The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15) - James Rollins Page 0,68
who the Banū Mūsā brothers believed resided in Tartarus and who waged war on three civilizations, destroying them all and leading to the Greek Dark Ages.”
“What does any of that have to do with Sardinia?” Seichan asked.
“Because I think the enemy came here first.” Roe left them, hurrying to catch up with his friend. “I’ll let Howard explain.”
Seichan stared at the two men.
One a Catholic, the other a Jew.
And we’re being hunted by Arabs, likely Muslims.
At least, all the major religions of this area were represented.
The rabbi took them to the second floor and drew them to a stop before a five-foot-tall stone slab, inscribed deeply by an angular script. “This is the Noro Stone,” Howard explained. “A treasure of our museum. It dates back to the eighth or ninth century B.C.”
Roe lifted an eyebrow. “In other words, to the middle of the Homeric Age, the Greek Dark Ages.”
Howard faced the rock. “The inscription here is one of the oldest examples of Phoenician writing. It is incomplete, but the best translation tells of a great war fought on these shores by the Nuragic people against a powerful enemy, one that led to great ruin.”
Seichan glanced over to Roe, who looked all too happy with himself. “Who were they fighting?”
Howard smiled. “Ah, an age-old mystery, one that I’ve been trying to solve.”
You and a bunch of murderous bastards.
“One of the reasons I’m here at the museum is that I’m overseeing the installation of an exhibit on that very subject matter.” The rabbi waved them over to a nearby room that was roped off and separated by hanging sheets of plastic, the exhibit plainly still under construction. “It’s all about the Sea People.”
Seichan frowned as she followed the man through the plastic sheets to the small space inside. In the center stood two rows of mostly empty display cases. A few held bronze weapons and tiny statues. But their guide led them to the back wall, where pictures had started to be hung.
“Like much of the history of the Homeric Age, little is truly known about the Sea People,” Howard explained, “so even putting this installation together is proving to be a challenge. All we really know is that they were a seafaring confederation, likely rising out of the western Mediterranean. But whoever they were, once they burst into the eastern half of the Mediterranean, they laid waste to civilization after civilization, leading to centuries of darkness.”
“The Greek Dark Ages,” Gray said.
“Correct.” Howard drew them to a wall display. “Here’s a map that lays out those conquests, so you can get a general scope of the Sea People’s assault.”
en.wikipedia/wiki/Sea Peoples#/media/File:Map of the Sea People invasions in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age.jpg
Seichan leaned closer next to Gray. She noted the sweep of arrows showing the attacks upon Greece, upon the Middle East, and down to Egypt. If the dates on the map were correct, every kingdom around the Mediterranean fell in less than twenty years. It appeared to be an all-out assault—all rising out of the west.
Howard continued, “The best accounts of this war—as scant as they are—come from the Egyptians, who were soundly defeated. And while details are scarce, the overlying gist of those stories was one of abject terror. Come see.”
Howard moved down the wall to another display. This one appeared to be a rubbing taken from an Egyptian site. It showed a chaotic, insane battle, on land and sea, with Egyptian soldiers in the throes of battle, dying by the hundreds.
Public domain
en.wikipedia/wiki/Sea Peoples#/media/File:Medinet Habu Ramses III. Tempel Nordostwand Abzeichnung 01.jpg
“This depiction was found in a temple near Luxor. Not only does it capture the terror so beautifully, but do you see what’s missing?”
Seichan frowned, but Gray figured it out.
“Nowhere does it show who is attacking them, only soldiers fending off some force just out of view.”