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Some wars last longer than others but one of the longest wars in history was formally declared over on February 5, 1985. This was the Third Punic War which officially lasted 2,131 years although there wasn’t much fighting after 146BC as the forces of Rome finally defeated those of Carthage (now part of Tunisia) and the area became the Roman Province of Africa. Carthage destroyed The city was destroyed and for many years no-one was allowed to rebuild or resettle but when the Emperor Augustus came to power, he was aware of a plan by Julius Caesar to rebuild Carthage...

Gladiators fought in rounds, and there were referees to enforce rules. Only rarely were gladiators killed. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Gladiators rarely died in fights, as gladiatorial combat was more about demonstrating physical and mental endurance, martial skill, and athleticism. There were between 20 and 30 different styles of gladiatorial combat. Gladiators would adopt a style based on their body type and the choice of their trainers. Gladiatorial fights had rules, including fighting in rounds. Referees were present to enforce rules, caution fouls, and handle appeals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the most iconic moments in movie history is when Russell Crowe, dressed in...

A series of declassified satellite images from the Cold War era have revealed hundreds of undiscovered Roman forts in Iraq and Syria. A total of 396 new sites have been identified from the images taken in the 1960s and 1970s, with the findings, published in the journal Antiquity, changing the perception of how the region functioned. A previous 1934 aerial survey, conducted by French explorer Antoine Poidebard, recorded 116 Roman forts across the region. They were previously thought to form a defensive line against incursions from Arabia and Persia along the Roman Empire’s eastern flank. The latest findings, however, suggest...

Researchers used artificial intelligence to extract the first word from one of the first texts in a charred scroll from the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum, which has been unreadable since a volcanic eruption in AD 79 — the same one that buried nearby Pompeii...The Vesuvius Challenge, a contest with $1,000,000 (£821K) in prizes for those who can use modern technology to decipher the words of these scrolls, has awarded a 21-year-old undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska $40,000 (£32.8K) for being the first to read a word from one of the ancient Herculaneum scrolls.Luke Farritor, who is at...

Archaeologists from France's National Institute of Preventive Archeology (INRAP) have unearthed an unlooted ancient stone sarcophagus in the vast ancient necropolis on Rue Soussillon in northeastern France...The ancient Durocortorum was the capital of the province of Gaul Belgium and was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. The city extended over 600 hectares and was delimited by a powerful wall. It was in the second half of the 19th century, during extension work in Reims, that the contours of this so-called "Augustan" enclosure were highlighted as well as the extra muros necropolises, located around the seven main access...

Authorities announced Monday that two incredibly rare Roman cavalry swords were uncovered in the Cotswolds, England, during a metal detectorist rally.The two Roman cavalry swords were found along with their wooden scabbards and fitments, according to a press release from the Cotswold District Council. There was also a broken copper alloy bowl discovered with the weaponry.Fitments were discovered by Glenn Manning during a metal detectorist rally in the north of the Cotswolds.The swords have been appraised by Professor Simon James from Leicester University who says that these weapons are middle imperial Roman swords, which are often referred to as a...

Víctor Manuel Fernández: "The Pope will not go where his visit can be used (or complicated) for political convenience or where the authorities despise his presence" "The extreme right forgets that there is a commandment even more important than the sixth (because it affects justice and charity) which asks not to bear false testimony or lie" "I have several other texts from years ago that could be considered much more 'dangerous' from a theological point of view and yet you have not even seen them. Maybe I am wrong to mention it, but it is the truth" "There will undoubtedly...

It's believed to be a first — and it certainly came as a surprise: Ancient Roman coins have been found in the ruins of a castle in Okinawa, Japan, that dates to the 12th and 15th centuries. The copper coins were found in 2013; X-ray analysis shows that they bear an image of Constantine the Great. The four Roman coins were found at the Katsuren Castle — a World Heritage Site in Japan's southwestern city of Uruma. The excavation was carried out by the local board of education, which says the find hints at the region's wide trade ties.

I am listening to ANCIENT ROMANS by Thomas R Martin. Struck at how closely the fall of western civilization follows the fall of Rome. It is available through Blackstone audio using their Downpour app. How MIGRANTS took over civilization and the outcome is the end of this fascinating book about the rise of Mediterranean civilizations. Not to be missed. https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Rome-Justinian-Thomas-Martin/dp/0300198310

The ruins of a massive 2,000-year-old Roman plaza have been found at La Cabañeta archaeological site in Spain. It is the oldest-known public square uncovered in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, according to a release from the University of Zaragoza.Located along the banks of the Ebro River in northeastern Spain, the city was founded around 200 BCE. The city was destroyed during the Sertorian War, a civil war that occurred roughly a century after its founding around 70 BCE; however, not much else is known about the city—not even its name.In July, archaeologists began excavating the central area, where...

A mosaic from an Roman villa in Sicily depicts ten women wearing an ancient version of the two-piece bikini. Credit: TyB / CC-BY-2.0 / Wikimedia Commons It is believed that the bikini was a 20th century invention, but an ancient mosaic reveals women in Rome wore it while playing sports. The Villa Romana del Casale, located in Sicily, dates back to the early fourth century AD. Among the ruins, archeologists have discovered one of the largest collections of ancient Roman mosaics. All of them are surprisingly well preserved. One of the rooms of the villa is called Sala delle Dieci...

ROME (AP) — Researchers have discovered new documentation that substantiates reports that Catholic convents and monasteries in Rome sheltered Jews during World War II, providing names of at least 3,200 Jews whose identities have been corroborated by the city’s Jewish community, officials said Thursday. Researchers from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust research institute and Rome’s Jewish community released the findings at an academic workshop Thursday held at the Museum of the Shoah, part of Rome’s main synagogue. The documentation doesn’t appear to shed any new light on the role of Pope Pius XII during the Nazi occupation...

(Israel Antiquities Authority/YouTube) Israeli researchers made a rare find during a survey of a Dead Sea cave: Four perfectly preserved Roman swords thought to have been used in battle 1,900 years ago. The swords were likely "booty" hidden by rebels from an opposing faction, who would have been in danger if they were caught carrying the Roman weapons, Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project who worked on the dig, said in a statement. Four Roman-era swords, their wooden and leather hilts and scabbards and steel blades exquisitely preserved after 1,900 years in a desert...

On this date in 388, Magnus Maximus, partially successful usurper of the western Roman Empire, was put to death by Emperor Theodosius. The late centuries of Rome witness many a rebellious general but the smart money in a civil war rarely fancied the guy whose power base was distant Britannia. With his bombastic name and balls to back it, Magnus bigly bucked those odds, defeating and murdering the western Augustus Gratian in Gaul in 383. From there he bossed Africa, Britain, and his native Spain for several years. The departure from Britain of this local chancer made good would prove...

The death in Hawaii has risen to 80 as six wildfires are burning in Maui and the Big Island. Just 85% of the fire is reportedly “contained.” Authorities warn that the death total “could go up.” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said this is the largest natural disaster in the state’s history. Many of the town’s historic landmarks are lost. Winds from Hurricane Dora have fanned the flames across Hawaii. The storm is hundreds of miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime, critics say President Joe Biden is requesting nearly $40 billion in aid, which...

A Roman road network that spanned Devon and Cornwall and connected significant settlements with military forts across the two counties as well as wider Britannia has been discovered for the first time.Archaeologists at the University have used laser scans collected as part of the Environment Agency’s National LiDAR Programme to identify new sections of road west of the previously understood boundary.Using sophisticated geographical modelling techniques, which incorporate information around gradients and flood risk, the researchers have then been able to map out the full extent of the network and begin to understand the rationale for its existence.Among the things it...

This article will look at three causes of the Roman Empire’s collapse, and see the extent to which its defects can be applied to the decline of the USA as the leading world power. While the influence of the USA cannot be considered imperial — we technically are not an empire — nonetheless, the terms hegemony, leadership, and dominance in the world system are adjectives that apply to ancient Rome and might well apply to us.

When in Rome … another tourist has defaced the Colosseum. A Swiss girl carved her initials into the iconic amphitheater — less than a month after another tourist stunningly defaced the ancient landmark with his and his fiancée’s names Police have launched an investigation after Italian tour guide David Battaglino captured video of the unidentified 17-year-old girl carving the letter “N” into the wall, La Repubblica reported. The footage posted on Twitter by Italian news agency ANSA shows the blond girl, whose face is blurred, using an object to carve the letter before she backs off amid the attention. “It...

A nearly 1,800-year-old silver military medal featuring the snake-covered head of Medusa has been unearthed in what was once the northern edge of the Roman Empire.Excavators discovered the winged gorgon on June 6 at the English archaeological site of Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort that was built in the late first century, a few decades before Hadrian's Wall was constructed in A.D. 122 to defend the empire against the Picts and the Scots.The "special find" is a "silver phalera (military decoration) depicting the head of Medusa," according to a Facebook post from The Vindolanda Trust, the organization leading the excavations....

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 13, 2023 / 14:15 pm The Italian association Pro Vita & Famiglia (Pro Life and Family) denounced an attack on its office in Rome after being called “bastards” by the leader of the LGBT Pride demonstration in Italy, Mario Colamarino. On Saturday, June 10, the demonstration in Rome passed in front of the association’s office, where, according to its president, Jacopo Coghe, participants voiced insults and committed acts of “verbal violence.” This incident, along with statements by the leader of the LGBT lobby in Italy, have been the breeding ground for “a climate of hate” that...