Viggen

Hello Zeke and welcome to UNRV Glad you like our site and hopefully we will have many interesting posts from you. (dont worry about spelling) cheers viggen

Here are the stats from the 5 biggest european countries (CIA fact book) Germany - GDP - $2.16 trillion / per capita $26,200 France - GDP - $1.558 trillion /per capita $26,000 UK - GDP - $1.528 trillion / per capita $25,500 Italy - GDP - $1.455 trillion / per capita $25,100 Spain - GDP - $850.7 billion / per capita $21,200 Italy has great influence in european affairs, always had and especially since Berlusconi (controversial multi billionaer) is president. Italy has with Spain (they withdrawed now) and UK troops in Iraq (3000 italian soldiers as far as i know) Italy was one of the first "big" countries to ease tension with Lybia for example and played a big role in getting the Lockerbie situation somewhat settled and helped so the return of Gaddafi to the USA I believe Italy is (at least in europe) undisputed an equal of the Top 5 european countries. Shot in the dark, and i can't proof any of it, but it is quiet a coincident, isn't it. It might have something to do with the existence of the Fugger and Welser (Families who had an empire of Banking and Trade) who had offices throughout northern Italy but not in the south. It was I believe the earliest time of real capitalism together with the Hanseatic League in europe and southern Italy might have missed out on that. Another reason is that the south has relative little industry and relied heavily on agriculture... cheers viggen

I think this fits nicely here; The Great Orme Copper Mine has been named as the largest Bronze Age copper mine in the world and is dating back up to 4,000 years. more at the BBC We also have (in case you missed it) a section about Copper during Roman Times

Historians may have to revise their previous beliefs about the history of the Nile River valley and human history following the recent discovery of seven statues in Karma, northern Sudan, south of the Third Cataract, which represented monarchs during the ancient Nubian Kingdom. In a recent report, Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reported that a group of archaeologists working in the Sudan discovered the statues. These researchers established that five of them, namely Taharqa, Tanoutamon, Senkamanisken, Anlamani and Aspelta, date back to the era of Nubian Kings. "The statues are sculptural masterpieces and important additions to our knowledge of the history of the region" the national news agency quoted Charles Bonnet, an archaeologist with the University of Geneva, Switzerland, as saying. full article at AngolaPress

Dalton.org Literary Resources A collection of Romn Literary Resources for the The Dalton School community.

I would like to add that we have pretty good info on the battle of Cannae cheers viggen

Mel Gibson is guaranteed a panning for his forthcoming film on Britain's warrior queen Boudicca, experts say -- either from the feminists who have turned her into an icon, or from the historians for whom she remains an enigma. "Take any figure where there's been emotional investment and you're going to annoy someone," said folklorist Dr Juliette Wood. "We know so little about her and yet she has been turned into a meta-historical icon." Boudicca, known also as Boudica and Boadicea, has become hot property in Hollywood, where no fewer than four scripts on her are in the works, among them a Dreamworks production called "Queen Fury". Scholars plucked Boudicca, whose name translates as "Victory," from historical obscurity during the 16th century. The little that is known about her has been gleaned from archaeological excavations and the Roman historian Dio Cassius. full article at Reuters

and we actually have one now! Book Section cheers viggen

Local history enthusiasts believe they have unearthed positive evidence that a former King of Scotland maintained a castle in Inverness. Tradition has persisted that Macbeth had a stronghold at Auldcastle Road in the Crown area of the city - hence the name. Now an archaeological dig by members of the Inverness Local History Forum in the garden of the appropriately-named house Dun Macbeth has uncovered what could be the most important finds to date. full article at The Inverness Courier

A fragment of a Roman sarcophagus is being returned to Syria thanks to the efforts of experts on Tyneside. The decorated fragment, which was brought into Newcastle University by a city resident, dates between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD. Months of detective work led experts to the island city of Aradus on the Ile d'Arwad, off the coast of Syria. Now the artefact is being returned to a more appropriate home at the Syrian national Museum. full article at the BBC

Hi journaldan, i was so free to split it this from the Italics thread, and move it here (i believe it deserves it's own thread) First of all i live about 15 minutes from the Italian Border, so i believe i can speak a bit about my neighbour country. Second Italy is not everywhere the same (just like the USA) I remember when i was in the US for a brief period of time back in the early ninties visiting once West Virginia i was thinking wow this looks more backwards then Eastern Europe. There is within Italy a huge north/south divide, While the North is one of the richest places on earth and the majority of americans (and europeans) would love to have the kind of lifestyle they have, the south lacks infrastructure and is far behind. If one looks at the income of Italy one can see (coincident?) that it drops conciderable where once the "Holy Roman Empire" ended (south of Rome). One must also define "to be rich" mediteranean countries like greece, spain or italy have a total different lifestyle and way of life then for example central europeans. (i am generalizing of course here). However I don't think anyone in europe conciders Italy a 1B nation but a wonderful place which gives us one of the best cars in the world, a leading powerhouse in fashion and style and not to mention the italian kitchen. If you look at the GDP and compare it between UK, France and Italy then you will see they are virtually the same. So i am not sure what you concider a 1A nation In any case, thanks for bringing up an interesting topic. cheers viggen ...oh and if you don't like the topic title i made (not very creative i admit), feel free to suggest a better one

Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian' to be re-released more at the Seattle Times

Zeal Directory The community directory from Looksmart

I was just stumbling over Thucydides "History of the Peloponnesian War" and there a passage caught my attention (the chapter is talking before this line about sailing to Sicily and who was already settled at the time the Athenians arrived. .... The Sicanians appear to have been the next settlers, although they pretend to have been the first of all and aborigines; but the facts show that they were Iberians, driven by the Ligurians from the river Sicanus in Iberia. It was from them that the island, before called Trinacria, took its name of Sicania, and to the present day they inhabit the west of Sicily.... If you read one one could see that there was heavy sailing across the meditereanean, and we speak about what 1500 BC? Amazing if you think what kind of busy place that already was.. I know those old writings have to be taken with a salt of grain, but nevertheless i thought very interesting anyone knows more about the Sicanians or this period?

DNA analysis of Bronze Age bones will answer an ancient question. 'I have seen the face of Agamemnon." No, not the reaction of filmgoers after seeing Brian Cox's depiction of the Greek king in Troy, but that of the celebrated 19th century archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann after digging up a striking Bronze Age gold mask from ancient Greece. Schliemann was not known for understatement - on excavating the ruins of Troy he said he had "opened a new world" for archaeology - but on this occasion he was wrong. The shaft graves at Mycenae where he found the mask have now been dated to 1500BC, and it would stretch even the historical flexibility of a Hollywood scriptwriter to place Agamemnon there several centuries before he led the Greeks in the Trojan war. The glittering death mask, treasure and the rest of the haul recovered from the graves were not his, but whose were they? The question has long puzzled archaeologists. full article at the Guardian

Polish archaeologists have unearthed 13 lecture halls believed to be the first traces ever found of ancient Egypt's University of Alexandria, the head of the project said Wednesday. The lecture halls, with a capacity of 5,000 students, are part of the 5th century university, which functioned until the 7th century, according to a statement from Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. "This is the first material evidence of the existence of academic life in Alexandria," Majderek said. Knowledge of earlier intellectual pursuits in the Mediterranean coastal city came through historical and literary documents and materials. via CNN

This true Roman and not true Roman ended with the end of the Rebublic? Some Emperors didnt even come out of Latium, never mind todays Italy, Illyria and Hispania comes to my mind... Or was the bloodline more important then location? cheers viggen

About 400 years ago, before Europeans began settling North America, a native hunter sat and cleaned his latest kill where the Pecatonica and Rock rivers merge. The hunter used a prehistoric pocketknife of sorts, fashioned from a deer antler, to scrape the flesh from a bear, elk or other animal that was common to the area now known as Rockton. Fast-forward to fall 2003. Archaeologists and students discovered the hunting tool buried deep within the soil of the Macktown settlement, home of what is believed to be Winnebago County's first white settler. full article at Rockford Register Star

The face of a man murdered 1,700 years ago in Cumbria has been reconstructed for a museum exhibition. The skull, which had a hole caused by a weapon, was discovered during building work at The Lanes shopping centre, in Carlisle. The city's Tullie House museum was awarded funding from the Local Heritage Initiative to reconstruct his face and it goes on display on Wednesday. full article at the BBC

The wreck of the Titanic is being slowly destroyed by tour operators, film crews and trophy hunters who have stripped more than 6,000 objects from the ship since it was discovered on the Atlantic seabed in 1985. Robert Ballard, who found the Titanic, said that a "circus" has developed around the shipwreck over the past 20 years despite it being the last resting place of the people who drowned when it struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912. full article at the Independent

The Roman Empire has been well documented. Over the years written history and archaeology have brought to the surface, sometimes literally unearthed, a whole society. Thus Roman architecture, religion, military strategy and legal structures hold little mystery. Compared to this depth of knowledge, many of those living outside the boundaries of the Empire are lost in time. But now an archaeological excavation in the north of the Netherlands had begun to tell the story of the Roman's neighbours. full article at Radio Nederland

Was the Hill Hold event in New York already? cheers viggen

UNRV has designed and developed a highly detailed Map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the mid first century AD. The 24 x 36" full color, high resolution, professionally printed poster includes: hundreds of cities, tribes, mountains, rivers and waterways, detailed Roman provincial names and adjacent territories, legionary forts, fortifications and Roman roads. The highly detailed background is from professional topographic relief data of Europe and the mideast. This huge wallmap is the largest and most detailed of its kind and is a perfect addition to any setting for the Roman enthusiast, and is available for shipping anywhere in the world. Buy Roman Empire Map We would appreciate your feedback! cheers viggen

A team of archeological experts from Orissa say their recent findings at the Kapileshwar village may help establish the small hamlet as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, instead of Lumbini, in Nepal. Officials at the Orissa State Museum, which conducted the excavation, said that the new findings, which included artefacts dating back to 6th century BC, supported the claims of Kapileshwar being Lord Buddha's birthplace. Buddhism was founded in India, when Lord Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, attained supreme enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya in 6th century B.C. full article at WebIndia

Interesting, but Atlantis? One of the great enigmas of our history