guy

I grow weary of reports claiming suspected burial sites of ancient figures like Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. Here's another: an assertion of Jesus' burial site based on archaeological landscape research. The photos above and below are of the same site from different angles: the Aedicule inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection. The Aedicule is the small, ornate shrine that encloses what Christian tradition identifies as the Tomb of Jesus—the site of the burial and Resurrection. It sits beneath the church’s main rotunda, called the Anastasis, with its large dome and hanging lamps. Both these articles below describe a discovery that strengthens the archaeological plausibility of the traditional site of Jesus’ burial. The landscape beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulcher matches the New Testament’s physical description more closely than any previously documented excavation. From John 19:41: Archaeologists from La Sapienza University in Rome have uncovered a first‑century landscape beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulcher that closely matches the New Testament’s description of the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. Their excavation revealed rock‑cut tombs, an abandoned quarry later filled with soil, and cultivated areas with olive trees and grapevines. These features align with the Gospel of John’s account that a garden and a new tomb were at the site of the crucifixion. The discovery indicates that the physical environment described in the Bible is archaeologically plausible at this location. The excavation began during restoration work on the church floor between 2022 and 2025. Researchers determined that the quarry lay outside Jerusalem’s city walls in the early Roman period, consistent with biblical references indicating that Jesus suffered “outside the gate.” They also found evidence of a Roman structure from Emperor Hadrian’s reign in the second century that had sealed one of the tombs. When Emperor Constantine built the first Christian shrine in the fourth century, the Roman structure was demolished, the tomb was uncovered again, and a Christian sanctuary was built around it. This sequence of construction demonstrates a long historical continuity of attention to the site. The excavated area reflects many details from the New Testament. The cultivated land with olive trees and grapevines corresponds to the biblical account of a garden near Golgotha. The rock-cut tombs resemble freshly carved burial chambers. Its position outside the old city walls aligns with scriptural references that state the crucifixion took place beyond Jerusalem’s gates. These similarities make the site notably consistent with the Gospel account. I will allow others to evaluate the evidence. https://punchng.com/archaeologists-uncover-ancient-landscape-matching-bibles-description-of-jesus-burial-site/ https://orthodoxtimes.com/a-2000-year-old-mystery-in-jerusalem-findings-that-match-the-bible-point-to-the-burial-site-of-jesus/#google_vignette

There have been several previous post reassessing Nero (see below). Below is a very good video describing Nero’s Domus Aurea:

New excavations in Wales have proven the extensive Roman presence in the area. Here is an article on the latest findings from the Wrexham site, which were first excavated in 2019. These findings will help shed light on this under appreciated Roman development. https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/new-dig-north-waless-first-34511915

Below are quotes about the display: “The panels were likely sculpted by, or for, Roman legionaries based at Caerleon, known as Isca to them, and may once have decorated a fortress building. Believed to date from circa AD 75 to AD 150, but recovered from a later context, the fragments may represent the earliest portraits produced in Wales. The stone carvings, which depict defeated and imprisoned Celts soon after the Roman invasion of Britain, were discovered during excavations in Caerleon in 2010. Following research and conservation work, visitors will now be able to see the remarkable artefacts as part of a permanent display at the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon.” https://nation.cymru/news/roman-stones-said-to-be-wales-earliest-portraits-displayed-for-first-time/ https://museum.wales/news/1449/Roman-sculpted-stones-said-to-be-Wales-earliest-portraits-displayed-for-the-first-time/

There was a recent post about the Via Appia (see below). Above is a recent photo of the Via Appia, outside Rome (from the substack “Modern Scholar”). https://substack.com/@worldscholar/note/c-255995870?r=k9yfw&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Here is a followup on the above find. If the dating of the sarcophagus is correct (4th-5th century AD), this burial reflects an emerging Christian culture. Constantine allowed Christianity to flourish beginning in AD 313, when he and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, granting full legal toleration, restoring confiscated church property, and permitting Christians to worship openly without fear of persecution. By the late 4th century, Christian burial norms were spreading across Dalmatia. The sealed sarcophagus—with a single individual, minimal grave goods, and careful mortar sealing—aligns with emerging Christian preferences for simplicity, bodily integrity, and monumental stone coffins. The careful mortar sealing had a Christian significance. It was part of a theological and ritual shift: The body was to remain whole, untouched, and protected until the Last Judgment. In pagan Roman practice, tombs were commemorative monuments. In Christian practice, they became holy resting places. Summary: Late Antique burials (4th–6th c. AD) increasingly shifted toward Christian simplicity, church‑associated burial, and less emphasis on roadside display. The contrast marks one of the most dramatic transformations in Roman cultural and funerary history. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/08/158972/158972

The will be the first (of hopefully many) interesting, mostly ancient-themed pictures I come across. Above shows the layers of history found in one Istanbul (previously Constantinople) building. Source: Substack “Nenad Giorgievski” https://substack.com/@nenadgeorgievski/note/c-318624714?r=k9yfw&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

So, did the Romans use an abacus for calculations? After watching the above advertisement, I was wondering …. Answer: The ancient Romans absolutely used the abacus, and they used it in a surprisingly sophisticated, portable form. The device was called the Roman hand‑abacus, a metal counting board with sliding beads in grooves. It appears in the archaeological record from the 1st century AD, and multiple sources confirm its widespread use in commerce, engineering, land surveying, and accounting. A 1st‑century CE bronze abacus from Aosta, Italy was archaeological evidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_abacus?utm_source=copilot.com

There have been numerous posts about Roman roads. Here is a short video summary about the construction of the Via Appia. The Via Appia, often called the Regina Viarum—the “queen of roads”—was one of ancient Rome’s most important arterial routes, built in 312 BCE under the censor Appius Claudius Caecus to link the capital with southern Italy and ultimately the port of Brundisium, giving Rome a strategic military corridor and a commercial lifeline that shaped its expansion.

In a previous post I wrote long ago (and had forgotten), I suggested that Tiberius (ruled AD 14-17) had banned public kissing to prevent the spread of herpes (pictured above and below). I now have to review the evidence supporting the statement from ancient sources. Suetonius reports that Tiberius prohibited kissing. The Life of Tiberius, 34.2, Suetonius 2 He issued an edict forbidding general kissing and the exchange of New Year’s gifts after the Kalends of January The reason for this ban, however, remains unclear. The prohibition on public kissing may have been intended to preserve court etiquette and public decorum rather than to address public health concerns. Tiberius may have been more concerned with regulating Roman social behavior and restoring “traditional standards.” Note: Suetonius is the only ancient source to mention this ban on "general kissing" "Suetonius never explicitly states that Tiberius’ ban was limited to public kissing; his term—“general kissing”—is broad and unspecified. While modern authors often interpret this as a ban on all public kissing, this is a subjective interpretation rather than a definitive ancient fact. Since Suetonius provides no specifics on where the ban was in effect, who it affected, or how it was enforced, scholars generally assume it concerned public decorum, given Tiberius’ reputation for austerity and other etiquette measures. Ultimately, the actual extent of the edict remains unknown: Suetonius is the only ancient source, and his brief mention leaves it unclear whether the ban applied to public greetings, court conduct, or broader social practices." It’s interesting that near-contemporary Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) mentions a facial fungal infection (tinea barbae or sycosis barbae, pictured below): "Mentagra was a notorious skin disease in early Imperial Rome, first noted during the reign of Tiberius. Pliny the Elder describes it in Natural History (AD 77) as a disfiguring eruption that began on the chin and spread across the beard, cheeks, neck, chest, and even the hands. The lesions were scaly, painful, and so unsightly that Pliny remarked death might be preferable to enduring them. The name itself is a Roman joke: mentum (chin) combined with agra (attack). Although initially associated with fashionable elites—its spread linked to intimate contact such as kissing—later medical writers, including Galen, Archigenes, and Celsus, classified it under sycosis, or “wild lichen,” a follicular disease of the beard region. Pliny also recorded herbal treatments such as plantago and lichen mixed with honey, situating mentagra within broader Roman anxieties about “new diseases” arising from luxury, excess, and moral decline." Summary: The precise reasons for the ban on public kissing remain uncertain, possibly related to public health concerns or issues of decorum and morality. Nonetheless, this ban is recorded by Suetonius.

As archaeological research continues in Aspendos, Turkey, recent findings are making headlines. (See previous posts below.) During a recent excavation of a newly uncovered ancient cemetery, researchers discovered skeletal remains alongside coins featuring wrestlers. The tomb is dated between 475 and 300 BCE. (The image above shows a coin similar to one of those found, though it is not the exact coin from the tomb.) The grave appears to belong to a Classical‑period athlete — possibly a wrestler — based on the objects interred with him. Archaeologists discovered the skeleton within a box‑style stone sarcophagus, along with silver staters minted in Aspendos that depict two nude wrestlers, a motif strongly associated with the city’s athletic identity. Several Aspendian wrestler coins were placed with the deceased. These coins circulated widely, suggesting (but not proving) that the person was a wrestler. Scholars note that skeletal analysis — e.g., healed nasal fractures or musculoskeletal markers — will be needed to confirm athletic activity. The coin's presence in the grave would still be meaningful: it could merely reflect Aspendos’ civic identity, where wrestling was not just a sport but a marker of local prestige. Aspendos was a Greco‑Roman city in Pamphylia, about 16 km inland from the Mediterranean. It was founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century B.C. and became a prosperous hub for the trade in salt, olive oil, timber, and horses. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2-400-year-old-grave-of-possible-ancient-pro-wrestler-discovered-in-turkey

This is a wonderful short video, but I have shared my opinions below: The Roman phrase “bread and circuses” (panem et circenses) comes from the satirist Juvenal, writing in the late 1st–early 2nd century AD. Interestingly, he didn’t say “grain (frumentum) and circuses.” Juvenal deliberately chose "panem" because he was mocking the Roman people’s desire for the finished, consumable product — literal bread in hand — rather than the raw grain they received as their dole. The phrase “bread and circuses” refers to the crowd’s desire for ready-made food and entertainment, not the harder work of grinding wheat at home. Some correction in terminology: The annona was broader than just the dole: it included provisioning the army, Rome’s markets, and even emergency famine relief. The annona was Rome's food-supply system, especially the state-managed import, storage, and distribution of grain. Think of it as the pipeline that kept the city fed, with fleets, warehouses (horrea), and administrators. The frumentatio was a subset of the annona, specifically the citizen entitlement. It was the grain dole — subsidized or free wheat given to eligible Roman citizens. This was the monthly ration, usually about five modii (roughly 35–40 pounds) of wheat per person. Bread distributions were an imperial innovation (notably under Aurelian in the 3rd century AD), reflecting both practical needs and political theater — emperors wanted to be seen as feeding the people directly. Before Augustus, grain supply management was more informal, handled loosely by magistrates and temporary officials. In the late 1st century BCE, Augustus took a major step by creating a permanent office, the praefectus annonae, to oversee the grain supply. This official was responsible for everything related to grain—its import, storage, and distribution to the people of Rome. They managed fleets from Egypt and North Africa, supervised storage warehouses (horrea), and made sure the monthly grain allotment (frumentatio) reached everyone. By ensuring the city was well fed, Augustus helped prevent riots and build a stronger connection with the people. He made the grain supply system a lasting part of the empire's structure by establishing a powerful office, and the person in charge of it became essential to imperial governance.

Here is an interesting article about DNA evidence from grape seeds recovered from wells at Cetamura del Chianti, the site of the famous “red” Chianti (pictured above). Archaeogenetic evidence from ancient Tuscany, however, shows that the dominant grape cultivated by the Etruscans and Romans in Chianti was a white grape variety. Since grape skin color is the key determinant of wine color, those vineyards would have yielded white wines. “Between 300 BCE and 300 CE, local residents dropped grape pips into deep wells, where oxygen-poor mud preserved them.” The article describes how archaeologists sequenced DNA from 2,000-year-old grape seeds found in wells at Cetamura del Chianti in Tuscany, providing the most detailed genetic look at ancient grapevines from a single site. They analyzed 80 seeds and found that most came from a single, identical variety that was grown continuously from the Etruscans to the Romans, showing a strong consistency in local grape growing. The genetic markers revealed that this main clone produced white grapes, which is surprising since Chianti is now famous for its red Sangiovese wines. After the Romans arrived, new grape varieties appeared, indicating that carefully chosen cultivated types were brought in from across the empire. Some seeds also showed signs of wild grapes. One of the most interesting findings is a lineage genetically close to a rare Hungarian grape and to the famous Maribor vine in Slovenia—the world's oldest living fruiting grapevine. This points to long‑distance connections in ancient viticulture and hints at the broader networks through which grape varieties moved across the Roman world. Cetamura’s grape seeds are important because they provide a rare and well-preserved glimpse into how viticulture developed in central Tuscany, spanning from the Etruscan period to Roman rule. The history of grape seeds found at Cetamura del Chianti is told through well-preserved layers in two ritual wells. These layers date back to the Etruscan period (3rd–2nd century BCE), then through the Roman Republican and Imperial times, and even into the Late Antique era (4th–6th centuries CE). It's interesting to note that the later Roman grapes weren’t examined because of the biological changes they underwent. This uninterrupted sequence shows that viticulture in the Chianti Hills was already established before Roman influence, intensified during Roman agricultural expansion with greater varietal diversity, and persisted even after the decline of Roman authority, making Cetamura one of the rare sites in Italy where the evolution of grape cultivation can be traced continuously for nearly a millennium. The DNA also shows no direct match with modern Sangiovese but does share alleles with Tuscan heritage varieties such as Colorino, Canaiolo Nero, and Malvasia The real surprise is the grapes' color: the dominant lineage carried alleles for white berries rather than red. In other words, the people living in the Chianti hills two thousand years ago were cultivating a white‑grape variety (and drank white wine), despite the region’s modern association with red Sangiovese wines. https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/ancient-dna-from-tuscan-wells-reveal-origins-of-modern-wine-413573 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440326001354?via%3Dihub

Standing 2.2 m tall (about 7.2 feet), a newly unearthed marble statue group from Aspendos (a Greco-Roman city in southern Turkey) has been announced. It is a pairing of Asklepios, god of medicine, and his son Telesphoros, the embodiment of recovery. The article does not give a separate measurement for the Telesphoros statuette, but because he is carved “on a much smaller scale” at Asklepios’ feet. Artistic quality and workmanship indicate probable Roman craftsmanship from the late 2nd century AD. Aspendos is best known for its well preserved Roman theatre, built in the 2nd century AD and often considered the best‑preserved Roman theatre in the world (pictured below). https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/08/rare-sculptures-of-asklepios-and-telesphoros-unearthed-in-turkey/158858

Above is the winner of the 2026 photo contest by Hidden History Travel and Archaeology. It is a Roman alter found during recent excavations at the city of Savatra in central Turkey. The alter is described as being “decorated with the image of a soldier, a military standard being the name of the Aurelia phyle, and a victory wreath. It features a Greek inscription, with translations of the text revealing that the altar was dedicated by Phylarkhos, son of Hermogenes.” “Aurelia phyle” is Greek, not Roman—used in the Roman period to describe a Greek tribal unit named after the Roman Aurelius family. Below is one of the runner-ups, a picture of the Roman forum. Note the Colosseum in the background.