Templum Pacis to Come to Light! (and more!?)
This is potentially very exciting and I’m surprised it hasn’t been picked up by more English press coverage … the conclusion to a Rossella Lorenzi piece at Discovery News: The centerpiece of the Forum of Peace was indeed the temple. Built in 71-75 A.D by Vespasian, the Temple of Peace celebrated the brutal pacification of [...]
How Can We Sleep When Our Ruins Are Crumbling?
That cryptic title is a vague reference to a song by Midnight Oil which is currently stuck in my head … whatever the case, we fairly regularly get an annual article that this or that particular monument is being neglected by authorities (e.g., most recently, e.g., a chunk falling off the Colosseum), but in the [...]
Beach Soccer in the Circus Maximus?
Image via Wikipedia The incipit of a piece in the Times that leaves one’s head a-shaking: Once famed for staging Ben Hur-style chariot races, the Circus Maximus in Rome is about to suffer the ultimate humiliation: a beach football tournament featuring players in centurion gear. The three-day event pitting the best of Europe’s beach footballers [...]
Oh Noes! Mortar Falling Off Colosseum!
Image by xiquinhosilva via Flickr A brief AP report is making the rounds detailing something of concern about the Colosseum. Here’s the incipit of a representative piece from the Globe: Rome archaeology officials say three chunks of mortar have fallen off from the Colosseum but that no one was hurt and tourist visits will go [...]
Guernsey as Roman Trading Post
The incipit of an item at the BBC: A series of finds in 1980s completely changed the perception of the effect the Romans had on Guernsey. Tanya Walls, La Société Guernesiaise archaeology secretary, said before the finds it had been thought they had little influence. However, when evidence of settlements, trade and industry came to [...]
Big Restoration Plans for the Colosseum
The incipit of a piece in Il Messaggero detailing restoration plans for the Colosseum (which began last year), including a less conspicuous fence, changing the lighting, and assorted other things with the ultimate goal of making all levels accessible to the public (I think): Il terremoto del 2009 ha fatto danni e già si sta [...]
A Roman Chariot on the A24!
The incipit of a piece describing a discovery I’m very surprised we haven’t heard more about (this seems to be the only coverage!) … during highway construction, a number of burials — one of which apparently includes a Roman chariot — has been found near the Centocelle airport: Un eccezionale ritrovamento archeologico è venuto alla [...]
Still More on the Aqua Traiana
Today I received a very interesting email from Ted O’Neill, who is one of the principals involved in the recent (re)discovery of what seems to be the source of the Aqua Traiana. Mr. O’Neill sent along a pile of interesting materials for me to share with y’all (thanks very much!||), so here goes … we’ll [...]
Source of the Aqua Traiana Found?
A very interesting find by some clumsy amateurs, apparently (when will the media stop having folks ‘stumble’ on things???) … this seems to be hype for a documentary, but that’s not a bad thing. Here’s the incipit of the Telegraph coverage: The underground spring lies behind a concealed door beneath an abandoned 13th century church [...]
New Stadium for AS Roma?
There are plenty of articles kicking around out there about AS Roma’s plans to build an ‘English style’ soccer/football stadium … ANSA seems to be one of the few that I’ve come across, though, that mentions: ”If the culture ministry doesn’t say Ok they won’t go ahead,” Culture Undersecretary Franco Giro said at the presentation [...]
Bronze Age Warrior
Another one I’ve been sitting on and a bit out of our period of purview, but I like this sort of thing (and I find it interesting that the pottery looks ‘Halstatt’ to me, but that’s very likely not even close) … At the beach at Nettuno, south of Rome, a ‘warrior burial’ has been [...]
Hic Vespasianus Dormiebat?
I initially was sitting on this one because I was hoping to get some really good coverage … then things came up and it’s sort of old news, but there is much conflicting opinion involved with it. The ‘bottom line’ which all media reports seem to agree with is that Italian archaeologists have excavated a [...]
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 [...]
Lapis Niger ‘Open’ Soon
An update from Il Messaggerro tells of the restoration work going on in the efforts to open the area around the Lapis Niger to the public. An excerpt: «Da un anno il solaio realizzato da Pietro Romanelli per coprire i resti dell’area sta cedendo a causa delle infiltrazioni d’acqua che marciscono il ferro – spiega [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Catalogging the Catacombs
A lengthy item from the BBC is sure to generate a lot of interest; here’s a bit in medias res: The leader of the project, Dr Norbert Zimmerman of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, was behind the idea to use laser scanners to record every part of the Catacombs. His scanner, which looks like a [...]
