No News like Ancient News – Roman frescoes discovered

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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

[Paul]

If M. Gibson had the peoples north of hadrains wall painting themselves blue then it must be true 

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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.

[Prof.Witchheimer]

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

[joroas]

Copied this link from a message from the Astounding Tales! site:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ancient-vampire-bodies-found-bulgaria-212737076.html

An archeologist cleans dust from a skeleton dating back to the Middle Ages in Sozopol, Bulgaria.

[Prof.Witchheimer]

Republican Roman and Hellenistic/Greek reenactors.

more - http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.204701126305972.40910.100002982577163&type=1

Charge! 

[OSHIROmodels]

Wooden swords! Where's the fun in that 

cheers

James

[Hauptgefreiter]

Wooden swords! Where's the fun in that 

cheers

James

Historical arms + historical armour = historical wounds 

[Clearco]

 
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 )

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!   (sadly we were not so much people this time, but we had the change to experiment a lot of things )

[Patrice]

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! 

[Neldoreth]

Nice thread here. Some great stuff.

n.

[Mad Doc Morris]

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://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/possible-egyptian-pyramids-found-using.html#.UDswfUTqAwy

[Glitzer]

Wow, I could actually use the knowledge I aquired from this thread today 

[Patrice]

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://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!

[Mad Doc Morris]

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/article/mg21528784.400-stone-age-skullsmashers-spark-a-cultural-mystery.html