A new Dutch journal on ancient history

[Jona Lendering]

OK folks, here it is: Momentum. It's a little baby, and it wants to become a Dutch journal on ancient history. Of course, we already have several journals, but Hermeneus is dedicated to Greek and Rome and has a bias to "high culture"; Amphora is dedicated to gymnasium teaching; Archeologie Magazine is uncritical about archaeology; and Phoenix is only interested in the Near East. There is nothing wrong with them, but isn't it more fun to have a journal that focuses on intercultural contact and the entire period 900 BCE - 650 CE? And it isn't it more interesting to be a bit skeptical about the latest novelty from ancient history (usually something already said by a German scholar from the nineteenth century) or the latest exaggarated archaeological claim?

Our "zero issue" (nulnummer) offers
...an interview with Frank Holt on Alexander in Afghanistan,
...an article on translating Ennius,
...the first instalment of our "hiatus" series on what we do not know,
...a scoop on the sale of Gospel of Judas pieces on e-Bay (!),
...an article on Procopius,
...a review of the next book by Marcel Hulspas,
...and an article on the Limes Tripolitanus, which is accessible in an English translation here.

So, the zero issue is there. As editors, we have learned what we need. Now we are looking for people who are interested. You can order a copy by following the instructions here. If sufficient people like it and decide to subscribe, we can start with our first year.

PS: If you are interested in my little school, here is the speech with which it has been officially opened last weekend.

[Praefectusclassis]

Perhaps for extra clarification one might add it is all IN DUTCH and is more a magazine than a stodgy old turgid journal. :wink:

[Jona Lendering]

more a magazine than a stodgy old turgid journal

Oh d-mn, when will I learn to write English without mistakes?

[Caius Fabius]

when is the English version coming out? :lol:
Some how I think a lot more people read English than Dutch, even though it is a fine language.

[Jona Lendering]

There are no plans for an English magazine. If there's something really interesting, I will send it to Jasper's magazine, and it may be translated, but our aims are simply not international. Besides, here in Holland, we can meet everyone who wants to write. We just know everyone personally. If we're getting international, things become a lot more complex.

The only thing that was really interesting, our scoop, was that the official publication of the Gospel of Judas was delayed because new fragments were discovered on e-Bay. Probably, a bankrupt former owner, Mr. Ferrini, has kept parts and has now sold them in an attempt to solve his bankrupcy. The full codex, however, is owned by National Geographic; so Ferrini has sold something that was not his. What happens now, is not known.