Month: December 2014

“Wanna Go Exploring? Check Out These Sarcophagi Deep In Peru”

“Wanna Go Exploring? Check Out These Sarcophagi Deep In Peru”

via “Viral Nova“

Ever wish you were an adventurer, or an explorer, discovering environs and relics unseen by human eyes for centuries? It’s certainly a fantasy I had when I was much younger, but it’s one that I can always feel a tinge of in my adult-life. Wanting to escape the everyday and see something new, different, or unfamiliar is a feeling we all can relate to. Sometimes just surfing the web a little bit can give us a taste of what being a real explorer is like, but from the comfort of our homes. Check out the story below about some ancient statues in Peru, and do some exploring of your own.

These “statues” are actually sarcophagi, located 60 kilometers northeast of Chachapoyas, in Luya Province of Peru.

Hanumann

The site is called “Karajia,” and is the site of the tombs of ancient wise men. The local people call the sarcophagi the “Purunmachos.”

C-Monster
Each sarcophagus is about 2.5 meters high, with the head of each ornamented with horns, and some with skulls!
C-Monster

The Purunmachos are around 600 years old and were discovered in 1984 by archaeologist Federico Kauffmann.

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There were 8 sarcophagi originally, but two were destroyed by natural causes. Luckily, because of the remote location of these six sarcophagi have stayed relatively intact.

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(via: amusingplanet.com)

These sarcophagi are ancient and awesome relics and one’s that you know it would be really cool to travel to see.

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Swiss Museum Publishes List of Nazi Loot Art Trove

“Swiss Museum Publishes List of Nazi Loot Art Trove”

via “Reuters“

File picture showing the facade of the Kunsmuseum Bern art museum in Bern

ZURICH (Reuters) – A Swiss museum published a list on Thursday of all the art found in the possession of Cornelius Gurlitt, a German recluse whose secret collection included masterpieces looted from their Jewish owners by the Nazis.

The Bern Art Museum was named as sole heir to the collection and on Monday reluctantly accepted the bequest, making clear that it would adopt a policy of total transparency to head off any criticism over its decision to take in the artwork.

“We have promised transparency and are now acting accordingly,” Matthias Frehner, director of the Kunstmuseum Bern, said in a statement.

Gurlitt’s collection of over 1,200 artworks had been hidden away for decades until German tax inspectors stumbled upon it during a raid on his Munich apartment in 2012. A government task force identified three pieces that were indisputably looted by the Nazis which would be returned to the heirs.

Bern Art Museum has said it will not accept any piece which experts believed might have been stolen and by publishing the full list it hopes it might still discover the rightful owners.

Switzerland has worked hard in recent years to shake-off its reputation as a haven for ill-gotten gains, and the museum is anxious to avoid the legal risks associated with accepting disputed art works.

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