cool history, artifacts etc. thread

[Simon Bar Sinister]

I just came across this at io9; it concerns an artifact from ancient Grecian times that has recently undergone a very thorough analysis; the results have just been published, and...well, you just need to see this: http://io9.com/5441889/advanced-imaging-reveals-a-computer-1500-years-ahead-of-its-time

[Slogo]

That's pretty sweet

p.s. a history thread? I'm gonna have fun with this

[pomba gira]

I wondered if they were going to get around to doing some advanced imaging on that thing... fascinating stuff.

[torn asunder]

p.s. a history thread? I'm gonna have fun with this

p.s. a history thread? i'm gonna take a nap now!!

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

That's damn awesome.

[Slogo]

Lately I've actually been studying the "Greats" (Peter, Catherine, Fredrick)

[torn asunder]

i'm just pokin' fun - never been a big history guy. this artifact, however, is stunning in its complexity! makes you wonder if things like the atlantean culture may have actually existed!

[pomba gira]

i'm just pokin' fun - never been a big history guy. this artifact, however, is stunning in its complexity! makes you wonder if things like the atlantean culture may have actually existed!

To really appreciate "history" you have to totally ignore all the boring and largely untrue stuff that is taught in most school curricula. I highly recommend Cracked.com for hilariously-written but very well-researched historical gems... like these:

Nuke the Moon: 5 Certifiably Insane Cold War Projects

The 7 Most Badass Last Stands in the History of Battle

6 People who Secretly Ruled the World

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Mammoth carcasses, rising out of the permafrost: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-fg-woolly-mammoth2-2010mar02,0,494596.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fscience+%28L.A.+Times+-+Science%29

[Simon Bar Sinister]

door to the afterlife found: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10229329

[Simon Bar Sinister]

7,000-year-old city being excavated in Syria:

http://io9.com/5511081/excavations-begin-on-syrias-7000+year+old-metropolis-known-as-zaidan

[Simon Bar Sinister]

mammoth blood brought back to life: http://io9.com/5529753/mammoth-blood-brought-back-to-life

I just broke out and cleaned up my grill today. Coincidence? I think not!

[StormKnight (1)]

Hopefully, it will be more tender and juicy than the stuff we get off freeze-dried carcasses.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

humans and Neanderthals did the nasty! http://io9.com/5532992/its-official-some-of-you-are-human+neandertal-hybrid-babies

[prick]

Fascinating stuff.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

yeah, so...as the ice sheets retreat, archaeologists are finding all kinds of cool stuff - like pre-Viking artifacts.

http://io9.com/5637946/as-the-arctic-melts-archaeologists-discover-a-lost-civilization

[Simon Bar Sinister]

this. is. dope.

http://io9.com/5742457/the-ancient-greek-hero-who-invented-the-steam-engine-cybernetics-and-vending-machines

[Simon Bar Sinister]

today is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War.

[Vater Araignee]

today is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War.

Hence civil war and Fort Sumter occupying the 1 and 2 search trend spots.

[prick]

Next year is the 200 year anniversary of the war of 1812. Michigan was effected a bit more here then in the revolutionary war IMO.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

shipwreck diving in Lake Huron - with video!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43760175/?gt1=43001

[Troy Spiral (13)]

A lot of the things above would make good topics of their own. (No matter what we do we have to drag (most people) kicking and screaming into these types of subjects) ... always amazes me how people segment "history" from "reality" as if they are separate "i don't find reality interesting" now that would be logically defenseable, "i don't like history (but i do like reality)" is confusing. Since just about everything we talk about includes "history" of one form or another. Anyhow... separate topics do tend to get a lot more eyeballs than existing ones, just due to the "new" factor.

The "curiosity" type stuff makes sense in a topic like this but various sort of "big / significant" finds would make cool new topics although any post is better than no post.

Kathryn Bard, a CAS associate professor of archaeology, recently discovered the first ancient remains of Egyptian seafaring ships.

Carefully wrapped in coils by ancient Egyptian sailors almost 4,000 years ago, the ropes were found in a man-made cave at the ancient Red Sea port of Marsa Gawasis.

Kathryn Bard had “the best Christmas ever” this past December when she discovered the well-preserved timbers and riggings of pharaonic seafaring ships inside two man-made caves on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. They are the first pieces ever recovered from Egyptian seagoing vessels, and along with hieroglyphic inscriptions found near one of the caves, they promise to shed light on an elaborate network of ancient Red Sea trade.

thing that is annoying me is i have the article right here in front of me (Discover magazine) but cant find the same pictures as what I'm looking at...

[Simon Bar Sinister]

2,000 year old statue of Caligula saved from theft by tomb raiders, unveiled to public:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43727037

[Troy Spiral (13)]

2,000 year old statue of Caligula saved from theft by tomb raiders, unveiled to public:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43727037

Neat.

From a few other things I read about that, its difficult to substantiate who that figure actually is, but lacking any other explanation for now, Caligula it is.

Random aside: One of the subjects of the (Well Done) TV Miniseries (not a documentary, although they try hard to be resonably accurate) "I Claudius" (who became emperor after Caligula was assassinated)

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Temple dedicated to the Greek god Priapus (for whom the condition priapism is named) discovered in Bulgaria:

http://now.msn.com/priapus-temple-dedicated-to-phallic-greek-god-unearthed-in-bulgaria