guy

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:

This looks like a wonderful museum at the Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle in North East England. Sections are dedicated to local life at Hadrian’s Wall. This video is done well.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-58144680

I don’t think there are any untranslated and readable large Latin texts now available. There are, however, many small fragments in both Greek and Latin that have not been translated. There are, for example, many papyrus fragments found in an ancient Egypt rubbish heap at Oxyrhynchus that are waiting to be translated. Much of these are in Greek, however. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyrhynchus_Papyri There also are still hundreds of carbonized, unopened scrolls found at the Villa of Papyri at Herculaneum that was devastated by Vesuvius in 79 AD. These might all be in Greek, however. The examined scrolls have been Greek texts on the subject of Epicurean Philosophy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum_papyri Of course, there will always be newly discovered statues and monuments that have previously-untranslated Latin inscriptions.

One of the best Latin courses available online is at Wondrium (formerly GreatCourses Plus). It is a great lecture course by Professor Mueller, consisting of 36 well-planned lectures. Unfortunately, my brain has ossified. I need to be more than merely functional in Spanish at work and I need to speak Italian to my cousins in Italy. I found learning the ultimate Latin language just confused my speaking these two Latin-derived languages. https://www.wondrium.com/latin-101-learning-a-classical-language

Hardly earth-shattering, but museums are working on finding the true color of ancient sculpture.

I believe the evidence of lions being used in executions in Britain is flimsy. Nevertheless, this image of a lion on an elaborate key found in Leicester is interesting: https://www.miragenews.com/thrown-to-lions-new-evidence-from-roman-britain-609741/ https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/thrown-to-the-lions-new-evidence-from-roman-britain-executions-revealed

Nice article on the marbles: https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/31/parthenon-sculptures-marbles-elgin/

There is mounting pressure to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece. The return of looted items from Iraq may be an early indicator of things to come: Thousands of ancient cuneiform tablets, taken from the country during periods of war and conflict, were part of the artifacts returned to Iraq recently. Credit: Public Domain https://greekreporter.com/2021/08/06/looted-artifacts-returned-to-iraq-could-open-path-for-parthenon-marbles/ This is a nice summary of the ongoing controversy whether to return the “removed” Elgin Marbles of the Parthenon from the British Museum back to Athens:

Welcome to our newest members. Please post when you can. Things have been a little slow around here the last few months. Erik: You may want to reach out to Ian Hughes (Sonic) who has done some excellent work (and written several books) on the late Roman Empire.

Another story about the presumed earthquake discovery: Remains of the tools shattered in the earthquake. Photo: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/earthquake-bible-0015659

I’m not a gamer, but it is good to see one of the currently more popular games is based on Greek mythology: https://greekreporter.com/2021/08/01/hades-game-greek-mythology/

The final destruction of the first temple was discussed before. Evidence has confirmed a cataclysmic event before the final destruction. Further studies have also confined evidence of an earthquake described in the Bible that damaged the First Temple, two hundred years before the Babylonian destruction in 600 BCE. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/311137

More information on the discovery: Archaeologists digging near the Talayotic settlement in Menorca, Spain have unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts from Roman soldiers Other items include three arrowheads, spearheads, projectiles, surgical tools, a bronze spatula probe and more https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9856313/Massive-hoard-Roman-weapons-dating-100-BC-ancient-settlement-Spain.html

https://www.timesofisrael.com/4th-century-bce-baskets-still-containing-fruit-found-in-sunken-egyptian-city/ Summary: Underwater archaeology, now improved with modern technology, will be the source of great discoveries in the future.

I was never aware of this castle’s existence in Diyarbakir, Turkey: https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/photographers-at-picturesque-roman-castle-in-turkeys-diyarbakir/news

Looks like an interesting read by the author LJ Trafford (for adult readers only): https://granthshala.com/was-ancient-rome-really-a-sexual-free-for-all-from-impotence-cures-made-out-of-vultures-lungs-to-the-wickedest-woman-who-bed-hundreds-of-men-new-book-lays-bare-what-people-really-thought-about-s/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9851709/Was-Ancient-Rome-REALLY-sexual-free-all.html

A nice reassessment of Nero by the author LJ Trafford: http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-good-bits-of-nero-by-lj-trafford.html?m=1

I will defer to everyone else about military matters, but it does look suspicious for a weapon (Thracian or Dacian sica). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sica

An interesting find on one of the Balearic islands off the coast is Spain, which were the home of the famous Balearic slingers. “The team discovered a deposit of Roman military materials dating from around 100 BC, that includes: projectiles, arrowheads, knives, surgical tools, and a bronze spatula.” https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/07/roman-weapons-deposit-unearthed-at-son-catlar-prehistoric-settlement/139792?amp Excellent video on the Balearic slingers: