Sunday, November 24, 2013
CONTACT ME AT: manessmorrison2@yahoo.com


News Clips For The Day



Cuba builds communism-free zone to woo capitalist businesses – NBC

By Nick Miroff, Global Post
HAVANA, Cuba — One country, two systems. The formula has worked for China’s business-minded communists. Can it succeed in Cuba?
President Raul Castro’s government is building its own version of a Chinese-style economic zone on the banks of the Mariel Bay, 30 miles west of Havana, where the laws of scientific Marxism will not apply.

Inside a 180-square-mile special economic zone, Cuban planners have envisioned a global capitalist enclave where foreign companies can install manufacturing plants, research centers and operational hubs.

This island within an island will operate on the business principles of globalization -- not tropical socialism -- and like China’s 1980s reforms, it would offer communist authorities an expedient way to compartmentalize economics and ideology.

The zone would lure foreign businesses with the guarantee of a 10-year tax holiday and virtually unfettered freedom to import raw materials and repatriate profits. The Cuban government began accepting bids from international investors this month.
At the core of the project is a $900 million deep-water port terminal being built by the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, primarily with Brazilian government loans. Due to open in January, it is designed to handle the new wave of larger “post-Panamax” ships expected to dominate global commerce when the Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2015.

The town of Mariel (pop. 40,000), a forlorn fishing village coated in a scrim of dust from the local cement plant, is set to become Cuba’s industrial hub of the future.
Workers build warehouses in November at Mariel. Cuba.
The town was the site of the 1980 “boatlift” in which more than 100,000 islanders fled for the United States. But Cuba sees a massive influx of foreign capital coming to the placid waters of its bay, especially Chinese firms looking for a modern shipping container terminal in the Caribbean.

“The Chinese companies that today produce in China and bring their goods here could produce here in Cuba, in this special zone ... with many incentives,” Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca told China’s Xinhua news agency this month during Havana’s annual International Trade Fair.

By setting up their operations in the special zone, Malmierca said, Chinese companies would be well-position to supply the rest of Caribbean, Central America and Mexico.
He also affirmed a promise from Cuban leaders that property within the special zone cannot be expropriated -- a necessary assurance on an island where billions worth of foreign assets were nationalized after Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution.
Cuban trade officials say investors from Russia, China, Vietnam, Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico and Brazil have expressed interest.

Skeptics of the project see it as the latest repository for Cuban state-sponsored hype, now that foreign oil companies have all but given up their hunt for crude in Cuban waters.

Others doubt international investors will choose to put their money on the island when they could go to another country like the Dominican Republic, which has lower labor costs and an established track record for manufacturing. The Mariel project’s promoters say it will be the Caribbean’s biggest shipping port once completed, but other cities in the region are likely to catch up.

Another big disincentive: the long-standing US trade sanctions, which ban Cuban imports and prohibit ships that stop on the island from calling at US ports for six months.

With a perfectly-shaped “pocket bay” pointed at the US Gulf Coast, Mariel would otherwise be well-positioned for a post-embargo future of robust trade between the US and Cuba.

But with the trade sanctions firmly in place and other US measures aimed at companies doing business on the island, Cuba will have to sweeten its offers to foreign firms by adding additional incentives, analysts say.

Cuba is offering investors 50-year contracts and 100 percent ownership of their businesses, duty-free imports and virtually zero taxes for the first decade of operation.

Raul Castro’s government has cast the Mariel project primarily as a job-creation program. It’s looking to slash the number of Cuban workers employed by the state, and the island’s economy desperately needs new sources of employment, not to mention technology and training.

Still, doubts linger about the types of industries that would see Cuba as an attractive site for export-driven manufacturing, since the island’s labor force has little experience with modern assembly plants or advanced technology.
Cuban officials say their goal is to attract more sophisticated industries to the special zone, but this remains a big unknown, said Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, a Cuba scholar at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

“Rum and cigars won’t cut it, but if medical devices, pharmaceuticals and some value-added manufactures are coming out of the special economic zone, it could be very attractive for outside investors,” he said.

“It remains to be seen if the terms of trade will be enticing for investment or if they cause more of the doubts that have kept them away from Cuba in the past.”
In particular, companies may be discouraged by Cuban laws that prohibit them from hiring workers directly, making them go through a government agency instead.
The agency pays workers a fraction of what they would otherwise receive, forcing foreign companies to pay their workers on the side in order to keep them motivated.
It’s the type of gimmickry that outside investors and manufacturers may not want to put up with.

A few critics have also seized on the ideological gymnastics of Cuba’s communist authorities, who rail against “exploitative” global capitalists on state television while rolling out a red carpet for them at Mariel.

“What about the rest of us?” wrote Pedro Campos, a critic of Castro’s from the left. “Sweat shops, exploitation, prohibitions, misery, layoffs, high taxes, edicts in place of democratic laws and a new labor code so that ‘employers’ — a euphemism for capitalist exploiters — do as they wish with defenseless workers.
"Those are the possibilities they’re offering to investors so they can squeeze workers as much as they want.”


http://www.watchinga.com/pages/cuba-123239.html
Sunday, November 24, 2013

CubaDaily

Analysis: New climate of pragmatism prevails in U.S.-Cuba relations

View gallery By David Adams MIAMI/HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. relations with Cuba have undergone a surprise warming in recent months, raising expectations of possible agreements to bring the two countries closer after more than 50 years of hostility. U.S. and Cuban officials overcame a series of potentially divisive incidents this summer with mutual displays of pragmatism rarely seen since Cuba's 1959 socialist revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.

President Barack Obama appeared to recognize this publicly on November 8 when he said at a fundraiser in Miami that it may be time for the United States to revise its policies toward Cuba. "We have to be creative and we have to be thoughtful, and we have to continue to update our policies," he said.

Hostile rhetoric has long characterized relations between the two countries, separated by only 90 miles of sea. But U.S. and Cuban officials now are privately expressing appreciation of each other's handling of the incidents. They include Cuba's decision not to offer a safe haven to fugitive former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is sought by the United States for alleged espionage, and the diplomatically deft U.S. handling of a North Korean ship carrying Cuban weapons in possible violation of U.N. Sanctions.

"I think there is a willingness on both sides to engage more pragmatically, but we are not on the cusp of any great policy changes," said one U.S. official involved in discussions on Cuba policy. "We are not as optimistic as the Cubans are, but there's interest in moving things along."

Cuba has made no official response to Obama's speech but chose not to criticize him for hailing two leading Cuban dissidents who attended the fundraiser as champions of democracy. Nor did they react to the holding of the event at the home of the president of the Cuban American National Foundation, a longtime foe of the Castro government. In the past, the Cuban authorities haveoften issued stinging rebukes of a U.S. president in similar circumstances.

"For Obama to say what he said, and do that in Miami, is not easy. That didn't go unnoticed here," in Havana, said Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat and former ambassador to the European Union. "There is still a great lack of confidence between the two sides, but I think both sides want to do something."

FACE-SAVING DIPLOMACY
Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations with Cuba, U.S. and Cuban officials do have contact "when it is our interest to do so," one senior U.S. government official told Reuters.

U.S. officials met with a top Cuban diplomat in Washington to request that Havana refuse entry to Snowden, U.S. officials told Reuters. Cuba made no guarantees, but unlike some of its allies in Latin America it chose not to extend a hand to Snowden.

President Raul Castro, who replaced his ailing brother Fidel in 2008, has earned a reputation as a pragmatist. His attitude toward the United States also may be a hedge against political uncertainty in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba's staunchest - and most generous - ally in recent years.

U.S. officials are closely watching as Cuba implements a series of free-market reforms to the Soviet-style economy. Cuba shows no signs of changing its one-party, communist-run political system, although is has relaxed travel restrictions, allowing dissidents to travel abroad.

"Because of the economic reforms under way in Cuba the conditions are being put in place for a more normalized engagement with the U.S.," said Richard Feinberg, a senior fellow of the Washington-based Brookings Institution who briefed senior administration officials last week on a newly published study highlighting the role of a new middle class of emerging entrepreneurs.

Obama is likely to face opposition in Congress to attempts to thaw the relationship with Cuba at a time when he is already under fire for trying to reach a deal with Iran on its nuclear ambitions.

Two powerful senators of Cuban descent, New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez and Florida Republican Marco Rubio, both hold to a firm line of limited engagement with Cuba.

The Obama administration's hands are tied in many ways by the 50-year-old U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, an executive branch decree first issued by President John F. Kennedy and reinforced by Congress in the 1990s.

One of the signs of a thaw could be Cuba's removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, which could ease strict curbs on financial transactions involving U.S. citizens.

Talks between the United States and Cuba to renew direct postal service, which was suspended 50 years ago, also have progressed better than expected.

"The Cubans usually spend the first day lecturing the U.S. on the embargo and the next day stalling," Garcia said. "This time after 15 minutes of required rhetoric they decided to move forward."


Between Cuba's non-communist business project and our recent moves under Obama's more relaxed policy, I think there is hope for a much improved if not totally open relationship with Cuba. When Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize I was uncomfortable because he hadn't even been in office very long and hadn't made much progress in international affairs, but I think between his approaches to Iran and to Cuba he may be earning the prize.

He is showing himself to be in favor of good relations and trade with as many countries as possible. If we could just make more progress in the Middle East I would feel better. That is the most dangerous part of the world today, except maybe North Korea, which remains an adamant enemy. China is turning out to be an ally, at least part of the time. Taking all of these together, I feel we are in an improved position. I credit President Obama for his open attitude and much of the progress.





Texas actress has plea deal over ricin letters sent to Obama, Bloomberg – NBC

Reuters

A Texas actress accused of mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to federal court documents.

Shannon Guess Richardson, 36, whose acting career included minor television roles, had attempted to blame her husband for sending the letters in May that tested positive for the presence of ricin, according to prosecutors.

Notice of the plea deal was filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Richardson's attorney, Tonda Curry, could not be immediately reached to detail the terms of the plea agreement.

Richardson was arrested in June and a federal grand jury accused her in a three-count indictment of mailing the letters to Obama, Bloomberg and Mark Glaze, the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group founded by Bloomberg that lobbies for stricter gun laws.

Ricin, a highly toxic substance, is found naturally in castor beans, but it takes a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to even a small amount can cause death and no known antidote exists.

The New Boston, Texas, woman is charged with one count of making a threat against the president of the United States and two counts of mailing threatening communications. She faces up to five years in prison on each count if convicted.

The letters read, in part: "You will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns. Anyone wants to come to my house will get shot in the face," according to court documents. 


It's not as though the gun laws which have been proposed will take away legally registered guns, so I don't understand the blind resistance to gun control in this country. Gun laws keep certain kinds of guns off the street – the assault rifles for instance – and require people to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. People also will be prevented from buying a weapon if they have a history of severe mental illness. This actress apparently felt that she could send a very dangerous poison in a letter to the White House without getting caught. Clearly we need our secret service and other security measures. There are still people who would kill our leaders rather than voting them out of office. I'm glad this woman was apprehended, and hopefully she will be convicted and serve some time in prison.




Long Island store owners cheated customer out of $1 million lottery ticket, police say – NBC
By Barbara Goldberg, Reuters

NEW YORK - A Long Island convenience store owner and his son, accused of duping a customer who spoke limited English out of a $1 million winning lottery ticket, were charged on Saturday with grand larceny.

The 34-year-old Hispanic man bought a $10 "Unwrap The Cash" scratch-off game at the Peninsula Deli & Grocery in Hempstead, New York, on Thursday and after playing the game, believed he was a winner, Nassau County Police said.
He handed the card to store clerk Karim Jaghab, 26, the son of deli owner Nabil Jaghab, 57, police said. 

The clerk confirmed the win by scanning the card and receiving a message from the New York State Lottery which read, "File Claim: Jackpot Winner - Please Return Original Ticket To The Customer Along With A Claim Receipt," police said.

Instead, Jaghab told the victim he won $1,000 and and paid him in cash.
"The victim then left the store with his believed winnings. The winning ticket was in fact a 'Jackpot Prize' for $1,000,000," police said in a statement.
The man, who police said "didn't speak English very well," became suspicious and returned to the deli on Friday to question the younger Jaghab.

The clerk told him, "OK, I will pay you $10,000 as long as you don't involve the police," the police statement said.
The elder Jaghab confirmed what his son said, telling the customer, "You only won $10,000," police said.

Increasingly doubtful about the Jaghabs' claims, the victim called police.
Detectives determined the father and son attempted to deceive the victim and claim the winnings for themselves. Any prize worth $600 or more must be redeemed at a New York State Lottery Office and cannot be cashed in at the place of purchase.
The father and son were arraigned on grand larceny charges on Saturday. Their lawyer, Matthew Fleischer, said in court that the incident was a "simple mistake" on a lottery machine payout, local media reported.

Fleischer, who works for the law firm of Jaghab, Jaghab & Jaghab in Mineola, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.  



I have almost given up on buying lottery tickets because it is getting boring – I have only won in the $5.00 range three times in the last ten years or so. I see to it that I don't buy more than one $1.00 ticket per drawing, so I don't overspend. Whenever I buy a ticket, though, I see to it that the clerk gives me the ticket back even if they say it's not a winner.

Three years or so ago on the news a hidden camera in a convenience store caught the clerk telling the buyer that the ticket wasn't a winner and placing it on top in the trash can, then when the buyer left the store they fished it out of the trash can and turned it in for the winnings. My Florida lottery has improved its procedures in the last two years by setting the cash register to mark the words “Not a winner” in large black letters on the face of the ticket. If the clerk doesn't want to give me the ticket back, I look at it to see if it is marked. I don't trust human nature enough to take the clerk's word for it in such a case. $1,000,000 is too tempting a prize to trust.




'Deeply concerned': Kerry criticizes new air defense zone in China – NBC

By Daniella Silva

Secretary of State John Kerry strongly criticized a controversial air defense identification zone announced by China on Saturday that includes a chain of disputed islands claimed by both China and Japan.

“The United States is deeply concerned about China's announcement that they've established an 'East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone,'" Kerry said in a statement on Saturday.  

“We have urged China to exercise caution and restraint, and we are consulting with Japan and other affected parties, throughout the region,” Kerry said.

The Chinese Defense Ministry issued a map on Saturday and an announcement of aircraft identification rules for the zone covering most of the East China Sea including the disputed islets, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. According to the ministry’s website, aircrafts flying over the space defined by the zone must comply with identification measures and instructions from Beijing or could face “defensive emergency measures” from China’s armed forces.

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense’s website said the zone was established “to timely identify, monitor, control and react” to aircraft entering the zone.  
"This is a necessary measure taken by China in exercising its self-defense right," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said according to a statement posted on the website. "It is not directed against any specific country or target. It does not affect the freedom of over-flight in the related airspace."
International reaction against the zone has been swift between Kerry’s criticisms and protests in Tokyo.

"By establishing the air-defense zone Beijing has ... potentially escalated the danger of accidental collisions between the Chinese military and the U.S. and Japanese counterparts," Tomohiko Taniguchi, a counselor in the office of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told The Associated Press. "It poses a serious challenge against freedom of movement in the sky and in the seas."

Kerry said in the statement that the U.S. does not support any effort on China’s part to apply the new regulations to foreign aircraft not intending to enter its national airspace.

 “We urge China not to implement its threat to take action against aircraft that do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing,” he said, warning of increased tensions in the region and risk of accident that could result from the zone.  
“Freedom of over-flight and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace are essential to prosperity, stability, and security in the Pacific,” Kerry said.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenharner/2013/11/23/as-china-and-japan-move-closer-to-armed-conflict-the-obama-administration-dangerously-dithers/


As China And Japan Move Closer To Armed Conflict, The Obama Administration Dangerously Dithers – Forbes


The danger of the U.S. being drawn into lethal conflict with China over the Japan-China Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute has just risen.

After Tokyo’s “nationalization’ of the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands last September, Beijing canceled all official and semi-official exchanges with Japan, including visits by high level Japanese business delegations, like Keidanren. The flow of products between Japan and China—including the supply by Japanese companies of critical components in many of China’s major exports, such as iPhones—continued.  But sales within China of Japanese products, especially cars, Chinese government procurement of Japanese technology, and China-to-Japan tourism plunged within formal and informal Chinese boycotts and general anti-Japanese popular sentiment.

As I have written before, the crisis was in fact created by the Noda government’s “nationalization”—a move fully supported by Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—after Japan’s ambassador to Washington was told that the U.S. did not oppose (hantai shinai) the move (this information from an interview given by Ambassador Sasae to the Asahi Shimbun).

Kurt Campbell, who, as assistant secretary of state for Asian-Pacific affairs, would have been the one communicating the U.S. position, later denied having thus sanctioned Japan’s action.

Which bring us to the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands and the greatly elevated risk of Japan-China armed clashes presented by overlapping China-Japan “air defense identification zones.”

Notwithstanding the U.S.-Japan security treaty, there can be no justification in terms of U.S. interests for U.S. military involvement in the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute. Quite the opposite. U.S. security requires that the United States absolutely not be dragged into armed confrontation with China over these insignificant islands.
U.S. action and policy in this matter have been a combination of drift and distraction at the State Department, ignorance and inertia in the NSC, and bureaucratic self-dealing and recklessness at DoD. The Obama administration should wake up to the dangers and make de-escalation and progress toward a negotiated Japan-China modus vivendi and territorial de-militarization an urgent diplomatic and security objective. It is time for the U.S. to lead Abe to the negotiating table.


Senkaku Islands dispute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Senkaku Islands dispute concerns a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu in China,[1] and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan.[2] Aside from a 1945 to 1972 period of administration by the United States, the archipelago has been controlled by Japan since 1895.[3] The People's Republic of China (PRC) disputed the proposed US handover of authority to Japan in 1971[4] and has asserted its claims to the islands since that time.[5] Taiwan (Republic of China) also claims the islands. The territory is close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds, and there may be oil reserves in the area.[6]

Japan argues that it surveyed the islands in the late 19th century and found them to be Terra nullius (Latin: land belonging to no one); subsequently, China acquiesced to Japanese sovereignty until the 1970s. The PRC and the ROC argue that documentary evidence prior to the First Sino-Japanese War indicates Chinese possession and that the territory is accordingly a Japanese seizure that should be returned as the rest of Imperial Japan's conquests were returned in 1945.


This looks like the aggressor at the moment is Japan, long hated by Chinese people after their actions in World War II, in which many Chinese were killed and oppressed. The Japanese were the original owners of the islands, however, since 1895, according to agreement with China until the 1970s when China began to make a claim. Now they are asserting that Japan should have given them the islands as part of the settlement after World War II. Our close link with Japan makes this dangerous for us. Our ships are also going through the disputed territorial waters. I wonder what will happen. I'll try to find other articles about this as they appear.





Afghan leader says peace needed before US security deal – NBC
By Aarne Heikkila and F. Brinley Bruton

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the United States should bring peace to his country before he would sign a security deal enabling American troops to stay beyond 2014, despite calls by an assembly of tribal elders to agree to the pact.

"If there is no peace then this agreement will bring misfortune to Afghanistan," Karzai said on Sunday in his closing remarks to the Loya Jirga assembly of elders and dignitaries convened to decide on the security pact. "Peace is our precondition. America should bring us peace and then we will sign it." 

The president did not elaborate, but has previously said that a free and fair election is needed to guarantee peace in the country. Reuters reported that none of the 2,500 delegates at the assembly, or Loya Jirga, had objected to signing the deal. 
The Loya Jirga was convened to decide on the pact, but Karzai cast the entire process in doubt by saying he would refuse to sign it until after a presidential election scheduled for April 2014. The United States has repeatedly said it cannot wait beyond the end of this year.

American troops would remain in Afghanistan primarily to train and mentor government security forces struggling to face a resilient Taliban insurgency on their own.


The sticking point here seems to be Karzai himself rather than the people of Afghanistan. The US may have to wait until after the election. Kerry has stated that we need the time to plan our stay in Afghanistan. I will collect more on this later as it appears.






White House unveils new US space transportation policy – NBC
Mike Wall Space.com
Nov. 22, 2013

The Obama administration has outlined its strategy for maintaining what it describes as the United States' global leadership role in spaceflight and exploration.
The White House's new national space transportation policy, released Thursday, reinforces several previously stated administration priorities. It calls on federal agencies to continue supporting the development of private American spaceships to carry astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit, for example, and directs NASA to keep working on a heavy-lift rocket to send people much farther afield.

This plan makes a lot of sense for NASA, allowing the agency to put its limited financial resources to the best possible use, NASA chief Charles Bolden said. [NASA's Space Exploration and Tech Goals for 2014 (Photos)]

"The development of a commercial space sector for low-Earth orbit transportation is freeing NASA to develop a heavy-lift launch capability to travel further into space than ever before," Bolden wrote in a blog post about the new policy Thursday.
"NASA has already made steady progress on the development of the next-generation heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS)," he added. "NASA is also well on its way to developing the Orion crew capsule, which will take astronauts further into deep space than humans have ever explored."

The maiden Orion test flight is slated for next year, while the SLS is scheduled to get off the ground for the first time in late 2017. NASA wants the duo to be flying astronauts together by 2021.

That would allow the space agency to meet two objectives President Barack Obama laid out for NASA in his 2010 National Space Policy — to get astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, then on to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.

While it works on this deep-space transportation system, NASA is also encouraging the growth of an emerging private spaceflight industry. Through its commercial crew program, the agency has most recently funded the development of three private manned spaceships — those being built by SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. — and hopes at least one of them is up and running by 2017.

Leaders in the commercial spaceflight industry were pleased to see continued support for this effort in the new policy.

"We appreciate this clear delineation of policy in favor of supporting American industry, creating the most effective and efficient space program possible and ensuring the nation retains its leadership and competitiveness in space," Michael Lopez-Alegria, president of Commercial Spaceflight Federation and a former NASA astronaut, said in a statement. "We are grateful for the Obama administration’s support for the commercial space sector and look forward to many joint successes to come."

The newly released space transportation policy, which replaces a version announced in 2004, is a wide-ranging document touching on many different aspects of American space infrastructure.

It encourages international collaboration when beneficial and practicable, for example, and also instructs government agencies to support research and development into advanced propulsion technologies. You can read the entire document here


I'm glad we are continuing to make efforts toward space flight and exploration. I don't see the usefulness of low earth orbit for the ordinary citizen, though I understand there are wealthy people who are willing to pay to go into orbit for the experience of it. It's like climbing Mt. Everest – they want to climb it “because it's there.”

If we are to make it to Mars we will have to have newer and larger rockets. Personally if we don't go to Mars I won't be unhappy about it. There are plenty of causes on earth to spend the money on. There will always be those who want to explore, however, and the US government wants to maintain leadership in such pursuits. It's an act of faith. It's like having the tallest building on earth.






Trove of religious artifacts unearthed in ancient Turkish sanctuary – NBC
Megan Gannon LiveScience

Archaeologists digging in southern Turkey say they've discovered more than 600 stamp seals, cylinder seals and amulets left as religious offerings in an ancient sanctuary.
Carved with images of animals, people, deities and geometric figures, the small artifacts date from the seventh to fourth centuries B.C. and were found near the site of the ancient city of Doliche, which has a long history of worship. Researchers think the place was revered as early as the Iron Age (around the beginning of the first millennium B.C.). It later became a famous sacred site of the Roman era, dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, the god of storms and weather, and then it was used as a Christian monastery.

People used stamp seals and cylinder seals to impress images into wet clay. These objects were sometimes used as a way to authenticate documents (in this case, tablets), but they also seem to have been used as religious offerings. [Images: Ancient Carving of Roman God]

"The amazingly large number proves how important seals and amulets were for the worshipping of the god to whom they were consecrated as votive offerings," excavation director Engelbert Winter, a professor at the University of Münster in Germany, said in a statement. "Such large amounts of seal consecrations are unheard-of in any comparable sanctuary."

So far, the objects found at Doliche have been identified as belonging to the late Babylonian, Syrian Achaemenid and Levantine cultures. The seals are made of glass, stone and quartz ceramics, and they feature a wide range of images, from men fighting animals to men praying in front of divine symbols. 

"Even those images that do not depict a deity express strong personal piety: With their seals, people consecrated an object to their god which was closely associated with their own identity," archaeologist Michael Blömer, also a professor at the University of Münster, said in a statement.

Winter said the seals and amulets could fill gaps in knowledge about history of worship at the site, especially during the first millennium B.C., before Doliche's status as a Roman sacred site was cemented.

Winter and Blömer conducted excavations this year during a two-month period. The site is being preserved and protected so that it can double as an archaeological park that will be accessible to visitors, the researchers say. 


An archaeological park should draw lots of tourists. There is a working farm in England that is operated under Iron Age techniques, and is open to the public. Archaeologists have become experimental in the last few decades instead of merely examining and comparing stone tools. They are becoming experts at making stone tools and using them to fell trees, plow the earth, etc. in order to learn more about prehistoric life. It is not only more interesting than the old way, it probably allows them to weed out theories that are less rational by seeing what works best in the real world.