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Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
Prosciutto di Portici: A ham-shaped portable sundial likely owned by Julius Caesar's father-in-law — before it was buried by Mount Vesuvius
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Name: Prosciutto di Portici What it is: A silver-plated bronze sundial Where it is from: Herculaneum, near Naples, Italy When it was made: Between 8 B.C. and A.D. 79 Related: Ram in the Thicket: A 4,500-year-old gold statue from the royal cemetery at Ur What it tells us about the past: In the shadow of Vesuvius, archaeologists discovered a pocket-sized bronze sundial in the shape of a ham in the summer of 1755. Nearly overlooked amidst the statues and charred scrolls buried at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, the "Prosciutto of Portici" is the earliest known Roman portable sundial. The silver-coated bronze ham measures about 4.4 by 3 inches (11.3 by 7.8 centimeters). The body of the object is crisscrossed by incised lines, and a series of Latin letters graces the bottom right quadrant. On the left edge, a bronze stump indicates that the gnomon — the "hand" of a sundial — has broken off. When 18th-century archaeologists stumbled on the object in their excavation tunnels under the municipality of Portici (later identified as the ancient town of Herculaneum) they initially thought it was a miniature ham sculpture with stripes. A closer examination revealed the object was a Roman sundial — a unique object that has been studied for more than two centuries. According to Christopher Parslow, an archaeologist and art historian at Wesleyan University who published a book on the sundial in 2024, the horizontal lines indicate the number of hours before or after sunset; the seven vertical lines represent months of the zodiac calendar; and the letters below are abbreviations of the 12 months in the Roman calendar. Thanks to one of these abbreviations — AU for August — the sundial can be dated to some time after 8 B.C., when the Roman Senate officially renamed the month of Sextilis to Augustus in honor of the first emperor. Sundials can be extremely accurate, but only if they are calibrated to a specific location. Based on the markings and the angle of the gnomon, which has since been lost but was originally recorded as being shaped like a pig's tail, Gianni Ferrari, an ancient sundial expert, estimated in 2019 that the ham clock was calibrated for someone living around 41°N latitude — just about where Herculaneum is. MORE ASTONISHING ARTIFACTS —Oseberg tapestry: Viking Age artwork from a boat burial that may depict the Norse tree of life —Hatnefer's heart scarab: An exquisite ancient Egyptian gold necklace inscribed with the Book of the Dead —Hårby Valkyrie: A 1,200-year-old gold Viking Age woman sporting a sword, shield and ponytail Historians have long assumed that the owner of the Villa of the Papyri was L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, who likely commissioned the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus to draft the numerous charred scrolls that were recently "virtually unwrapped." This may explain why the Roman pocketwatch was shaped like a ham. For adherents of Epicurean thought, the lowly pig was often used as a metaphor, as it was seen as a naturally pleasure-seeking creature. Experts continue to debate how well the prosciutto sundial worked. While earlier scholars estimated an error of only a couple minutes, Ferrari found significantly higher errors, in the range of tens of minutes, in the object's time-telling ability. And based on a 3D scan and reconstruction of the sundial, Parslow determined that the sundial could be used to tell time to the half or quarter hour. "The instrument probably was a mark of distinction and a jewel," Ferrari wrote, "rather than being a precision instrument giving the correct time." This unique ancient "pork clock" was buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. It is on display at Italy's National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fragment of Viking Age arm ring declared treasure
A "rare" 1,000-year-old gold arm ring discovered in a field by a metal detectorist and declared treasure at an inquest has been put on display for the first time. The fragment of jewellery, which is 1.4 inches (3.7cm) in length and weighs 1oz (27.26g), was unearthed by Ronald Clucas in spring 2025. Mr Clucas said, who has been metal detecting for 50 years, said he had previously found "some wonderful things", but the Viking Age find was "really something else". Manx National Heritage (MNH) curator of archaeology Allison Fox said the understanding of the island's "rich Viking legacy had been further enhanced by the discovery". The piece, which dates back to about between 1,000 and 1,100 AD, was originally created by plaiting eight strands of gold rods together. Ms Fox said such jewellery served as both "prized personal possessions and visible displays of wealth" during the period, which were also used for financial transactions. Ms Fox said the "beautiful find" had been cut twice, to remove the terminal end of the arm ring, with the other cutting the original complete piece almost in half. That suggested it had been used in transactions before being buried in the ground, possibly for safekeeping or "as an offering to the Viking Gods", she added. A member of the Manx Detectorist Society, Mr Clucas has previously unearthed a silver ingot and a lead ingot on the island in 2005. He said gold "generally gives a very low signal on the detector, so you can't really predict what is going to be uncovered". "It was quite a big shock to discover this lovely piece of gold, I couldn't really believe it at first," he added. The arm band has been put on display in the Viking Gallery at the Manx Museum in Douglas. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Viking age coins declared treasure go on display Viking coin 'savings account' declared treasure Viking age silver found by metal detectorist Detectorist's 'disbelief' at second Viking find Manx National Heritage
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Fragment of Viking Age arm ring declared treasure on Isle of Man
A "rare" 1,000-year-old gold arm ring discovered in a field by a metal detectorist and declared treasure at an inquest has been put on display for the first fragment of jewellery, which is 1.4 inches (3.7cm) in length and weighs 1oz (27.26g), was unearthed by Ronald Clucas in spring Clucas said, who has been metal detecting for 50 years, said he had previously found "some wonderful things", but the Viking Age find was "really something else".Manx National Heritage (MNH) curator of archaeology Allison Fox said the understanding of the island's "rich Viking legacy had been further enhanced by the discovery". The piece, which dates back to about between 1,000 and 1,100 AD, was originally created by plaiting eight strands of gold rods together. Ms Fox said such jewellery served as both "prized personal possessions and visible displays of wealth" during the period, which were also used for financial transactions. Ms Fox said the "beautiful find" had been cut twice, to remove the terminal end of the arm ring, with the other cutting the original complete piece almost in suggested it had been used in transactions before being buried in the ground, possibly for safekeeping or "as an offering to the Viking Gods", she added.A member of the Manx Detectorist Society, Mr Clucas has previously unearthed a silver ingot and a lead ingot on the island in said gold "generally gives a very low signal on the detector, so you can't really predict what is going to be uncovered". "It was quite a big shock to discover this lovely piece of gold, I couldn't really believe it at first," he arm band has been put on display in the Viking Gallery at the Manx Museum in Douglas. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fragment of Viking Age arm ring declared treasure
A "rare" 1,000-year-old gold arm ring discovered in a field by a metal detectorist and declared treasure at an inquest has been put on display for the first time. The fragment of jewellery, which is 1.4 inches (3.7cm) in length and weighs 1oz (27.26g), was unearthed by Ronald Clucas in spring 2025. Mr Clucas said, who has been metal detecting for 50 years, said he had previously found "some wonderful things", but the Viking Age find was "really something else". Manx National Heritage (MNH) curator of archaeology Allison Fox said the understanding of the island's "rich Viking legacy had been further enhanced by the discovery". The piece, which dates back to about between 1,000 and 1,100 AD, was originally created by plaiting eight strands of gold rods together. Ms Fox said such jewellery served as both "prized personal possessions and visible displays of wealth" during the period, which were also used for financial transactions. Ms Fox said the "beautiful find" had been cut twice, to remove the terminal end of the arm ring, with the other cutting the original complete piece almost in half. That suggested it had been used in transactions before being buried in the ground, possibly for safekeeping or "as an offering to the Viking Gods", she added. A member of the Manx Detectorist Society, Mr Clucas has previously unearthed a silver ingot and a lead ingot on the island in 2005. He said gold "generally gives a very low signal on the detector, so you can't really predict what is going to be uncovered". "It was quite a big shock to discover this lovely piece of gold, I couldn't really believe it at first," he added. The arm band has been put on display in the Viking Gallery at the Manx Museum in Douglas. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Viking age coins declared treasure go on display Viking coin 'savings account' declared treasure Viking age silver found by metal detectorist Detectorist's 'disbelief' at second Viking find Manx National Heritage
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Viking-era silver treasures found on farm in Sweden and restored. See them shine
Sifting through the stony soil of southern Sweden, archaeologists uncovered dozens of Viking-era structures and hundreds of artifacts. One remarkable find stood out from all the rest: a collection of ancient silver treasures. A team of archaeologists excavated a massive Viking Age farm and adjacent burial ground in Täby from 2020 to 2021. The site had been occupied for roughly 500 years — from 500 to 1050 A.D. — and still had many traces of its ancient inhabitants, Arkeologerna said in a May 30 news release. When the dig finished, archaeologists had found 34 ruined buildings, about 15 ritual deposits, five graves and over 1,450 artifacts. The finds took them years to document, analyze, preserve and clean. The effort resulted in two detailed reports published in early May John Hamilton, a project manager with Arkeologerna, described the Täby site as incredibly exciting because of its variety — and its unique silver treasures. The excavation at Täby uncovered a buried pot filled with silver arm rings, necklaces, beads, coin pendants, an amulet, a ring and some fabric, archaeologists said in a report. The Viking-era collection was astonishing for its size, variety and quality of preservation. The treasure might have been buried in honor of a high-ranking individual and involved a long, grand ceremony, Hamilton said in the release. Reconstructions show how the collection was originally buried. Several of the ancient silver items had braided or twisted designs and ended in a diamond-shaped piece, photos show. Archaeologists identified the 12 coin pendants as a mixture of European and Islamic coins all dating between 904 and 997 A.D. Photos show two of these items, which have added hooks to allow them to be worn as pendants. Arkeologerna described the silver treasures as unusual and astonishing. Other finds from Täby included pottery, bones and seeds. Archaeologists analyzed the DNA of several people buried at the site and confirmed several were related. Täby is a town roughly 10 miles north from Stockholm. Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Arkeologerna, part of Sweden's National Historical Museums (SHM).
