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Standards of beauty have changed over the millennia. Helen of Troy (formerly of Sparta) was unusual in her appearance and beauty, however: The elite women prized long hair, often braided Into intricate styles. They would wear wigs if they lacked long hair. Long hair, however, may have also been a sign of class: https://greekreporter.com/2021/11/13/ancient-greek-beauty-standards-beautiful-greece/ Here is a previous thread on the subject:

This is a wonderful find of an ancient Egyptian treasurer and high-ranking official from the reign of Ramesses II: “Ptahemwia lived during the reign of Ramesses II in the 19th Dynasty around 1250 BC. He served as the Pharaohs scribe, was the overseer of the cattle in the Temple of Usermaatre-Setepenre in the House of Amun, overseer of the treasury, and was responsible for the divine offerings in the Temple of Ramses II in Thebes.“ “The Egyptian tomb was that of Ptahemwia, an important official who lived during the reign of King Ramses II. In a statement released on October 30, 2021, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities confirmed the identity of the owner of the tomb, adding that he worked under Ramses II between 1279 and 1213 BCE. " The importance of the discovery of this tomb is due to the functions occupied by its owner, who was royal scribe, head of the treasury, chief overseer of the cattle and also responsible for the divine offerings at the temple of Ramses II, in Thebes ", explained Mostafa Waziri , secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.” https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/11/archaeologists-unveil-the-tomb-of-ramesses-iis-scribe/141972 https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/11/tomb-royal-treasurer-under-ramses-ii-discovered?amp https://www.engviral.com/2021/11/the-tomb-of-royal-scribe-of-ramses-ii.html?m=1 This is a great video description of the find:

“We’re used to the look of sandstone altars and reliefs in museums but we forget that they were originally painted in bright colours,” says Andrew Parkin, the Museum’s Keeper of Archaeology. “The paint has been lost over the centuries but researchers have found trace amounts of pigment using ultraviolet light and x-rays. These new projected animations really make the altars stand out and add greatly to the Hadrian’s Wall gallery in the museum.” https://museumcrush.org/roman-altars-reveal-their-true-colours/amp/ This should be a wonderful exhibit. We offer forget that the Ancient Rome was brilliantly colored: the clothes, buildings, alters, and monuments.

Here’s an excellent podcast on Arianism and it’s impact on the late Roman Empire. Below are either the YouTube audio version or the podcast link to choose from. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=463701224&i=1000517304951

Here’s an interesting Russian song. This song is wrong on so many levels. I condemn it. That said, I must confess that I am fascinated by the story line (and the fact that the blonde with glasses resembles my wife —at least a quarter of a century and two kids ago). eheu fugaces labuntur anni From Horace's Odes II, 14 Alas, the fleeting years slip by

This is probably a bit of sensationalism, but this beautiful ring was found at the largest known winery from the Byzantine era. The ancient Greeks believed amethyst prevented intoxication. They would even drink from amethyst vessels, presumably in hope that this would allow them to drink more without the undesired side-effects. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.upi.com/amp/Science_News/2021/11/09/hangover-ring-found-israel/4151636482562/ https://www.cnn.com/style/amp/archaeologists-ancient-hangover-prevention-ring-amethyst-scn/index.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst This is a previous post on the winery:

This is a great video on the Emperor Majorian, Rome’s last hope (reign 457-61 AD). According to historian Edward Gibbon, Majorian "presents the welcome discovery of a great and heroic character, such as sometimes arise, in a degenerate age, to vindicate the honour of the human species". The Encyclopedia Britannica likewise calls him "the only man to hold that office [i.e. the imperial throne] in the 5th century who had some claim to greatness." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majorian

Great video explaining use of carbon dating and solar flare events in deterring the exact year of the Viking landing (1021 AD) in Newfoundland: https://aeon.co/videos/a-viking-axe-struck-a-newfoundland-tree-in-the-year-1021-heres-how-scientists-proved-it

A dagger is one of hundreds of objects uncovered on the ancient battlefield. Archäologischer Dienst Graubünden Interesting discovery by a hobby archaeologist confirming a little-known skirmish between the Romans and a local Raetian tribe. The Raeti were a confederation of Alpine tribes whose language and culture may have been related to those of Etruscans. (Wikipedia) “Hundreds of artifacts littering a Roman battle site in Switzerland have been uncovered thanks to the persistence of an amateur archeologist. The finds – including a dagger, well-preserved slingshot stones, coins, nails and part of a shield – are assumed to have been left on the battlefield after a clash between Romans and a local tribe at around 15BC.“ Lucas Schmid, who volunteers for the local archaeological association, uncovered the remains using a metal detector at a remote southeast corner of Switzerland, near the Crap-Ses gorge between the towns of Tiefencastel and Cunter.” “It is assumed that a battle took place between Roman forces and a local Rhaetian tribe in what is now canton Graubünden.“ https://euronewssource.com/amateur-archeologist-uncovers-roman-battle-site/ https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/amateur-archeologist-uncovers-roman-battle-site/47074852 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhaetian_people

A nice video from the British Museum:

Hierapolis, Turkey looks to be a beautiful Hellenized city known for its hot springs and health spas during the Roman Empire. The discoveries of ancient houses adds to our knowledge of this marvelous site: A view of the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis in Pamukkale, Denizli, southwestern Turkey, Nov. 4, 2021. https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/ancient-hellenistic-houses-discovered-in-turkeys-hierapolis/news

This is one of Professor Kenneth Harl’s marvelous courses at Wondrium (formally known as Great Courses). He is a fantastic lecturer. He shares his vast knowledge in an entertaining way. I have seen almost all his courses. I recommend highly all his courses, especially Rome and the Barbarians, The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity, Barbarian Empires of the Steppes, among others. Professor Harl is a great teacher (and a respected numismatist). I recommend watching any of his courses.

This is a thread from earlier this year of the chariot that was found near the slave room.

Another poignant, but important discovery in Pompeii: a slave room. “In the latest series of excavations by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, alongside the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Torre Annunziata, archaeologists found a room near to where the chariot was discovered, that is believed to be the humble lodgings of the slaves who carried out the everyday work in the Roman villa, including the maintenance and preparation of the chariot.“ https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/11/slave-room-discovered-at-pompeii-villa/141955?amp

There continue to be great findings in Aizanoi, Turkey. It has one of the best preserved ancient temples in the Anatolia region. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/11/archaeologists-uncover-statues-of-aphrodite-and-dionysus-in-turkey/141927?amp Previous funds in that area: Be sure to check out the YouTube video below https://youtube.com/shorts/ZDUQosmaRik?feature=share

This is an interesting commentary on the Roman presence in Britain from The Guardian. Roman Britain was not some bleak and dreary outpost that quickly collapsed after the central government in Rome suffered setbacks. Roman Britain was, instead, a flourishing and luxurious community that withstood many of the pressures that assailed the central government. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/05/the-guardian-view-on-roman-britain-a-constantly-shifting-picture

Interesting article. I have a poor understanding of the history of this section of the Empire, despite the Roman presence there for more than four centuries. What the article refers to as the “Pannonian revolt,” I know as the Great Illyrian revolt. (It’s also referred to as the Pannonian-Dalmatian revolt. The Romans referred to the conflict as Bellum Batonianum or Batonian War named after to leaders of the revolt.) Here is a wonderful video on the conflict The geography in that area, which includes the Danube river, is confusing for me. Map of the modern Dunube river and surrounding territories. For me, at least, the difficulty is distinguishing between the two provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia. Together, these two provinces formed the previous province of Illyricum, which had been divided sometime after the Great Illyrian revolt (6-9 AD). Here’s a great video explaining the history of Roman Pannonia The article mentions four legions in Pannonia. The video above describes six of the legions on the frontier: Vindobona : Vienna, Austria Carnuntum : halfway between Vienna and Bratislava, Austria Aquincum: Budapest, Hungary Brigetio: Szőny Hungary Singidunum : Belgrade, Serbia Vinimdacium: Kostalac, Eastern Serbia

I wasn’t able to log-on. I’m not sure the internet was the problem. Maybe next week.

I will try to log on tomorrow. (The lecture is 7 AM Pacific Coast time.)

(Scene from The Eagle) Here’s an excellent podcast on Legion IX by Dr. Simon Elliot. The last mention of the legion, which was made up of 5,500 officers and men, is on a gateway in York, which dates from AD108. The slab of stone now sits in York Museum https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ancients/id1520403988?i=1000506341457

Thanks. I saw the agenda. The lecture on Saxon Shore forts looks interesting. I’ll see tomorrow whether my log-in works. I briefly mentioned the Saxon Shore fort in Richborough. It is thought that Carausius dismantled the Triumphal Arch in Richborough for building material to make a Saxon Shore fort.

“The theater and the commode date back to around the second century BC, and were used until the fifth century AD, said Akin Ersoy, an archaeologist at Izmir’s Katip Celebi University and head of the excavation team. Touting "unexpected finds" during the excavations, an Izmir Metropolitan Municipality statement cited Ersoy as saying this is the first time such a toilet facility inside a stage building has been found.“ Izmir, Turkey was the prosperous ancient city of Smyrna. In 133 BC, the last king of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamum died without an heir. He bequeathed his kingdom, which included Smyrna, to the Roman Republic. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/dig-in-turkey-finds-theater-commode-in-ancient-city-of-smyrna/2411192 https://greekreporter.com/2022/09/04/restrooms-bc-theater-smyrna/

“A three-dimensional reconstruction has depicted how a significant Scottish Pictish fort may have looked more than 1,000 years ago. Images of Burghead Fort in Moray have been created based on excavations by the University of Aberdeen.“ “It has long been known that Burghead was home to a Pictish settlement but it was thought that the 19th century development of the modern town had eroded most traces of this important period of its history. But over the last five years, a very different picture has emerged and the digs have yielded some of the most significant Pictish items and building remains ever. Professor Gordon Noble, who led the dig, said: “The scale of houses and buildings we have discovered evidence of show that this was a densely populated and important Pictish site.“ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-59121017 https://www.originalfm.com/news/north-east-scotland-news/scotlands-largest-pictish-fort-reconstructed-in-new-images/ Nice video on the Pictish presence in Scotland: A nice podcast on the Picts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-our-time/id73330895?i=1000394608647 The Picts have been recently discussed:

An interesting discovery: A team of archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown Roman sanctuary in the ancient city of Doliche, located in south-eastern Turkey. Excavations are still in their early stages, and the deity worshiped in the temple has yet to be determined. Still, it has been suggested that the temple could have been a sanctuary for the worship of a Roman emperor cult. The discovery underlines that religious developments in the Middle East of antiquity can be studied particularly well in Doliche. In the past, the Münster team uncovered the sanctuary of Jupiter Dolichenus outside the town, a subterranean sanctuary of the god Mithras, and a large early Christian basilica dating from the 4th century AD. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/10/archaeologists-reveal-roman-sanctuary-in-ancient-doliche/141821?amp The earlier discovery of a Christian basilica: The ancient village of Doliche was a significant place of worship of the Syrian Baal. After the conquest of the city and the incorporation into the province of Syria in the last third of the 1st century AD by the Romans, the cult was transferred to Jupiter and spread as a soldier god Iupiter Dolichenus throughout the Roman Empire. After the destruction of the main sanctuary in Doliche by the Sassanid king Shapur I. mid of the 3rd century AD, the cult went down. The city persisted, however. With the flowering of Christianity, a basilica was built. https://www.alaturka.info/en/turkey-country/southeastern/4784-doliche-christian-basilica-and-bath-discovered-in-turkey