Viggen

Separated in history by 100 years, the seafaring Minoans of Crete and the mercantile Canaanites of northern Egypt and the Levant (a large area of the Middle East) at the eastern end of the Mediterranean were never considered trading partners at the start of the Late Bronze Age. Until now. full article at Cornell University

The Bosnia-Atlantis Connection Frenzied reporting of supposed pyramids in the Balkans ignores the truth and embraces the fantastic by Archaeology.org

I moved this to the feedback forum, because, well it is the kind of feedback we really love to hear... congrats Divi and good luck on your further studies... cheers viggen

http://www.amasci.com/miscon/miscon4.html Very interesting read... I would love to hear your comments... cheers viggen

If I told you that you could profit from reading the historical treatise of a writer of vampire novels, you might look at me askance. But what if the novelist in question were educated at Cambridge and Oxford, and had written extensively on the classics? What if he were the author of the unforgettable Rubicon? Yes, indeed, Tom Holland is back. Having offered us the fall of the Roman Republic, Holland now enmeshes us in even grander topics... ...read the full review of Persian Fire by Tom Holland

The co-autor of the Oxford Classical Dictionary wrote a new book, it will be in the USA available in May... ...in the UK it is (of course lol) already available...

Archaeologists are bringing past worlds vividly to life on the computer screen. But are the high-tech graphics helping science, or are they just pretty pictures? Michael Bawaya takes a look. full article at Nature.com

Bones of dozens of dogs offered to the gods in Roman times and unearthed in Ewell 30 years ago is an archeological find that has triggered further investigation. Leading archaeologists are in the village recovering the secrets of lost Roman shrines. The team of excavators, digging at Hatch Furlong on the Ewell bypass, is being led by Harvey Sheldon of Birkbeck College, University of London, and Jon Cotton of the Museum of London and president of the Epsom and Ewell Local History and Archaeology Society. "We are looking at one of the most mysterious aspects of life in Roman Ewell - the cult centres where offerings were made to native gods." full article at Surrey Online

thanks Spurius for this excellent post, it is now made into a web page! cheers viggen

Wine conjures up the image of cultured drinkers sipping their way delicately through a full-bodied vintage. But for two history buffs with a passion for the tipple, northern Italy has the barbarians to thank for its long wine-making tradition. Luca Sormani, from Como, and Fulvio Pescarolo, from the tiny town of Robbio near Milan, have traced the region's wine culture all the way back to its Celtic roots and have started making it according to ancient methods. Celtic tribes from farther north

Seldom can ignorance have played such a vital part in saving a great work of art. The magnificent, larger-than-life-size gilded bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius would almost unquestionably have been melted down during the wholesale destruction of pagan art in the centuries after the triumph of Christianity had it not been mistaken for an image of Constantine, the ruler who made the new faith the official religion of the empire and was subsequently sanctified. full article at IHT.com

A pair of beetle-shaped gold earrings, finger-sized glass flasks, glass and bronze rings, scattered gold leafs - some twisted into the shape of a mouth or eyes - iron nails, and remains of skeletons were just some of the "treasures" recently unearthed in Baalbek from Roman-era burial caves - each piece carrying its own tale from the past. full article at Daily Star

Little is known about the Lapita peoples, the first settlers of the Western Pacific, other than their ubiquitous calling card: red pottery fragments with intricate designs. But in what's being hailed as one of the most dramatic finds in years, researchers at the meeting offered a glimpse of the first-known early Lapita cemetery. "This is the closest we're going to get to the first Polynesians," says archaeologist Matthew Spriggs of Australia National University (ANU) in Canberra, a member of the excavation team. full article at ScienceMag

Another excellent review has been completed for our Roman Books section, thanks to community member Ursus. Not only are relevant items available for further research throughout the site, but our books section includes an ever growing list of Roman related Fiction and Non-Fiction books, Movies and Games. Empire of Honour by J. E. Lendon

The first bodies of the Knights Templar, the mysterious religious order at the heart of The Da Vinci Code, have been found by archaeologists near the River Jordan in northern Israel. full article at Daily Telegraph

For the first time this Easter, visitors to Hadrian's Villa will be able to enjoy full-colour 3-D reconstructions of its glories as they stroll through the huge complex. Special palm pilots will bring the ruins back to life for adults - while younger visitors can have fun with a videogame-style ride through Roman history. via Ansa.it

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/be...apshots/94.html Shocked? Surprised, or exactly what you expected? cheers viggen

Greek and Albanian archaeologists are working together to uncover the secrets of ancient Antigoneia and its founder, Pyrrhus, king of the Molossians. Pyrrhus was a descendant of Achilles. He founded a city in 296 BC that was destroyed in the second century BC. The Romans meted out harsh treatment to the Epirote tribes who had been allies of Perseus. full article at Ekathimerini

Archaeologists have discovered a 2nd-century seaside villa where two important senators of ancient Rome are believed to have passed their summers . The remains of the luxury residence turned up recently in Torvaianica, a coastal resort south of Rome, when the local council started digging trenches for a new sewerage system. via Ansa.it

A brand new book by Adrian Goldsworthy will be released in May! Caesar - The Life of a Colossus (here info for the UK) cheers viggen p.s. Actually the book will be published in the UK in May and in the US in September...

Yesterday I found by accident an old Vinyl of mine in the basement. I had all forgotten about it. The last album from the Beatles. "Abbey Road" After listening to it for basically the whole of yesterday and today, i have to say. It sounds fresh, vibrant and you can hear at every tune that this is a true master piece. The ending medley espcially Golden Slumber/Carry that Weight/The End is probably one of the best pieces of music ever made. It includes features never heard before by the beatles, rough guitar riffs, one of the few songs to feature harmony vocals from all four Beatles and the only ever drum solo by Ringo Starr... I am all in love again with the Beatles...

I just found an old game of mine called "Die Patrizier". It was a popular "management style" computer game about the "Hanseatic League"... I wonder how many of you know anything about the "Hanseatic League". This alliance of trading guilds from the 13th to the 17th century was very unique. It was as far as i know the first economic "club" that made a real impact without having a sovereign country as support. It was in a way the first commercial "global" player... The Hanseatic League was an organisation of merchants in North Germany, including some 70 cities and 100 to 130 smaller towns. These towns and cities were located in an area that is spread over seven European countries today - from the Zuidersee (Netherlands) in the West to Estonia in the East, and from the Visby (Sweden) in the North to a line from Cologne-Erfurt-Breslau-Krakow in the South. From that base, the Hanseatic traders developed a sphere of economic influence extending in the 16th century from Portugal to Russia, and from Scandinavia to Italy - an area covering 20 European countries today. In its heyday, the Hanseatic League was so powerful that it was able to impose economic blockades against kingdoms and principalities, and in exceptional cases even waged war. from Hanse.org cheers viggen

Another excellent review has been completed for our Roman Books section, thanks to community member Frankq. Not only are relevant items available for further research throughout the site, but our books section includes an ever growing list of Roman related Fiction and Non-Fiction books, Movies and Games. Caligula by Sam Wilkinson

Bosnian town hopes to cash in on pyramid Pyramid-mania has taken hold of this small Bosnian town as residents seek to cash in on claims by an archaeologist that it may host Europe's only ancient pyramid. "Our expectation are high. This could be our oil well," Vehab Halilovic, who has started carving pyramids on wooden souvenirs like flutes and pipes. Osmanagic believes the hill was shaped by the Illyrian people, who inhabited the Balkan peninsula long before Slavic tribes conquered it around A.D. 600. Little is known about the Illyrians, but Osmanagic thinks they were more sophisticated than many experts have suggested. full article at SeattlePi

Two Roman burial urns have been found on the grounds of a retirement village being built in Tregony, Cornwall. The 1st century AD pottery urns were found by a Cornwall County Council archaeologist in a pre-construction check at the Roseland Parc development. full article at the BBC