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Template:Did you know nominations/Ai-Khanoum

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 (talk) 19:55, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

Ai-Khanoum

  • ... that excavation of Ai-Khanoum was stopped due to the Saur Revolution and subsequent Soviet–Afghan War? Source: Martinez-Sève, Laurianne (2020). "Afghan Bactria". In Mairs, Rachel (ed.). The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 220. doi:10.4324/9781315108513-13. ISBN 9781315108513. S2CID 243416462.
    • ALT1: ... that the site Ai-Khanoum was comprehensively looted during the Soviet–Afghan War? Source: Martinez-Sève, Laurianne (2014). "The Spatial Organization of Ai Khanoum, a Greek City in Afghanistan". American Journal of Archaeology. 118 (2): 267–283 p. 269. doi:10.3764/aja.118.2.0267. JSTOR 10.3764/aja.118.2.0267. S2CID 194685024. , Mairs, Rachel (2014). The Hellenistic Far East: Archaeology, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia (1st ed.). p. 26 University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520292468. JSTOR 10.1525/j.ctt7zw3v4.
    • ALT2: ... that papyrus fragments recovered from Ai-Khanoum may have originally been a lost work of Aristotle? Source: Hollis, Adrian (2011). "Greek Letters in Hellenistic Bactria". In Obbink, Dirk; Rutherford, Richard (eds.). Culture in Pieces : Essays on Ancient Texts in Honour of Peter Parsons. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 107–108. ISBN 9780191558887. ProQuest 2131025788.
    • ALT3: ... that the ancient city of Ai-Khanoum was rediscovered in 1961 by the King of Afghanistan? Source: * Bernard, Paul (2001). "Aï Khanoum en Afghanistan hier (1964-1978) et aujourd'hui (2001) : Un site en péril" [Aï Khanoum in Afghanistan yesterday (1964-1978) and today (2001): a site in danger.]. Comptes Rendus des Séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (in French). 145 (2): 971–972. doi:10.3406/crai.2001.16315.
    • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Working from Within: The Nature and Development of Quine's Naturalism
    • Comment: This article is currently a FAC which might make this difficult.
      Comment from AirshipJungleman29: I think that one of the alts, the latter two of which I have just added, would make the best DYK.

Improved to Good Article status by AirshipJungleman29 (talk). Nominated by Onegreatjoke (talk) at 03:15, 18 October 2022 (UTC).

Disk depicting Cybele, a votive sacrifice and a Bactrian sun god
Disk depicting Cybele, a votive sacrifice and a Bactrian sun god
General: Article is new enough and long enough
Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems

Hook eligibility:

  • Cited: Yes
  • Interesting: No - okayish, but better ones possible

Image eligibility:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Earwig's picks up some similarity, but I checked and it's only (long) titles of sources, so no issue (we can't "rephrase" the title of a source). As for the hooks, I prefer ALT2 or ALT3; ALT0 and ALT1 are only about external circumstances, which are unusual, but don't highlight why this city was (is) so important. I know it's your choice, and there's no guarantee, but I still say this at a number of nominations: Why no picture? :) The GA reviewer specifically noted they were "Impressed by the number of images and maps that are included, which really benefit the article." I believe there might be a better angle for a hook about the site itself, ideally in combination with one of the several excellent pictures. How about e.g. the attached file, which is described as "a remarkable example of hybrid Greek and Oriental imagery that typified the arts of Hellenized Asia" in its file description? Heck, the average Wikipedia reader might not even know about Bactria or that Greeks were once in Afghanistan! There might be a hook angle about how the King of Afghanistan discovered an old Greek city there – ideally also with a mention of the art found and attached or other picture. Wanna give it try Onegreatjoke & AirshipJungleman29? –LordPeterII (talk) 15:58, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

LordPeterII, I think this just avoids any length issues: ALT4: ... that archaeologists at Ai-Khanoum, an ancient Hellenistic city rediscovered by the King of Afghanistan in 1961, found this disc (pictured) which displays Ancient Greek deities in an Oriental style? ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 12:15, 29 October 2022 (UTC)
@AirshipJungleman29 and Onegreatjoke: Yeah ALT4 goes in the direction I meant. How about adapting it slightly to get
It's a little shorter but might still highlight some interesting things. –LordPeterII (talk) 18:30, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
... and I just realized I didn't follow the citation style (at least not in wiki code) used in the article otherwise, when I added a reference to the Met Museum. @AirshipJungleman29 I hope you can adjust that if it bothers you, I don't know how since I only ever use the "easy" way of citing. –LordPeterII (talk) 18:33, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
Don't worry about the citation style—I'll have a look at that. I've made some slight alterations to the hook, but I think its satisfactory on my end. Thanks very much for your contributions, LordPeterII. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 19:05, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
@AirshipJungleman29: Thanks, yeah those fixes were needed :) Excellent, then I shall only
request another reviewer for ALT5. –LordPeterII (talk) 19:09, 30 October 2022 (UTC)
  • General eligibility:
Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems

Hook eligibility:

  • Cited: Yes
  • Interesting: Yes
  • Other problems: Yes
Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
QPQ: Done.
Overall: Graearms (talk) 23:50, 9 November 2022 (UTC)