It’s been a molasses-slow weekend as far as bloggable news goes, so a video from the Getty it is. The video is less than 10 minutes long, but it manages to cover the interesting subject of how the beautifully painted cartonnage mummy of one Herakleides exemplifies the melding of Greek, ancient Egyptian and Roman cultures …
Read the full post →“Greco-Roman-Egyptian culture and the mummy of Herakleides”
The Museum of the Ships of Fiumicino is home to the remains of five Roman ships from the imperial era that were discovered during construction of the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. It is one of the most important discoveries ever made as regards Roman civilian naval technology, and an invaluable source of information on …
The ancient carved gemstone collection of Roman art dealer Giorgio Sangiorgi had so deep a bench that Christie’s is now on the third auction dedicated to his impeccably curated miniature masterpieces. There are 48 Greek, Roman and Etruscan intaglio gems crafted between 1700 B.C. and the 3rd century A.D. on offer in this third and …
Read the full post →“Intaglio gem sale part III: even tinier”
Renovations at the Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka, southern Poland, have revealed surviving sections of the original 17th century polychrome decorative painting on the walls of five rooms. The headquarters of the UNESCO World Heritage Wieliczka Salt Mine for 700 years, the Castle is now home to the Krakow Saltworks Museum dedicated to the history of …
Read the full post →“17th c. polychrome wall paintings found in salt castle”
Two of Charles Darwin’s notebooks stolen decades ago from the Cambridge University Library, have been returned anonymously, left on the floor outside the Librarian’s office in a hot pink gift bag. Inside the gift bag was the blue archive box custom-made to contain the notebooks. Both notebooks were inside the box, snugly wrapped together in …
Read the full post →“Update: stolen Darwin notebooks returned in hot pink gift bag”
A Bronze Age female figurine discovered in the Tollense River in northern Germany may have been a balance weight, a goddess or both. The figurine was found by Ronald Borgwardt, a truck driver who has been scouting the archaeological and watery depths of the Tollense since the 1990s, on July 20th, 2020. He was snorkeling in …
Read the full post →“Bronze Age figurine: goddess or weight?”
Archaeologists have found seven pairs of Anglo-Saxon saucer brooches, one pair in each of seven burials unearthed in an excavation in Gloucestershire. The Cotswolds Archaeology team discovered more than 70 Anglo-Saxon burials at the site, some of them containing luxury grave goods. They date to the 5th or 6th century. They’re known as saucer brooches …
Archaeologists have recovered a 4,000-year-old bitumen boat outside the ancient city of Uruk in southern Iraq. An international team of archaeologists from the Iraqi Ministry of Antiquities and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) salvaged the boat which was under threat from erosion and traffic running nearby. The boat was first discovered in 2018 in the …
Read the full post →“4,000-year-old boat recovered near Uruk”
A rare silver denarius bearing the only known contemporary portrait of Charlemagne that was bought on eBay for a song is now on display in the Centre Charlemagne museum in Aachen. Less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter and weighing 1.51 grams, the little penny is exhibited under a magnifying glass so visitors can …
Read the full post →“Aachen museum buys Charlemagne denarius on eBay for a steal”
Four Iron Age busts and a beautifully preserved wooden banquet bucket have been presented to the public for the first time in an exhibition at the Musée de Bretagne – Les Champs Libre in Rennes, Brittany. The bucket is unique in Brittany, and unique for having been found in a well instead of a tomb. …
Read the full post →“Unique Gallic tripod banquet bucket revealed”
