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Here is a follow-up on the British Museum’s unexplained prohibition against the digital scanning of the Elgin marbles. This scanning would help to create high-quality copies of the Parthenon sculptures, much better than the plaster casts of the past. This scanning controversy is part of the larger controversy to return the Elgin marbles: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/mar/29/british-museum-facing-legal-action-parthenon-marbles-3d-scan-refusal

The temptation to find ancient artifacts must be great, especially since they are so prevalent: “A novice Warwickshire metal detector enthusiast was arrested for undertaking a Roman treasure hunt at a protected monument. Warwickshire Rural Crime Team say that the south Warwickshire man had failed to educate himself on what he could and could not look for. They say that the man, who has not been identified, explained under caution that he had been hoping to find Roman treasure as he went about detecting on an Ancient Scheduled Monument.” https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/novice-metal-detectorist-stopped-police-23489900

This is a delightful article from Antigone about graffiti in the Roman Empire. https://antigonejournal.com/2022/03/roman-graffiti/ There have been a few interesting posts in the past about ancient Roman graffiti, including this post: No doubt that ancient graffiti will continue to give insights about everyday life in ancient Rome.

Here is a follow-up on the recent dig at the Carlisle Roman site . https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/20023185.frontier-town---dig-uncovers-secrets-edge-empire/ Here is a previous thread on the work at Carlisle:

As pressure mounts on the British Museum to return the Elgin Parthenon marbles, some are preparing to make replicas. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/digital-archaeologists-secretly-scan-elgin-marbles-in-british-museum/ar-AAVtWPU There have been several threads on the controversy of these Elgin marbles before:

Thank you for the thoughtful assessment of the article. Critical analysis is too frequently lacking surrounding archaeological and other scientific findings and discoveries. To the Times of Israel’s credit, they state that the article has not been peer reviewed, yet.

This tiny lead curse tablet may change our understanding of the Ancient Hebrews: https://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologist-claims-to-find-oldest-hebrew-text-in-israel-including-the-name-of-god/

Here is an interesting article describing studies to determine the contents of ancient containers from the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization in modern-day Pakistan and northwest India, dated from 2600 to 2000 BCE. The findings can be used to further understand ancient trade routes: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/scientists-analyse-traces-of-ingredients-in-5300-to-4000-year-old-cooking-vessels/143098?amp There was a previous thread about a similar analysis of the contents of a Roman cup that showed ambergris (called whale vomit): A previous thread has shown the utility of assessing the contents of ancient Roman pottery. This study showed an ancient Roman flower pot was probably a chamber pot, instead.

This is a new episode of the popular series “Time Team” that explored archaeological Britain. This time, they are digging an Iron Age settlement in Cornwall:

Here is a nice view of some Pictish symbol stones:

Welcome to UNRV. Very interesting. Are the classes in Italian? If so, are you a fluent Italian speaker? Please post any of your work.

Catullus is one of the ancient poets who still resonate with us today. First, some of the background information from Wikipedia: Here's a good article on the works of Caullus: Catullus: Foul-mouthed Genius? – Antigone (antigonejournal.com) Catullus - Wikipedia

“The Northwich helmet is very impressive because all the decoration on top of the helmet – representing hair – has been astonishingly well preserved." [The helmet dates from 75-100 AD.] “No exact parallels of this helmet have survived, but the type is depicted on gravestones from Cologne and Mainz in Germany.” (Modern recreation of the Northwich-style helmet) "Northwich, known as ‘Condate’ by the Romans because it is at the confluence of the River Weaver and River Dane (condate meaning ‘at the confluence of’), was a mixed-infantry and cavalry fort and may have housed up to 26 cavalrymen. Not only was Northwich in a strategic location, but the local Cornovii evaporated salt from the nearby naturally-occurring brine pools, and the Romans were keen to oversee production." Summary: I’m not sure how common this Northwich-pattern helmet is. There have been only a few examples found, either the mostly-intact helmet found in Northwhich or those depicted on gravestones in Germany. https://www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/20009373.roman-auxiliary-cavalry-helmet-examined-weaver-hall-museum/

Here is a beautiful image of Stane Street in southern England. Stane Street is the modern name of the 91 km-long (57 mile) Roman road that linked Londinium (London) to Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) (Wikipedia). Thanks, Roman Britain News @Roman_Britain for bringing this picture and article to our attention https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/sussex-countryside-roman-road-can-6821412 https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-romans-of-stane-street/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stane_Street_(Chichester)

A previous thread discussed the fact that today’s date palm trees are very different from those found in Ancient Rome. (See thread below): “Israel is today one of the world’s great producers of dates. These date palm trees, however, are not the original date palm trees of Ancient Judaea. The original Israeli date palm trees were devastated by the Roman conquest of Ancient Judea. The Romans disrupted the date production. Also, human activity and climate change further impacted on their near-complete destruction by the 15th century.” This article further describes the dates produced from ancient seeds found from previous excavations: https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/how-king-solomon-and-the-romans-shaped-the-judean-date-palm-1.10685653

The pre-invasion Roman helmet, known as the Oyster Helmet of Chichester, will go on display. The mystery is how the helmet got to Britain in the first place. “A mysterious Roman helmet that pre-dates the Roman invasion of Britain is to go on display at Fishbourne Roman Palace next month. Alongside the helmet, other pre-invasion artefacts – a sword scabbard fitting and an Iron Age crucible – will also be displayed. The helmet, known as the Oyster Helmet of Chichester, is one of just four Coolus helmets in the UK. It was produced during the first century AD, before the Romans began their conquest of Britain. It was acquired by the Sussex Archaeological Society in 1893, and though much of its journey has been lost to history, it is thought to have been found in the mud flats at Chichester Harbour, just a few miles from the Roman Palace at Fishbourne. “We know that the helmet was mass-produced, made cheaply for a lower status soldier, because it has very few decorations and was ‘spun’ on a lathe. It almost certainly wasn’t made in Rome. It could even be that this helmet was worn by an enslaved person, perhaps someone from Gaul, a region that spanned across modern Europe, who had been conscripted by the Roman army. It could be that a Roman soldier had kept his Coolus helmet even after newer helmet designs had replaced it. Maybe a local person had acquired and had decided to dress in Roman gear, we just don’t know! "Though the helmet had little in the way of decoration when it was worn, the passage of time has rectified this as, from its years underwater, today it boasts an oyster shell!” Tom Holland holding the helmet https://ace.media/press-releases/gBJM

This is an excellent video that discusses Roman bridge building, especially in a military setting.

Archaeologist Carrie Atkinsons discusses her research on female merchants in the Roman Empire. She has uncovered more than 20 references to female merchants in ancient receipts, tax documents, and temple inscriptions. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/antiquity-roman-female-merchants

The famous EID MAR aureus, which was on loan to the British museum for more than a decade, has come up for auction. (We had a thread on this coin from 2010. See below.) It is estimated to fetch more than US$2 million dollars: https://www.barrons.com/amp/articles/ancient-gold-coin-marking-julius-caesars-assassination-expected-to-fetch-2m-at-zurich-auction-01647368399 Here is an excellent thread on the EID MAR aureus: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/59762

in the sky. The statue of the Phoenician god Ba’al stood more than 10 feet high. Its feet were reused in a later construction, and its torso was discovered in the lagoon; its head has never been found.Sapienza University of Rome Expedition to Motya/Antiquity A sacred pool was built about 2,500 years ago when the island was the site of a Phoenician city. It was flanked by temples and had a statue of a god on a plinth in the center. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/sacred-pool-of-baal-a-reinterpretation-of-the-kothon-at-motya/329646E6561765FD30A9D6EC5FD5B6CB https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/sacred-pool-researchers-see-reflections-phoenicians-rcna20245

“Saharan dust blowing across Europe has reached the UK, with people in the south finding their cars covered in orange dust.“ https://news.sky.com/story/sahara-dust-cloud-cars-left-covered-in-red-storm-that-blew-in-from-europe-12567718

The ancient city of Alexandria was a center of learning for the ancient world. A key feature of this cultural hub was the Library of Alexandria. Instead of being destroyed by a single catastrophic event, the library's decline was due to a series of mishaps, some intentional and some not, as well as a loss of public support. This article is both readable and fair: ”Wendrich characterized the destruction of the Library of Alexandria as a "slow decay" that "took place over centuries." Indeed, most scholars today are in general agreement that the library suffered a prolonged, painful decline rather than an abrupt, dramatic death. As its influence waned over time, many of its collections were sold or destroyed, and its buildings were ultimately razed or converted into other facilities, such as churches or mosques. However, this decline was hastened by a number of dramatic events, each of which played a role in lessening the importance of Alexandria as an intellectual center.” https://www.livescience.com/rise-and-fall-of-the-great-alexandria-library An informative (and unbiased) video on the decline of the Library of Alexandria: A nice recreation of the ancient city of Alexandria:

Using a technique that uses cosmic ray muons (known as muon tomography), scientists had identified two previously unknown voids (cavities) in the Great Pyramid of Giza in 2017. Since muons are more deeply penetrating than X-rays, muon tomography can be used to image thru material much thicker than trabitional X-rays or CT scans. This original study was part of the ScanPyramid mission. Here is an excellent video on the technology and findings: A new study (known as Explore the Great Pyramid mission), using more advanced muon tomography, will now examine these two pyramid “voids” more closely: https://phys.org/news/2022-03-archeologists-scan-great-pyramid-giza.amp

The presence of this substance “ambergris” in the vase pIqued my interest. I had to look that one up: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris I would never have imagined the use of a substance from a sperm whale in Gaul. Also called “whale vomit” or “floating gold,” this fascinating substance can be found on beaches, including British beaches. https://www.indiatimes.com/amp/explainers/news/what-exactly-is-ambergris-556633.html It is incredible that the Romans were able to find the rare ambergris and knew about its potential uses.

An innovative scheme to harvest heat from the naturally hot spa water at the Roman Baths and use it to heat surrounding buildings is entering its final phase. The King’s Bath has been drained ready for the energy exchange system to be installed https://mnrjournal.co.uk/article.cfm?id=122042 A nice video tour of the area: