Awe Inspiring-The Past From Above

On Saturday afternoon I dragged two friends along, against their wishes to an Exhibit entitled The Past From Above at the British Museum.

I had not been to the monolith of a museum since 1999, and it has had quite the make over, it was teeming with a mass of tourists.
The Past From Above is an exhibit by Georg Gerster, a Swiss photographer, who over the space of 40 years took aerial photographs of well over 100 famous archaeological sites over six continents.

From the minute I walked in and I encountered the Omo Valley in Ethiopia to the very last slide of the very place where the exhibit took place-The British Musem, I was transfixed by Gerster’s photographic brilliance.

However, I also realised just how much there is still see out there. Whilst many of the archaeological sites have been battered and tarnished, and at times all but destroyed by natural elements, poor government planning, mechanization, modernization, population dispersal and certain civilizations ceasing, many of these remarkable sites are still standing. They are there for us to marvel at the vision, spiritual zest and engineering excellence of members of these civilizations who lived many centuries ago.

I have only been to two of the places pictured, namely the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Israel and to Lalibela, the home of the rock hewn churches in Ethiopia.

It was interesting to see that two Southern African sites were included in the exhibit The Great Zimbabwe Ruins and a place I had not heard of-The Tsodilo Hills in Botswana.

The Hills situated in the north west of the country have over 4,500 rock paintings on the hills. Referred to by locals as “ the Mountains of the Gods” , I am sure this place will see many tourists in years to come.

There is succinct commentary provided underneath all the photos, and one is reminded that just as man can have the most brilliant vision, foresight and ingenuity, that brilliance can succumb to man’s destructive ways.

One sees how certain Egyptian sites were flooded and destroyed by the building of canals and how the great site Abu Simbel almost suffered the same fate.

I will be going back to revisit that Exhibit and buy the book.


If you in London be sure to go see this Exhibit

If you not in London, order The Past From Above by Georg Gerster!

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Two of the pictures are taken from the British Museum website

They are the mosque in Samarra, Iraq-The biggest Mosque in the world and the green Hill of Tara, in Ireland.

The other picture is of me, looking very bedraggled standing above Beta Giyorgis, Lalibela, July 2005