Archaeologists have long studied diseases in past populations. They’ve explored the evolution of pathogens and how they interacted with humans.
Source: Archaeology shows how ancient African societies managed pandemics : The Conversation
Tag: #archaeology
The Roman ‘Brexit’: how life in Britain changed after 409AD
Leaving a major political body is nothing new for mainland Britain. In 409AD, more than 350 years after the Roman conquest of 43AD, the island slipped from the control of the Roman Empire. Much like the present Brexit, the process of this secession and its practical impacts on Britain’s population in the early years of the 5th century remain ill-defined.
As with the UK and Brussels, Britain had always been a mixed blessing for Rome. In around 415AD, St Jerome called the island “fertile in tyrants” (meaning usurpers) and late Roman writers portrayed a succession of rebellions in Britain, usually instigated by the army – many of whom would have been born in the province.
Around 407AD, the latest usurper, Constantine III, left Britain, taking the remaining elements of the army with him. The late Roman writer, Zosimus, then wrote that the pressure of Barbarian invaders obliged the British to throw off Roman rule and live “no longer subject to Roman laws but as they themselves pleased”, a phrase guaranteed to warm the heart of any Brexiteer.
This episode, around 409AD, seems to have been the end of Roman government in Britain. No “Romans” left, beyond the small number of soldiers who went to the continent to fight with Constantine III. Instead, the end of Roman Britain was, like the proposed present Brexit, a change in a relationship with a distant administration. But how did this change actually affect the people who lived in the island? And what were the consequences?
Source: The Roman ‘Brexit’: how life in Britain changed after 409AD
North Dakota Oil Pipeline: Company Destroys Native Burial Sites
This is disgraceful and the law should be protecting the victims,the Standing Rock Sioux people.
If true, this is pure barbarism. I blogged earlier this week about protests by Native Americans about the North Dakota Access Pipeline, which is intended to carry oil through the lands of the Standing Rock Sioux people. The tribe are opposing it, as they fear that the pipeline will lead to the pollution of their water supply and the destruction of their lands and its ecosystem. In this piece from Democracy Now!, the anchor Amy Goodson speaks to the tribe’s lawyer, Jan Hasselman, from the chambers Earthjustice, and the tribe’s chairman Dave Archambault.
The oil company has tried a number of tactics to try to close down and disrupt the protests. They local sheriff and officials have pulled cellphone access over the area, to stop citizens uploading videos of the protests to the internet. They’ve also attacked the protesters with dogs and pepper spray. There’s video footage of the bites…
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Stonehenge researchers ‘may have found largest Neolithic site’
One Man Knocked Down A Wall In His Basement. What He Found Still Shocks Me.
Original post from Viral Nova
‘……..By Laura Caseley
When you renovate a building, a general rule to keep in mind is to know what you’re knocking down. A careless swing of the sledgehammer can result in damage to pipes, wiring, and load-bearing beams. Or, in the case of one house in 1960s Turkey, things could get just plain weird.
While redoing his house in 1963, a man in the Nevsehir Province of Turkey, in an area known as Cappadocia, knocked down a wall. He was probably not thinking that much of it. However, instead of seeing something expected, he found himself looking into a tunnel.
One of the many hidden tunnel entrances to Derinkuyu.
What he had found, unbeknownst to him at the time, was the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu. Derinkuyu was an entire city carved into the stone below Cappadocia, reaching some 60 meters down. It had 18 levels, and included residences, churches, food storage, wineries, and even a school. It was designed to house some 20,000 people as well as a number of livestock. It features vents to the surface and several discreet entrances like the tunnel found behind the wall. These hidden entrances suggest that the city was built as a precaution in order to shelter the population in times of war or natural disaster.
A Derinkuyu winery. The city was designed to support people for a long time.
This large room with its vaulted ceiling was used as a religious school. The city of Derinkuyu was used by Christian populations from the early Middle Ages up until the early 20th century.
An illustration of an underground city like Derinkuyu. Note the church on the bottom level. Cities like this were used during times of Christian persecution, so religious items would be placed on the lowest levels for protection.
The elaborate subterranean city was connected via stairways and passages, and even connected to other underground cities through tunnels that stretched for miles. It’s thought to have been initially built during the seventh and eighth centuries BCE, and was in continual, frequent use through the 12th century. Based on the church found on the fifth and lowest level, it seems the population was Christian, and probably used the city during wartime. The city was also used as a refuge from the Mongolian invasion in the 1300s and up through the 20th century for Christian people fleeing persecution. It was finally abandoned for good in 1923.
Most of Derinkuyu’s entrances are hidden, and each of the five levels can be closed off separately with huge stone doors. The room for livestock and food stores, as well as a 55-meter shaft used as a well, means the inhabitants planned to be able to stay there for a long time. There were even arsenals and escape passages in case things became desperate.
One of the massive stone doors that would block off entrances. The hole in the center would be fit with a beam so the door could roll open and shut.
The city was built to shelter people in times of strife. During peacetime, it was mainly used for storage.
(via Sometimes Interesting)
When the city was rediscovered by that fateful renovation, it had almost been forgotten. Since then, it’s gained fame as the largest of the underground cities in the area.
After its rediscovery, the city opened to tourists in 1969. Today, about half the city is available to the public. There’s no news about what happened to its accidental discoverer, though we hope he got a new house. …….’
