Author Archives: Per Storemyr

About Per Storemyr

I work with the geoarchaeology of old stone: monuments, rock art, quarries. And I try to figure out about their weathering, and conservation using traditional crafts. I also burn lime the traditional way. For the joy of old stone!

Ny artikkel om gamle steinbrudd i Egypt

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Per Storemyr

(For Norwegian readers) Norsk Egyptologisk Selskap startet i 2010 sin egen bulletin med artikler og nyhetsstoff om Egypt. For det andre nummeret (vår 2011) har jeg sammen med Tom Heldal skrevet en liten artikkel om bevaring av landets gamle steinbrudd. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, New publications, Old quarries | Tagged Ancient Egypt, conservation, Cultural heritage, quarry | Leave a comment

Online papers on rock art at Gharb Aswan (West Aswan)

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Over the last few years Gharb Aswan, at the west bank of the Nile just opposite Aswan city, has emerged as an important rock art location. This is due to new surveys by the QuarryScapes project and the Aswan-Kom Ombo … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Rock art | Tagged Ancient Egypt, Aswan, Gharb Aswan, Nubia, rock art | 1 Comment

The Late Palaeolithic rock art in Wadi Abu Subeira (Egypt)

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Per Storemyr

A few years ago Egypt’s third Late Palaeolithic rock art site was discovered by SCA in Wadi Abu Subeira, 12 km north of Aswan on the east bank of the Nile. Since then SCA has continued survey and found several … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Rock art | Tagged Ancient Egypt, Aswan, rock art | 4 Comments

Turmoil in Egypt – the cultural heritage situation

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Per Storemyr

As mass protests continue in Egypt, the situation for the cultural heritage of the country is getting somewhat clearer. This short post is just intended to inform that the heritage situation is monitored at several websites.

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology | Tagged Cultural heritage, Egypt, Turmoil | Leave a comment

Ancient Egyptian quarries: A literature update 2007-2010

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Per Storemyr

Over the last couple of years a wealth of new studies on Ancient Egyptian quarries has been published. There are overviews, investigations about technology and social organisation, case studies with a view to landscape archaeology and papers highlighting the acute … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, New publications, Old quarries | Tagged Ancient Egypt, ancient egyptian quarries, quarry | 1 Comment

Cleopatra’s Needle: Egyptian concern about the NYC obelisk

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Per Storemyr

A few days ago Secretary General Zahi Hawass of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities expressed grave concern about the condition of Cleopatra’s Needle of NYC and even threatened to take the obelisk back to Egypt if care is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Monument conservation, Weathering history | Tagged Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra's Needle, historic photos, New York, obelisk, weathering | Leave a comment

A Mauerzahn at Grünenfels castle ruin (CH): Surviving 2011?

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Per Storemyr

Switzerland has a wealth of medieval castle ruins. In the Canton of Graübunden they are particularly numerous with, for example, the valley of Vorderrheintal (Surselva) displaying no less than about 50 ruins. Some are almost gone, others are kept in … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruins, Switzerland, Weathering history | Tagged Graubünden, Grünenfels, historic photos, ruin, Surselva, Switzerland, weathering | Leave a comment

Cleopatra’s Needle: Tracing obelisk weathering with old photos

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Per Storemyr

Historic photos are essential for research on monument weathering. With free internet access to archives, such photos are now easier to find than previously. Below, I will show the case of Cleopatra’s Needle, a famous Ancient Egyptian obelisk transferred to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Monument conservation, Weathering history | Tagged Alexandria, Ancient Egypt, Aswan, Cleopatra's Needle, granite, Heliopolis, historic photos, London, Luxor, New York, obelisk, Paris, weathering | 11 Comments

Stone weathering at the westernmost coast of Norway

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Per Storemyr

As probably one of only very few monuments globally, the ruined Selja medieval abbey off the westernmost coast of Norway is built from a metamorphic olivine stone (dunite) rich in talc. The combination of a hard olivine matrix and soft … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Monument conservation, New projects, Norway, Ruins, Weathering history | Tagged conservation, historic photos, Norway, olivine, salt, Selja, weathering | 2 Comments

Tüfels Chilen: Quarrying in the Church of the Devil

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Per Storemyr

Quarrying in the old days was often carried out at astonishing places, leaving very special formations – and legends – behind. The “Devil’s Church” or Tüfels Chilen in the Canton of Zurich is such a remarkable, combined work of nature … Continue reading →