Ages ago I mentioned the Classics Confidential folks and trusted youtube to inform me of updates … so I’m way behind … in this one, Dr Paolo Monella explains a paper he presented which draws on the ancients to rethink the idea of copyright:

An item in the Connecticut newspaper The Day: To boldly go where no one has gone before led me to a very interesting site to follow Robert Ballard’s latest endeavours. He’s currently doing the sidescan sonar thing off Turkey looking for potential sites etc., and it’s all being streamed live … there isn’t a heckuva lot to see, but set the live video to ‘quad’ for the most experience. You can listen to the crew’s chatter and possibly begin to appreciate how stunningly dull things can be until a discovery is made. People are asking questions (probably kids through the events mentioned in the article mentioned above). Anyway, check it out at:

• Nautilus Live

The BBC is on the story:

The 1,800-year-old human remains were exhumed in the city over the past decade and will be displayed in an empty shop throughout the summer.

Archaeologists say the discovery suggested the site was only well-preserved Roman gladiator cemetery in the world.

The exhibition will feature the skeletons and objects which were unearthed alongside them.

Kurt Hunter-Mann, a field officer at York Archaeological Trust, said the exhibition features six of the 80 skeletons they unearthed on Driffield Terrace in York.

“People will be able to see all the background to the excavations we carried out and what they can tell us about Roman life and death in York,” he said.

Bite mark

The theory the men might have been gladiators is a popular one but Mr Hunter-Mann admitted they were still not certain.

He said: “We are still a long way from being absolutely sure. One argument supporting the idea they were gladiators is these burials were mostly of adult males which is of course unusual.”

The most persuasive argument for the gladiator theory is a large carnivore bite mark, made by a lion, tiger or bear, an injury which Mr Hunter-Mann said was “unique”.

Bite marks made by a carnivore on one bone is one argument the men might have been gladiators

The skeletons also showed evidence they had experienced a great deal of brutality during their lives.

Other theories archaeologists are examining include suggestions the site might have been a cemetery for specialist soldiers or a place of execution.

Sarah Maltby, director of attractions at York Archaeological Trust, said: “I hope they are gladiators because it is such a great story and leads us on to other questions, such as where the arena they fought in might have been.”

She added: “We want everyone to really enjoy this exhibition, to learn something and to go way and think about it and contribute their own ideas to the debate about who these men might have been.”

• ‘Roman gladiators’ go on show in York | BBC

Kudos to the organizers and/or the BBC, who clearly are trying to scale back the sensationalism which accompanied the original announcement of this discovery. Here is our previous coverage/criticism from last summer:

• Gladiator Graveyard?
• York Gladiators Redux

Again, lots of ‘running away’ wounds lead me to think of execution in an arena situation …

UPDATE (a few hours later): after a conversation with Dorothy King and Sarah Bond on Twitter, it is clear that some questions I had in our previous coverage do refer to this same site, so here are a couple more links to follow the progress of the dig and the development of the theory of what it represents:

• Roman ‘Cold Case’
• Roman Graveyard

… and from February, 2005, see also:

• Mystery of 49 headless Romans who weren’t meant to haunt us | Times

Around the Classical blogosphere the past few days …

• The Tombstone of Regina (South Shields) July 28, 2011 Dorothy King
• Bibliographies: Aeschylus July 28, 2011 classicslibrarian
• APA Blog : Spring 2011 Newsletter July 28, 2011
• What Did the Romans Use for Toilet Paper? July 28, 2011 (N.S. Gill)
• Bibliography: A Hellenistic Bibliography (Post-Classical Greek Poetry) July 28, 2011 classicslibrarian
• Running a Classical conference: the inside story July 28, 2011 Mary Beard
• Bronze Age Etruscan sacred site found in Italy July 28, 2011 Sevaan Franks
• Roman Battle Tactics Versus the Phalanx July 27, 2011 Mike Anderson
• The Fall of Rome July 27, 2011 (author unknown)
• The Tombstone of Regina (South Shields) July 27, 2011 Dr Jonathan Eaton
• APA Blog : Call for Authors: The Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World July 27, 2011
• Ancient Rome created urban geography of western Europe, new research reveals July 28, 2011 History of the Ancient World
• THE HISTORY OF HAIRSTYLES IN THE MIRROR OF ANCIENT COINS July 28, 2011 History of the Ancient World
• How Democratic Was the Roman Republic? July 28, 2011 History of the Ancient World
• A Window on War: Women and Militarism in Ancient Greece July 28, 2011 History of the Ancient World
• Round-Up: July 28 July 28, 2011 laura-gibbs@ou.edu (Laura Gibbs)
• Ni Te Plus Oculis Meis Amarem July 28, 2011 Michael Gilleland
• The Oxyrhynchus papyri and an army of papyrologists July 28, 2011 Jim Davila
• Omnes Viae: Itinerarium Romanum July 26, 2011 Adrian Murdoch