Viggen

thanks Jug, something to ponder about, (hope it doesnt take another 7 months for me to reply)

Update from The West Yorkshire Chariot Burial Radiocarbon tests on the wheels of the chariot, which has been described as a "Ferrari of the Iron Age", have proved it dates back to 400BC - 200 years earlier than the previous oldest British find. Archaeologists studying it have also discovered ancient Scots were more in touch with continental Europe than was previously thought. The remains of the chariot were discovered by workers digging on the site of the Edinburgh Interchange business park, near the Newbridge roundabout, nearly three years ago. Scientists have just finished studying the remains and it is now being prepared to go on public display, probably at the Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street. more at the Scotsman

Interesting post (sorry for late reply), When it says he was sent to Britain, how long exactly did it take to get from Rome to Britain, anyone knows?

The secrets of how the ancient ancestors of modern Britons lived and died could be lost forever because the evidence is being destroyed by badgers. Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire has harboured the mysteries of civilisations for more than 5,500 years, making it one of Europe's most treasured archaeological sites. Just beneath the surface are the remains of Bronze Age burials, Iron Age enclosures, Roman villages, Saxon and Medieval settlements and the Second World War. Yet a fast growing population of badgers, attracted to easy digging conditions, is building networks of tunnels that threaten to wreck Britain's historical treasure trove. article at TheGuardian

hehe, good year to you too jug, p.s Jug, money rulez thats life =P

French lighting designer Pierre Bideau has been asked to help create a new look for the Parthenon. If everything goes according to plan, within a few months we will be able to admire the most important monuments in Athens under a new light. Some 1,200 lights will be placed in the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaea, the Temple of Hephaestus, the Herod Atticus Theater and the monuments of Philopappou Hill, radically changing the image these monuments present at night. The aim is for the new lights to render the natural color of the rock instead of the harsh shade of orange that hundreds of industrial spotlights project today. full article at ekathimerini

Archaeologists investigating one of the largest campaign camps in Britain have suggested that the military might of Rome may have drastically reduced the numbers of the indigenous people, leaving large swaths of the country empty for hundreds of years. Excavations at Kintore in Aberdeenshire have revealed that the occupation lasting between the first and third centuries AD was followed by a hiatus of site activity for more than 300 to 400 years. The complete article can be found at The Herald

ok again, what incredible things will you contribute in 2004 for UNRV

Yeah nothing special, but functional thats what i also voted. btw, moon what are your "exiting plans" for the upcoming year that you will do on UNRV!

IT looks like a nondescript dump but it's actually an historical treasure trove which may help scholars unravel the origins of Christianity. The papers found at Oxyrhynchus are unique because they describe ordinary things. Dating from the 3rd and 4th centuries, they include tax returns, shopping lists, police reports and business contracts. There are also private letters, and fragments of the New

Pieces of treasure hidden by the Romans 1,650 years ago as Germanic tribes stormed their northern Swiss fort, have been reunited and put on display for the first time. Some 270 precious items including silver platters, dishes, utensils and coins, are on show amid tight security at the Museum of the Roman town of Augusta Raurica, in Basel. Weighing 58 kg in total, it is the largest collection of Late Antique silver ever to have been discovered, and conveys a dazzling image of the Roman Empire shortly before the transition to the Middle Ages. In December 1961, a mechanical digger levelling off a school playing field in Kaiseraugst, canton Aargau, wrenched the treasure out of the ground and dumped it onto a mud heap. It was two months before an archaeologist was taken to the site, where a Roman fortress once protected the inhabitants of nearby Augusta Raurica. Sensational! With images and Video at SwissInfo

THE ROLE of responsible metal detecting enthusiasts in unearthing the previously hidden historical secrets of the Island was praised at an inquest into recent finds of Roman coins and ancient jewellery. full article including a nice image of a roman coin at Isle of Wight Today

Archeologists say they have traced the origins of the first Christmas to be celebrated on 25 December, 300 years before the birth of Christ. The original event marked the consecration of the ancient world's largest sun god statue, the 34m tall, 200 ton Colossus of Rhodes. It has long been known that 25 December was not the real date of Christ's birth and that the decision to turn it into Jesus's birthday was made by Constantine, the Roman Emperor, in the early 4th century AD. But experts believe the origins of that decision go back to 283 BC, when, in Rhodes, the winter solstice occurred at about sunrise on 25 December. The event was preserved by academics on Rhodes or in Alexandria, and seems to have been passed to Caesar by the Hellenistic Egyptian scientists, who advised him on his calendrical reforms. full article at Independent

A Roman wall discovered at the Gozo Cathedral, in Victoria when workers knocked down another wall underneath the sacristy must be covered up again, according to a Malta Planning and Environment Authority enforcement notice, because the work was not approved. The episode is the latest in a series of disputes between the parish priest, Mgr John Vella Gauci, and the authority over construction work at the cathedral. The Roman wall was unearthed when workers knocked down a 100-year-old wall in a room underneath the sacristy. The parish priest had an inkling that the finding was of historical value and called George Azzopardi, who represents Heritage Malta in Gozo. full article with image at TheTimesofMalta

Yeah right, thats real lol there is a online game called blogshares and UNRV is part of it for a while (didn't realy know about it) check it out, http://www.blogshares.com/blogs.php?blog=h...com%2Findex.php no idea how exactly it works, (sure PP knows the trading game better) just thought its kinda funny. So lets go public hhehee

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Souvenir-hunting thieves have stolen part of an ancient fresco from the Israeli archaeological site of Masada, Israeli officials said on Sunday. The thieves removed a 15 cm (6 inch) square section of a fresco that decorated the ancient Roman headquarters at Masada, located on a barren mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, the National Parks Authority said in a statement. Masada was originally a palace built by the Jewish King Herod on a desert mountain whose sheer sides served as a natural fortress. After the Romans conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish Temple in AD 70, Jewish fighters took refuge there. But, as the Roman scribe Josephus recorded, they were besieged by the Roman Tenth Legion, who enlisted thousands of slaves to build a giant ramp to breach the walls. Realizing they could not hold out for much longer, most of the fighters committed suicide rather than be taken captive. Israeli archaeologists restored Masada in the 1960s and it is now one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. The fresco had recently been the object of a further costly restoration, but the thieves -- who the National Parks Authority said were probably souvenir hunters rather than professionals -- may have chosen the wrong target. Local legend has it that "those who took even a stone from Masada lived to regret it."

Weeks ago archeologists revealed that they had unearthed a rare and nationally significant Iron Age burial site at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire complete with a chariot, a spear and the 2,500-year-old skeleton of a Celtic warrior or king. The 2,000-year-old coins, which yesterday went on display at the Hull and East Riding Museum, were found last year in a ploughed field near Driffield by a metal detectorist. After being declared treasure trove, they were sold to the museum with the help of a

A Bronze Age gold disc used as an item of adornment at a burial 4,000 years ago has been declared treasure trove by a coroner at Aberystwyth. The disc dating back 4,000 years was discovered at Cwmystwyth Mines near Aberystwyth- and is only the third known piece of gold from the Bronze Age discovered in Wales. full article with image at the BBC.

Did nothing survive of the library? What is the chance that some stuff is still hidden somewhere?

Architectural historians have long credited the Romans with inventing the aboveground barrel vault, but a recent discovery at the site of Morgantina shows that the innovation goes back to the third century B.C. and may have originated in Hellenistic Sicily. full article with image at Archaeology

Not 100% Roman Empire related, but what the heck, Romans used this vast source of knowledge too. to the article

more on the Chariot with magnificant images (and I mean magnificant!!!). The chariot had been placed in a large oval pit in the centre of a square ditched enclosure. The burial pit would originally have been covered by a low earth mound formed from the spoil dug out of the surrounding enclosure ditch. As this had been dug into limestone, the mound would have been clearly visible from a distance. For the full article with beautiful images and a clickable map of the burial site go to Oxford Archaeology

Very interesting article about how the Colosseum worked, including a graphic. The Colosseum in Rome was as sophisticated as a modern stage set, according to archaeologists who have calculated how an intricate system of gangplanks, trapdoors and levers was used to bring wild animals into the arena. Under the 55,000-seat Colosseum, pulleys and ropes were operated at split-second intervals to connect passages, open gates and hoist cages from the basement to the floor of the arena. The system was run by teams of trained slaves who faced being fed to the animals themselves if their timing went awry. A team from the German Archaeological Institute involved in an eight-year project to rebuild the arena - which dates back to about ad70 - has been astonished by the ingenious designs. full article at the Telegraph

IN TERMS of bringing history to life, pupils and staff at Winchester's newest school couldn't have done much better. Because in the grounds of the newly opened Osborne School, archaeologists are uncovering a massive Roman cemetery with more than 150 graves dating back 1,700 years. The graves give a fascinating insight into life in Winchester at that time - or Venta Belgarum, as the Romans called it - but they have also turned up some unexpected finds. For example, most of the graves are believed to have been Christian burials, while what is possibly the first Christian burial ground is also in the area -- with the bodies lying predominantly from east to west. But many of the graves also show signs of people hedging their bets and including some pagan offerings, just in case the newly arrived Christian faith turned out to be false. full article with picture at ThisisHampshire

A cooperation agreement on the protection of Morocco's Roman site Volubilis (northeast of Rabat) was signed in Rabat Monday between the culture department and the Institute of Archeology of University College London (UCL). Under the 5-year agreement, the two parties will document the conservation status of the site of Volubilis, carry out emergency and pilot conservation projects according to priorities established by the joint management team, develop proposals for operations related to all existing and proposed buildings on the site and undertake archeological excavations when necessary. from Arabic News