Lost City of Altinum Found
Excerpts from a piece in the Times of London: The bustling harbour of Altinum near Venice was one of the richest cities of the Roman empire. But terrified by the impending invasion of the fearsome Germanic Emperor Attila the Hun, its inhabitants cut their losses and fled in AD452, leaving behind a ghost town of [...]
This Day in Ancient History: pridie kalendas sextiles
pridie kalendas sextiles 1556 — death of Ignatius of Loyola
Statue of Marsyas found at the Villa Vignacce
La Repubblica has a nice photo: According to the brief (Italian) report, it’s about 150 cm in height and is missing the pedestal, which archaeologists are hoping might show up in the next few days. The commune superintendant — Umberto Broccoli — suggests this piece is the ‘little brother’ to one from the Campidoglio, which [...]
Silla Armour Musings
One of the things mentioned in my Explorator newsletter this past while was the discovery of some Silla armour. Here’s the incipit of an item in JoonAng Daily for some background: The warrior’s body and bones are long gone, decayed into the soil. But the armor that once protected him from enemy swords and arrows [...]
Bulgaria Update
A couple of brief items from the Bulgarian press: Digging has resumed at Nikopolis ad Istrum: Archaeology Excavations Start at Bulgaria’s Roman City Nikopolis ad Istrum … where archaeologists have discovered a Nymphaeum they weren’t expecting: Archaeologists Discover Nymph Sanctuary in Central Bulgaria … there were actually a few more, but I’ve never managed to [...]
A Museum at Troy?
Item from Today’s Zaman: Dr. Ernst Pernicka, a German archeologist who is leading the excavation of Troy, has stated that establishing a Trojan museum is a priority on both his and Turkey’s agenda. Pernicka noted that the establishment of such a museum requires the support of politicians and their advocacy for the return of Priam’s [...]
Recent Finds in Jerusalem
From the Jerusalem Post: A unique Aramaic inscription on a stone cup commonly used for ritual purity during the first century has been uncovered in a dig on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, an archeologist said Wednesday. The six-week excavation is being carried out within the Gan Sobev Homot Yerushalayim national park, close to the Zion [...]
Spartacus: Blood and Sand Gossip
TV Squad is looking at some up-and-coming shows and the Spartacus series is one of them. Here’s some info on Lucy Lawless’ role: During the Spartacus panel, Lawless was asked if she’s going to be naked during the first season, as the show involves a lot of sex scenes. “I’m afraid so,” she said. She [...]
Antikythera Mechanism Older than Previously Thought?
Jo Marchant (Decoding the Heavens) writes, inter alia, in a post at New Scientist: I gave a talk on the device at London’s Royal Institution last night. One new clue I mentioned to the origin of the mechanism comes from the Olympiad dial – there are six sets of games named on the dial, five [...]
This Day in Ancient History: ante diem iii kalendas sextilias
ante diem iii kalendas sextilias ludi Victoriae Caesaris (day 11) after 101 B.C. — dedication of the Temple to “The Fortune of this Day” (Fortuna Huiusce Diei) and subsequent rites thereafter; presumably this is one of the temples vowed prior to the Battle of Vercellae 69 A.D. — destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (Av [...]
Marathon Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
A piece in the Scotsman on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder includes this tidbit: The modern understanding of PTSD dates from the 1970s, largely as a result of the problems that were still being experienced by US military veterans of the war in Vietnam. One of the first descriptions of PTSD was made by the Greek [...]
Remains of the Mauseoleum?
The Times of Malta had this a little while ago: The murky water in Dock No.1 in Cospicua has witnessed much history over the years. Nobody ever imagined, however, that lying underneath could be the remains of an ancient Turkish wonder – the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. No one, that is, but oncologist Stephen Brincat, who [...]
This Day in Ancient History: ante diem iv kalendas sextilias
ante diem iv kalendas sextilias ludi Victoriae Caesaris (day 10) 67 A.D./C.E. — fighting in Jerusalem between pro-surrender-to-the-Romans groups and their counterparts; the former set fire to some food supplies which apparently contributed to the fall of the city three years later (!) (need to track this one down) ca. 260 — martyrdom of Lucilla [...]
JOB: Generalist @ Wayne State (one year)
Seen on the Classics list … We finally have full approval to fill a one-year position at Wayne State in Detroit. The official posting follows; please note the very short deadline for applications. The Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures of Wayne State University seeks a classicist for a one-year lectureship beginning [...]
More Hagia Sophia Angels
Tip o’ the pileus to Trevor Watkins for drawing my attention to another item in Hurriyet … most notable is this photo: Three more angels appear in Hagia Sophia
Cleopatra Tomb Update
There’s a lengthy Global Arab Network (and other sites) story kicking around about the dig at Tabusiris Magna … nothing really new other than we get the name of the site director: Dr Said Altalhawy. Perhaps more importantly, we also get (in the concluding paragraph) this: The site is now closed for the summer, and [...]
Ulus Theatre to be Restored
From Balkan Travellers: The remains of an ancient Roman theatre, which are partly buried underneath a building, will be unearthed in Turkey’s capital to become a spot for cultural events. As a result of the initiative of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a building constructed 15 years ago atop the remains of the Roman [...]
CONF: ‘The gods of SMALL THINGS’
Seen on the Classicists list: 21-22 September 2009 the Ure Museum, Department of Classics, University of Reading, will be hosting an interdisciplinary conference entitled ‘The gods of SMALL THINGS’. This two-day interdisciplinary conference, which seeks to investigate the cumulative value of non- prestige ex votos, will include a public lecture by Jean-Marc Luce (Toulouse), "From [...]
This Day in Ancient History: ante diem v kalendas sextilias
ante diem v kalendas sextilias ludi Victoriae Caesaris (day 9) ca 68 A.D. — martyrdom of Nazarius and Celsus
A Three-Act Tragedy of Greek History
Folks might want to check out an interesting post over at the Toynbee Convector, where David Derrick has glossed a collection of essays (The Legacy of Greece) as a three act ‘tragedy’: From synoikismos to dissolution
Roman Hospital from South Moravia?
The incipit of an item from Ceske Noviny: Czech archaeologists are excavating the foundations of an ancient Roman lazaretto (hospital) in Pasohlavky, which is the largest facility of its kind from this period preserved north of the Danube River, archaeologist Balazs Komoroczy told CTK today. The hospital was part of an extensive fortified complex that [...]
New Voices in Classical Reception Studies – Issue 4, 2009
seen on the Classicists list a while ago … We are pleased to announce that Issue 4 of the online journal NewVoices in Classical Reception Studies is now available at: http://www2.open.ac.uk/newvoices Issue 4, 2009 Editor: Prof. Lorna Hardwick, Associate Editors: Dr. Anastasia Bakogianni, Dr. Shelley Hales Contents Recent Theatrical and Musical Adaptations of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses [...]
Chiasmus!
The News-Journal actually has a feature on chiasmus: When chiasmus is outlawed, only outlaws will use chiasmus! What do the following expressions have in common? “Who sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed.” “But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” “I wasted [...]
CFP: Girls in Antiquity
seen on the Classicists list … "Girls in Antiquity" Interdisciplinary Conference at the DAI Berlin 8th – 10th October 2010 This conference is about girls, from early Neolithic times to Late Antiquity, within the geographical limits of Europe, Egypt, and the Ancient Near East. The following range of topics will be adressed: Definition. "Girls" are [...]
This Day in Ancient History: ante diem vi kalendas sextilias
ante diem vi kalendas sextilias ludi Victoriae Caesaris (day eight) 64 A.D. — the Great Fire of Rome (day 10) ca 250 A.D. — martyrdom of the Seven Sleepers ca 305 A.D. — martyrdom of Panteleon
