Klingan

I don't know how they referred to each other but all recruits, wherever they came from were given a roman name.

I think the Palatine hill always was more or less a palace/villa area in Rome. Augustus was just spartan in his taste (In comparison to later emperors). His home was surly not any common house. But considering that 23 AD was during Tiberius rule, I would say that it most certainly was a large and impressive complex.

The lived at the Palantine. It's a hill right next to the forum. You can find pictures from there in my photo album here. Augustus house wasn't really a palace, but they soon developed into that after his death.

Very interesting even if I somehow expected something more visual by some reason. Anyway great post!

I'm afraid I can't find anything about the size. However they look quite big too me (From the book I found them in) at least 1.5 meter or so. A thought just struck me. I'm not sure how it would be Post-C but it would definitively be a waste of time to make one like the one in Rome Pre-C since they changed the calendar each year. Just out of curiosity do they use the same calendar through all the episodes? It should obviously have been changes somewhere in the last episodes of season one. But I guess that it too much to ask.

Look what I've found: This is a Pre-Caesarean Calendar, found in Antium And a post one from the same place. I'm sorry fro the lack of quality in the pictures but in the original it's looking like the first one was painted and the second one was cut in stone.

I get the impression that very many powerful men tried to make them self more powerful, wealthy and give them self more status by military conquest, all under a face of defensive wars. It's easier to convince people that a war is necessary if the enemy are a threat, then just saying that they wanted to conquer land and glory.

Haha certainly looks like that but he's standing at the gray wall. Anyway on roman calendars, they're a total mess or even worse. I've tried twice to grasp them but it's just not really working. If that wall indicates anything it's probably remade to make sure that we would understand it. Edit: Since it's after Caesars reforms it would probably make some sense, all the strange stuff was before that.

The IMDB information was updated about one month ago. I don't know it's really very much new thou. (Was is really used to be called Hannibal the Conqueror? ) Hannibal the Conqueror at IMDB

Either modern humans were in Israel over 200,000 years ago, or our now-extinct ancestors behaved a lot like us when they hunted and cooked, suggest artifacts and bones from a newly excavated cave. Together, the remains paint a picture of relatively sophisticated hunting and food preparation at the site, called Misliya Cave, in Mount Carmel, Israel. According to lead author Reuven Yeshurun, the cave exhibits "the full array of modern hunting behavior." advertisement Shop Discovery Channel Store line This behavior included "systematic hunting of large, prime-age animals, transport of the animals

Are civil wars more shameful than conquering another mans land? I get the feeling that CL is trying to say it was a shame that the Romans engaged in civil war, not in conquest. (Might be mistaken, my English is far from perfect.)

The Tetrarch statue, is it the original or a copy? I was quite sure that it's kinda stuck in the wall of St Mark's in Venice.

It's not very much like either of those movies. It's far more standardized Hollywood. Imagine any modern action movie but with swords.

I saw it a few months back some my memory of it isn't really that fresh but from what I remember it was a descent show, reminding me more of a long tv series episode then a movie, but then again I've seen far worse movies. It's hardly comparable to Alexander, they're every unlike each other in everything from style, script, setting, shooting technique etc. I should add a general warning thou, my taste in movies is well known back home for how bad it is. I would say that if you have 2 hours left some day nothing better to then surfing the net randomly, you might just as well see this movie.

Very interesting I never thought of that. I guess it could be easily fixed by having a flat section at the back? Or if you have the normal two leather strap gripping in a 45 degrees angel it could probably work as any other shield (More probable in my opinion). This is just speculations thou.

Pertinax had a funny thought when commenting on the bust I posted with the elaborate hairstyle. What in hell did they use to keep the hair like that? I can hardly imagine anything what would do the job done even today but glue or something.

I was watching a documentary the other day that mentioned Etruscan gladiators/fights. I don't know where they've got their facts from and they have some things wrongs in other places so it's not very trustworthy, but according to them it started with Etruscan funeral games. The losers were killed and his blood celebrated the prestige of the dead man and was an offering to his soul. (Discovery Channel Ancient Rome Part 1 of 8 - The Rise of the Roman Empire)

The female fashion was rapidly changing. You can see this on the many busts of the rich mens wifes. (As most of the time we're talking upper classes, there's not many remains of low class peoples hair.) Here's an example: It's from 120 AD and show us that times popular hair style for rich women. Haircuts were important to men to, Pompey tried to make himself look like Alexander the great by using his lion style haircut. For more examples on male haircuts look at busts and statues from 150-0 ish BC, when it was customary to make the portraits very realistic. Here's Pompey:

Yes, yes, I can see it all so clearly now! The aliens have built up an advanced civilization, traveled the stars, built wormholes and now they decide to build huge pyramids of stone on a loony planet with all but no technology in the pattern of Orions belt to show us where they come from in 3500 years so that they'll know for sure that we become their friends and won't exterminate them!

If you need some help checking it I'd be happy to lend a hand. I've got some free time on my hands before I get back to Uni.

Happy Birthday!

I'm starting to wonder it there isn't something strange here. I've never heard about any amphitheater that old in Rome so I did some checking. From what I understand now was G. Scribonius Curio amphitheater built 100 years later in his fathers memory (52 or 53 BC) (for his funeral games?) and not 159 BC. Lacas Curtius

Egyptian mummies may be more international than previously thought, as analysis of one such mummy in the Brooklyn Museum's collection has revealed a surprising connection to Spain. The mummy, named "Demetrios," turns out to have been wrapped in linen that was decorated with red pigment containing lead that originated in Spain, according to the museum. "We now think the ancient Egyptians made very specific material choices for mummy preparation," Lisa Bruno, the museum's lead object conservator, told Discovery News. Read more here.

Archaeologists using radar imagery have shown that an ancient Cambodian settlement centered on the celebrated temple of Angkor Wat was far more extensive than previously thought, a study released Monday said. The medieval settlement surrounding Angkor, the one-time capital of the illustrious Khmer empire which flourished between the ninth and 14th centuries, covered a 1,158-square-mile area. The urban complex was at least three times larger than archaeologists had previously suspected and easily the largest pre-industrial urban area of its kind, eclipsing comparable developments such as Tikal, a Classic Maya "city" in Guatemala. Read more here.

Haha I would have loved to see the face on the thieves when they saw who were after them!