the civilization of ancient Egypt. Finding of Remains of Mummified Dogs in Saqqara, Egypt Although the remains of mummified dogs had been found in the 19th century, the relevance and magnitude of the mummification was yet to be comprehensively understood. Before this recent discovery, Jacques De Morgan in 1897 discovered the existence of dog catacombs in the area surrounding one of the Egyptian pyramids according to Past Horizons (par 2). In spite of this discovery, it remained quite unclear whether the remains of the animals really belonged to dogs or other almost similar animals. Furthermore, the findings then appeared only to be a mystery. Revelations of the Saqqara dog catacomb reveals that about eight million animals were buried in the tunnel, the animals mainly being dogs (Past Horizons par 2). Given this huge number, archaeologists suggest that the Egyptians could have bred dogs probably in their thousands for the purpose of pleasing the dog-headed deity. Archaeologists further note that the mummified bodies were mainly between a few hours and days old; not adult animals as stated by Past Horizons (par 3). The location of the catacomb suggests that the Egyptians had special puppy farms in or around the city of Memphis in which the animals were bred and raised before being mummified. It is here noted that Mephis was the capital of Egypt in ancient days. The findings according to Nicholson suggest a different perception in the relationship between the Egyptians and the animals that they worshipped as deities (Past Horizons par 3). Since the dogs were killed and mummified at a tender age, it is suggested by archaeologists that the animals were not strictly killed in sacrifice. Instead, they were dedicated as mummies in as an act of pious. The animals in this case were supposed to act as intermediaries between their donors and the deities. Given that the catacombs are located near the temple of Anubis, it is quite likely that they are for canines, the concentration of animal cuts at Saqqara also attesting to this according to Past Horizons (par 3). Other animals that were mummified or sacrificed and buried in an almost similar manner include hawks, ibises, baboons and bulls. These animals, in their different kinds were supposed to act as intermedia ries between humankind and their deities according to archaeologists. The cults prominently featured in the period between the Late Period and the period of early Roman occupation (747BC to 1AD). In the past, Egyptologists have given more focus to the temples and ancient inscriptions as opposed to the number of animals buried and the places where they were buried (Past Horizons par

Why, if at all, is freedom a good thing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why, if at all, is freedom a good thing - Essay Example The Anti-Terrorism Act 2001 has already made privacy and freedom to conduct political manifestations of the Freedom of Speech a thing of yesterday.We have accusations of hate speech and incitement everywhere.. All this has left us wondering whether Freedom can exist with law or Voltaire said we are in the shackles of law,regulations and even democracy everywhere we go.Are we actually free or have we been led to believe that we are free in the trap of the legal norms of this society The so called modern British Citizen is not free from the nuances of being controlled by the Government.Many recent developments would indicate that the modern British citizen despite being domiciled in a free country is still subject to draconian laws like the Regulation of Investigatory powers Act 2000 which allows public authorities to access communications data, of British citizens for investigation. Furthermore these public authorities can also obtain communications data from operators of telecommunications or postal services. Therefore now the police, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the National Crime Squad, the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue and any of the intelligence services all have access to an individual's private information which is indeed a scary prospect.It is also true that the word freedom has become a concept much played by political bias and historical arm twisting.Consider the situation post 9/11 where Mrs M ary Robinson,1 once stated "Unfortunately, what I saw and heard was undemocratic regimes using the tragedy in the United States of 9/11 to pursue their own repressive policies, secure in the belief that their excesses would be ignored. New laws and detention practices were introduced in a significant number of countries, all broadly justified by the new international war on terrorism. The extension of security policies in many countries has been used to suppress political dissent and to stifle expression of opinion of many who have no link to terrorism and are not associated with political violence." Of course then all the atrocities in the Iraq and Afghan war were carried out in the name of Freedom.The media responded by taking "freedom of speech" for granted by showing its own versions to the audience and shamelessly selling its credibility as many "fair and balanced" members of the media chose to become "embedded" journalists. Today there is no concept of paid political advertising on television and radio. This is a flagrant breach of the freedom of speech and expression. Moreover this ban on political advertising does not just apply to political parties, but anyone with political views. All is not lost however. The saving grace comes from the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998 which have aided the judiciary in upholding the notions of Freedom of speech and privacy. Taking the example of the Data Protection Act 1998.This act compels data controllers to erase information like patients details or telecoms customers call records etc. Data controllers can be anyone from a doctor to a telecom company. Moreover the Human rights Act 1998 has played a large role in strengthening the