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From today's featured article
The
Beule Gate
is a
fortified gate
leading to the
Propylaia
of the
Acropolis of Athens, Greece
. It was constructed largely of repurposed material taken from the 4th-century BCE
Choragic Monument of Nikias
and integrated into the
Post-Herulian Wall
, a late Roman fortification built around the Acropolis in the years following
the city's sack
by the Germanic
Heruli
people in 267 or early 268 CE. Its construction marked the beginning of a new phase in the Acropolis's use, in which it came to be seen more as a defensive position than a religious sanctuary. During
the medieval period
, the gate was further fortified, before being built over with a
bastion
in
Ottoman times
. The monument was discovered by the French archaeologist
Charles Ernest Beule
on 29 May 1852, and excavated in 1852 and 1853. Archaeologists and Greek commentators criticised the aggressive excavation ? particularly the use of explosives. In modern times, the gate has served primarily as an exit for tourists from the Acropolis. (
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Bomb defusing, photographed by Lander
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Lake Estancia
was a
prehistoric body of water
in the
Estancia Valley
, in the center of the U.S. state of
New Mexico
. Mostly fed by creek and
groundwater
from the
Manzano Mountains
, the lake had diverse fauna, including
cutthroat trout
. It appears to have formed when a river system broke up. It reached a maximum water level (highstand) presumably during the
Illinoian
glaciation and subsequently fluctuated between a desiccated basin and fuller stages. Wind-driven erosion has excavated depressions in the former lakebed that are in part filled with
playas
(dry lake beds). The lake was one of several
pluvial lakes
in southwestern North America that developed during the late
Pleistocene
. Their formation has been variously attributed to decreased temperatures during the
ice age
and increased precipitation; a shutdown of the
thermohaline circulation
and the
Laurentide Ice Sheet
altered atmospheric circulation patterns and increased precipitation in the region. The lake has yielded a good
paleoclimatic
record. This map shows the shoreline of Lake Estancia at three different periods: early Estancia (1,939 m / 6,362 ft above sea level), late Estancia (1,897 m / 6,224 ft), and "Lake Willard" (1,870 m / 6,135 ft). Present-day populated places, county boundaries and roads are overlaid on the map for identification.
Map credit:
Tom Fish
|
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