guy

While researching the coin of the more obscure Emperor Volusian (see thread below), I came upon this fascinating video of the emperors of the third century crisis:

A little more information on the find: ”Archaeologists have unearthed a rare Pictish stone in Angus. The 1.7m (5.5ft) long carved monument is one of only about 200 to be found. The site is near a suspected location of the Battle of Dun Nechtain, also known as the Battle of Nechtansmere. Fought in 685 AD, it saw Picts defeat an army of Northumbrian Angles. The stone is thought to date from the 5th or 6th Centuries.” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99jnywwrnlo

Although the details are still not clear, it appears that an Ancient Roman merchant ship found off the the coast of Mallorca, Spain is being investigated more closely. This finding supports the belief that a brisk trade existed among the elites in the Balearic Islands. https://goadnews.com/a-roman-ship-that-sank-in-the-mediterranean-1700-years-ago-gives-up-its-treasures-archeology/

There has been a recent find of a Pictish symbol stone. (There have been several recent threads on the Picts. See below). It is wonderful to see that excavations have continued during this pandemic. The YouTube video below is very good. https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/pictish-stone-found-near-ancient-battle-site-in-truly-remarkable-discovery-3600094 https://news.stv.tv/north/archaeologists-from-aberdeen-university-unearth-remarkable-pictish-symbol-stone-in-field-near-forfar

Interamna Lirenas today (image credit: G. Murro) Here is an interesting article about the little-known Roman colony in central Italy known as Interamna Lirenas. Recent archaeological research has proven that it was more important and developed than previously thought. I had to look the city up in Wikipedia: The town even had a magnificent roofed theater: https://antigonejournal.com/2022/03/roman-town-interamna-lirenas/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interamna_Lirenas

Gordon Doherty did a nice video on Trimontium: Here’s a video from the Trimontium trust:

Trimontium is a Roman fort located in Newstead, Scotland, approximately sixty miles north of Hadrian's Wall. New ground-penetrating radar technology is being employed to better map the fort complex. This could lead to new discoveries and insights into life at the fort. Background information (also see Gordon Doherty’s video below): Trimontium was a Roman fort located at Newstead, near Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland, situated close to the three Eildon Hills (from which the name "trium montium" derives). The geographer Ptolemy identified the fort in his writings. The Romans occupied Trimontium intermittently from 80 to 211 AD. At the peak of Roman occupation, approximately 1,500 soldiers and a civilian population of similar size inhabited the settlement. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-60602352 https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Trimontium_(Newstead)

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/03/new-survey-reveals-extent-of-roman-villa-complex-found-at-rutland/142985?amp

A little too dark for me. That song is reminiscent of this Metallica song, which is also too dark for me:

Here is a follow-up on the recent excavation of a Roman villa in Rutland. (See below for original thread). The villa is much larger than originally thought. Less than 3% of the site has been uncovered. Excavations have included so far the marvelous mosaic shown above. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-60603329

A rare Roman gold coin known as a binio (a double aureus) of the emperor Volusian was found in Somogy, Hungary (see map below). He was the co-ruler with his father Trebonianus Gallus from 251 to 253 AD. They were possibly assassinated by their own troops with the approaching usurper Aemilian. https://www.archaeology.org/news/10385-220301-hungary-gold-coin https://www.livescience.com/rare-roman-gold-coin-hungary

Am I missing something? Looks the same on my IPhone.

Modern excavation of Butrint, Albania began in the 1920s under the direction of Mussolini’s fascist Italy. After WW II, however, the archaeological site was abandoned. Research has resumed, however, rescuing some of the archaeological finds. In the 4th century BC, the city (called Buthrotum by the Romans) had a Greek sanctuary to Asclepius and also large theater. In 228 BC Buthrotum became a Roman protectorate along with neighboring Corfu. The city later became a colony for retiring loyal troops, first under Caesar and later Augustus. The theater is known for its inscriptions carved on stone. The majority of these inscriptions deal with manumissions freeing slaves. Most of the slaves had Greek names with a few Latin exceptions. Unfortunately, most of these inscriptions were thought lost after being excavated in the the 20-30s. The theatre at Butrint lay within a sanctuary complex devoted to the cult of Ascelpius. A set of inscriptions documenting the manumission of slaves were found when the theatre was excavated in 1928. Although the inscriptions have since degraded, an important new discovery provides an opportunity to see the texts as they appeared shortly after they were unearthed. The inscriptions remain in place in the theatre, but, as these photographs show, the texts are no longer as legible as they were when first discovered. Paper ‘squeezes’ made of at least some of the theatre inscriptions in the 1930s were unexpectedly found in Macerata, during lockdown in 2020. These three-dimensional copies of the letters reveal how legible the inscriptions were a few years after they were unearthed, allowing early readings of the texts to be checked. PHOTOS: Pierluigi Giorgi https://the-past.com/feature/butrints-slave-manumissions-shedding-new-light-on-the-unesco-world-heritage-city/

During work on a new stadium in Gloucestershire (Southwest England), ten skeletons and other artifacts thought to date from Roman Britain have been found. Adult male and female, and children's, remains were grouped together, which may indicate they were a family group, the team said https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-60591007

Votive offering found inside the Large Temple. Credit: SIKAIT PROJECT There was a previous thread about the importance of emeralds in Ancient Rome. The Romans referred to emerald as smaragdus. Current excavations are being conducted in the area of emerald mining. The dig is at the Roman site of Sikait, Egypt. The Romans referred to the mountains they mined as Mons Smaragdus or Emerald Mountain. This was the only place within the Roman Empire where emeralds could be found.* https://phys.org/news/2022-03-roman-empire-emerald-fallen-nomads.html https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/504053 https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/gc/article/view/2752/3212

While searching for fossils on the beach near the Folkestone Roman Villa on the coast of Kent County, this fortunate hunter found this suspected Roman fibula without his usual metal detector (which is prohibited in the area). The wonderful video below documents his search. https://www.cengnews.com/news/at-the-beach-a-treasure-hunter-discovers-2000-year-old-roman-jewelry-291564.html

A mosaic is being unearthed in Colchester: ”Predicted to measure as big as 25 feet by 25 feet, the fascinating find lies just one metre beneath the pavement in Red Lion Yard. Workers began a targeted dig in the yard, which is walked over by thousands of people every day, earlier this week. Colchester’s heritage boss plans to encase it and turn it into a transparent walkway for residents to tread the same path the Romans did nearly 2,000 years ago.” https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19950186.roman-mosaic-discovered-dig-colchester/ (Thank Dr Jo Ball @DrJBall for bringing this discovery to our attention.) Here is a previous thread on Roman presence in Colchester:

Wroxeter, England is the site of Viroconium Cornoviorum, the fourth largest city in Roman Britain. Here is an entertaining video that focuses on the makeup and grooming of the Roman city.

Olive oil was an important part of life in Ancient Rome. It played an important part in the diet, as well as being used for washing, medicine, and lighting. This solidified oil is still in the bottle and was preserved at Pompeii after the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. It has been displayed with this carbonized bread at the Naples National Archaeological Museum (see picture above). A recent study confirmed the contents of this bottle: “In this work, for the first time to our knowledge, the authenticity and identity of an olive oil sample, hereinafter referred to as Mann-S1, which has been stored seemingly in its original glass bottle since 79 A.D., has been assessed through radiocarbon dating and detection of analytical biomarkers. The availability of a conspicuous amount of such a well-preserved specimen of organic material is rare and gave us the chance to map the molecular evolution that oil has undergone for almost 2000 years.” Item no. 313337 stored at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN). a Glass bottle containing Mann-S1; b detail of the organic content with inclined surface indicating an original liquid status; c sample used for chemical analyses (Mann- S1); d lipid extracts from Mann-S1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-020-00077-w

A previous thread discussed the drought that might have pressured the Hunnic migration (see thread below). Here’s an interesting video discussing climate and its impact on the Roman Empire:

Another less-technical article on the research: This article also refers to the Armarna letters that suggest the location the meteorite was found: The Armarna letters were an archive of clay tablets primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian administration and neighboring kingdoms. They date between c.1360-1332 BCE. (King Tut ruled from 1332-1323 BCE.) Five Armarna letters on display at the British Museum. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-year-old-tablets-king-tut-ancient.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna_letters

A recent study proves the older theory that an iron dagger found buried in King Tut’s tomb (which dates back to the 14th century BC) was made from a meteorite. Supporting the theory of an extraterrestrial source was the fact that iron smelting isn’t thought to have been developed in Egypt until the 8th century BC. New studies confirm the theory (see video below). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13787#:~:text=This dagger dates to the,iron smelting was later developed. A 355-pound iron meteorite from Campo del Cielo crater field in Argentina. Iron meteorites typically contain about 10 per cent nickel and less than one per cent cobalt, like King Tut's dagger blade. (Darryl Pitt, The Macovich Collection/Associated Press) Here’s a short and easy-to understand video that explains the methods and significance of the study:

Two female marble heads were found in an apartment bought by a 35-year-old man in Thessaloniki, Greece. Although the article is sparse in details, they are thought to date from the Roman period. I am not sure how the statues got there, however. It’s not clear, either, whether they were stolen or found in an unauthorized excavation. https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/02/23/thessaloniki-roman-marble-statues/?amp

I am surprised how frequently these intricate mosaics have been found on the floors of the elites.

Southwark, London has been the site of some interesting Roman discoveries (see links below). A large intact Roman mosaic has been recently found in the area. “There are two large sections, the main rectangle, which may have been used in a dining room, and a smaller square which may have sat in a recess in the room. At about 8 metres long, this room is particularly large for London, emphasising how important the occupants would have been. The uncovered mosaic includes two highly-decorated panels made up of small, coloured tiles set within a red tessellated floor. The largest panel shows large, colourful flowers surrounded by bands of intertwining strands – a motif known as a guilloche. There are also lotus flowers and several different geometric elements, including a pattern known as Solomon’s knot, made of two interlaced loops.” Roman settlement in Southwark and the adjacent bridge into Londinium https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/remarkable-roman-mosaic-discovered-in-southwark-52165/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-60466187