Roman Empire

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Rome Unveils &#39;Biggest Find Since the Forum&#39;

 Rome Unveils 
 'Biggest Find 
 Since the Forum' 
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Dec 29, 2012 1:00 PM CST

Rome Unveils 'Biggest Find Since the Forum'

Hadrian's auditorium once hosted poetry readings and speeches

(Newser) - Archaeologists have finished excavating a once-glorious arts center in the heart of Rome that was only discovered because of an underground railway line, the Guardian reports. "Hadrian's auditorium is the biggest find in Rome since the Forum was uncovered in the 1920s," said Rossella Rea, the project'...

French Parking Lot Yields Roman Shipwreck

Ship sank in shallow water at ancient port

(Newser) - Archaeologists investigating the site of a proposed parking lot in the French Riviera have found a vessel that has been parked there for nearly 2,000 years. The Roman shipwreck is believed to have sunk just off the ancient port of Antipolis, in an area that gradually filled with sand....

Ailing Colosseum Getting $30M Overhaul

Tod's founder bankrolling much-needed facelift, to begin in December

(Newser) - Italian cultural officials have announced that the $30 million restoration of the Colosseum financed by the founder of luxury leather good maker Tod's will begin in December. Officials said the work is expected to take two and a half years, during which time the monument will remain open to...

Romans' Beasts of Burden: Camels?

Archaeologists find animals' bones across northern Europe

(Newser) - The Roman Empire may have brought camels a long way from home to serve as its beasts of burden, archaeologists say. Researchers have found Roman-age camel bones at 22 sites across northern Europe, USA Today reports. What's more, "antique literature and iconographical sources inform us about the uses...

Gadhafi May Be Hiding Weapons at Historic Site

Development could endanger Roman ruins at Leptis Magna

(Newser) - Libyan rebels say Moammar Gadhafi is hiding weapons at a UNESCO World Heritage site—and if arms are there, NATO won’t "rule out" bombing it, CNN reports. "We will strike military vehicles, military forces, military equipment or military infrastructure that threaten Libyan civilians as necessary,” said...

The Dark Past of Valentine's Day

Roman festival involved voluntary beatings for fertility

(Newser) - Valentine's Day may seem awash in saccharine, wine, and roses, but its origins are darker than its modern-day Hallmark reality—they lie partially in the pagan Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival wherein bachelors sacrificed a goat and dog, ripped the skin off, and whipped women with them. Women...

Climate Change Linked to Fall of Rome

Climate shifts coincided with turmoil, say researchers

(Newser) - Changes in climate have played a huge role in European history, influencing or even causing events like the decline of Rome and the Black Death, according to researchers studying ancient tree growth. Tree-ring samples from nearly 9,000 of pieces of wood collected over 30 years reveal that a stable...

Get Ready for the New Middle Ages
Get Ready for the
New Middle Ages
OPINION
Dec 29, 2010 12:53 PM CST

Get Ready for the New Middle Ages

Essay: The world's power structure will look much like the 12th century's

(Newser) - To get an idea of how the 21st century will play out, it might help to look back 1,000 years or so, writes Parag Khanna in the Financial Times . "The world we are moving into in 2011 is one not just with many more prominent nations, but one...

Treasure Hunter Unearths $460K Roman Helmet

Rare British find expected to fetch a fortune at auction

(Newser) - An amateur treasure hunter in Britain has unearthed a Roman helmet expected to fetch at least $460,000 at auction. The bronze helmet—only the third of its kind ever found in Britain—has a face mask and is topped with a griffin. Experts say the helmet, found in a...

Egyptian Oasis Yields Roman-Era Mummy

'Unique find' appears to be 3-foot-tall adult: archaeologists

(Newser) - Egyptian archaeologists have discovered an intricately carved plaster sarcophagus portraying a wide-eyed woman dressed in a tunic in a newly uncovered complex of tombs at a remote desert oasis, Egypt's antiquities department says. It is the first Roman-style mummy found in Bahariya Oasis some 186 miles southwest of Cairo, said...

'Mini Coliseum' Unearthed Near Rome

Find at Roman Empire port hailed as world wonder

(Newser) - Archaelogists excavating the ancient port that served Rome in the days of the Roman Empire have found the remains of a smaller-scale version of the Coliseum next to an imperial palace. Statues and many other archeological treasures have been found at Portus, which lies a mile from Rome's airport. The...

Roman Soccer Fans Will Kick, Er, Stab Your Butt

Anyway you slice it, extreme fans like to attack from behind

(Newser) - People who attend soccer games in Rome have to watch their backsides, warns the BBC. That's because Romans are particularly fond of stabbing rival fans in the butt. Stabbings are "now so frequent they're hardly reported in the press," said a professor who has studied the attacks. "...

Romans Left Conquered Peoples More Prone to HIV

Those in areas ruled by empire less likely to have key gene, scientists find

(Newser) - The Roman conquest of Europe may explain why populations living in the former empire are more vulnerable to HIV, French researchers say. A genetic variant that protects against the AIDS-causing virus is less prevalent in former Roman colonies such as England, France, Greece, and Spain, though some argue that a...

Jordan Cave May Be World's First Church

Unearthed cavern could be oldest place of Christian worship

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found what might be the world’s oldest Christian church in Rihab, Jordan, the BBC reports. The cavern, located under the also-ancient church of St. Georgeous, dates to between 33 and 70 AD, and doubled as a home.

Oldest Caesar Bust Found in France

Treasure at bottom of river in Arles

(Newser) - The oldest bust of Julius Caesar ever found is among an ancient treasure trove discovered at the bottom of the Rhone river near the southern French town of Arles, which was founded by Caesar in 46 BC. The life-size marble bust depicts Caesar as a balding man with wrinkles, reports...

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