Roman

Long before Real Madrid, the Roman Empire had already invented VIP boxes. And they ended in disaster

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In the first century, the emperor Nero ordered that some shows will include giant awnings to protect the most privileged attendees from the sun, while the rest of the public endured the heat in the upper stands. That seemingly trivial difference reflected the extent to which the experience of attending an event was already marked for money and status long before modern stadiums existed. Show business in Ancient Rome. Long before modern stadiums like the Bernabéu turned sport into a crazy revenue machine, the Roman Empire had already understood the economic potential of gathering crowds and charging for access. At that time, amphitheaters were not only leisure spaces, but political and commercial tools where prestige and money mixed openly. In fact, businessmen like Atilio They saw the games as a direct opportunity for profit, betting on filling venues at all costs and maximizing every available seat. In that context, the logic of squeezing capacity (with privileged areas for the elites and crowded stands for the rest) not only existed, but was central part of the model. Raised to make quick money. In this context, it is born the Fidenae project with a clear idea: build a lot, quickly and cheaply to start earning money as soon as possible. Attilius, a freedman with entrepreneurial ambition, decided to build a huge wooden amphitheater on the outskirts of Rome, reducing costs in the most critical elements. The structure was supported on unstable ground and was assembled with poor joints, while more seats than planned were added to increase revenue. The result was a building that appeared grand from the outside, but was actually designed more to maximize profits. that to ensure safety of those who were going to occupy it. Spectacle turned into tragedy. What happened? That the inauguration attracted tens of thousands of people who came with the expectation of witnessing gladiatorial combats after a period in which these spectacles had been rather rare. That amphitheater was filled to the limitthere was no room for a pin, with the public distributed by social classes and areas, replicating a hierarchy that also had its economic reflection. Thus, in a matter of seconds, what seemed like a festive day he happened to enter sadly in the Guinness Book of a total sporting catastrophe when the structure began to give way and collapsed simultaneously inwards and outwards. It was not just an accident, since the magnitude of the collapse trapped both those who were inside and those who were trapped. were in the surroundingsleaving a balance of victims that, according to sources, ranged between tens of thousands of dead and injured. The worst sports disaster in history. From then until now, because of its scalethe collapse or collapse of Fidenae was not only a local tragedy, but the biggest sports disaster that has ever been documented, surpassing even many modern episodes in number of victims. The figures, although imprecise at the time, point to a catastrophe comparable to major battles in terms of human losses (they were counted about 50,000 deadsome lost their lives instantly, while others were buried under the rubble), something totally exceptional for an entertainment event. The speed of the collapse, the absence of evacuation measures and the fragility of the construction made any reaction impossible, turning the amphitheater into a mousetrap, a death trap in a matter of seconds. What should have been a profitable business ended up being the most extreme example of how the search for profit can multiply risk to catastrophic limits. From greed to the first rules. There is no doubt, the impact of that disaster shook the Roman Empire and forced an institutional reaction that marked a before and after in the construction regulation. The Senate persecuted the person responsible, Attilius, and sent him into exile, but, more importantly, established rules that They demanded economic solvency to those who wanted to organize shows and forced them to build on safe land. Those measures can be considered one of the first attempts to regulate structural safety in public spaces, born directly from a tragedy caused by negligence. Ultimately, the episode left a lesson that is still very valid: when business prevails over security, the show not only cannot be guaranteed, it can end up becoming in his own catastrophe. Image | Wikimedia C. In Xataka | In 1995, South Korea suffered one of the great architectural disasters of the century. The culprit: the air conditioning In Xataka | If you’re hot at home, remember that Disney made an auditorium with a huge mistake: turning a neighborhood into an unbearable oven

We have found the father of the Roman legion belts in a totally unexpected place: an Asturian cave

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The spectacular expansion of the Roman Empire (at its greatest splendor, Rome It covered three continents) was not based solely and exclusively on its numerical superiority and conquering hunger, but also on its ability to absorb and adapt technology. That is, as the legions advanced, Rome absorbed and perfected those military innovations that it found in the conquered peoples. This process of cultural transfer is what allowed the Roman army to evolve from a citizen militia to a professional, standardized war machine. An example of this assimilation phenomenon is found in the Iberian Peninsula. Within the framework of the Asturian-Cantabrian wars (29-19 BC), the last great conflict of the conquest of Hispania under the mandate of Augustus, is where the military complex found in the La Cerrosa-Lagaña cave (Asturias) acquires critical importance. The study, published in the Spal Magazineevidence that is more than an archaeological remains: it is the material proof of how a belt native to the plateau became the prototype of the iconic cingulum of the imperial legionnaire. The discovery. He found set It includes a dagger sheath with curved edges accompanied by an articulated bronze belt made up of sheets, a bronze omega fibula, a razor, a spear and human remains. There were also 807 animal remains belonging to 36 specimens of bovids, ovicaprines, equids, suids and canids, as if it were a ritual banquet or sacrifice. But let’s go to the star element: an articulated suspension belt made of bronze, composed of a buckle and four openwork plates of great technical complexity. This system of riveted plates allowed greater flexibility than leather straps and was not something random: it was a design designed to support the weight of a sheath (like the one found) and allow quick extraction of the weapon in combat. The sophistication of the plates suggests high-quality manufacturing, linked to workshops with a long tradition in iron and bronze metalwork. Hypothetical reconstruction of the belt and sheath assembly with curved edges found in the La Cerrosa-Lagaña cave. Spal Magazine Why is it important. This belt is something like the missing link in the evolution of military equipment: it demonstrates that pieces that we traditionally consider “purely Roman” actually have a foreign origin. Their discovery allows researchers to precisely trace the process of technological transfer, documenting how the functionality of Hispanic defensive equipment was absorbed, perfected and standardized by the Roman State to equip its legions throughout the Empire. Context. The discovery was not found in a military camp, but in a deep and difficult to access gallery in a cave. The context points to liturgical: the research team proposes that it was possibly a captured enemy who was the object of a sacrifice or ritual (possibly a captured Roman soldier), as an offering to the Cantabrian divinities in the face of the advancing Roman army. The dating places the human remains around the 1st century BC. This type of deposits in natural cavities reflects the religious practices of the people of the north and the Plateau, who considered the caves as thresholds to the underworld. The main hypothesis. The thesis supported by the research team is: Technological hybridization, insofar as the belt was not manufactured in Roman workshops, but in Vaccean and Celtiberian workshops (pre-Roman peoples of the Plateau). It later became the standard belt of the Roman legions, the cingulumto address the need for more flexible and durable equipment. The evolution. There is evidence that the belt plates resemble others found in Roman military camps such as Numancia and Renieblas, what it suggests that local artisans developed prototypes that Rome adopted and standardized. Yes, but. Beyond the doubt of the ethnic identity of the buried soldier, since it is unknown whether he was a Roman soldier who had adopted the local uniform for its greater efficiency or a native warrior who served as an auxiliary to the Roman topas, the key lies in the origin of the cingulum. The main thesis points out that the model was the father of the Roman belt par excellence, but more findings are missing from other parts of Europe to confirm that this evolution occurred exclusively in Hispania and was not a parallel process on other borders of the Empire. In Xataka | A cargo sunk in a Swiss lake 2,000 years ago confirms it: the Roman legions did not deprive themselves of anything In Xataka | We have been arguing for years about the origin of writing. Now an Asturian cave can settle the debate Cover | Jametlene Reskp and Spal (Study of a ritual deposit from the Asturian-Cantabrian wars: the set of the curved-edged dagger from the La Cerrosa-Lagaña cave (Suarias, Asturias, Spain) as a link between the indigenous dagger belts and the Roman cingulum)

What is a Roman bust doing in a pre-Hispanic tomb in Mexico?

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It is not strange that from time to time archaeologists surprise us with fascinating finds. A bone that tells us about shows with wild animals in Roman Britannia, a stalactite that reveals to what extent the Mayans suffered from the droughts, a 16th century wreck sunk with part of the menu of its crew members… The list is long, but in it it is difficult to find milestones like the one left 90 years ago an excavation at the site of Tecaxic-Calixtlahuacain Mexico. While studying a pre-Columbian tomb, historians located what appears to be part of a Roman sculpture, a figure that some experts date to the AD. 2nd and 3rd centuries AD The question is obvious: How the hell did it get there? First jump back: 1933. To understand the enigma we have to jump back 90 years, to 1933, when a team led by José García Payón He was excavating in the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca site, 65 kilometers northwest of the capital of Mexico. There the experts located a funeral offering which included pieces of gold, copper, turquoise, rock crystal, jet, ceramic… and something much less common in a pre-Columbian funerary trousseau: a terracotta head. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Two big unknowns. The bust in question shows a bearded face, with a style, features and even a hairstyle that fit more in ancient Rome than in pre-Hispanic America. The piece is so curious that in recent decades it has fascinated archaeologists and led to several investigations that try to answer two big questions: Where did the figure come from? And how the hell did it end up among the offerings in a tomb from the late 15th century? The scope of the mystery is better understood when we know a fundamental piece of information from the 1933 excavation. The ringleader did not appear in an open (and manipulable) space, but among offerings buried under three intact floors of a pyramidal structure. That is to say, everything indicates that no one altered the trousseau since the date of the burial, which experts date between 1476 and 1510. If that small bearded bust that looked like something out of ancient Rome was there, it was, in theory, because someone deposited it before sealing the tomb. Second jump back: II AD The leader of Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca continued to be involved in unknowns until early 60’swhen Ernst Boehringer, the president of the German Institute of Archaeology, suggested that it was probably of Roman origin and had been made between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. He is not the only one who thinks this way. Bernad Andreae, another eminent archaeologist, shares the hypothesis and even has gone one step further: “The hairstyle and the shape of the beard present the typical features of the period of the Severan emperors (193-235 AD).” In case there were any doubts, in the mid-90s the University of Heidelberg, in Germany, subjected the figurine to a thermoluminescence dating test. The time frame he provided is much broader, but it clears up the mystery: he concluded that the head had to be manufactured between the centuries IX BC and XIII AD Some sources even limit that window between the II BC and VI AD If we take into account that the rest of the items of the funerary trousseau were from the Aztec-Matlatzinca era (15th-16th centuries AD) the question was repeated again: How do you explain that an ancient Roman figurine ended up buried there? And what is the answer? The reality is that experts only handle hypotheses, not certainties. Some are fascinating. Others not so much. Among the latter there is one that has been on the table for a while and explains that for decades the academic world viewed the Calixtlahuaca figurine with certain suspicion. We can accept that the bust is Roman, even that it was made at the beginning of our era and ended up in a pre-Columbian tomb that remained sealed until the 1930s; but that does not mean that we have to accept that the figure had been buried there at the end of the 15th century. How is that possible? Very easy. Perhaps someone placed it there 90 years ago, during the García Payón excavation. “It could be a hoax, it could be a Roman figurine placed at the site or laboratory,” slides Michael E. Smithprofessor at Arizona State University. It is not a theory just thrown into the air. The same expert recalls that in the academic world it is rumored that the famous ringleader was snuck in by a student to play a prank. There is even a suspect. “Many archaeologists in Mexico have heard the story and tend to believe it.” The great unknown. When Smith tried to delve deeper into this possible explanation, he encountered a seemingly insurmountable wall. He couldn’t confirm it. Nor deny it. It also doesn’t help that his protagonists have died and that Payón was not especially exhaustive with his notes. In fact there are those who assure that the collection of artifacts extracted from Calixtlahuaca exhibited in the Museum of Anthropology of Toluca includes ceramics that come from other sites. Another plausible possibility is that the ringleader was associated with the trousseau for a mistakenot intentionally. Strange yes, impossible no. It is not the only hypothesis that archaeologists have raised. Smith himself acknowledges that there are others on the table, equally plausible, such as the fact that the figure was brought with him by a Spaniard at the beginning of the colonial period and for some reason ended up included in the trousseau along with other pieces whose origin can actually be delayed until the beginning of the 16th century. After all, the Calixtlahuaca burial occurred prior to prolonged contact with indigenous people, but it coincides with the first years of exploration. As notes Arkeo News That leaves out a remote possibility: What if, for a historical twist, a Roman antiquity traveled in the first colonial expeditions and then … Read more

the shipwreck from 2,000 years ago that reveals the “luxuries” of the Roman legions in Switzerland

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Few products of Mediterranean gastronomy are as iconic as wine or olive oil. In fact, if we take a look at current exports of the Spanish statewe will check that both are still at the top. This is not something new: two millennia ago, the Roman Empire had already converted the Iberian Peninsula into one of its great strategic pantries. One of the most compelling evidence is It is Monte Testaccioa 50-meter-high artificial hill in the center of Rome made from the remains of ceramic amphorae, 80% of which came from Baetica (today, Andalusia) and brought olive oil. It wasn’t just trade: it was logistics on an imperial scale, organized and sustained for centuries. That this network reached very far is something that the archaeological record continues to confirm: one of the latest and most impressive finds is in the depths of the Swiss lake of Neuchâtel. The discovery. In the Swiss lake of Neuchâtel they have found the cargo of “the wreck of the Eagles”, a ship sunk between the years 17 and 50 AD, in the middle of the Roman Empire. From 2024 to the present the Octopus Foundation has recovered approximately 600 pieces: hundreds of almost intact plates, platters, bowls and glasses, two large fragments of amphorae for oil or wine, a wicker basket preserved in the lime of the lake with the crew’s kitchen utensils, metal tools, harness and shooting equipment, four cart wheels, legionary weapons, among other elements. Why is it important. The most interesting thing about this discovery is that the Roman Empire had a primitive globalization insofar as they were able to distribute their lands throughout the length and breadth, which was not small: It covered three continents: from Great Britain to the Carpathians in Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. The Roman soldiers in Switzerland did not only eat local products, but also had access to the flavors of their land. On the other hand, it is worth highlighting the exceptional conservation, something that has been helped by the cold waters and the lack of oxygen at the bottom. Furthermore, the archaeological context is intact, allowing the reconstruction of its organization on board and the combination of evidence of civil tableware, land transport equipment and military weapons. Context. The hypothesis The one on which the research team is working points to the Legio A constant supply was needed to maintain a legion of about 6,000 men. Thus, the cargo would have traveled by cart to the Roman port of Yverdon, south of the lake and from there it would have crossed it to the north. As the cause of the sinking, the team points to a gust of wind when approaching the Thielle channel. That there are swords suggests that it was not a military ship but a merchant ship under armed escort. Be careful, no structural traces of the boat have been found, only its cargo, hence the team does not rule out that the boat did not sink at all or that it did so in another place. The only thing we are clear about that was lost at the bottom of the lake was the cargo. Octopus Foundation Oil or wine? At the moment the Octopus Foundation describe the amphorae only as containers intended for the transport of oil or wine, without further precision, which is why further analysis is pending to clear up doubts. Today olive oil and wine may be associated with more select consumer products, but in ancient Rome they were essential items: liquid gold was used for almost everythingfrom cooking to lighting with lamps through personal hygiene and even for sports, medicine and rituals. And the wine, even if it was diluted with water, formed part of the daily diet of all social classesincluding troops. Octopus Foundation How it is being excavated. The detection of the cargo was aerial, using a drone in winter, when the visibility of the lake is greater. Thanks to 3D photogrammetry they were able to generate maps of the site, which they then divided into grids to determine the exact position of the objects found. They then photographed each piece and recorded it in situ before being extracted individually. The site was kept secret during the year between the two campaigns and was monitored with underwater cameras developed expressly for the project. The urgency to act came from a real threat: the sediments that had protected the cargo for centuries had eroded as a consequence of the hydraulic corrections of the Jura in the 19th and 20th centuries, leaving the pieces exposed to currents, anchoring of recreational boats and looting. What’s coming now. The extracted pieces are being analyzed in the Laténium laboratory with the aim of identifying pottery workshops, determining the content of the amphorae using residual organic chemistry and reconstructing trade routes. Once these doubts have been unraveled, its final destination is a public exhibition at the Neuchâtel archeology museum. In Xataka | The Romans were thirsty for oil and we have just found in Tunisia the second largest press of the Empire In Xataka | The most polarizing and divisive scientific debate of the moment has to do with wine. With one 1,700 years old Cover | Octopus Foundation and Rahime Gül

The Vitruvian Basilica is the “holy grail” of Roman architecture. Also a huge enigma that we have finally solved

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If there is one thing that abounds in the presentations of archaeological finds (no matter where, when or who makes them) they are superlatives. Each discovery is the most important, the definitive one, the last missing piece to complete the puzzle. Another thing is that it really is like that. In the province of Pesaro and Urbino (Italy) the authorities they just announced a finding in which the opposite occurs: yes, there are superlatives, but they fall short. In the end, what they have unearthed there is neither more nor less than the “holy grail” of Roman architecture. In a stroke of luck, archaeologists have found the basilica erected 2,000 years ago by Marcus Vitruvius, which concludes a search for more than five centuries. What has happened? That Italy has put an end to a 500 year adventurethe time that archaeologists, architects and historians have been searching for perhaps the “holy grail” of Roman architecture: the legendary Vitruvian Basilica. Scholars placed it in Fanum Fortunae (current city of Fano) and for decades they probed its soil in search of vestiges or at least some indication. In vain. things changed about three years agowhen during the renovation works of the market square they found themselves (shortly half a meter deep) some remains that, we now know, belong to the basilica. “Millimeter correspondence”. What we have found under the cobblestones of Fano are Roman columns. So far nothing exceptional considering that we are talking about an ancient coastal city in the Marche region of Italy. The curious thing is that these vestiges fit closely with the description that Marcus Vitruvius left us of the basilica in his famous treatise. ‘Of Architecture’. The columns, their arrangement, the shape and layout of the nave coincide. The “definitive confirmation”, clarify from the Italian Ministry of Culture, arrived after the discovery of a fifth pillar that confirms both the position and orientation of the property. A planimetric reconstruction based on the description left by Vitruvius finally provided the guide. The coincidence is so precise that the authorities speak of a “millimeter correspondence”. “Imposing structures”. “The columns, around five Roman feet in diameter (147-150 cm) and about 15 meters high, rest on pillars and pilasters that supported an upper floor,” points out the Italian Government, which recalls that in 2022 experts were on the trail after discovering some “imposing masonry structures and marble floors” on Via Vitruvio. The confirmation that the remains belong to the old basilica does not complete the work. In fact, Cultura is already advancing that it will continue researching with the support of community funds. “Everything necessary will be done to recover and promote this exceptional find,” guarantees the regional president, Francesco Acquaroli. “Like Tutankhamun’s tomb”. During the presentation neither Francesco Acquaroli, nor the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, nor certainly the mayor of the town, Luca Serfilippi, spared praise (and superlatives). “The column behind us changes the history of the region. It is a discovery comparable to that of Tutankhamun’s tomb,” celebrated the regional leader. Giuli has used similar effusiveness, for whom the location of the mythical Roman basilica, erected ago two millenniabrand “a before and after” in archaeological history. “History books and not just journalistic chronicles will document this day and everything that will be studied about this exceptional discovery in the coming years. The scientific value is of absolute caliber,” he emphasized the Minister of Culture. “The vestiges discovered clearly demonstrate that Fano was and is the heart of the oldest architectural wisdom of Western civilization.” Is it so relevant? Whether the discovery of the Vitruvian basilica is comparable to that of Tutankhamun’s tomb may perhaps be discussed, of course what is undeniable is that it is one of the great archaeological news of the year (and that at the very least). The reason is not only the value of the building but that of its creator, Marcus Vitruvius (1st century BC), architect, engineer, treatise writer and author of ‘Of Architecture’a fundamental manual to understand Renaissance architecture. In his treatise Vitruvius addresses the three axes that would mark architecture for centuries: firmitas (firmness), utilities (functionality) and venustas (beauty). His work influenced, among others, León Battista Alberti, Andrea Palladio and Leonardo Da Vinci, who was inspired by its proportions to create one of the most iconic (and recognizable) drawings of all time: the ‘Vitruvian Man’. In ‘De Architectura’ the Roman architect does something else: he describes in detail the basilica that has now been found (finally) in Fano, a project in which was directly involved. In fact, the Ministry of Culture remember that it is the “only building attributable with certainty” to the Roman writer. Now we no longer need to imagine it. Images | Office Stampa e Comunicazione MiC In Xataka | We have discovered (again) the secret of Roman concrete. It’s less impressive than it seems

At last we know what the slaves of Roman Hispania ate. Exactly the opposite of the landowners

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Since the times of Roman Hispania Many things have changed on the peninsula, but there is something that remains unchanged, immune to the passing of centuries and the fall of empires: what you eat is directly related to the amount of money you have in your pocket. The more zeros in the bank, the greater the probability (probability) that you will eat better quality foods. It happens today and it happened in the 5th century, in the times of the town of Nohedaa settlement located 18 km from what is now Cuenca. When analyzing their remains, archaeologists have found that what their landowners ate had nothing to do with the diet on which slaves and workers subsisted. In a place in Castilla-La Mancha… One of the most fascinating Roman sites on the peninsula is located: the ancient town of Nohedalocated just under 20 kilometers from Cuenca and which was inhabited between the 1st centuries BC and 6th AD It may not be the best known in Spain, but the enclave stands out for several reasons, mainly, as remember from the centerfor hosting “one of the most spectacular figurative mosaics of the Roman Empire.” Another of the peculiarities of Noheda is that it is a relatively ‘young’ site. That there was a Roman settlement in the area was something known since ancient times: A map from 1554 is preserved in which the area is already cited as “Villar de la Vila” and references from 1893 about the complex and its mosaics. However, the phase of more detailed studies it’s recentwhich has allowed experts to peer into its remains with the tools offered by modern science. What did its inhabitants eat? In Noheda, researchers have not only found a thermal areaa impressive mosaic preserved and remains of what was the residential area (urban pars) and farmers’ homes (pars rustica). Archaeologists have also found a large number of bones, vessels with organic remains and a small necropolis, apparently unconnected pieces but which, together, hide the answer to a fascinating question: What did the inhabitants of the village eat? And above all, were there differences between the urban pars and the rustic? Did the diet vary a lot between the rich and the humble? Science to the rescue. To answer these unknowns, archaeologists have had a wide (and above all diverse) toolbox at their disposal. That the questions are posed today, in the 21st century, has allowed them to resort to techniques that analyze seeds, wood remains, pollen, bones, human collagen… a wide amalgam of clues that include, remember The Country Miguel Ángel Valero, director of the site, remains of oysters or even bird bones in which the teeth of humans and dogs can still be seen. Tell me what social class you are… And I’ll tell you what you eat, which is basically what the Noheda archaeologists have been analyzing, where they have confirmed the clear differences that existed between the wealthiest families, housed in the urban parsand the slaves and field workers who lived in the pars rustica. The research has also yielded striking conclusions, such as the one advanced a few days ago the SER chain. In the town, experts have found remains that tell us of a high consumption of young donkey meat. Is it something new? Yes. And no. Archaeologists knew that in late ancient times this type of meat was consumed, especially among the humblest classes, but it was a little-known practice on the peninsula. The study of the remains has also revealed hunting and agricultural patterns and, above all, how the locals adapted their diet as the town went into decline. As explains Valeroits objective is not only to peek into the life of luxury of the town’s potentates, but to understand the routine of the “ordinary people” and those residents who repopulated the abandoned buildings. And what did they eat? Tasty stews or chewy meats. Depends. Wealthy families treated their palates to fish, poultry, sheep and roasted young goats. Everything was well watered with Syrian wine that arrived to the town in amphorae. If we talk about the most humble inhabitants of Noheda, the slaves and field workers, things were different. They fed on ox, goats and sheep that had once been used for farming or obtaining wool and were now too old for the tasks. Their meat was aged and required longer cooking than the young cattle reserved for landowners. To drink, in his case he passed on Syrian wine to the fool. More than archeology. Noheda’s study is interesting for another reason. In addition to revealing the culinary secrets of those who lived in the Roman town between the 4th and 5th centuries AD, it is offering experts valuable information that aspires to move from museums and laboratories… to the table. After all, not only archaeologists collaborate at the site. The investigation is being carried out with the help of butchers, doctors, dentists… and Jesús Segura, chef at the head of a Michelin-starred restaurant. The objective: that the secrets of the villa serve as a basis to dishes inspired by Roman Hispania. Images | Wikipedia 1 and 2 and Government of Castilla-La Mancha (Flickr) Via | The Country In Xataka | A 2,000-year-old glass has revealed an unexpected facet of the Egyptians: psychedelic mixologists

The soldiers of the Roman Empire crushed Hannibal and Viriatus, but they were unable to defeat a fearsome enemy: diarrhea.

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If there is a civilization to which the Spanish collective imagination dedicates festivities and various events, that is the Roman empire. Nevertheless, they were more than six centuries in the Iberian Peninsula thanks to its magnificent expansion work. In its heyday, Rome It covered three continents: from Great Britain to the Carpathians in Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. To carry out such an extension, his legions had great conflicts in the form of the Punic Wars, the battle of Cannae or the Battle of Pydna. The tough battle for intestinal well-being. As if life on the front was not hard enough, the soldiers guarding the northwest border of the Roman Empire had to confront a tough guerrilla war that is not epic enough to appear in the history books but that also caused casualties: that of intestinal parasites. More specifically, in the north of England, near Hadrian’s Wall. Because a team of researchers from the University of Oxford and Cambridge has discovered After analyzing the sewage system of the Roman fort of Vindolanda three types of intestinal parasites: intestinal worms, whipworm and giardia duodenalis. In fact, it is the first time that the giardia in Roman Britain. The three intestinal parasites, under the microscope. Intestinal worms, the whipworm or whipworm and the protozoan known as giardia lamblia, intestinalis either duodenalis They are three parasites of the digestive system that are spread by poor hygiene or by contact between infected human feces with food, drinks and hands. The intestinal worms They are a helminth that measures between 20 and 30 centimeters in length and lives in the intestine. The most common among humans are pinworms and ascariasis. Its presence in the intestine can cause abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea. The whipworms They are nematodes that are about five centimeters long. An adult whipworm can consume 0.0005 ml of blood per day, so a high presence of this parasite can translate into severe anemia. Likewise, they can cause rectal prolapse, appendicitis and diarrhea if accompanied by a bacterial invasion. A whipworm infection is more common in children and in warm, humid locations, as well as in places with poor sanitary and/or hygiene conditions. The giardia intestinal parasites is a type of microscopic parasite that still causes serious outbreaks of diarrhea today. Symptoms of a giardia infection are abdominal cramps, bloating, upset stomach, and loose stools. According to the Mayo Clinicgiardiasis is one of the most common causes of waterborne illnesses in the United States. The least they had was malnutrition and diarrhea. The three types of parasites, which today are easily diagnosed and treatable for a complete recovery, were not so so in ancient Rome. As explains Study co-author and University of Cambridge archaeologist Marissa Ledger: “Although the Romans were aware of intestinal worms, their doctors could do little to eliminate these infections or help those suffering from diarrhea, so symptoms could persist and worsen. These chronic infections likely weakened soldiers and reduced their ability to serve.” Vindolanda Fort is a true gem for history and archeology professionals. Located between present-day Carlisle and Corbridge, in Northumberland, it was built at the beginning of the 2nd century AD to protect the province from attacks by northern tribes and monitor the imposing Hadrian’s wallwhich extends from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, with forts and towers distributed along its length. In the fort there were infantry, archer and cavalry units from all over the Empire. Beyond the magnificence of the construction, the most interesting thing is the juice that Vindolanda has offered to history lovers because thanks to its water-saturated soil a large number of organic objects have been preserved: thousand wooden slats that served as a kind of logbook, more than 5,000 leather sandals and also fecal remains. Sediments from a 3rd century drain from a latrine in the thermal complex have been the source of this research. The wall watchers They defecated alive. From 50 sediment samples taken along the conduit, about nine meters long, they found everything from Roman beads to ceramics to animal bones. And under the microscope, a whole intestinal fauna. Approximately 28% of the samples had worm or whipworm eggs, and one of them had both. Using the biomolecular technique ELISA they detected the giardia. Likewise, they analyzed a sample from another fort built in 85 AD and abandoned in 92 AD, where they found worms and whipworms. Thus they deduced that the soldiers suffered from dehydration and became ill with outbreaks of giardia in summer, normally associated with contaminated and rapidly expanding water. It could be worse. The high load of intestinal parasites detected in Vindolanda is not an isolated fact, as they are similar to other Roman military enclaves such as Valkenburg (Netherlands), Carnuntum (Austria) or Bearsden (Scotland). And they even had to give thanks, because in urban sites like London and York the parasite diversity was greater, including tapeworms. It wasn’t as pretty as it looks.. While there may be preconceptions and romanticisations about what it was like to be a Roman soldier, Dr Andrew Birley, chief executive of the Vindolanda Charitable Trust is clear “Excavations at Vindolanda continue to uncover new evidence that helps us understand the incredible difficulties faced by those posted to this northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire almost 2,000 years ago, challenging our preconceptions about what life in a Roman fort and frontier town was really like.” In Xataka | The death of one empire is the birth of another: the graph that reviews the history of civilizations from 4,000 years ago In Xataka | We have been calling Christians ‘thieves’ for decades for taking Christmas from the Romans. But the story wasn’t exactly like that. Cover | Photo of 709am in Unsplash

We have been fascinated, confused and intrigued by Roman “concrete” for three decades. Pompeii is going to solve it for us

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Almost 2,000 years have passed since Mount Vesuvius unleashed a pyroclastic hell that devastated everything that was around it. That was what ended Pompeii, but it was also what gave it eternity. The Roman city began to be excavated in 1739 and, we believe, a third of the city is still underground. That’s why it still continues to surprise us. A work half done. That week in the summer of the year 79 AD, the first domes of the X insula of the IX regio was under construction. This is not surprising, of course. All of Pompeii had been under construction for almost two decades (since the earthquake of 62). However, the curious thing is that on the night of August 24, the workers were caught with everything bogged down. Plumb lines, chisels and weights; stacked tiles, tufa bricks; amphorae filled with lime, reused demolition materials and piles of pozzolans scattered on the ground. Everything has remained there, untouched, until a team from the MIT Department of Civil Engineering found and cataloged them. “The weapon of crime.” By reconstructing the scene and studying the processes, researchers concluded that these masons left incontrovertible evidence of how they mixed “hot” quicklime with volcanic ash to create concrete capable of repairing itself. In fact, as Miguel Ángel Criado collectsthings go further: the chemical and crystallographic analysis of the materials reveals quicklime (calcium oxide) in the structural concrete and slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) in the finishing mortars, thus confirming a double differentiated use. Have we finally found the key to Roman concrete? A recurring question. In 2023, I already said that “Every so often, the world rediscovers Roman concrete and is amazed by the durability of a material that allows Agrippa’s Pantheon to stand for 2,000 years.” “While modern concrete cracks after a few decades,” they usually add. By the way, “almost with the same regularity, there is some scientist or engineer who claims to have found the key secret to making this so.” But the truth, the true truth, is that despite its undoubted historiographical interest (and its potential for illuminate our knowledge of the masonry practices of 1st century Rome), the hype is always unjustified. The two mistakes of Roman concrete. When talking about Roman concrete, a lot of mistakes are usually made, but there are two recurring ones: the first is “the survivor’s bias.” As Manuel F. Herrador reminded usprofessor of Structural Concrete at the School of Civil Engineering of the Universidade da Coruña, the idea of ​​the extraordinary quality of Roman concrete comes from studying, precisely, the best structures they made, the ones that have been best preserved. Instead, most of what the Romans built has already completely disappeared and cannot be studied. The second error is even more basic and is based on ignoring that with Roman concrete we couldn’t do even a tenth of the things we do today with modern concrete. For example, today we can make long and relatively narrow “pieces” thanks to reinforced concrete. That was impossible with Roman construction techniques and is what makes our structures corrode faster. Who wouldn’t like a Roman concrete…? We already knew that Roman concrete is not a single miraculous material, but a family of recipes adapted to local environments and resources (ports, temples, roads, thermal baths). This finding only confirms it; but, in a calculated way, it is used to take advantage of the expectation that this material generates in the public imagination. And if it weren’t for making invisible the excellent work of contemporary researchers, it wouldn’t be a problem either. Because what is evident is that we do not make “Roman-style concrete” not because of ignorance; we don’t do it because we don’t want tobecause it does not serve the world we want to build. Image | Andy Holmes In Xataka | We have a problem with concrete: the same technology that allowed us to build the modern world threatens its future

We have found the oldest living tree in the EU. It is on Teide and almost coincided with the Roman Empire

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Spain is a tourism monster, and one of the most visited points is Teide. The territory of the volcano is imposing, and Bárbol hides on one of its slopes. As the character of ‘The Lord of the Rings‘, Treebeard, a Canary Islands cedar that was the oldest living tree in the European Union. And we say “was” because it has just been surpassed by one of its own species. One that is estimated to be 1,544 years old. Clonal or non-clonal, that is the question. Before we get into the discovery, let’s clarify an important concept when talking about the oldest living trees. There are two categories main: clonal and non-clonal. And understanding them is quite simple: A non-clonal tree is an individual, the traditional concept of a tree that grows from a seed. It is a unique individual with its root system and a main trunk. A clonal tree is one that is born from a root system. For example, some roots can give rise to a tree that grows and dies, and from those same roots, another tree is then born, being a “clone” of the original. Another Canary cedar. Found by researchers from the School of Forestry, Agronomic and Bioengineering Industry Engineering at the Duques de Soria Campus and by experts from the University Institute of Sustainable Forest Management at the University of Valladolid, the newly discovered specimen is a whopping 1,544 years old and is, like Bárbol, a Canary Islands cedar. He overcomes it by several years, since esteem that Bárbol is 1,481 years old, and fortunately for these two specimens, they are very far from tourist areas and human influence. This has allowed them to spend a millennium and a half in the same place where they were born, without worrying about the deforestation of the area caused by humans, and they have not been affected by the eruptions of the volcano. To access the new specimen, the researchers had to be assisted by local climbers to access these remote areas of the Teide National Park to be able to take the samples. This is how they found Treebeard Importance. Thus, they have been able to carry out an inventory of ancient cedars located in these areas that are difficult to access. Of the 25 specimens analyzed with the carbon 14 techniquethe existence of eight millennia has been evidenced, three of them exceeding 1,500 years. They are the witness of an ancient population of cedars that would have covered a large part of the park. The team has commented that it is one of the most important concentrations of ancient trees in the European Union and, furthermore, that “its persistence is due to the inaccessibility of the rocks in which they live.” Lucky. Its scientific value is also enormous, since it is like a historical record of the climate. Studying rings of ancient trees allows us to reconstruct the climatic history of the region, obtaining data on rainfall and drought patterns, tracing an evolution of temperatures and, in the case of Teide, identifying the frequency of volcanic events. It all depends on the “portage”. Those responsible for this discovery are the same ones who already dated to Treebeard in 2022, and it must be said that in Finland they found a juniper with a century more on its bark. Baptized as Utsjoki, in a first analysis in 2021 it was given 1,242 years, but after the discovery of Bárbol, they repeated the analysis and they found with which he was many more: 1,647 years old. But since technicalities have their importance in these things, it must be said that… everyone is right in stating that “theirs” is the longest-lived. The difference is in the arboreal habit of each subject. Both are non-clonal, but while the Finnish juniper had a bushy appearance, the canary has an arboreal appearance. And… well, it must also be said that the juniper died in 1906, so the two canaries are the longest living trees. That’s how they found Utsjoki. | Photo: UTU, Marco Carrer Legends. It is evident that there is a “competition” to find the oldest tree, but this is not a race to turn it into something touristy, as if it can happen with other finds, but rather to have new specimens that allow us to obtain a historical x-ray of the land on which they are. Apart from the specimens studied with methods such as carbon 14 belonging to this classification of non-clonal trees, we have specimens such as Old Tjikko Swedish 9,560 years old. The “trap” is that it is a clonal specimen, so the root system is almost 10,000 years old, but the trunks that appear from time to time only last a few centuries. And finally, those that belong to “folklore”, such as the yew Llangernyw in Wales which, located in the cemetery of a church, is estimated to be about 5,000 years old or the yew tree Fortingall in Scotland between 3,000 and 9,000 years old. Too wide a range. Images | Jens SteckertUVa In Xataka | Even when Spain does it well, it goes wrong: becoming the third most forested country in Europe has become a problem

Roman roads changed the world. And this Google Maps from 2,000 years ago allows you to explore them

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What have the Romans given us? It’s not a question I ask myself when I can’t sleep, but the brilliant satire that Monty Python captured in ‘Brian’s life‘. He aqueductsewage, education, irrigation, health, wine, public baths… and roads. At its peak, it is estimated that The empire’s network expanded over 120,000 kilometersbut as excavation has been carried out, more and more remains of Roman roads have been found. On some occasions we have brought some “Google Maps” of the Roman Empirebut what we have in our hands today is the culmination of an anthological work that compiles some of the most important sources of the arteries of the empire and captures those roads is an impressive interactive map with almost 300,000 kilometers of roads. The tool is called itiner-eand it is something that can absorb us for hours and hours. The Google Maps of the Roman Empire If you have already taken a tour of the mapyou should know that it is a living element. As discoveries are made and the location of the tracks is determined, the team will update the map. But what we currently have is the result of more than five years of work carried out by a team with members from both the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Aarhus University of Denmark. In it study published in Naturedetail that it is “the most detailed and complete digital data set of roads in the entire Roman Empire” published so far. In fact, it exceeds the known length of Roman roads by more than 100,000 km thanks to both greater coverage at the focus and better spatial precision. Previously, the Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations (DARMC) mapped 188,554.7 kilometers. To do this, the researchers identified both the most important routes and the paths of archaeological and historical sources, locating them using both historical and current topographic maps. The main sources have been the Antonine Itinerary and the Tabula Peutingeriana, but the “milestones” and settlements close to each other (for example, limits of the empire, such as those near Hadrian’s Wall) are what have allowed researchers to assume the existence of roads that connected them. Other sources include summaries of the Roman road network in specific regions, maps from the Mapping Past Societies, the Barrington Atlas or the Tabula Imperii Romani, among many others. As a result of this work, the new map includes 299,171 kilometers of roads (to connect a territory of more than four million square kilometers), and they are divided as follows: 103,478 kilometers of main roads, 34.6% of the total. 195,693 kilometers of secondary roads, 65.4% of the total. And it is not that more than 100,000 kilometers have been taken out of the bag, but that roads that previously crossed rivers or were simple straight lines, have now been drawn with greater precision, adapting to the topographical peculiarities of the terrain. Now, although the work is amazing and we can see by playing with the different layers of information that many of the main roads coincide with current roads, the researchers confess that “only” the location of 2.737% of the Roman roads is known with certainty. That is why the vast majority of itiner-e roads show the legend “hypothetical” or “conjecture”, just before detailing the record from which they took the data. This certainty depends on: Certainty: segments well documented in the sources, which have been digitized with high spatial precision. Guess: segments with lower spatial precision due to a lower level of documentation. Hypothetical: paths that are speculated to have existed, but for which there is insufficient evidence to classify them within one of the above groups. For example, roads in desert areas where the infrastructure was less fixed and where several parallel roads have been found. But beyond satisfying our curiosity, something we can do with this map is… play. The team has including a function that is still in beta status and allows you to explore the time these routes took. To do this, we have to select between several points and select between four modes of land transportation: On foot at a speed of 4 km/h. By oxcart at 2 km/2. In an animal like a donkey at 4.5 km/h. And on horseback at 6 km/h. We can also select maritime routes with speeds of 2.5 km/h downstream and 0.6 km/h upstream. In the end, that rebel group from ‘Life of Brian’ was quite right when it came to saying that one of the most important things the Romans had done for them had been the deployment of roads. Because they were fundamental to speed up transportation within the empire’s domains, and that work is noticeable even today. They were the foundations on which we build our roads and urban centers. It is something that becomes clear when we observe that the only place in the empire in which there was not such an important or meticulous deployment, such as Africa and the Middle East, where trade on wheels was abandoned in favor of camel caravans in the 4th-6th centuries, has consequences today. Images | itiner-e In Xataka | Forma Urbis Romae: the gigantic map of Ancient Rome conceived in 1901 and still unsurpassed today

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