Now now. Whoa there Nellie. Let’s not forget this is all about gold
and jewelry. Or is it not? Ah… who would not give a tuppence for a
peek into a lascivious mind?
In the meantime I think I have perfected the art of the segue. Ready?
Once upon a time there was a ship. And once upon a time there was a
marine archaeologist by the name of George Bass. (GB henceforth) And
once upon a time in 1690 he excavated the remains of the oldest
ship-wreck then known. It was a Bronze Age Syrian cargo boat dating
back to around 1200BC. It carried copper ingots and scrap metal. It
had been discovered by sponge divers. And so GB… in his infinite
wisdom… kept in touch with afore said sponge divers lest they
should uncover something else… which they did.
The year: 1982. A diver discovers off the southern Turkish coast an
object that looks like a metal biscuit with ears. Surely GB and his
compatriots thought… surely this was nothing more than another
copper ingot. Ah… but nay nay. T’warn’t that at all. T’was gold
from a cargo ship carrying Bronze Age treasures. GB worked for ten
years on this project. And then… gadzooks.
Oh… there was copper all right. And there was tin. And there were
tools and there were weapons. And there were jars filled with resins
for making perfume. And there was ivory from hippos and elephants.
And there was a gold ring. And there were bits of gold pendants and
silver bangles. There was even a gold scarab bearing the name of Queen
Nefertiti. There were gold amulets. And… there was a gold pendant.
Yes… a gold pendant of a naked goddess holding something in each
hand. And here’s where the rub of it all is–you should pardon the
expression. If you were a naked goddess… what would you like to be
holding in each of your hands. Or… better yet… if you happen to be
strolling down Fifth Avenue one fine day and noticed a naked goddess
standing in the window of one of the fines stores facing you… what
is it you would expect her to be holding in each of her hands?
Let us pause a moment here to cogitate a bit. Any ideas? Any
suggestions? Any thoughts at all? Yeah yeah. I’m sure you have
plenty. But I’m here to help you all out. She had in each hand… are
you all prepared for this… she had in each hand… a gazelle. Yes
indeedy folks. A naked golden goddess holding a gazelle in each hand.
How bloody quaint is that?
Well… it’s over now. You can all lax up. I’ll show you the image of
the pendant with this caveat. Not any of you… nary a one… will be
able to tell it’s a gazelle. That’s how blurry it is. Then again…
if they tell me it’s a gazelle… then I’m sure a gazelle it is. Wink
Wink. Never-the-less… it was a rather nice little trip down Tidbits
lane… was it not?
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at http://www.tyler-adam.com where you
will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that
says Current Tidbits… click it… and you will see represented on
our pages an image of a golden naked goddess holding a gazelle in each
hand. Enjoy.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark