Ancient Salamis

Salamis is an ancient Greek city-state on the east coast of Cyprus, 6 km north of modern Famagusta. According to tradition, the founder of Salamis was Teucer, son of Telamon, who could not return home after the Trojan war because he had failed to avenge his brother Ajax.

The earliest finds date to the eleventh century BC. The copper ore on Cyprus made the island an essential ancient trade port. In 450 BC, Salamis was the site of a land and sea battle between Athens and the Persians. (not the earlier Battle of Salamis in 480 BC in Attica.) After Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, Ptolemy I of Egypt ruled the island of Cyprus. In 306 BC, Salamis was the site of a naval battle between the fleets of Demetrius I of Macedon and Ptolemy I. Demetrius won the battle and captured the island. In Roman times, Salamis was part of the Roman province of Cilicia.

An eBay auction of a looted marble tile from Salamis was stopped by a well-known activist on antiquities.

Ancient kauri tree maps geomagnetic flip

The Earth’s magnetic field is fundamental to the existence of life. It deflects harmful solar winds and keeps our protective atmosphere in place. Every few hundred thousand years on average it completely flips, with magnetic north switching places with magnetic south. The last major geomagnetic reversal occurred 780k years ago. Geomagnetic excursions are short-lived, and involve temporary changes to the Earth’s magnetic field. The most recent recorded geomagnetic excursion is known as the Laschamps excursion and it took place around 42,000 years ago. The Laschamps Excursion was the last time the magnetic poles flipped. They swapped places for about 800 years before swapping back again. A kauri tree trunk was found perfectly preserved for 42,000 years, with its rings offering a 1,700-year record of the Laschamps Excursion.

Researchers compared the newly-created timescale with records from sites across the Pacific and used it in global climate modeling, finding that the growth of ice sheets and glaciers over North America and large shifts in major wind belts and tropical storm systems could be traced back to the Laschamps Excursion.

The study showed a depleted ozone layer, higher levels of ultraviolet radiation and increased atmospheric ionization that all coalesced about 42,000 years ago.

The Corinthian helmet

Corinthian helmet, fifth century B.C.

The Corinthian helmet originated in ancient Greece and took its name from the city-state of Corinth. It was a helmet made of bronze. The Ancient Greek helmet evolved over time to meet the needs of the battlefield. Corinthian helmets were perfectly suited for hoplites fighting in the phalanx formations that characterized warfare in Greece.

Corinthian helmets were very popular and became closely associated with Greece, Greek culture, and hoplites. Corinthian helmets remained in use for nearly three hundred years, falling out of fashion by the end of the Fifth Century.

Marmara Island

The largest island in the Sea of Marmara takes its name from its marble quarries. In antiquity it was called Prokonnesos, and Proconnesian marble was highly desired for sculptures, an example being the 3rd-century AD Great Ludovisi sarcophagus. The marble from Marmara is so specific one cannot find any other marble like it in the world. The marble was used for palaces, churches, mosques and statues.

For 2,000 years, the island of Marmara has played an important role in the history of marble. The Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottomans; all valued the quality and beauty of the marble that was quarried from the island.

Seqenenre Tao

Seqenenre Tao was a pharaoh who ruled southern Egypt in the mid-16th century BC. He met his end in an execution after he was captured in a battle with the Hyksos dynasty. The pharaoh’s mummified remains were discovered in 1881 in the necropolis in Thebes. While his head bore severe injuries, the exact manner of his death was a mystery.

Reasearchers believe he was ritually executed by multiple attackers, with his hands tied behind his back.

A CT scan revealed previously undetected lesions that were expertly concealed by embalmers.

95.6% copper a covid killer

The knowledge of working with copper and its alloys goes back at least 7,000 years. Ancients knew that copper healed infections, but they didn’t know why. Copper kills germs because it has an extra electron it its atomic makeup. The outermost orbit electron reacts with things that land on it, killing the germs quickly. Ions blast apart bacterial cell membranes and the coatings that protect viruses, rendering them inert. Most viruses and bacteria succumb within minutes. COVID’s stubbornness only buys it extra time. Within a few hours it too is rendered harmless. The antiviral properties of copper surfaces never wear off.

The only reason copper alloys fell to iron and steel was hardness and durability. Today ancient copper may provide another line of defense against a modern illness.

Baccus collection of Roman Denarii at Heritage

Q. Pompeius Rufus (ca. 54 BC). AR denarius (18mm, 3.86 gm, 5h). NGC VF 4/5 - 4/5 Julius Caesar, as Dictator (49-44 BC). AR denarius (19mm, 3.58 gm, 9h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 5/5 Julius Caesar, as Dictator (49-44 BC). AR denarius (19mm, 3.95 gm, 3h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 4/5 C. Cassius Longinus, Imperator and Assassin of Caesar (44-42 BC). AR denarius (18mm, 3.98 gm, 6h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 4/5 Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus, as Imperator, assassin of Caesar (44-42 BC). AR denarius (19mm, 3.78 gm, 12h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 4/5 L. Servius Rufus (ca. 43 BC). AR denarius (19mm, 3.85 gm, 7h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 4/5, bankers mark Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt, rulers of the East (37-30 BC). AR denarius (18mm, 3.74 gm, 12h). NGC XF 3/5 - 4/5 L. Pinarius Scarpus, as Imperator (ca. 31 BC), with Octavian, as Imperator. AR denarius (20mm, 3.59 gm, 11h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5 Octavian, as Sole Imperator (30-27 BC). AR denarius (19mm, 3.88 gm, 12h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style

Antonine Plague

The Antonine Plague occured from of 165 to 180 AD. It erupted during the reign of the last of the Five Good Emperors, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (161-180 CE). Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, died from the illness in 169 CE; Marcus Aurelius died 11 years later from the same illness. The ancient pandemic was thought to have been brought to the Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns, but it also likely travelled along trade routes. The culprit is thought to be an ancestor of the smallpox virus.

At the outbreak of the plague, Rome's military consisted of 28 legions totaling 150,000 men. The rapid decline of the Roman military, along with a severe economic contraction, contributed to the decline and fall of the Empire. The Roman historian Dio Cassius (155-235 CE) estimated 2,000 deaths per day in Rome at the height of the outbreak. In the second outbreak, in 251-266 CE, the estimate was much higher, upwards of 5,000 per day. The death toll of the Antonine Plague is unknowable. Guesses have ranged from 2 percent to 25 percent of the population.

Historians point to the bizzare Roman emperor Commodus as a turning point for the empire's greatness. Commodus was emperor jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until his father's death in 180, and solely until 192. In the words of a senator, Commodus himself was a curse worse than any plague.

Waun Mawn

Waun Mawn (Welsh for "peat moor") is the site of a dismantled Neolithic stone circle in west Wales. The doleritic bluestones that made up the circle were likely mined at the nearby Carn Menyn.

A new study suggests the stones used to create Stonehenge in 3000 BC may have belonged to Waun Mawn.

2,600-year-old perfume bottles go on display

The Izmir Archaeological Museum is showcasing the containers. Lekythoi are ancient Greek vessels made by a method known as “red-figure pottery.” These were used to store extremely valuable oil and perfume. They were used by women of the upper social strata and were buried with them. Very few red-figure lekythoi survive. “Precious scents are very rare, and the work of an artist who lived in ancient times is priceless."

5,000 yo rock crystal dagger unearthed in Spain

A 5,000 year old rock crystal dagger has been found in Spain. The eight-and-a-half-inch dagger was found in a tomb at the Tholos de Montelirio site. Stone and flint typically comprise daggers, a rock crystal one is unusual. It's thought to have belonged to a high status individual due to the time and expertise required to make it.

Roman silver coin hoard found in Turkey

Most coins were minted in Southern Italy.

The jug of 651 silver coins date to the reign of Augustus who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD. They were found at the ancient Greek city of Aizanoi, Turkey. The hoard includes coins of Julius Caesar, his assassin Brutus, and Mark Antony. Researchers quess the coins were likely brought to Aizanoi by a high-ranking Roman army officer.

Amanishakheto

The Candaces of Meroe were the queens of the Kingdom of Kush. They ruled from the city of Meroe in what is now Sudan. The title Candace means “Queen Mother” or “Queen Regent”. Amanishakheto reigned from 10 BC to 1 AD. Amanishaketo and her kingdom was extremely wealthy. Kush produced most of the gold in ancient Egypt. Rich grave goods found in her tomb are testaments to her great wealth.

Spectacular Calabria Stater makes $66k

ITALY. Calabria. Tarentum. AV Stater (8.56 gms), ca. 276-272 B.C. NGC MS, Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5. Fine Style. $66k.