Cosmic Glue

  Spartacus’ army apparently fought to break out of the trap Crassus had set, meeting their rivals at the wall and ultimately overcoming the legions and living to fight another day. Detail of mosaic depicting gladiators, Villa Borghese. Spartacus is said to have attended gladiatorial training school. ( Public Domain )   In a discovery sure to capture a good deal of public attention, a team of archaeologists have found the remains of a Roman wall built to trap the forces of Spartacus , the escaped former Roman gladiator who led the most celebrated and famous slave revolt in world history. The discoverers of this fascinating and historically significant find were led by Dr. Paolo Visona, a classical archaeologist from the University of Kentucky in the United States. The Roman wall was found in a mountainous area in south-central Calabria in southern Italy, where Spartacus and his rebellious forces fled in 71 BC in their efforts to escape to Sicily . Walls like this on...

Second Ship Found At the Antikythera Shipwreck! Breakthroughs in 2024 The 2024 expedition to the Antikythera shipwreck marked a significant milestone in underwater archaeology.  Between May 17 and June 20, under the framework of the 2021-2025 research program led by the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece and supervised by the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities.  Ideal weather conditions allowed for extensive excavation, yielding numerous artifacts, with the most notable being a substantial part of the ship's hull. What’s more, a second area of interest has offered up evidence that the site is one of multiple wrecks. The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport reports, how the team have made remarkable progress, with a systematic scientific approach, the first since the wreck's discovery by Simian spongers in 1900, aimed to enhance understanding of the site and the ancient ship's rich cargo . Led by Dr. Angeliki G. Simosi and Professor Lorenz Baumer, the intern...

  French ‘Excalibur’ sword vanishes after 1,300 years as the sword in the stone — literally An ancient sword known as the French version of King Arthur’s legendary “Excalibur” has mysteriously vanished from the town where, according to local lore, it had remained lodged in a rock for 1,300 years. The Durandal sword appears to have been taken by a thief from its stone in the tiny medieval town of Rocamadour, where it was one of the town’s main attractions, The Telegraph reported . For centuries it’s been believed the sword once belonged to Roland, a semi-legendary knight who bravely fought for Charlemagne in the eighth century. The French version of King Arthur’s legendary “Excalibur” has mysteriously vanished from the town where it allegedly had remained lodged in a rock for 1,300 years.Traumrune / Wikimedia Commons Officials in Rocamadour have launched an investigation into the disappearance of the sword, which was yanked from its spot in a cliff wall some 100 feet...

By Tasos Kokkinidis |  July 2, 2024 GREEK REPORTER The archaeological site of Ancient Eleutherna on Crete. Credit: Ministry of Culture Ancient Eleutherna, located on the northwest foot of Mount Ida on Crete, has been revealing archaeological treasures from the dawn of Greek civilization. At 380 meters above sea level, south of the city of Rethymnon , Eleutherna, also called “Apollonia” at one time, is the birthplace of the poet Linos, the philosopher Diogenes , the tragic poet Ametor, and the sculptor Timochares. The ancient Greek city-state is being viewed the “heart” of Crete” not least by archaeologist Nikos Stampolidis who remarked recently that it now stands as the second major pillar of ancient Cretan civilization, after Knossos and Phaistos . He stressed that it tells the story of the dawn of Greek civilization, of the post-Minoan era against the counterweight of Knossos and the one-sidedness of Crete’s Minoan past. The “Acropolis Tower” and quarrying i...