Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of Myths, Gods and Empires => Topic started by: Prof.Witchheimer on February 17, 2012, 11:59:23 AM
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Today I'm going to try/start something new. Currently I'm quite crazy about all things related to Ancient warfare and history. I'm reading a lot and again and again I'm spotting pretty interesting things that I would like to share. So I've thought, I'm going to start a sticky on this board and post (almost) daily something.
Btw, it's not only my prerogative to post on this thread, if you find/spot anything you think it's nice and interesting about Ancient warfare or history, so feel free to post it here.
Today it's about knife handles in the shape of a gladiator. I stumbled upon one reading a Wiipedia article about Gladiators and was wondering if there were more of that sort. After some googling I've spotted several of the oldest Gladiator "miniatures".
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This looks like fun :)
On the theme of gladiators...the injuries!
Cut with Gladius
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48383000/jpg/_48383651_gladiator-skull.jpg)
trident
(http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/files/skulls_1.jpg)
head bashed in (possibly trident again)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FOcfrZWxBJA/Tc4rM8gqmVI/AAAAAAAADoc/0m2rsdsRTxU/s1600/Gladiator+bones.jpg)
Knee damaged with 4 pointed knife
(http://www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/gladiator3.jpg)
jaw damage from gladius
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48383000/jpg/_48383122_gladiator-jaw.jpg)
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Now I feel like watching that TV-series "Bones" :D
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Now I feel like watching that TV-series "Bones" :D
lol
The TV series Rome was good (the DVD version is better,nothing cut out)...but "Spartacus, Blood and sand" is brilliant. I can´t wait for the next series "Gods of the Arena" to come out on DVD!!
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Here's an oldie site, a wealth of information on ancient germans.
I guess this thread is the best place to link it:
http://www.geocities.ws/reginheim/home.html
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Hei Alex,
if you're after gladitorial stuff then check "Das Spiel mit dem Tod" from Markus Junkelmann, pretty good book, lots of information ;)
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Just read some reviews about it, sounds very good everything, but 40 EUR.. :(
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Just read some reviews about it, sounds very good everything, but 40 EUR.. :(
Bought my copy around 12 years ago and am pretty sure for less than that 8)
But still worth it's prize.
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Nice thread Prof. :) I ,in times past I sculpted knife handles not dissimilar to these out of balsa wood; sadly all have perished, as I used them......should have used a better wood lol
For me,my ancients fascination has always been the Sarmatians (no surprise there then... ;)), and the idea that the Sarmatians were the inspiration for the Arthur myth (Sarmatians were stationed in Britain). An interesting book has been written 'From Scythia to Camelot' by Littleton and Malcor. Some would suggest such a premise is rubbish,I rather like it,and when one deals with Arthur,well,he is a myth (I think?) so no harm done.
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For me,my ancients fascination has always been the Sarmatians (no surprise there then... ;)), and the idea that the Sarmatians were the inspiration for the Arthur myth (Sarmatians were stationed in Britain). An interesting book has been written 'From Scythia to Camelot' by Littleton and Malcor. Some would suggest such a premise is rubbish,I rather like it,and when one deals with Arthur,well,he is a myth (I think?) so no harm done.
Fascinating, now I've learned something new :)
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Saudi Arabia’s Stonehenge
"On a lonely exposed hillside a few kilometers outside the capital of Al-Jouf province, Sakkaka, stand clusters of three-meter high fingers of stone.
Etched with ancient Thamudic graffiti, these monuments to a long extinct culture have maintained their lonely vigil for six millennia. Many have fallen over and others lean at bizarre random angles.
Al-Rajajil (“the men”), the sandstone stele weighing up to five tons each, is popularly called Saudi Arabia’s Stonehenge. They are possibly the oldest human monuments on the peninsula..."
read more - http://www.arabnews.com/variety/travel/article547489.ece
(http://arabnews.com/variety/travel/article547546.ece/REPRESENTATIONS/large_620x350/trv_alrajajil.jpg)
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:o :o
Amazing...some how I've never hold of those!
Blue
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From the same area as the standing stones;
(http://i.livescience.com/images/i/19969/original/Wheels--3.jpg?1316011490)
http://www.livescience.com/16046-nazca-lines-wheels-google-earth.html
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Inventions in Ancient Time - Plastic Surgery
http://reconstructivesurgeryguide.blogspot.com/2011/05/history-of-plastic-surgery.html
The history of plastic surgery goes as far back as 2000 B.C. In India and Egypt, ancient physicians experienced some forms of plastic surgery. In an article in the Washington Post by Thomas V. Di Bacco it is written that reeds were used in Egyptian nose reconstruction to keep the nostrils open as the nose healed.
In another part of the world Roman physicians, in the first century, practiced early beginnings of surgical methods to make some changes on the body. As we all know in Roman culture beauty of the human body was highly valued. For that reason, ancient Roman doctors operated on former gladiators whose bodies and faces had become severely damaged. Roman medical writer Aulus Cornelius Celsus wrote "De Medicina,” which outlined some of the techniques used in the practice of breast reduction and reconstruction of the ears, lips and noses – an important early text for plastic surgery.
After the fall of Rome at the end of the third century A.D., the progress of plastic surgery appears to have stalled for several hundred years. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the spread of Christianity forbade any kind of surgical changes to the body, as dictated by Pope Innocent III.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-07CLGr2Hlj8/Tclqo5aIR8I/AAAAAAAAAI4/1m_uaniD9WY/s1600/history-of-cosmetic-surgery.jpg)
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Here´s another...a false toe found on a female mummy near luxor.
(http://www.culture24.org.uk/asset_arena/0/30/84/348030/v0_master.jpg)
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that looks creepy..
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The Gladiator Diet
....Compared to the average inhabitant of Ephesus, gladiators ate more plants and very little animal protein. The vegetarian diet had nothing to do with poverty or animal rights. Gladiators, it seems, were fat. Consuming a lot of simple carbohydrates, such as barley, and legumes, like beans, was designed for survival in the arena. Packing in the carbs also packed on the pounds. "Gladiators needed subcutaneous fat," Grossschmidt explains. "A fat cushion protects you from cut wounds and shields nerves and blood vessels in a fight." Not only would a lean gladiator have been dead meat, he would have made for a bad show. Surface wounds "look more spectacular," says Grossschmidt. "If I get wounded but just in the fatty layer, I can fight on," he adds. "It doesn't hurt much, and it looks great for the spectators."...
read more - http://www.archaeology.org/0811/abstracts/gladiator.html
(http://www.lsg.musin.de/geschichte/Material/rundgaenge/amphi/tierkampf.jpg)
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I take it you chaps have already seen the Casale mosaics from Sicily. I saw them on TV a while back, but they are quite cool because they have: Bikini Girls!
In case anyone hasn't seen them they show young Roman women engaging in sporting activities:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Casale/800px-Casale_Bikini.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Casale/800px-Bikini_mosaic.jpg)
The Romans had Beach Volleyball, see.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Casale/Zumba.jpg)
And ZUMBA®! Just LIX sestertii plus P+P!
VII exhilarating workouts, all on I scroll! Available in (regionless) Papyrus and Parchment formats.
http://www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/visits/sicily/romana/ (http://www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/visits/sicily/romana/)
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Top notch find, Dylan. How said, nothing is really new in the modern world, everything repeats itself, even if in modified fashion :)
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Top notch find, Dylan. How said, nothing is really new in the modern world, everything repeats itself, even if in modified fashion :)
:) exactly..like these;
"Baghdad Battery" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_Battery
(http://www.world-mysteries.com/bat1b.jpg)
The "Dendera Light"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendera_light
(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/43ancients/04images/Egypt_Electric/Lamp01.jpg)
http://greaterancestors.com/?page_id=3313
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On the "nothing new" theme, does everyone already know that the Romans used a d20?
(http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz62/SteveFlanaganUK/2012%20-%2002%20-%20Feb/d4205385r.jpg)
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4205385 (http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=4205385)
Mind you, at $17,975.00 each, I think I'll stick with Chessex.
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Wow, Roman D20 :o indeed I i wouldn't believe that if someone said that to me.
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Gosh, who needs the Discovery Channel when we have this thread? :D
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I knew Romans had D6s (I've got some replica ones I bought at a Roman villa in France), but I didn't realise they had D20s too. Were they for D&D or Pendragon?
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"Nothing new" again. This time plumbing.. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK0NRgbZVmA&feature=player_embedded
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While ancient egyptians are regarded as the father of surgery Romans had several inventions that are still used today. Examples:
Insulae = block of apartments
aqueducts used in several places even today (The Hadrian Aqueduct constructed by Hadrian in Atehns was still in work till 1925 in Athens).
They constructed several (thousands) buildings standing till today thanks to a very unique invention, still used today.
Cement
Thus they were able to constuct buildings with bricks and small stones, no need to carve large stones like ancient greeks for example!
As for baghdad battery, it is supposed that for electrolyte they used grape juice!!!
As in the wiki article it is stated that there is no evidence of any use of electric power in the ancient world. But electricity is a greek word coming from Helectron the ancient name for amber! yes they knew about static electricity and yes Helctra was thus named because of her amber coloured eyes. However there is some kind of indirect information that Egyptians used electricity since Solon duriing his visit in Egypt did saw some lights that we can interepret in modern terms as electrical ones. Alas, to the moment there is no direct evidence.
BTW the technology level achieved by ancient people is amazing, otherwise they could not evolve, even the could not even make the transition between food gatherers to farmers.
Other known examples: Heron of Alexandria (around 43 BC) did invented a steam device and there is an enormous amount of data about automatons in ancient times or the what's called Antikythera mechanism ("computer" ?!?)
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When you start tod elve it does become extremely interesting 8)
cheers
James
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tod elve
No idea what it is :)
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Cement
Thus they were able to constuct buildings with bricks and small stones, no need to carve large stones like ancient greeks for example!
I thought the macedonians came up with that a bit earlier?
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Roman army multitool
(http://www.ablogabouthistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/tool.jpg)
Roman whistle
(http://www.benkane.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Roman-whistle-12.jpg)
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Stunning face hidden for thousands of years: Wooden sarcophagus is unearthed at Egyptian necropolis
Encased in soil, this extraordinarily delicate face emerges into the sun for the first time in thousands of years.
The wooden sarcophagus was unearthed by archaeologists at the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan, Egypt.
Believed to contain the body of a person of some rank, it boasts extraordinarily delicate features, well-preserved by the sands of time. Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2102035/Wooden-sarcophagus-dug-Aswan-tombs-Qubbet-el-Hawa.html
Beautiful face.
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102035-11B983EF000005DC-103_634x830.jpg)
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/16/article-2102035-11C5600F000005DC-105_634x404.jpg)
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Bulla Felix - A Roman Robin Hood
from the Roman History of Cassius Dio (http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/bulla.htm):
At this period Bulla, an Italian, brought together a robber band of about six hundred men, and for two years he plundered Italy, regardless of the proximity of the emperors and a large number of soldiers.
1 For he was hunted by many men at once, with the emperor Severus eager to track him down,
2 yet whenever he was sighted, he turned out not to have been sighted, whenever he was found, he turned out not to have been found, whenever he was hunted down, he turned out not to have been captured: so crafty was he, and so lavish with his presents. He received intelligence of everyone who was travelling out of Rome, and everyone who disembarked at Brundisium;
3 he knew who they were and how many were of the party and what and how much they had in their possession. Most people he would set free immediately, once he had taken a share of what they had; craftsmen, though, he detained for a while, and after he had employed them in work for him, he gave them something extra and let them go. Once, when two of his bandits had been captured and were about to be given to wild beasts, he came back and went to the keeper of the gaol.
4 He pretended to be the chief magistrate of his native region, and to have a need for some men who matched their description, and so he obtained custody of them and saved their lives. He also approached the centurion whose job was to put an end to the bandit gang and laid information against himself as if he were some other person. He undertook, if the officer would accompany him, to hand the robber over to him. So as if he were conducting him to Felix (for this was another name by which Bulla was known)
5 he led him into a ravine, a place that was overgrown with brushwood, and easily took him prisoner. After this he assumed the appearance of a magistrate and ascended the judgement tribunal. He formally summoned the centurion to answer to the court. Next, he had part of his hair shaved off, and said, “Take this message to your slave-masters: ‘Provide food for your slaves so that they do not turn to banditry.’?” For a large number of those he had with him were members of the Imperial establishment, some of whom had received very little pay, while others had had no payment at all. So Severus, who was informed of these various incidents, became angry because while he was winning the wars in Britain through his representatives there, in Italy, in his own person, he was being outmatched by a robber.
6 In the end he sent a tribune from his bodyguard with a large troop of horsemen, after he had threatened him with terrible consequences if he did not bring Bulla back alive. So this man it was who, after he had learned that Bulla was having sex with another man’s woman, persuaded her, by means of her husband, to co-operate with them, in return for a promise of immunity. As a result of this, Bulla was captured while he was sleeping in a cave. The prefect Papinian asked him, ‘Why did you become a robber?’ In reply, he justified himself by saying, ‘Why are you a prefect?’
7 After this, a proclamation was made and he was given to wild beasts. His band of robbers was broken up: to such an extent, it seems, did the whole strength of the six hundred lie in that one man.
Cassius Dio
(http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/125480000/125483002.JPG)
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Roman harvesting machine
(http://www.humanist.de/rome/harnessing/tech10.jpg)
Model
(http://www.villa.culture.fr/mediatheque/communs/images/grandFormat/0/113_2.jpg)
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The Tollund Man
The Tollund Man is the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the time period characterised in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age.He was found in 1950 buried in a peat bog on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, which preserved his body. Such a find is known as a bog body. The head and face were so well-preserved that he was mistaken at the time of discovery for a recent murder victim...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollund_Man
(http://avidcruiser.com/ftdc/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ftdc_windspirit-3624.jpg)
(http://wandervogeldiary.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/tumblr_lf00x594yk1qc6n7jo1_500.jpg)
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Bodies like this have been found in England and Ireland too. This must have been quite a widespread religious cult.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4589638.stm
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_enl_1136594420/img/laun.jpg)
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I saw the Tollund man during a holiday in Denmark to see Legoland :D
cheers
James
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looks like you are a man of many interests, Jim, first Lego, then Tollund man.. :D
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The one from Manchester is in the British Museum:
Lindow Man
(http://www.britishmuseum.org/images/ps219078_m.jpg)
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/l/lindow_man.aspx
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looks like you are a man of many interests, Jim, first Lego, then Tollund man.. :D
lol
It was actually part of the package and not something that I would have thought suitable for 12 year olds :o Interesting none the less. We also had a trip to Arhus and the historical part of the town which was great :)
cheers
James
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I saw the Tollund man during a holiday in Denmark to see Legoland Cheesy
You went on holiday just to see Legoland.............. :o
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Lindow Man
The man met a horrific death. He was struck on the top of his head twice with a heavy object, perhaps a narrow bladed axe. He also received a vicious blow in the back – perhaps from someone’s knee – which broke one of his ribs. He had a thin cord tied around his neck which may have been used to strangle him and break his neck. By now he was dead, but then his throat was cut. Finally, he was placed face down in a pool in the bog. This elaborate sequence of events suggests that his death may have been ritual killing. Some people have argued that he was the victim of a human sacrifice possibly carried out by Druids.
Now I'm afraid of druids..
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Now I'm afraid of druids..
We still have them in the UK................. >:(
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I realize I don't know much about druids, I always was thinking of them they were a kind of nice and peaceful celtic priests, doing their nature thing. Didn't know they made human sacrifices.
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I'm not sure they still do, but a film like Hot Fuzz can capitalise on the rumours: :D
Their violent nature is the main reason that the Romans tried to eradicate them.
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The Romans and the Druids
The Romans had met the Druids before in conquered Western Europe. While the Romans were happy to make a peaceful settlement with most tribes/groups in England, they had no intention of doing the same with the Druids.
The Druids were priests. The Britons both respected and feared them. It was believed that a Druid could see into the future – they also acted as teachers and judges. They were considered to be very learned people. It could take up to twenty years of learning to become a Druid. However, we do not know a great deal about what they learned as Druids were not allowed to write any of their knowledge down.
In their own way, the Druids were very religious. It was this particular issue that angered the Romans as the Druids sacrificed people to their gods. Caesar, in particular, was horrified by the practice and his writings give us a good idea of what went on in Druid ceremonies -though from his perspective only. The Romans had once sacrificed people but they now saw it as a barbaric practice that they could not tolerate in one of their colonies. The Romans determined that they would stamp out the Druids.
However, they had to be careful. The Druids travelled freely throughout England as the Britons were too scared to stop them. Therefore, they were not simply in one place where the Romans could attack in force. In AD 54, the Emperor Claudius banned the Druids. In AD 60, the governor of England, Suetonius, decided that the only way to proceed was to attack the known heartland of the Druids – the island of Anglesey in the hope that if the centre of the Druids was destroyed, those Druids in outlying areas would die out.
Boats were built for the Roman foot soldiers while the Roman cavalry swam across with their horses. The Druids shouted abuse at the Romans and cursed them but they could not stop the Roman army from landing. Any ceremonial sites on Anglesey used by the Druids were also destroyed but many of them were in secret places and some survived.
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It's probably horribly out of date now but I first ran into Tollund Man in a book called The Bog People by a writer called P V Glob. Even better it was pronounced "Glerb".
One of those perfect names for a subject expert.
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Groma.
An incredible bit of kit this....as accurate as a Theodolite/double pentagram...We (at UNI) tested my reconstructed one against a modern theodolite and both came up with the same results
(http://blog.edidablog.it/edidablog/tuautem/files/2009/11/Groma.jpg)
Add a bit of maths...(and a Chorobates) and you can construct the colosseum with it. :)
(http://www.the-colosseum.net/images/arena_groma.jpg)
http://www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/ellipsis.htm
Chorobates
(http://haegar.fh-swf.de/boehme/ringvorlesung/chorobat1.jpg)
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Read about Groma just yesterday, a stunning device, indeed!
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Read about Groma just yesterday, a stunning device, indeed!
The idea is incredibly simple...basically the 3/4/5 Pythagoras' theorem. It was simple to make one as well.
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Animals Mummified by the Millions in Ancient Egypt
Millions of animals were ritually slaughtered in ancient Egypt to foster a huge mummification industry that even drove some species extinct.
As an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. shows, almost no animals escaped the carnage.
Although pets died of natural causes before their mummification, and sacred beasts were pampered by adoring priests, most animals in ancient Egypt had miserable, short lives.
http://news.discovery.com/history/mummified-animals-egypt-120106.html
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I find it amazing that the early archeologists had millions of mummified cats, dogs, crocodiles and even people burnt to produce potash fertilizer!!
This one found in peru!!!
(http://www.pinktentacle.com/images/monster_mummy_3.jpg)
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Very Lovecraftian. ;)
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Looking more like instruments of torture than medical devices...ancient Roman Vaginal Speculums!!
(http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/object_images/535x535/10284896.jpg)
(http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/roman_surgical/images/vaginalSpeculum2_e.jpg)
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World's earliest known artificial eyeball in Shahr-e_Sukhteh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahr-e_Sukhteh
In December 2006, archaeologists discovered the world's earliest known artificial eyeball. It has a hemispherical form and a diameter of just over 2.5 cm (1 inch). It consists of very light material, probably bitumen paste. The surface of the artificial eye is covered with a thin layer of gold, engraved with a central circle (representing the iris) and gold lines patterned like sun rays. The female remains found with the artificial eye was 1.82 m tall (6 feet), much taller than ordinary women of her time. On both sides of the eye are drilled tiny holes, through which a golden thread could hold the eyeball in place. Since microscopic research has shown that the eye socket showed clear imprints of the golden thread, the eyeball must have been worn during her lifetime. The woman's skeleton has been dated to between 2900 and 2800 BCE.
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Golden Eye? :o
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It looks like the model for a T-800!!
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A 6 foot tall woman with an artificial gold eye? That's one to remember if I ever do ancient Mesopotamia.
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Huge Gladiator School Found Buried in Austria
"Important" find boasts amphitheater, was nearly as big as two Walmarts.
Archaeologists working outside Vienna, Austria, have discovered the remains of a huge school for ancient Roman gladiators—a complex so extensive that it rivals the training grounds outside Rome's Colosseum.
The newly located facility includes features never before seen at a Roman gladiators' school, or ludus, such as traces of a wooden training dummy. And outside the gates, the researchers discovered what they call the first known gladiators' cemetery on the grounds of a ludus.
read more - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/110913-gladiator-school-austria-roman-ancient-walmarts-science/
(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/401/cache/car-ludus-suedwest-nordost_40132_600x450.jpg)
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A prostitutes "cell" in the lupanar at Pompeii ( lupanar or lupanarium, from lupa, "she-wolf,")
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Pompeya_interior_del_lupanar.jpg/557px-Pompeya_interior_del_lupanar.jpg)
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Dwarfs in Ancient Egypt
There were two kinds of dwarfs known in ancient Egypt, the African pygmies and the Egyptian dwarfs. The African pygmies had hereditary dwarfism. These pygmies originated in the equatorial forests of Central Africa. The Ancient Egyptians brought them to Egypt from their trade stations in Nubia. The first pygmy was brought from Punt in the time of King Asosi of the Fifth Dynasty. Another was brought by Herkhuf from the land of Iam in Upper Nubia for the child King Pepi the Second.
The role of the African pygmies was to perform a dance called "the dance for god" or to dance in the royal palace to rejoice the king's heart.
The Egyptian dwarfs had a deformity in their bodies. A big head, a normal trunk, and short arms and legs characterized these dwarfs. These dwarfs were frequently placed in charge of pet animals. The Egyptian dwarfs also engaged in jewelry making.
Since the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, they served as attendants to their masters. The most famous Egyptian dwarf was Seneb, who lived during the Fifth Dynasty. He was a high official with many social, religious, and honorary titles. He was married to a normal-sized woman and he was buried in a magnificent tomb, close to King Khufu's pyramid at the Giza necropolis.
http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?ee_website_action_key=action.display.module&language_id=1&story_id=5&module_id=100
Bes, ancient Egyptian Dwarf God
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cJPshriOKTw/TsPUZYEtKTI/AAAAAAAACDo/WE32YTy55tQ/s1600/bes.jpg) (http://www.rickriordan.com/Files/Images/Bes.jpg)
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Do you know what it is? :)
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Measure for spices?
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TV dinner tray...
No, wait. Gladiatorial combat dinner tray :D
cheers
James
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Muffins mould?
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Where you place the "pétanque" balls? ;)
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That is my paint palette :)
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Yeah, the watercolour blocks we had at primary school would have fitted in those holes nicely.
Matter of fact, I reckon the watercolour blocks at my primary school were probably school supplies the Romans left behind.
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...or a hypocaustic egg poacher... ;)
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The designs look eastern..india maybe.
it´s either a gaming table or for keeping spices in..but the lids are missing
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Answer - Israelite cosmetics tray
This decorated cosmetics tray is made of sandstone and dates to the ninth century B.C.E. Although the few Biblical references to makeup seem to have a somewhat negative connotation, archaeological excavations throughout the areas of Israel and Judah have turned up numes similar trays and other cosmetic accessories, indicating that the use of cosmetics was rather popular among the ancient Israelites.
Makeup was often used by both men and women for hygienic or medicinal purposes, as well as for beautification. Various roots, minerals and other substances were ground up and mixed with oil or water in a tray like this to create the different kinds of makeup. It was then applied with the fingers, a brush or a small spatula, many of which have also been discovered at ancient sites.
:)
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For me,my ancients fascination has always been the Sarmatians (no surprise there then... ;)), and the idea that the Sarmatians were the inspiration for the Arthur myth (Sarmatians were stationed in Britain). An interesting book has been written 'From Scythia to Camelot' by Littleton and Malcor. Some would suggest such a premise is rubbish,I rather like it,and when one deals with Arthur,well,he is a myth (I think?) so no harm done.
It would be too easy to just post links to several scholars' blogs who quite ably point out that Littleton and Malcor's premise is indeed rubbish.
But if you're interested in Sarmatians, especially Sarmatians in Britain, I recommend as inspiration Gillian Bradshaw's excellent novel "Island of Ghosts", which is based on the *historical* introduction of Sarmatian numeri into Britain by Marcus Aurelius. Reviews:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_rev_islandghosts.htm
http://us.macmillan.com/islandofghosts/GillianBradshaw
A good read, and it's easy to adapt several sequences into wargames scenarios, from skirmishes to substantial battles.
There's no need to spoil perfectly good myths by trying to connect them with history that simply does not fit!
Allen
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Scythian Archers – Police force of Athen?
In Athens the so-called “Scythian Archers,” who may or may not have been from Scythia and who may or may not have been archers, served as a police force, keeping order in public gatherings (the Council, the Assembly, and the Agora) and perhaps authorized to use force against citizens under certain circumstances.
Read more: http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/scythian_archers.pdf
(http://www.greeceathensaegeaninfo.com/a-ath/pynx/archer.gif)
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Scythian archers:
They were foreigners (most from Scythia but not quite necessary) and servants belonging to the Politeia (State) i.e. they were public slaves.
Initially they were scythians but later who knows, at school we learned that they were appox. 600. In the text provided it is not clear but the scythians archers (police) were never a part of the Athens army, since slaves were not accepted in their ranks. Initially the army was only athenian citizens while later they included metoikous (immigrants) that were settled for long time (more that 10 years) in the Athens area. Slaves could follow the army as camp followers, servants etc. As you can see a military organised forced of 600 or 1000 policemen inside the town was always a fear so, in order to reduce the power of the leaders all the main officials of the Athenian state were elected in their positions every year.
Further to the above, today I got a new research paper not yet printed claiming that "long" distance seafaring has started much earlier than it was though. Some time between 110kyBP - 200 kyBP (thousand years before present) and Neanderthals were the first to probe seafaring. The claim is based on archaeological evidence found in insulated islands of the aegean and ionian sea.
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Ooh Scythians,which brings me Sarmatian women warriors,perhaps the origin of the Amazons? Certainly weapons and warlike gear have been found in female tombs on the Pontic steppe.
According to Herodotus women of the Sauromatae (Sarmatians) hunted,shot bows and threw javelins from horseback.and went to war dressed in the same clothing as men.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazons
(http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww281/greywolf1066/amazonsjpgrussian1.jpg)
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I love words like "Scythian" that will always confuse us. This is one of those lovely terms we will never fully understand and completely grasp, like "Peltast". Lovely how in our national-state mindset we try to grasp something in absolutes, that was probably a very loose term throughout antiquity.
In one of our excavations in the Northwest of Greece, we found a tombstone with the name Dindylas on it... It doesn't sound Greek to me and the epigraphic experts couldn't place the name. I always wanted to imagine him as a Scythian mercenary. :)
Lovely thread, Prof!
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And nicely said aecurtis :)
I love words like "Scythian" that will always confuse us. This is one of those lovely terms we will never fully understand and completely grasp, like "Peltast". Lovely how in our national-state mindset we try to grasp something in absolutes, that was probably a very loose term throughout antiquity.
In one of our excavations in the Northwest of Greece, we found a tombstone with the name Dindylas on it... It doesn't sound Greek to me and the epigraphic experts couldn't place the name. I always wanted to imagine him as a Scythian mercenary. :)
Lovely thread, Prof!
Yes it's wonderful,I do the same thing ;)
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For me,my ancients fascination has always been the Sarmatians (no surprise there then... ;)), and the idea that the Sarmatians were the inspiration for the Arthur myth (Sarmatians were stationed in Britain). An interesting book has been written 'From Scythia to Camelot' by Littleton and Malcor. Some would suggest such a premise is rubbish,I rather like it,and when one deals with Arthur,well,he is a myth (I think?) so no harm done.
I don't call it rubbish. The Romans sent troops from everywhere as garrisons everywhere else in their Empire, so Asian cavalry in Great Britain would not be surprising. There is no proof and I wouldn't say that all the (so-called) Round Table knights were Sarmatians, but some influence is possible.
Question : where do you think this guy is from?
(http://www.argad-bzh.fr/heb/pjhelias.jpg)
...Some BoB country? Mongolia? China ?
No his name is P-J Hélias he was a well-known Breton writer in the 20th century, from the "Bigouden" area a small part of south-west Brittany where people have some Asian look. There is no explanation. Perhaps a Late Roman Hunnic garrison was there...? But DNA does not confirm it.
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No I don't think it's rubbish either,there definitely were Sarmatians in Britain and Alans in Brittany (which certainly may explain Mr Helias).
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"Asian cavalry in Great Britain would not be surprising."
The Sarmatians in Britain are well-documented. In his history of Rome (Book 71), Cassius Dio informs us that after defeating them, Marcus Aurelius packed off 5500 Iazyges to Britain. It's this event on which Ms.Bradshaw bases her "Island of Ghosts".
The problem is conflating the historical Lucius Artorius Castus of the 180s CE and the mythological "King Arthur". Castus is interesting: having served as a centurion in four legions, he subsequently became a primus pilus, then a legionary prefect, then a procurator (in Illyricum, where his tombstone documents his achievements). At one point while still in Britain, he had the title "Dux legionum et alarum Britannicarum" while commanding an expedition against Armorica!
But as a fairly bog-standard infantry soldier who achieved moderate success, and died and was buried in the former Yugoslavia, he doesn't make a very good candidate for a brilliant cavalry leader whose successes were maintained over three centuries of Romano-British tradition as the character, or possibly title, "Artos". It just doesn't pass the common sense test.
Back to Armorica, Brittany--and the Alans. I have a soft spot for "my peeps" (that's where the praenomen "Alan/Allan/Allen" comes from, after all)! I recommend getting one's hands on a copy (probably only through libraries, these days) of Bernard Bachrach's "A History of the Alans in the West; From Their First Appearance in the Sources of Classical Antiquity Through the Early Middle Ages". It's much easier to make a credible connection from the settlement of Alans in Brittany through to the Breton cavalry accompanying William the Bastard in 1066 (or even Alan Fergant, Duke of Brittany, going with his knights on the First Crusade) than it is to connect Centurion Castus to the "Arthur" of literature.
Allen
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P.S. The historical Duke Alan Fergant of the c.11th had an illegitimate son, Brien FitzCount, who was a supporter of Empress Matilda during the c.12th civil war with Stephen. The historical Brien was transformed into the literary character Brian del Illes in the c.13th Arthurian romance "Perlesvaus", in which he appears as a contemporary of Arthur, Kay, Percival, and the rest--and as an enemy of Arthur. See what I did there? lol
Allen
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Yes lol lol lol
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The massive European network of Stone Age tunnels that weaves from Scotland to Turkey
Stone Age man created a massive network of underground tunnels criss-crossing Europe from Scotland to Turkey, a new book on the ancient superhighways has claimed.
German archaeologist Dr Heinrich Kusch said evidence of the tunnels has been found under hundreds of Neolithic settlements all over the continent.
In his book - Secrets Of The Underground Door To An Ancient World - he claims the fact that so many have survived after 12,000 years shows that the original tunnel network must have been enormous.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2022322/The-massive-European-network-Stone-Age-tunnels-weaves-Scotland-Turkey.html#ixzz1oAm0zArj
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/08/article-2022322-0D47A59700000578-168_634x882.jpg)
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/08/08/article-2022322-0D47A58500000578-207_634x744.jpg)
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:o From scotland to turkey!!!! but surely earthquakes etc would have collapsed nearly all of them ?
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Er... it says that there are some in Scotland and some in Turkey. It surely doesn't mean that one tunnel went from Scotland to Turkey?
And from Scotland and Turkey, to Moria too ?
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I saw a documentary in Japan about those tunnels. Very interesting (well, getting what I could from a rough translation from my wife lol ).
cheers
James
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Er... it says that there are some in Scotland and some in Turkey. It surely doesn't mean that one tunnel went from Scotland to Turkey?
And from Scotland and Turkey, to Moria too ?
I wouldn't take all that too seoriously, the author is just trying to earn some money with his book. Till now he just found some old tunnels. Almost every town in Europe has underground tunnels. I wouldn't go so far and claim they're part of a former global europe-wide-net. But certainly an inspiring idea.
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I wouldn't take all that too seoriously, the author is just trying to earn some money with his book. Till now he just found some old tunnels. Almost every town in Europe has underground tunnels. I wouldn't go so far and claim they're part of a former global europe-wide-net. But certainly an inspiring idea.
I read a book once where they found a new country at the back of a wardrobe............ lol
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I read a book once where they found a new country at the back of a wardrobe............ lol
damn, you beat me to it! I wanted to post news about it to this thread tommorrow :D
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The fate of the Ninth
The curious disappearance of Legio VIIII Hispana
No news on the country at the back of wardrobe today but an interesting article about the famous Ninth Legion
(just an addition to the discussion on the film The Eagle - http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=38856.0)
http://ancient-warfare.com/pdf/web/AWIV-5/fateoftheninth.pdf
(http://www.technology2skill.com/stock_market/picture/rome_war.png)
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Sibylline Books
The Sibylline Books or Libri Sibyllini were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous crises through the history of the Republic and the Empire. Only fragments have survived, the rest being lost or deliberately destroyed....
...The story of the acquisition of the Sibylline Books by Tarquinius is one of the famous mythic elements of Roman history. The Cumaean Sibyl offered to Tarquinius nine books of these prophecies; and as the king declined to purchase them, owing to the exorbitant price she demanded, she burned three and offered the remaining six to Tarquinius at the same stiff price, which he again refused, whereupon she burned three more and repeated her offer. Tarquinius then relented and purchased the last three at the full original price and had them preserved in a vault beneath the Capitoline temple of Jupiter...
...The Roman Senate kept tight control over the Sibylline Books;[1] Sibylline Books were entrusted to the care of two patricians; after 367 BC ten custodians were appointed, five patricians and five plebeians, who were called the decemviri sacris faciundis; subsequently (probably in the time of Sulla) their number was increased to fifteen, the quindecimviri sacris faciundis. They were usually ex-consuls or ex-praetors. They held office for life, and were exempt from all other public duties. They had the responsibility of keeping the books in safety and secrecy. These officials, at the command of the Senate, consulted the Sibylline Books in order to discover not exact predictions of definite future events in the form of prophecy but the religious observances necessary to avert extraordinary calamities and to expiate ominous prodigies (comets and earthquakes, showers of stones, plague, and the like)...
...The books were kept in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, and, when the temple burned in 83 BC, they were lost. The Roman Senate sent envoys in 76 BC to replace them with a collection of similar oracular sayings, in particular collected from Ilium, Erythrae, Samos, Sicily, and Africa.[citation needed] This new Sibylline collection was deposited in the restored temple, together with similar sayings of native origin, e.g. those of the Sibyl at Tibur (the 'Tiburtine Sibyl') of the brothers Marcius, and others. The priests then sorted them, retaining only those that appeared true to them (Tacitus, Annales, VI, 12). From the Capitol, they were transferred by Augustus as pontifex maximus in 12 BC, to the temple of Apollo Patrous on the Palatine, after they had been examined and copied; there they remained until about AD 405. According to the poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus, the general Flavius Stilicho (died AD 408) burned them, as they were used to attack his government.
read more - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibylline_Books
what a gaming scenario!
(http://www.traditioninaction.org/Cultural/images/A055_tarquin.jpg)
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2895 Ancient Buddha statues discovered in China
More than 2,000 ancient Buddha statues have been unearthed by archaeologists in Chinas Hebei province, highlighting the popularity of Buddhism in the country ever since it spread from India.
The 2,895 Buddha statues and fragments dating back to the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi period (534-577) were found in the historic site of Yecheng, Linzhang county.
The statues are made of white marble and blue stone and some are painted or gilded, according to archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage.
Zhang Wenrui, an official with the Hebei Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage, said the sizes of the statues range from 20 centimetres long to the size of an actual person, and the archaeologists are repairing the statues for protection and research, state-run Xinhua news agency reported .
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http://itvnewsindia.com/over-2000-ancient-buddha-statues-discovered-china
(http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/statue-budhdha.jpg)
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All Hail The New King
A new king has been added to the long list of ancient pharaohs, the Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities, Mohamed Ibrahim, announced this week.
The king's name, Senakht-en-Re, emerged from the engraved remains of a limestone door found by a French-Egyptian team in the Temple of Karnak complex on Luxor’s east bank.
The archaeologists, led by French Egyptologist Christophe Thiers, of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), unearthed a fragmented lintel and an imposing door jamb during routine excavation at the temple of Ptah.
Belonging to an administrative structure dating to the enigmatic 17th Dynasty (about 1634-1543 BC) the limestone remains featured hieroglyphics which indicated that the door was dedicated to Amun-Re...
read more - http://news.discovery.com/history/new-king-120307.html
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a nice article about Roman heroism, part one.
The Gladiatorial Eagles : Roman Heroism and Single Combat on Early Battlefields. Part One – Beginnings
The idea of single combat in the Roman Empire immediately evokes the powerful image of the gladiator standing over a downed opponent, his gladius raised for the glory of the patron of the games, the crowds embroiled with the bloodlust so easily awakened. What is less known is this gladiatorial ethos in the context of open battle. Instead of the mobs of the Empire, the spectators would be two opposing armies, cheering on their own champion..
Read more - http://www.heritagedaily.com/2012/03/the-gladiatorial-eagles-roman-heroism-and-single-combat-on-early-battlefields-part-one-beginnings/
(http://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/glad111-1024x694.jpg)
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Excellent article, Alex.
And spot on I would say.
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A story I read on Friday:
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/09/article-2112499-1218A476000005DC-583_634x692.jpg)
Iron Age murder mystery as CT scan shows British man from 100AD was beaten, strangled, then beheaded in 'pagan ritual'
By Rob Waugh
Archaeologists have solved a 1900-year-old 'cold case' mystery - using a medical CT scanner to scan the head of an Iron Age murder victim.
The preserved head of the second century Briton - known as The Worsley Man due to his location near Salford - was found in a peat bog in 1958.
The scan shows he as bludgeoned over the head, garrotted and then beheaded - leading archaeologists to suspect he was sacrificed.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2112499/
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The scan shows he as bludgeoned over the head, garrotted and then beheaded - leading archaeologists to suspect he was sacrificed.
Or perhaps he was just really unpopular.
Archaeologists tend to reach for ritual when they don't know what's going on. In the Middle Ages we used to hang, draw and quarter people, but that wasn't a sacrifice, it was an exemplary punishment. All we know about this killing was that it was elaborate - anything about motives is a "just so" story.
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Agree, Steve. I’ve noticed these “ritual sacrifice victim found again!” news a bit too often in the last years. It just seems to be more appealing to the readers to read about an ancient mysterious ritual than about a victim of simple brutality.
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Looks like he was attacked with a staple gun by an irate office worker ;)
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Or perhaps he was just really unpopular.
Archaeologists tend to reach for ritual when they don't know what's going on. In the Middle Ages we used to hang, draw and quarter people, but that wasn't a sacrifice, it was an exemplary punishment. All we know about this killing was that it was elaborate - anything about motives is a "just so" story.
Haha...as a professional archaeologist I find this statement quite funny...because its so TRUE. When we are on a dig and find something we can't identify we ofter jokingly come up with all kinds of cultic uses for it...even its a random piece of wood. Its quite fun.....and tongue in cheek of course. Luckily I typically work with historic period sites...so the actual "ritualistic" items are fairly identifiable... lol
Cheers,
Blue
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Or perhaps he was just really unpopular.
lol lol lol
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as a professional archaeologist
Wow, we've got a real archaeologist in our crowd! Blue, now you just have to tell us about your "Indiana" experiences ;D
seriously, would love to hear more about your work if possible.
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We ran across a "professional" (English Heritage) archaeologist once, at Avebury. He was enthusiastically explaining ley lines to the punters. We quietly tip-toed away...
Allen
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We ran across a "professional" (English Heritage) archaeologist once, at Avebury. He was enthusiastically explaining ley lines to the punters. We quietly tip-toed away...
lol
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Goliath and the Exodus Giants: How Tall Were They?
By Clyde E. Billington
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol.50:3 (2007)
Introduction: Professor Daniel Hays, in his article Reconsidering the Height of Goliath in the December 2005 issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, argued that the giant Goliath, who was killed by David, was only 6 feet 9 inches tall and not 9 feet 9 inches. The key passage on the height of Goliath is I Sam 17:4-7, which reads as follows:
4. Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze.
6. He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders.
7. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver‘s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield carrier also walked before him. [NASB]
read more -
http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2012/03/goliath-and-the-exodus-giants-how-tall-were-they/
http://tccsa.tc/articles/goliath_and_giants.pdf
(http://historyoftheancientworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Osmar_Schindler_David_und_Goliath-293x400.jpg)
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Very interesting read. I love stuff like this.
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In old texts, any tall and strong guy was "a giant". Especially when the purpose of the text was to glorify an other guy who killed him.
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Wasn´t the height requirement of Roman legionaries something like 6Ft which makes Goliath tall but not that much taller.
Maybe it was a bit like this; The german is 6 foot 7 tall
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/09/article-0-09F5988B000005DC-521_468x678.jpg)
or better still...this;
(http://www.lostbattalions.com/pix/Funny4.jpg)
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Wasn´t the height requirement of Roman legionaries something like 6Ft
I thought that the average height of a 1st century Roman legionary was about 5 feet 4 inches (British/imperial measurement), but I'm remembering that from an exhibition at the Lunt fort when I was about 10, so I could be mistaken.
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Prospective recruits had to undergo an examination. Recruits had to be 20–25 years of age, a range that was extended to 19–35 in the later 4th century. Recruits had to be physically fit and meet the traditional minimum height requirement of 6 Roman feet (5 ft 10in, 175 cm) until 367, when it was reduced to 5 Roman feet and 3 Roman palms (5 ft 7in, 167 cm).
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Elephants as Enemies in Ancient Rome
by Jo-Ann Shelton
The ancient Romans enjoyed watching spectacles in which elephants were tormented or killed because these animals had been endowed with symbolic significance. They were identified as agents both of a hostile nature which threatened human security, and of the human military opponents which had challenged the Romans in the third century BCE. The purpose of this paper is to explore the identification which the Romans made between elephants and enemies and to propose that this identification caused them to view elephants as a particularly satisfying target for abuse. I will examine how ancient writers reflected, fostered and exploited the association of elephants with adversaries, and I will discuss how the ability to dominate elephants in an arena spectacle symbolized Rome’s ability to conquer, to civilize, and to bend both the natural and political worlds to its will.
read more - http://www.concentric-literature.url.tw/issues/Animals/1.pdf
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Sad for these poor animals. But not surprising.
Elephants were the biggest mythic beasts the Romans could think about, they did not know about dinosaurs.
Look what Spielberg did to a poor unlucky T.Rex which was only looking for cheap food (in Jurassic Park). Same fate as these elephants: death of an animal for public entertainment of human beings. :D
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The African Elephant that the Carthaginians used is now sadly long extinct it is said it was a close relative of the African forest Elephant but not so highly strung. It and the Forest Elephant grow no more than 8 feet tall and may have only had a driver and one other sitting on it in battle. It is also not 100% proven that it carried a tower. After Rome had taken North Africa this Elephant was hunted down for the games and there are contemporary writings in the 100’s/200’s that this Elephant was virtually impossible to get for the games anymore. The Romans took revenge to an extreme.
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Rome's Lost Aqueduct
Few monuments that survive from antiquity better represent Roman pragmatism, ingenuity, and the desire to impress than the aqueducts built to fulfill the Romans’ seemingly unslakable need for water. Around the turn of the second century A.D., the emperor Trajan began construction on a new aqueduct for the city of Rome. At the time, demands on the city’s water supply were enormous. In addition to satisfying the utilitarian needs of Rome’s one million inhabitants, as well as that of wealthy residents in their rural and suburban villas, water fed impressive public baths and monumental fountains throughout the city. Although the system was already sufficient, the desire to build aqueducts was often more a matter of ideology than absolute need...
read more - http://www.archaeology.org/1203/features/rome_aqua_traiana_aqueduct_carestia.html
(http://www.archaeology.org/1203/features/images/rome_aqua_traiana_aqueduct_carestia1.jpg)
(http://www.archaeology.org/1203/features/images/rome_aqua_traiana_aqueduct_carestia5.jpg)
(http://www.archaeology.org/1203/features/images/rome_aqua_traiana_aqueduct_carestia7.jpg)
(http://www.archaeology.org/1203/features/images/rome_aqua_traiana_aqueduct_carestia9.jpg)
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Plague of Athens
The Plague of Athens was a devastating epidemic which hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 BC), when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. It is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies. The city-state of Sparta, and much of the eastern Mediterranean, was also struck by the disease. The plague returned twice more, in 429 BC and in the winter of 427/6 BC.
In his History of the Peloponnesian War, the contemporary historian Thucydides described the coming of an epidemic disease which began in Ethiopia, passed through Egypt and Libya, and then to the Greek world. The epidemic broke out in the overcrowded city. Athens lost perhaps one third of the people sheltered within its walls. The sight of the burning funeral pyres of Athens caused the Spartan army to withdraw for fear of the disease. It killed many of Athens's infantry, some expert seamen and their leader Pericles, who died during one of the secondary outbreaks in 429 BC. After the death of Pericles, Athens was led by a succession of incompetent or weak leaders. According to Thucydides, it was not until 415 BC that the Athenian population had recovered sufficiently to mount the disastrous Sicilian Expedition.
read more - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_of_Athens
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Scientist made DNA research from a skeleton of a young girl who died during the Athens plague.
The plague was typhoid fever.
They continued and reconstructed the face of her. This is Myrtis.
More here:
http://www.myrtis.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=56&lang=en
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I don't call it rubbish. The Romans sent troops from everywhere as garrisons everywhere else in their Empire, so Asian cavalry in Great Britain would not be surprising. There is no proof and I wouldn't say that all the (so-called) Round Table knights were Sarmatians, but some influence is possible.
Question : where do you think this guy is from?
(http://www.argad-bzh.fr/heb/pjhelias.jpg)
...Some BoB country? Mongolia? China ?
No his name is P-J Hélias he was a well-known Breton writer in the 20th century, from the "Bigouden" area a small part of south-west Brittany where people have some Asian look. There is no explanation. Perhaps a Late Roman Hunnic garrison was there...? But DNA does not confirm it.
Reading this I remember seeing a documentary on TV (20 years ago?) that claimed that remnants of Attilas army stayed in Gaul. In fact, fairly close to the Catalaunian fields (the place of the decisive battle between Huns and Romans) there is suppoed to be a small village in which most newborns displayed what was known as the "Hun-spot" (I'm translating from German as I remember the documentary...), a dark spot on the lower back (not THAT low, people), which disappears after a few years and is also known in certain groups of Mongols. The theory behind it ran something like this: after the battle parts of th Attila's troops were either captured or got lost or whatever and finally settled down/were forced to settle down in that area. Though not really distinct after having intermingled with the population of that area, the ancestors of that village seemed to have been Asian, more specifically of Mongolian descent.
I don't know if that theory is still around but it does seem a plausible thing.
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just some older pictures I've found on internet..I find them quite inspiring.
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some more
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(http://www.argad-bzh.fr/heb/roman-cooking.jpg)
I did not know they had cooking classes for desperate housewives in Roman times!
Nice Tupperware bowl they have.
lol
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Nice Tupperware bowl they have.
another invention of the Romans lol
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Ahh, but where are they when you want to claim on the lifetime guarantee? lol
another invention of the Romans lol
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the most beautiful sea port of ancient times..
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Where is the model of Carthage, Prof?
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Somewhere in Tunis. I've found the photo on this blog and there unfortunately no further details.
http://alixandjace.blogspot.de/2010/12/carthage.html
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Nice!!
Somewhere in Tunis. I've found the photo on this blog and there unfortunately no further details.
http://alixandjace.blogspot.de/2010/12/carthage.html
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Never seen this before, most impressive. Thanks for posting. :o
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Their other posts/links are interesting.
A TV article I recently watched showed the Tunisian "Roman" Hollywood that has been built to provide stage settings for movie making. Not sure where it is but very tempted to make a side trip from Spain or France. 8)
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I've seen the model a few time but I do like the different artists impressions.
cheers
James
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That is a beautiful model of the harbor, thanks for sharing! For anyone interested in re-creating it in 1/1200 Rod Langton has a great line of ancient buildings to go with his ships and he does the Carthaginian ship shed. http://www.rodlangton.com/ancient/ancframe.htm (http://www.rodlangton.com/ancient/ancframe.htm)
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Please, don't show me any Ancient naval ranges! An old dream, wanted to do something like that being a child and reading about battle of Salamis.
I just have to resist :)
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I started to dive into it myself, but sold them off before getting in too deep. I keep wanting to build a model harbor though (for no particular reason).
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Antikythera Mechanism
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/NAMA_Machine_d%27Anticyth%C3%A8re_1.jpg/280px-NAMA_Machine_d%27Anticyth%C3%A8re_1.jpg)
What´s it for???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
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Stunning piece of mechanical art!
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The thing about is they don´t really know what it´s for but it appears pretty similar to later Astrolabes
http://www.astrolabes.org/history.htm
The medieval ones were as big as the palm of the hand and apparently could be used to store dates of meetings, places etc.
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Didn't someone recently recreate that with legos?
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Found: Ancient Warrior's Helmet, Owner Unknown.
A 2,600-year-old bronze helmet is found in the waters of Haifa Bay, in Israel.
http://news.discovery.com/history/ancient-greek-helmet-120229.html
A Greek bronze helmet, covered with gold leaf and decorated with snakes, lions and a peacock's tail (or palmette), has been discovered in the waters of Haifa Bay in Israel. But how this helmet ended up at the bottom of the bay is a mystery.
The helmet dates back around 2,600 years and likely belonged to a wealthy Greek mercenary who took part in a series of wars, immortalized in the Bible, which ravaged the region at that time. Archaeologists believe that he likely fought for an Egyptian pharaoh named Necho II.
(http://news.discovery.com/history/2012/02/29/greek-helmet-zoom.jpg)
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There looks to be some very intricate scribe work on there 8)
cheers
James
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A lost Roman legion in China?
Before the age of the Emperors, when the Republic of Rome was beginning to show the cracks of exploitation and exceedingly unable to feed from it's bosom the power hungry hyenas that were laughing at the gates.
The year was 53 BC, Caesar was enforcing civilisation in Gaul and the politics of empire danced their dangerous dance around the Vestal flame. In the midst of this turbulence, 10,000 ravaged, beaten and humiliated soldiers of a once proud Roman army were marched under the yoke into the mists of time, never to be heard of again....or were they?
Through additional research on the Lost Roman Legion, Paddy Lambert has released a new chapter of this exciting saga....
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/09/a-lost-roman-legion-in-china-part-1/
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/09/a-lost-roman-legion-in-china-part-2/
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/09/part-3-a-lost-roman-legion-in-china/
(http://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/romanlegion11.jpg)
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Blooper: The picture of the Macedonian phalanx that they use in part 2 looks like Sumerians from a much earlier age!!!!!! lol
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I had the notion that I had seen that carthagian harbour before. lol
http://www.hamburger-tactica.de/tactica/img/fotos_2008/08_Seeschlachten/naval.html
Especially the yellow wallpaper and the door make it quite obviously. Only the lighthouse was AWOL.
njetkulturny
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http://www.hamburger-tactica.de/tactica/img/fotos_2008/08_Seeschlachten/naval.html
:o awesome!
(http://www.hamburger-tactica.de/tactica/img/fotos_2008/08_Seeschlachten/Tactica2008_Seeschlachten_03.JPG)
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A lost Roman legion in China?
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/09/a-lost-roman-legion-in-china-part-1/
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/09/a-lost-roman-legion-in-china-part-2/
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/09/part-3-a-lost-roman-legion-in-china/
(http://www.heritagedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/romanlegion11.jpg)
There are the same discussions as in the subject "what happens with the survivors of the 70000! roman soldiers after the battle of edessa 259 AD?"
One of the greatest disasters in roman history....
In my opinion, the roman history is one of the most interesting periods in human history and its a shame, that we know so few about it....
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Even if it isn't true, things of this nature are very endearing :)
There is a seris on BBC1 I think (UK TV channel) about lost cities of the ancients and it's very interesting 8) (I'm watching it on iplayer).
cheers
James
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF7hR2-Hv4I
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Heron also allegedly invented the first automatic door. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzKhPZi8IuQ
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galba
1 January 69, two legions in Germania Superior refused to swear loyalty to Galba. They toppled his statues, demanding that a new emperor be chosen. On the following day, the soldiers of Germania Inferior also rebelled and took the decision of who should be the next emperor into their own hands, proclaiming the governor of the province, Vitellius, as Emperor. This outbreak of revolt made Galba aware of his own unpopularity and of the general discontent. In order to check the rising storm, he adopted as his coadjutor and successor L. Calpurnius Piso. The populace regarded the choice of successor as a sign of fear and the Praetorians were indignant, because the usual donative was not forthcoming.
Salvius Otho, formerly governor of Lusitania, and one of Galba's earliest supporters, disappointed at not being chosen instead of Piso, entered into communication with the discontented Praetorians, and was adopted by them as their emperor. Galba at once set out to meet the rebels, though he was so feeble that he had to be carried in a litter. He was met by a troop of Otho's cavalry and was killed near Lacus Curtius. One guard, centurion Sempronius Densus, died defending him. Piso was killed shortly afterwards. According to Plutarch, during Galba's last moments he offered his neck, and said, "Strike, if it be for the good of the Romans!" According to Suetonius, Galba prior to his death had put on a linen corset—although remarking that it had little protection against so many swords. After his death, Galba's head was brought to Otho, who gave it to his camp followers who paraded and mocked it—the camp followers' mocking was their angry response to a remark by Galba that his strength was unimpaired. The head was then bought by a freedman so he could throw it on the place where his former master had been executed on Galba's orders. Galba's steward buried both head and trunk in a tomb by the Aurelian Road.
Altogether, around 120 people claimed the credit for killing Galba, being anxious to win Otho's favour and hoping to be rewarded. A list of their names was drawn up, which fell into the hands of Vitellius when he succeeded Otho as emperor. Every one of them was executed.
And as Archilochus says-
"When six or seven lie breathless on the ground,
'Twas I, 'twas I, say thousands, gave the wound." Thus many that had no share in the murder wetted their hands and swords in blood, and came and showed them to Otho, presenting memorials suing for a gratuity. Not less than one hundred and twenty were identified afterwards from their written petitions; all of whom Vitellius sought out and put to death.
hard luck for all 120 would-be-killers :)
assasination roman emperor
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hard luck for all 120 would-be-killers :)
I bet some of them were kicking themselves when Vitellius got his hands on the list lol
cheers
James
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Greek police recover ancient statue from goat pen
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/28/2211416/greek-police-recovers-ancient.html
ATHENS, Greece — Greek police recovered an ancient statue that was illegally excavated and hidden in a goat pen near Athens, and arrested the goat herder and another man who were allegedly trying to sell the work for (EURO)500,000 ($667,000).
The marble statue of a young woman dates to about 520 B.C. and belongs to the kore type, a police statement said Wednesday. Police photos showed the 1.2-meter (4-foot) work to be largely intact, lacking the left forearm and plinth.
Although dozens of examples of the kore statue and its male equivalent, the kouros, are displayed in Greek and foreign museums, the type is considered very important in the development and understanding of Greek art. New discoveries in good condition are uncommon.
Archaeologists who inspected the find estimated its market value at (EURO)12 million ($16 million), a police official said.
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Wow, you can see why they were tempted though. That's a lot of money! :o
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Well, it's those numbers that tempt people to hide or steal findings, but usually you never get the dreamed-off amount of money on the black market. There are plenty of stories of people who hid artefacts for years in the hope of selling them, only to throw them in the garbage in anger, when they found out what they actually could sell them for.
I have a short story from my extended family... A distant cousin of my father who lives on the island of Kea once found 10 small bowls made of clay while plowing his field. In his ignorance he used them to mix his shaving cream in them. As the bowls hadn't been fired, they slowly started dissolving. When he had three left he met an Italian archaeologist who dated them around the 8th or 9th century B.C. The cousin couldn't believe his luck and also couldn't stop cursing his stupidity. He went on the hunt for a Black Market contact and finally found one about a year later. He told him that each bowl would earn him about 1500 drachmas (I think around 4-5 euros nowadays) on the black market. Needles to say... he had some more antique-flavoured shaving sessions.
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As an archaeologist I'm happy to see these guys getting their Justice...the antiquities trade is a cancer that is destroying portions of history at a rapid pace. The site looting in portions of South America is so pervasive that there are cultures that are only known from collections held in private hands...all known sites from that culture have been completely destroyed.
And one thing to remember about any of these items is this...its not the items that tell the story in archaeology...its how the items are related to each other and the site as a whole. Think of it as a crime scene...if you start taking clues out...or even moving them around within the scene you are destroying the chance of ever knowing what actually happened in that place.
This is history...it should not be "owned" it belongs to everyone.
...end rant
Blue
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Dead on Blue - I too am an archaeologist and foam at the mouth when I hear of/see these atrocities happening. Context is so important with any new find. In the UK we are slowly getting metal detectorists on side and the amount of stuff they now present to the County Archaeologist is steadily growing and the black market share diminishing. I think they now understand that they will be paid market value for their finds provided the land owner is in agreement. The Night Hawks are still a problem, but even they are slowly being shunned by their legitimate brethren. Every site I have excavated has had a resident metal detectorist - they are very useful people to have on site. Now, how do we get the 'stolen' antiquities from those private collections and on show for the people of the world? OK, all context is lost, but at least the artifacts themselves will be available for study by someone qualified to do so.
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Mixed Martial Arts Celebrity Recruited for Ancient Roman Army
Millennia before modern-day military recruiters talked up potential soldiers in shopping malls or put up posters, one Roman city took a rather different approach to recruiting soldiers for the emperor's army.
A newly translated inscription, dating back about 1,800 years, reveals that Oinoanda, a Roman city in southwest Turkey, turned to a mixed martial art champion to recruit for the Roman army and bring the new soldiers to a city named Hierapolis, located hundreds of miles to the east, in Syria.
His name was Lucius Septimius Flavianus Flavillianus and he was a champion at wrestling and pankration, the latter a bloody, and at times lethal, mixed martial art where contestants would try to pound each other unconscious or into submission...
read more here - http://www.livescience.com/19354-martial-artist-recruited-ancient-roman-army.html
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‘Celtic Computer’ unearthed in the mountains of North Wales!
Snowdonia – Work has halted at an archaeological dig in North Wales following the discovery of an early example of computing equipment on Thursday afternoon.
The ‘Dolgellau Environs Project’ has been investigating the post glacial archaeology of Snowdonia National Park for the past four years with a team of volunteer, amateur diggers supervised by a team from University of Wales, Aber-Harlech University. However work on a small scale excavation near Llanberis came to a halt when a volunteer make a remarkable discovery
.
read more - http://archaeosoup.com/?p=3244
(http://archaeosoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/HD.jpg)
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Hi hi. I suppose everyone knows some kind of this "funny" old stupid story:
- Russian archelogists dug 100 metres in the ground, and they found a bit of copper wire, so they said that there were telephones 1,000 years ago in Russia;
- US archeologists were unhappy with this, so they dug 200m in the ground, and they found a bit of optical fiber, and they said that there was internet 2,000 years ago in the USA;
- then, French archeologists dug 500m in the ground in Brittany, and they found nothing. It is a proof that 5,000 years ago the Bretons had Wifi.
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good one ;D
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Thats not a computer but a record player. Whats todays date by the way?
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Thats not a computer but a record player. Whats todays date by the way?
Actually it looks like a hard drive to me.
Today is April 1 ;)
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Looks like a hard drive to me too. What's a record player? lol
I was in town today trying to find a bubble for my spirit level.................
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Great find. I wonder what the upgrade cost would be from "windows barbarian"? :)
Great thread Prof. Lots of interesting reading.
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Windows 98BC :o
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'Door To Afterlife' Unearthed At Karnak
An Egyptian excavation team has unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor, Egypt's Culture Minister Farouk Hosni announced on Monday.
Engraved with religious texts, the six-foot-tall red granite door belonged to the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut, the long-ruling 15th century B.C. queen from the New Kingdom.
The door, known as a false door, was meant to be a threshold that allowed the deceased and his wife to interact with the world of the living.
This "interaction" was not eternal for User. More than 1,000 years after his death, during the Roman period, the massive false door was removed from the tomb and used in the wall of a Roman structure.
read more - http://news.discovery.com/history/door-to-afterlife-unearthed-at-karnak.html
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Does the hieroglyphs on the door mean: "Pedo Mellon a Minno"? :D
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Windows 98BC :o
The Celts surely used Macs. The Romans prefered windows. The Roman campaign in Snowdonia was in fact instigated by one Rostrum Portas in an attempt to destroy the Macs power and gain total world-wide control for his empire. ;)
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Rome cracks down on marauding centurions
Rome
Rome has given the centurions a deadline to clear out. The solders in question aren't from the ranks of an ancient legion, but are modern-day performers who pose for tourist photos at the Colosseum.
Men and women decked out in chest plates and helmets eke out a tax-free living at Rome’s most popular attraction, posing for photos with foreign visitors for 5 or 10 euros. Disoriented, jet lagged, or simply scared, tourists have been known to pay up to 50 euros ($67). Some have been roughed up when they refuse.
Arrests were made last summer in an undercover operation with police in tunics and sandals handcuffing centurions and gladiators for ripping off tourists. A recent Italian media report cited a policeman as saying the centurions are all ex-convicts, “every last one of them.”
Now the city government says “basta!” and wants them to pack up their swords, shields, and ensigns and clear out by April 6.
“This will end badly. We’ll wage a revolution. We’ll burn down the Coliseum rather than move from here,” a 21st-century centurion recently told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Along with the fake ancient Roman soldiers, the city aims to rid itself of the vast illegal industry of food and souvenir vendors that feeds off the 6 million people who every year visit the site where Russell Crowe avenged his family’s murder in the 2000 sword-and-sandal blockbuster "Gladiator."
City and national officials say they are defending Rome-the-living-museum from an image akin to theme parks where visitors feast on fast food and ham it up for the camera with fairytale characters.
But the Italian economy is in recession and its prisons overcrowded so government bureaucrats should be vigilant for unrest in the legionary ranks. They might want to reconsider a plan that puts ex-cons out of work.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2012/0402/Rome-cracks-down-on-marauding-centurions
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No loss to see those fellas expelled. They are quite a nasty bunch.
However, I'm wondering if they upgraded their equipment lately to India-manufactured kits or if a poor reenactor was caught there by an ill-informed journalist. The caption on the original site is a bit erratic:
A man dressed as a Roman Gladiator stands in front of the ancient Colosseum as snowflakes are falling in downtown Rome on Feb. 3.
Right. o_o
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No loss to see those fellas expelled. They are quite a nasty bunch.
However, I'm wondering if they upgraded their equipment lately to India-manufactured kits or if a poor reenactor was caught there by an ill-informed journalist. The caption on the original site is a bit erratic:
Right. o_o
well spotted, didn't notice that :)
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You know, I've posted that news about Ancient Greek statue some days ago. Now update :)
'Ancient' Greek statue found in sheep pen is fake
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17596144
An "ancient" Greek statue found in a sheep pen north-west of Athens last week has now been deemed a fake.
At first, archaeologists at Greece's Culture ministry thought the figure of a woman dated from the 6th century BC.
Now, a closer examination has found moulding marks and traces of bubbles which prove it is a copy, sources at the ministry told news agencies.
Two men were arrested last week for allegedly trying to sell the statue for half a million euros (£417,000).
They are currently awaiting trial on charges of looting antiquities.
The figure is 1.2m (4ft) tall and depicts an archaic maiden, but experts are now certain it is a cast rather than an original sculpture.
They say it is an identical copy of a statue found in the Acropolis in Athens, and not an item of "priceless historical value" as originally thought.
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59468000/jpg/_59468665_014383078-1.jpg)
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We saw those guys in Rome a few years ago. Most wore the least authentic kit that I have ever seen. Luckily, we were not approached as we were with an Italian guide
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You know, I've posted that news about Ancient Greek statue some days ago. Now update :)
'Ancient' Greek statue found in sheep pen is fake
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17596144
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59468000/jpg/_59468665_014383078-1.jpg)
The only real surprise is that it took more than a cursory glance to determine that it was a fake. :o
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"Breathtaking" Mummy Coffin Covers Seized in Israel
Two decorated covers of coffins that once contained mummies have been seized by Israeli authorities, authenticated and dated to thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt.
Inspectors of the Unit for Prevention of Antiquities Robbery found the artifacts while checking shops in a marketplace in the Old City of Jerusalem. The inspectors confiscated the items under suspicion of being stolen property.
The ancient covers are made of wood and adorned with "breathtaking decorations and paintings of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics," says the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Researchers examined the covers with carbon dating — which looks at a radioactive form of carbon in a sample to determine its age — and other tools, finding the artifacts are authentic. They dated one of the covers to the period between the 10th and eighth centuries B.C., considered the Iron Age, and the other to between the 16th and 14th centuries B.C. (Late Bronze Age).
read more - http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=breathtaking-mummy-coffin-covers-seized-in-israel
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Good to see them recovered :)
cheers
James
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Ancient Egyptian Humor
Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than three thousand years, but confrontations with increasingly hostile and powerful foreign powers began taking their toll as the Ramesside period came to an end. Eventually these outside forces eclipsed Egypt in the ancient world, and what was once a great power became a region incorporated into other great civilizations. Despite its demise, ancient Egypt left a rich legacy for the following generations of humankind, and its arts and letters have provided access to and insight into one of the earliest advanced societies in history. From this valuable source, modem humankind has learned many details about the ancient Egyptians, including the inner workings of their society, government, religion, history, art and architecture, and literature. Not immediately apparent in this material, and therefore more difficult to discern, are the feelings and the emotions that the people expressed. What instilled fear in their hearts? What made them feel safe? What induced them to anger and rage? Why did they laugh, and why did they cry
VIII. Egyptian Jokes.
As noted above, the Egyptians did not always explain their texts what caused them to
laugh. They did, however, occasionally tell a joke. In recorded correspondence the
Ramesside period, one can find an example. In it, a man named Thutmose writes to
another whom he feels had slandered him because of a joke Thutmose had told high tax
official. Fortunately for us, Thutmose repeats his apparently offensive joke, which can be
paraphrased thus. "You are like the wife blind in one eye who had been tied for twenty
years, and then her husband decided to leave her for another woman. However, when he
confronted her, he told her the reason for his defection was she was blind in one eye. She
responded to him: 'Is this what you've learned in our twenty years together?' "
read more - http://www.asociacionseshat.com/articulos/humor.pdf
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:)
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I've been investigating my Galician heritage and I'd like to offer up something that I stumbled upon today...
The oldest tartan ever found was worn by the Ürümchi mummies around 1500 BC. The Ürümchi mummies belong to a group of caucasian indoeuropeans who explored the Silk Route between Europe and Central Asia. The mummies were found in the Xinjiang region, western China, dressed with colourful tartan plaids.
Further archaeological discoveries of early tartans have been found in the Alps, Great Britain and Galicia.
(http://www.tartan.galician.org/images/principe_galaico_02_sm.jpg)
Statue of Galician king found at San Julião Celtic Hillfort, 3rd century BC. Picture by André Pena.
The rest can be found here: http://www.tartan.galician.org/history.htm (http://www.tartan.galician.org/history.htm)
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Emperor Qin in the Afterlife
more - http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/577/2EmperorQin.pdf
Of the many great archaeological finds in the 20th century, one of the
grandest is the discovery of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi’s terracotta
army. The ruler of the state of Qin, King Cheng, proclaimed himself
the First Emperor of China in 221 BC taking the name
Shihuangdi (first sovereign). After hundreds of years of open warfare
between the different feudal lords, referred to as the Warring States period
(475-221 BC) (Capon 1983), the state of Qin raised an army that conquered
them all and seized power (Cotterell 1981; Treasure! Tomb of the Terracotta
Warriors 1998). A monument of some 7,000 clay officers, soldiers, horses,
and chariots was found underground just outside Mount Li in Shaanxi
China, the legendary resting place of the First Emperor. The question that
still puzzles scholars and archaeologists is why Emperor Qin had this army
of pottery constructed. The answer may lie with the other items found in his
tomb in addition to the terracotta warriors.
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why Emperor Qin constructed the Terracotta army
Because garden gnomes hadn't been invented yet lol
This is on my 'to do list before I snuff it' (to see them that is :) ).
cheers
James
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They exhibited the Terracotta Warriors here at the NSW Art Gallery.
After a multitude of decorative tiles, pottery, bits of ancient junk and milling crowds... I have to say the warriors themselves were absolutely breathtaking.
It was as if you were looking into eternity... the warriors are absolutely timeless.
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I saw them at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) in Toronto. Very impressive!! It was interesting to see that there were also musicians, entertainer and acrobats not just the warriors that we are used to seeing on TV.
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Was this the Mighty Qin they sang about in the 1970s? :D
I did see the nice replicas they have at Epcot.
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Centurions and police clash in Rome
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0413/breaking8.html
Tourists in Rome yesterday may have felt they had stepped back in time as Roman centurions - complete with red skirts, tunics, armour, swords and feathered helmets - fought in front of the Colosseum.
This time, however, it was with a modern enemy, as Rome's city police arrived at the ancient amphitheatre to enforce an eviction notice for the men, who ask for money to have their picture taken by tourists.
Italy's culture ministry says the men have no permits, often harass and stalk tourists, ask for exorbitant amounts and disfigure the historic image of the centurion by wearing jeans under their skirts and running shoes instead of the classic Roman "caliga" leather sandals.
The clashes broke out when city police in modern uniforms arrived to remove two centurions who had occupied part of an arcade on the first floor of the Colosseum. Some 25 centurions tried to stop the police from taking the two away. In the scuffle one of the centurions fell to the ground and was slightly injured.
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Telling someone off like only Italians know how... lol
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How long do you think they'd last against a few *real* centurions--or an urban praetor with a few lictors?
On an MSNBC item on the same subject, some antiquarian expert commented:
"let the centurions manthere post in front of the colosium for even they have the right to work as a tourist attraction in the great city of rome. and just remember if it werent for the warriors of rome to begin with rome would not have a freed government...it was brought to peace when ceaser was killed for his hatred crimes against the council of rome to cease power over rome.....so screw the cops and let go centurions...."
Apparently there's a new version of Roman history being taught these days.
Allen
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I suspect they have operated for years without the appropriate licence but maybe the "gift" to the right person didn't happen and that is why they are being rounded up?
They have been there every time I have been to Rome ( 3 times in the last 8 years).
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They were there when I visited but this lot have metal armour while the ones I saw had plastic and looked stupid or at less more stupid than that lot...lol
Cheers
Keith
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lol you got to love them!!!!
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Messing with burials can have serious implications in the afterlife!
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lol
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:D that is genius! Never trust and archaeologist... They are a shifty bunch... And usually drunk too!
Cheers... Back to my fieldwork now... ;)
Blue
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What do you mean usually drunk? ;) I was always taught it was the de facto state of being for an archaeologist - that's what all my dig directors said anyway.
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Might explain why they never get around actually publishing their stuff - falling asleep over the paperwork... :D :D
Fantastic cartoon by the way - that will have to go into the office!
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Cleopatra and Antony's Children Rediscovered
read more - http://news.discovery.com/history/cleopatras-twin-babies-120420.html
Cleopatra's twin babies now have a face. An Italian Egyptologist has rediscovered a sculpture of Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, the offspring of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII, at the Egyptian museum in Cairo.
Discovered in 1918 near the temple of Dendera on the west bank of the Nile, the sandstone statue was acquired by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but has remained largely overlooked.
The back of the the 33-foot sculpture, catalogued as JE 46278 at the Egyptian museum, features some engraved stars -- likely indicating that the stone was originally part of a ceiling. Overall, the rest of the statue appears to be quite unusual.
"It shows two naked children, one male and one female, of identical size standing within the coils of two snakes. Each figure has an arm over the other’s shoulder, while the other hand grasps a serpent," Giuseppina Capriotti, an Egyptologist at the Italy's National Research Council, told Discovery News.
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:)
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Drat! And there was me thinking Raquel Welch and Allosaurs went together as it was on the telly and therefore must be true :D Nice cartoon though, btw.
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Smuggled Cargo Found on Ancient Roman Ship
read more - http://news.discovery.com/history/roman-shipwreck-smuggling-120425.html
A roman shipwreck was recently excavated in shallow waters near an Italian beach resort.
The most complete Roman ship ever found, the cargo vessel sank off the coast of Sicily some 1,700 years ago.
Among the ship's official cargo were hidden stashes of valuable interlocking tiles used in construction.
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Be careful to explore this shipwreck: these tiles look like Alien's backbone! ::)
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Female Gladiators of the Ancient Roman World
read more - http://www.coloradomesa.edu/shared/facprofiles/documents/FemaleGladiatorsoftheAncientRomanWorld.pdf
In September of 2000, the Museum of London announced a surprising archaeological discovery that garnered world-wide media attention and subsequently sparked intense debate within the academic community. Scholars revealed that the grave of a purported gladiator, dating back to the first century A.D., had been unearthed in the greater London area. The museum’s scholars suggested that only one other similar gravesite, in Trier, Germany, had ever been found,1 making this a very special find indeed. However, it was not the rarity of the find that captured the world’s attention nor the fact that the grave was supposedly that of a gladiator. To the surprise of all, the broken and burnt remains of this grave proved to be those of a woman. Accordingly, the Museum of London suggested that these remains were the first ever found of a female gladiator. The discovery was unprecedented, both in terms of its physicality and interpretation. Classical scholars have long known that female gladiators existed because of selected references in the ancient texts and inscriptions; the literary and epigraphical evidence is quite convincing. However, if the museum’s scholars were correct, the world now had the first human forensic evidence supporting the existence of female gladiators
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(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Peter_connolly.jpg)
Peter Connelly died yesterday. To say it's sad news, would be an understatement. Too many hours I've spent reading his books, enjoying his illustrations and deriving inspiration from your work. At the moment there are five books on my bedside locker, two of them are Connelly's books. His Greece and Rome at War and Ancient Rome. These are my longtime companions and friends. Now that great man is gone. Rest in peace, Mr. Connolly, thank you for all. Your books stay with us.
Connolly's friends post - http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat.html?func=view&catid=26&id=312037&view=entrypage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Connolly
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328842640l/202612.jpg)
(http://ia700801.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/15/items/olcovers13/olcovers13-L.zip&file=132661-L.jpg)
(http://ia700801.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/15/items/olcovers13/olcovers13-L.zip&file=132633-L.jpg)
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Thanks, Prof, for posting it here. I think it's the best place to honour the man's achievements, not just mourn his untimely death. For I assume almost everyone in the hobby has heard of Peter Connolly, read some of his books and drew inspiration and pleasure from it.
Personally, he's probably to blame for me getting hooked on history in the first place, with his books on the Roman soldier sparking my interest in reenactment and finally academic studies of the Roman period.
Et lux perpetua luceat ei.
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Wow, so sad.. I have loads of his books on my shelves, he made ancient history easy to understand, but without dumbing down. Some of the best books on Roman and Greek military history were his!
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But on the bright side, exegit monumentum aere perennius. Thank you, Mr Connolly. Ave atque vale!
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found that at Facebook :)
http://www.facebook.com/#!/Romeinenfestival
(http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/562477_345045798890254_265184150209753_944544_973907516_n.jpg)
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Zombie Attack at Hierakonpolis
Weighing the evidence for and dating of Solanum virus outbreaks in early Egypt
Hierakonpolis is a site famous for its many "firsts," so many, in fact, it is not easy to keep track of them all. So we are grateful(?) to Max Brooks for bringing to our attention that the site can also claim the title to the earliest recorded zombie attack in history. In his magisterial tome, The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), he informs us that in 1892, a British dig at Hierakonpolis unearthed a nondescript tomb containing a partially decomposed body, whose brain had been infected with the virus (Solanum) that turns people into zombies. In addition, thousands of scratch marks adorned every surface of the tomb, as if the corpse had tried to claw its way out!
read more - http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/hierakonpolis/zombies.html
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Soooooooo, now I know there are zombies and Egyptian vampires and wolves, I can use all the Hollywood bad guys in Cairo!!!!!!! :D
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Ancient language discovered on clay tablets found amid ruins of 2800 year old Middle Eastern palace
Archaeologists have discovered evidence for a previously unknown ancient language – buried in the ruins of a 2800 year old Middle Eastern palace.
The discovery is important because it may help reveal the ethnic and cultural origins of some of history’s first ‘barbarians’ – mountain tribes which had, in previous millennia, preyed on the world’s first great civilizations, the cultures of early Mesopotamia in what is now Iraq.
Evidence of the long-lost language - probably spoken by a hitherto unknown people from the Zagros Mountains of western Iran – was found by a Cambridge University archaeologist as he deciphered an ancient clay writing tablet unearthed by an international archaeological team excavating an Assyrian imperial governors’ palace in the ancient city of Tushan, south-east Turkey.
read more - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/ancient-language-discovered-on-clay-tablets-found-amid-ruins-of-2800-year-old-middle-eastern-palace-7728894.html
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Wow! No matter how much we discover there is far more that is undiscovered.
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As Spartacus gears up for a third epic season, the cast and stunt performers completed their toughest boot camp to date. And it all started with military-based training to get into Gladiator shape and prepare for the extensive action sequences featured in every episode.
http://www.facebook.com/spartacus.starz
(http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/554577_10150949348571147_66533446146_12420314_1557748309_n.jpg)
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Love this show! Lots of inspiration to be found there! It even convinced me to get my fat ass back to working out, before its too late! :o
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(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/301729_311316005614720_108738502539139_743172_584657706_n.jpg)
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Are you sure that isn't Red-Plastic Age Man?
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The Pictish Tattoo: Origins of a Myth
Introduction: “All the Britons dye themselves with woad, which produces a blue colour, and makes their appearance in battle more terrible.” J. Caesar, De Bello Gallico, 5.14
The above observation is the only remark Caesar ever made about Britons dyeing themselves, and apparently the only notice of this practice ever made by an eye-witness. But this one sentence, casually included in Caesar’s Gallic Wars, would fuel the imagination of Greek and Roman poets for centuries, and would lead to one of the most widespread beliefs concerning the peoples of ancient Britain: the tattooing of the Picts. This belief was consciously nurtured by a number of poets and historians over several centuries until it has today become an accepted ‘fact’, one of the few known about the Picts.
By tracing the extant literary references based on Caesar’s remark it is possible to see just how the innocent observation came to apply to a totally different people—how the myth was born.
read more - http://www.dibonsmith.com/tattoo.pdf
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If M. Gibson had the peoples north of hadrains wall painting themselves blue then it must be true :D
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Ancient Roman Shipwrecks Discovered
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/ancient-roman-shipwrecks-greece_n_1552492.html
ATHENS, Greece -- Greece's culture ministry says two Roman-era shipwrecks found in deep waters off the country's western coast disprove the accepted theory that ancient shipmasters stuck to coastal routes rather than risking the open sea.
A ministry statement says the two 2nd century AD wrecks were discovered earlier this month between 1.2 and 1.4 kilometers (0.7-0.9 miles) deep
Tuesday's statement said these are the deepest known ancient wrecks in the Mediterranean.
They were located during an investigation off the islands of Corfu and Paxoi, in waters where a Greek-Italian gas pipeline is to be sunk.
A Greek oceanographic vessel using side-scan radar and robot submarines took footage of scattered pottery, ballast stones and what could be remains of the wooden ships.
The team also raised samples of pottery and marble artifacts.
(http://i.huffpost.com/gen/624036/thumbs/r-ANCIENT-ROMAN-SHIPWRECKS-large570.jpg)
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http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17ltvlf86od40jpg/medium.jpg
One of the most shocking things about Game of Thrones is the brutal and often bizarre ways that the nobles and princes kick the bucket — but George R.R. Martin's horrifying story is pretty close to historical realism. Many historical leaders snuffed it in bizarre, insane ways, from being smothered by coats to, yes, drinking molten gold.
Here are 10 completely strange and terrible deaths that befell emperors, tyrants, and leaders in the ancient world.
10. Smothered by coats
Draco is responsible for creating one of the first written sets of laws, a set of rules governing 7th Century BCE life in Greece. In 590 BCE, Grecian authorities held a celebration to commemorate his hard work. Unfortunately, Draco died from suffocation due to audience members tossing hundreds of coats and shirts on top of him, a common custom from the time performed to show respect.
...
read more - http://io9.com/5907578/10-weirdest-ways-that-ancient-rulers-died
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/JPaul_Laurens_The_Death_of_Tiberius.jpg/774px-JPaul_Laurens_The_Death_of_Tiberius.jpg)
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Copied this link from a message from the Astounding Tales! site:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ancient-vampire-bodies-found-bulgaria-212737076.html
(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/WUHF.rIDpqLpZjmByMO9Hw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/251/2012/06/06/PA-13734028-jpg_093721.jpg)
An archeologist cleans dust from a skeleton dating back to the Middle Ages in Sozopol, Bulgaria.
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Republican Roman and Hellenistic/Greek reenactors.
more - http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.204701126305972.40910.100002982577163&type=1
Charge! :D
(http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/564075_204701472972604_1018352817_n.jpg)
(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/530802_204701679639250_1407007508_n.jpg)
(http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/533090_204701352972616_703121716_n.jpg)
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Wooden swords! Where's the fun in that ::) lol
cheers
James
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Wooden swords! Where's the fun in that ::) lol
cheers
James
Historical arms + historical armour = historical wounds ;)
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:o :o :o
I cannot believe it! I´m one of the guys there! (The one with the red shield with Athen´s owl in the other photos ;))
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yotHOYw2yA4/Te9n-8wjVxI/AAAAAAAABL4/fgmDOT79060/s800/239.jpg)
That´s the reenactment group where I am a member, that´s called Athenea Promakhos, from Spain. We reenact classic Greece but we are trying to make a punic phalanx aswell to recreate the punic wars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LC9LQ9Rj0U
That in the photos is a meeting with some republican romans (Hispania Romana and Evocati Apri Scipioni), iberians (Ibercalafell) and punics (Iboshim) at Ferreruela in 2010 for trying tactics and such.
Last weekend we were at the same place experimenting with our new sarissas! 8) (sadly we were not so much people this time, but we had the change to experiment a lot of things :))
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we are trying to make a punic phalanx
Wonderful pics and group!
Er... When you'll make a pubic phalanx, I'll be interested to see the pics too! :D
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Nice thread here. Some great stuff.
n.
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Can't promise that this thread will follow the great example set by the Prof, but here's a bit of news that caught my lead-adventurous interest. There's still something new under the sun…
Two unidentified, possible pyramid complexes have been located with satellite imagery from Google Earth. One of the complex sites contains a distinct, four-sided, truncated, pyramidal shape that is approximately 140 feet in width. This site contains three smaller mounds in a very clear formation, similar to the diagonal alignment of the Giza Plateau pyramids.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lyiwTnT5zK4/UB_oBApgpoI/AAAAAAAAcB4/6Ce9DFry2TQ/s1600/Egypt_Google_01.jpg)
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/possible-egyptian-pyramids-found-using.html#.UDswfUTqAwy
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Wow, I could actually use the knowledge I aquired from this thread today :o
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Can't promise that this thread will follow the great example set by the Prof, but here's a bit of news that caught my lead-adventurous interest. There's still something new under the sun…
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lyiwTnT5zK4/UB_oBApgpoI/AAAAAAAAcB4/6Ce9DFry2TQ/s1600/Egypt_Google_01.jpg)
http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/possible-egyptian-pyramids-found-using.html#.UDswfUTqAwy
OooOOOh NO No No ! They have discovered my holiday home where I go to fhtagn each Sunday !
...The smaller mounds on the outside are my TOILETS!
(http://argad-bzh.fr/heb/Cthulhu Medium.jpg)
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How to stage a Stone Age-style seance…
AN UNUSUAL cluster of Stone Age skulls with smashed-in faces has been found carefully separated from the rest of their skeletons. They appear to have been dug up several years after being buried with their bodies, separated, then reburied.
(http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/mg21528784.400/mg21528784.400-1_500.jpg)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528784.400-stone-age-skullsmashers-spark-a-cultural-mystery.html
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Alesia in the wrong place
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19167600
The arguments and the fact that the present "site" has got european funding (which they obviously don´t want to loose) reminds me a lot about the arguments concerning the site of the varus battle being nowhere near where it´s now claimed to be.
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Alesia in the wrong place
Alesia location already was a mystery in the 19th century, when emperor Napoleon III was trying to find it.
So, it has been a French joke since a long time...
...as irate chief Abraracourcix told warrior Astérix in one of their cartoons: "Alésia? I don't know Alésia! I don't know where Alésia is! Nobody knows where Alésia is!"
(http://www.argad-bzh.fr/heb/alesia_asterix.jpg)
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Same thing with the Teutoburg forest battle...some of the "evidence" that has been produced in claim that it is where they say it is now is to say the least a bit circumspect.
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Whatever they drank up there, it's how to teach them barbarians culture after all. lol
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/ale-caesar-romans-and-caledonian-tribes-went-to-pub-together-1-2514282
(http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/1.2514281.1347069745!image/3403272210.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/3403272210.jpg)
Archaeologists surveying the world’s most northerly Roman fort have found an ancient pub. The discovery, outside the walls of the fort at Stracathro, near Brechin, Angus, could challenge the long-held assumption that Caledonian tribes would never have rubbed shoulders with the Roman invaders.
Indeed, it lends support to the existence of a more complicated and convivial relationship than previously envisaged, akin to that enjoyed with his patrician masters by the wine-swilling slave Lurcio, played by comedy legend Frankie Howerd, in the classic late 1970s television show Up Pompeii!.
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Coincidentally (?) another batch of pyramids have been recently discovered - this time in Italy. Wonder what dark secrets they may keep…
http://news.discovery.com/history/etruscan-pyramids-120918.html
The first ever Etruscan pyramids have been located underneath a wine cellar in the city of Orvieto in central Italy, according to a team of U.S. and Italian archaeologists. […] The material from the deepest level reached so far (the archaeologists have pushed down about 10 feet) dates to around the middle of the fifth century B.C. "At this level we found a tunnel running to another pyramidal structure and dating from before the 5th century B.C. which adds to the mystery," George said.
(http://news.discovery.com/history/2012/09/18/pyramid-zoom.jpg)
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Now that's exciting!
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Has this one been mentioned?
http://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/
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Something about the recreation of Ancient instruments. Maybe the sound to play while gaming.
In 2004, more than 500 iron and bronze items placed as offerings to the gods were discovered a small 30cm-deep pit in Tintignac, in the Corrèze department. "These items were deliberately damaged so that they could not be used again by mere mortals," said Maniquet.
(http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/GWeekly/2012/12/6/1354814599553/carnyx-gallic-horn-006.jpg)
Unfortunately since it was impossible to play the instruments the pious Gauls had so carefully dismantled, Maniquet asked an instrument maker to reproduce a brass carnyx of the same size. The archaeologist worked with experts from the acoustics laboratory at the Maine-CNRS University in Le Mans, headed by Joël Gilbert, a brass instruments specialist, who carried out an in-depth analysis of the specimen.
Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/dec/11/france-gaul-carnyx-instrument-find?INTCMP=SRCH
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About 3200 years after his death there's final proof that Pharaoh Ramesses III (presumed nemesis of Moses) was murdered by conspirators. That's what I call an ice cold case.
(http://www.swr.de/-/id=10743960/property=zoom/width=512/height=288/pubVersion=2/1y7eist/index.jpg)
Ramesses III - the second Pharaoh of the 20th dynasty - is believed to have reigned from 1186 to 1155 BC. The discovery of papyrus trial documents show that in 1155 BC members of his harem made an attempt on his life as part of a palace coup. The conspiracy was led by Tiye, one of his two known wives, and her son Prince Pentawere, over who would inherit the throne, but it is not clear whether the plot was successful or not. The fate of Ramesses III has therefore long been the subject of debate among Egyptologists.
So a team of researchers, led by Dr Albert Zink from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman of the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen in Italy, undertook detailed anthropological and forensic analyses on the mummies of Ramesses III and unknown man E, the suspected son of the king. CT scans of Ramesses III revealed a wide and deep wound in the throat of the mummy, probably caused by a sharp blade – and which could have caused immediate death, say the authors.
Full article: http://www.bmj.com/press-releases/2012/12/17/study-reveals-pharaoh%E2%80%99s-throat-was-cut-during-royal-coup
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Being king was never easy :)
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Maybe something for you raiders of the Lost Ark?
Was there a church in Mecca? Chiselled stonework with 'Christian figure' discovered at holy site in Yemen
An Archaeologist has discovered what he believes to be the ruins of a buried Christian empire in the highlands of Yemen.
The find has led to theories that there may have once been a Christian church in Mecca.
A stone carving of a Christian figure was found in Zafar, some 581 miles south of the Holy City, and is thought to have been made in the era of the Prophet Muhammad.
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/12/29/article-0-16AEA1E6000005DC-770_634x356.jpg)
Full article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254657/Was-church-Mecca-Chiselled-stonework-Christian-figure-discovered-holy-site-Yemen.html
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...Perhaps the mythical kingdom of "Prester John"...?
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That's what it reminded me of as well. Never have heard of African Christians invading Arabia before, though.
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Before Islam, the Arabian Peninsula featured both Jewish and Christian kingdoms.
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Always thought that Prester John was medieval wishful thinking. Maybe there was a distant basis in truth there after all.
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Historically, Judaism predates Christianity, in the same way that Christianity predates Islam... or so I gather. Coptic Christianity, the Christianity of the Middle East, has been formally practiced since 5th century. I am by no means an expert.
Anyway, check out this amazing monolithic carved church in Ethiopia:
http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a9655da45a8b.jpg
These apparently date into the Middle Ages, but are really cool. Reminds me of Petra.
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Byzantine Chapel in Turkey
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/science/under-turkish-mud-well-preserved-byzantine-chapel.html?_r=0
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More adventurous archaeology of the 21st century!
Searching for the lost royal city of Nubia in northern Sudan
Geoff Emberling is doing what few archaeologists do anymore in a world that has been worked over pretty well by picks, trowels and shovels. He's searching for a lost royal city.
(http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/images/searching-for-lost-royal-city-remains-pyramid-Piye-orig-20130115.jpg)
The ancient capital was ruled by the kings of Nubia, which now lies in northern Sudan, just south of Egypt. Little is known about the kings who suddenly appeared on the historical stage about 800 B.C. and conquered all of Egypt before eventually fading back into the desert.
Full article: http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21089-searching-for-the-lost-royal-city-of-nubia-in-northern-sudan
Check out the man's weblog (http://www.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey/fieldwork/currentfieldwork/elkurrusudan/2013sudanblog_ci) as well, quite inspiring. 8)
PS: Sorry, Paul, for not having noticed your entry earlier. Please, everyone, send me a PM if you've got something to share here and I'll happily adjust the title.
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Sounds like a true adventure.
Loved that :) :
(http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/kelsey/Home/Fieldwork/Current%20Fieldwork/El%20Kurru,%20Sudan/Kurru%20cafe.jpg)
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Finds during Colosseum spring clean
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/18/colosseum-cleaning-yields_0_n_2502737.html#slide=more275597
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Maybe of interest for Ancients wargamers searching for the 'authentic' colouring of clothes. ;) I've cut out the essentials (that's not to say the ecological background of this find isn't important, unfortunately…).
Pre-Viking tunic found by glacier as warming aids archaeology
The greenish-brown, loose-fitting outer clothing - suitable for a person up to about 176 cms (5 ft 9 inches) tall - was found 2,000 meters (6,560 ft) above sea level on what may have been a Roman-era trade route in south Norway. Carbon dating showed it was made around 300 AD.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sBgBsiPX_ho/UU8gSqrol8I/AAAAAAAArhA/eXP1bY-PH18/s1600/Oslo-viking-tunic.jpg)
[…] The tunic is made of lamb's wool with a diamond pattern that had darkened with time. Only a handful of similar tunics have survived so long in Europe.
Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/us-climate-archaeology-idUSBRE92K0V320130321
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it looks very clean..
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"The tunic was well used - it was repaired several times," said Marianne Vedeler, a conservation expert at Norway's Museum of Cultural History.
The tunic is made of lamb's wool with a diamond pattern that had darkened with time. Only a handful of similar tunics have survived so long in Europe."
I would be interested to know what they mean by the last statement...
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Finally the prove that the Romans used heavy weapons and vehicles. Now have to get Aventine to make them.
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I take it those would be some very late period Romans
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I take it those would be some very late period Roman's
Yes, sure, survirors of Fall of Empire.
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Anchors from Punic Wars 2,000 years ago found off Sicily
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/anchors-punic-wars-2-000-years-ago-found-sicily-6C10536930
A key episode of the Punic Wars has emerged from the waters near the small Sicilian island of Pantelleria as archaeologists discovered a cluster of more than 30 ancient anchors.
Found at a depth between 160 and 270 feet in Cala Levante, one of the island’s most scenic spots, the anchors date to more than 2,000 years ago.
According to Leonardo Abelli, an archaeologist from the University of Sassari, the anchors are startling evidence of the Romans’ and Carthaginians’ struggle to conquer the Mediterranean during the First Punic War (264 to 241 B.C.).
“They were deliberately abandoned. The Carthaginian ships were hiding from the Romans and could not waste time trying to retrieve heavy anchors at such depths,” Abelli told Discovery News.
(http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/streams/2013/July/130703/6C8144043-130703-anchorsphoto-hmed-0320p-files.blocks_desktop_large.jpg)
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http://www.weekendnotes.com/lego-acropolis-nicholson-museum/
(http://www.weekendnotes.com/im/001/05/lego-from-wwwthebrickmancom1.jpeg)
(http://www.weekendnotes.com/im/005/09/opening1.jpeg)
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LEGO(TM). Best. Toy. Ever. :o
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LEGO(TM). Best. Toy. Ever. :o
This most definitely :D
psst, it's the wrong scale...
cheers
James
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Cool find.
And I'm with Westfalia Chris, Lego's still at the top.
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German boy finds 'a mummy' in grandmother's attic
A 10-year-old German boy has found what appears to be a mummy hidden in a corner of his grandmother's attic.
The "mummy" was inside a sarcophagus complete with hieroglyphic adornments, packed in a wooden crate.
But it is unclear whether the bandaged item found by Alexander Kettler in Diepholz, northern Germany, is a genuine relic from ancient Egypt.
more here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23553074
(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/69089000/jpg/_69089619_69089613.jpg)
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now this is a first!
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=56700.0;topicseen
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this is so awesome:
Festival de l'Histoire de Marle 2013
http://www.pixures.be/web2013marle/
expecially the battle scenes:
http://www.pixures.be/web2013marle/index_37.htm
(http://www.pixures.be/web2013marle/images/mrl131014.jpg)
(http://www.pixures.be/web2013marle/images/mrl130992.jpg)
(http://www.pixures.be/web2013marle/images/mrl131025.jpg)
(http://www.pixures.be/web2013marle/images/mrl131010.jpg)
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oh that's new to me too
first time I see roman reenactors going into real action.
usually they are very finnicky about their outfit
maybe because they are "late romans" ;)
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Some of my friends were there :)
I was invited too, but unfortunately I can't be in two different places at the same time :-I
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Great pics :)
Here's an interesting piece The Guardian - apparently there's an argument over the whereabouts and true identity of the Rubicon (yes, the one that Julius Caesar crossed... Or did he?! ;))
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/07/rubicon-river-italy-mock-court-case?INTCMP=SRCH
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Hi guys
I was in Marlene with the company Letavia as Late Romano-bretons (brittons settled in Brittany).
It was really a great event and such a pleasure to have so many Saxons, and other germanics barbarians facing us, ready to be killed lol
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Great pics :)
Here's an interesting piece The Guardian - apparently there's an argument over the whereabouts and true identity of the Rubicon (yes, the one that Julius Caesar crossed... Or did he?! ;))
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/07/rubicon-river-italy-mock-court-case?INTCMP=SRCH
nice find, Richard, very interesting!
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Early irish wardogs
http://www.historyireland.com/uncategorized/war-dogs-among-the-early-irish-2/
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In older news but still relevant, perhaps especially to all our gladiator nuts. Anyone recognises the gladiator types shown below (the peeing boy being a specialist, obviously)?
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/Poliorketes/Vermischtes/IzmirAgora-1_zpsffdf25f5.jpg)
A rich Greek graffiti collection has been found in the İzmir agora during excavation work in the area. The graffiti shows daily life in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
The graffiti is estimated to date back to the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D. Experts have said the graffiti was the richest Greek graffiti collection in the world. Besides writing and paintings done with paint, there are also dozens of carvings on the wall.
Original article: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/rich-greek-graffiti-found-in-izmir-agora.aspx?pageID=238&nID=50572&NewsCatID=375
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reminds me of some concept drawings for miniatures, would never have thought that these were ancient
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3rd Cent AD Roman chainmail found on a battlefield in lower saxony
http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2013/09/roman-chain-mail-discovered-in-germany/
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Roman skulls found during Crossrail dig in London may be Boudicca victims
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/oct/02/roman-skulls-crossrail-london-boudicca
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Ancient massacre in Sweden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMoIWk0rjE8
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Mysterious 6th century monument unearthed in Gamla Upsala
http://www.arkeologigamlauppsala.se/Sv/nyheter/2013/Pages/monument-discovered-in-old-uppsala.aspx (http://www.arkeologigamlauppsala.se/Sv/nyheter/2013/Pages/monument-discovered-in-old-uppsala.aspx)
As the article states, archeologists do not yet have a firm theory what the purpose of it is. It may very well have been used for sacrificial rituals as the holy sacrificial ash trees in the areas where animals of the male sex, including thralls, were strung up, are mentioned by several ancient and medieval writers (including the Greek traveller, dilettante and confabulator Pytheas).
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Why don't my Roman cavalry have helmets like this? ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-24692571
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just buy one from aventine
(http://www.aventineminiatures.co.uk/catalog/images/UD55.JPG)
the match is quite close I'd say, with the difference of the face mask, which makes Your example a ceremonial helmet for the hyppika gymnasia and Aventine's a combat one..
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digital reconstructions bring forgotten Roman Britain to life
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2511338/Roman-Britain-brought-life-amazing-digital-reconstructions.html
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Wonderful thread. :)
A prostitutes "cell" in the lupanar at Pompeii ( lupanar or lupanarium, from lupa, "she-wolf,")
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Pompeya_interior_del_lupanar.jpg/557px-Pompeya_interior_del_lupanar.jpg)
Basically the main attraction (in terms of pure tourist quantity) in Pompeii. And I have to admit (in shame) that I already testing such a comfy looking bed. :?
Edit: (http://i.imgur.com/CGPwg0R.jpg)
Offering services for one cup of a good red ...
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*heavy breathing*
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You deserve a volcano :D
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Well that's fair enough: :D
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"Alexander the Great may have been killed by toxic wine made from a poisonous but harmless-looking plant, scientists have claimed."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mystery-of-alexander-the-greats-death-solved-ruler-was-killed-by-toxic-wine-claim-scientists-9054625.html
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Most will be well aware of the Vindolanda site, a Roman fort at Hadrian's Wall and one of the best documented archaeological sites in the world. So while this is not "news" in particular, one can keep track of the annual (and current) excavation campaigns via their blog (http://www.vindolanda.com/_blog/excavation).
A taster:
The trench is being carefully lowered, Antonine walls and drains recorded and lifted, in order for us to land on the dark and soft Hadrianic demolition layer. This week, with the sun shining bright on us, a fresh start was made in the vicus, as the team lead by Profs. Green and Meyer, together with Lauren, started removing the gravel and picked up the excavation from where it was left in 1972-73. Just under the level reached a beautiful flagged floor, pertaining to the Antonine annex (cAD160-200) and what appears to have been an industrial area, with abundant charcoal and evidence for ovens. In this area a complete Samian cup was found, bearing a clearly legible potter’s stamp.
(http://www.vindolanda.com/excavate/Ballista%20head.jpg)
Professor Meyer with his first find of 2015 and a Ballista head from the vicus excavations
As the digging continues we expect to reach the Antonine drainage ditch visible underneath the industrial area: this was partially excavated in 2014 and produced 3 stunning wooden bowls, currently undergoing conservation.
On Twitter (https://twitter.com/vindolandatrust) they're literally live-blogging as finds get unearthed. Fascinating stuff.
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Well, there's something new under the sun.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11733670/Ancient-Roman-frescos-worthy-of-Pompeii-found-in-southern-France.html
Archaeologists have unearthed extremely rare ancient Roman frescoes, comparable to those found in the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii, in the southern city of Arles.The unexpected discovery was made during a dig on the remains of a Roman villa near a car park in the Trinquetaille district of the historic French city, which began last year.
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03372/woman_plucking_the_3372287b.jpg)
To their astonishment, archaeologists from the National Institute of Preventive Archaeological research (Inrap) uncovered the state room of the wealthy Roman villa to find one of the only full murals ever found outside Italy - others have simply been fragments. The frescoes were painted between 20 and 70 BC.
Here's hope they'll find the Roman guide to military dress colours soon, too… ::)
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It is so beautiful..
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http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/19/origins-of-yorks-decapitated-romans-traced-by-genome-technology
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Now that was an interesting read 8)
Interesting about the decapitation though?
cheers
James