Viggen

The origin of one of the British Museum's greatest Roman treasures has been thrown into confusion after a scholar claimed it was actually made in the 16th Century. Dr Jerome Eisenberg, one of the world's leading authorities on ancient art, is "convinced" that the Portland Vase was made during the Renaissance. The vase is described by the museum as "the most famous cameo-glass vessel from antiquity" and was a widely accepted to have been made circa 30-20 BC. A museum expert said the vase was still believed to be Roman because of the techniques used to make it. more at the BBC

A very good report about a Surgeon's House in Pompei, with plans, panoram view and interesting details. The House of the Surgeon was brought to light when Spaniard Francesco La Vega cleared the central zone of our city block of ash and lapilli in the 1770s. Characterised by its large limestone blocks and architectural layout, the structurally impressive house captured the interest of early visitors and scholars alike. It was in these early days of clearance that a set of sophisticated Roman surgical instruments was found in the house. Questions of who may have once lived here were seemingly answered--this was the House of the Surgeon! more at Archaeology

Today I received an email with a question that I put forward to the communty, Romans never had any battle of note in Ireland, there is actually not much evidence that they had contact with Ireland at all. The English part was settled by various celtic tribes, and further north were the Picts. I am passing on the question for more indepth answers to the community. regards viggen

A 2,000-year-old spoon, used for scooping out shellfish, has been discovered at the site of a Celtic village. The tiny, copper alloy metal Romano British spoon, the handle of which is missing, was found by workmen at the Chysauster site, which is just three miles from Mounts Bay, near Penzance, Cornwall. A similar spoon was found during recent excavations in Newquay, north Cornwall. Cornwall County Council archaeologist Charlie Johns said the spoons would have had long, prong like handles to open shellfish. "They are the only two such spoons to have been found in Cornwall, and could have been of local manufacture," he said. The Chysauster settlement of eight stone walled homesteads is one of the oldest in Britain. from Mirabilis

The coins, which are about 2000 years old, were discovered at Sedgeford in north west Norfolk. The 18 coins which show a horse on one side, were found stuffed inside a cow bone after it was x-rayed at a hospital. A number of loose coins were also found at the Sedgeford site. Chris Mackie, co-director of the Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, said: "The find of a hoard of coins in bone is absolutely unique." more info and images at the BBC

The first Christian baptistry built onto the sumptuous mosaic of the dining room of an opulent 4th century Roman villa has been uncovered by archaeologists under the playing fields of a school in Wiltshire. The archaeologists have also discovered what appears to be a sham palatial twin villa. The twin villas, aligned on a hilltop and identical in plan would have been a stunning sight: built with metre thick stone walls, high on hill above Bradford-on-Avon and near a much older Iron Age hill fort. However while one is a conventionally splendid Romano British villa, with the beautiful dolphin and wine cup mosaic in the dining room, the other is emerging the most bizarre ever uncovered. more at the Guardian

Fragments of two bronze sheets, which had been threaded together, were unearthed by metal detector enthusiasts in Norfolk. The diploma was awarded in AD98 to a garrison soldier whose name has not survived but who was recruited in the imperial province of Pannonia, now the Balkans. Lettering inscribed on the eroded metal shows that he served in the legions from AD73, most of the time in Britain. His certificate acknowledges lessons learned during 25 years in the Roman army, lessons which became as subject to controversy and allegations of cheating as any modern exam. As the empire declined, the diplomas were traded on an illegal market for their value as proof of citizenship, which carried privileges and exemptions. more at the Guardian

I think he wasn't so bad when he was young, PP can tell more another article on this story http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?...storyID=3255550

British and American archaeologists digging in the Roman Forum said yesterday they had uncovered evidence to suggest that the emperor Caligula really was a self-deifying megalomaniac, and not the misunderstood, if eccentric, ruler that modern scholars have striven to create. For several decades historians have been lifting their eyebrows at the Latin authors' portrait of Caligula as a madman who came to believe he was a god. But Darius Arya of the American Institute for Roman Culture said a 35-day dig by young archaeologists from Oxford and Stanford universities had reinstated a key element in the traditional account. "We have the proof that the guy really was nuts," said Dr Arya as he sat in the shade of a clump of trees a few metres from the excavation. Suspicious of the very unanimity of the ancient sources, modern scholars have suggested they could have been politically biased. more at the Guardian

On a positive note, it is the first time that they can do that, so many objects are about to be dated that havent been before.

Researchers from Israel have developed a new way to date archaeological objects that is based on superconductivity. The new technique relies on measuring the magnetic signal from lead - which was widely used in antiquity - in samples that have been cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The method could be used to date pipes, coins, bottles and other objects. Lead is stable in many environments and corrodes only very slowly into lead oxide and lead carbonate. It becomes a superconductor when cooled below 7.2 Kelvin, whereas the corrosion products do not. This means that the magnetization of the lead will be several orders of magnitude higher than that of the corrosion products when the sample is placed in an applied magnetic field at temperatures below 7.2 Kelvin. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the magnetic signal from the sample is coming from the lead only. more on Physicsweb

Nice find Syk, Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

Archaeologists excavating the site of a major Roman temple in London have found a sealed box containing a white cream still bearing the fingermarks of the person who last used it, nearly 2,000 years ago. "This is of major significance," said Museum of London curator Francis Grew Monday. The substance, which will now be chemically analyzed, could be face cream or even face paint, he told reporters. "We are in completely uncharted territory here. Not only is the quality of workmanship of the box exceptional, but to find one in such good condition still sealed and with its original contents will raise huge interest around the world," he added. Museum conservator Liz Barham who opened the fist-sized cylindrical tin box for the first time Monday, in front of the world's media, described the smell from the half-full container as "sulphurous" and "cheesy." The box was found at the bottom of a ditch on the edge of the site of the temple next to the merging of two major roads into Roman London -- Watling Street from the port of Dover and Stane Street from the garrison town of Chichester. full article at the BBC

my guess would be very rich aristocrats.

The year is 300 BC. A boat sails into the port of Nani Rayan with wine in Roman amphoras. On its way back, it would take home textiles, ornaments and pottery. Over 2,300 years later, pieces, probably from those amphoras surfaced as workers dug the ground to create the Narmada canal through the sleepy hamlet of Nani Rayan, situated on the banks of the Rukmavati, 4 km from the river

Archaeologists found the ancient fragment of glass on the site of a villa nearNether Heyford last week and it was displayed to the public for the first time at the weekend. "Carved Roman glass like this is not a common find. It would have been very expensive and it's a very special piece. It gives us a clear idea of the status the villa had." The carved glass was found in the bath house of the Roman Villa, which was discovered in a field near Nether Heyford four years ago. Other finds at the site have included more than 300 Roman coins, pottery, jewellery and animal bones.

According to Puech, the inscription dates from the Byzantine empire of the 4th century, meaning the inscription was written 300 years after the tomb was built. It at least proves the tomb was a Christian holy site then, even if it does not categorically prove for whom it was built. According to Hebrew University expert Prof. Gideon Foerster, the inscription tallies with a sixth century Christian text that says Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, was buried with Simon the Elder and James, the brother of Jesus. Foerster believes the document and inscription are historically authentic. Zias and Fuech are deciphering additional inscriptions found on the walls and will publish their findings in November. They say that one of the words in the inscriptions is Simon. more at Haaretz.com

Archaeologists in Northamptonshire are unearthing the recipe secrets of the Romans. Excavations in the county have shown the dish of the day 2,000 years ago was freshly-grilled hare and stuffed dormice. The excavations are at Whitehall Villa, Nether Heyford, just yards from the Grand Union Canal, are revealing the secrets of Northamptonshire's Roman Heritage, including their unusual diet. Archaeologist Martin Weaver said a burned bowl found at the site contained the remnants of hare stew. "They also ate dormice - stuffed - and oysters. They loved their oysters," he said. The villa sits on land now owned and farmed by Nick Adams who is discovering he has more in common with his ancestors than he realised. "I had no real interest in archaeology or Roman things before this came along but, because it's on my land, I get a real kick more with images at the BBC

There are many great moments of the powerful Legions, many capable and good commander. I would like to hear which battles are in your opinion the best of the best. As there is not a single one that would stand out (or so I believe), feel free to discuss and argue which are the best moments for the Roman Army. Although most will choose earlier time periods, I personally feel that in 269 AD one of the greatest victories of the Roman Military happend. The of Battle of Naissus. The Battle of Naissus took place in September of 269 between the armies of the Goths and forces of the Roman Empire, led by either Gallenius or Claudius II as emperor and the future Emperor Aurelian as cavalry commander. The battle came about as a result of a massive invasion of the Goths into Roman territory in late 268 and in the early months of 269. The Goths pushed across the Danube River and made their way into the wealthy Roman province of Pannonia, where they looted and sacked several cities. It was thought by many that their next stop was going to be Rome itself. Gallenius checked the Goths by winning an impressive victory in the spring, probably in April, but the Romans were weakened by decades of internal strife and rebellions, and were unable to expel the Goths from their territory. The Goths continued their depredations throughout the summer, until Gallenius led a second expedition against them as the fall began. There is some dispute about who commanded the Roman army in the ensuing battle, as Gallenius died at about the same time and Claudius, known to history as Claudius Gothicus, later was given credit for the victory by the Roman Senate. Gallenius was almost certainly alive and present at the battle, so credit for the victory as emperor is his, but it appears that Claudius and especially Aurelian did most of the fighting. In a bitterly contested, no-quarter showdown near Naissus (the modern Nis, Yugoslavia), it was Aurelian who decided the battle in the Romans' favor when his cavalry routed the vaunted Goth heavy cavalry and then stormed the Gothic laager. In the ensuing chaos, between 30,000 and 50,000 Goths were killed or wounded, and thousands more taken prisoner. Many of the prisoners later chose to join the Roman army and served in the later, victorious campaigns of both Claudius and Aurelian. More importantly, the devastating defeat, coupled with the earlier defeat in April of the same year, broke the power of the Goths. Some remained on Roman soil until 271, when Aurelian drove the last of them back across the Danube, but they were no longer a danger to Rome or any other vital Roman area. In fact, a century would pass before the Goths would again seriously threaten the empire.

These artefacts are unique in the history of art. They mark a turning point in the Egyptians' mortuary practices, as of the first century AD, when mummies became gradually endowed with their portraits. These were depictions of the head and shoulders of the deceased, executed either on wooden tablets and placed under the bandages covering the mummy's face or on the linen shroud itself. They were painted in tempera or in pigments mixed with liquid beeswax. This new funerary cult probably meant to provide a true to life facial representation for the mummy's future life. The traditional belief of the Egyptians in a future life with their physical form intact - the rationale behind mummification - led to the development of this extraordinary art of mummy portraiture. Herodotus used to recount with some relish the Egyptians' obsession with mummification in order to underline the differences between Egypt and Greece. Eventually, however, the two cultures came together and the time came for Greeks to adopt Egyptian practices. more on AthensNews

The mosaic was unearthed last month during excavations at what will eventually form the goods lift at the new museum site in central Lincoln. Further work has since unearthed more of the red and white mosaic, which measures approximately four metres square. Experts now believe that it formed the corridor of a luxurious Roman Town House dating from the third or fourth century AD. Numerous fragments of painted plaster have also been retrieved from the site, indicating that the walls of the corridor were brightly decorated. Such lavish decoration of walls and floors suggests that the owners were very wealthy. more with images at 24hourMuseum

Fossilized remains of a fish supper have revealed a hitherto unknown Roman trade route. Genetic analysis shows that 1400-year-old catfish unearthed in an ancient Anatolian city probably came from Egypt. The fossils were found among the mountain-top ruins at Sagalassos, 110 kilometres inland from Turkey's southern Mediterranean coast. Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) are not native this region. more in Nature Magazine

Again or still? I haven't noticed anything though, seems to run smooth and fast for me, the last couple of days.