No News like Ancient News – Roman frescoes discovered

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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.

[OSHIROmodels]

There looks to be some very intricate scribe work on there 

cheers

James

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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/

[joroas]

Blooper:  The picture of the Macedonian phalanx that they use in part 2 looks like Sumerians from a much earlier age!!!!!! 

[njetkulturny]

I had the notion that I had seen that carthagian harbour before. 

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

[Prof.Witchheimer]

http://www.hamburger-tactica.de/tactica/img/fotos_2008/08_Seeschlachten/naval.html

  awesome!

[VonMoltke]

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/

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....

[OSHIROmodels]

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  (I'm watching it on iplayer).

cheers

James

[Prof.Witchheimer]

[Remington]

Heron also allegedly invented the first automatic door.

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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

[OSHIROmodels]

hard luck for all 120 would-be-killers

I bet some of them were kicking themselves when Vitellius got his hands on the list 

cheers

James

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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.

[joroas]

Wow, you can see why they were tempted though.  That's a lot of money! 

[Remington]

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.