All Activity

Welcome Hydro- I should think the period around The Founding thru the Early Republic would hold interest for you.....what with The Forum being located in a swamp with the central Lacus Curtius eventually drained by the Cloaca Maxima, and then Appius Claudius building the first aquaduct, the Tiber having been so fouled by the Cloaca.

Childlike graffiti has been found in Pompeii depicting gladiatorial imagery. One drawing that outlines a small hand (see picture below) suggests that this was the work of a young child 6-7 years of age. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/05/graffiti-depicting-gladiators-found-during-pompeii-excavations/152088

One evening in narrow passages of Rome I ran across a wine fest. For eu5 they gave a wineglass with strap around your neck, good for unlimited visits to tasting stations. I'm not big on wine or any alcohol, but was seduced by their sweet wines in fancy bottles maybe similar to above. Be prepared for serendipity (and disappointment) in Rome. P.S. I ran across claim that Rome had a racetrack larger than Circus Maximus but it was abandoned after a decade. Traces east of central train station.

Here is another article on the find. I had forgotten that this was the site of an ancient “pet cemetery” (see post below). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/letters-written-by-ancient-roman-commanders-have-been-found-in-a-pet-cemetery-in-egypt-180984423/ Below is the release from the Polish scientists doing the research: https://naukawpolsce.pl/aktualnosci/news%2C102801%2Cegiptlisty-centurionow-znalezli-polscy-archeolodzy-w-berenike.html

Dried grapes used in passum production Below are a couple articles on the dinner of the Last Supper. Passum was probably the wine. Passum is a sweet dessert wine made from dried grapes that was popular its the time. https://aleteia.org/2024/05/28/what-wine-was-served-at-the-last-supper/ https://aleteia.org/2017/04/28/archaeologists-discover-what-was-served-at-the-last-supper/ There may have been some restrictions on females’ drinking wine in the early Archaic Period of Ancient Rome, but it appears at least passum was the accepted drink for females throughout Roman history. WINE TABOO REGARDING WOMEN IN ARCHAIC ROME, ORIGINS OF ITALIAN VITICULTURE, AND THE TASTE OF ANCIENT WINES | Greece & Rome | Cambridge Core

Hi, I am Hydrohobbit, a hydrogeologist (groundwater) guy interested in Roman History, especially the period of the Empire.

The Arade River in Southern Portugal has been a rich site for Roman excavation. Past finds include an intact ancient Roman wine amphora found in the river, for example. Recently, numerous new discoveries have been uncovered by metal detection, including this golden ear ring above. These findings suggest a robust shipping and trade in the area. https://www.newsweek.com/roman-gold-ring-bronze-age-axe-more-2200-river-finds-1904491 Below is a picture of the intact Roman amphora found at the Arade River a few years back. It probably dates to the late Roman Republic. https://www.sulinformacao.pt/en/2018/07/primeira-anfora-romana-do-tipo-dressel-1-intacta-recuperada-por-arqueologos-em-portugal-foi-recolhida-no-arade/

There have been previous posts (see below) about the function of the Roman dodecahedron, the twelve sided copper object pictured above found at many Roman excavations. Because the vast majority have been found on the border of the Roman Empire, it is suggested that these objects were used by the military as a fire sphere in defense of the border. The belief is that if they had some military or domestic use, they would have also been found throughout Italy. The short video below discusses that theory. My problem is that many, if not most of the dodecahedrons discovered have larger holes, making them a very inefficient vehicle to carry a flaming substance any long distance.

Here is an article that suggests a Roman oyster production site has been found in Humber located in Northern England. I’m not sure how they dated the oyster shells to the Roman-era, however. It is interesting to see, nevertheless, that the Roman demand for oysters extended to the far reaches of the Empire. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-69051462 Site of Humber, England

Interesting video. Thanks. Guy de la Bédoyére is one of the true giants of Romano-British numismatics and archaeology. (For interest I posted a previous post about the Rutland discovery that was discussed in the video.)

Time Team regular Guy de la Bédoyère outlines the disturbing fate of most artifacts and even basic archeo site info after the initial headlines. Site reports are either not written or pulped; computer formats go obsolete. Museums put stuff in irretrievable storage, uncataloged. This in the most well meaning of places such as UK, he maps out the inevitable incentives leading to this. Even in the headlines, unwarranted claims are typically made such as ownership of villas or ID of sculptures. He has made great efforts to counter this with no joy:

Wow, this book looks good about Rome's everyday folks by a prolific author, historian, and documentary regular. Not a marxist moan about the downtrodden but a celebration: "A cavalcade of noise and confusion in an ancient temple". My library has it on order. His youtube channel is a treasure https://www.youtube.com/@ClassCiv/videos and who better to review the book but Guy de la Bedoyere himself:

A statue head of Hygieia was found in Denizli, Southwestern Turkey. The statue probably dates from the first century BCE. ”The worship of Hygieia was closely associated with the cult of Asclepius. While Asclepius was more directly associated with healing, Hygieia was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health.” (Wikipedia) https://arkeonews.net/the-statue-head-of-hygieia-the-greek-goddess-of-health-found-stuck-between-two-rocks-in-laodikeia/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygieia The fragment of statue was found in the province of Denizli in Turkey, an area rich in Roman excavation (see posts below)

Berenike, Egypt has been the site of many Roman finds (see posts below). Papyri with lists of Roman centurions stationed in Egypt are among the most recent finds. The city of Berenike (Berenice Troglodytica) was an Ancient Egyptian seaport on the western shore of the Red Sea, Egypt (see map below). Site of Berenike, Egypt on the Red Sea https://arkeonews.net/polish-archaeologists-discover-papyruses-containing-a-list-of-roman-centurions-at-berenike/ Interesting video on making papyri:

Here is a better article describing the excavation on Alderney. There were two coins discovered (neither a gold coin as described by the BBC article). Above is a silver “Antoninianus” of the young Caesar Valerian II (reign 256-258), grandson of the Emperor Augustus Valerian who had made Valerian II’s father Gallienus the co-emperor. The coin depicts Valerian II wearing a radiate crown. This Antoninianus is slightly bigger than the older Roman denarius and possibly valued at two denarii. The Antoninianus was debased with bronze, however, and had minimal silver content. The coin below is a bronze coin of Valens (reign AD 364-378), which is around the time the fort was constructed. https://www.newsweek.com/archaeologists-uncover-ancient-roman-coins-small-vital-island-1902486

I live not too far from Avebury, the largest Neolithic stone circle in the world though precious little of it is left. I've walked down there once or twice, a hike across the Marlborough Downs of a respectable but practical length, so I'm not unfamiliar with it. Like most people, I simply see the ring and surviving stones as is, pondering their mysteries but I guess not looking too deeply at them. Here's a thought provoking video from a guy who does a bit of alternate thinking. I have no idea if he's right, but it shows Avebury and some surrounding areas in a very different light than I expected. Decide for yourself....

Well, that explains to me why the nearby Antalya archeo museum seems much better endowed with Roman sculpture than the Istanbul Archeo museum, the latter not having a youtube video worthy of putting in my signature museum playlist. Next I would like explained what activities went on in a stadium of that type - seems the wrong shape for horse racing, plays, or gladiators.

The Roman stadium of Perga (Perge) in Southern Turkey has been restored. The stadium, which seats about 5000, is one of many fascinating Roman finds in the city of Perga (see video below). Perga was one of the many sites visited by Apostle Paul. https://www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/ancient-roman-citys-stadium-restoration-completed-in-s-turkiye/news

Here is an interesting article about cancer in antiquity from the excellent website "Antigone" The Crab: Facing Cancer in Greco-Roman Antiquity – Antigone (antigonejournal.com)

Thru examples of runaway destruction of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and the Aztecs "The book—and this conversation—charts how and why some societies choose to utterly destroy their foes and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time."

I had long thought that the Roman Empire had total control of Egypt from the time of Augustus to the late Empire, possibly as late as the Vandal invasion in the fifth century. The excellent article below on Egypt during the Roman-era states that Egypt was no longer the “breadbasket of Rome” after the revolt of the Egyptians lead by the Egyptian priest Isidorus in AD 172-173. The unsuccessful revolt was a tax revolt and cultural backlash against the Romans known as the Bucolic revolt and left the Egyptian economy permanently crippled. https://the-past.com/feature/palmyra-blemmyes-diocletian-and-egypt/ See Cassius Dio “Roman History” Book LXXII https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isidorus#:~:text=According to the Roman historian,marshes of the Nile Delta. It appears that after the revolt, the gain supply to Rome resumed. This new supply, however, seems to have been neither as reliable or plentiful. Unforfortunately, there appears to be very little written on the revolt and its effect on the Egyptian economy.

Researchers at a Mayan ball court in Mexico have identified plant types using environmental DNA (since the plants are rarely preserved in the tropical climate). These plants are known for either their medicinal and possible hallucinogenic properties. Discovered was the morning glory plant, for example, which contains tryptamine as well as lysergic acid amide that is chemically similar to LSD. The seeds of the morning glory plant are used for its psychedelic or hallucinogenic effects. https://hightimes.com/news/psychedelic-plants-found-in-ancient-mayan-ballcourt/amp/ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0301497 Frontiers | Paleoecological Studies at the Ancient Maya Center of Yaxnohcah Using Analyses of Pollen, Environmental DNA, and Plant Macroremains (frontiersin.org)

Here’s a video on the find:

Amazing....After two thousand yrs, had the fish sauce gone bad?.....How could they tell?...I bet there weren't very many fat Romans. Very interesting discussion of the evolution of the terms & products garum and liquamen. Thanks for the references.

A recently excavated Roman shipwreck off the shore of Mallorca, Spain from the 4th century AD had uncovered around 300 amphorae. (I believe the post below is about the original find in 2019.) Only now have the contents of the amphorae been examined. Some amphorae had wine and others suspected olive oil. Many contained a substance residue thought to be a fish sauce distinct from garum . A coin at the wreck depicts Constantine the Great, dating the find at the earliest to the early AD 300s. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-024-01952-3 https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/1700-year-old-roman-shipwreck-was-stuffed-to-the-gills-with-fish-sauce-when-it-sank#:~:text=The Ses Fontanelles wreck lies,after a storm in 2019. Fish sauce, new amphora type identified on Roman wreck – The History Blog Shipwreck seen from above with amphorae: Note: There is great confusion about garum and liquamen since these term have been used interchangeably but they probably are distinct entities. (See article below) Garum and Liquamen, What’s in a Name? | Journal of Maritime Archaeology (springer.com)