guy

Here’s a virtual tour of the exhibit:

Hey, I resemble that remark! 😎

Nice review of this effective military band of same-sex lovers: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-sacred-band-of-thebes-the-elite-military-unit-of-same-sex-lovers/139599?fbclid=IwAR3cxaHt7Bg4a9NzvBsehxWjxjHFLcOibyBC7zk-JxM41Tq4zIAW0zbFj3A&amp

Another great find: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-57640337

Here is my counter argument that many thousands more died than believed, if not most the inhabitants: First, a little background information: There was a large earthquake in the region 17 years earlier in AD 62, devastating both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The ever-growing population, however, seemed to have little concern about a potential disaster, actively enjoying a diversified and thriving economy. Several days before that fateful eruption in AD 79, there had even been several small earthquakes, increasing in frequency as the days went on. Romans in this region, however, had become accustomed to such seismic activity and probably took little heed of these warnings. Now, a few thoughts: Although only 1500 bodies have been found in Pompeii and Herculaneum, this is probably an underestimation of the number of deaths. (There were probably 15-20,000 residents in the two cities.) Many thousands more of residents could’ve been pulverized by the explosive force of the eruption or vaporized by the later pyroclastic flow, leaving little or no remains to be examined or accounted for. The bones and plaster cast remains of those who died may have been just a small fraction of the total number of people who died from the eruption. The extreme temperatures of rocks and gas inside pyroclastic flows is estimated to be between 200°C and 700°C (390-1300°F). These would be unfavorable conditions to find identifiable remains. A more recent, but less powerful eruption of Vesuvius in 1631 resulted in more than 3000 (maybe more than six thousand) deaths. Several days before the destructive eruption, there had been increased seismic activity similar to the eruption of AD 79. I assume by the 1600s the people were aware of the dangers of Vesuvius. It’s hard to believe that fewer people would have died during the more powerful eruption of AD 79. Even the modern eruption in Mount St. Helens, Washington in 1980 resulted in 57 deaths (of whom fourteen were never found). This modern eruption occurred in a more sparsely populated area. Also, there were two months of prior volcanic activity in the area, modern warning systems, and faster transportation to escape. Despite these advantages, the death toll was surprisingly high. The evidence that Professor Tuck presented in the above article, although interesting, is certainly not definitive. Noting, for example, that the inscription of the legionnaire Cornelius Fuscus was from Pompeii does not mean he survived the eruption of AD 79. He could have been on military campaign elsewhere or on vacation in Rome on that fateful day. Also, one would expect the inscription would have mentioned the fact that he survived one of the great cataclysms of the age. Herculaneum, although a couple miles closer to Vesuvius than Pompeii, had escaped the initial eruption’s ash and pumice fall because of prevailing winds. One would expect that all the inhabitants of Herculaneum would have had time to escape after witnessing and escaping this initial explosion. The archaeological evidence proves otherwise. Few historians take into account the probable tsunami that would typically be an aftermath of an eruption of this nature. (The eruption of Vesuvius in 1631 was followed by a Tsunami, for example.) This would further add to the deaths by drowning of escaping residents. Their bodies would be lost forever. Finally, only 3/4 of Pompeii and less than 1/3 of Herculaneum have been excavated so far. Who knows what future excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum will reveal. I believe many thousands more died as a result of Vesuvius in AD 79 than the mere 1500 victims whose remains we have found almost two thousand years later. Professor Tuck is as knowledgeable on Roman archaeology (especially from Pompeii) as anyone else in academia. (He also has some great lectures on "GreatCourses.") That said, I will (perhaps foolishly) challenge his conclusions.

Another interesting article on this fascinating site: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210629-turkeys-mysterious-portal-to-the-underworld A previous post: Interesting video on the site:

Another interesting find: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-57636657 Summary: it’s good to see that excavations continued during this pandemic.

I never imagined Florida would have its own bog people. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windover_Archeological_Site

Steven Tuck, professor of Classics at Miami University, Ohio feels most people from Pompeii and Herculaneum survived that fateful eruption of Vesuvius AD 79. He presents convincing evidence that they settled elsewhere in the region. https://www.livescience.com/amp/64854-where-pompeii-refugees-fled.html Although only 1500 bones and plaster casts of victims have been found, I feel the death toll was many thousands more. I will present my rebuttal in a follow up post.

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_864744_en.html Video on the discovery:

Here are two related articles on how the Romans differentiated between themselves and neighboring “barbarians” in art and sculpture. Statue of a conquered barbarian, likely a Dacian. He is wearing a Phrygian cap. The ‘Kneeling Barbarian’ sculpture from the Palatine Hill in Rome, dates to the first century CE, made of pavonazzo marble and nero antico. https://hyperallergic.com/440466/barbarians-and-sculptures-color-barrier-in-ancient-rome/ https://ancientimes.blogspot.com/2021/06/barbarians-in-roman-art.html?m=1 Summary: This is a delightful insight into the portrayal of “barbarians” in Ancient Rome. The need to tie Ancient Rome to “whiteness” is silly, however. Ancient Rome was a multi-ethnic and multicultural empire. I am sure that a Roman emperor from Northern Africa (Septimius Severus) would have had an immediate revulsion and disgust for a band of beer-guzzling, pants-wearing, blond and blue-eyed, non-Latin speaking visitors from Germania.

An interesting article: https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-eruption-of-mount-vesuvius-in-79-ad-and-the-destruction-of-pompeii

The use of modern technology, in this case the CT scan, has given new insights into life in the ancient world. Researchers prepare to move the Egyptian mummy from the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bergamo to Milan's Policlinico hospital. Reuters https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/ct-scan-will-reveal-egyptian-mummy-s-secrets-1.1247441

Hopefully, some of the other members will comment on this factoid. I don’t recognize the authors cited, but that is not important. I’m not sure, however, how they came up with those numbers.

Interesting points of view. I am sure we can all agree about the evils of slavery: the arbitrary use of forced labor, sexual exploitation, torture and mutilation, murder, etc. The universality of this evil throughout history, however, cannot be underestimated. A distinguishing factor of slavery in the New World (North and South America, as well as the Caribbean) was that it was based on race. In the ancient world, the modern beliefs of racial superiority didn’t exist. Ethnic and cultural differences with its prejudices did, of course. One could not, however, easily distinguish the physical traits of a Greek or Spanish slave from those of a Roman citizen from Rome or Northern Africa. (The slave collar seems like a rare occurrence.) Greek slaves spoke a language educated Romans could understand. Many of these Greek slaves were better educated (in medicine or other sciences, for example) than any Roman. Greece was also a culture that many Romans admired and even emulated. Many of these Greek slaves were used to teach Roman children, for example. These factors resulted in a different experience for Greek slaves from other slaves. I imagine that most non-Greek slaves in Ancient Rome would have a more difficult time. They could potentially end up in nightmarish settings like the mines, stone quarries, farms, brothels, gladiatorial fights, etc. They had little chance, of course, in improving of their social status. In contrast, because of cultural and language barriers, even the most educated African slave stood little chance of social acceptance in the more modern racist slave states of the Americas and the Caribbean. Of course, the invidious modern concept of racism would have prevented an easy transition of an African slave to freeman status, anyway. Many of these challenges didn’t exist for the Greek slave in ancient Rome. I find this statement difficult to believe. So, up to 90% of the Gauls captured and enslaved by Caesar (maybe more than 250,000) were freed? Slaves from Italy may have been treated more as indentured servants than slaves. Horace, the great Roman poet, was the son of a freedman of Italian descent who had been captured during either the Social or Samnite Wars. As I previously mentioned, Greek slaves would have done better in Ancient Rome than most other slaves. Marcus Antonius Pallus was a Greek freedman who was able to rise in the Roman hierarchy to become the influential secretary of Claudius and Nero. The Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus was born a slave, gaining his freedom at the age of eighteen. The Greek and Italian slaves in Ancient Rome certainly suffered a different fate than slaves from Germania or Gaul. Here’s a good video review about what the Romans thought of race: Here’s a good article that puts American slavery in context: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teaching-resource/historical-context-american-slavery-comparative-perspective Thank you for your thoughtful comments, however.

A wonderful find on Hvar, Croatia, a 42 mile island found off the coast in the Adriatic Sea. This area was near a lot of ancient Greek and Roman trade. Broken amphoras found on the island of Hvar(Kantharos via Facebook) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-necropolis-found-croatia-palace-garden-180977997/ https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/croatian-necropolis-0015477

Looks fun. Remember to turn on the closed captions (cc) to get some historical background while on the ride:

http://pompeiisites.org/en/press-kit-en/discoveries-continue-at-the-regio-v-site/ Summary: Either this person was escaping with his coin collection or this might be an indication that coins centuries-old freely circulated. Once the Empire debased the currency, however, it is unlikely that more pure silver coins would have been as easily found.

We have visited Pompeii’s Regio V before, but this is an older reassessment of the historical information from an earlier excavation at another site at Pompeii. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/07/pompeiis-most-recent-finds-reveal-new-clues-to-citys-destruction/amp https://www.leisure-italy.com/news/news-pompeii/eruption-mt-vesuvius/

A monarchy today may be an antiquated concept. Italy, however, has so little national identity that a monarch (in this, case a Queen) might be a good thing. https://abcnews.go.com/International/young-princess-fights-claim-abolished-throne-italy/story?id=78274162

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/06/the-mystery-of-greek-fire/139514?amp

I’ve written before on the importance of Egypt to the Roman Empire and its uniquely closed economy. Here’s a nice article by NGC numismatics on Roman coins minted in Alexandria, Egypt https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/8422/ancient-roman-coins/ Previous threads on the topic:

Thank you for reading my post. I imagine that any expedition to Arabia have had more to do with establishing trading posts than it would with creating a permanent colony.

Good video review of Rome’s little-known campaign in Arabia:

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-57433362