Michael Sightings
I’m killing time while the wife and kids watch the Bachelorette (gag), and have been posting assorted things on my Facebook page about claims that Michael Jackson is actually alive. Also on my Facebook page I’ve posted links to assorted Weekly World News covers suggesting the same thing about Elvis (and Princess Di). What I’ve [...]
Tuscans and Etruscans
Latest bit on the DNA front suggests there is no DNA link between the ancient Etruscans and their modern-day Tuscan counterparts. An excerpt from the ANSA coverage: The current population of Tuscany is not descended from the Etruscans, the people that lived in the region during the Bronze Age, a new Italian study has shown. [...]
Reading the Herculaneum Papyri
This one’s a bit old, but is still worth mentioning … there’s a new method/project afoot to reveal what’s in the Herculaneum Papyri. An excerpt from the coverage in the Richmond Times-Dispatch: The scrolls contained ancient philosophical and learned writings. But they were so badly damaged — turned to carbon by the volcanic heat — [...]
Aurelian Walls in Danger of Collapse?
From AdnKronos: There are fears for the future of Rome’s ancient Aurelian walls after chunks collapsed on Tuesday. A major street was closed in the Italian capital after bricks from the nearly 2000-year old wall fell down. The city’s archaeological authorities want to save the historic treasure, but they claim protection and restoration is limited [...]
Miriam Papyrus
As I work through the last of the end-of-school backlog, the quarry thing (next item) reminded me of this very interesting (especially as regards the dating) papyrus which border police in Israel seized about a month ago. An excerpt from the IAA press release: The document is written in ancient Hebrew script, which is characteristic [...]
Yet Another Second Temple Quarry
From an IAA press release: An ancient quarry, c. 1 dunam in area and dating to the end of the Second Temple period (c. 2,030 years old), was uncovered in excavations being conducted on Shmuel HaNavi Street in Jerusalem, under the direction of Dr. Ofer Sion and Yehuda Rapuano of the Israel Antiquities Authority, prior [...]
More to See in Rome
The New York Times reports that a number of usually-closed-to-the-public monuments in Rome will be open for the next little while. An excerpt: “The shortage of guards is a huge problem that really must be resolved,” said Maria Antonietta Tomei, director of the Palatine and Roman Forum, as she strode purposefully around the site. On [...]
Wii Chariot Racing
From a press release: Neko Entertainment an independent premier video game developer and publisher announced today the upcoming release of Heracles Chariot Racing on WiiWare™, a racer that will drive players new and old to distraction. Featuring ten circuits in five mythological fantasy settings, players take control of one of eight gods or legendary creatures [...]
CFP – Dining Divinely: Banqueting in Honour of the Gods (July 2010)
… seen on the Classicists list: Dining Divinely: Banqueting in Honour of the Gods July 7-9, 2010 The Department of Classics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand Commensality marked a range of public and private occasions in the ancient Mediterranean world. This colloquium will explore the evidence for banquets and feasts held in [...]
CFP: UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS IN GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORY
… seen on the Classicists list: CALL FOR PAPERS ‘HINDSIGHT, or THE IMPORTANCE OF UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS IN GREEK AND ROMAN HISTORY’ Chairs: Kai Brodersen (Erfurt) and Anton Powell (Classical Press of Wales) To form a conference panel at the sixth Celtic Conference in Classics, Edinburgh, 28-31 July 2010. If, as a historical magazine puts it, [...]
CFP: Celtic Conference in Classics July 2010
… seen on the Classicists list: THE CELTIC CONFERENCE IN CLASSICS with, and at, THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH July 28-31 2010 The next Celtic Conference in Classics, the sixth, will meet at the University of Edinburgh from Wednesday 28th to Saturday 31st July 2010. The Conference is open to all. It is expected that there [...]
This Day in Ancient History
pridie nonas julias ludi Apollinares (day 1) — games instituted in 212 B.C. after consulting the Sybilline books during a particularly bad stretch in the Punic Wars; four years later they became an annual festival in honour of Apollo late fifth century B.C.? — in the wake of the aborted attack on Rome by Coriolanus, [...]
