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I want to thank the wonderful online magazine “Roman Times” for bringing this excellent video by Dr. Patrick Hunt on Hannibal to my attention: https://ancientimes.blogspot.com/2021/07/hannibals-secret-weapons.html?m=1 At 34:30: Dr. Hunt talks about the types of Elephants used by Hannibal. At 1:02:00: Dr. Hunt discusses the use of the blinding dust storm off Africa into Southern Italy to his advantage. He had the wind to his back, while the wind blew into the Romans’ eyes at the Battle of Cannae. Dr. Hunt reminds us about the Battle of Cannae: Between 55-70,000 Romans died (one out of every five Roman males between the ages of 17 to 50). Possibly more deaths on that day than on any other day in the history on the battlefield.

A wonderful find in Israel: Statues of the goddesses Nike and Tyche, or Isis, at the Roman basilica in Tel Ashkelon National Park, Israel. Photo by Yaniv Cohen, courtesy of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/israel-discovers-ancient-roman-basilica-1978508/amp-page

The debate continues: “It is true that some of the treasures found in King Tut’s tomb did not belong to him, but to other rulers during the Amarna Period. But the mask did indeed belong to him,” he added.” “When it comes to the ear piercings, it was a natural and common thing among kings. Earrings were not limited to women — or children — in the case of King Tut.” https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/egyptologists-refute-british-theory-doubting-king-tuts-mask

It’s good to see that looted items are returned: https://nypost.com/2021/07/28/us-seizes-1-6m-epic-of-gilgamesh-tablet-from-hobby-lobby/amp/ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/rare-cuneiform-tablet-bearing-portion-epic-gilgamesh-forfeited-united-states

Waterways were an easier and possibly safer means of travel in the ancient world. It is not surprising that Roman canals would be discovered. https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2021-07-dutch-unearth-roman-canal-road.amp

I’m waiting for more reports to come in: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/28/ancient-roman-ship-discovered-off-coast-of-sicily

https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/28/pythia-delphi-oracle/ Excellent video about the Oracle of Delphi. I had never heard this anecdote before: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oracular_statements_from_Delphi https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/suetonius/12caesars/nero*.html (Suetonius Life of Nero 40.3)

The mystery of the ancient Roman dodecahedron continues. Ancient measuring device, sewing tool, gambling piece …? https://www.grunge.com/471518/the-unsolved-mystery-of-the-ancient-roman-dodecahedron/ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/514246/are-roman-dodecahedrons-worlds-most-mysterious-artifact

An interesting find: https://www.livescience.com/michelangelo-fingerprint-found-statue.html

An interesting theory: https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/25/did-ancient-greeks-deliberately-build-their-temples-in-earthquake-stricken-sites/ We have discussed before the use of natural phenomena to create a mystical environment:

An interesting article from last year: https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/contact-conquest-and-cartimandua.htm

The position of the paleobeach ridge in the Treporti Channel in Roman times (in yellow in transparency over the current satellite data) and the alignment of Roman stone remains and levee road (red dots and lines), buildings (green squares) and brick walls (white pentagons); the pink solid line indicates the position of the structures reconstructed by Madricardo et al. Image credit: Madricardo et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-92939-w. http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/treporti-channel-road-09892.html

Despite the frequent turnover and turmoil in leadership, the Empire did survive. I think this relative stability can attributed to Intact institutions (extended family, a patronage system, religious organizations, etc) and a well-entrenched bureaucracy. In Italy there have been 36 (and counting) Prime Ministers since 1946. Despite these frequent changes of government, daily Italian life is barely affected by these transitions. Similar to Ancient Rome, people merely meet the challenges of life, supported by their local family, relationships, religious affiliations, etc. This might explain why distant communities would continue living a Roman lifestyle long after the Empire and the city of Rome “fell.”

Better article on find: Here, a reconstruction of the Treporti channel road in Roman rimes. The Venice lagoon would have been to the left of the road and to the Adriatic Sea to the right. (Image credit: Antonio Calandriello and Giuseppe D'Acunto/Scientific Reports,) https://www.livescience.com/submerged-roman-road-venice-lagoon.html

I’m always skeptical about these stories, but it is interesting, nevertheless: https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/21/what-did-ancient-greek-athletes-eat-the-diet-of-the-olympians/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.heritagedaily.com/2021/07/archaeologists-discover-roman-road-in-the-venice-lagoon/139722

It’s good to see that things are “returning to normal.” https://news.exeter.gov.uk/army-of-roman-soldiers-and-civilians-will-descend-on-exeter-this-saturday/?amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

Professor Worthington’s arguments against the tomb’s belonging to Olympias are persuasive: https://www.livescience.com/alexander-the-great-mom-olympias-tomb.html

https://www.ancientpages.com/2021/07/18/rare-stone-discovered-outlining-ancient-romes-city-limits/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ancient_native_americans_encounter_with_the_star_people_ankou_breton_angel_of_death_ancient_secrets_of_the_ukrainian_stonehenge_that_is_older_than_the_giza_pyramids_of_egypt_and_much_more_july_16_20_2021&utm_term=2021-07-20

Interesting point. Military brutality can only maintain an extensive and diverse empire so long. It was the enculturation and assimilation by the “conquered” non-Romans and the adaption of outside “foreign” ideas by these “ruling” Romans that proved to be the cement that held the empire together. I don’t like venturing into modern politics, but the contrast of the USSR and the British Empire might be appropriate here. One empire frayed apart despite modern methods of surveillance and repression after less than a century. Another empire has persisted (albeit in a diminished role) after four centuries.

An interesting attempt to replicate meals of Ancient Rome. Patina Cotidiana, a tomato-less predecessor to lasagne, is one of the signature dishes at Hostaria Antica Roma (Credit: Paolo Magnanimi) https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210719-what-did-the-ancient-romans-eat

An interesting evidence of the Christian Visigoth presence in Spain: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/07/sarcophagus-from-the-visigoth-period-discovered-in-roman-necropolis/139702?amp

https://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/celebrities/article252832973.html

I am looking forward to this series. Hopefully, it will be available on Netflix soon: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domina_(TV_series)

Thanks for reading. My understanding of the article was that the stone, although not an integral part of the wall, was a marker at the wall outlining the pomerium.