Month: May 2015

Contract battle brewing over $14M Blackbeard ‘treasure’

“Contract battle brewing over $14M Blackbeard ‘treasure'”\

by Martha Waggoner via “AP“

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Nearly 300 years after the pirate Blackbeard’s flagship sank off the North Carolina coast, a shipwreck-hunting company and the state are battling over treasure linked to the vessel — but they’re fighting with legal filings, not cutlasses, and the treasure is $14 million in disputed revenue and contract violations.

The Florida-based company, Intersal Inc., found little loot when it discovered the Queen Anne’s Revenge almost 20 years ago, but it eventually gained a contract for rights to photos and videos of the wreck and of the recovery, study and preservation of its historic artifacts.

The state, meanwhile, has created a tourist industry around Blackbeard and his ship since the vessel’s discovery in 1996. That includes exhibits at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, which attracts about 300,000 visitors a year, according to the Queen Anne’s Revenge website. The artifacts, such as a 2,000-pound cannon, also go on tour to other state museums. The state also posts photos and videos on websites and social media sites.

Intersal says the state is violating the contract by displaying media of artifacts from the ship on websites other than its own without a time code stamp or watermark. In its petition in the state Office of Administrative Hearings, the company seeks $7 million for the alleged misuse and $7 million in lost revenue from the state Department of Cultural Resources.

“The actual ship itself, which is the treasure that remains, is now in contention,” said John Masters, chairman of the board of Intersal. “We found a little bit of treasure — gold dust, silver — but the real treasure is the ship itself.”

A spokeswoman for the state agency declined to comment. In its response to the petition, the state denies Intersal’s allegations. A spokeswoman for the state attorney general said Tuesday the state plans to file a motion to dismiss the petition on jurisdictional grounds.

When Blackbeard captured the vessel in the fall of 1717 in the Caribbean, it was French slave ship called La Concorde. Blackbeard renamed it the Queen Anne’s Revenge and made it his flagship.

Blackbeard, an Englishman whose real name may have been Edward Teach or Thatch, held onto the ship for only a few months.

He was sailing north from Charleston when it went aground in May 1718 in what’s now called Beaufort Inlet. The pirates likely had time to haul away most of the valuables, nautical archaeologists have said. Five months later, members of the Royal Navy of Virginia killed Blackbeard at Ocracoke Inlet.

This marks the second time in two years that the state and Intersal have been at loggerheads. They reached a 15-year agreement in 1998 but ended up in mediation in 2013 before signing another deal.

Now Intersal and the state must return to mediation by June 29.

“We believe this is an important case for the people of North Carolina for us to win because otherwise, it’s going to have a chilling effect on business in North Carolina,” Masters said.

Masters said his father searched for Blackbeard’s ship for 20 years before finding it. While the state and a shipwreck company might typically split the proceeds of a shipwreck, a different deal was reach for Blackbeard’s vessel, which had little monetary treasure.

Instead, the 1998 contract gave Intersal multiple media rights.

Intersal accepted that agreement as part of an overall deal involving another shipwreck, the El Salvador, which sank in a 1750 hurricane. Treasure is thought to remain with that wreck, which likely is spread across the ocean floor, Masters said.

The company’s petition includes complaints about the permit for searching for the El Salvador.

Intersal contends its business has been harmed by the violations, “some of which harm may be irreparable,” says the petition, filed in April. . . . .

Festival Carver

Coming Exhibition: Thirty years of acquisitions in the Nord-Pas de Calais Carte blanche given to the region’s museums

“Thirty years of acquisitions in the Nord-Pas de Calais
Carte blanche given to the region’s museums”

Who:

Musée du Louvre-Lens

When: May 28, 2014 – June 1, 2015 (Hours Vary)

Where:

Musée du Louvre-Lens Temporary Gallery
99 Rue Paul Bert
62300 Lens, France

More Information: Here.

This exhibition presents an overview of acquisitions by museums in the Nord-Pas de Calais region over the last thirty years.

It is an excellent opportunity to explain to visitors the meaning and logic behind a purchase. The event is therefore part of the Louvre-Lens’ mission to go behind the scenes and reveal the inner workings of museums. Featuring works acquired thanks to the involvement of the FRAM regional acquisition fund for museums, endowed in equal part by the State and Region, the exhibition showcases the efforts of various players in enriching museums: the local authorities answerable for the collections, the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, and the Nord-Pas de Calais Regional Council.

Organized by:

Luc Piralla, Musée du Louvre-Lens;
Philippe Gayot, Musées de la Porte du Hainaut, association of museum curators for the Nord-Pas de Calais.

Broken toilet leads to 2,000 years of history

“Broken toilet leads to 2,000 years of history “

by Sarah Griffiths via “Daily Mail“

A search for a sewage pipe beneath an Italian restaurant yielded two centuries worth of history.

Lucian Faggiano bought the building in Lecce, Puglia in the south of Italy and had planned to turn it into a trattoria – but renovations were put on hold when he discovered a toilet on the site was blocked.

And while attempting to fix the toilet he dug into a Messapian tomb built 2,000 years ago, a Roman granary, a Franciscan chapel, and even etchings thought to be made by the Knights Templar.

Scroll down for 3D tour

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Lucian Faggiano’s dream of opening a restaurant was scuppered when a dig to find a blocked sewage point yielded some 2,000 years of hidden history, including vast rooms and pottery (shown in this image that features Mr Faggiano left and his son)

In a bid to stop the sewage backing up, Mr Faggiano, 60, and his two sons dug a trench and instead of isolating the offending pipe found underground corridors and rooms beneath the property on 56 Via Ascanio Grandi,The New York Times reported.

Lecce, at the heel of Italy’s ‘boot’ was once a crossroads in the Mediterranean and an important trading post for the Romans.

But the first layers of the city date to the time of Homer, according to local historian Mario De Marco.

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Eight years after it was meant to open as a restaurant, the building has been turned into Museum Faggiano (pictured) and a number of staircases allow visitors to travel down through time to visit the ancient underground chambers discovered by the family

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He imagined it would take a week to dig down and fix the plumbing beneath the building, but instead, the DIY mission led to the discovery of a Messapian tomb, a Roman granary (pictured left), a Franciscan chapel – and even etchings from the Knights Templar. An ancient room beneath the modern building is shown right

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The search for the pipe (shown in this image of Mr Faggiano and his son) began at the turn of the millennium when no-one could have predicted the treasures hidden beneath the floorboards, which revealed a subterranean world dating back to before the birth of Jesus

It is not unusual for religious relics to turn up in fields or in the middle of the city itself, which has a mixture of old architecture

For example, a century ago, a Roman amphitheatre was recently found beneath a marble column bearing the statue of Lecce’s patron saint, Orontius in the main square and recently a Roman temple was found under a car park.

‘Whenever you dig a hole, centuries of history come out,’ said Severo Martini, a member of the City Council.

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Years of excavations have seen the emergence of Roman devotional bottles, ancient vases and a ring with Christian symbols as well as hidden frescoes and medieval pieces. Here, Mr Faggiano carries a piece of Roman pottery from an underground room

The building yielded plenty of nooks and crannies including mysterious shafts (pictured left and right) which lead to older parts of the building deeper and deeper underground

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Lucian Faggiano bought the seemingly standard building in Lecce, Puglia in the south of Italy, (marked on this map) but his dream of turning it into a trattoria was put on hold thanks to a broken toilet. Lecce, at the heel of Italy’s ‘boot’ was once a crossroads in the Mediterranean and a trading post for the Romans

THE HISTORY OF LECCE

The origins of Lecce in southern Italy are thought to be more than 2,000 years old.

It was founded by the Messapii, who are said to have been Cretans in Greek records, explaining the city’s Greek culture.

According to legend, a city called Sybar existed at the time of the Trojan War and was founded by the Messapii.

It was conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, who gave it the name Lupiae, which later became Lecce.

Under the emperor Hadrian, in the second century AD, the city moved two miles (3km) northeast, got a theatre and an amphitheatre and was connected to the Hadrian Port.

Oronotius of Lecce, who is known as Sant’Oronzo is thought to have served as the city’s first Christian bishop and is now Lecce’s patron saint.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the city was sacked by king Totila in the Gothic Wars.

After that it was conquered once again by the Byzantines in 549 and remained part of the Eastern Empire despite some small conquests.

After the Normans arrived in the 11th century, Lecce grew in commercial importance again, having been an important trading post in Roman times.

It grew rich and became one of the most important cities in southern Italy, evidenced by its many impressive Baroque monuments.

Plague broke out in the 17th century and the city was briefly home to Allied fighters fighting the Nazis in the Second World War.

Mr Faggiano asked his sons to help fix the problem with the plumbing so he could accelerate the opening of his restaurant, in a building that looked like it was modernised.

But when they dug down they hit a floor of medieval stone, beneath which was a Messapian tomb, built by people who lived in the area before the birth of Jesus.

Legend has it the city was founded by the Messapii, who are said to have been Cretans in Greek records, but then the settlement was called Sybar.

Upon further investigation, the family team also discovered a Roman room that was used to store grain, and a basement of a Franciscan convent where nuns were thought to have once prepared the bodies of the dead.

Afraid of costs and the delay in opening the restaurant, Mr Faggiano initially kept his amateur archaeology a secret from his wife, in part perhaps because he was lowering his youngest son, Davide, 12 though small gaps in the floor to aid his work.

But his wife, Anna Maria Sanò suspected the work was more complex than it appeared thanks to the amount of dirty clothes she was washing, and because of dirt and debris being taken away.

Investigators shut down the site, warning Mr Faggiano he was conducting an unofficial archaeological dig.

After a year, work continued but had to be overseen by heritage officials who witnessed the emergence of Roman devotional bottles, ancient vases and a ring with Christian symbols as well as hidden frescoes and medieval pieces.

Retired cultural heritage official, Giovanni Giangreco, who was involved with the excavation, said: ‘The Faggiano house has layers that are representative of almost all of the city’s history, from the Messapians to the Romans, from the medieval to the Byzantine time.’

Afraid of costs and the delay in opening the restaurant, Mr Faggiano initially kept his amateur archaeology a secret from his wife. Here, he sorts though pieces of glass and pottery found in one of the rooms. There are even pieces embedded in the wall

Hmong traveling exhibit celebrates 40 years after Laos

“Hmong traveling exhibit celebrates 40 years after Laos”

by Stephen Magagnini via “The Sacramento Bee“

Forty years after Laos fell to the communists, decimating the Hmong people and their culture, a new generation of Hmong American leaders has emerged to preserve their heritage before it’s too late.

About 300 Hmong came to Will C. Wood Middle School in south Sacramento on Sunday to preview four new exhibits of photos and artifacts chronicling their recent history: “Hmong in Laos”; “The CIA’s Secret War against the Communists”; “Refugee Camp Life”; and “New Life in California.”

The displays were created by a group of 30 Hmong young professionals, business owners, educators and community leaders throughout California developing a traveling exhibit, the “Hmongstory40” project. They are urging families in Northern and Central California to “be a part of history” by sharing photos, artifacts and memories of their families’ journeys from Laos to Thai refugee camps and on to America.

Wood Assistant Principal See Lor, 42, who was born in Laos, taught for 10 years at Elder Creek Elementary. “Adults would ask the kids, ‘What is Hmong?’ and young Hmong kids had no clue,” she said. “They don’t know why they’re in this country. They don’t know that we’re political refugees forced to come here, not because (we) were dreaming big about America.”

Lor, clad in traditional Hmong silver and embroidery, said the children’s lack of knowledge about their culture and history “touched my heart and I knew I need to help preserve the history and the culture.”

Hmong history dates back more than 3,000 years. The Hmong once had their own kingdom in China, but they were crushed by the Chinese emperors and driven into the mountains of northern Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the exhibit, “From developing a written language, to advancements in textiles, farming and fashion … the Hmong identity was strengthened, an identity that would be resilient and spirited enough to survive a secret war and eventual exile.”

At age 5, Lor fled with her family to Ban Vinai, the largest of the Thai refugee camps, where more than 40,000 Hmong awaited sponsorships to the United States. Lor, who came with her family to the United States and entered fourth grade in 1986, said she has no idea where she was born. “When I asked my mom, she said, ‘Joking Mountain.’”

Over the past 40 years, an estimated 250,000 Hmong refugees have resettled in the United States. “There are about 30,000 Hmong now in Sacramento and 32,000 in Fresno,” said Lar Yang, one of the exhibit organizers. He said he expects more than 100,000 people will view the traveling exhibit.

Hmong throughout California – inbcluding those in Sacramento Sunday — are being asked to contribute stories and memorabilia to the history project. The full exhibit is scheduled to go on display in Fresno during the Hmong New Year in December, in Merced in May 2016 and in Sacramento in the fall of 2016. Details are at hmongstory40.org.

“Thanks for coming today and caring about your history,” project director Lar Yang told the audience Sunday. “Now is the time to write the truth about our history before our elders are gone. . . . .”