guy
-
Posts
2,366 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
135
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Static Pages
News
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Downloads
Posts posted by guy
-
-
Here’s an unusual but fascinating re-enactment of Legio XIII in Italy:
-
This broken brick has inscribed: LEG X ….
Other photos from the find:
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69394
https://arkeonews.net/viennese-archaeologists-find-legio-xiii-gemina-bricks/
-
The Legio XIII crossed the Rubicon with Caesar (from HBO’s series “Rome”).
Excavations at an elementary school in Vienna have found evidence of Legio XIII Gemina. This was initially Caesar’s legion that crossed with him the Rubicon in 49 BCE.
Evidence of a large-scale Roman building dating to the 2nd century AD has been found, as well as bricks with the name Legio XIII Gemina.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/02/traces-of-the-13th-legion-gemina-found-in-vienna/150433
Here’s a video on Legio XIII:
-
Dating ancient Roman artifacts from once-living material can be somewhat complicated. Here is an excellent article that explains the process using Carbon-14 dating.
https://www.iflscience.com/what-is-carbon-14-dating-72747
Nice basic videos on the subject:
Another way to date Roman artifacts is dendrochronolgy (tree ring dating) as well as newer isotope-based testing of wood:
An old thread on dating Roman material: -
There have been many previous posts about the plagues that affected Ancient Rome (see below). Studies show that three of the most brutal cold snaps were associated with the three best-known plagues in Roman history: the Antonine Plague (AD 160-185), the Plague of Cyprian (AD 249-270), and the Justinian Plague (AD 541-549).
QuoteThe research focuses on a long core of sediments drilled out of the Gulf of Taranto, the wide gulf under the "sole" of Italy's "boot." This area captures sediment washed out from the Po River and other rivers that drain the Apennine Mountains — essentially the heart of the Roman Empire, Harper said.
QuoteTo reconstruct temperature and rainfall, the team turned to tiny organisms called dinoflagellates preserved in the sediment. The life cycle of these organisms is very sensitive to temperature and precipitation. In the late fall and early autumn, dinoflagellates transform to a resting state known as a cyst that can be preserved in the fossil record. Because different species have different preferences, scientists can count the types of dinoflagellates that were thriving in any given year. In colder years, cold-loving species will be more plentiful, for example. In times of high precipitation, when river water spills into the sea carrying extra nutrients, species that prefer high-nutrient conditions will be more common.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk1033
-
A bog body has been found in Northern Ireland. Carbon dating has placed the death around 500 BCE. Although the cause of death is unknown, the victim was between 13 and 17 years old at the time of death. Partial skin, as well as nails were intact.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/archaeologists-find-2000-year-old-bog-body/150396
-
The Mougins Museum of Classical Art in France is selling some of their collection to help fund its new museum, FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins). Here are some of the wonderful items for sell:
A Roman Cavalry mask from around AD 50
A Roman brass helmet from AD 69-117
A Roman cavalry helmet AD 125-175
A Roman helmet AD 125-175 an inscription for Julius Mansuetus
https://www.christies.com/auction/auction-22770-nyr
A Roman Hellenistic-era Roman breastplate has been withdrawn from the antiquities auction because of possible ties to organized crime and unclear provenance.
-
Here is an interesting article on pepper in the ancient world:
QuoteWhile the Greeks employed pepper and spices in wine, they were sparing in its use in food. In large part, pepper appears in ancient Greek food only when its presence is deemed medically beneficial.
The Romans, on the other hand, adored spicing up their food. Pepper is called for in 75 percent of the 468 recipes found in the one-of-a-kind Roman period cookbook Apicius, where the spice is featured in sauces, roasted pork and hare, vegetable purees and mulled wines.
The poet Martial remarks on the habitual use of pepper in even the most basic of Roman dishes, saying, “Oh, with the insipid beet, the luncheon of laborers, how often the cook looks to pepper and wine.”
https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2019/may/pepper-rome-ancient.html
-
Two pieces of the Villena treasure (c. 1300-1000 BCE) from the late Bronze Age underwent mass spectrometry studies. It was determined that these Bronze Age pieces included iron thought to be from a meteorite source. The Villena treasure predates known iron production.
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/traces-of-meteoric-iron-in-the-villena-treasure/150356
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_of_Villena
Previous threads about ancient discoveries made from meteorite iron.
-
In this short, Max describes the difference between modern pepper and Roman pepper
-
1
-
-
(Roman scutum)
(Armor from the Arminius revolt)
(Pair of children's shoes)
(Official gifts)
A new exhibit at the British Museum. (Thanks Dr Tom for bringing this to my attention.)
Quote"From family life on the fort to the brutality of the battlefield, experience Rome's war machine through the people who knew it best – the soldiers who served in it.
Few men are born brave; many become so from care and force of discipline."
Vegetius, Fourth-century Roman writer
The Roman empire spanned more than a million square miles and owed its existence to its military might. By promising citizenship to those without it, the Roman army – the West's first modern, professional fighting force – also became an engine for creating citizens, offering a better life for soldiers who survived their service.
Expansive yet deeply personal, this exhibition transports you across the empire, as well as through the life and service of a real Roman soldier, Claudius Terentianus, from enlistment and campaigns to enforcing occupation then finally, in Terentianus' case, retirement. Objects include letters written on papyri by soldiers from Roman Egypt and the Vindolanda tablets – some of the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain. The tablets, from the fort near Hadrian's wall, reveal first-hand what daily life was like for soldiers and the women, children and enslaved people who accompanied them.
Roman military history perhaps stretches as far back at the sixth century BC but it wasn't until the first emperor, Augustus (63 BC – AD 14), that soldiering became a career choice. While the rewards of army life were enticing – those in the legions could earn a substantial pension and those entering the auxiliary troops could attain citizenship for themselves and their families – the perils were real. Soldiers were viewed with fear and hostility by civilians – not helped by their casual abuses and extra roles as executioners and enforcers of occupation – and they could meet grim ends off, as well as on, the battlefield. Finds in Britain include the remains of two soldiers probably murdered and clandestinely buried in Canterbury, suggesting local resistance.
What did life in the Roman army look like from a soldier's perspective? What did their families make of life in the fort? How did the newly-conquered react? Legion explores life in settled military communities from Scotland to the Red Sea through the people who lived it.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/legion-life-roman-army
-
20 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:
(The picture is "upside down"-- that bulge near the top margin of the picture is the weight bearing surface of the heel bone. Irritation there is the classic "heel spur."
Too funny. Thanks for your attention to my post. Having taken a whole semester of anatomy, one would think I would have noticed that the foot bone was upside down.
(An X-ray of an otherwise healthy foot)
-
This is a followup to the unusual skeleton of a man found in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire in 2017 who was the victim of Roman crucification (see post below).A facial reconstruction has been completed by a US forensic expert.
QuoteAnalysis of the remains revealed he spent his whole life in the Cambridgeshire area, and most likely had brown hair and eyes.
It also suggested he was a manual worker, possibly working on processing bone marrow for candles or soaps from the many animal bones found on the site.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-67943596
Pottery items found at dig:
-
An ancient Roman wine shop has been found in the ancient city of Sikyon in Greece. The shop was destroyed by a sudden destructive event. Sixty bronze coins, most dating to the reign of Constantius II, have been discovered. The latest coins are dated from AD 355 to 361.
The wine shop was found as part of a larger complex that contained kilns and presses for grapes and olives.
-
On 1/23/2024 at 10:31 PM, guidoLaMoto said:
I like the technical detail in your second reference in regards clay vessel design and circulation patterns as the wine ferments. Do you really think they put any thought into designing things this way, or is just a fortuitous accident that it worked out so well?
Thank you for reading this post. I have no expertise in making wine, so I really can't comment with any authority. It seems to me, however, the archaeological evidence for the use of wooden barrels for winemaking is less likely to have survived the millennia. We can't, therefore, be sure how prevalent the use of earthenware dolia in Ancient Rome was in comparison to wooden barrels. We also don't know whether the use of dolia was more regional or widespread, either.
QuoteThe basic course of vinification in both qvevri and dolia, as revealed by modern anthropological observations and ancient sources, is remarkably similar. Fermentation in Roman winemaking was spontaneous and entirely dependant on the yeasts present on the grapes. This reliance on natural yeasts partly explains the practice of treading in Antiquity, with grapes gently squeezed (without breaking stems and seeds, which imparts unpleasant flavours) and fermentation put in motion immediately to reduce the risk of failure. Primary fermentation—the first so-called tumultuous phase in which the bulk of the sugars are turned into alcohol—lasted nine to 30 days, during which the dolia were kept open. The jars were then topped up with more must (to minimise air contact) and sealed with a plastered terracotta disc (operculum) or wooden lid or simply with animal skins (Columella, Res Rustica 12.28.3, 12.39.2; Forster & Heffner 2001). Occasionally, a second convex terracotta cover (tectorium) provided further protection (Thurmond 2017). The use of such lids is confirmed archaeologically, as seen at Villa Regina and Pisanella (Dodd 2022: 470, fig. 14). Judging the correct moment to seal the dolia was not always easy, and Varro (Res Rustica 1.13.6; Hooper & Ash 2006) describes dolia cracking under the pressure of unreleased carbon dioxide. Once sealed, the wine remained in the dolia for five to six months until they were opened at the spring equinox (Columella, Res Rustica 12.30; Forster & Heffner 2001).
-
A recent study suggests that Roman wine had unusual characteristics.
Ancient wine had an unusual taste and texture. The spicy flavor was created by the buried dolia (Roman pots of wine). Being buried, the temperature was well controlled while the wine aged.
The clay vessels also gave the wine a “drying sensation” in the mouth.
The narrow base of fermentation means that the grapes were separated from the wine, giving the liquid an orange color.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-roman-wine-tasted-archaeologists-1862792
-
2 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:
a little extra protection from an arm guard would be well worth the investment when battling barbarians.
Thank you for reading my post. Professor Trizio in his above video makes the point that Trajan’s column, whose friezes depict the conflicts with the Dacians, shows the Dacian falx (curved blade) and the Roman arm guard as protection.
The falx was very effective in injuring the legionaries’ exposed arms and legs which had been previously unprotected.
Trajan’s column attests to the modifications that may have been made to protect against the Dacian falx. “Trajan introduced the use of greaves and an arm protector (mania) for the right arm, which had previously been used only by gladiators and which was never used again [or at least routinely] once the Dacia campaign concluded (Wikipedia).”
This arm guard may have had only a ceremonial function or might have been brought back by a veteran of the Dacian conflicts.
-
Here’s a wonderful video by Professor Roberto Trizio on the find. (English subtitles can be enabled)
-
A brass Roman arm guard found in Scotland has been reassembled and will be on display. It was found in about 100 fragments and dates to the late second century AD.
-
Fifteen iron weapons have been found in Eastern Poland. They are thought to be from the Roman era, of barbarian nature. Items include spearheads and axes.
https://notesfrompoland.com/2024/01/21/roman-era-barbarian-weapons-found-in-polish-forest/
-
Professor Roberto Trizio has done a good video on the find. (English subtitles are available):
-
A Roman dodecahedron has been unearthed, this time in Sheffield. There have been several threads on this ancient device (see below). Although there have been several found throughout the Empire, it is unclear what the dodecahedron were used for: a measuring device, a sewing tool, gambling piece, or other.
https://c.newsnow.co.uk/A/1213769681?-16722:2001:nn_topic_top -
Vorenus and family praying to the god Janus (from the HBO series “Rome”)
Here is an interesting article on the coins associated with January’s namesake, the two-faced god Janus.
https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/12468/ngc-ancients-janus/
Janus symbolized change or transitions, as well as presiding over gates and doors. The two-headed god can see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Unlike most other Roman deities, however, there is no Greek counterpart. Roman’s believed that his blessings were important for the success of any new endeavor, from war to agricultural.
http://romanpagan.blogspot.com/2016/02/18th-century-herm-of-janus.html?m=1
-
The B-52’s produced this memorable song with an ancient theme:
Roman wooden funerary bed recovered in London
in Archaeological News: Britain and Roman-Britain
Posted
A Roman wooden funerary bed has been excavated from a Roman cemetery near Holborn viaduct in central London. Also discovered were five oak coffins. The graves survived in the waterlogged burial site microenvironment. The bed had been dismantled before being laid in a grave of a male in his late twenties or early thirties.
Other objects recovered elsewhere in the cemetery included beads. a glass vial with residue, and a decorated lamp.
https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/05/flat-packed-furniture-for-the-next-life-roman-funerary-bed-found-in-london