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Fox News
26-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Ancient Roman's 'mishap' leads to rare jewelry discovery in British countryside
Print Close By Andrea Margolis Published May 26, 2025 A recent discovery in the United Kingdom shows that chunky jewelry has always been in fashion – even in Ancient Rome. Wessex Archaeology announced the discovery of the unusual eight-sided ring in a Facebook post on May 8. In a statement, officials said the ring was found in a former drainage ditch in Lincolnshire, a predominantly rural county in the East Midlands. ANCIENT ROMAN HELMET TURNS UP IN UNUSUAL LOCATION: 'EXCEPTIONALLY RARE' The ring's "unlucky owner" lost the piece of jewelry between 200 and 410 A.D., historians believe. "You can just imagine their frustration when they glanced down at their bare hand – over 1,000 years before one of our field staff, Tim, would unearth what was once so familiar to its original wearer," the statement added. "Thank goodness for our careless ancestors!" it noted. "Their mishaps are our good fortune." METAL DETECTORISTS DISCOVER HOARD OF PRICELESS GOLD COINS DATING BACK TO BIBLICAL TIMES The organization also said eight-sided Roman rings are rare to find in the United Kingdom, although similar artifacts have been dug up before. "This specific type of ring, with its distinctive eight sides, is an uncommon find in the UK, but not entirely without precedent," Wessex Archaeology said. For more Lifestyle articles, visit "They were sometimes made of precious metals, though more frequently, as in this case, copper alloy," the post added. "By the time this ring slipped off its owner's finger, the Romans were well-established in Britain." CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER Ancient Romans began invading Britain in 43 A.D., under Emperor Claudius and later under Julius Caesar. Romans lived in Britain for hundreds of years before they eventually began withdrawing in 410 A.D. Due to the vast amount of power and influence the Ancient Romans had in the British Isles, Roman-era discoveries are relatively common. This winter, a Roman grave filled with gypsum was found during a highway construction project in England. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Shortly before that discovery, a 2,000-year-old Roman road was uncovered in London. Print Close URL
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Study Buddy (Challenger): Bite marks reveal gladiator's fatal encounter with a lion
Content provided by British Council Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below: [1] In Rome's Colosseum and other amphitheatres in cities scattered across the sprawling ancient Roman Empire, gladiatorial spectacles were not merely human-versus-human affairs. While there are depictions of humans pitted against animals in ancient mosaics and texts, actual forensic evidence of these contests has been elusive until now. Scientists have determined that bite marks on the pelvis of a man buried in what is believed to be a cemetery for gladiators near the English city of York – known at the time as Eboracum – were made by a big cat, probably a lion. [2] The man appears to have lived during the 3rd century AD, when Eboracum was an important town and military base in the north of the Roman province of Britannia. The bite marks provide clues about his suspected demise in the arena. 'Here we can see puncture and scalloping, indicative of large dentition (teeth) piercing through the soft tissues and into the bone,' said forensic anthropologist Tim Thompson of Maynooth University in Ireland, the lead author of the study published last month in the journal PLOS One. 'We don't think this was the killing wound, as it would be possible to survive this injury, and it is in an unusual location for such a large cat. We think it indicates the dragging of an incapacitated (deprived of strength) individual,' Thompson said. [3] The discovery illustrates how gladiatorial spectacles with wild animals – often presented by emperors and other influential thinkers or leaders – were not limited to the empire's major cities and extended into its furthest-flung provinces. Researchers said this man's skeleton represents the first known direct physical evidence of human-animal combat from ancient Roman times. [4] Wild animals used in such spectacles included elephants, hippos, rhinos, crocodiles, giraffes, ostriches, bulls, bears, lions, tigers and leopards. For instance, in 2022, archaeologists announced the discovery of the bones of bears and big cats at the Colosseum. 'Predatory animals – above all big cats but also sometimes other animals, for example bears – were pitted as combatants against specialist gladiators, known as venatores,' said study co-author John Pearce, a Roman archaeologist at King's College London. [5] Pearce said that large and aggressive animals were pitted against each other – a bull and bear, for example – and often chained together. Simulated hunts were also staged in arenas, with humans against animals and animals against other animals. Animals were sometimes used as a means of execution for captives and criminals, where the victim was bound or defenceless, Pearce said. [6] Gladiators were typically enslaved people, prisoners of war, criminals and volunteers. 'A popular reputation – as expressed in fan graffiti at Pompeii – money and the possibility of being freed as a successful arena star were incentives and rewards for gladiators,' Pearce said. More than 80 human skeletons, mostly well-built younger men, have been excavated at the cemetery. Many had healed and unhealed injuries consistent with gladiatorial combat and had been decapitated, perhaps by losing a bout. Source: Reuters, April 23 Questions 1. In paragraph 1, the discovery of bite marks on a man's pelvis is significant because it … A. confirms the existence of big cats in ancient Britain. B. provides evidence that gladiators were sometimes buried with the animals they fought. C. offers concrete proof of a type of gladiatorial contest previously known mainly through art and writing. D. none of the above 2. According to paragraph 2, what characteristics of the bite marks on the man's pelvis suggest that a large animal inflicted the bite? 3. Based on paragraph 2, the bite marks on the pelvis suggest … A. the lion attacked and killed the gladiator with a bite to that region. B. the gladiator sustained the injury before fighting the lion. C. the lion was partially immobilised when it attempted to drag the gladiator. D. none of the above 4. Where does the phrase 'further-flung provinces' in paragraph 3 refer to? 5. In paragraph 4, what does the phrase 'above all big cats' suggest about the use of these animals against venatores? 6. Based on paragraph 5, describe two traits of the animals chosen to fight against other animals. 7. According to paragraph 5, which of the following can be inferred about the 'simulated hunts' staged in arenas? A. They exclusively featured unarmed humans facing large predatory animals. B. They involved both human-versus-animal and animal-versus-animal confrontations. C. They usually resulted in the death of all the animals involved. D. They were mainly used to train venatores for gladiatorial combat. 8. Find a term in paragraph 6 that refers to people bought by others and forced to obey and work for them. 9. What do the excavated skeletons in paragraph 6 suggest about the nature of gladiatorial combat? An ancient Roman mosaic of a lion on display at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, Tunisia, Photo: Reuters Answers 1. C 2. The puncture and scalloping of the bite marks indicate large dentition (teeth) piercing through soft tissues and into the bone, suggesting a large animal. 3. D 4. places such as Eboracum (accept all similar answers) 5. Big cats were frequently used in combat against venatores. (accept all similar answers) 6. They were large and aggressive. 7. B 8. enslaved person 9. Gladiatorial combat is violent and leads to major injuries and death. (accept all reasonable answers)
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man Finds Nearly 1,500 Priceless Ancient Coins While Out for a Walk: Thought He Might Be 'in a Dream'
A man recently discovered nearly 1,500 silver coins from ancient Rome while hiking in a field in Romania Local Marius Mangeac was walking with his metal detector, as he "often" does, when the detector emitted a "strong signal," so he started digging Mangeac ultimately turned the coins over to local authorities, but says he hopes to show his child the treasure in a museum someday, "where I can explain I was lucky enough to discover a page [from] the history of our people"A man recently discovered nearly 1,500 silver coins from ancient Rome while hiking. Romanian man Marius Mangeac made the discovery in April while walking with his metal detector in a field near Letea Veche, a small village in the southern part of the country. Mangeac posted about the find in a Facebook post translated from Romanian, writing that he 'did not predict anything would come' of the excursion when he left his home to take a walk that day — and definitely did not think he would come "face to face with history." 'I took my detector and left alone, as I often do, to exercise and to relax in the fields and the forests,' he wrote. Mangeac went on to explain that he uncovered the coins after his metal detector generated a 'strong signal' from a specific spot of grass, adding, 'I could feel my heart beating quite hard and I even thought about pinching myself to convince myself that I was not in a dream.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The local said that — after spending 'two days' meticulously 'taking pictures of every coin" — he ultimately handed them over to the local town hall. 'I hope that one day I will go with my child to the museum, where I can explain how I was lucky enough to discover a page [from] the history of our people,' he added in his post. Mangeac told Romanian news station TVR Info that he hadn't even originally planned to go walking in the field that day. 'Initially, I wanted to go to the forest, but there was tall grass, and I saw this field, and I thought I should go to the field, try it,' he told the outlet. He says he started digging and eventually hit something. 'There was a loud noise from the shovel, and when I dug further, I saw that there were shards and coins,' he said, recalling that he initially did not know what to do. TVR noted that two officers carefully counted the coins after Mangeac brought them to city hall, and the town's mayor, Marian Negru, told the outlet that tourists now have yet another reason to visit their town, which is steeped in Roman history. The silver coins — called denarii — were introduced in Rome in 211 B.C. and were the dominant form of currency for about 500 years, per the Art Institute of Chicago. The coins typically featured the faces of key gods and goddesses on one side, and depicted things like animals, natural resources and other important symbols to the empire on the other. The Institute notes that the goddess Roma, who was 'the personification of Rome,' was the most popular image on the silver denarii for many years. Read the original article on People
News.com.au
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Incredible new Pompeii find shed light on secretive cult of Bacchus
Sex. Drugs. And the Roman version of Rock'n' Roll. Pompeii knew how to party. But you had to be an initiate first. And a new discovery embraces the wild side of the ancient empire's women. Yet another richly decorated banquet hall has been dug out of the volcanic dust and rubble. What makes this one special is the life-size frieze that runs along three sides of the room. It shows a Thiasus (procession) for the god of wine and festivity. And it celebrates the admission of a young woman to the mystery cult. 'For the ancients, the bacchante or maenad expressed the wild, untameable side of women,' says director of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii Gabriel Zuchtriegel. '(It's about) the woman who abandons her children, the house and the city, who breaks free from male order to dance freely, go hunting and eat raw meat in the mountains and the woods.' The fresco provides insight into the secretive cult of Bacchus – the god of frenzy and ecstasy. The damaged central scene shows an older man whispering to the initiate. He's holding a torch to light the way. And above the panel is a strange scene of snakes and fish. Female celebrants shown as dancers in diaphanous gowns or naked hunters carrying their catch are arrayed on either side. Prancing among them are the cult's iconic human-goat hybrid satyrs playing flutes and drinking. 'These frescoes have a profoundly religious meaning which, however, was also designed to decorate areas for holding banquets and feasts,' Zuchtriegel explains, 'rather like when we find a copy of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam on the wall of an Italian restaurant in New York to create a little bit of atmosphere.' Women unchained 'What we see is actually a scene of initiation into the mysteries of Dionysus (the Greek name of Bacchus). In antiquity, various mystery cults existed, not only with regard to Dionysus, but also of Demeter and Isis,' says Zuchtriegel. All involved secret initiation rites, closely guarded beliefs, and intense ceremonies designed to create a spiritual experience for participants. While not official pantheon religions sponsored by the Roman state, they were widely tolerated as somewhat scandalous pursuits. The symbology of the newly uncovered banquet hall frieze appears simple. It's colourful. It's energetic. It's filled with an abundance of food and wine. 'The hunt of the Dionysiac bacchantes was 'a metaphor for an unrestrained, ecstatic life that aims to achieve' great, wondrous things',' Zuchtriegel explains. But the cult was built around the myth that Bacchus had been 'born again'. Some accounts say the son of Persephone had been torn apart by the Titans, the predecessors to the gods. But the king of the gods and his father, Zeus, had his heart recovered and used to bring him back to life through a second mother, Semele. Another says he was born twice. The unborn godchild survived the killing of his mother, Semele. Zeus then carried him to full term by sewing him into his thigh. Most of his myths tell of the boy-god growing up, discovering wine, and rejecting the strictures of civilisation for the pursuit of pleasure and a simple life. The newly discovered fresco shows his tutor and mentor – the old man Silenus – introducing a woman to the cult, promising 'rebirth' into a new life of bliss and plenty. But while Bacchus was worshipped for bringing joy wherever he went, he could drive wayward followers into madness. Archaeologists say the freshly excavated house, dubbed Thiasus after the Bacchanalian procession, had been painted some 40 years before the eruption. It's not the only Pompeii mansion to celebrate the god of excess. The 'House of Bacchus' was excavated in 1879. One of its frescoes shows the god standing beside Mount Vesuvius, wrapped in a gown of giant wine grapes. Beneath writhes another sinister snake. Ancient interior design Roman builders had a clear philosophy: axiality – the Durchblick or 'view through'. Researchers say this wasn't just an architectural idea. The 'right to a clear view' was also a part of Roman law. A virtual reality reconstruction of a Pompeian villa demonstrates how this played out in its occupant's daily lives. The study in the American Journal of Archaeology tracks the sight lines of visitors as they enter and move through one excavated villa, the House of the Greek Epigrams. It shows Roman builders and interior decorators used layouts of long, straight, clear lines to allow people to see through most of the house. But what they saw, and when, was tightly scripted. 'Archaeological investigations conducted on the physical remains of Roman houses and their decor have emphasised the highly ritualistic character of the domestic space, in that it encompassed activities (both religious and habitual …) that were formalised and meaningful,' the study reads. In the case of the House of the Greek Epigrams, those on the street passing by see 'suitably modest motifs, deliberately concealing more luxurious decorative elements'. But guests were given the full sensory-manipulation experience. The artworks exploit the shifting focus of the eye to bring frescoes to life. And different scenes move in and out of the shadows at different times of the day to evoke tailored moods. As with modern interior design, it was as much about the 'construction of the identity of the owner of the house' as it was decorative. 'Rather than rooms with a single view or multiple views, the Roman house would have offered a complex visual palimpsest made up of moving views, interconnected journeys, and comings and goings, of successive investigations in search of the unexpected new detail and mnemonic connections, through the skilful visual play of paintings under the light and in the shadows,' it concludes.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- BBC News
How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire
The chestnut trees of Europe tell a hidden story charting the fortunes of ancient Rome and the legacy it left in the continent's forests. The ancient Romans left an indelible imprint on the world they enveloped into their empire. The straight, long-distance roads they built can still be followed beneath the asphalt of some modern highways. They spread aqueducts, sewers, public baths and the Latin language across much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. But what's perhaps less well known is the surprising way they transformed Europe's forests. According to researchers in Switzerland, the Romans had something of a penchant for sweet chestnut trees, spreading them across Europe. But it wasn't so much the delicate, earthy chestnuts they craved – instead, it was the fast-regrowing timber they prized most, as raw material for their empire's expansion. And this led to them exporting tree cultivation techniques such as coppicing too, which have helped the chestnut flourish across the continent. "The Romans' imprint on Europe was making it into a connected, economical space," says Patrik Krebs, a geographer at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). "They built a single system of governance all over Europe, they improved the road system, the trade system, the military system, the connection between all the different people all over Europe." As a result of that connection, "specific skills in arboriculture [the cultivation of trees] were shared by all the different civilisations", he says. The arboreal legacy of the Romans can still be found today in many parts of Europe – more than 2.5 million hectares (6 million acres) of land are covered by sweet chestnut trees, an area equivalent in size to the island of Sardinia. The trees have become an important part of the landscape in many parts of the continent and remain part of the traditional cuisine of many countries including France and Portugal. Krebs works at a branch of the WSL in Switzerland's Ticino canton on the southern slope of the Alps, an area that is home to giant chestnut trees, where many specimens have girths greater than seven metres (23ft). By the time of the Middle Ages, sweet chestnuts were a staple food in the area. But it was the Romans who brought the trees there – before their arrival in Ticino, sweet chestnuts did not exist there, having been locally wiped out in the last ice age, which ended more than 10,000 years ago. Using a wide range of evidence, including paleoecological pollen records and ancient Roman texts, Krebs' research team analysed the distribution of both sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and walnut (Juglans regia) trees in Europe before, during and after the Roman empire. Sweet chestnut and walnut trees are considered useful indicators of the human impact on a landscape, as they generally benefit from human management – such as pruning and supressing competing trees. Their fruits and timber are also highly desirable. In countries such as Switzerland, France and parts of Germany, sweet chestnut pollen was near-absent from the wider pollen record – such as, for example, fossil pollen found in sediment and soil samples – before the Romans arrived, according to the study and previous research. But as the Roman Empire expanded, the presence of sweet chestnut pollen grew. Specifically, the percentage of sweet chestnut pollen relative to other pollen across Europe "shows a pattern of a sudden increase around year zero [0AD], when the power of the Roman empire was at its maximum" in Europe, Krebs says. After the Barbarian sacks of Rome around 400-500 AD, which signalled the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire amid widespread upheaval, the chestnut pollen percentage then drops temporarily. This decrease suggests that many of the Roman-era orchards were abandoned, Krebs says, probably not only due to the fall of the Roman Empire, but also, because a wider population decline in many areas at the time. "Juglans [walnut] has a different pattern," says Krebs. The spread of pollen from these trees is less clearly associated with the rise and fall of the Roman empire, he and his colleagues found. Its distribution around Europe had already increased before the arrival of the Romans, perhaps pointing to the ancient Greeks and other pre-Roman communities as playing a role. But while the Romans can perhaps take credit for spreading the sweet chestnut around mainland Europe, some separate research suggests they were not behind the arrival of these trees in Britain. Although the Romans have previously been credited with bringing sweet chestnuts to the British isles – where they are still a key part of modern woodlands – research by scientists at the University of Gloucestershire in the UK found the trees were probably introduced to the island later. Sweet chestnut trees can be striking features of the landscape. They can grow up to 35m (115ft) tall and can live for up to 1,000 years in some locations. Most of those alive today will not have been planted by the Romans, but many will be descendants or even cuttings taken from those that ancient Roman legionnaires and foresters brought with them to the far-flung corners of the empire. The oldest known sweet chestnut tree in the world is found in Sicily, Italy, and is thought to be up to 4,000 years old. Wood for fortresses Why did the Romans so favour the sweet chestnut tree? According to Krebs, they did not tend to value the fruit much – in Roman culture, it was portrayed as a rustic food of poor, rural people in Roman society, such as shepherds. But the Roman elites did appreciate sweet chestnut's ability to quickly sprout new poles when cut back, a practice known as coppicing. This speedy regrowth came in handy given the Romans' constant need for raw materials for their military expansion. "Ancient texts show that the Romans were very interested in Castanea, especially for its resprouting capacity," he says. "When you cut it, it resprouts very fast and produces a lot of poles that are naturally very high in tannins, which makes the wood resistant and long-lasting. You can cut this wood and use it for building fortresses, for any kind of construction, and it quickly sprouts again." Coppicing can also have a rejuvenating effect on the chestnut tree, even after decades of neglect. In Ticino, chestnut trees became more and more dominant under the Romans, according to the pollen record. They remained popular even after the Roman Empire fell, Krebs says. One explanation for this is that locals had learned to plant and care for the tree from the Romans, and then came to appreciate chestnuts as a nourishing, easy-to-grow food – by the Middle Ages, they had become a staple food in many parts of Europe. The chestnuts, for example, could be dried and ground into flour. Mountain communities would also have welcomed the fact that the trees thrived even on rocky slopes, where many other fruit trees and crops struggled, Krebs adds. "The Romans' achievement was to bring these skills from far away, to enable communication between people and spread knowledge," he says. "But the real work of planting the chestnut tree orchards was probably done by local populations." When they are cultivated in an orchard for their fruit, sweet chestnut trees benefits from management such as pruning dead or diseased wood, as well as the lack of competition, all of which prolong their life, Krebs says: "In an orchard, there's just the chestnut tree and the meadow below, it's like a luxury residence for the tree. Whereas when the orchard is abandoned, competitor trees arrive and take over." More like this:• How donkeys changed the course of human history• The ancient Roman alternative to daylight saving time• Searching for the Old Ones: Where to find the world's oldest trees Research on abandoned chestnut orchards has shown that when left alone, chestnut trees are crowded out by other species. In wild forests, "Castanea reaches a maximum age of about 200 years, then it dies," Krebs says. "But here in Ticino, where chestnuts have been cultivated, they can reach up to almost 1,000 years, because of their symbiosis with humans." By the end of the Roman era, the sweet chestnut had become the dominant tree species in Ticino, displacing a previous forest-scape of alders and other trees, the pollen record shows: "This was done by humans. It was a complete reorganisation of the vegetal landscape," Krebs explains. In fact, pollen evidence from a site in Ticino at some 800m (2,625ft) above sea level shows that during the Roman period there was a huge increase in Castanea pollen, as well as cereal and walnut-tree pollen, suggesting an orchard was kept there, Krebs says. (Read more about the traces left by passing Romans and other ancient civilisations in the Alps.) By the Middle Ages, long after the Romans were gone, many historical texts document the dominance of sweet chestnut production and the importance of foods such as chestnut flour in Ticino, says Krebs. "In our valleys, chestnuts were the most important pillar of subsistence during the Middle Ages." People in Ticino continued to look after the trees, planting them, coppicing them, pruning them and keeping out the competition, over centuries, Krebs says: "That's the nature of this symbiosis: humans get the fruit [and wood] of the chestnut tree – and the chestnut gets longevity", as well as the opportunity to hugely extend its natural area of distribution, he explains. A similar transfer of chestnut-related knowledge to locals may have happened elsewhere in the Roman Empire, he suggests – and possibly left linguistic traces. As a separate study shows, across Europe, the word for "chestnut" is similar to the Latin "castanea" in many languages. Today, Europe's sweet chestnut trees are facing threats including disease, climate change and the abandonment of traditional orchards as part of the decline in rural life. But chestnut trails and chestnut festivals in Ticino and other parts of the southern Alps still celebrate the history of sweet chestnuts as a past staple food – reminding us of the long legacy of both Roman and local ideas and skills in tree-care. -- For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
