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An interesting article from Antigone is entitled "The Practical Case for Studying Latin." The Practical Case for Studying Latin – Antigone

They got caught? After all those other pilfering incidents over the years? There's no justice!

A sixth-century sword from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in rural Kent (see map below) has been discovered. The weapon is in exceptional state with pieces of its leather and wood scabbard, as well as the beaver fur lining still intact. The blade had runic script. https://archaeologymag.com/2024/12/6th-century-sword-unearthed-in-anglo-saxon-cemetery/

Two thieves were arrested after stealing hundreds of Ancient Greek and Roman artifacts from the bottom of the sea near Alexandria, Egypt. The thieves had retrieved 448 relics, including 305 coins, 53 statues, 41 axes, 20 bronze objects, 14 bronze cups, 12 spears, and three statue heads. https://greekcitytimes.com/2024/12/26/thieves-greek-artifacts/amp/

It certainly isn't the worst video on gladiators I've seen, but I noticed a few errors and exaggerations. Like all videos, take it with a pinch of salt.

The texts of Tao philosophy, so influential in east Asian history, are less than 1% translated into english. I like the enigmatic advice, like dominate via inaction. Here is a free book that is a huge leap forward with sampled translation of about 60 historical Tao works, some of which have been rediscovered only recently: https://archive.org/details/thetaoistexperienceliviakohn This version is free due to State University of NY publication. May I suggest setting it into bedtime audio playback mode by getting the full text into epub (or txt or pdf?) which is playable via app? Some have reasonable voices that can be run faster or slower.

I guess a previous post had answered the above question a few years ago (see post below): Although the bubonic plague has existed for thousands of years, the genetically different strains of Yersinia pestis had different degrees of virulence and, therefore, different societal impacts.

R.Those prehistoric pachyderms sure got around. The great pyramids in Egypt had already been built when the last of them went extinct. For an interesting discussion of the natural history of the Italian peninsula, search "Italia 100,000 anni fa" for YouTube presentstions.

Livy mentions several episodes of pestllence affecting the early republic, but never describes signs nor symptoms. Other authors frequently used the words pestilentia, contagio or plaga (from which we obviously get the word plague, but actually translates as wound or blow) but, again, no description of signs nor symptoms. httgps://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Pestilentia https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Contagio https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Plaga

The Black Death was a devastating pandemic that swept across Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was transmitted by fleas that infested rats. The infection resulted in swollen and painful lymph nodes, known as buboes, which is why it is commonly referred to as the Bubonic Plague. . Ancient disease discovered in ancient DNA of Egyptian mummy Comments: I wonder if some major plagues in Ancient Rome were caused by the Bubonic Plague.

Another article on this incredible find: World's 'best-preserved' baby woolly mammoth found after 50,000 years

This is very well done.

Watch the drumsticks! The Young Rascals "Good Lovin'"

A well-preserved baby mammoth was discovered in Siberia. It is the best preserved mammoth carcass ever found and thought to be 50,000 years old. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy47xj4lpyzo

The ancient Roman warehouse in the forum in Rome will be open for business. Known as the Horrea Piperataria, it was used to store pepper and spice. https://www..com/news/romes-ancient-spice-stores-open-to-visitors.html

Here is the original article on the find. (The English translation can be found in upper right corner.) https://frankfurt.de/aktuelle-meldung/meldungen/frankfurter-silberinschrift/

After the torso of Septimius Severus was repatriated from the New York Metropolitan museum to Turkey in 2023 (see text below), the head was finally repatriated from Copenhagen to be reunited with its torso. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-ancient-statue-of-a-roman-emperor-will-finally-be-reunited-with-its-head-180985662/

"Byzantine "Empire" is the modern name for the Eastern Roman Empire, and back in Medieval times, they were known as Romans. The schism between the Catholics and the Greek Orthodox chuches is well known, so the observation is basically valid.

Here are a list of the “Top 10 Discoveries of 2024.” Some of these stories have been written about at this site. https://archaeology.org/collection/top-10-discoveries-of-2024/

Found this thread earlier bak int he weekends. https://www.reddit.com/r/ancientrome/comments/1bed6er/why_do_romance_languages_have_so_strong/ Be sure to read it because the OP is very necessary as context to this new question. So while the correlation to Slavic languages and Greek is quite murky unlike Romance languages and the Western Roman Empire in tandem with Catholicism....... Am I alone in seeing that so much of modern Eastern Orthodoxy today is in the former Eastern half of the Roman Empire and the later Byzantine empire? Is it mere coincidence or is there actually a direct connection? I mean even countries that were never Eastern Orthodox during the time of the Roman Empire often had strong trading connections with the Eastern half as seen with Russia's history. So how valid is this observation of mine?

So interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Artimi: You know as well as anyone on this site that the word “ancient” means different things to different people. I have no idea which book is best but if you want a book that exams Afghanistan history from Alexander the Great to modern times, this book comes highly recommended. (I have not read this book, however.)

Researchers discovered 127 different human remains in a Roman burial ground in Frankfurt, Germany, but one body stood out. This individual was a man aged between 35 and 45 who was found with a Christian amulet (see photo above). The burial site is dated between AD 230 and 270, nearly fifty years earlier than the previously known Christian artifacts from the region. This discovery may represent the earliest archaeological evidence of Christianity north of the Alps. The amulet, originally found in 2018, was recently "digitally unwrapped" using a computed tomography scan and translated. It showed a Christian inscription written in Latin: https://archaeologymag.com/2024/12/oldest-evidence-of-christianity-north-of-the-alps/#:~:text=The artifact%2C a silver amulet,region by nearly 50 years