guy
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Posts posted by guy
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An underground hiding complex from the Bar Kokhba revolt has been discovered.
QuoteArchaeological excavations at Huqoq near the Sea of Galilee, in which students, local residents and soldiers participated over the past few months, provide a glance at dramatic episodes in the history of the Jewish people: the preparation of shelters in preparation for the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans, led by Bar Kokhba in 132–136 CE.
The excavation also revealed that, as part of the preparations for the First Revolt in 66 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132 CE, the residents of Huqoq converted the water cistern (dug in the Second Temple period) into a hiding complex. In addition, at the time of danger, they broke one of the walls of the mikveh and dug a tunnel into other cavities. Several tunnels allowed maneuvering in narrow low spaces underneath the houses. In this underground system—the largest and most impressive discovered at the Galilee—there are about eight hiding cavities, and the connecting tunnels are dug at 90 degrees, to hamper the heavily armed Roman soldiers chasing the rebels. The excavation also yielded hundreds of broken clay and glass dishes, an impressive ring for a precious stone (the stone itself was not found), and other fascinating finds.
The discovery of the hiding complex can also contribute to a decades-long debate among researchers on whether the Bar Kokhba Revolt reached the Galilee or remained within the confines of Judea and central Israel. Based on different findings, Berger and Shivtiel date the inner parts of the hiding complex to the days of the outbreak of the Second Revolt and consider that several of the ancient facilities were first in use during the First Revolt. “It is not certain that the complex was used for hiding and escaping during the Second Revolt, but it does appear to have been prepared for this purpose,” they say. “We hope future excavations will bring us closer to the answer.”
https://m.jpost.com/archaeology/article-792468
Here’s a simplistic (but helpful) explanation of the Bar Kokhba uprising:
A recent post about the Bar Kokhba revolt:
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16 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:
HbS (sickle cell trait) is not very common in modern Egyptians, so it's a stretch to claim it was common among their ancients forefathers. Malaria is spread only by the Anopheles mosquito which is adapted to life in the rain forests of central Africa, not temporary wet land seen only during the seasonal floods of the Nile Valley.
Thank you for reading my post and thank you for your thoughtful response. I will disagree, however, with what you wrote.
First, the sickle cell trait’s being in a local population is not sine qua non (an essential condition) for endemicity of malaria. (Interestingly, other conditions also seem to confer some immunity to malaria: G6PD deficiency, thalassemia, blood group O, and a Duffy-negative phenotype.)
Second, since Egypt was once the “bread basket of Rome,” I assume the Egyptian microenvironment was different with greater rainfall and temperatures more conducive for grain growth (and malaria).
In fact, malaria was not eliminated in Egypt till 2010-2013. In the United States as late as 1850, almost 50 people out of every one thousand who died, died from malaria. During the American Civil War (1861-65), 10,000 Northern troops died from malaria and hundreds of thousands of others were infected. Fortunately, the use of Quinine in the Union Army reduced the morbidity and mortality from malaria.
Finally, studies at Amarna, a capital of ancient Egypt from 1346 to 1332 BCE, have shown conclusively that malaria was endemic in the area (affecting perhaps half the population):
Thank you, again, for reading my post and responding.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2600412/
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Pictured above are some of the 3000 ceramic fragments found. Below is a video on the find:
https://divernet.com/scuba-news/archaeology/ships-masts-stand-out-at-roman-harbour-site/https://www.archaeology.org/news/12215-240315-slovenia-roman-harbor
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The prevalence of malaria has been long suspected in Roman Italy. In fact, there is a debate whether Alaric, the Visigoth King who sacked Rome in AD 210, died of malaria in Southern Italy (see post below).
Recent studies of mummies have showed DNA evidence of several debilitating and lethal infections in ancient Egypt. The DNA of boy pharaoh Tutankhamun (King Tut) and several mummies showed evidence of malaria. Other DNA evidence suggests one in four people may have had tuberculosis in some locations. The mummy of Ramesses V has scars indicating a previous smallpox infection.
It is thought up to 70% of Egyptians suffered from malaria. Swarms of malaria-infected mosquitos living in the stagnant pools of the Nile Delta would have made malarial infections endemic.
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-malaria-smallpox-polio-life-ancient.html
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Two Roman-era copper-alloy bracelets from around the 2nd century AD have been found on Anglesey. (Anglesey is the small island off the coast of Northern Wales.) The bracelets were found by a local metal detectorist and have their appearance has been influenced by indigenous Celtic communities.
The Roman presence in Wales has become a field of increased study (see posts below). Anglesey, once a Druid stronghold, is now appreciated for its struggle against the Roman subjugation (see video below).
Tacitus described the invasion of Anglesey (referred to by the Romans as the island of Mona) and the frightening spectacle that greeted them (Annals 14.30):
QuoteOn the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the Furies, with hair dishevelled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralysed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds. Then urged by their general's appeals and mutual encouragements not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed. They deemed it indeed a duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/03/roman-bracelets-found-on-anglesey-declared-treasure/151012
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0078:book=14:chapter=30
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Anglesey
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A sculptured head and bust were discovered during construction work at an English country house near Stamford, Lincolnshire. The house belonged to the Cecil family and is thought to have been purchased during a family member’s “Grand Tour” of Italy in the 1760s. The statue dates from the first or second century AD.
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The Welwyn Roman baths in Hertfordshire will be documented and studied further by 3D digital imaging as part of a photogrammetry project.
The baths were first excavated in the 1960s. The baths are preserved in a vault under a modern highway. They date from the early third century AD, possibly during the reign of Septimius Severus.
The Welwyn Roman Baths are under the A1(M) just north of Welwyn Garden City
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68496266
Photogrammetry further explained:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogrammetry
(Location of Hertfordshire)
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Here is an interesting article about staying cool in Ancient Rome during the summer:
https://phys.org/news/2024-03-coast-dip-pool-chilled-ancient.html
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Although this video predates the success of the Vesuvius Challenge (see below) to read the chared scrolls of Herculaneum, I think it captures the rivalries and pettiness that led up to their successful deciphering.
This video is from April 1, 2018:
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A statue fragment measuring 3.8 meter (12 feet) of Ramesses II the Great was found in Egypt at the ancient city of Hermopolis. His long and influential reign lasted from 1279-1213 BCE.
In Ancient Greek, Ramesses II was called Ozymandias, also the title of the haunting poem by British Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). In an episode of the TV series “Breaking Bad,” the poem “Ozymandias” was featured (see video below).
According to Wikipedia: “In 1817, Shelley began writing the poem ‘Ozymandias’, after the British Museum acquired a head-and-torso fragment of a statue of Ramesses II. Shelley wrote the poem in a friendly competition with a friend and fellow poet who wrote a sonnet on the same topic with the same title.
The poem explores the worldly fate of history and the ravages of time: even the greatest men and the empires they forge are impermanent, their legacies fated to decay into oblivion. ‘Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ exemplifies the arrogance and hubris of a leader who believed his dominion would endure indefinitely.”
QuoteI met a traveller from an antique land,Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;And on the pedestal, these words appear:My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!Nothing beside remains. Round the decayOf that colossal Wreck, boundless and bareThe lone and level sands stretch far away.”Huge Statue Of Pharaoh Ramesses II Unearted In The Ancient City Of Hermopolis - Ancient Pages
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/03/archaeologists-uncover-giant-statue-of-ramesses-ii/150887
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/08/15/who-was-ozymandias/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias -
On 3/8/2024 at 3:42 AM, guidoLaMoto said:
Tempus fidgets, as they say. Styles change. Technology changes.
Thank you for reading my post. I think the point of Sebastian's video above was that changes after AD 165 were not necessarily a function of improved technology. The changes, instead, were a result of pressures on production and increased need for the recruitment of barbarian troops in the ranks, as well as persistent pressures from barbarian tribes.
The difference between an American Revolutionary War soldier and a modern soldier reflects improving technology and tactics. The difference between a legionary in Augustus' military and a probably-barbarian Roman soldier in the Late Empire was not an improvement. It was an adaption to increasingly dire circumstances and exogenous pressures.
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Sebastian, who does excellent videos on the late Roman Empire, does an informative video on the evolution of the appearance of the Roman military over the centuries.
The rectangular shield (scutum) and the sword (gladius) of the early Empire would be supplanted by the equipment of the late Roman equipment, for example.
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Underwater excavations have uncovered Roman remains off the coast of Portorož, Slovenia.
Besides 3000 ceramic items such as fragments of amphorae and kitchenware, two different masts (dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD) made of either fir and spruce wood were recovered. Studies suggest that these masts had been repurposed for use as moorings or as structural supports.
These finds support the idea that the port may have been part of a thriving trade network in the Roman Empire.
https://archaeologymag.com/2024/03/remains-of-ancient-harbor-near-portoroz-slovenia/
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/03/study-finds-submerged-roman-remains/150911
https://sloveniatimes.com/40232/remains-of-ancient-harbour-found-near-portoroz
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A coin from the Bar Kokhba revolt, dating from AD 132 (the first year of the revolt), was found at the bottom of cliffs currently undergoing excavation by Israeli archaeologists in the Judean Desert.
The rare coin with the inscription "Eleazar the Priest."Credit: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
The other side of the coin, featuring a cluster of grapes and the optimistic inscription "Year 1 of the redemption of Israel."
This coin and three others were found during the excavation:
QuoteA rare coin from the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, bearing the name of “Eleazar the Priest”, and dated to the first year of the revolt (132 CE), was discovered in the Mazuq Ha-he'teqim Nature Reserve. The coin was discovered together with three other coins from the time of the Revolt, bearing the name “Simeon”. The coin was discovered in the course of the Judean Desert
There are a few possibilities regarding the identity of Eleazar the Priest, whose name appears on the coin. One is Rabbi Eleazar Hamod‘ai, a Tannaic Rabbi from the time of Rabbi Akiva, a pupil of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakai. It seems that Rabbi Eleazar Hamod‘ai played a significant religious role at the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, and he was living in the town of Beitar— the location of the revolt headquarters. The Talmud accounts that he died in Beitar, probably during the Revolt. (Jerusalem Talmud Ta‘anit 4:5).
On the obverse face of the coin, a date palm is engraved, with the inscription “Eleazar the Priest” inscribed in ancient Hebrew script. On the reverse, a bunch of grapes is surrounded by the text “Year One of the Redemption of Israel”, again in ancient Hebrew script.
Other recent finds during excavation in the caves includes Roman swords:
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Here’s a wonderful pot with a whimsical face and ears brought to my attention from a tweet by Nina Willburger @DrNWillburger. It was found in a necropolis at Giubiasco, Switzerland dating from the 2nd century AD. It is currently at Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum.
https://twitter.com/DrNWillburger
Below is a modern mug for comparison:
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Excavations in Pompeii at the House of Leda have uncovered a fresco depicting Phrixus fleeing on the back of the Golden-woolled winged Ram with his sister Helle (who is already in the water).
https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103537716
This is a nice summary of this Greek myth in two different short videos.
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The campaign to protect the site is now under public consultation. There is a desire to add the land to a list of nationally important archaeological sites, which would then require consent from the Secretary of State for any work.
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Interesting that there is a suggestion that Alexander died from Guillain-Barre. -
Roman defensive spikes have been uncovered during excavations in Bad Ems of a 1st century Roman fort. The spikes were placed in ditches around the fort.
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Wales has been increasingly recognized for its extensive Roman presence (see posts below). A metal detectorist in March 2020 found sixteen items from the Iron Age and Roman-era in a boggy field in the community of Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf on Anglesey. It is thought to have been once a sacred spring. Among the items uncovered were Iron Age chariot fittings, a metal ram’s head, and a Roman copper ingot.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-68429384
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Death scene from the movie “Alexander”
I do have some experience with folks with ectodermal dysplasias (ED).
The ectoderm is one of the three primary layer of cells (germ layers) that form during embryonic development. The ectoderm layer is involved in formation of teeth, hair, nails, and sweat glands. A dysplasia is an abnormal formation of cells. So, ectodermeral dysplasia (ED) would expect to have abnormalities involving the teeth, hair, nails, and sweat.
There are around 180 different forms of EDs with different hereditary patterns.
Anhidrotic (or hypohidrotic) ED variant is the most common. Anhidrotic ED people have a severe dysfunction of their sweat glands and would have a serious intolerance to heat. Alexander the Great almost certainly did not have this variant because he marched to India and Egypt, which would have been intolerable to him. Also, people with anhidrotic ED have unusual facial features: a saddle nose and supraorbital ridging. That would have made Alexander's face very striking, but it was not mentioned.
The hidrotic variant is less devastating, but does have skin, nails, and hair abnormalities. These people don't have the serious sweating problems.
So, if Alexander did have a variant of ED, his only evidence is "conical teeth." I don't think "sweet scent" is associated with ED. His "hair like a lion" would also not be associated with ED, either. Usually, people with ED have sparse, fine, and short hair. This doesn't sound like Alexander's description.
I, therefore, don't think that Alexander had a variant of ectodermal dyspasia, even a less serious one.
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Interesting thought.
I agree it is interesting that conical "peg-shaped teeth" are most commonly associated with ectodermal dysplasias (ED). (Congenital syphilis, which also can cause peg-shaped teeth, is unlikely in pre-Columbian Europe.)
Later on, I will comment on the thought that Alexander the Great had ED.
That said, I am not sure of the source or validity of the ancient source you referenced other than Plutarch who wrote about Alexander more than three centuries after his death. Can you reference the sources?
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During excavations at the site of a medieval shipyard at Smallhyde Place in Tenterden, Kent, a Roman head of Mercury (without the body) was discovered. This figurine in pipe clay measures 5 cm (2 inches) tall.
This figurine was found in context of a previously unrecorded Roman settlement, dating from 1st to 3rd century AD, that was unearthed during excavations.
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A 5th century BCE Etruscan tomb has been unearthed at the San Giuliano necropolis near Rome. Hopefully, this will further shed light on Etruscan burial practices.
https://archaeologymag.com/2024/02/monumental-etruscan-tomb-in-the-necropolis-of-san-giuliano/
Mars depicted on coins
in Numismatica
Posted · Edited by guy
Mars (and the Greek counterpart Ares) were frequently depicted on Roman and Greek coins. In Roman mythology Mars was the god of war and protector of the Roman army. In mythology he was the father of Romulus and Remus.
Above is a bronze sestertius of Marcus Aurelius with the reverse showing Mars.
Here is an article from NGC ancients about coins with the image of Mars (or Ares).
https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/12676/ngc-ancients-mars-ares/