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There have been previous posts about Roman finds at Alderney, one of the Channel Islands located between England and France (see below). A gold coin of Valens (reigned between AD 364-378) has been discovered on the island. Alderney was the site of a Roman fortress. Below is an artist impression of the site during the Roman era: https://www.bbc.com/articles/cpegg5397wlo

Archaeologists have found a suspected Roman villa and an indoor pool dating from AD 1-400 in the city of Durrës, Albania. Durrës is a port city on the Adriatic. Above is evidence of the mosaic floor that was uncovered. Durrës is already well known for its Roman amphitheater. https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article288475115.html Location of Durrës, Albania on the map.

Excavations in Pompeii have found political graffiti on the outsides walls throughout the city. Recent excavations in the Regio IX area have found graffiti on the interior of a house (see photo above). There have been previous posts on the excavations in the Regio IX area (see below). https://www.archaeology.org/issues/552-2405/digs/12298-dd-italy-pompeii-propoganda

Here is an interesting article about the Greek foundations of the important Roman “Twelve Tables” of laws. The Twelve Tables were formalized in 449 BCE, outlining the rights and duties of Roman citizens. They provided civil rights for both patricians and plebeians. Ancient Roman historians and jurists believed they were the result of social struggle between patricians and plebeians. The Twelve Tables later influenced Byzantine law and even James Madison in crafting the Bill of Rights. https://greekreporter.com/2024/05/13/overlooked-greek-foundations-roman-law/

Obviously beautiful and the painstaking effort to produce such a detailed, elaborate, large design is amazing....but more amazing is it's position placed in a windowless, grotto like room. How did they light it for viewing?....Often an unappreciated fact, activities in ancient times were limited mostly to daylight hours.

A Domus, now named Domus del Vicus Tuscus, was first discovered in 2018. It is located between the Palantine Hill and the Roman Forum and dates to the late Republican period. Archaeologists have unearthed a wall covered with a mosaic, consisting of various types of shells, Egyptian blue tessarae, and tiny flakes of white marble. One of the images on the wall are stacks of weapons and the Celtic carnyx (trumpets). After archaeological studies are complete, this site will be accessible to the public. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/01/colosseum-domus-mosaic/ Here is a previous thread about the Celtic carnyx:

This is a case report of a 77 year-old man from Wisconsin (upper Midwest United States) who contracted Leprosy (Hansen’s disease). His travel history over the last two decades includes Mississippi, Arkansas, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and Ireland. He denies exposure to armadillos or red squirrels. The cause of his disease was M. lepromatosis (and not M. leprae which is found only in armadillos). M. lepromatosis has only been detected in red squirrels found in England, Ireland, and Scotland. This is thought to be the first modern documented case of zoonotic (from animals to human) spread of leprosy, possibly from red squirrels in Ireland. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10874168/

Thinking about this some more, I think in Rome that many (if not most) sporting and entertainment events were sponsored by either politicians or businessmen who were trying to enhance their prestige. Their support would be both recognized and appreciated by the masses. I am not sure these vested interests would have advertised their support as blatantly as the newsreader from the series “Rome,” however. “This was brought to you by the Capitoline Brotherhood of Millers that uses only the finest flour. True Roman bread for true Romans.”

The three lead ingots from various perspectives An analysis of three first century AD Roman-era lead ingots has been untaken. They were found in Belmez, Córdoba in Spain at Los Escoriales de Doña Rama. Most lead ingots are usually found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, the result of a shipwreck. Unusually, after these ingots were analyzed, it was found that these ingots were found at the site where they had been manufactured. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2024/05/three-roman-era-lead-ingots-found-at-a-site-in-southern-spain-that-may-have-housed-a-mine-smelting-facility-and-processing-area/ https://www.archaeology.org/news/12385-240510-spain-roman-lead https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240507145609.htm

We have had a few previous posts about Roman archaeological finds in the Cotswolds area. Above are some Cupid figurines and below is a nail clipper, some of the more recent Roman finds (see article). These are among the many items that will go on display soon. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjq5p100exzo

Here are more pictures of the site: Ancient Rome breakthrough as scientists make huge discovery near Mount Vesuvius (msn.com)

Here’s a short video on the find and another article. This lump of Tyrian purple is thought to be related to the imperial court of Septimius Severus during his stay in Britain. There was some previous evidence of the Imperial Court in Carlisle: https://arkeonews.net/incredibly-rare-tyrian-purple-discovered-at-carlisle-roman-bathhouse/ https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/news/2024/rare-roman-discovery-found-carlisle

We have had many previous posts on military standards and images before (see posts below). Here is possibly the best video summarizing these:

A bit of light relief - I came across this cartoon on the SPQR Facebook page. So true!

The dodecahedron found in Lincolnshire is bigger than I thought. Here’s a quick news clip about it’s going on display. Its mystery continues.

Ditto caldrail.

It was know for several years that red squirrels were a host for leprosy. it is only recently, however, that genomic studies (looking at complete DNA sequences) of both Medieval squirrels and human skeletons of that era were examined. It showed a direct link between red squirrels and human leprosy in the Middle Ages. The consumption of red squirrel meat and using squirrel fur promoted this zoonotic (spread from animals to people) infection. It is known that in some areas of Texas and Louisiana armadillos were shown to be infected by leprosy more than 15% of the time. A recent outbreak of leprosy in Florida has been directly tied to armadillos. There is some concern that “armadillos may contaminate soil with the leprosy bacteria by burrowing and defecating, infecting humans who later handle soil.” (See article below) One study in Brazil showed that more than 60% of armadillos harbored leprosy. Here is a picture of a man in nearby Ecuador preparing armadillo meat. Brazil is known to have 11.6% of the cases of leprosy worldwide. (India by far has the largest number of cases.) https://epi.ufl.edu/2023/10/16/leprosy-in-florida-medical-experts-monitoring-unusual-new-cases-of-hansens-disease/ https://theconversation.com/humans-gave-leprosy-to-armadillos-now-they-are-giving-it-back-to-us-99915

Amazing bit of archeological work. Better living thru chemistry, as the saying goes....It's a common and wise survival strategy for a pathogen to have at least two host species to infect-- kill off one and hide in the other until the population of the first recovers. Squirrels are just rats with bushy tails....Those of us who live where hardwoods are the norm are accustomed to seeing squirrels fill the niche living in the canopy and eating nuts... In southern California (where the nuts live in mansions & sea side villas) the trees are palms and the common rat has taken over the niche of living in the canopy and eating the date nuts-- big problem in some neighborhoods in LA.

I was surprised to learn that squirrels host the same bubonic plague flea as rats. Someone recently died in NM of plague. A lot of people are attracted to squirrels and want to hand feed them etc, unlike rats. A surprising number of folks think reptiles are cute to handle. Nih.gov sez:

???? !!!!!!!!!!!

A red squirrel infected with leprosy (Hansen’s disease) causing infiltration and destruction of this animal’s ear. There is genetic evidence of M. leprae infection in Medieval English red squirrels. “The medieval red squirrel strain we recovered is more closely related to medieval human strains from the same city than to strains isolated from infected modern red squirrels.” Despite being a host for leprosy, it is uncertain whether squirrels were an animal vector for human leprosy infection during the Middle Ages. These findings support the theory that leprosy was transmitted by squirrel fur trade, however. In the Southern USA, armadillos are both a reservoir of leprosy (Hansen’s disease) and a frequent vector of human leprosy cases in the South. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)00446-9 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/british-red-squirrels-serve-leprosy-reservoir https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240503111918.htm

There have been a few posts on either the important Tyrian purple dye or Roman excavations near Carlisle, England (see posts below). Recent excavations at Carlisle have found a soft purple mass. Recent studies have revealed that it is made of beeswax and bromine. Researchers suggest that this represents a solid sample of Tyrian purple dye, possibly a unique finding in Roman archaeology. This expensive and coveted dye was available only to the elite of the Roman world. According to the article, the rare dye was made from the glands of a marine snail and about 12,000 were needed to obtain less than 2g of pigment. https://www.newsweek.com/archaeologists-find-rare-item-worth-more-romans-weight-gold-1897206 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjje132jvygo#

The story behind the images by Goldsworthy:

Timgad: idyllic retirement village on African frontier... P.S. don't miss my previous posted video, a mere 2.5 minute atmospheric gem.

Here are some pictures of the exhibit from Maridvnvm (from cointalk.com and forumancientcoins.com). The descriptions are from the pictures. Britain, British Museum, Exhibition 2024 - Legion: life in the Roman Army - crocodile armour Some Roman soldiers participated in local religions – Terentianus was keen to report his piety. Crocodile-worship was common in Egypt. This crocodile scalp could be a ritual headdress, or a local adaptation of the fierce lion and bear hoods worn by Roman standard bearers. The tough leather of the crocodile skin resembles the texture of scale body armour, and leather protection might have sufficed for some soldiers. Alternatively, it was perhaps worn under metal armour for cushioning, adding flexible hip and shoulder protection. Made of Crocodile leather Probably found in Manfalut, Egypt Dating to A.D. 200–400 Part of British Museum collection, 1846,0501.9 Britain, British Museum, Exhibition 2024 - Legion: life in the Roman Army - chainmail This deceptively simple looking armour is a chainmail shirt, found in the barracks of a fort on Hadrian's Wall. It probably belonged to a soldier of the 5th cohort of Gauls, an auxiliary unit raised in the area including modern France. The individual rings are 7 mm wide and were fixed by riveting alternating rows, making it painstaking and expensive to produce. Made of Iron Found at Arbeia fort, Tyne and Wear, England Dating to A.D. 200–300 On loan from Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=lastup&cat=-1262 Britain, British Museum, Exhibition 2024 - Legion: life in the Roman Army - bronze Draco By the A.D.100s, a distinctive windsock-like standard especially suited to being wielded from the saddle had been adopted from Rome's Sarmatian foes – the draco. This bronze standard head originally had a tube of colourful materials attached. Carried by a draconarius, the material trailed behind the rider, blown by the breeze and emitting a whistling sound to suggest the fearsome beast's howl. Its pole was attached through two holes on the top and bottom of the head. Found in Niederbieber, Germany Dating to 190 A.D. –260 A.D. On loan from GDKE – Direktion Landesarchäologie Außenstelle Koblenz https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastupby&cat=0&pid=187511&uid=618#top_display_media