Ekathimrini" Herod's villa that Thodoros Spyropopoulos began excavating in the early 1990s covers 20,000 square meters. It contains remarkable collections that reveal the history of Herod himself, who dreamed of a happy home filled with original works of ancient Greek art and Roman copies of ancient works. But he succumbed to depression when his wife Rigilla died, children and pupils died, and turned the luxurious villa into a museum and site for the mystical worship of his dead.
"Throughout the villa he put up funeral stelae, scenes of funeral feasts from classical cemeteries and heroes' monuments in Attica, and above the famous stelae of the Marathon warriors, a supreme monument to the heroized dead," said Giorgos Spyropoulos, curator and co-excavator with his father of Eva, Kynouria, who compared Herod's villa with the Vatican Museum.
The sculptures that decorated Herod's villa (stelae and statues of athletes) expressed "his deep concern with Greek educational values and Greek virtue, and referred to the sports practiced by him and by his father, who had led a chorus of ephebes in Sparta that revived the Lycurgan institutions and the team games of children and ephebes," said the curator.
The construction of the villa resembles that of Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. As the curator explained: "Hadrian was a friend and protector of Herod and he visited Mantineia, Tega and possibly Eva in 131-132 AD. The capitals of the peristyle in the garden, which are from Hadrian's era, like those in the Olympeion in Athens, indicate that the villa was completed in Hadrian's time, around 117-138 AD.
The hundreds of finds are evidence of Herod's desire to collect original works. Among the most important finds are the Orchoumenous Lakaines, statues of dancing Laconian women made by Callimachus (420 BC), which were in a stoa opposite the Caryatid Amazons."
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Frontiers of the Roman Empire considered for multinational heritage site
"THE FRONTIERS of the Roman empire could be resurrected under plans to join Hadrian?s Wall with the chain of forts and walls across Europe in one World Heritage Site.
Such a move could create a European rival to the Great Wall of China and a major boost to tourism in Cumbria.
An Anglo-German bid will be considered by the World Heritage Committee in July to create a new heritage site called Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Hadrian?s Wall already has world heritage status but has no links to the thousands of miles of ancient Roman boundary sites in countries like Austria, Slovakia and the Limes defences in Germany including 300 miles of forts and ditches."
Such a move could create a European rival to the Great Wall of China and a major boost to tourism in Cumbria.
An Anglo-German bid will be considered by the World Heritage Committee in July to create a new heritage site called Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Hadrian?s Wall already has world heritage status but has no links to the thousands of miles of ancient Roman boundary sites in countries like Austria, Slovakia and the Limes defences in Germany including 300 miles of forts and ditches."
Friday, March 04, 2005
Roman oven discovered in Manchester
Manchester Online: "A ROMAN oven and pieces of pottery have been uncovered beneath the site of a new shopping arcade. In addition to the Roman oven and pottery, remains of Westerwold German stoneware have been uncovered.Wigan was the site of a Roman fort known as Coccium, which was in existence in the second century AD.
Three Roman roads have been traced in the Wigan area and researched by the Wigan Archaeological Society.
Other Roman finds in the area include hordes of coins, cremation urns and a headless statue of the Persian god Cautopates."
Monday, February 28, 2005
Roman coin hoard found in Norfolk
Roman coin hoard revealed: "A collection of 963 Roman denarii, including coins from 270 years of early British history, have been found by hobbyists near Norfolk. Most of the coins were found in a ceramic pot buried 14 inches down.
The earliest coins date from 32BC and feature Cleopatra's consort Marc Anthony. The most recent are from 240AD and the short-lived reign of teenage emperor Gordian III."
49 Headless Roman skeletons unearthed
Times Online - Britain: "ARCHAEOLOGISTS have unearthed a Roman cemetery in York with the skeletons of 49 beheaded young men.
Experts from the York Archaeological Trust have yet to explain why the men had been decapitated. One of the victims was buried with thick iron rings around his ankles that had been forged on to him while he was alive.
There are also skeletons of seven children, though their bodies were not mutilated. Dr Ottaway believes that the men were beheaded as part of a ritual in order to ensure that they could not haunt the living.
The skulls were removed after death and placed in the grave by their feet, legs or pelvis. Analysis of the bones has suggested that all of the adult skeletons were young men under the age of about 45.
The skeletons date from about AD200, roughly when Emperor Septimius Severus came to York with an army to fight in Scotland."
Experts from the York Archaeological Trust have yet to explain why the men had been decapitated. One of the victims was buried with thick iron rings around his ankles that had been forged on to him while he was alive.
There are also skeletons of seven children, though their bodies were not mutilated. Dr Ottaway believes that the men were beheaded as part of a ritual in order to ensure that they could not haunt the living.
The skulls were removed after death and placed in the grave by their feet, legs or pelvis. Analysis of the bones has suggested that all of the adult skeletons were young men under the age of about 45.
The skeletons date from about AD200, roughly when Emperor Septimius Severus came to York with an army to fight in Scotland."
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Tomb of Saint Paul Found?
Discovery Channel : "A tomb that may contain the remains of Saint Paul, one of the Christian church's most important leaders and the author of much of the Bible's New Testament, has been unearthed in Rome, according to a Vatican Museums archaeologist.
"The tomb that we discovered is the one that the popes and the Emperor Theodosius (379-395) saved and presented to the whole world as being the tomb of the apostle," Filippi said, as quoted by the Catholic World News (CWN).
Filippi explained that the tomb was found at the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. This basilica was erected in the 4th century on order of Roman emperor Constantine in 386 A.D. Before Constantine's rule, Rome's leaders both shunned and persecuted Christians, who were forced to hide important tombs and relics. Ancient Rome also had a decree that no individual was to be buried within the main city confines.
Archaeologists discovered the sarcophagus on what would have been the ground floor of the 4th century basilica. It was found under the altar next to a marble plaque that reads, "Apostle Paul, martyr."
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Roman coffin found intact in London
Times Online - Britain"A ROMAN wooden coffin has been unearthed in London, the only example of its kind found in Britain.
Archaeologists expressed excitement that it had survived intact, centuries after other examples had disintegrated without trace. In dating from AD120, the new find is an unusually early example of a Roman burial.
It was not until the 3rd century AD that the Roman Britons generally buried their dead. Prior to this they usually favoured cremation. The skeleton belonged to a man over the age of 25, at a time when only 10 per cent lived beyond the age of 45.
The coffin, which went on display yesterday at the Museum of London, was found during building work in Holborn, on a steep side of the River Fleet, one of the many rivers that flow beneath London?s streets to the Thames.
Although the coffin was made of re-used old oak and included only a modest wine flagon, it does not necessarily reflect a low status. The skeleton shows a degeneration that tends to indicate a high-calorie diet. "
Archaeologists expressed excitement that it had survived intact, centuries after other examples had disintegrated without trace. In dating from AD120, the new find is an unusually early example of a Roman burial.
It was not until the 3rd century AD that the Roman Britons generally buried their dead. Prior to this they usually favoured cremation. The skeleton belonged to a man over the age of 25, at a time when only 10 per cent lived beyond the age of 45.
The coffin, which went on display yesterday at the Museum of London, was found during building work in Holborn, on a steep side of the River Fleet, one of the many rivers that flow beneath London?s streets to the Thames.
Although the coffin was made of re-used old oak and included only a modest wine flagon, it does not necessarily reflect a low status. The skeleton shows a degeneration that tends to indicate a high-calorie diet. "
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Roman mosaic of naked harvesters is revealed under Trajan's Bath
Roman mosaic of naked harvesters is revealed under Trajan's BathA well-preserved, nearly 2,000-year-old mosaic depicting five frolicking naked men in a grape harvest scene is Rome's latest new, stunning find from digs into layers of history under the city's modern-day surface.
So far, the only ones to come face-to-face with the underground marvel is a team of cave explorers who lowered themselves into a space under the ancient Baths of Trajan, in the bowels of the Oppian Hill, one of the city's seven ancient hills.
"Having found a polychrome mosaic of such a size and quality when we didn't expect to find anything so prestigious is an exceptional thing which gave us indescribable emotions," said Marco Placidi, who lowered himself 42 feet into the earth to inspect the decoration.
The team of speleologists was brought in to get a full look at the 10-foot-long and 6-foot-high mosaic, which was first spied in 1998 by archaeologists who were digging through the subterranean structures of the Baths. They saw only a small detail of it by peeking with a tiny camera through a hole.
Archaeologists said Friday that the mosaic is believed to date between A.D. 64 and A.D. 100 and is likely part of the wall decoration of what was a large hall beneath the ruins of the hill, part of the sprawling grounds where Emperor Nero built his fabled Golden Palace, or "Domus Aurea."
"For its particular subject and quality, we believe this mosaic has set a model for other similar artworks" of the ancient past, said Giovanni Caruso, an archaeologist who supervised the excavation.
One of the five men depicted in the mosaic is picking bunches of grapes from a vine while another, portrayed from behind, is playing a double flute. The other three men, wearing leafy crowns, dance on harvested grapes in a rectangular vat.
Experts theorized that the mosaic decorated part of the extensive urban structures that were built in the area during the reigns of the seven emperors who came between Nero's rule (A.D. 54-68) and Trajan's (A.D. 98-117).
So far, the only ones to come face-to-face with the underground marvel is a team of cave explorers who lowered themselves into a space under the ancient Baths of Trajan, in the bowels of the Oppian Hill, one of the city's seven ancient hills.
"Having found a polychrome mosaic of such a size and quality when we didn't expect to find anything so prestigious is an exceptional thing which gave us indescribable emotions," said Marco Placidi, who lowered himself 42 feet into the earth to inspect the decoration.
The team of speleologists was brought in to get a full look at the 10-foot-long and 6-foot-high mosaic, which was first spied in 1998 by archaeologists who were digging through the subterranean structures of the Baths. They saw only a small detail of it by peeking with a tiny camera through a hole.
Archaeologists said Friday that the mosaic is believed to date between A.D. 64 and A.D. 100 and is likely part of the wall decoration of what was a large hall beneath the ruins of the hill, part of the sprawling grounds where Emperor Nero built his fabled Golden Palace, or "Domus Aurea."
"For its particular subject and quality, we believe this mosaic has set a model for other similar artworks" of the ancient past, said Giovanni Caruso, an archaeologist who supervised the excavation.
One of the five men depicted in the mosaic is picking bunches of grapes from a vine while another, portrayed from behind, is playing a double flute. The other three men, wearing leafy crowns, dance on harvested grapes in a rectangular vat.
Experts theorized that the mosaic decorated part of the extensive urban structures that were built in the area during the reigns of the seven emperors who came between Nero's rule (A.D. 54-68) and Trajan's (A.D. 98-117).
Monday, January 31, 2005
Give us back our chariot, Umbrian villagers tell the Metropolitan Museum
Telegraph : "A tiny Umbrian village is taking on the mighty Metropolitan Museum in New York, claiming that one of its most exalted exhibits, an Etruscan chariot, was illegally exported from Italy 100 years ago.
The sixth-century bronze and ivory chariot, the pride of the museum's Etruscan collection, was originally sold to two Frenchmen by a farmer who dug it up in a field at Monteleone di Spoleto, near Perugia, in 1902.
According to family lore, the farmer received two cows in exchange. The local mayor, Nando Durastanti, believes that he actually swapped the chariot, one of the world's greatest antiquities, for 30 terracotta tiles. It was later dismantled and illegally exported from Italy, concealed in a grain shipment.
Said to be the only Etruscan chariot ever found intact, the 14ft by 4ft vehicle, showing scenes from the life of Achilles in relief, was part of a burial treasure.
It was found with the remains of two humans still sitting inside, along with two drinking cups, which helped date it to 530BC. The farmer, Isidoro Vannozzi, is said to have stumbled across it while digging a wine cellar. He hid the treasure in his barn, fearing that the authorities would confiscate it."
The Scotsman - International - New broom to make togas the Roman way
The Scotsman - International - New broom to make togas the Roman way: "RESEARCHERS in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii are attempting to revive 2,000-year-old traditions to reproduce imperial cloth used to make togas and uniforms.
The project follows successful production of Roman wine two years ago using methods that would have been employed in vineyards buried by a devastating eruption from Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Historians at the archaeology department in Pompeii are experimenting with wild broom as the base product to make the textiles.
They will be using the writings of ancient Roman scholars such as Pliny and Columella to make the cloth as well as relying on materials discovered within Pompeii in buried workshops."
The project follows successful production of Roman wine two years ago using methods that would have been employed in vineyards buried by a devastating eruption from Mount Vesuvius in AD79. Historians at the archaeology department in Pompeii are experimenting with wild broom as the base product to make the textiles.
They will be using the writings of ancient Roman scholars such as Pliny and Columella to make the cloth as well as relying on materials discovered within Pompeii in buried workshops."
Friday, January 28, 2005
Ancient Roman Rest Stop Provided Surprisinly Modern Amenities
Discovery Channel: "Underneath a German bus terminal, archaeologists have found the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman roadside rest stop that included a chariot service station, gourmet restaurant and hotel with central heating.
Upon arrival, travelers would have entered a forecourt, where mechanics stood by at a chariot service station. Hay and water troughs would have given the horses a nibble and a drink while their owners dined on a variety of foods, including ethnic cuisine.
"We haven't found any brown sauce sachets, but we have uncovered many ceramic plates, pots, and pans," Sabine Sauer, an archaeologist for the city of Neuss, told the Telegraph newspaper in London. "We have found the rubbish tips - and although much of the organic waste has long since rotted away, we have clues as to what they ate from discarded pottery. There were spice jars containing garum sauces from North Africa, similar to what one might find in a Thai restaurant today."
She added, "We know from the bones that they ate a lot of meat - chicken and pork - as well as bread, rice, lentils and fruit. There were desserts of sweet cakes, cooked with sesame seeds and almonds. There must have been a flourishing trade; there were many fragments of wine amphora and broken plates."
After the big nosh, travelers would have had the option of staying for the night at the hotel, which was made of slate and bricked with narrow joints.
The foundation was raised to allow for a wood-fueled furnace at the bottom of the structure. Hot air from the fire would have risen naturally to fill chimneys located within the guest rooms. The hot air also warmed the walls, which were made of partially hollowed-out bricks.
Sauer said the complex was energy efficient, since the forests around Neuss already had been mostly depleted before the inn's heyday. In addition to the underground heating system, a slate roof on the building captured the sun's heat, somewhat comparable to how solar panels operate today."
Upon arrival, travelers would have entered a forecourt, where mechanics stood by at a chariot service station. Hay and water troughs would have given the horses a nibble and a drink while their owners dined on a variety of foods, including ethnic cuisine.
"We haven't found any brown sauce sachets, but we have uncovered many ceramic plates, pots, and pans," Sabine Sauer, an archaeologist for the city of Neuss, told the Telegraph newspaper in London. "We have found the rubbish tips - and although much of the organic waste has long since rotted away, we have clues as to what they ate from discarded pottery. There were spice jars containing garum sauces from North Africa, similar to what one might find in a Thai restaurant today."
She added, "We know from the bones that they ate a lot of meat - chicken and pork - as well as bread, rice, lentils and fruit. There were desserts of sweet cakes, cooked with sesame seeds and almonds. There must have been a flourishing trade; there were many fragments of wine amphora and broken plates."
After the big nosh, travelers would have had the option of staying for the night at the hotel, which was made of slate and bricked with narrow joints.
The foundation was raised to allow for a wood-fueled furnace at the bottom of the structure. Hot air from the fire would have risen naturally to fill chimneys located within the guest rooms. The hot air also warmed the walls, which were made of partially hollowed-out bricks.
Sauer said the complex was energy efficient, since the forests around Neuss already had been mostly depleted before the inn's heyday. In addition to the underground heating system, a slate roof on the building captured the sun's heat, somewhat comparable to how solar panels operate today."
Augsburg: Roman, Medieval and Rich
Deutsche Welle: "
Augsburg, Germany was shaped by the trade in salt and silver in Roman and medieval times. The ancient Roman Empire has left its traces in many parts of Augsburg, and its legacy is a continual source of amazement. Urban construction projects, for instance, often end up becoming more like archaeological digs since the most remarkable things turn up like a stone from a grave showing a wine transport.
Of course, historical artifacts are fairly common to Augsburg which was situated along the 'Via Claudia,' the road leading from Germania to Rome. Over the centuries, the route developed into a main trading route linking several major cities. "
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Roman work tossed in Athens stream
ekathimerini.com: "A first-century-AD work that is a Roman copy of a fourth-century-BC classical original and possibly represents Apollo Lykeios has been found in a stream in Athens. Yiorgos Steinhauer, head of the Culture Ministry?s local antiquities department said the statue could have been recently discovered by builders during construction work, and dumped in the streambed for fear archaeologists might stop the works if alerted to the find."
Friday, January 21, 2005
Malls pioneered by rich Romans
Telegraph : "The luxury housing estate and out-of-town shopping centre may need to be added to the long list of what the Romans did for Britain.
Work in Bath suggests that rich Romans were so keen to live close to city centre attractions that they abandoned the empire's traditional habit of building lavish villas in the countryside, well away from the neighbours and commerce within the city walls.
Excavations in Bath reveal that at least half a dozen elegant homes existed near each other and within easy reach of leisure areas. One villa was found while sprinkler pipes were being laid across a golf course. A second villa with mosaic floors was found a few hundred feet away."
Work in Bath suggests that rich Romans were so keen to live close to city centre attractions that they abandoned the empire's traditional habit of building lavish villas in the countryside, well away from the neighbours and commerce within the city walls.
Excavations in Bath reveal that at least half a dozen elegant homes existed near each other and within easy reach of leisure areas. One villa was found while sprinkler pipes were being laid across a golf course. A second villa with mosaic floors was found a few hundred feet away."
Large Mosaic discovered in Domus Aurea excavation
MSNBC"A large mosaic, more than 9 by 6 feet, showing naked men harvesting grapes and making wine, a typical illustration for a Roman palace of the time has been unearthed by continuing excavations of the Emperor Nero's "Golden House" in Rome. Three of the men are stomping on grapes in a vat. One plays a double flute. They all seem to be having fun.
The mosaic adorns a giant arch buried in Colle Oppio, the hill on which Nero's palace stood. The mosaics were found more than 40 feet below the ruins of the Trajan Baths, a large structure built over the Golden House more than half a century after Nero's death by suicide. Experts are split over whether these artworks were part of Nero's estate or dated from an earlier building that he knocked down to make way for his mansion.
The mosaic adorns a giant arch buried in Colle Oppio, the hill on which Nero's palace stood. The mosaics were found more than 40 feet below the ruins of the Trajan Baths, a large structure built over the Golden House more than half a century after Nero's death by suicide. Experts are split over whether these artworks were part of Nero's estate or dated from an earlier building that he knocked down to make way for his mansion.
Falcons Fly to the Rescue of Ancient Herculaneum
Yahoo! News: "After being buried in boiling mud when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, the ruined ancient city of Herculaneum is now being deluged with acidic pigeon droppings.
The situation has got so bad that archaeologists have called in three falcons to scare away the hundreds of pigeons that have set up home in the once-vibrant Roman town."
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Chariot Race Track discovered in Colchester
ThisisLondon: "Historians believe they may have discovered the world's biggest Roman chariot-racing track outside Italy ... in Essex.
The track was unearthed by archaeologists at the site of the Army garrison in Colchester. The 209-acre site was part of the Army base there."
The track was unearthed by archaeologists at the site of the Army garrison in Colchester. The 209-acre site was part of the Army base there."
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Clay lamps shed new light on daily life in antiquity
The Daily Star: "Clay lamps help archaeologists reconstruct daily activities inside the otherwise empty shell of a room or corridor of a ruin. For example, at Bet Guvrin/Beit Jibrin southwest of Jerusalem, nearly one hundred lamps and numerous lamp fragments were recovered in the sacellum, or shrine chamber, of the amphitheater. That lamps were found in association with two altars indicates they may have served a ritual role among the gladiators. Similarly, a deposit of 31 clay lamps were unearthed surrounding the altar inside the Mithraeum, or Mithraic cult center, at Caesarea Maritima/Qaisariye; the discovery further underscores the significance of light in this Roman mystery cult centered around the sun-god Mithras.
In Late Antiquity, clay oil lamps were used as a medium to express and to circulate religious thought. Greek passages linked to liturgies associated with specific Christian churches such as the Church of St. Mary's in Nazareth, for example, occur on early Byzantine lamps popular in the Jerusalem area. Kufic inscriptions depicted on early Islamic lamps further praise the greatness of Allah. Clay lamps also disseminated religious symbols: Lamps portraying pagan gods, Jewish menorahs, and Christian crosses were widely manufactured and distributed by pottery workshops in North Africa, Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, and Syria-Palestine.
The occurrence of such lamps helps archaeologists identify the presence of religious groups at any given site, and in some archaeological contexts represents the only artifact type to do so. Take, for example, the 'candlestick' slipper lamps with cross images recovered in the rock-cut tombs at Tel el-Ful north of Jerusalem. Because lamps decorated with crosses - a distinct Christian symbol - would have appealed to a Christian clientele, a large quantity of them discovered in a funerary complex like that at Tel el-Ful indicats Christian burial there, and thus, the presence of a Christian community somewhere in the vicinity of the site in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D."
In Late Antiquity, clay oil lamps were used as a medium to express and to circulate religious thought. Greek passages linked to liturgies associated with specific Christian churches such as the Church of St. Mary's in Nazareth, for example, occur on early Byzantine lamps popular in the Jerusalem area. Kufic inscriptions depicted on early Islamic lamps further praise the greatness of Allah. Clay lamps also disseminated religious symbols: Lamps portraying pagan gods, Jewish menorahs, and Christian crosses were widely manufactured and distributed by pottery workshops in North Africa, Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, and Syria-Palestine.
The occurrence of such lamps helps archaeologists identify the presence of religious groups at any given site, and in some archaeological contexts represents the only artifact type to do so. Take, for example, the 'candlestick' slipper lamps with cross images recovered in the rock-cut tombs at Tel el-Ful north of Jerusalem. Because lamps decorated with crosses - a distinct Christian symbol - would have appealed to a Christian clientele, a large quantity of them discovered in a funerary complex like that at Tel el-Ful indicats Christian burial there, and thus, the presence of a Christian community somewhere in the vicinity of the site in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D."
Cumbrian Excavation Reveals Women Once Served in the Roman Army
Times Online - Britain: "Women soldiers were previously unknown in the Roman army in Britain and the find at Brougham in Cumbria will force a reappraisal of their role in 3rd-century society.
The women are thought to have come from the Danube region of Eastern Europe, which was where the Ancient Greeks said the fearsome Amazon warriors could be found.
The women, believed to have died some time between AD220 and 300, were burnt on pyres upon which were placed their horses and military equipment. The remains were uncovered in the 1960s but full-scale analysis and identification has been possible only since 2000 with technological advances.
The soldiers are believed to have been part of the numerii, a Roman irregular unit, which would have been attached to a legion serving in Britain. Other finds show that their unit originated from the Danubian provinces of Noricum, Pannonia and Ilyria which now form parts of Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia."
The women are thought to have come from the Danube region of Eastern Europe, which was where the Ancient Greeks said the fearsome Amazon warriors could be found.
The women, believed to have died some time between AD220 and 300, were burnt on pyres upon which were placed their horses and military equipment. The remains were uncovered in the 1960s but full-scale analysis and identification has been possible only since 2000 with technological advances.
The soldiers are believed to have been part of the numerii, a Roman irregular unit, which would have been attached to a legion serving in Britain. Other finds show that their unit originated from the Danubian provinces of Noricum, Pannonia and Ilyria which now form parts of Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia."
Friday, December 17, 2004
Rare Roman sword acquired by Royal Armouries
Leeds Today: "THE Royal Armouries has sharpened its collection with the acquisition of a 2,000-year-old Roman sword ? autographed by the original owner. It is the best preserved sword of its type in the UK.
The blade and its scabbard mounts have been bought at auction by the Leeds-based national museum of arms and armour, and they are about to go on display alongside a replica of how the sword may have looked when carried by a Roman infantryman in the first century AD.
The fascinating weapon, an important sword of the Pompeii type, is decorated with engraved figures ? possibly Mars, the Roman god of war, and Victory ? and has a dot-punched inscription of the owner's name, Caius Valerius Primus.
The sword was discovered on a spoil heap in Germany in the early 1970s by an amateur archaeologist.
The blade and its scabbard mounts have been bought at auction by the Leeds-based national museum of arms and armour, and they are about to go on display alongside a replica of how the sword may have looked when carried by a Roman infantryman in the first century AD.
The fascinating weapon, an important sword of the Pompeii type, is decorated with engraved figures ? possibly Mars, the Roman god of war, and Victory ? and has a dot-punched inscription of the owner's name, Caius Valerius Primus.
The sword was discovered on a spoil heap in Germany in the early 1970s by an amateur archaeologist.
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