Blueiskewl

The Dog Rock

The dog rock in Walpole, Massachusetts.

📸 flickr

Serge Poliakoff Composition abstraite

Signed Oil on canvas. Executed in 1957.

Tiffany Studios "Apple Blossom" Table Lamp

With a jeweled “Candlestick” base. Leaded glass, favrile glass, patinated bronze. Base impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS/NEW YORK/436A. Circa 1905-1910.

Tiffany Studios 'Poppy' Paperweight Vase

Favrile glass. Engraved 1614 L. L.C. Tiffany-Favrile. Circa 1915.

Rare Mammoth Fossil Found by Coal Miners in North Dakota

Coal miners in North Dakota made an incredibly rare find earlier this year: a well-preserved, seven-foot-long tusk of an ancient mammoth.

The North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS) said in a press release on Monday that the miners discovered the fossil at the Freedom Mine near Beulah over the Memorial Day weekend.

A team led by paleontologists from the NDGS recovered more than twenty bones from the mammoth skeleton, including ribs, a shoulder blade, a tooth, and parts of the hips. The team spent 12 days excavating the old streambed where the skeleton was buried.

“Most of the mammoth fossils known from North Dakota are isolated bones and teeth,” said Clint Boyd, a senior paleontologist for the NDGS. “This specimen is one of the most complete mammoth skeletons discovered in North Dakota, making it an exciting and scientifically important discovery.”

After being stabilized in protective plaster jackets, the bones were transported to the Paleontology Lab at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. There, they will undergo the slow and meticulous process of cleaning the attached sediment and stabilizing the delicate bones.

While that work continues, staff from the NDGS and the Freedom Mine are working together to develop a plan to integrate these fossils into an educational outreach program.

The goal is to ensure as many people as possible can see this specimen and learn what it tells us about life in North Dakota during the Ice Age.

Mammoths lived in North Dakota during the Pleistocene Epoch, commonly called the Ice Age, and went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Several species of mammoth lived in North America, including the Woolly Mammoth and the Columbian Mammoth. They lived alongside other iconic animals like saber-toothed tigers and giant sloths.

Once the bones are fully cleaned, paleontologists will be able to identify which species was collected from the mine.

Medieval Curse Tablet Summoning Satan Discovered in Germany

In Germany, archaeologists have found a rolled-up piece of lead that they believe might be a medieval “curse tablet” calling upon “Beelzebub,” also known as Satan.

At first sight, the researchers believed the “unremarkable piece of metal” was just discarded material. This conclusion was drawn because the item was discovered at the base of a latrine at a construction site in Rostock, a city in northern Germany, as stated in a translated document.

Artifact containing a curse summoning Satan and evil spirits

Nevertheless, when they unfolded it, archaeologists discovered that the 15th-century artifact bore a mysterious message inscribed in Gothic minuscule, which was barely discernible without close inspection. The message read, “sathanas taleke belzebuk hinrik berith.”

The researchers interpreted the text as a curse aimed at a woman named Taleke and a man named Hinrik (Heinrich). The curse invoked Beelzebub (another name for Satan) and Berith (a demonic spirit). Without a close examination, the mysterious message would not have been identified.

Even though the researchers may never uncover the identities of Taleke and Heinrich, they have suggested possible reasons for the animosity.

In their statement, the researchers pondered whether someone wanted to disrupt Taleke and Heinrich’s connection or if this was driven by rejected love and jealousy, with someone trying to interfere.

Similar curse tablets discovered from Greek and Roman sites

The archaeologists emphasized the uniqueness of their discovery. Jörg Ansorge, an archaeologist from the University of Greifswald in Germany leading the excavation, highlighted this point.

He stated that this finding is exceptional, especially considering that similar ‘curse tablets‘ are well-documented from ancient times in the Greek and Roman regions spanning from 800 B.C. to A.D. 600.

Ansorge provided examples to illustrate the historical context. He mentioned a 1,500-year-old lead tablet discovered in what is now Israel, inscribed in Greek, invoking demons to harm a rival dancer.

Additionally, he referred to 2,400-year-old tablets found in Greece that sought the intervention of underworld gods to target several tavern keepers. Ansorge remarked, “Our discovery, on the other hand, can be dated to the 15th century.” “This is truly a very special find.”

The researchers weren’t taken aback to locate the artifact in a latrine. They explained that curse tablets were strategically placed in obscure locations, like the bottom of latrines, intentionally making them hard or even impossible to find. This ensured that those who were cursed couldn’t easily uncover the tablets.

Love Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome

The practice of magic with spells, charms, erotic dolls was widespread in ancient Greece and Rome. Although it was discouraged and sometimes even punished in antiquity, it thrived all the same. Authorities publicly condemned it but tended to ignore its powerful hold.

By Nisha Zahid.

Egret

A egret looking for dinner at The Florida Botanical Garden in Largo, Florida.

📸 flickr

Uranus

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently trained its sights on unusual and enigmatic Uranus, an ice giant that spins on its side. Webb captured this dynamic world with rings, moons, storms, and other atmospheric features – including a seasonal polar cap. The image expands upon a two-color version released earlier this year, adding additional wavelength coverage for a more detailed look.

With its exquisite sensitivity, Webb captured Uranus’ dim inner and outer rings, including the elusive Zeta ring – the extremely faint and diffuse ring closest to the planet. It also imaged many of the planet’s 27 known moons, even seeing some small moons within the rings.

Roman Marble Portrait Head of the Athenian Playwright Menander C. 1st century AD

Menander (c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the City Dionysia is unknown.

He was one of the most popular writers in antiquity, but his work was lost during the Middle Ages and is now known in highly fragmentary form, much of which was discovered in the 20th century. Only one play, Dyskolos, has survived almost complete.

Rome’s 'Lost' Imperial Palace 'Domus Tiberiana' Reopens

Until recently a crumbling and off-limits ruin near the famous Colosseum, the Domus Tiberiana palace — built in the first century AD and beloved by Nero — hopes to once again take its place as one of the city’s top tourist attractions.

The ancient palace sits on Palatine Hill — the city’s oldest hill, overhanging Rome —from where imperial dynasties ruled for centuries. But over the years, the site fell into disrepair and in the 1970s, the Domus Tiberiana site was shut due to the structural instability of some of the ruins. The closure left behind what many Romans described as a “black hole” in the capital’s archaeological heart.

Now, after a six-year makeover, the palace has reopened its doors as a “diffuse museum,” with findings and frescoes scattered across the site to provide visitors with an insight into the palace’s ancient grandeur.

And it was grand. The Domus Tiberiana was Rome’s first imperial palace, built by the emperor Tiberius who combined and incorporated the pre-existing noble mansions built on the hill. Occupying over four hectares, the palace featured residences alongside large gardens, places of worship and rooms for the emperor’s Praetorian guard.

As the seat of Rome’s power and politics, Domus Tiberiana held a prime location, high above the Palatine and Roman Forums, offering its occupants a “balcony view of the city.” Over time, the Domus was embellished and enlarged by other emperors including Nero, who was crowned on its steps aged just 16, in 54 AD.

Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum’s archaeological park (in which Domus Tiberiana falls) and lead archaeologist on the renovation, said that ancient antiquities, many exceptionally well-preserved, were unearthed during the project.

The artifacts — bright stuccos, frescoes, amphorae, potteries, looms, terracotta, and divinity statues related to the cults of Isis, Dionysius and Mithras — offer visitors a trip through time, said Russo.

“They make this place — formerly (inhabited) by aristocratic families, then Roman emperors — feel alive again,” she said. “There are seven exhibition rooms full of extraordinary finds, starting with those preceding the original construction of the palace when aristocrats lived in mansions before Tiberius subsumed them into the Domus.”

Among the newly-exposed and frescoes are some of the earliest paintings of lemons (considered an exotic fruit in Ancient Rome, as they hailed from the Far East) and a depiction of a gladiator, proving that the era’s gladiatoral games were appreciated by rich families, explained Russo.

The imperial palace remained in use until the 7th century, when it became the papal residence of John VII. In the mid-16th century, the aristocratic Farnese family — who were powerful local landowners — built the lavish Orti Farnesiani gardens on the site, adorning it with ornaments and sculptures of nymphs, satyrs and fauns.

“This monument speaks of history,” Russo added. “We have restored (Domus Tiberiana) to its past splendor, but more work lies ahead.”

Indeed, painstaking efforts have been made to blend old and new. A series of majestic, reddish-brown vaulted arches that greet visitors having been carefully reconstructed with the same materials as ancient Romans used in the past.

“What makes this revamped Domus unique is the architectural style,” said Russo. “We managed to use original materials to reinforce and strengthen the handmade 15-meter (50ft) tall front arches (which run alongside the palace’s) ancient paving.”

It has certainly caught the public’s attention. Since reopening at the end of September, Domus Tiberiana has attracted some 400,000 visitors, a “huge success,” said Russo, adding that she believes that this incarnation of the Domus Tiberiana offers visitors the most “evocative” visit in generations.

Archaeologist and scholar of ancient Rome Giorgio Franchetti saidN that, in the reopening of the Domus Tiberiana complex, Rome has “recovered a lost jewel.”

“The Palatine Hill has always been the stage of Rome’s power politics,” he said in an interview. “Tiberius likely chose this spot to build the palace as it was where his family residence stood. There aren’t many places like the Domus Tiberiana where you can really breathe the past.”

By Silvia Marchetti.

Archaeologists Uncover a Bronze Belt Fitting From an Unknown Pagan Cult

team of archaeologists from Masaryk University have uncovered a bronze belt fitting from an unknown pagan cult in the village of Lány, located in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.

The belt fitting dates from the 8th century AD and depicts a snake devouring a frog-like creature that appears in Germanic, Avar, and Slavic mythology.

Such representations are related to the cosmogonic myth of the world’s creation which are found at various sites across Central Europe, while the interaction between the frog and the snake can be linked to fertility cult practices.

According to the researchers, the belt fitting provides evidence of a previously unknown pagan cult that connected diverse populations of varying origins during the early Middle Ages before the advent of Christianity which began in the 9th century AD.

The discovery in Lány belongs to the group of so-called Avar belt fittings, which were mainly produced in Central Europe in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. It was likely worn by an Avar, a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group who settled in the Carpathian Basin, however, it could also be from one of the cultures influenced by Avar cultural practices.

Using an X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a lead isotope analysis, and 3D digital morphometry, an analysis of the belt fitting revealed that the greater part of the bronze was heavily gilded and was cast by using a wax model.

A chemical analysis of the lead isotopes in the bronze alloy indicates that the copper used in the production was mined in the Slovak Red Mountains, while the morphometric analysis suggests that some of the fittings originate from the same workshop.

The results of the study have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

By Mark Milligan.

Archaeologists Discovered Large Roman Baths Under Museum in Croatia

The pool, mosaic floors and underfloor heating once formed part of Emperor Diocletian’s palace.

Archaeologists working to install a lift and restore the ground floor of Split City Museum got more than they bargained for when they unearthed sizable Roman baths underneath the building’s reception. The museum in Croatia’s second largest city was founded in 1946 and is held inside the Dominik Papalić palace—the former home of the affluent Papalić family who settled in Split during the 14th century.

The baths are in a well-preserved condition and include a pool, mosaic floors, ancient underfloor heating, an oil and grape press, and a furnace. Communal bathing was common across the Roman Empire, and baths acted as a space for relaxation and socializing.

The Split baths are believed to have been part of Diocletian’s Palace, built in the city at the end of the 3rd century for the Roman emperor’s retirement. The large fortress once spanned half of Split’s Old Town, and parts of the palace’s remains are listed UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The discovery of these Roman baths confute historians’ previous understandings about the layout of the ancient complex.

he repairs were planned as part of the “Palace of Life, City of Change” project, which is described as an “integrated program of development of the visitor infrastructure of the Old City Core with Diocletian’s palace.”

Split lies on the Adriatic Sea coast and was founded in the 3rd century B.C.E. as a Greek colony (then known as Aspálathos). Split’s landscape is made up of myriad architectural styles spanning hundreds of years, from classical ruins to Venetian Gothic structures. The director of the Split City Museum Vesna Bulić Baketić, spoke about the city’s rich architectural composition, “the fact that all of these layers of earlier buildings that once made up the city are visible inside the Split City Museum provides this museum with additional value that is exceptionally rare.”

The museum plans to open up part of the newly discovered baths to the public, once the structural integrity of the building has been ensured. The ground floor will also be restructured to celebrate the new discovery. “Showing our visitors the ‘living past’ that speaks to us through the original layers of centuries long gone adds insurmountable value and legacy to future generations,” Baketić said. “It is up to us to carry this out in the best and most professional way.”

By Verity Babbs.

1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy by Scaglietti

1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy by Scaglietti

High in the Sky

A pigeon watches me watch him in Largo, Florida.

📸 flickr

The ‘Amherst’ Ptah 26th Dynasty, 664–525 BC, Egypt

Bronze statuette with black patina of Ptah, God of craftsmen and architects Depicted mummiform, only his forearms and hands come out of his shroud-like garment to clasp the emblematic staff of divine power and authority: the was-sceptre. He wears a skullcap and a short, straight false beard.

EGYPTIAN GOLD SWIVEL RING WITH SCARAB Ca. 500 BC.

‘Incredible’ Mosaics Were Found in an Ancient Luxury Home in Rome

Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has called the works “an authentic treasure.”

Researchers working in the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum in Rome have shared their discovery of luxurious mosaic-tiled rooms found in an ancient home on the site, which they believe may have belonged to a Roman senator. Created from shells, glass, white marble, and Egyptian blue tiles, the mosaics have been described by Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano as “an authentic treasure”.

The “rustic” mosaics, found on the grounds surrounding the Colosseum in the heart of the city, date to the late Republican Age, in the last decades of the second century B.C.E., and show a series of figurative scenes. They once decorated a townhouse, or domus, owned by an upper class citizen. Italy’s Ministry of Culture have said that “due to the complexity of the scenes depicted” and their age, the mosaics are “without comparison.”

One mosaic depicts a coastal city with towers and porticos, with three large ships floating by on the ocean waves. The culture ministry believes this could be a reference to naval victories achieved by the owner of the home, which is believed to have been a Roman senator. This is supported by historical sources describing the area as having been occupied by such high-ranking members of society.

The decorated walls were likely located in the home’s dining rooms, where luxurious banquets would be hosted, and guests at these events were likely wowed with “spectacular water games,” according to the culture ministry, based on the presence of lead pipes set into the walls.

In the reception room, an extremely well preserved decorated stucco featuring landscapes and figures was also discovered. Other designs include vines and lotus leaves flowing from vases, musical instruments, and tridents.

The mosaic walls were first discovered near the Colosseum in 2018, but excavation at the site will continue into 2024, and more rooms could be discovered. Alfonsina Russo, the Director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, has said that once the domus is full uncovered, “we will work intensely to make this place, among the most evocative of ancient Rome, accessible to the public as soon as possible.”

By Verity Babbs.

Tyrannosaurus Rex Tooth Late Cretaceous Period (approx. 67 million years ago) Lance Formation, Niobrara County, Wyoming, USA

A LARGE AND WELL-PRESERVED TOOTH FROM THE MOST FEARSOME PREDATOR EVER TO WALK THE EARTH

No animal elicits the combination of fascination, reverence, and fear quite like that of Tyrannosaurus rex, the "tyrant lizard king." Dominating the western landscape of Late Cretaceous North America, T. rex's five-foot-long skull was packed with 60 teeth and featured a bone-crushing bite force of nearly 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg) per square inch, the strongest of any terrestrial animal other than its ancestor, Gorgosaurus. In comparison to other carnivorous theropods, T. rex teeth are proportionately huge. Robust and thickly-enameled crowns strengthened dozens of teeth, with serrations on both the posterior and anterior edges. The almost unrivaled power of this 40-foot-long (12.2 m) apex predator allowed it to hunt virtually every large dinosaur in its environment, including Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, Ornithomimus, Pachycephalosaurus, Edmontosaurus, and even other tyrannosaurs.