Art & Culture - Current Affairs for December, 2015

Archeologists have unearthed a record number of gold coins and plates equalling 378 in total from a 2000 year old Han dynasty tomb in east China. New discovery includes 20 thin plates about 22 cms long and 10 cms wide. Gold coins weighing 250 grams were unearthed from tomb of the first Haihunhou (Marquis of Haihun) in Nanchang, east China’s Jiangxi province. Tomb dates back to the Western Han dynasty 206 BC to 24 AD and thought to belong to Liu He, grandchild of Emperor Wu.

An ancient copy of the Quran found at the University of Birmingham may belong Abu Bakr. He was the first person to convert to Islam outside Prophet Mohammed's direct family. He also became the first ever Muslim caliph in 632. Radiocarbon dating found the copy of the Holy Book to be 1370 years old raising the chance it could be the oldest copy of the Islamic Holy Book in existence.

Historical evidence of immense heritage value has been found by Vommili archeologists. Objects retrieved from a trial excavation on the surface including a standing diety Heruka, a terracotta elephant head, conical mud bowls, thumb and finer print as well as dull chocolate coloured slipware. The site has been inspected to reveal retrieved objects indicating Buddhist monastery of this era has been discovered in Vishakhpatnam district.

Letter of Intent was signed between San Francisco and Bengaluru on 14th December 2015 for cooperation in diverse fields such as art, culture and museums as part of the sister initiative between the two cities. Interactive art and technology installations from San Francisco will soon be installed in the city at places such as Cubbon Park and Vidhan Soudha metro station.

On a Spanish river bank 14,000 years ago, what is the world’s first architectural drawing was created. The granite slab discovered at a prehistoric site in Barcelona depicts a campsite built by early hunter-gathered as they roamed looking for prey in the Iberian peninsula.