Viggen

English Heritage announce Landmark Agreement to save Internationally Important Site. Verulamium, Britain

YORK may be famous for its cobbled streets, but now a street dating back nearly 2,000 years has been found beneath an old York pub. Regulars at the old Starting Gate pub in Tadcaster Road may be surprised to learn their local was sitting on a piece of history. full article at York

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Roman theatre in the small German town of Kuenzing, suggesting that soldiers at the front were entertained by gladiators and animal fights. Known as Quintanis in Roman times, the town was on the Danube frontier of the Roman empire and garrisoned by 500 mercenaries. The archaeologists were astonished to discover an oval area of post holes and realised they were looking at the remains of wooden grandstands round an arena. full article at IOL

Hello Kanoth, yup i liked in particular the nice image of the ship and the info that they could ship both ways on the river. More to come i hope. cheers viggen

Dutch archaeologists have discovered a Roman cargo ship equipped with oars, a unique find that they say explains how imperial Rome defended itself on its northern frontiers. THE BARGE, dating from around A.D. 100, was excavated in the Dutch town of Woerden, which was once the location of the Roman military settlement Castellum Laurium on the banks of the Rhine. The flat-bottomed boat was manned by at least 12 rowers. The oars would have allowed the Romans to navigate strong currents back to the German Eiffel region from where it had brought rocks to strengthen the forts along the frontier. more (including a great image) at MSNBC

Archaeologists are using digital mapping techniques to find out more about day-to-day life in Roman forts. Centre from the Archaelogical Research spokeswoman in Canberra in the ACT, Dr Penelope Allison, is part of a team tracking where pottery and women's jewellery has been found in Roman military camps along the old frontier in Germany. Dr Allison says by marking the number of materials found in particular buildings and streets archaeologists will learn more about life thousands of years ago. more at Car.anu.edu.au

The earliest private chapel from Dark Age Britain has been unearthed in the foundations of a Roman "stately home". The fifth century font and baptistry were built into the ornate mosaic floor of an unusual double villa in Wiltshire not long after the Romans left Britain. Although there are older chapels, archaeologists say it is the earliest example of a landowner converting rooms inside his home for baptisms. more at the Telegraph, including a nice drawing of the villa.

A NEW housing development in the centre of Worcester is to retain a sense of history after archaeologists unearthed Roman treasures during an excavation. In August a four week dig was carried out in The Butts by the Birmingham Archaeology unit -part of the University of Birmingham - and sponsored by Miller Homes who plan to build apartments on the land. full article at Worcester Standard

Like most colonial conquests, the Roman conquest of Britain was going its relentless piecemeal way when, 18 years on, in AD61, a human swarm came out of East Anglia. Queen Boudica, or Buddug, the equivalent of her name in modern Welsh, had risen against the conquerors. The underlying reason for the revolt was the accountancy on which so much Roman history turned. It is startling to learn how many of the blighters were money-lenders on the side, and with Nero's government thinking of abandoning Britain altogether as a bad investment, these men, the philosopher Seneca among them, began calling in their loans. But the event that sparked off the revolt was the outrage perpetrated on the royal house of the Iceni by Imperial tax-collectors, when Boudica was whipped, and her daughters raped. This was a rising inspired by loan sharks, prompted by the Internal Revenue, and its aim was genocide. full article at the Telegraph

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed evidence of a Roman road and Bronze Age settlement at a multi-million pound business and leisure park development. The dig at the 300-acre Gibfield Park site in Atherton has revealed fragmentary remains of the badly damaged road, which linked Roman forts at Manchester and Wigan. more at BoltonNews

The discovery of a series of mysterious rock carvings in Northern England has sparked a quest among experts to find out exactly what they are. Archaeologists from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, who were alerted to the carvings by a local farm-hand, are baffled as to what they mean or who created them. Fellow experts they have consulted, from bodies like English Heritage and The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, are equally confused. As far as they know, nobody has ever reported anything like them before. full article at EurekAlert

Archaeologists could soon unveil the social structure of a mysterious Bronze Age civilization from northern Italy, according to ongoing anthropological and archaeological research. The study centers on a large necropolis discovered in the Casinalbo village near Modena. Dating between 1500 and 1200 B.C., it consisted of more than 2,000 tombs belonging to the people of the "terramare"

THE remains of what is believed to be a Roman fort dating back almost 2,000 years have been discovered beneath fields in Great Urswick. Archaeologist Steve Dickinson, of Trinity Gardens, Ulverston, predicted the presence of the site in a report he wrote about Urswick church last year. He said he suspected there were remains of a permanent Roman military base in the area because of the large amounts of unusual sandstone masonry that kept appearing in Urswick. more at ThisistheLakeDistrict

After three years of research, the Pompeii that Mount Vesuvius did not bury is coming to light, according to Italian archaeologists. Hidden in layers beneath the town overwhelmed by lava and ash by the most famous eruption in history, the ancient settlement dates back to the third century B.C. via Mirabilis

Archaeologists in the Spanish city of Cordoba have uncovered beneath the university's old veterinary faculty Europe's biggest Roman amphitheatre after the Coliseum. The find, considered to be "of transcendental importance", dates from the first century AD, when Corduba, as it was then known, was the provincial capital of Betica, today's Andalusia, in imperial Hispania. "We initially thought it was a circus, the circular arena the Romans used for horse races and chariot rides," says Desiderio Vaquerizo, professor of architecture at Cordoba University. "But we discovered it was an immense oval amphitheatre - 178m by 145m and up to 20m high - that would have been used for gladiatorial contests and other bloodthirsty spectacles." The find reveals Cordoba as an imperial city built in Rome's image. "The amphitheatre shows that Cordoba symbolised Rome's authority in the west: it was the setting for imperial ceremonies, the place where the emperor showed himself to the plebs and displayed all his power and authority before up to 50,000 spectators," Mr Vaquerizo told The Independent yesterday. Less than one tenth of the arena is visible, but archaeologists plan to uncover one sixth of it - 2,000 square metres - in coming years. The rest of the vast stadium - bigger, more sophisticated and elegant, than even that at Italica outside Seville - is likely to remain buried under buildings piled on over the centuries. more at the Independent

What could be part of an olive press dating back to Roman times has been discovered embedded under a high rubble wall on the outskirts of Nadur. The press was discovered by Lino Bugeja, of Marsascala, while walking down the winding road to Ramla bay last week. Mr Bugeja said he was convinced the large round stone was a press because it was practically identical in shape and size to the existing olive press at the Archaeology Museum in Gozo. The one in the museum was one of two found in Xewkija. Mr Bugeja said careful examination of the soil around showed that a number of potsherds, some of which had incisions, could be seen scattered in the area. This shows that the whole surrounding area could be archaeologically important, he said. The whole Ramla Valley area is studded with sites of archaeological importance: Ggantija temples lie on the Xaghra side and further down there is the legendary Calypso's cave. In the centre of the valley there is the flat-topped hill known as in-Nuffara, which is known as a Bronze Age site, while a Roman villa, complete with baths, lies buried in the sands of the bay. Mr Bugeja said the trapetum he discovered does not feature on any of the archaeological maps in the Archaeology Museum in Gozo. He said he was willing to accompany Museums department officials to indicate the site where the press is but does not want to divulge the exact spot publicly, fearing the site would be tampered with or the item stolen. from TheTimesofMalta

Archaeologists excavating the site of a huge iron factory on Exmoor believe it might have been used to help produce weapons for the Roman army. Experts working at the dig near Brayford in north Devon believe what they have found is far more important than they first thought. The factory is on such a massive scale they are wondering whether the Romans may have had a greater influence in the South West than previously believed. It is thought a lot of the iron produced there 2,000 years ago was destined for national and even international markets to make weapons and tools. Hundreds of tons of iron was produced on the site between 100AD and 300AD - far more than was needed locally. A remote valley seems an unlikely location for a busy factory, but its remoteness has helped to preserve it as the site has not been damaged, say experts. more at the BBC

A Japanese archaeological mission engaged in the excavation of Tyre

Hehe, not deleted! The forum shows standard only posts of the last 30 days there is a option right under the post to change that. cheers viggen

A British amateur chemist has worked out how the ancient Romans dyed the togas of emperors this deep colour thanks to a bacterium found in cockles from the supermarket Tesco. The hue had special significance as the colour of imperial power. Cleopatra also had the sails on her ship dyed the same colour. The recipe for the dye had been kept a craft secret, even in ancient Egypt and Rome. There are few references to the dying process in the historical literature. full article at the BBC

History experts believe the hoard of Iron Age gold unearthed in a Winchester field was a gift from Julius Caesar to one of Britain's first kings. The fine gold, incredible craftsmanship and a revised date now suggest the necklaces were made in the classical world and not Britain, as previously thought. Dr Jeremy Hill, from the British Museum, believes it was a diplomatic gift from a Roman ruler, possibly Julius Caesar or Mark Antony, to an Iron Age king living near Winchester. According to Winchester's top archaeologist, Dick Whinney, this may explain the lack of local opposition to the Roman invasion of 43AD. The hoard, known as the Winchester Treasure, was discovered in 2000 in a ploughed field near Owslebury by Kevan Halls, a retired florist from West End, using a metal detector. Mr Halls received

She is faceless and armless, but she has a name: Senua. A previously unknown Romano-British goddess has been resurrected at the British Museum, patiently prised from soil-encrusted clumps of gold and corroded silver which have buried her identity for more than 1,600 years. Her name is published for the first time today. The 26 pieces of gold and silver, found in a Hertfordshire field last year, are believed to be the treasures of a shrine in her honour, carefully hidden as some disaster loomed in the late 3rd century. The fact that they were never recovered suggests the protection of the goddess did nothing to save her conscientious devotee. "This is a hugely significant find, of national and international importance," Ralph Jackson, Roman curator at the British Museum, said. "Personal hoards, hidden in some crisis, are reasonably common. To find a hoard of a temple treasure, such as this one, is incredibly rare, not just in Britain but anywhere. To give Britain a new goddess is extraordinary." more at the Guardian (including picture)

The discovery in Hampshire of a 2,000-year-old die has provided valuable evidence about coin production in Britain before the Roman invasion. The ancient die, used to stamp the design on gold coins in the Iron Age, was found near Alton. A member of the public handed it to the county museums and archives service whose staff immediately recognised it as something special. Kay Ainsworth, keeper of archaeology, sent it to the curator for Iron Age Coins at the British Museum, who confirmed her belief that the object was indeed the genuine article, dating to around 100BC. However, early analysis of the die at the British Museum suggests that it may have been made by a forger. It is only the second pre-Roman coin-die found in Britain. more at This is Winchester

Evidence for what, by modern standards, would be considered a lack of style has been uncovered at a major archaeological dig in south London, where a foot from a bronze statue appears to be adorned with both socks and sandals. The discovery was made during the excavation of a three-acre Romano-Celtic temple complex at Tabard Square in Southwark. more at BBC