One year ago today, Richard received his honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester.

~ Crab Vessel with Double Spout.

Place of origin: Colombia, Calima Region

Period: Ilama Period

Date: 1500 B.C.-A.D. 100

Medium: Ceramics

2,300-Year-Old Plush Bird from the Altai Mountains of Siberia (c.400-300 BCE): crafted with a felt body and reindeer-fur stuffing, all of which remains intact

This artifact was sealed within the frozen barrows of Pazyryk, Siberia, for more than two millennia, where a unique microclimate enabled it to be preserved. The permafrost ice lense formation that runs below the barrows provided an insulating layer, preventing the soil from heating during the summer and allowing it to quickly freeze during the winter; these conditions produced a separate microclimate within the stone walls of the barrows themselves, thereby aiding in the preservation of the artifacts inside.

This is just one of the many well-preserved artifacts that have been found at Pazyryk. These artifacts are attributed to the Scythian/Altaic cultures.

Currently housed at the Hermitage Museum.

4th Century Lycian Tomb in Fethiye Turkey

✨ tag yourself ✨ but with Aegean Scripts! Mainly Bronze Age, with a sprinkle of Iron Age (Cypriot Syllabary).

Ceiling and imagery of the Tomb of the Vineyards, burial of Sennefer, Mayor of the Southern City, Thebes, during the 18th dynasty of Egypt.

Photos taken by me, August 2023

It’s hard to tell which way is up and down when walking through the tunnel leading from the surface into the tomb. Before entering the main chamber there is a small antechamber whose ceiling is quite low, and then a shallow arch which leads to the main room depicted in the above photographs. Both chambers contain a good deal of paintings, however the main chamber holds the most numerous and well preserved paintings, of course. Besides the ceiling, everything is encased in glass.

Roman period Head of Apollo

Temple of the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl, at Teotihuacán, Mexico. Active approximately 1st to 7th centuries CE.

📸 by me.

‘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.

"Cage cup", or a diatretum – a luxury late Roman glass vessel, found from roughly the 4th century. Today, some 60 fragmentary diatreta are known today, 19 of which are almost complete. This piece, was found in 1950 in the sarcophagus in Niederemmel, near Trier, Germany.  Diatreta consist of an inner beaker and an outer cage that stands out from the body of the cup, to which it is attached by short stems. This exemplar is part of the Trier Landesmuseum permanent collection. The manufacturing technique must have been laborious, but it's still a mystery: either the inner beaker and the cage were made separately and heat-soldered, or the whole assembly was chiselled from a single block of glass. The majority of finds of diatreta are from Roman sites along the Rhine, suggesting that they were produced in the area, perhaps at Trier. This was the largest city of Roman Germany and the main residence of Constantine I for many years, coinciding with the period when the cups seem to have been made. Photos and text by Time Travel Rome

University of Leicester

~ Piscina Mirabilis.

Date: Second half of 1st century B.C.

Place of origin: Naples, Piscina Mirabilis

(Napoli, Piscina Mirabilis)

I remember when my high school history teacher once said (a long time ago, I'm old) that the US bombed and destroyed sites [some not even fully explored] of Ancient Mesopotamia (which is now mostly centred around modern-day Iraq), and that everything they did/were doing is unconscionable. For those who don't know Ancient Mesopotamia is considered to be the birthplace of writing, is where the world's first cities were developed (among many other things, of course). I couldn't help but think of this, and it's just frustrating and heartbreaking to see.

These violent imperialistic and settler regimes have nothing but erasure and obliteration of communities in their minds because that is what they want -to eradicate and dehumanize the spaces they are invading/striking. There is NEVER a coincidence of doing something as heinous as this. These spaces are sacred and important parts of civilizations in so many ways. Mercilessly bombing, bulldozing through, and breaking them down speaks volumes about the aggressors. The IOF must be stopped. The occupation must end.

The Hellenistic Theater of Pergamon, Bergama, Turkey.

The ancient city of Pompeii, Italy

On the first photo is the bakery of Sotericus.

On the last photo you can see clay pots built into countertops in the taberna.