guy

Archaeologists have unearthed two temples and a sacrificial pit at a Roman military camp at Halteran in Northwestern Germany: https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/cult-temples-and-sacrificial-pit-unearthed-at-ancient-roman-camp-in-germany

Here is very informative video discussing the means Romans counted years (with the aid of coins) by Classical Numismatics:

A Roman necropolis at Vatican City has been opened to the public. The site is thought to hold the remains of many working class Romans, including slaves and servants: https://www.npr.org/2023/11/18/1214000293/vatican-ancient-rome-necropolis

An interesting find in Claterna, an ancient Roman town near modern Bologna: More than 3000 Roman coins and gems have been discovered. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/11/over-3000-roman-coins-found-at-claternae/149226 https://arkeonews.net/unique-gems-found-in-claterna-known-as-the-pompeii-of-the-north/

About 2000 municipal seals to have been found in Southern Turkey. These stamped clay pieces were used to secure and verify documents. Many of well-preserved seal images were of Jupiter Dolichenus, an important mystery cult popular in the Roman military in the second and third century AD. Below are a few threads on Jupiter Dolichenus: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/11/archaeologists-uncover-over-2000-seal-impressions-in-ancient-doliche/149262 In the mystery cult, Jupiter Dolichenus was recognized as a god of the heavens as well as determining military success and safety. Jupiter Dolichenus was usually represented standing on a bull and carrying his double ax and thunderbolt. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_Dolichenus#:~:text=Jupiter Dolichenus was a Roman,to mid-3rd centuries AD.

I had to do some research on Nola. Seems it only suffered relatively minor earthquake damage during the eruption of Vesuvius AD 77: https://www.archaeology.org/issues/526-2309/letter-from/11661-vesuvius-dark-side#art_page3 http://www.archeolog-home.com/pages/content/nola-neapolis-italie-digging-on-the-dark-side-of-vesuvius.html Here’s a good video on some of the Roman archaeology at Nola:

A tintinnabulum is a Roman wind chime, often taking the appearance of a phallus. Archaeologists have unearthed a phallus wind chime at the ancient city of Viminacium, about 100 km (70 miles) east of Belgrade. https://arkeonews.net/magical-roman-phallus-wind-chime-unearthed-in-serbia/ https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/11/phallus-wind-chime-found-at-roman-viminacium/149237 An example of a phallus tintinnabulum found in Pompeii: These may have been used to ward off evil and bring good luck.

Here is another article on the discovery: https://the-past.com/shorts/objects/inscribed-amphora-fragment/

Darius Arya has put together an excellent modern recreation of Ancient Rome. I have problems, however, with the fact that the marble structures depicted are mostly unpainted white. We know that Rome was, in fact, a colorful (and filthy) place: Similar recreations of Ancient Greece failed to show the vibrant colors of the city:

During excavations for a new railway, archaeologists have found a 1000-year-old statue of a Maya warrior wearing a serpent on his head. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/maya-warrior-statue-with-serpent-helmet-discovered-at-chichen-itza Here is a nice summary article that lists the contrasts between Mayans and Aztecs: https://www.diffen.com/difference/Aztecs_vs_Mayans#:~:text=The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking,as early as 2600 BC.

After it’s original discovery in 2021 in the Turkish province of Kayseri, a giant 4th century AD mosaic has been shown to have been 600-square-meters in size (larger than the original estimates of 300 square meters). https://arkeonews.net/the-largest-floor-mosaic-in-cappadocia-and-central-anatolia-region-uncovered-600-square-meters/ Article about original study in 2021: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/largest-floor-mosaic-in-central-anatolia-found-in-kayseri-168958

Thanks for reading my post. Here’s an old post (from 2008) describing the dating methods and their use:

Dendrochronology, the dating of wood rings, has been discussed in a previous thread (see below). Traditional dendrochronology has used tree rings for dating. Today wood structures can be dated with oxygen isotope or stable isotope dendrochronology. A 15th Century ship wine-trading vessel was discovered in Newport’s River Usk in 2002. Now researchers have found timbers from the hull were made from oak trees felled in the winter of 1457-1458. After many years of drying, the pieces of the ship are being reassembled to be put on display. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67302907

Roberto Trizio has done another great video, this time on the discovery of this segment of road in Scotland. (Be sure to turn on the English subtitles.)

Here’s are some videos of the discovery:

The details at the moment are sketchy, but reportedly there has been a discovery of tens of thousands of 4th century AD Roman bronze coins off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia. They are thought to be possibly from an ancient shipwreck. They were spotted by a diver who noticed metallic objects in the sand. At the moment, I am unsure the authenticity of these photos released by the Italian Culture Minister. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/tens-of-thousands-of-ancient-coins-have-been-found-off-sardinia-sparking-search-for-shipwreck/3141299/

The Gonio Fortress (also known as Asparos) was a magnificent structure on the Black Sea coast in Georgia. There is numismatic evidence that Legio X Fretensis stopped at the fort on their way to campaign with Trajan during his Parthian wars (see post below). There has been more recent discoveries in the area: a gem stone depicting Minerva and a stone slab with Latin inscriptions (see article below): https://www.heritagedaily.com/2023/11/new-discoveries-at-gonio-roman-fortress/149100 Here is an older post of the drone view of the Gonio fortress from several years ago:

A second century AD Roman site has been uncovered near Rabat, Morocco. It is thought that the area was first settled by the Phoenicians. In fact. bricks inscribed in neo-Punic were discovered at the site. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/morocco-unearths-roman-era-second-century-site-rabat-2023-11-03/?rpc=401&

A Roman road has been unearthed in a garden at a cottage near Stirling, Scotland. https://www.thenational.scot/news/23897192.astonishing-2000-year-old-roman-road-discovered-scottish-garden/ A wonderful find of this Roman road about 35 miles (60km) north of Edinburgh is consistent with the Scottish excursions of Septimius Severus AD 209-210.

A Roman-era silver bracelet has been found in Northamptonshire by a metal detectorist. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-67276277

Here’s a good article on the find: https://www.sci.news/archaeology/ancient-roman-forts-fertile-crescent-12400.html

Much has been written about Queen Teuta, “the pirate queen” who fought Rome (see post below). Here is a good article about Queen Teuta: https://arkeonews.net/queen-of-seas-who-challenged-rome-queen-teuta/

One of the best threads on X (formerly known as Twitter) that deal with daily Roman life, especially glasswares, is from Dr Jo Ball @JEBall. She drew my attention to The Corning Museum’s wonderful collection of ancient Roman glass: https://www.cmog.org/set/glass-romans-featured-objects

Here is a good video on the find. (English subtitles are available):

There have been several threads before on the Herculaneum scrolls, the only intact (but unread) library from antiquity (see below). Here is an excellent video on the recent digitally “unraveling” of the scrolls: