Favonius Cornelius

You know, I suppose the tomb of Khan is technically a location and not an object, so you can use the Ark of the Covenant instead.

Would it scare you if N Korea or some element tied to the former Soviet Union sold a nuke to the highest bidder? What if the highest bigger wasn't a state, but was a terrorist organization? What if that organization smuggled the bomb accross the US-Mexico border and set it off in San Diego? Don't they have a really big naval base? Like you, I agree the danger comes from nations with some form of nuclear weapons capabilities that would be motivated to turn over a bomb to a terrorist organization either for money or for some shared ideology. The thought of Pakistan going extremist is also very worrisome. FYI, I think a war involving nukes is for more likely with India vs Pakistan or maybe Iran vs Isreal than anyone else. No nation will nuke the USA unless they are looking to commit suicide. I am not saying certainly that there is no risk, but I think it is a lot smaller in actuality. Also for those small sized nukes, again you need great expertise to get those to work right. It's not like some movie where there is a little red button and a timer. As time goes on also any actual device constructed during this time is more and more likely to fail. Sure, they might have a nice wad of plutonium there, but they won't know what to do with it but sell it to a major country with the capability to handle it. What is stopping these nations from just selling this stuff off? Again, sanity, and the realization that a nuke gone off in the states will be very bad for everyone for the very same reasons you point out. Don't let the north Koreans fool you into believing they are insane. There is a reason we know of exact locations of development of nuclear weapons, and in fact I am sure the Pentagon knows the exact capabilities of all nations, but of course would not publicize the info because it is of advantage to us for them not to know what we know. Think of the remarkable tech advances which alter life that Viggen pointed out, now think of a satallite system capable of pinpointing dense areas of radioactive materials, to the size of a briefcase nuke. Who do you have to thank for all that: scientists. Ars magica baby.

It's only been a few years! Surely someone has taken a picture of this thing at some point!

How exactly are they the guardians of truth and justice? lol A famous scientist in Pakistan sold nuclear secrets to a host of unfriendly countries. North Korean scientists developed weapons for the most evil (in my opinion) regime on earth. And Soviet scientists developed nuclear bombs that were probably pointed directly at you for part of your earlier life. The character or higher ideals of scientists will not protect us from anything when so many scientists can be bought and sold so easily. None of these powers which you speak of scare me necessairly. The power behind all nuclear technology is diplomatic power, not actual military power. What if North Korea has nukes? To use them would be suicide, but to have them is protection. What scares me is your plusable senario of the smaller terrorist groups getting their hands on them, but in the end I think those with the capability still yet maintain a semblance of sanity. The whole world knows the repercussions of using such a weapon. The North Koreans are not stupid nor insane, they are calculated and largely pawns of China.

It stirs the soul: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon%2C_Rome

I blame the fall of the Republic on the Plebs, who bastardized the original system in the first place and added their own version of instability known as the Tribune veto.

I was wondering about the Sybelline books now you mention it Well their original form is lost ever since the fire in Rome destroyed that copy, so perhaps it would be an addition to your other thread?

Happen to know what the Vatican thinks of the supposed Ark?

That seems to be the going story for all religious artifacts.

I seriously doubt that the spear we have now is 'the real one' but even potential hoax artifacts held in high esteem make the grade of importance I suppose, kind of like the Shroud of Turin.

Since Primus already mentioned that one, you can give another...

The lost tomb of Ghengis Khan. Forgot my own rules: the tomb of one of the world's greatest conquerors, founder of one of the largest empires, is sure to contain some fantastic relics from across the world.

Raising children with bias is hardly an exclusively Muslim thing.

Deep in a Monophysite Christian church in Ethiopia is said to be the origional Ark of the Covenant. Anyone have any information on if this item truly exists, or if anyone has seen it?

A well thought out post there Dan, you've made me more pessimistic. I still have faith in sanity however. Despite the best efforts of religious fanatics across the world to fulfill their doomsday expectations of life, you still have to go through a scientist to make it happen.

Here is a place for us to list the 20 most important monuments, buildings or structures built before 1900 AD. One per customer. What would Indy be found exploring? 1. The Sistine Chapel 2. Dome of the Rock 3. The Pantheon 4. Hyperstyle Hall Karnak 5. Taj Mahal 6. Minoan Palace of Knossoss

By the way I reserve the right to list the items in importance. Also please describe why you believe your object of choice deserves to be on the list. (Lets try for one per customer). Pertinax the nonextant list is your idea, so go ahead and make that list...I already have an idea... Timelines, good point. How about anything before 1900 AD?

Yes, the object must exist today. Buildings and monuments are also excluded (but worth it's own thread).

Since works of art are every bit media, I decided to post this thread here. LEG X EQ's post on the Lombards and their crown got me thinking about priceless artifacts of the world. Lets get a list going of the absolute most precious heirlooms of humanity, maybe construct a list of the top 20 which I'll update on this first post. So, what would Indy risk his life for? 1. The Rosetta Stone 2. The 12 Tablets Containing the Epic of Gilgamesh 3. Ebers Papyrus 4. Spear of Destiny

Ah so you did, and I see the iron band as well. Is it known what year it was created? Talk about priceless artifact!

Really this thread belongs more in the morality forum, but anyway we have had a long running thread on this topic there (you can find it under 'roman genocide.') Anyway I agree with PimusPilus' point that the Romans and the Nazis are in fact not the same. If the Romans were the same then they would not have stopped with Carthrage, but would have killed every last person of Semitic ethnicity along the African coast, in Hispania, and the islands. This of course did not happen. What the Romans a guilty of really is opportunism, greed and a touch in cowardice in destroying Carthrage. Done out of petty revenge rather than a desire to exterminate a race. Destruction of a powerful city than a people. As far as the Gauls are concerned, Caesar himself is guilty of the same issues of morality, yet no different than any other people of the times. The Romans could not have been interested in genocide of the Gauls by giving them seats in the senate and making friends and allies out of the ones who were willing.

Cool, have any links to a picture? Has it ever been determined that the crown does indeed have a band of iron in its center?

It looks somewhat Roman, but I'm sure you can find all sorts of cross cultural examples of art without any actual contact of civilizations. The artists are after all individuals, and perhaps what you see is just an individual breaking from the mold. Artists tend to do that.

I'd like to echo Pantagathus' statement there. The very fact that these people were ordained as a priest of a given function, accompanied with all the religious protocol and sacrifice, made them wholly a living part of the religion. The gods work in mysterious ways, why not then through the gods' earthly representative?

I have found a lot of anti-Roman sentiment on the web in various places, and most of the time it is from hardcore Christians. All one has to do is mention peoples like the Huns to see really how civilized the Romans generally were.