archaeology

by Leen and Kathleen Ritmeyer

The Secrets

From the title of this book you expect to learn the great secrets of the ancient Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Indeed, that’s exactly what happens! You will learn the location of water cisterns in hidden tunnels below the Mount, the arches and gates that formerly led to King Herod’s great Temple platform, the location of Solomon’s original Temple, and even where the Ark of the Covenant rested within the Holy of Holies! Wow!

These discoveries are not revealed as Indiana Jones would discover them in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Readers expecting a swashbuckling adventure with plenty of fight scenes will be disappointed. Instead, archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer makes his discoveries by patient observation, consulting ancient sources, asking permission from the religious and political authorities who control the Temple Mount today, discussion with Hebrew archaeologists, and plenty of quiet reflection over what he has observed. In other words, he learns things the scholarly way, the way that works. (more…)

Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang (a)

UNESCO World Heritage Site The Hall of Supreme Harmony at the centre of the Forbidden City

State Party         China
Type                  Cultural
Criteria                i, ii, iii, iv
Identification       #439
Region (b)           Asia-Pacific

Inscription History
Formal Inscription:     1987
                             11th Session
Extension/s               2004

(a) Name as officially inscribed on the WH List
(b) As classified officially by UNESCO

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China. It now houses the Palace Museum.

The complex consists of 800 buildings with 8,886 rooms. Its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square metres. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 as the "Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties",[1] and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. (more…)