guy

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 have been found in Southern Turkey. These stamped clay pieces were used to secure and verify documents. Many of the well-preserved seal images were of Jupiter Dolichenus, an important mystery cult popular in the Roman military in the second and third centuries 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 and determined 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 type of Roman wind chime frequently designed to resemble a phallus. Archaeologists have excavated one at the ancient site of Viminacium, located roughly 100 kilometers (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 its original discovery in 2021 in the Turkish province of Kayseri, a giant 4th-century AD mosaic has been shown to be 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 remarkable structure located on the Black Sea coast in Georgia. Numismatic evidence indicates that Legio X Fretensis stopped at this fort while en route to campaign with Trajan during the Parthian Wars. Recent discoveries in the area include a gemstone depicting Minerva and a stone slab featuring Latin inscriptions.: 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 previous threads 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:

https://arkeonews.net/declassified-cia-satellite-spy-program-reveals-lost-ancient-roman-forts/ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/wall-or-a-road-a-remote-sensingbased-investigation-of-fortifications-on-romes-eastern-frontier/8FE59FB0D5476EA329614EEC6DC414FD

(Scene from the HBO series “Rome”) Sebastian Todor at Maiorianus has done an excellent video on the last days of the Roman Senate. The Roman Senate persisted after the “fall of Rome” in 476 AD, but it eventually disappeared from history in the 600s AD.

A Roman graves and coin have been found in Hampshire during a water pipeline construction https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-67158304