New Roman fort uncovered in Lancashire after years of speculation

A Roman fort lies underneath land off Flax Lane, Burscough

Historic England says the lines of the fort’s defences are clearly identifiable on geophysical survey and aerial photos

A 1st Century fort uncovered at a Burscough farm could be the key to understanding Roman activity in Lancashire.

After years of speculation about the presence of such a fort, ruins off Flax Lane have finally received recognition from Historic England.

The ruins comprise a 30,000 sq m fort, roads, and a smaller fortlet and experts believe the find will unlock unknown details of how the Romans settled and travelled around the area. Considered alongside other forts in the region, including those at Wigan and Ribchester, Burscough’s will provide great insight into Roman military strategy. It is believed that the area was occupied multiple times over the course of hundreds of years, a theory which is backed up by the variety of pottery found at the site.

Historic England says the lines of the fort’s defences are clearly identifiable on geophysical survey and aerial photos, but the north-west and south-west corners are also visible as slight earthworks on Lidar, which uses laser light reflections to produce 3D images.

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The Romans Called it ‘Alexandrian Glass.’ Where Was It Really From?

Glass receptacles recovered from Egypt dating to the first or second century A.D., during the Roman occupation.  Credit...Artokoloro, via Alamy

Trace quantities of isotopes hint at the true origin of a kind of glass that was highly prized in the Roman Empire.

Glass was highly valued across the Roman Empire, particularly a colorless, transparent version that resembled rock crystal. But the source of this coveted material — known as Alexandrian glass — has long remained a mystery. Now, by studying trace quantities of the element hafnium within the glass, researchers have shown that this prized commodity really did originate in ancient Egypt.

It was during the time of the Roman Empire that drinks and food were served in glass vessels for the first time on a large scale, said Patrick Degryse, an archaeometrist at KU Leuven in Belgium, who was not involved in the new study. “It was on every table,” he said. Glass was also used in windows and mosaics.

All that glass had to come from somewhere. Between the first and ninth centuries A.D., Roman glassmakers in coastal regions of Egypt and the Levant filled furnaces with sand. The enormous slabs of glass they created tipped the scales at up to nearly 20 tons. That glass was then broken up and distributed to glass workshops, where it was remelted and shaped into final products.

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Archaeological dig on the A1 in North Yorkshire uncovers Roman remains

Archaeologists at work near Scotch Corner

Archaeologists excavating the A1 before the road's major upgrade have discovered fascinating evidence of Roman engineering and repair work.

The dig between Leeming Bar and Barton, near Scotch Corner, revealed that the Romans settled in North Yorkshire at least a decade earlier than previously thought. They produced coins for circulation and built relationships with the local tribes.

The modern A1 partly follows the route of Roman roads between York and Hadrian's Wall that were used mainly for the movements of legions based at the York garrison who were deployed to subdue the border regions.

Highways England, who oversaw the archaeological work ahead of the upgrade of the A1(M), believe the finds in the vicinity of Scotch Corner are among the best discoveries of the past decade, and a book about the excavations has now been published.

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Pompeii's most recent finds reveal new clues to city's destruction

Since its discovery several centuries ago, few archaeological sites have fascinated the world as has the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. After the first major excavations in more than 50 years, Pompeii is revealing a surprising abundance of buried treasures. The new finds are coming from intensive work in a small sector known as Region V that has nevertheless yielded giant insights into the final days of the doomed city.

Along with the complete excavation of two houses—the House of the Garden and the House of Orion—the dig has yielded frescoes, murals, and mosaics of mythological figures in gorgeous colors, skeletons with stories still to be unraveled, coins, amulets, and show horses in the stable of a wealthy landowner.

The new finds are also sparking debate about Pompeii’s tragic story. Just before Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79 and buried the city under a mantle of ash and rock, a local worker scrawled an inscription on a wall. Along with a joke (roughly translated as “he ate too much”), he wrote the date: October 17. The discovery of this inscription may confirm the view that the eruption took place in October, and not August, as some scholars maintain.

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Archaelogical dig starts at Exeter Cathedral

An archaeological dig which has just started at Exeter Cathedral could uncover artefacts as far back as the Romans.

The first stone has been lifted in a six-week investigative dig where a new cloister gallery will ultimately be built.

Archaeologists want to find out what is below the paving slabs and grass which covers the area just outside the cathedral's chapter house, which has never been examined before.

The dig is expected to provide crucial information about the layout of the medieval cloister - which was torn down in 1657 - and the state of its foundations which, if still serviceable, will be reused for the new building.

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Roman jars found in Spanish seafood shop

Authorities conducting a routine inspection of a frozen seafood shop in Spain were surprised to find ancient artefacts decorating the premises.

The owner's son found the objects while fishing, according to local media.

Thirteen jars (amphoras) are believed to date back to the 1st Century AD, while an 18th Century anchor and a limestone plaque were also found.

Both the owner of the business in Alicante and his son are now being investigated.

"The amphoras could come from the looting of shipwrecks," which would be protected as objects of underwater archaeology, a statement by the Civil Guard said on Wednesday.

The artefacts were moved to the Museum of the Sea in Santa Pola, where they underwent preliminary dating.

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UN NOUVEL ÉTABLISSEMENT ANTIQUE DÉCOUVERT DANS LA PLAINE D'ALÉRIA (HAUTE-CORSE)

A Pietroso, dans la plaine d’Aléria au pied du Massif du Monte Incudine, les archéologues de l'Inrap ont mis au jour un vaste établissement rural de l'époque romaine, composé d'un étonnant ensemble de structures hydrauliques.

Une équipe d’archéologues de l’Inrap met actuellement au jour un établissement rural du IIIe siècle de notre ère, sur la commune de Pietroso, au pied du Massif du Monte Incudine à l’extrême ouest de la plaine d’Aleria. Sur prescription de l’État (DRAC de Corse), cette fouille, préalable à la construction d’un habitat résidentiel, est prise en charge à 100% par l’État, par le biais du fonds national pour l’archéologie préventive (Fnap). Elle apporte aujourd’hui d’intéressantes informations sur l’occupation antique en Corse.

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Hadrian's Wall warning after man arrested for theft

Newcastle University

Historic England has been working with police after a number of thefts near the Military Road, and 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft last week.

Don O'Meara from Historic England says people can do untold harm to unique and historic finds.

It's not that one coin or that one brooch, often to get that prestige item they can be digging holes all over protected monuments, they can be disturbing artefacts, throwing away artefacts that they think have no value, and that's the real lost material."

Dean O'Meara

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New discoveries at the Underwater Park of Baia

Credit: Parco Archeologico Campi Flegrei

During the research activities that the Archaeological Park of the Phlegrean Fields is carrying out in view of the opening of new routes, a marble table support (trapezoforo) decorated with a feline head was recovered from the seabed this morning.

The operation was carried out by technicians from the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park supported by the Harbour Master's Office - Locamare di Baia and Naumacos Underwater Archaeology.

Immediately after the recovery operations the find was transported to the laboratories of the Bay Castle for the first preservation measures.

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Coal Mine in Serbia Gives up New Roman Treasure

An archaeologist looks at parts of a wooden Roman ship dated to the 3rd century AD, at the ancient city of Viminacium, near Kostolac, Serbia, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Marko DjuricaREUTERS

BELGRADE (REUTERS) - AS the sun sank over a vast opencast coal mine in eastern Serbia earlier this month, a small crane eased the front half of a Roman ship from the steep sides of the pit.

An excavator cutting through the coal rich soil had pulled out some muddy timber weeks before, but coronavirus restrictions had meant the retrieval had to wait.

The ship was part of Viminacium, a sprawling Roman city of 45,000 people with a hippodrome, fortifications, a forum, palace, temples, amphitheatre, aqueducts, baths and workshops.

Lead archaeologist Miomir Korac said the vessel dated from the 3rd century AD when Viminacium was the capital of the Roman province of Moesia Superior and near a tributary of the Danube river.

"A Roman (river) fleet was based here to defend this region from barbarian invasions," he told Reuters. "Such findings of Roman ships are really rare, especially in such a good condition where one could see how the boat was built."

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Well-preserved Roman mosaic unearthed in Italian vineyard

SOAVE, Italy (AP) — Archaeologists have briefly revealed a well-preserved mosaic floor of an ancient Roman villa first discovered almost a century ago near the northern Italian city of Verona.

The mosaic in bright shades of red, pink, orange, purple and yellow appeared to be ’’in a good state of conservation,” from what archaeologists observed after gingerly digging a trench between vineyards in the hills of Valpolicella, Gianni de Zuccato, the official in charge of archaeology in Verona province, said Friday.

Mosaics revealing the site of an ancient villa were first discovered in 1922. Archaeologists have been doing partial digs to determine the scale of the original villa and in preparation to transform the area into a museum. The recent discovery of two nearby mosaic floors confirmed the villa extended north and south of the original site.

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Antiques Roadshow presenter stunned to discover ancient Roman site in garden

Antiques Roadshow expert Marc was shocked to make the discovery (Image: SWNS)

Antiques Roadshow expert, Marc Allum is on hand to guide owners through the history of their treasured items and has left many guests stunned with unexpected valuations. But the antiques expert was left speechless himself when he discovered his house had been built on an ancient Roman site after initially having his suspicions that the land may have a connection to King Alfred.

BBC viewers will know Marc as the miscellaneous expert who specialises in all the weird and wonderful items that don’t quite fit into any particular category.

But in an upcoming exclusive interview on The Arts Society Connected, Marc will be giving fans a glimpse into his own collection of antiques.

In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Marc revealed the three items he will be discussing in the lecture while revealing the unlikely discoveries he made in his garden.

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Roman mosaic floor found under Italian vineyard

Local officials said scholars first found evidence of a villa at the site more than a century ago

COMUNE DI NEGRAR DI VALPOLICELLA

A Roman mosaic floor has been discovered under a vineyard in northern Italy after decades of searching.

Surveyors in the commune of Negrar di Valpolicella north of Verona published images of the well-preserved tiles buried under metres of earth.

According to officials, scholars first found evidence of a Roman villa there more than a century ago.

Technicians are still gently excavating the site to see the full extent of the ancient building.

Images posted online show the pristine mosaic as well as foundations of the villa.

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Historical city travel guide: Rome, 1st century AD

The Roman Forum, study for theatrical scene in Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus'. Hodgkin, 1800-1860. 

Pen and grey ink with watercolour.

Location

Rome in Latium, central Italy, is the capital of the Roman Empire. The great city is said to have been founded by Romulus, who was raised with his brother Remus by a she-wolf. He was a descendant of the prince Aeneas, who escaped his home city of Troy after it was sacked by the Greeks. However, the city’s origins are likely to have been slightly less romantic, developing in the 8th century BC through the merging of several villages.

Spanning seven hills on the left bank of the river Tiber, Rome is located about 22 km (14 miles) inland from the Mediterranean Sea as the crow flies. The area is suitable for farming and characterised by warm weather, but the plains between the hills were originally swampy and subject to flooding. That is why, initially, different villages developed on the hilltops rather than in the Tiber valley.

The city now sits at the centre of an empire which stretches from Spain to Syria and is rapidly growing.

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Practical joke or toy? Leather ‘mouse’ shows Romans' playful side

A mouse made out of leather, about 12cm long, has been discovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, south of Hadrian’s Wall, in Northumberland. Photograph: The Vindolanda Trust

The Roman author Pliny the Younger advised “kissing the hairy muzzle of a mouse” as a cure for the common cold. His fellow countrymen linked mice to the god Apollo, who could bring deadly plague upon them with his arrows.

So they might not have seen the funny side of a lifelike mouse made out of a strip of leather which has been newly discovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda, south of Hadrian’s Wall, near Hexham, Northumberland.

About the size of a real rodent and lying unnoticed until now among thousands of leather offcuts held by the Vindolanda Museum since 1993, it looks as if it had been squashed flat after being run over – perhaps by a Roman cart.

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Coronavirus: Lockdown boost for archaeology as amateurs uncover Roman remains

The technology can 'strip away' vegetation and modern features to reveal what is underneath

Self-isolating volunteers analyse aerial survey maps to reveal ancient roads and settlements.

Lockdown has given archaeology an unexpected boost with volunteers finding previously unrecorded Roman, prehistoric and medieval sites from the comfort of their own homes.

In a project coordinated by a team at Exeter University, enthusiastic amateurs have been analysing images derived from Lidar (light detection and ranging) data - laser technology used during aerial surveys to produce highly detailed topographical maps.

Modern vegetation and buildings can be digitally removed, allowing archaeologists to look at the shape of the land surface to find the remains of archaeological earthworks.

The data is being systematically examined and cross-referenced with records of known archaeology and historic maps, meaning the total of new discoveries regularly changes.

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Archeologists discover prehistoric sites – while working from home

A probable Iron Age or Roman enclosed settlement (indicated by red arrows) and an associated field system (inidicated by blue arrows), which is hidden beneath woodland but has been revealed by volunteers using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data during lockdown. (Credits: PA)

Dozens of previously-unrecorded Roman, prehistoric and medieval sites have been discovered by archaeology volunteers based at home during the coronavirus lockdown. Digging may be on hold due to the pandemic, but the team have found parts of two Roman roads, around 30 prehistoric or Roman large embanked settlement enclosures, and some 20 prehistoric burial mounds, as well as the remains of hundreds of medieval farms, field systems and quarries. 

Those leading the project believe they will make many more discoveries in the coming weeks. 

The team are analysing images derived from LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data.

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Roman-Era Burial Mound Excavated in Bulgaria

Archaeology in Bulgaria reports that archaeologist Kalin Chakarov of the Regional Museum of History in Veliko Tarnovo and his team conducted a rescue excavation of a Thracian burial mound in north-central Bulgaria. The mound held 19 graves. The cremated dead had been placed in chambers with offerings and personal belongings. The grave in the center of the mound held parts of a vessel made from an ostrich eggshell that was probably imported from Africa or Asia; a gold-plated silver brooch, or fibula, bearing an image of the deity known as the Thracian Horseman; and a ceramic jug decorated with a sculpture resembling a theatrical face mask. “The fibula is extremely expensive,” said museum director Ivan Tsarov. “It was custom-made, probably in the atelier of some Aegean craftsman. 

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1,700-year-old board game found in Norwegian burial mound

The burial cairn site [Credit: UiB]

This April, the University Museum of Bergen, excavated the remains of a small Early Iron Age grave cairn at Ytre Fosse, Western Norway. The location is spectacular, overlooking Alversund and the “Indre Skipsleia”, a part of the old shipping lane, Nordvegen, – which gave Norway its name. The whole area is dotted with monumental grave mounds on both sides of Alversund, symbols of an Iron Age political landscape and the power and control of goods and travels along the Norwegian coast. 

The grave turned out to be a cremation patch containing 3 ceramic pots, a bronze pin, burnt glass and 18 gaming pieces and an elongated dice. The dice is of a very rare type, exclusive for Roman Iron Age (AD 1 - 400). In Scandinavia, similar dices are found in the famous Vimose weapon-offering site at Fyn, Denmark.

At Vimose also the gaming board was preserved, giving a unique view into Early Iron Age board games among the Germanic tribes in Scandinavia. Board games, inspired by the Roman game Ludus latrunculorum, seems to have been played amongst the elite in Roman Iron Age Scandinavia. These games are also the forerunner to the more famous Viking Age (AD 750-1050) board game Hnefatafl.

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Archaeologists in Denmark discover huge defensive structure from the Roman Iron Age

Credit: Museum Lolland-Falster

Archaeologists have unearthed a massive structure in Lolland that is believed to have been used to ward off an attacking army back in the Roman Iron Age.  So far, 770 metres of the structure has been detected, but Museum Lolland-Falster estimates it could stretch to twice that.  

“This is a really big structure. It’s taken a lot of work to build,” Bjornar Mage, an archaeologist and curator from Museum Lolland-Falster, told TV2 News. “We believe the structure was built around a kilometre from the coast between two impenetrable wetland areas – in a bid to stop attacking foe from entering Lolland.”  

The structure involved the digging of long lines and rows of holes in the earth – at least 10,000 holes are estimated to have been dug. In similar structures discovered in Jutland, the defensive ‘belt’ was combined with sharpened poles. 

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Section of Theodosian Walls of Constantinople collapses

Credit: Greek City Times

A section of the famous Theodosian Walls (Tower 69) of Constantinople (modern Istanbul), located on Sulukule Street in the Topkapi neighbourhood, has collapsed "due to an unknown reason", Turkish news sources have reported.

The reports state that police and firefighters attended the scene. While there were no dead or injured in the incident, police inspected around the area where the crash occurred, while municipal teams cleared the fallen rubble from the walls.

In their present state, the Theodosian Walls stretch for about 5.7 km from south to north, from the "Marble Tower" (Turkish: Mermer Kule), also known as the "Tower of Basil and Constantine" (Gk. Pyrgos Basileiou kai Konstantinou) on the Propontis coast to the area of the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Tr. Tekfur Sarayi) in the Blachernae quarter.

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Dunwich – The medieval town lost at sea

Chapel of St James’ Leper Hospital, Dunwich St James’ Hospital was a C12 leper hospital located just to the west of the medieval coastal town of Dunwich.

Dunwich is a small rural village located on the Suffolk coast in England. Visitors will find a quaint English pub, tea rooms and a pebble beach popular with holiday makers.
At first glance, there’s nothing overly remarkable about this picturesque setting, but beneath the surface Dunwich has a unique story to tell that spans centuries….

The earliest evidence of occupation around the Dunwich area starts in the Roman period, with scant but suggestive evidence of a large settlement. The Anglo-Saxon chronicler Bede referred to “Dunmoc” as a “Civitas”, with archaeological discoveries that includes a Roman tumulus and masonry trawled from the nearby seabed.

The Roman document, ‘Notilia Dignitatum’ even refers to a late Roman fort or station in the area, but due to the continual coastal erosion, any surviving remains of the fort or settlement would be hundreds of metres out to sea.

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Rome Sinkhole Makes Extraordinary Archaeological Find

Another Rome sinkhole has appeared, this time, in front of the Pantheon in Piazza della Rotonda and in it, archaeologists have made the unexpected ‘rediscovery’ of an ancient imperial floor consisting of seven travertine slabs.

Built by Agrippa between 27 and 25 BC, the Piazza della Rotonda is a great square which opens out in front of the famous Pantheon, the temple dedicated to all the Roman gods , and this open social space was entirely transformed in the second century AD by the Emperor Hadrian , at which time the level of the piazza was raised and it was all repaved.

Archaeologists have reported finding ancient masonry about 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) beneath the existing level of the piazza, which was first uncovered during works in the 1990s, and after it had been documented by archaeologists at the time it was covered over. But now, more than two decades after its original discovery, the slabs of the ancient floor “emerge intact, protected by a layer of fine pozzolan,” said Daniela Porro, special superintendent of Rome in a Wanted In Rome article.

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Archaeology offers clues to pandemic rebounds from the past

As the COVID-19 pandemic redefines what we think of as "normal," archaeology and ancient history can provide some consolation about the great adaptability of our species.

Flinders University archaeologist and ancient historian Dr. Ania Kotarba points to responses of extreme historical events that have threatened homo sapiens in the past as evidence that society—and the economy—can, and will, spring back again.

Dr. Kotarba researches global connectivity in the past through studying ancient international trade routes and human adaptation to extreme change.

She says the processes of urbanization, population growth and proto-globalization in the ancient world initially allowed outbreaks of infectious diseases and epidemics. These often surprisingly resulted in boosting the economy.

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Everything you wanted to know about Roman Britain – but were afraid to ask

In a recent podcast interview with Dr Miles Russell, we tackled the top questions about the four centuries of Roman rule in Britain…

How long were the Romans in Britain? How did they make their mark? And why did they leave? As part of our recent ‘Everything you need to know’ podcast series, we sat down with historian Dr Miles Russell to find out more about the popular historical period. Tackling questions submitted by our readers, and the top queries posed to the internet, Miles explored everything you ever wanted to know…

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Let the Dice Roll! 1,700 Year Old Board Game Found in Early Iron-Age Norwegian Burial Mound

Sensasjonelt funn i Alver. – Dette er statusgjenstander som vitner om kontakt med Romerriket, sier arkeolog.

Board games of this kind indicate broad contacts with the Roman Empire, researchers say.

Game chips and dice have been found in an early Iron Age tomb in northern Hordland in Norway.

The discovery dates from the early Iron Age (circa 300 AD) in a burial mound at Ytre Fosse near Alversund in the municipality of Alver in connection with plot development. A total of 13 whole and five broken game chips were unearthed, complete with a die.

The place is close to the narrow strait Alverstraumen, which was a central point on the maritime way between the north and south, the so-called “Nordvegen”, or “North Way”, which gave Norway its name.

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Roman Temple of Mithras – London Mithraeum

The London Mithraeum is a Roman Temple of Mithras discovered in 1954 in Walbrook, London, and is one of the most famous 20th-century Roman discoveries in London.

The temple was built in the mid-3rd century and dedicated to Mithras and several other deities popular among Roman soldiers. Much later, it was rededicated to Bacchus in the early fourth century.

Finely detailed third-century white marble likenesses of Minerva, Mercury, Mithras, and Serapis were found during the excavations. Some appear to have been carefully buried within the temple at the time of its rededication.

The quality marble sculptures were imported from other parts of the Roman Empire. There are also several coarser locally-made clay figurines of Venus, combing her hair. These artifacts are on display in the Museum of London.

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2,000-year-old Roman sewn boat discovered under Poreč waterfront

(Photo: Grad Poreč)

Istrian archaeologists have excavated an ancient wooden boat dating back two thousand years from under the Poreč waterfront.

The archaeological finding, the biggest in the last 30 years, is significant because the boat is well preserved and has many elements that are very rarely seen.

The results of the research were presented on Monday by the director of the National Museum of Poreč Elena Uljančić, archaeologist Klaudia Bartolić Sirotić, the staff of the Local Museum, historian Gaetano Benčić, archeologists Davor Munda, Aleksandra Pajić and Marko Uhač from the Conservation Department of Pula and Mayor Loris Peršurić.

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Deformed 'alien' skulls offer clues about life during the Roman Empire’s collapse

Artificially deformed skull of an adult woman. Permanent binding during childhood caused the elongation of the braincase and depressions in the bone.

(Image: © Balázs G. Mende. Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary)

Over decades, dozens of artificially deformed "alien-like" skulls that are more than 1,000 years old have been unearthed in a cemetery in Hungary. Now, these skulls are revealing how the collapse of the Roman Empire unleashed social changes in the region. 

During the fifth century A.D., people in central Europe practiced skull binding, a practice that dramatically elongates head shapes. These altered skulls were so drastically deformed that some have compared them to the heads of sci-fi aliens. The fifth century was also a time of political unrest, as the Roman Empire collapsed and people in Asia and eastern Europe were displaced by invading Huns, a nomadic Asian group. 

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Drone video shows new excavations at Pompeii

Photography often takes us places we can’t go ourselves. And drone photography takes us even farther than most cameras can. So are we able to get this amazing drone video surveying new excavations in the ancient city of Pompeii.

The drone video provides a wide overview of Regio V of Pompeii, the latest part of the city to be unearthed, over the past two years. It starts off with sweeping vistas over the entire neighborhood. Then it dives down to navigate the ruins of two unique houses, getting close enough that you can see the tiles in floor mosaics.

The archeologists prepared a stunning video tour, narrated in Italian. But English subtitles make the story clear. The tour focuses on the street Vicolo dei Balconi, with houses on either side.

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The British Museum is displaying 4 million items from its collection online

Photograph: The Lewis Chessmen. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Got some browsing time on your hands? Load up the British Museum’s website. Yesterday the museum decided to do an earlier-than-planned unveil of its revamped online collection. It’s now the biggest database of any museum in the world, with more than 4 million objects to click through. 

The collection features the museum’s most famous artefacts, like the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Sculptures, along with every item the institution holds from Ancient Egypt. 

But there are some new additions too – including 280,000 new object photographs that are being published for the first time. Among them are images of 73 portraits by Damien Hirst and a watercolour by the Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti that until recently had been thought lost. You can also look for works by Kara Walker, William Hogarth and Rembrandt in a digital archive of 75,000 art prints. If you’re more into coins, they have about 50,000 of those – medieval, Tudor, the works. Fill your boots. 

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OSTRICH EGG VESSEL, SILVER THRACIAN HORSEMAN FOUND IN ROMAN ERA BURIAL MOUND NEAR BULGARIA’S LYASKOVETS

The extremely intriguing artifacts discovered in the Thracian Roman-Era burial mound near Bulgaria’s Lyaskovets, including the ostrich egg vessel, the silver, gold-plated Thracian fibula, and the ceramic vessel decorated with a human face mask. 

Photo: Veliko Tarnovo Regional Museum of History

A wide range of highly intriguing artifacts such as an ostrich egg turned into a vessel and a gold-plated silver fibula featuring the Thracian Horseman deity have been discovered in rescue excavations of a Thracian burial mound from the Roman Era near Bulgaria’s Lyaskovets.

The burial mound in question is located near the St. Peter and St. Paul Monastery, Lyaskovets Municipality, Veliko Tarnovo District, in Central North Bulgaria.

It was 50 meters in diameter and 1 meter tall, and dates back to the 2nd – 3rd century AD.

All of Ancient Thrace south of the Danube was conquered by the Roman Empire in 46 AD, with the Thracian aristocracy and population becoming well integrated in Roman life.

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Site of battle fought between Carthaginians and Carparthians in 220 BC discovered in Spain

Illustration of a Second Punic War: the Roman general and statesman Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus meets the Carthaginian leader Hannibal (bearded, on left) before defeating him at the Battle of Zama

[Credit: Getty Images]

The year was 220 B.C. and the young Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca had to return to his winter quarters in Qart Hadasht – now Cartagena in southeast Spain – after taking Helmatica – now Salamanca in the northwest of the country – from the Vettones tribe. It was spring or summer, and the 27-year-old and his troops had to overcome two obstacles to get to their destination: firstly, the wide rivers and high mountains that were difficult for their 40 elephants to cross; the secondly, the hostile local Carpetani, Vettone and Olcade tribes, who sought revenge for the destruction of their crops and cities.

With just 25,000 soldiers, Hannibal managed to defeat 100,000 enemies. Nobody knows where exactly this battle took place, only that it happened somewhere along the banks of the Tagus River, which stretches 1,007 kilometers from the province of Teruel in Spain to Lisbon in Portugal.

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If the Ancient Romans Could Recycle, Then So Can You

A wide shot of the Pompeii archaeological site in Italy.

Photo: Giorgio Cosulich (Getty Images)

A team of researchers at Pompeii recently discovered evidence that Romans were avid recyclers, according to a weekend Guardian report. It figures that the same society that brought us urban planning, indoor heating, and concrete was also ahead of its time with going green too.

Preserved piles of trash, some several meters high, found outside the city walls are believed to have been “staging grounds for cycles of use and reuse,” according to professor Allison Emmerson, an American academic with the University of Cincinnati’s excavation team. While researchers had previously discovered similar garbage heaps around Pompeii, the prevailing theory was that they were created by an earthquake that hit the city nearly two decades before the infamous Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD buried it in volcanic ash.

In fact, many had already been cleared away in the mid-20th century, the Guardian reported. But upon examining a few newly discovered trash heaps, Emmerson and her fellow archaeologists Steven Ellis and Kevin Dicus were able to trace the journey of these bits of plaster, ceramic, and other refuse.

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Pompeii ruins show that the Romans invented recycling

A reproduction of the market square, from The Houses and Monuments of Pompeii, 

by Fausto and Felice Niccolini, 1854-96. 

Photograph: DEA/G Dagli Orti/De Agostini via Getty

Excavations reveal that rubbish left outside the city walls wasn’t just dumped. It was being collected, sorted and resold

They were expert engineers, way ahead of the curve on underfloor heating, aqueducts and the use of concrete as a building material. Now it turns out that the Romans were also masters at recycling their rubbish.

Researchers at Pompeii, the city buried under a thick carpet of volcanic ash when Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, have found that huge mounds of refuse apparently dumped outside the city walls were in fact “staging grounds for cycles of use and reuse”.


Professor Allison Emmerson, an American academic who is part of a large team working at Pompeii, said rubbish was piled up along almost the entire external wall on the city’s northern side, among other sites. Some of the mounds were several metres high and included bits of ceramic and plaster, which could be repurposed as construction materials.

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Museums are showcasing their creepiest objects, and this is how nightmares are made

We're kicking things off with this 3rd/4th century hair bun from the burial of a #Roman lady, still with the jet pins in place...

Museums are having a moment right now. Despite the doors being locked, they’ve managed to use the power of the Internet in fun and creative ways to still engage with art lovers around the world.

Some are providing virtual tours you can take from the comfort of your couch. And now, museums are making headlines once again – this time for challenging each other.

The only difference? You might not be able to sleep afterwards.
It all started on April 17 when the Yorkshire Museum in England took to Twitter.

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Siege Weapons

(Ivo Van der Graaff, Hay Castle Trust)Top: City wall, Pompeii, Italy; 

Above: Medieval catapult stone, Hay-on-Wye, Wales

Some time around 89 B.C.—the exact year is debated—Roman forces led by the general Lucius Cornelius Sulla laid siege to the city of Pompeii, likely in response to its residents’ agitation for full Roman citizenship. The walls on the city’s north side, where fortifications were particularly weak, still bear the impact marks of projectiles fired by the attacking Romans. In a number of areas inside the city walls, archaeologists have found catapult balls, small lead slingshot bullets, and machine-launched arrows known as scorpio bolts, all fired during the siege. “I don’t think anyone at the time was under any illusions that sustained bombardment would actually bring down the walls,” says archaeologist Ivo Van der Graaff of the University of New Hampshire. “It looks like one of the Romans’ tactics was to just fire munitions into the city to cause damage and, perhaps, lower morale.”

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Archaeology breakthrough: 2,000-year-old find changing history of Roman Empire revealed

Five graves are shining light on the Roman Empire (Image: GETTY)

ARCHAEOLOGISTS were stunned by the discovery of five skeletons in Dorset, which is helping shed light on the Roman Empire's stronghold over Britain at the end of the Iron Age and its decline before the Dark Ages.

The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain, prior to the Roman invasion in 43AD, who resided in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon. Dr Mike Russell is a senior lecturer in prehistoric and Roman history at Bournemouth University, who is co-director of a project looking into the transition from the Iron Age to the Roman period. In 2015, his team of archaeologists discovered five skeletons at Winterborne Kingston, which gave an incredible insight into life expectancy, religious views and diseases at the time.

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Probable Roman shipwrecks unearthed at a Serbian coal mine

Thanks to the pandemic, radiocarbon dating and further excavations are on hold.

Coal miners in Serbia recently dug up an unexpected surprise: three probable Roman-era ships, buried in the mud of an ancient riverbed for at least 1,300 years. The largest is a flat-bottomed river vessel 15 meters (49 feet) long, which seems to have been built with Roman techniques. Two smaller boats, each carved out from a single tree trunk, match ancient descriptions of dugout boats used by Slavic groups to row across the Danube River and attack the Roman frontier.

The Kostolac surface mine lies near the ancient Roman city of Viminacium, once a provincial capital and the base for a squadron of Roman warships on the Danube River. When the Roman Empire ruled most of Southern Europe, the Danube or one of its larger branches flowed across the land now occupied by the mine. The three ships lay atop a 15-meter- (49-foot-) deep layer of gravel, buried under seven meters (23 feet) of silt and clay, which preserved them for centuries in remarkably good condition—or did until the miners' earthmoving equipment dug into the steep slope to excavate for the mine.

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Leap of faith: ancient Britons viewed hares and chickens as gods

The brown hare was considered too special to eat, as were chickens. 

Photograph: Chris Upson/Getty Images/Flickr RF

Iron age research reveals modern Easter festivals not first to celebrate chicks and bunnies

Brown hares and chickens were revered as gods rather than reared for food when they were first introduced to Britain in the iron age, archaeological analysis suggests.

In research that shows modern-day Easter festivals were not the first to celebrate chicks and bunnies, a team of experts from the universities of Exeter, Leicester and Oxford have found evidence that the animals were buried with care and intact in the period that preceded the Roman invasion of Britain.

Historical evidence suggests Britons of the period associated the animals with deities and considered them too special to eat. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, Julius Caesar’s firsthand account of the Gallic wars, says “the Britons consider it contrary to divine law to eat the hare, the chicken or the goose. They raise these, however, for their own amusement or pleasure.”

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Fourth Style Frescos of the Casa del Principe di Napoli, Regio VI, 7,8 in Pompeii.

I am working on the illustrations for my translation of Houses in Pompeii, Volume 1, Casa del Principe di Napoli and have also uploaded the color photographs of its Fourth Style frescos from the book to Wikimedia Commons so they can be used for teaching and research independent of the embedded images in the book. (Under U.S. law these images are in the public domain because the original artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.)

Roman wall paintings in Pompeii are divided into four periods that were originally delineated and described by the German archaeologist August Mau, 1840–1909. These periods are usually referred to as First, Second, Third, and Fourth but are also known as Incrustation, architectural, ornamental, and intricate. Wall paintings were not only used for decoration, as Roman interiors often had no windows, but were used as a guide to function and social orientation for invited guests as well as the public at the morning salutatio. They also reflected the social status of the household.

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Archaeology project unearths rare Roman artefacts in Long Melford

Anne Grimshaw, Valerie Wiseman from Long Melford Heritage Centre with pottery expert Alice Lyons. (32370855)

On first inspection, members of Long Melford Heritage Centre had identified the object as a whistle or knife handle due to its distinctive shape.

More than 2,500 fragments of pottery dating back to the Roman and Iron Age were also discovered during the excavation.

Pottery expert Alice Lyons, who inspected the objects, said: “It was most unusual to have a secure, complete stratification sequence, proving occupation from the Iron Age through to the end of the Roman period.”

A large quantity of sheep and cattle bones containing butchery markings were also unearthed, an indication to the meat processing trade that took place in the village.

Other items of pottery were identified as imported pieces from Europe, including Spain, France and Germany.

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Alternate history: what if Boudica had defeated the Romans?

Each month BBC History Revealed asks a historical expert for their take on what might have happened if a key moment in the past had turned out differently. This time, Jonny Wilkes asks Miles Russell what if… Boudica had defeated the Romans?

There came a moment when Iceni queen Boudica had good reason to believe her uprising would end in victory over the Romans. Beginning with her warriors and an alliance with a rival tribe, the Trinovantes, her horde of bloodthirsty Britons had kept growing as more joined her march through southern England in AD 60 from one success to the next. As well as ambushing and obliterating the Roman 9th Legion, she had burned Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) to the ground.

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