Fragments of a bronze statue of the Roman emperor Augustus on horseback only the second known equestrian statue of Augustus in existence – have been found in a river near the German town of Giessen, about 40km north of Frankfurt-am-Main. The statue is thought to date back 2,000 years and the discovery has been announced by the science ministry of Hessen state. According to a statement from the science ministry, reported in The Local, this is the most well preserved Roman artefact of quality to be found in Germany to date. The discovery took place on August 12, when a…
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Native American protesters are standing firm this week, over the ongoing destruction of an ancient sacred mound near Oxford, Alabama. Local tribes are disgusted at a building project, which is stripping the mound’s earth as ‘fill-dirt’ for a retail complex across the road. A Creek Tribal Elder tells NBC13 in this video interview, “It just absolutely makes me sick. I have a really hard time even coming down here and looking at it.” Jackson explains that the tribe have gone down every avenue to secure the future of the mound; the state’s largest. But letters, petitions, emails and protests have…
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It seems that while thousands of Athenians have lost their homes, and forests in the area have been reduced to ashes, one of Greece’s most famous ancient cities has avoided the flames. Yet as the inferno enveloping Marathon subsides, its mayor claims government authorities did nothing to protect it from the worst wildfires to hit the country in over two years. “(We were) begging the government to send over planes and helicopters,” says mayor Spyros Zagaris. Yet none were forthcoming, and the city narrowly escaped flames which ‘raced’ down a hill to threaten ancient museums and monuments. Marathon‘s close call…
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Antoninus Pius was born Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus in 87AD and was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 138 – 161AD. His rule is universally recognised as one of peace and prosperity. When Emperor Hadrian’s adopted son Verus died, he adopted Antoninus Pius as his son. In turn, Antoninus Pius adopted the future Emperor Marcus Aurelius. When Emperor Hadrian died, Antoninus showed such piety that he earned the name “pius.” When his wife, Faustina, died in late 140 he founded the Puellae Faustinianae, a charitable institution for the daughters of the poor, in her memory During his 23-year…
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Attribution: lyceo_hispanico 76 – 138 Relationship People Children Antoninus Pius Associated Marcus Aurelius, Plutarch On the day after the death of Roman emperor Trajan, Publius Aelius Hadrianus was revealed to be his adopted son. Although Hadrian was related to Trajan on his father’s side, and had been groomed for succession by Trajan in a number of military campaigns and civil posts, his accession was not universally approved. Dissent within the senate quickly led to the executions of four senators accused of plotting treason. Trajan’s reign of warfare and territorial expansion saw Rome grow to its greatest extent. In contrast, Hadrian’s reign was one of peace and…
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Israeli authorities are raging this week, after what they perceive to be their deliberate exclusion from a World Archaeological Congress on Wednesday. The conference, which concerned ‘overcoming structural violence’ and the negative impact of politics on archaeology, was held in the Palestinian city of Ramallah. The Israeli Antiquities Authority is outraged on three fronts: that their experts weren’t informed of the event; that it was held in Palestine, which has a notoriously bad record on preserving ancient remains; and that the WAC conducted a tour of the Temple Mount and City of David Archaeological Park – even though both currently…
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They’re sometimes known as the eighth wonder of the world, and are an immense symbol of China’s national pride and power. But how deep does your knowledge of the incredible Terracotta Warriors actually go? Here are some top facts to get you started. 1. We’ve only uncovered a small fraction of the total ‘army’ of figures: experts currently place the entire number of soldiers at 8,000 – with 130 chariots, 530 horses and 150 cavalry horses helping to ward of any dangers in the afterlife. So far only just over 1,000 soldiers are on display at the emperor’s famous mausoleum,…
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He’s been legless for millennia – in fact he’s been missing everything from the neck down. But this week saw an ancient Akkadian statue’s head, dating from between the 21st and 23rd centuries BC, united with a replica of his body in Iraq’s Baghdad Museum (also known as the National Museum of Iraq). The head, discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Ashur in 1982, has been conspicuously bodiless – until Berlin’s Pergamon Museum agreed to send its own replica body, which was itself found in 1905. The deal also sees a copy of the head move in…
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There has been no shortage of sad stories surrounding the economic hardship of those living in the former Soviet Union. Nearly all of its satellite states, as well as the Russian homeland, have suffered an economic black hole after the Berlin Wall came down, where a tremendous chasm swells between the monied Mafioso and super-rich oligarchy, and the rural peasantry and jobless. And in Bulgaria, a country hiding millennia of prosperity beneath its soil, the tragedy has extended below surface level – as thousands of people loot national treasures to make ends meet. Prehistoric and Neolithic tribes, Ancient Thracians, Greeks,…
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A blog by Bija Knowles got me thinking about travel to ancient destinations. In particular, Bija talks about Libya and its move towards promoting itself more as a tourist destination. Libya has long been one of the Holy Grails of travel writing because it’s been so difficult to get into (and to get around) it independently until now. This story by Jim Keeble has more on how the country is finally opening up to tourism. It’s the same in countries along the old Silk Road routes, which are more tourist-friendly than ever. This encourages more people to discover the historic…