Just History

Because history is awesome just the way it is! No frills, no sensationalism, just an honest look at some of the amazing moments, people and things from the past.

[justhistory]

Just History turned 1 today!

Happy birthday to my somewhat-neglected other account! One of these days I'll get my act together and do more here.

[bloodedcelt]

[justhistory]

Aren't these just the cutest??

Female figurines

Assyrian- c. 2400 BC

[source]

[ancientart]

Egyptian limestone fragment, from the Amarna Period of the New Kingdom, ca. 1352-1336 B.C.E.

Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum, via their online collections. Accession Number: 16.67.

[justhistory]

Nyeeeeh :þ

[romkids]

How often do you reach for a Post-It note? Maybe you’re making that to do list, or figuring out your groceries. But you know, what if you lived BEFORE Post-It notes or scrap paper? What would you use then?

In Thebes, where these examples are from, and across the Roman Empire, scraps of used and broken pottery would be used to scribble quick notes. These examples are called ostraka. Most of the ostraka that our conservators and curators are studying right now contain notes on taxes and granary receipts from the second century AD.

The notes are written in Greek script. Kay Sunahara, ROM archaeologist studying these pieces, described the Greek langage at the time as, “the lingua franca of the Mediterranean”. Greek was the most frequently used written language, used to help bridge the gap between speakers of different languages, much like English today.

The majority of these pieces we’re found and acquired in the early 1900’s by none other than ROM founder Charles T. Currelly.

So how are these scrap pieces of pottery useful to archaeology today? Are grocery lists really that vaulabe? For archaeologists, ostraka provide them with a great deal of information about the people who left these notes in the first place. Information such as what people were eating, trading for, in trouble for, and the prices of things, give us a unique look into those who lived far before us, in this case well over a thousand years ago.

Interestingly enough, it also shows us just how similar we are to those who lived long before. Everyone needs groceries, and a reminder letter, maybe from their mom, or from their husband, of what to get from the store.

National Archaeology Day takes place on October 20th at the ROM and many other museums around the world!

[ancientart]

Ancient post-it notes!

[justhistory]

Let's talk about ostraca for a sec! They're super cool...even though yes, they are essentially broken pieces of pottery. They are exactly how the headline describes them and really were the post-it notes of the ancient world. We have a particularly neat little display at the LMU museum with a bunch of ostraca arranged in a line to show the development in writing in Egypt from hieratic to demotic (aka demonic) to Coptic and a couple stages in between. 

TL;DR broken bits of ancient pottery with misc. writing on them are super cool.

[archaeologicalnews]

An ancient stone carving on the walls of an Egyptian temple depicts the Roman emperor Claudius dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh, wearing an elaborate crown, a team of researchers has discovered.

In the carving, Emperor Claudius, who reigned from A.D. 41 to 54, is shown erecting a giant pole...

[justhistory]

Aaaaah how cool! Of course, he was just following in the footsteps of every other non-Egyptian ruler of Egypt who wanted to make sure his subjects saw him as a legitimate ruler and commissioned works portraying him as pharaoh in the traditional style performing rites and rituals that were important to the people and culture of Egypt. 

Also, the ceremonial tent pole has quite a bit to do with the following hieroglyph:  which is a ceremonial pavilion in which you...have your ceremonies. 

[toqaahmed]

[cleolinda]

(via Tyche - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[justhistory]

Cool goddesses have a tiny city as a hat

[justhistory]

Houston: Among the large headlines concerning Apollo this morning, there's one asking that you watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit. An ancient legend says a beautiful Chinese girl called Chang-o has been living there for 4,000 years. It seems she was banished to the Moon because she stole the pill of immortality from her husband. You might also look for her companion, a large Chinese rabbit, who is easy to spot since he is always standing on his hind feet in the shade of a cinnamon tree. The name of the rabbit is not reported. Buzz Aldrin: Okay. We'll keep a close eye out for the bunny girl.

Meanwhile, on the Moon...

Amusing moments in history brought to you by my current research for work.

[source]

[justhistory]

THE KIDNAPPING CASE.; Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northrup. INTERESTING DISCLOSURES.

We have obtained from Washington the subjoined statement of the circumstances attending the seizure and recovery of the negro man SOLOMON NORTHROP, whose case has excited so high a degree of interest.

The actual 1853 report that ran in the NY Times detailing Solomon Northrup's kidnapping and subsequent enslavement. It's a worthwhile read but damn is there some legal bullshit at the end. WTF, Louisiana? 

[ancientart]

Craigs Dolmen, Finvoy, Northern Ireland.

Craigs Dolmen is a passage tomb, which consists of a single oval chamber, formed by the upright stones supporting a capstone. It was likely built before 2000 BCE, but re-used for burial in the Bronze Age; cremated bone and pottery have been found during archaeological excavations.

Photos courtesy & taken by Philip Hay.

[justhistory]

I wish the correct term for these lovely structures was a 'dolman' and the plural was 'dolmen'. Just because that would be funny. 

[justhistory]

In honor of the 3D explodey ab-fest that is the new movie 'Pompeii', why not take a moment to read about what actually took place from someone who was actually there and witnessed the whole thing?

[oupacademic]

Can you command the goddess to sing? 

Barry B. Powell reads the first 100 lines of The Iliad by Homer in the original Greek. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and author of a new free verse translation of The Iliad.

Listen to more of the Iliad in Greek and English on our Soundcloud page.

[justhistory]

YESSSSSSSS

[ancientart]

Gold male death-mask made of sheet metal with repoussé details portraying the deceased. Mycenae, dates to 1600-1500 B.C.

Courtesy & currently located at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Photo taken by Giovanni Dall’Orto.

[justhistory]

So pretty , so shiny.

[justhistory]

Snails Used to Make Biblical Blue: Photos : DNews

Israeli researchers have identified 2000-year-old fabrics that were dyed using one of the most expensive materials in antiquity -- a snail.

Behold the mighty murex! These little guys, when crushed, created Tyrian purple, the most sought-after dye in the ancient world. This was the purple used to make clothes for queens, emperors and the wealthiest movers and shakers of ancient history. Here's an example of Tyrian purple fabric used by a certain Charlemagne.

The ancient city of Tyre was the only place that could make this dye and the recipe was essentially lost until the 20th century when some very smart people discovered the main chemical component and then (much, much later) reconstructed the formula from an incomplete recipe recorded by Pliny the Elder and lo, Tyrian purple was reborn! 

[justhistory]

Celestial turtles (and a bonus celestial goose) as seen on the astronomical chart in the tomb of Senenmut (Theban tomb no. 353)

See the whole thing here!

Bonus hot 18th dynasty gossip about Senenmut here.

[ancientart]

Roman bronze military diplomas.

The first is mid-Imperial, Antonine, and dates to ca. A.D. 149. One of four.

These tablets record that in A.D. 149, the Emperor Antoninus Pius granted Roman citizenship and the right to legal marriage to discharged veterans of foreign birth who had served for twenty-five years in auxiliary units. Each veteran received a copy of the law inscribed on two bronze tablets fastened together with wires, which were officially sealed. This copy belonged to an infantryman named Dasmenus Azalus, clearly a man of Near Eastern origin. (x)

The second is one of three fragments, mid-Imperial, Trajanic, dates to A.D. 113/14.

These discharge papers were issued by the Emperor Trajan to sailors on a warship, a quadrireme, in the imperial fleet based in Misenum on the Bay of Naples. The ship may have formed part of the flotilla that escorted the emperor from Italy to the East for the Parthian War (A.D. 114–117). (x)

Courtesy & currently located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

[justhistory]

Roman writing just makes me so happy. Look at it! Just look at it! I don't even care that I can barely read it when it's handwritten it's just so pretty.