guy

The B-52’s produced this memorable song with an ancient theme:

There have been previous threads on the Chedworth Roman Villa before. There was some suggestion that the structure had been created and in active use in the fifth century AD (see posts below). More precise radiocarbon dating of charcoal samples have shown that “the mosaic was determined to have a median construction date most likely set in 480s AD.” This late date of construction confirms the belief that there was an active and thriving RomanoBritish community despite Rome’s official withdrawal from Britain around AD 410. https://bnnbreaking.com/world/uk/chedworth-roman-villa-discovery-challenges-conventional-understanding-of-post-roman-britain/

Very interesting. The fact that none of the fragments were curved, however, makes me think a column was unlikely.

An extensive water system has been uncovered in the ancient Byzantine city of Dara (in the Mardin Province of Turkey). Dara was an important fortress city on the border with the Sassanid Empire, playing an important role in the Byzantine-Sassanid conflicts of the sixth and seventh century AD. https://www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/1500-year-old-roman-era-well-unearthed-in-turkiyes-mardin/news Location of the ancient city of Dara This short video shows some of the wonderful remains of Dara:

Coin of Aurelian (AD 274)) who, during his reign, elevated Sol Invictus to the highest position among the gods. Here is an excellent video on coins with Sol Invictus. Below are previous threads on Sol invictus:

Archaeologists working at the ancient city of Tarquinia, north of Rome, have unearthed an ancient Roman necropolis containing 67 skeletons buried in 57 tombs. These tombs have been dated from the second to fourth century AD. The skeletons were dressed in ornate jewelry and leather shoes, evidence of a necropolis for elite Romans. https://arkeonews.net/ancient-skeletons-buried-with-gold-jewelry-and-expensive-leather-shoes-found-in-newly-discovered-roman-necropolis-in-italy/ https://www.ancientpages.com/2024/01/09/roman-necropolis-dressed-skeletons/amp/

Archaeologists have uncovered the Roman port Miseno (Misenum) at the Bay of Naples. It was here that Pliny the Elder was the praefect in charge of the naval fleet that later embarked on its ill-fated rescue mission to Pompeii in AD 79. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/roman-villa-complex-found-at-miseno/150244

A hoard of Roman goods known as the Knaresborough hoard was discovered in 1864. Most of these thirty items are now on display at the Yorkshire museum. Until recently, no close analysis of these items had been made. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2024/01/knaresboroughhoard/ Location of Knaresborough discovery

The Severan marble map of Rome known as the Forma Urbis Romae will finally be on display (see video below): Here is a previous discussion involving this wonderful ancient relic: https://www.archaeology.org/issues/337-1905/features/7547-maps-rome-forma-urbis-romae#:~:text=FOUND%3A Rome%2C Italy.,illustrated most of the city. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/middle-empire/a/severan-marble-plan-forma-urbis-romae

Calls have been made to halt unsupervised excavations near the Northern English villa of Marske-by-the-Sea after remains of a potential Roman settlement have been discovered in the area. A significant Roman community in the area could add to the understanding of the Roman presence in Northern England. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-67935267 The location of the Northern English villa of Marske-by-the-Sea

A lead sling bullet has been discovered. It is thought to bear Julius Caesar’s name “CAES” along with “IPSCA,” a nearby town that supported Caesar and supplied him with both weapons and men during Caesar’s Civil War against the Optimates (49-45 BCE). The bullet was found near modern day Montilla in Andalusia, Spain. This finding supports the belief that the climactic Battle of Munda (17 March 45 BCE) was fought nearby. At the battle Caesar decisively defeated a larger force led by former Caesar general and ally Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius (eldest son of Pompey). Location of Montilla, possibly the site of the Battle of Munda, where the bullet was discovered. https://youtu.be/_Z2cJlbkDmE?si=jwTuzSiDD2UisWyG https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69175 https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/julius-caesar-inscribed-sling-bullet-found-in-montilla/150138 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Munda

Interesting question. The sources vary. By some, Helena is thought to have been a Christian at birth (AD 246/248); by others, only after Constantine become emperor (AD 306). According to church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (d. AD 339), Helena’s conversion followed Constantine becoming emperor. If that were true, Helena would have been approaching 60 at the time. I would need to do more research on that question.

Professor Roberto Trizio explores the sanctioned coexistence of the Imperial Cult and Christianity that is exemplified by this discovery. (This video is in Italian so most of us will need to enable the YouTube autotranslate function.)

The short video above is a really simple description of how the ancient Greek Eratosthenes from Cyrene calculated the circumference of the planet Earth around 240 BCE. (This clip is taken from a longer segment below.) interesting to note that Eratosthenes was from Cyrene, noted for its cultivation of the near-mythical plant Silphium (a frequent topic in the past found in the post below). https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200606/history.cfm

A Roman temple dedicated to the Imperial Cult dating from the Christian 4th century AD has been discovered in Spello, Italy. Professor Bonin had directed underground imaging that suggested the structure existed underneath a parking lot. This temple reflects the persistence of pagan traditions along with the arrival of Christianity. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-cult-mentality-professor-monumental-discovery.amp

Before people learned to extract iron from ore during the Iron Age, meteorites were the only source of the metal. This iron Bronze-age arrowhead found in Mörigen, Switzerland was not surprisingly crafted from a meteorite. It dates to 900-800 BCE. After closer analysis, however, the meteorite iron source was determined to be most likely from a meteorite that fell in distant Estonia. This distance of 1600 km (almost 1000 miles) from the Baltic area may reflect the extensive trade in Bronze Age Europe. In 2021, a team of scientists from the institution began studying the relic using noninvasive methods—including electron microscopy, X-ray tomography, and gamma spectrometry—to prevent any damage. While the researchers initially suspected the material to have come from the Twannberg meteorite, which hit a barley field in [nearby] Twann about 170,000 years ago, the arrowhead’s metal content led them instead to the Kaalijarv meteorite. The Kaalijarv meteorite, also known as Kaali, landed in the region of Estonia during the Nordic Bronze Age (c. 1700–500 B.C.E.). https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bronze-age-arrowhead-made-from-meteorite-2345756/amp-page https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323001073?via%3Dihub#sec4

Naxian sphinxes depict a winged lion with a female face. One example from the third century AD was uncovered in the Roman provincial town of Potaissa in ancient Dacia, located in present-day Romania. The bronze sphinx was stolen in the nineteenth century and never has been recovered. Based on a surviving drawing, however, the sphinx inscription has finally been translated. Note that the poem needs to be read right to left. A "dactyl" in poetry is a poetic foot (rhythmic unit) consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, but in this inscription which is read right to left, the patten is the opposite. https://arkeonews.net/mysterious-inscription-on-ancient-dacia-sphinx-is-deciphered/ https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/inscription-on-naxian-style-sphinx-deciphered/150132 Inscription on a Naxian-Style Sphinx Statue From Potaissa Deciphered as a Poem in Dactylic Meter | Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry (maajournal.com)

A small hoard or cache of ten coins dating from the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constans II (AD 641-668) have been discovered in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in the modern day Karabük’s Eskipazar district in Turkey. https://www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/1400-year-old-coins-found-in-piggy-bank-in-turkiyes-karabuk/news/amp http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69169 https://arkeonews.net/1400-year-old-coins-found-in-a-piggy-bank-in-ancient-city-of-hadrianopolis/#

What a wonderful trip planned. Despite traveling to Italy a few times to visit relatives, I’ve never been to Venice. Looking at the map, the two places are very close, but are distinct sites. Looking at web sites, only the North Arsenal is regularly open. The Southern Arsenal is open only during the biannual art festival. From the picture, one can see the Arsenal and the maritime museum (Museo Storico Navale) are extremely close. Sounds fun. Post pictures. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Storico_Navale https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_Arsenal

Thank you for reading my post. You made some interesting and very credible points. However, I would say that the above description of the cause of the ring width is possibly a little too simplistic. I like the multifactorial explanation below better. It seems to me that ring width is a useful tool to assess not only precipitation, but it is also useful to analyze a large array of local climate conditions. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123869135000132

In this short video, Max Miller actually cooks with his garum concoction:

A head of Bacchus that dates to the Ancient Greek era has been discovered in the water near the Ancient Greek city of Cyrene in modern day Libya. The artifact may have been uncovered as a result of a storm in September. The city of Cyrene was well know for its export of the coveted medicinal plant silphium (see post below): https://arkeonews.net/researcher-found-the-head-of-the-statue-of-bacchus-inside-a-water-channel-near-the-ancient-city-of-cyrene-in-libya/

This the latest improved version of this video view of Ancient Rome. This version has more colorized buildings:

There have been previous posts about the Carnyx, the frightening Celtic instrument (see below). Here’s an excellent review of the Carnyx and its role in Celtic history.

Today (late December), the morning sky outside my window is either an auspicious or an ominous sign of what the new year (2024) will bring. Let’s hope the new year will bring all good health and fortune. I wonder what our local augur would say.