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After the torso of Septimius Severus was repatriated from the New York Metropolitan museum to Turkey in 2023 (see text below), the head was finally repatriated from Copenhagen to be reunited with its torso. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-ancient-statue-of-a-roman-emperor-will-finally-be-reunited-with-its-head-180985662/

Here are a list of the “Top 10 Discoveries of 2024.” Some of these stories have been written about at this site. https://archaeology.org/collection/top-10-discoveries-of-2024/

Artimi: You know as well as anyone on this site that the word “ancient” means different things to different people. I have no idea which book is best but if you want a book that exams Afghanistan history from Alexander the Great to modern times, this book comes highly recommended. (I have not read this book, however.)

Researchers discovered 127 different human remains in a Roman burial ground in Frankfurt, Germany, but one body stood out. This individual was a man aged between 35 and 45 who was found with a Christian amulet (see photo above). The burial site is dated between AD 230 and 270, nearly fifty years earlier than the previously known Christian artifacts from the region. This discovery may represent the earliest archaeological evidence of Christianity north of the Alps. The amulet, originally found in 2018, was recently "digitally unwrapped" using a computed tomography scan and translated. It showed a Christian inscription written in Latin: https://archaeologymag.com/2024/12/oldest-evidence-of-christianity-north-of-the-alps/#:~:text=The artifact%2C a silver amulet,region by nearly 50 years

Here is an article (academic article below) on the Roman road in the Golan Heights from the second century AD. https://m.jpost.com/archaeology/article-833498 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03344355.2024.2327802#abstract

A Previous post mentioned this rare Brutus aureus (only 17 of its kind) being up for auction. It has sold for more than 2 million dollars.

Aquileia, located in Northeast Italy (refer to the map below), was an important Roman city that was completely destroyed by Attila the Hun in AD 452. Recent excavations at the site have begun to reveal its extensive size (see video below). Notably, recent discoveries in the remains of the Aquileia Baths have uncovered an apse along with fragments of statues and columns. https://greekreporter.com/2024/12/12/massive-ancient-roman-structure-aquileia-baths-italy/ https://amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/world/article296827954.html

Here is another article on the find with some more details. Many of the 337 coins discovered had the image of Cleopatra VII. https://nypost.com/2024/12/09/science/statue-discovered-at-cleopatras-alleged-tomb-reveals-her-true-face-scientist-claims/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=message_app

Archaeologists working near Alexandria, Egypt, at the Temple of Taposiris Magna, have uncovered a small statue head that may represent Cleopatra VII. Although this finding might be overhyped, it is interesting. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/12/statue-head-that-may-depict-cleopatra-among-new-discoveries-near-alexandria/154096

Three Roman bronze statuettes have been found during excavations in Reims, France. Reims was known as the Roman city of Durocortorum, the second-largest city in Roman Gaul, with a population estimated between 30,000 and 50,000, possibly as high as 100,000. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/12/opulent-statuettes-found-in-roman-domus-excavations/154090 Video on previous Roman excavations at the site:

A hoard of 1,368 Iron Age and Roman coins was discovered near Worcester last year. Most coins are Roman silver denarii, dating from the Roman Republic in 157 BCE to the latest coin dated to Nero’s reign in AD 55. A coin hoard was discovered in a clay pot northwest of London, near Worcester, approximately 90 miles (144 kilometers) from the Welsh border. Notably, Rome did not complete its conquest of Wales until AD 79 under the command of Agricola. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gxnjq3ye0o.amp The only gold coin is an Iron Age stater minted by the local British tribe, the Dobunni (see photos below).

An intact Roman sewage system was found in Stratonikeia, Turkey. https://m.jpost.com/archaeology/archaeology-around-the-world/article-830603 Here’s a short video on the ancient city

A rare Brutus gold coin will be up for auction on December 9th.

There was a previous post about the high prevalence of Schistosomiasis in ancient Egypt (see below). I was surprised to learn that evidence of Schistosomiasis, which is usually found in sub-Saharan Africa, was found as far North as the latrines of 15-16th century AD Bruges, Belgium. This article attributes the infection to migration and travel from those areas where the infection is more common.

A Roman villa on the coast of Spain at Burriana was discovered. It specialized in viticulture. It is thought that this area was associated with the famous Saguntine wine that was written about by the Roman writers Fronto and Juvenal. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-excavations-reveal-roman-maritime-villa.html

Previous posts have been about Dura-Europos, the Roman garrison town in Eastern Syria. Below is a collection of academic articles that accompanied the exhibition "Dura-Europos: Crossroads of Antiquity" at Boston Colleges McMullen Museum of Art (February 5-June 5, 2011): https://ia800404.us.archive.org/11/items/duraeuroposcross00brod/duraeuroposcross00brod.pdf

Archaeologists have discovered a Roman-era clay theater ticket in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium in Northwestern Turkey. Excavations continue in the area, revealing a 10,000 seat theater. Plans are to open the theater to tourism next year (see video below). https://arkeonews.net/archaeologists-uncovered-a-roman-era-clay-theater-ticket-in-ancient-city-of-prusias-ad-hypium/ https://www.anatolianarchaeology.net/a-ticket-for-a-theater-from-the-roman-period-made-of-fired-clay-was-found-in-western-turkiye/

The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in AD 363 was a pivotal battle in the Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire. This defeat of the Sasanians led to the capture of Ctesiphon, the Sasanian capital, the next year. The last Persian emperor was killed a few years later in 651. Using satellite photography, the site of this important battle has been found in modern-day Iraq. Below is a previous thread about a Byzantine coin hoard during a contemporaneous Arab-Byzantine conflict. https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/11/science/al-qadisiyyah-site-satellite-images-scli-intl/index.html https://archaeology.org/news/2024/11/13/ancient-battlefield-identified-in-iraq/

An inscription dedicated to Hadrian has been found in the ancient Roman city of Blaundus, the modern city of Uşak in Western Turkey. https://arkeonews.net/inscription-dedicated-to-roman-emperor-hadrian-found-in-ancient-city-of-blaundus/ Aerial video from drone of the ancient city of Blaundus

Here’s a interesting article that summarizes the archaeological work being done at a Roman forum (pictured above) in Valaria, Spain. https://the-past.com/feature/valerias-hall-of-fame-secrets-from-an-imperial-forum/

Here is a good follow-up article about the Roman fortifications at Colm la Runga in Switzerland. (See post below.) Located at 2,230m (7300 feet), the site wasn’t discovered until 2023 with the help of LiDAR technology. https://the-past.com/feature/on-the-trail-of-the-legions-a-roman-conflict-landscape-in-switzerland/

A Roman villa has been unearthed in South Wiltshire. Recently, “more than 60 volunteers helped to excavate and record mosaics, painted wall plaster, and large stone buildings at the site.” https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/24743822.chalke-valley-major-roman-villa-discovered-volunteers/

Thank you for reading my response. You are correct that Sulla is unlikely to have pemphigus vulgaris (since it has a high mortality rate) and occurs at a younger age. I had suggested, however, that Sulla had bullous pemphigoid, a different type of autoimmune disease. Bullous pemphigoid primarily affects older adults, typically those over the age of 60. (Sulla was 60 when he died.) It is generally considered less life-threatening than pemphigus vulgaris, which usually arises in individuals a decade or two earlier. Bullous pemphigoid often begins with itching (pruritus) and can later develop into hive-like urticarial plaques; these symptoms may persist for months or even years before the appearance of blisters. In contrast, most patients with pemphigus vulgaris experience oral lesions, making eating difficult. However, this particular aspect was not mentioned in the referenced ancient text. Fortunately, patients with bullous pemphigoid rarely experience oral lesions, and when they do, the involvement is much less debilitating. Thank you once again for your thoughtful response. I appreciate being challenged on various topics, which encourages me to reconsider my views. If Sulla had a severe skin disorder, it was likely bullous pemphigoid rather than pemphigus vulgaris since the former is generally less life-threatening.

Here is another article researching the Roman frontiers https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2024/11/archaeologist-tom-hazenberg-seeks-the-frontiers-of-the-roman-empire