Panama gets better access to medical journals

by Eric Jackson, from other media

The December 26 tsunami epicentered in the Bay of Bengal near the northwestern tip of Sumatra will long be remembered in history and legend as one of the greatest ever natural catastrophes to befall humanity. The body count was halted at about 290,000 confirmed deaths, but surely the toll went higher than 300,000.

However, the beginning of a new legend was also the uncovering of an old one.

Old Hindu scriptures and reports by 18th century British mariners tell of a seaside complex of seven stone temples at Mahabalipuram, some 30 miles south of Madras.

One of those temples still stands in the town, which lost at least 99 of its citizens to the giant tidal wave. That building might not now exist had the Indian government not recognized, back in the 1970s, its value and erected a breakwall to keep ocean waves from washing it away. That temple has since been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

On December 26 when the water went way out before the waves came to wreak death and destruction, witnesses saw a number of other buildings sticking out from the sea bottom, and when the tsunami came and went it took with it an enormous amount of sand, exposing what appears to be an ancient port city --- including the legendary temples --- to the scrutiny of archaeologists. Scientists from the Archaeological Survey of India, supported by divers from the Indian Navy, are now conducting underwater excavations and filming at the site.

First appearances --- based on the themes and artistic styles of the bas relief stone carvings and statues encountered --- are that the submerged old port and religious center dates back to the Pallava dynasty that ruled much of southern India from about the first century BC to the eighth century AD. But were the city or its temples older than the dynasty? That’s one of the things that the archaeologists would like to find out.

From the tourist’s perspective, archaeology is about discovering humanity’s lost grand architectural works of antiquity. However, most of the scientists working in the field are more interested in how the people of bygone civilizations lived, and they, too, have a lot to study at the site that the newly uncovered site. Already a lot of pottery shards and other everyday artifacts have been recovered, and to the extent that an entire ancient port can be surveyed and studied, it may tell us many things we didn’t know about one of antiquity’s maritime economies.

science, health and technology

One of the few good things to come out of the Bay of Bengal tsunami