![]() | The handshake goes back to the dawning of ancient history but the reason and origin of it are not known. One of the oldest depictions of the handshake is from a ninth-century B.C. relief. A handshake was a symbol of loyalty and friendship in ancient Rome and clasped hands are often found on coins. ![]() |
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
Ancient handshake about to go extinct
Thursday, 23 April 2020
The Battle of Marathon
![]() | Corinthian Helmet and Skull from the Battle of Marathon 490 BCE – Royal Ontario Museum, Canada. A pivotal moment in Ancient Greek history, the battle of Marathon saw a smaller Greek force, mainly made up of Athenian troops, defeat an invading Persian army. A fierce and bloody battle, with numerous casualties, it appears that this helmet (with skull inside) belonged to a Greek hoplite (soldier) who died during the fighting. The story of the man who ran back to Athens with the news of the victory became synonymous with the long distance running event in the Olympics. ![]() | ![]() |
Tuesday, 21 April 2020
Gold Treasure of Nagyszentmiklos
Monday, 20 April 2020
The Hoxne Hoard
![]() | When Peter Whatling lost his hammer near Hoxne, Suffolk, he asked a friend with a metal detector to help out. They found something. The Hoxne Hoard is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold discovered in Britain, and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the fourth and fifth centuries found anywhere within the Roman Empire. 14,780 gold and silver coins, along with 200 jewellery items,ornaments and tableware were found. ![]() | ![]() |
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The Hoxne Hoard
Saturday, 18 April 2020
The Staffordshire Hoard
![]() | With more than 3,500 items, amounting to some 5kg of gold and 1.4kg of silver – plus thousands of garnets – the Staffordshire hoard is the largest cache of Anglo-Saxon metalwork ever found. |
Thursday, 16 April 2020
Golden Kingdoms: the Ancient Americas
![]() Octopus Frontlet, 300–600, Moche culture | Golden Kingdoms: Luxury and Legacy in the Ancient Americas, was on view at the Getty Center in 2018. It traced the development of gold working and other luxury arts in the ancient Americas from about 1000 BC to the arrival of Europeans in the early 16th century. The exhibit reveals the ways ancient Americans used not only metals, but also jade, shell, and feathers. | ![]() Ear Ornament Depicting a Warrior, 640–680, Moche. |
![]() | It was a world where feathers were more valuable than gold. The rarest feathers, including the iridescent green feathers of the quetzal, were reserved for the Aztec emperor himself.![]() |
![]() The unprecedented exhibition featured 300 works from 53 lenders in 12 countries. | The MET exhibition traced the development of gold-working in the Americas from its origins in the Andes, to its expansion northward into Central America, and finally to Mexico, where gold-working comes into its own only after 1000 AD. | ![]() Jade plaque showing a seated king and palace attendant, 600–800 AD |
Wednesday, 15 April 2020
Sword of Damocles
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Sword of Damocles
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Hawaiian Kona-style statue of the god of war Ku-ka’ili-moku - $7.5m
![]() | Offered in the 'Collection Vérité' on 21 November 2017 at Christie’s in Paris. Hawaiian figurative sculptures are incredibly rare. Kamehameha I associated himself with the war god Ku-ka’ili-moku — the ‘land snatcher’ or ‘island eater’. This example was made circa 1780-1820 from the Metrosideros, a tree found in the high mountains of Hawaii. The figures that are known are all in museums. The statue made a whooping $7.5m blowing well past it's $3.5m estimate.
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Monday, 13 April 2020
Tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great
![]() | A study claims to identify King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, and determines he was buried in Tomb I, not Tomb II, as previously thought. The tombs were discovered in 1977 in the village of Vergina in northern Greece. Gold caskets were found housing the remains of several people. | ![]() |
![]() | Philip II was the 18th king of Macedonia (359–336 BC). He gained domination over all Greece, laying the foundation for its expansion under Alexander. Philip II is described as a powerful king with a complicated love life. He married between five and seven women, causing confusion over the line of succession. In 336 BC, Philip II was assassinated at a celebration of his daughter's wedding, perhaps at the behest of his former wife, Olympias. Olympias was the fourth wife of Philip II, and mother of Alexander the Great. ![]() | ![]() |
![]() The golden larnax and the golden grave crown of Philip | An investigation was launched to analyze more than 350 bones and fragments found in the two golden caskets. The research team utilized X-ray computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence. The skull showed signs of sinusitis, which may have been caused by an old facial trauma, such as the arrow that is known to have hit and blinded Philip II at the siege of Methone in 354 BC. There are signs of chronic pathology on the surface of several ribs, which are believed to be linked to Philip’s trauma when he was struck with a lance around 345 BC.![]() | ![]() |
Sunday, 12 April 2020
Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire
![]() | In 2017 the de Young Museum hosted the exhibit “Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire.” More than 200 artifacts were featured, some never displayed before. Teotihuacan was established in the first century BC. By the fifth century it had evolved into an important urban center and multicultural metropolis, becoming the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. The so-called “City of the Gods” is estimated to contain 100,000 people at it's peak. Around 550 CE, the city was destroyed by fire.
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![]() | 900 years after its destruction, the Aztecs made their way into a ghost city in the northeastern part of the Valley of Mexico. There, the Aztecs considered Teotihuacan to be the city where the gods brought the world into existence. Teotihuacan means the place where men become gods. | ![]() |
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