guy

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23528814.detectorists-targeted-baylham-roman-site-plead-guilty/

Excavation of a temple to Isis in Pompeii has yielded evidence of birds, possibly for sacrifice to Isis. (Isis from wall painting of tomb of Seti I) https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/ancient-romans-sacrificed-birds-to-the-goddess-isis-burnt-bones-in-pompeii-reveal https://phys.org/news/2023-05-evidence-bird-sacrifices-goddess-isis.amp

Here are two short videos about some of the Roman treasures found in The British Museum and The Metropolitan Art Museum of New York by Professor Garrett Ryan:

A 2000-year-old financial record has been found in Jerusalem. https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2023-05-17/ty-article/israeli-archaeologists-find-2-000-year-old-financial-record-in-jerusalem/00000188-28eb-df77-afe9-69ef95060000 https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/rkzwcwfhn

Two skeletons have been found in Pompeii, presumably killed by the earthquakes that followed the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-skeletons-pompeii-excavations.amp

London has its newest museum that showcases the Roman Wall of London: https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/londons-newest-museum-shows-off-a-huge-slice-of-roman-wall-62592/ https://knowyourlondon.wordpress.com/2020/08/31/roman-wall/ Here’s a nice video on finding the remnants of the Roman wall through London

A mid 2nd century AD Roman wreck containing marble has been found in Israel. Swimmer discovers precious marble cargo from 1,800-year-old Mediterranean shipwreck (msn.com) Storm Uncovers 1,800-year-old Shipwreck Carrying Rare Precious Cargo (newsweek.com)

Another book I'll add to my queue. This new book dealing with pandemics thru history shows that disease has played an important role in the arc of history. I found this statement from a critical review interesting: The idea that instability and chaos results in increased religiosity is not a new one. Several other books have suggested that Christianity offered comfort in this life and potentially the next. I can't remember the name of the book that stressed Christian "burial societies" (which helped to pay for funeral services) in Ancient Rome helped to solidify Christianity in Ancient Rome. This book looks interesting, nevertheless. Burial society - Wikipedia Are Germs the Main Characters in History? | The New Republic (Thanks to Lapman's Quarterly for bringing this to my attention)

Mérida, Spain is the best preserved Roman city in the Iberian Peninsula (see video below). A Roman purse dated to the late 3rd century AD has been discovered at the site. It is thought that the textiles used in the purse’s construction originated from Egypt: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/05/archaeologists-analyse-remains-of-roman-purse-found-in-merida/147279

Something not mentioned is “luck.” Octavian was a sickly child who was plagued by poor health throughout his life. Octavian managed to live a long life, however. This was no small feat in a world where there was such a high mortality rate. Octavian was also lucky to have early in his life two essential friends: Agrippa and Maecenas. Agrippa was crucial in his political advice and his military expertise in defeating Marc Antony. Agrippa was also crucial for many civil projects (aqueducts, sewage, baths, etc) as Octavian consolidated his power over Rome. Maecenas was the wealthy patron whose administrative skills were needed to consolidate Octavian’s power. He was also a patron of the arts (Virgil and Horace, for example) who helped to legitimize Octavian’s rule by creating the Augustan mythology. As mentioned, Octavian was lucky that Antony was either foolish or incompetent in military and political matters. Antony, for example, lost more than 30,000 needed and irreplaceable troops pursuing a foolish war against Parthia. Antony also alienated potential allies in both Rome and the military with his relationship with Cleopatra. So, “luck” also played an important role in Octavian’s successful rule over Rome.

We are familiar with the promiscuous Messalina, the third wife of Claudius. In fact, Caldrail recently linked an old movie based on her life (see below). Below is an interesting podcast on her life based on a soon-to-be released book by the classicist Honor Cargill-Martin. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ancients/id1520403988?i=1000612571183

Here is another good short video by Classical Numismatics:

The Pantheon, a former Roman Pagan temple, is now used to celebrate the Christian Pentecost, which commemorates the decent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and followers of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-31). This is celebrated 50 days after Easter (May 28th. 2023). The red rose petals represent Christ’s descent into heaven.

Here is a good video by Maiorianus on the roles that two Germanic generals played (Ricimer in the Western Empire) and Aspar (in the Eastern Empire) during the 5th century. I knew about Ricimer but Aspar was little known to me. The Germanic general Aspar had a pernicious influence on the Eastern Empire for almost a half century during the reigns of Theodosius II and Marcian until Leo I had him killed in AD 471. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricimer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspar#:~:text=As the general of a,the end%2C had him killed.

Here's a follow-up of this find. These are some of the more than thirty engraved gems discovered (so far): Here is a section of the main drain excavated: Ancient Romans Dropped Their Bling Down the Drain, Too - The New York Times (nytimes.com) Archaeologists Recover Trove of Ancient Roman Gems That Fell Down Bathhouse Drain in England (yahoo.com)

Illegal metal detectorists who pillage protected historical sites at night are known as “nighthawks.” The Colchester site has become the latest target. (Several threads have been written before about this important Roman city. See below.) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-65417465

It features well-preserved wooden wharf and quay structures https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clw9g3d153no

There has long been speculation about trade between India and the Roman Empire (see threads below). A statuette of Buddha, possibly associated with an Indian trader, has been found in the city of Berenike (Berenice Troglodytica), an Ancient Egyptian seaport on the western shore of the Red Sea (see map below). (Two Indian coins minted in the 2nd century AD were found at the site) https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/04/statue-depicting-buddha-found-in-ancient-egyptian-city/147109 Site of Berenike, Egypt on Red Sea

According to the Venerable Bede, writing in AD 731, the Picts originated in Scythia: http://irishhistorian.com/IrishHistoryLinks/Historical_Documents/Bede.html

(Scene from the movie “The Eagle”) A new DNA study now shows Picts were an indigenous peoples, not an immigrant tribe in the British Isles. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-65423713 There have been previous thread on the Picts:

Best games for Roman fans: https://gamerant.com/games-fans-roman-history-recommendations/

The Roman presence in Arabia is poorly documented and understood. (Below is a previous thread on the Roman presence there.) Using Google Earth, researches have found evidence of three previously-undocumented Roman fortified camps in northern Arabia: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-65391574 https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-identify-three-new-roman-camps-in-arabia/

Evidence of Roman ruins, suggesting a Roman villa complex, have been found in the planned Southwick Court Fields home site, complicating excavation for the housing: (Roman pottery fragment found at site of Southwick Court Fields site) https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/23479989.roman-remains-found-southwick-court-fields-homes-site/ Here is a thread of a coin hoard found at nearby Cotswold:

Here’s a nice short on the famous Julius Caesar denarius:

A wonderful interview before a recent reenactment in Rome itself. (Be sure to put the subtitle auto translate to your preferred language.)