guy

A wall painting of a woman at the well, perhaps the earliest known representation of the Virgin Mary, is from the baptistery of the Christian building. It is painted on plaster, 3rd century AD. Dura-Europos was the easternmost Roman stronghold in Mesopotamia, located in modern-day Syria. The Romans, led by Lucius Verus, took control of the city from Parthia in AD 164, and it remained under Roman control until the Sasanians, led by Shapur I, captured the city and deported the population in AD 256-257. Archaeological evidence reveals that this border town was a site of religious tolerance, with a variety of faiths being practiced. This included the Christian faith, which was still persecuted, and possibly the world's oldest church. Women at the empty tomb of Christ. Here is a good article on the religious diversity of Dura-Europos: Much of this religious imagery was destroyed by ISIS during the Syrian war in 2015. https://the-past.com/feature/the-gods-of-dura-europos/ The synagogue of Dura-Europos dated to AD 244: Mithraeum of Dura-Europos Here’s a previous thread on evidence of chemical warfare found at Dura-Europos:

The imagery of Britannia first appeared on Roman coins during the reign of Hadrian (see below): Britannia reappeared on British coinage several centuries later. Here’s an excellent article by NGC Ancients that shows how iconography on modern coins and stamps was inspired by ancient coins: https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/11888/Ancient-coins-reborn/

A Roman roof tile with a dog print on it A Roman settlement has been found in North East Lincolnshire. Fragments of painted wall plaster found at settlement. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-66246156

Here’s a recreation of the Fayum mummy portraits:

Announced in July, this is the second lead sarcophagus from the Roman era has been found at a cemetery near the Gaza Strip. (See previous post for information about the first sarcophagus.) More than sixty Roman-era tombs have been found in the area. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230717-roman-era-sarcophagus-uncovered-in-gaza/amp/

Evidence of Roman wine making has been discovered in Cambridgeshire. If these findings are true, I imagine that the climate in Britain was different two thousand years ago. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12309845/Grape-Britain-Scientists-discover-evidence-Romans-produced-wine-Cambridgeshire-2-065-years-ago.html

The Sphere, the latest entertainment venue in Las Vegas, looks breathtaking. It seats around 16,000 and will be a sports and music facility. It will open this fall.

I am the last person to ask about religious or philosophical matters. But here I go .... Every society, including secular ones, needs to have a belief system to explain the surrounding world. Even Revolutionary France needed a replacement for Christianity that had been suppressed. It created a Temple of Reason for the Cult of Reason based on the ideas of reason, virtue, and liberty. Temple of Reason - Wikipedia As a highly superstitious and Proto-scientific society, Romans needed many gods to explain the many natural phenomena and unexplained events around them. The Romans, therefore, developed their complex belief system that included numerous gods to explain natural events and observations. Here are just a few examples: Candelifera: Goddess of childbirth Cardea: Goddess of hinges and doors Cloacina: Goddess who presided over the sewers in Rome iris: Goddess of the rainbow Tempestes: Goddess of storms ≡ Roman Gods and Goddesses List 170 Legendary Roman Gods (adducation.info) List of Roman deities - Wikipedia Since Jupiter was the King of the Roman gods, lord of the skies, and patron deity of Rome, I wonder how many of the "lesser gods and goddesses" were merely venerated and not truly worshiped. An example of venerated entities would be saints in modern-day Catholicism, many of whom have a more local significance and even fall out of veneration. (Although still recognized as a saint, Christopher no longer has his feast day appearing on the Church's universal liturgical calendar, for example.) Here is a good video based on the series "Rome" discussing the gods in Ancient Rome.

(Scene from the movie “Gladiator” of the attempted assassination of Maximus) A body was found facedown in Wales, thought to be a higher ranking Roman with sword from the third or fourth century AD. Strangely, the person was found with metal nails near his neck, back and feet, suggesting he was constrained at the time of death. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/elite-roman-man-buried-with-sword-may-have-been-restrained-in-death

Here is an older story I’m still not clear about. A pyramid-like structure located near Viterbo,Italy about 40 miles north of Rome has been attributed to the Etruscans. It was first discovered in 1991 and only recently has been further evaluated. It is thought to be associated with sacrifices or ablution rites (ritual baths with the intent of purification and dedication) because of the channel cut through the rocks to carry away fluids. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-etruscan-pyramid/139400 https://www.piramide-etrusca.it/piramide-bomarzo-articoli/1451/

Thanks, Crispina, for reading my posts. I agree with Caesar Novus that Darius Arya is working hard to keep interest in Ancient Rome alive and accessible. His many posts on YouTube are both insightful and entertaining. We are so fortunate to have these many resources (including UNRV) available to us. We should embrace these. The recent passing of Pullo (Ray Stevenson) from the HBO series “Rome” should remind us what a fragile and fleeting gift good health is. So, enjoy the grandeur and appreciate the challenges that were Ancient Rome.

Darius Arya has done another wonderful video. This one is of the magnificent Baths of Diocletian, near the main train terminal in Rome. This video shows some of the newest archaeological findings now on display.

Recent excavations at Vindolanda have found evidence of Batavian troops: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/07/evidence-of-the-9th-cohort-of-batavians-among-new-finds-at-roman-vindolanda/147997

Here’s a nice review of the possible fate of Legio IX that disappeared from history:

Painted mosaics and plaster have been uncovered during excavations at the Apppia Antica 39 site in Rome

Well, the vandal, a British tourist (of Bulgarian descent) has been identified: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/07/04/colosseum-vandal-seeks-forgiveness-after-defacing-historic-amphitheatre

This looks like an interesting book by the excellent writer Tom Holland. Here’s a nice review by “Goodreads” https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62712920-pax Here’s a good interview of Holland on his new book

Two ancient skeletons have been found in Southeast Romania. They are thought to be of Roman origin since a coin of Hadrian was found in one of the mouths. It is believed that the grave site had been robbed by ancient Dacians. Interestingly, a wolf skull was found at the site, supposedly to prevent the revenge of the souls of the deceased. (A wolf skull at the burial site) https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C97102%2Cwolf-skull-found-grave-robbers-dig-was-meant-protect-thieves-wrath-dead-say

Turkey is requesting that this bronze sculpture head of Septimius Severus on display in Copenhagen be returned. Earlier, a “headless” sculpture had been returned to Turkey from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Both this sculpture head and the already-returned body had been presented together in an exhibit in 1979. Turkey insists that the sculpture head is part of the body returned and should be also returned. https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2023-07-04-turkish-statue-searches-for-his-head-in-denmark.HyfVtIX-F3.html

Recent excavations during construction of a parking structure in Belgrade, Syria (the ancient Roman town of Singidunum) have uncovered 14 Roman tombs and an aqueduct. It is thought that these finds date to the 3rd and 4th century AD. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/roman-aqueduct-and-luxurious-burials-unearthed-during-construction-of-underground-parking-garage-in-serbia

I think this summary was the best on the topic. Roman elites were willing to give away some of their freedoms to maintain stability (as well as their security and wealth). Being accepted by the Senate was important for legitimacy of any Emperor. In fact, lack of Senate support usually predicted an initial resistance and difficultly to anyone's claim. For most Romans, however, these remaining freedoms meant little. To paraphrase Sallust: Only a few prefer liberty, the majority seek nothing more than fair masters.

The allure of this discovery was the notion that the fresco depicted an "ancient pizza," or at least a remote precursor, considering tomatoes were unknown in Italy for another 1,500 years.

Pompeii continues to provide new findings, this time a beautiful fresco at Regio IX. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/06/fresco-depicting-a-still-life-uncovered-in-pompeii/147875

A sculpture head has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Nemi, about 31 km (19 miles) south of Rome. It is thought to belong to one of Caligula’s two “floating pleasure” boats. https://www.ancientpages.com/2023/06/28/roman-marble-head-lake-nemi/ Here is a previous post on the stolen mosaic from one of the pleasure-boats that ended up in New York City.

A metal detectorist has found a Roman dinnerware set. It’s not clear whether it was for civilian or military purposes. https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-06-29/amazing-2000-year-old-roman-hoard-discovered-by-local-detector