guy

View of skeletal remains in one of the vaulted chambers (fornici) during excavation. Luciano Fattore, Sapienza Universita https://phys.org/news/2021-08-men-women-roman-herculaneum-diets.html https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/35/eabg5791 Summary: No one can be certain why men ate more fish and other seafood than women. There could be various explanations: opportunities from maritime work, cultural behavior, etc. That said, it is good to see modern scientific investigations being performed. I would caution against making hasty conclusions, however.

The Greek islands sound like an interesting vacation destination. According to Wikipedia: So where did they get their names? https://greekreporter.com/2021/08/23/meaning-of-greek-islands-names/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Greece

Israel is today one of the world’s great producers of dates. These date palm trees, however, are not the original date palm trees of Ancient Judaea. The original Israeli date palm trees were devastated by the Roman conquest of Ancient Judea. The Romans disrupted the date production. Also, human activity and climate change further impacted on their near-complete destruction by the 15th century. During the 1960s, archaeologist found ancient date seeds the fortress of Masada. Almost 40 years later they were planted. They grew the ancient palm trees, now producing the ancient dates.

I’m not sure exactly when this was found, but an interesting discovery, nevertheless: A 10-foot section of Hadrian's Wall discovered in Newcastle, England. COURTESY NORTHUMBRIAN WATER GROUP https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/1900-year-old-section-hadrians-wall-uncovered-newcastle-england-1234601627/ https://www.nwg.co.uk/news-and-media/news-releases/ancient-roman-road-discovered-underneath-one-of-newcastles-busiest-streets/?fbclid=IwAR1eR4Q-aeWgWWwPKo_4QvopDrzGlZCixywQOpZ233vp2hTY9dSbplfvZ7g

Thanks for reading my post. I will defer to everyone else on military matters. 😎

A nice article on this famous legion: https://www.worldhistory.org/Legio_X_Fretensis/

Earlier, the University of Sheffield had announced its plans to close its archaeology program. Now, University of Worcester will close its program. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-58297752 Here’s a previous thread on the subject of archaeology program closures:

This looks like a wonderful trip while in the Gulf of Naples, especially for those who can scuba dive. Part of this ancient city is now underwater, but has many treasures to enjoy. Unfortunately, Seneca the Younger did not seem to enjoy this "Las Vegas of Ancient Rome." https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200713-baiae-a-roman-settlement-at-the-bottom-of-the-sea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiae. Seneca the Younger was no fan of Baiae. Here's part of his "Moral Letters to Lucilius: On Baiae and Morals," letter 51: http://philosophy.redzambala.com/seneca/51-moral-letters-to-lucilius-seneca.html

I’m a big green tea drinker, so I have a special interest in any tea with any health benefits. This ancient tea piqued my interest: https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/28/greek-mountain-tea-ancient-medicine-and-elixir/

I asked Professor Thomas Scanlon to interpret the above monument. Here is his reply (with his permission): Thank you, Dr. Tom!

The bluestones of Stonehenge may have originated from the Preseli Hills, Wales. Tourists are now visiting Preseli Hills to collect the prized stones and are damaging the local environment. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-58247235 https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-wales-58250138

A wonderful statue of Hygieia (goddess of health and cleanliness) has been found in the western Turkey city of Aizanoi. https://m.yenisafak.com/en/news/archeologists-unearth-statue-of-greek-health-goddess-hygieia-in-western-turkey-3578749

A better view of the painting:

Thank you for reading my post. There are many who believe it was malaria (and not the will of God with Pope Leo I) that stopped Attila the Hun and his invading army from capturing the city of Rome. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5249424

A nice video on the funerary monument:

Another good article: https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/08/tomb-containing-mummified-remains-uncovered-at-pompeii/139913?amp

Another article on the find: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/partially-mummified-skeleton-white-hair-found-pompeii-surprises-archaeologists-1620253%3famp=1 Latest video on the discovery:

(Scene from the movie “The Eagle”) New research is shedding light on these little-known people from Scotland: A standing stone known as the Craw Stane marks the royal settlement at Rhynie. Tap o’ Noth is visible in the background. I know very little about the Picts, but I hope there will be further scholarship. https://www.archaeology.org/issues/441-2109/letter-from/9932-scotland-picts Excellent video review of the Picts:

New discoveries at Pompeii continue to amaze: https://www.lbc.co.uk/world-news/6245440115734f6e8f8162383d05c61e/

I appreciate the fact that Professor Harper recognizes my problems with attributing the Antonine plague to smallpox. These are the lack of ancient sources which describe either the eye complications, including blindness (2-8% of cases) or the horrendous scarring (65-80%) after a bout of smallpox. Here’s a previous thread on the subject:

Here is an excellent lecture on the Antonine plague with Kyle Harper, author of the excellent “The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the Fate of an Empire.” Here’s some background information: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonine_Plague

It is sad to see the destruction of historical sites. https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/protected-punic-roman-tower-becomes-a-construction-site.893518 More information about the Punic-Roman towers in Malta: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic-Roman_towers_in_Malta

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/donald-kagan-dead/2021/08/12/c0824674-fa29-11eb-8a67-f14cd1d28e47_story.html Here is a part of a lecture of his:

I will have to check out a few of these movies: https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/14/movies-based-on-greek-mythology/

This recent article in the Greek press is a counter argument to the belief that the marbles were protected in the British museum from destruction by the Ottoman Empire which controlled Greece at the time. Now, the counter argument is that the marbles are being left to deteriorate in the British Museum. https://greekreporter.com/2021/08/13/british-msueum-parthenon-sculptures-damage/ A video on the subject from the Greek perspective: