[samtheman]

“looters came from the sea and stole the findings with their yachts”

AGW tycoons?

[Lake Living]

I lived in Turkey for 6 yrs. (1985 - 91). There are many, many places of antiquity with the same problem in this country. I visited a place called Anavarza (just Google it and see for yourself). There is a castle high on a ridge over looking a valley. There was a Roman mint there (gone now) where you can still find coins. There were also several old Roman mosaics nearby in the valley. Almost completely intact. But it was all just there out in the open. It seem their history is not valued or they don’t have the money to preserve it. You might find at some places a couple of locals with a rifle who’s job it is to protect an area but really… a bag of M&M’s or a bottle of Raki and you could probably take what you wanted.

[Verginius Rufus]

"Luvies" should be Luvians or Luwians. Luwian was an Indo-European language related to Hittite which was spoken in large areas of southern and western Asia Minor in the Bronze Age. Possibly the later Lydian language is descended from it. The only piece of writing found in Bronze Age Troy to date (but after the Trojan War) is in Luwian, so it may have been the language spoken by the Trojans but there isn't enough evidence to be dogmatic about that. The "Arzawa lands" are mentioned in Hittite records and seem to be the area earlier called "Luwiya" in those records.

See Trevor Bryce, The Trojans and their Neighbours (2006).

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Jaw-dropping?? Probably not, if that pic is typical.

[houeto]

Ping!