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Viggen

Triumviri
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Everything posted by Viggen

  1. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Souvenir-hunting thieves have stolen part of an ancient fresco from the Israeli archaeological site of Masada, Israeli officials said on Sunday. The thieves removed a 15 cm (6 inch) square section of a fresco that decorated the ancient Roman headquarters at Masada, located on a barren mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, the National Parks Authority said in a statement. Masada was originally a palace built by the Jewish King Herod on a desert mountain whose sheer sides served as a natural fortress. After the Romans conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish Temple in AD 70, Jewish fighters took refuge there. But, as the Roman scribe Josephus recorded, they were besieged by the Roman Tenth Legion, who enlisted thousands of slaves to build a giant ramp to breach the walls. Realizing they could not hold out for much longer, most of the fighters committed suicide rather than be taken captive. Israeli archaeologists restored Masada in the 1960s and it is now one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. The fresco had recently been the object of a further costly restoration, but the thieves -- who the National Parks Authority said were probably souvenir hunters rather than professionals -- may have chosen the wrong target. Local legend has it that "those who took even a stone from Masada lived to regret it."
  2. Weeks ago archeologists revealed that they had unearthed a rare and nationally significant Iron Age burial site at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire complete with a chariot, a spear and the 2,500-year-old skeleton of a Celtic warrior or king. The 2,000-year-old coins, which yesterday went on display at the Hull and East Riding Museum, were found last year in a ploughed field near Driffield by a metal detectorist. After being declared treasure trove, they were sold to the museum with the help of a
  3. A Bronze Age gold disc used as an item of adornment at a burial 4,000 years ago has been declared treasure trove by a coroner at Aberystwyth. The disc dating back 4,000 years was discovered at Cwmystwyth Mines near Aberystwyth- and is only the third known piece of gold from the Bronze Age discovered in Wales. full article with image at the BBC.
  4. Did nothing survive of the library? What is the chance that some stuff is still hidden somewhere?
  5. more on the Chariot with magnificant images (and I mean magnificant!!!). The chariot had been placed in a large oval pit in the centre of a square ditched enclosure. The burial pit would originally have been covered by a low earth mound formed from the spoil dug out of the surrounding enclosure ditch. As this had been dug into limestone, the mound would have been clearly visible from a distance. For the full article with beautiful images and a clickable map of the burial site go to Oxford Archaeology
  6. Very interesting article about how the Colosseum worked, including a graphic. The Colosseum in Rome was as sophisticated as a modern stage set, according to archaeologists who have calculated how an intricate system of gangplanks, trapdoors and levers was used to bring wild animals into the arena. Under the 55,000-seat Colosseum, pulleys and ropes were operated at split-second intervals to connect passages, open gates and hoist cages from the basement to the floor of the arena. The system was run by teams of trained slaves who faced being fed to the animals themselves if their timing went awry. A team from the German Archaeological Institute involved in an eight-year project to rebuild the arena - which dates back to about ad70 - has been astonished by the ingenious designs. full article at the Telegraph
  7. IN TERMS of bringing history to life, pupils and staff at Winchester's newest school couldn't have done much better. Because in the grounds of the newly opened Osborne School, archaeologists are uncovering a massive Roman cemetery with more than 150 graves dating back 1,700 years. The graves give a fascinating insight into life in Winchester at that time - or Venta Belgarum, as the Romans called it - but they have also turned up some unexpected finds. For example, most of the graves are believed to have been Christian burials, while what is possibly the first Christian burial ground is also in the area -- with the bodies lying predominantly from east to west. But many of the graves also show signs of people hedging their bets and including some pagan offerings, just in case the newly arrived Christian faith turned out to be false. full article with picture at ThisisHampshire
  8. A cooperation agreement on the protection of Morocco's Roman site Volubilis (northeast of Rabat) was signed in Rabat Monday between the culture department and the Institute of Archeology of University College London (UCL). Under the 5-year agreement, the two parties will document the conservation status of the site of Volubilis, carry out emergency and pilot conservation projects according to priorities established by the joint management team, develop proposals for operations related to all existing and proposed buildings on the site and undertake archeological excavations when necessary. from Arabic News
  9. This story is nor related to the Roman Empire, but so exiting news that i put it up here. A vast, shadowy circle sits in a flat wheat field near Goseck, Germany. No, it is not a pattern made by tipsy graduate students. The circle represents the remains of the world's oldest observatory, dating back 7,000 years. Coupled with an etched disk recovered last year, the observatory suggests that Neolithic and Bronze Age people measured the heavens far earlier and more accurately than scientists had imagined. full article at Scientific America
  10. Viggen

    Caesar's legion massacred at Venlo

    ah, good we have the professor, I didnt't know about the battle before, and i must have misread the article from Jug then, so thanks for clearing this up!
  11. Viggen

    Caesar's legion massacred at Venlo

    Cool Jug, thanks allot, Funny that the Romans didnt describe this in more detail. Maybe it didn't fit into the glory of Caesar, and would have affected his status?
  12. ROME (Reuters) - A manuscript containing possibly unknown verses penned by the ancient Greek playwright Menander more than 2,000 years ago have come to light at the Vatican Library, the Vatican's newspaper has said. While half of the 400 verses, copied on to a parchment in the ninth century, appear to be come from Menander's only salvaged play "The Grouch", or "Dyskolos", researchers believe 200 verses could be completely new finds. "The deciphering and deep analysis of the new fragments...will allow us to read again, after two millennia, a text that was believed to be lost," L'Osservatore Romano daily said on Friday. The verses were discovered by Francesco D'Aiuto, the Vatican Library's specialist in Greek manuscripts. Menander, a prolific writer of Greek comedies who was born in 342 BC, has been called the father of the modern sitcom. For years his texts were only known due to references from his contemporary admirers. Over the last century, manuscripts with fragments of his plays have come to light, including an almost complete copy of "The Grouch". The protagonists of the new verses found at the Vatican Library are an old woman, a newborn child and a girl, according to initial studies, although the details of the plot have yet to unfold, L'Osservatore said. The manuscript is a copy of Menander's verses written on animal skin and stored in a Syrian monastery before making its way to the Vatican.
  13. The stone torso, unearthed at Lattes in southern France, is one of just a few detailed figurines considered to have been made by the ancient Celts. The statue of a male warrior wears a style of armour worn in Spain and Italy and was life-size when it was complete. The "Warrior of Lattes" is described in the scholarly journal Antiquity. It is around 79 centimetres in height and was discovered in the wall of an Iron Age house where it had been used as a building stone. Some time after it was created, the statue was mutilated to be re-used in a door opening. The head was removed, the left leg and arm hacked off and the crest of the warrior's helmet smoothed away. The statue's pose is also unusual for Iron Age sculptures from southern France. Most are shown cross-legged, but the Lattes sculpture was in a crouched position - a pose reminiscent of some Greek sculptures. full article with photos at the BBC
  14. Archaeologists have discovered an arc of buried megaliths that once formed part of the great stone circle at Avebury in Wiltshire. Most of the standing megaliths visible today at Avebury formed the western half of the circle. The famous map of the site drawn in the 1720s by William Stukeley, the first secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of London, showed that many of the stones in the south-east and north-east quadrants of the circle were missing. Now, the first geophysics survey of these areas of Avebury, carried out by the National Trust, has revealed that at least 15 of the megaliths lie buried in the circle itself. The massive stones show up very clearly as computer images and the National Trust has been able to identify their sizes, where they lie and how they fit in the circle. full article at the Independent
  15. Archaeologists have discovered a
  16. Whatever side you take on the case for moving the fragmentary 5th century BC Parthenon frieze from London to Athens, recent events show that the arguments are more about politics than archaeology or public access. In 2001, MP Edward O'Hara proposed that the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Athens for the Olympic games next year, to fill the otherwise empty museum being built by Greece at a reported cost of
  17. An ancient gold disc which was used as an item of adornment at a burial 4,000 years ago has been discovered in Ceredigion. Experts say the priceless sun disc is the first one of its kind to be found in Wales and only the third known piece of gold from the Bronze Age uncovered here. The disc found by chance by an archaeologist digging at Copa Hill at the Cwmystwyth Mines - 10 miles outside Aberystwyth - was the subject of a treasure trove inquest heard by Ceredigion coroner on Tuesday. full article (with image) at the BBC
  18. Frustrated archaeologists said Monday that a sprawling area of recently discovered early 3rd century warehouses will soon be topped by a 200-car parking lot in the Trastevere area near the Tiber River. Archaeologists had to put down their tools after exploring only a small slice of the 500-square-yard expanse of storehouses that once served as busy port when Roman traders and armies sailed the Mediterranean during the Imperial era. While there's money available to build parking spots in this car-choked metropolis, the coffers for archaeological exploration are practically bare. full article at Charleston Gazette
  19. Archaeologists believe that traces of a community dating back to a pre-Roman era, a sort of "Etruscan Venice", may lie beneath the ships. The end of the lagoon civilisation may also offer clues to the fate of modern Venice - the waterways were silted up by violent floods over a long period. The number of vessels, which were found in remarkable condition, rose to six, then nine, and finally 21, including what experts believe may be a Roman warship. They date from 200BC-AD500. full article at the Telegraph
  20. During the Ptolemaic era Tuna EI-Gabal was the necropolis of Ashmounein, where one can still see some intact tombs which closely resemble modern houses and which are adorned with beautiful designs that are a blend of Egyptian and Greek arts. Tuna EI-Gabal is also the site of an immortal, almost two-thousand year old love story (120 AD), about Isadora, whom the doyen of Arabic literature Taha Hussein wrote about in his masterpiece
  21. ANCIENT Scots may have enjoyed sophisticated economic, social and cultural links with the builders of one of the world's most mysterious ancient monuments, according to new research. Experts have revealed a previously unknown link between the elite of ancient Scots society and Stonehenge, dispelling the myth that Scotland's Bronze Age tribes were uncultivated barbarians. full article at TheHerald
  22. Italian authorities are so alarmed by a spate of thefts from the ruins of Pompeii that they are planning to remove to safety "all the antiquities not nailed down". Some of Europe's most important Roman mosaics and other decorations - including ancient storage jars, capitals and columns - are to be replaced with copies to protect them from thieves operating out of the neighbouring crime-ridden city of Naples. Officials are drawing up a list of the most easily removed items from the open-air site - where security is notoriously lax - and plan to move them to museums and stores after the third serious break-in in six months. full article at the Telegraph
  23. An Iron Age torc unearthed in a Norfolk field this summer has been hailed as an exceptional find on a par with the famed Snettisham hoard. Norfolk Museums Service expert Dr John Davies said the item dated back to the Iceni tribe, probably a generation before Iceni leader Boudicca lived. He said: "It is indeed a very fine example. It compares with some of the very finest examples that have turned up at Snettisham. A report by Dr JD Hill of the British Museum revealed that the item, which was made between 200 and 50 BC , survived more than 2000 years intact before suffering recent minor damage from agricultural machinery. Dr Davies said the electrum torc would have belonged to a prestigious figure in Iron Age Norfolk and Boudicca would have worn similar jewellery. full article at EDP24
  24. After 10 years of digging, "Little Rome," as the great Roman orator Cicero called it, is coming to light near Naples, in what could be the most important discovery of an ancient Roman town since the excavation of lava-entombed Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 18th century. The ancient town of Puteoli, once one of the major trading ports of the Mediterranean, has been found under Rione Terra, a stout promontory in Pozzuoli, just 8 miles west of Naples. Known to Italians as the birthplace of movie star Sophia Loren, Pozzuoli is a pleasant seaside resort surrounded by volcanic hills. But under palaces and hotels lies an ancient city with streets, temples and exceptionally preserved buildings
  25. Ancient Mediterranean sailors crossed the high seas with techniques of navigation and orentation that we still haven't discovered, contrary to myths that need to be dispelled, such as that the only navigation was local coastal navigation. New evidence has appeared regarding ancient naval presence on the island of Ustica, discovered by underwater excavation last summer carried out by Giuliano Volpe, archaeology professor at the University of Foggia, supported by "Archeologia viva" and the archaeological superintendence of Palermo. full article at AGI Online
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