https://www.unrv.com/forum/discover/UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums - All ActivityenCalls have been made to halt unsupervised excavations near the Northern English villa of Marske-by-the-Sea after remains of a potential Roman settlement have been discovered in the area. A significant Roman community in the area could add to the understanding of the Roman presence in Northern England. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tees-67935267 The location of the Northern English villa of Marske-by-the-SeaWed, 10 Jan 2024 14:26:25 +0000Tue, 09 Jan 2024 10:44:48 +0000The Pantheon sometimes opens interesting back rooms in a structure that was meant to reinforce an area developing cracks early on. There are even a couple of external flying buttresses there. I speculate that the huge front portico must be pressing the drum structure to the rear (no cracks on it's sides). Anyway this vid shows exhibits there including nice decorative fragments: By the way, here is how decorative elements can be robo-sculpted now in case you want some Corinthian topped columns:Tue, 09 Jan 2024 02:10:19 +0000A lead sling bullet has been discovered. It is thought to bear Julius Caesar’s name “CAES” along with “IPSCA,” a nearby town that supported Caesar and supplied him with both weapons and men during Caesar’s Civil War against the Optimates (49-45 BCE). The bullet was found near modern day Montilla in Andalusia, Spain. This finding supports the belief that the climactic Battle of Munda (17 March 45 BCE) was fought nearby. At the battle Caesar decisively defeated a larger force led by former Caesar general and ally Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius (eldest son of Pompey). Location of Montilla, possibly the site of the Battle of Munda, where the bullet was discovered. https://youtu.be/_Z2cJlbkDmE?si=jwTuzSiDD2UisWyG https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69175 https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/julius-caesar-inscribed-sling-bullet-found-in-montilla/150138 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_MundaMon, 08 Jan 2024 23:42:40 +0000Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:11:59 +0000Interesting question. The sources vary. By some, Helena is thought to have been a Christian at birth (AD 246/248); by others, only after Constantine become emperor (AD 306). According to church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (d. AD 339), Helena’s conversion followed Constantine becoming emperor. If that were true, Helena would have been approaching 60 at the time. I would need to do more research on that question.Mon, 08 Jan 2024 17:24:38 +0000Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:53:35 +0000Interesting video. It sounds a lot like my personal philosophy--I'm of whatever religion happens to be celebrating a holiday so I have an excuse to take a day off work. Question: Constantine's mother, Helen (to become St Helen), was a big influence in finding and establishing several sites as holy places in Christianity-- did she become a Christain before or after her son's famous "In hoc signum.." dream?Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:34:35 +0000Professor Roberto Trizio explores the sanctioned coexistence of the Imperial Cult and Christianity that is exemplified by this discovery. (This video is in Italian so most of us will need to enable the YouTube autotranslate function.)Mon, 08 Jan 2024 02:03:13 +0000The short video above is a really simple description of how the ancient Greek Eratosthenes from Cyrene calculated the circumference of the planet Earth around 240 BCE. (This clip is taken from a longer segment below.) interesting to note that Eratosthenes was from Cyrene, noted for its cultivation of the near-mythical plant Silphium (a frequent topic in the past found in the post below). https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200606/history.cfmSun, 07 Jan 2024 15:56:10 +0000Sun, 07 Jan 2024 11:07:37 +0000"The Etruscans called themselves Rasenna, which was shortened to Rasna or Raśna (Neo-Etruscan), with both etymologies unknown.[26][27][28] In Attic Greek, the Etruscans were known as Tyrrhenians (Τυρρηνοί, Tyrrhēnoi, earlier Τυρσηνοί Tyrsēnoi),[29] from which the Romans derived the names Tyrrhēnī, Tyrrhēnia (Etruria),[30] and Mare Tyrrhēnum (Tyrrhenian Sea),[31][full citation needed] prompting some to associate them with the Teresh (one of the Sea Peoples named by the Egyptians)." From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization referencing Dionysius of HallicarnassusSat, 06 Jan 2024 19:56:00 +0000Isn't it cool how modern technology is helping us find ancient things that would otherwise remain hidden. (I'm trying to invent a plastics detector so future archeologists will be able to find our buried artificts, nothing being made out of metal anymore.) Interesting how they seemd to have blended older superstitions with the newer Christianity-- reminscent of how South American natives adapted Catholicism to their traditional customs. In regards "worship"-- maybe that's too strong a term...The politheistic pagans had gods for every little thing-- a practice continued in Catholicism under the disguise of "saints." They didn't 'worship" these minor gods ( or more modern saints) as much as use them when needed for help or support....I'm reminded of the movie The Godfather--- Don Corleone chastises the guy who comes to him for a favor- "You give me no respect, but only come to me when you need something.." ...We erect statues to honored citizens, but don't "worship" them. (BTW- when I need something, I pray to the lesssr known saints. I figure they're not busy and appreciate the attention.)Sat, 06 Jan 2024 19:15:46 +0000A Roman temple dedicated to the Imperial Cult dating from the Christian 4th century AD has been discovered in Spello, Italy. Professor Bonin had directed underground imaging that suggested the structure existed underneath a parking lot. This temple reflects the persistence of pagan traditions along with the arrival of Christianity. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-cult-mentality-professor-monumental-discovery.ampSat, 06 Jan 2024 17:46:00 +0000Before people learned to extract iron from ore during the Iron Age, meteorites were the only source of the metal. This iron Bronze-age arrowhead found in Mörigen, Switzerland was not surprisingly crafted from a meteorite. It dates to 900-800 BCE. After closer analysis, however, the meteorite iron source was determined to be most likely from a meteorite that fell in distant Estonia. This distance of 1600 km (almost 1000 miles) from the Baltic area may reflect the extensive trade in Bronze Age Europe. In 2021, a team of scientists from the institution began studying the relic using noninvasive methods—including electron microscopy, X-ray tomography, and gamma spectrometry—to prevent any damage. While the researchers initially suspected the material to have come from the Twannberg meteorite, which hit a barley field in [nearby] Twann about 170,000 years ago, the arrowhead’s metal content led them instead to the Kaalijarv meteorite. The Kaalijarv meteorite, also known as Kaali, landed in the region of Estonia during the Nordic Bronze Age (c. 1700–500 B.C.E.). https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bronze-age-arrowhead-made-from-meteorite-2345756/amp-page https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323001073?via%3Dihub#sec4Fri, 05 Jan 2024 02:24:37 +0000Naxian sphinxes depict a winged lion with a female face. One example from the third century AD was uncovered in the Roman provincial town of Potaissa in ancient Dacia, located in present-day Romania. The bronze sphinx was stolen in the nineteenth century and never has been recovered. Based on a surviving drawing, however, the sphinx inscription has finally been translated. Note that the poem needs to be read right to left. A "dactyl" in poetry is a poetic foot (rhythmic unit) consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, but in this inscription which is read right to left, the patten is the opposite. https://arkeonews.net/mysterious-inscription-on-ancient-dacia-sphinx-is-deciphered/ https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/01/inscription-on-naxian-style-sphinx-deciphered/150132 Inscription on a Naxian-Style Sphinx Statue From Potaissa Deciphered as a Poem in Dactylic Meter | Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry (maajournal.com)Thu, 04 Jan 2024 21:45:08 +0000Good work. This one seemed to address my concerns on an earlier one - probably because they were obvious. But just in case of someone listening I will try to suggest refinements. Mainly I think the roofs are too look-alike as if they had the exact same roofer and materials with the exact same amount of weathering (say 40 years). It's nice the facades are weathered with hints of staining, but still a bit uniform, without a peppering of new construction. Nice that the colors are muted like their mineral colorants, and mostly confined to highlights seems plausible. Nice localized smoke and mist, although I would like to see more dappled light due to cloud patches. Is there something stagey about the people, like lack of kids, dogs, or ragamuffins?Thu, 04 Jan 2024 03:18:47 +0000BTW-- was the town Doliche named after the god, or the god after the town?Wed, 03 Jan 2024 19:25:18 +0000"...And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." --Groucho Marx There was Jupiter Optimus Maximus, J. Victor, J. Stator, etc etc....By analogy, in the Judeo-Christian tradition we have God the Almighty, G. the Father, G. the Merciful, etc etc. It's all one guy, not separate gods. Certainly different groups emphasized one aspect of Jupiter over another for various reasons, and the one statue depicted in the articles of the god standing on a bull suggests a blending of Jupiter- worship with the Cult of Mithras-- itself awfully similar to Christianity....It's all a figment of human imagination, so how rigid can the rules be? "If you talk to God, you're praying...If He talks to you, you're schizophrenic."-- Lily TomlinWed, 03 Jan 2024 19:18:54 +0000A small hoard or cache of ten coins dating from the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constans II (AD 641-668) have been discovered in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in the modern day Karabük’s Eskipazar district in Turkey. https://www.dailysabah.com/turkiye/1400-year-old-coins-found-in-piggy-bank-in-turkiyes-karabuk/news/amp http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69169 https://arkeonews.net/1400-year-old-coins-found-in-a-piggy-bank-in-ancient-city-of-hadrianopolis/#Wed, 03 Jan 2024 14:38:03 +0000Wed, 03 Jan 2024 10:21:50 +0000Oh no, Maritime museum is closed for renovation except for a small annex. Arsenale is nearby but not sure how much is open; I actually never found an entrance. To east is spacious area to wander since Napoleon had a canal converted to a wide boulevard with parks and uncrowded benches to eat snacks etc. https://www.marina.difesa.it/EN/history/museums/Pagine/museostoriconavale.aspx If it is in season, drink plenty of fresh squeezed arancia rossa which is like rasberries. I just scored a bag of these and am in the afterglow of first taste in a while:Tue, 02 Jan 2024 21:39:25 +0000What a wonderful trip planned. Despite traveling to Italy a few times to visit relatives, I’ve never been to Venice. Looking at the map, the two places are very close, but are distinct sites. Looking at web sites, only the North Arsenal is regularly open. The Southern Arsenal is open only during the biannual art festival. From the picture, one can see the Arsenal and the maritime museum (Museo Storico Navale) are extremely close. Sounds fun. Post pictures. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Storico_Navale https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_ArsenalTue, 02 Jan 2024 21:28:17 +0000Brilliant info - thank you very much!!! I am interested in the Venetian Empire/Republic history too, but I am very much a novice in that period. Is the Maritime Musuem the same as the Arsenale?Tue, 02 Jan 2024 15:31:01 +0000https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/ven-byzantine- sez (embolded by me): I am a Venice fanatic but not so much the Byz angle (St Mark etc) so may be a contra-indicator for you. I found Murano and Torcello islands painfully blah. Pay attention to ferry schedule for Torcello; you may have to commit to a very short or long wait for the return. Stopover in Burano which is super cute, if well over the top. They have/had coin bathrooms with no change made at the time. Mosto and Turchi facades go by fast on a waterbus, so maybe look for viewpoints from other side of canal. One is a hotel and the other a zoolog museum, so visiting may have complications. I normally love museums, but in Venice I only find the huge Maritime museum inspiring. Nobody visits there, and the staff tries to herd everyone out way before the 1:30 closing, but you may find Byz cannons or whatever. Consider a quick excursion to Padua for mosaics, etc. The charming neighborhoods in Venice are Dorsoduro (SW) and Castello (NE). The famous walk of train station - Rialto bridge - San Marco is a cattle drive horror show punctuated by pigeon poop. To get from west to east walk the alternate route of bus station - Academy bridge and onward; that's what Italian commuters do. Venice has the worst food in Italy since it has negligible Italian customers. Instead of tourist gelato which tastes like shaving cream with food coloring, get sorbetto tailored to more refined taste. Instead of stockpiled wet cardboard pizza slices, order a whole pie with gourmet ingredients they have to prepare for you. Above all, wander around at dawn and night when daytripper hordes are gone.Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:52:31 +0000