# Archeology in Europe. three photos per post.



## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Valley of Temples, Agrigento (Sicily, Italy)*

The Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) is an archaeological site in Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy. It is one of the most outstanding example of Greater Greece art and architecture, and is one of the main attraction of Sicily as well as a national monument of Italy. The area was included in the UNESCO Heritage Site list in 1997. Much of the excavation and restoration of the temples was due to the efforts of archaeologist Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta (1783-1863), who was the Duke of Serradifalco from 1809 through 1812.









*Temple of Concordia*

The Valley includes remains of seven temples, all in Doric style. The identification of the names, apart that of the Olympeion, are a mere tradition established in the Renaissance times. The temples are:

- Temple of Juno, built in the 5th century BC and burnt in 406 BC by the Carthaginians. It was usually used for the celebration of weddings. 
- Temple of Concordia, whose names stems from a Latin inscription found nearby, and which was also built in the 5th century BC. Turned into a church in the 6th century AD, it is now one of the best preserved in the Valley. 
- Temple of Heracles, who was one of the most venerated deities in the ancient Akragas. It is the most ancient in the Valley: destroyed by an earthquake, it consists today of only eight columns. 
- Temple of Zeus Olympic, built in 480 BC to celebrate the city-state's victory over Carthage. It is characterized by the use of large size atlases. 
- Temple of Castor and Pollux. Despite its remains include only four columns, it is now the symbol of modern Agrigento. 
- Temple of Vulcan, also dating from the 5th century BC. It is thought to have been one of the most imposing constructions in the valley; it is now however one of the most damaged by the years and natural phenomena. 
- Temple of Asclepius, located far from the ancient town's walls. It was the goal of pilgrimage of people seeking foor healing from illness. 
The Valley is also home to the so called Tomb of Theron, a large tuff monument of pyramidal shape; scholars suppose it was built to celebrate the Roman victims in the Second Punic War.









*Temple of Heracles*

Due to its good state of preservation, the Temple of Concordia is ranked amongst the most notable edifices of the Greek civilization existing today. It has a peristatis of 6 x 13 columns built over a basament of 39.44 x 16.91 m; each Doric column has twenty grooves and a slight entasis, and is surmounted by an architratave with triglyphs and metopes; also perfectly preserved are the tympani. The cella, preceded by a pronaos, is accessed by a single step; also existing are the pylons with the stairs which allowed to reach the roof and, over the cella's walls and in the blocks of the peristasis' entablature, the holes for the wooden beam of the ceiling. The exterior and the interior of the temples were covered by polychrome stucco. The upper frame had gutters with lion-like protomes, while the roof was covered by marble tiles.









*Temple of Juno*

More info and pictures *here*.


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## ivan_ri (Jun 13, 2007)

*ancient Salona, nowdays Solin near Split, Croatia*

from wikipedia, [2]

Salona was an ancient Illyrian Delmati city in the first millennium BC. After conquest by the Romans, Salona became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. When the Roman Emperor Diocletian retired, he erected a monumental palace nearby; this massive structure, known as Diocletian's Palace, became the core of the modern city of Split. In present times Salona (or Salon) is situated near today's town of Solin (near Split).

Salona was largely destroyed in the invasions of the Avars and Slavs around the year 639 AD.





































more photos on Solin - photo thread on croatian forum


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## oduguy1999 (Jul 27, 2004)

has this statue been proven to be authentic? it really is an amazing work of art and I see where there is speculation that it is a fake. Has their been testing on the statue to certify it?





Iptucci said:


> One reason to know better. Three photos per post on the same topic.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Old Phoenician city of Nora (Sardinia, Italy)*

Nora is an ancient Roman and pre-Roman town placed on a peninsula near Pula, near to Cagliari in Sardinia. It is believed to be the first town founded in Sardinia and to have been settled by the ancient Nuraghi people, however after colonisation by Phoenicians and a period of domination by Carthage the town came under Roman control after the conquest of Sardinia in 238 BC. It went into decline from the 4th century AD and appears to have been abandoned during the 8th century.









*The archaeological site*

Nora was an important trading town in its time with two protected harbours, one on each side of the peninsula. Several different building styles can be seen in the excavated buildings. Because the southern part of Sardinia is sinking into the Mediterranean Sea, a substantial part of the former town is now under the sea.









*The amphitheatre*

A similar fate has befallen the ancient Phoenicia and later Roman city of Bithia near Chia, situated not far from Nora. Bithia is now completely submerged. A significant part of the town of Nora has not been excavated and is situated on land belonging to the Italian military. The ruins of Nora function as an open-air museum, and the remains of the theatre is occasionally used for concerts in the summer.









*The mosaics*

More info & pictures *here*.


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## Olympios (Oct 13, 2007)

@ Pincio, Thanks for the amazing pictures! kay:

*Vergina, Macedonia, Greece*

_UNESCO World Heritage Site_












> Vergina (in Greek Βεργίνα) is a small town in northern Greece, located in the prefecture of Imathia, Central Macedonia. The town became internationally famous in 1977, when the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed what he claimed was the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The finds established the site as the ancient Aigai.


The entrance to the "Great Tumulus" Museum at Vergina (tombs, museum etc are all under the hill)









Τhe Golden Larnax









Royal Macedonian Tomb


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Egyptian Museum of Turin (Italy)*

The Egyptian Museum is one of the most important collection in the world with the one in Cairo and the one in London. It documents the history and civilisation of ancient Egypt and contains about 30,000 exhibits - artefacts, papyri and funeral caskets. Among these, the exceptional rock temple of Ellesjia, the intact tomb of Kha and Merit and the imposing statues of Ramses Il, Thutmoses I, Tutanchamon.










The building itself was remodelled in celebration of the 2006 Winter Olympics, with its main rooms redesigned by the italian Oscar-winning scenographe Dante Ferretti, and "featured an imaginative use of lighting and mirrors in a spectacular display of some of the most important and impressive Pharaonic statues in the museum collection".










Items of interest include:

- Assemblea dei Re (Kings Assembly) a term originally indicating a collection of statues representing all the kings of the New Kingdom. 
- Temple of Tuthmosi III 
- Sarcophagi, mummies and books of the dead originally belonging to the Drovetti collection. 
- A painting on canvas dated at about 3500 BC (found in 1931) 
- Funerary paraphernalia from the Tomba di Ignoti (Tomb of Unknown) from the Old Kingdom 
- Tomb of Kha and of Mirit, found intact by Schiaparelli and transferred in toto in the museum 
- Papyrus collection room, originally collected by Drovetti and later used by - - Champollion during his studies for the decoding of the hieroglyphics. 
- Mensa Isiaca (The Table of Isis) 
- Tomba Dipinta (The Painted Tomb) usually closed to the public. 
- The Turin King List (or Turin Royal Canon)










More info & pictures *here*.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## oduguy1999 (Jul 27, 2004)

THANKS! The Lady of Elche is one of the most beautiful sculptures I have ever seen and Im glad it is authentic.



Iptucci said:


> *The statue was genuine. Due to ignorance about the world that there ibérico old, some "expert" foreigner dared to insinuate that this was a modern work. At present the studies carried out the remains of polychrome bust certify that the image of the Lady of Elche is true, and that the people Íbero was able to create such sublime art, shut up those who might think otherwise.*
> 
> On August 4, 1897, Don Manuel Campello, Alicante doctor fond of buying works of art, found on his farm in La Alcudia, near Elche (Alicante), an age that we know today as the Lady of Elche. In 1995, John F. Moffitt, Professor of Art of New Mexico State University (USA), published The Case of the Lady of Elche (Destination 1995), which argued that the sculpture was done by imitation and Pallás Francisco Puig, a renowned counterfeiter valenciano . According to Moffit, in addition to the stylistic contradictions that are found in the work with respect to the Iberian sculpture, and Puig Pallás took as the model 7707 Damita del Cerro de los Santos de Albacete, which is now in the National Archeological Museum. But the lady has an annular fibula which the tunic was not known in 1897, so he could not have been copied. Without doubt, the Lady of Elche is authentic
> 
> ...


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

For those who likes archaeology: great news

*ARCHAEOLOGY: ANCIENT THEBES SISTINE CHAPEL DISCOVERED*

http://www.ansamed.info/en/top/ME13.WAM20299.html

^^


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## qwert_guy (Oct 3, 2007)

oh, i thought cameras are not allowed at museums,....


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Turnovec (Apr 21, 2007)

*Plovdiv, Bulgaria - The Roman Amphitheatre*

Deep in the heart of Plovdiv city center lies the Plovdiv theatre. The theatre stands between the south-western slope of the Dzhambaz Tepe and the Taxim tepe hill within the old town, and is a major tourist attraction for travelers coming to the area.

The theatre was built in the 2nd century AD under the orders of Trajan the Roman Emperor at this time, and is the largest surviving Roman construction in Bulgaria today.

Built with around 7,000 seats, each section of seating had the names of the city quarters engraved on the benches so the citizens at the time knew where they were to sit.

The theatre was damaged in the 5th century AD by Atilla the Hun.

*Excavation*

The theatre was only found in the early 1970s due to a landslide, this caused a major archeological excavation, including the removal of 15 feet of earth covering what was left hidden by the landslide.

*Present Day*

Visitors are able to enjoy the grand splendour of the theatre during the summer months when theatrical plays and musical shows are held for a small fee.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Archaeological area of Fiesole (Tuscany, Italy)*

Fiesole is a town and comune of the province of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a famously scenic height above Florence, 8 km (5 mi) North-East of that city. Fiesole was probably founded in the 9th-8th century BC, as it was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy, as may be seen from the remains of its ancient walls. The first recorded mention on the town dates to 283 BC, when the town, then known as Faesulae, was conquered by the Romans. In pagan antiquity it was the seat of a famous school of augurs, and every year twelve young men were sent thither from Rome to study the art of divination. Sulla colonized it with veterans, who afterwards, under the leadership of Manlius, supported the cause of Catilina.










Fiesole was the scene of Stilicho's great victory over the Germanic hordes of the Vandals and Suevi under Radagaisus in 405. During the Gothic War (536-53) the town was several times besieged. In 539 Justinus, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications. It was an independent town for several centuries in the early Middle Ages, no less powerful than Florence in the valley below, and many wars arose between them; in 1010 and 1025 Fiesole was sacked by the Florentines, before it was conquered by Florence in 1125, and its leading families obliged to take up their residence in Florence. By the 14th century, rich Florentines had countryside villas in Fiesole, and one of them is the setting of the frame narrative of the Decameron. Robert Browning also mentions "sober pleasant Fiesole" several times in his poem, Andrea del Sarto.










*Main sights*
- Remnants of Etruscan walls. 
- Roman baths. 
- Roman theatre. 
- Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall) of the 14th century. 
- The cathedral of Fiesole (Il Duomo), containing the shrine of St. Romulus, martyr, according to legend the first Bishop of Fiesole, and that of his martyred companions, also the shrine of St. Donatus of Fiesole. 
- The Badia or ancient cathedral of St. Romulus, built in 1028 by Bishop Jacopo Bavaro with materials taken from several older edifices, at the foot of the hill on which Fiesole stands, supposed to cover the site of the martyrdom of St. Romulus; it contains notable sculptures by Mino da Fiesole. The old cathedral became a Benedictine abbey, which passed into the hands of the regular canons of Lateran. It once possessed a valuable library, long since dispersed. The abbey was closed in 1778. 
- The room in the bishop's palace where St. Andrew Corsini lived and died.










More info & pictures here.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

*Bolonia (Cádiz). Andalusia. Spain.*

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Palatine Towers of Turin (Italy)*

The Palatine Towers (Italian: Porte Palatine) is an ancient Roman structure in Turin, Italy. The structure served as one of four Roman city gates, which allowed access from north to the cardus maximus, the typical second main street of a Roman town. They are located near the Duomo di Torino and Palazzo Reale.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/cristina63/3147512761/

In its current appearance, the building comprise two polygonal towers, of sixteen sides each, and a central gate. Only the latter is an original Roman structure, the towers having been added in the following years. The merlons are from 1404. The name Porta Palazzo comes from the Latin Porta Palatii (“gate of the palace”), referring to the connected Imperial Palace, which housed numerous historical figures, including the Lombard kings and Charlemagne, and was later the seat of the communal authorities.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobsor/2881252313/

During the early eighteenth-century period of urban reconstruction in Turin, the gate was preserved only through the personal intervention of architect Antonio Bertola. It was one of the few ancient landmarks to be saved from destruction. Two bronze statues (copies of older statues) were positioned in front of the monument during the Fascist era. In 2006 the City of Turin started a requalification of the of the archaeological area improving the park, making the towers accessible to the public and building an underground parking for the carts of the nearby Porta Palazzo market.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea25/249668592/

More info & pictures *here*.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

vittorio tauber said:


> ^^Talking about Largo di Torre Argentina, Pincio.
> Were a couple of those temples totally reconstructed and accessible, with some hedges and trees rearranged to draw the eyes, that place would be a major landmark in the middle of a zone of the age of renaissance.
> What's your opinion, if any?


Reconstruction is ok only if they use the original piece of stones.


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

Iptucci said:


> Every time I like Italy.
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> ...


maybe the area around Cancho Roaño could guive more information about Tartesos, not only the temple, a temple with out a setlement close seems strange :dunno: that setlement should have something to tell us for sure.
Were are situated that structures (the circular buildings) under water, do you have articles about that:?


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*MAMERTINUM - Mamertine Prison (Rome, Italy)*

The Mamertine Prison (also referred to as the Tullianum or Carcere Mamertino) was a prison (carcer) located in the Forum Romanum in Ancient Rome. It was located on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, facing the Curia and the imperial fora of Nerva, Vespasian, and Augustus. Located between it and the Tabularium (record house) was a flight of stairs leading to the Arx of the Capitoline known as the Gemonian stairs.









*The entrance*

The origins of the prison's names are uncertain. The traditional derivation of "Tullianum" is from the name of one of the Roman kings Tullus Hostilius or Servius Tullius (the latter is found in Livy, Varro, and also Sallust); there is an alternative theory that it is from the archaic Latin tullius "a jet of water", in reference to the cistern. The name "Mamertine" is medieval in origin, and may be a reference to a nearby temple of Mars, or to the legend of St. Peter, whom tradition holds to have been imprisoned there before his martyrdom: the legend states that Saints Martinian and Processus, supposedly his warders, were converted and baptized by Peter before being martyred themselves.

The Prison was constructed around 640-616 BC, by Ancus Marcius. It was originally created as a cistern for a spring in the floor of the second lower level (there were two, the lower of which was where prisoners were kept by lowering them through the floor of the upper room), but eventually a passage between the cistern drain and the Cloaca Maxima was constructed, reputedly for flushing out dead bodies.









*The prison*

Typically, only higher profile prisoners were kept in the prison, usually foreign commanders who were defeated and became the centerpiece in a Roman triumphant procession. They usually remained incarcerated until they were paraded and strangled in public, unless they happened to die of natural causes first (Roman law did not recognize imprisonment itself as punishment). The prison was also used in 63 BC to hold the members of the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy, including Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, just prior to their executions for their alleged plot to overthrow the Roman Republic.

It is not known when the prison went out of service permanently, but the site has been used for Christian worship since medieval times, and is currently occupied by two superimposed churches: S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami (upper) and S. Pietro in Carcere (lower). The Cross on the altar in the lower chapel is upside down, since according to tradition Saint Peter was crucified upside down.









*The cell*

More info *here*

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

*The Bull in Europe.*

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## PedroGabriel (Feb 5, 2007)

Iptucci said:


> *IDOLS EYES.*
> 
> Major areas of distribution oculos idols in the south.


wow very nice. the Spanish people focus a lot on these very old Iberian things, thanks a lot. I would like to buy an imitation of one of these for home decoration... didnt knew about it. so many mysteries to be solved. where can I found that?


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Lino (Oct 16, 2007)

Roman Cryptoportic of Aeminium - Coimbra, Portugal









This cryptoportic, divided in 2 floors is from the early centuries after Christ and is the base of the forum of the hilly roman city of Aeminium (now Coimbra) in the uptown, where it can be visited under Museu Nacional Machado de Castro. The city was situated north of Conímbriga, a major city between Olissipo (Lisbon) and Bracara Augusta, then capital of roman province of Gallaecia. After visigothic invasions the city of Conímbriga lost its population and power to the neighbouring Aeminium, which is now Coimbra.

Conímbriga









Casa das Fontes, Spring house









Ok  Sorry Iptucci!


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Viva_Bulgaria (Jul 6, 2008)

^^ Extremely interesting, very good job :bow::bow::bow:


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## ensarsever (Dec 6, 2008)

*Heraclea Lyncestis (Bitola, Macedonia)*


Famous for its dazzling mosaics, ancient theater and Roman baths, Heraclea is the most vividly preserved city from the Ancient Macedonian empire surviving in the country.













Founded in the 4th century B.C.E. and conquered by the Romans two centuries later, it was built on the Via Egnatia and became one of the key stations on this trading route.














From the 4th-6th centuries C.E. Heraclea also had an Episcopal seat. The first excavations were done before the First World War, but only since then have the full glories of the ancient city been revealed. Beautiful Roman baths, the Episcopal church and baptistery, a Jewish temple, portico and a Roman theater now used for summer concerts and theater shows all survive in excellent condition.













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More info


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## Olympios (Oct 13, 2007)

^^ A very interesting ancient Greek city.
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Some pieces of *Cycladic Art*:



> Cycladic art is the art and sculpture of the ancient Cycladic civilization, existing in the islands of the Aegean Sea from 3300 - 2000 BCE. Art mainly manifested itself in the form of marble idols, often used as offerings to the dead. Idols possessed a flat, geometric quality, giving them a striking resemblance to today's modern art. A majority of the figuirines are female, depicted nude, and with arms folded across the stomach. It is unknown whether these idols depict a goddess, or merely Cycladic women.



Early Cycladic Period (3000 B.C.-2500 B.C.)










The *Cup-Bearer* a new discovery of the Early Cycladic Period on the Island of Keros (2006)









Late Cycladic Period (17th century B.C.)-Gold Ibex, discovered in the excavations of Akrotiri on Santorini island.


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Area archeologica di Altilia/Saepinum-Sepino (Molise, Italy)*

Saepinum is 12 square hectares in area (about 30 acres), circled by a wall of just over 1200 meters. The wall was highly fortified, originally having 27 towers along its length. Entrance was through four gates, each bound by two towers; the east and west gates were at either end of the cardine, one of the two streets in Saepinum; the north and east gates stood at either end of the other street, the decumanus. The cardine and decumanus intersected and that was the center of town. Here was the forum and, across the street, the basilica and market-place. Still there and to be seen are the twenty columns of the basilica.










The forum contains the ruins of a temple to Jupiter, as well as a number of massive white slabs from a mysterious structure which archaeologists have thus far been unable to figure out. (Sepino has been undergoing extensive excavation and restoration since the 1950s.) Three of the four gates to the town are still standing—or have been restored—with their arches intact. The perimeter of the city wall (completed over a six-year period from 4 BC to 2 AD) is partially intact, and remnants of a few circular towers still stare out over the landscape. Inside the wall at the north gate are remnants of thermal baths. Along both axes of the town, remnants of stone walls have been restored to show where the original residences and shops stood.










The "industrial" section of town consisted of structures where wool and hides were prepared. Also, there is a theater with room for 3,000 spectators. Next to the theater, 17th century farmhouses have been restored and serve as a museum. Outside the walls are the ruins of two large funeral monuments. They are, interestingly, of totally different design; the tomb on the north side is square and bears clear Greek ornamentation. The tomb at the south gate is round and typical of the age of Augustus. Also, one of the two towers guarding the south gate actually served as a cistern, gravity-feeding water to the entire town, which is on a slight downward slope to the north.










More info *here*.

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## regjeex (Apr 19, 2007)

wow


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

no areal pic Pincio? to see the configuration :yes: very intresting...


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

Arpels said:


> no areal pic Pincio? to see the configuration :yes: very intresting...


Only google maps :dunno:


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

thanks kay: yup is easy to see the original configuration, including decumanus :yes:


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

Greeks should win  Greeks keep Emporiun until wen:? I meen, they keep the city after Alalia?


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## ExtraMuros (Apr 12, 2008)

*CAVES OF LASCAUX, FRANCE*

The caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the "Dordogne département". They contain one of the most well-known upper paleolithic art. This paintings are estimated to be 16,000 years old.
The caves were discovered in 1940 and given access to the public. By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings. The caves were closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art.
Lascaux II, a replica of two of the cave halls was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the original.


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## regjeex (Apr 19, 2007)

amazing..



ExtraMuros said:


> *CAVES OF LASCAUX, FRANCE*
> 
> The caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the "Dordogne département". They contain one of the most well-known upper paleolithic art. This paintings are estimated to be 16,000 years old.
> The caves were discovered in 1940 and given access to the public. By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings. The caves were closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art.
> Lascaux II, a replica of two of the cave halls was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the original.


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

:drool: paleolitic Sistine Chapel...


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

endeed hno::lol:


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Villa Romana del Casale (Piazza Armerina, Sicily, Italy)*

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Villa Romana del Casale is a Roman villa located about 5 km outside the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily, southern Italy. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.










The Villa was constructed in the first quarter of the 4th century AD, probably as the center of a huge latifundium covering the entire surrounding area. How long the villa kept this role is not known, maybe for less that 150 years, but the complex remained inhabited and a village grew around it, named Platia, derived from the word palatium (palace). It was damaged, maybe destroyed during the domination of the Vandals and the Visigoths, but the buildings remained in use, at least in part, during the Byzantine and Arab period. The site was finally abandoned for good when a landslide covered the villa in the twelfth century AD, and remaining inhabitants moved to the current location of Piazza Armerina. The existence of the villa was almost entirely forgotten (some of the tallest parts have always been above ground) and the area used for cultivation. Pieces of mosaics and some columns were found early in the 19th century, and some excavations were carried out later in that century, but the first serious excavations were performed by Paolo Orsi in 1929, and later by Giuseppe Cultrera in 1935-39. The latest major excavations were in the period 1950-60 by Gino Vinicio Gentili after which the current cover was built. A few very localized excavations have been performed in the 1970s by Andrea Carandini.










In late antiquity most of the Sicilian hinterland was partitioned into huge agricultural estates called "latifundia" (sing. "latifundium"). The size of the villa and the amount and quality of its artwork indicate that it was the center of such a latifundium, whose owner was probably a member of senatorial class if not of the imperial family itself, i.e., the absolute upper class of the Roman Empire. The villa evidently served several purposes. It contained some rooms that were clearly residential, others that certainly had official purposes, and a number of rooms of as yet unknown intended use, though they were definitely not built for commercial or production reasons. The villa would probably have been the permanent or semi-permanent residence of the owner; it would have been where the owner, in his role as patron, received his local clients; and it would have functioned as the administrative center of the latifundium. Currently, only the manorial portions of the complex have been excavated. The ancillary structures - housing for the slaves, workshops, stables, etc. have not yet been located. The villa was a single-story building, centered on the peristyle, around which almost all the main public and private rooms were organized. Entrance to the peristyle is via the atrium from the west, with the thermal baths to the northwest; service rooms and probably guest rooms to the north; private apartments and a huge basilica to the east; and rooms of unknown purpose to the south. Somewhat detached, almost as an afterthought, is the separate area to the south. containing the elliptical peristyle, service rooms, and a huge triclinium.










More wiki info & pictures here.

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Arch of Trajan (Ancona, Italy)*

The Arches of Trajan were built in the manner of triumphal arches (although they do not celebrate military victories) in a number of places in the Roman Empire during the reign of Trajan, probably constructed by his chief architect, the engineer Apollodorus of Damascus. By contrast, when it came to commemorating his military achievements in Rome itself, he chose a column rather than the more standard arch.










*Arches of Trajan*

The Arches of Trajan include ones at:
- ANCONA (Italy)
- BENEVENTO (Italy)
- MERIDA (Spain)
- TIMGAD (Algeria)










*Arco di Traiano (Ancona, Italy)*

The arch is built of marble and stands 18.5 m high. It was erected in 114/115 as an entrance to the causeway atop the harbour wall in honour of Trajan's creation of the harbour there. Most of its original bronze enrichments have disappeared. It stands on a high podium approached by a wide flight of steps. The archway, only 3 m wide, is flanked by pairs of fluted Corinthian columns on pedestals. An attic bears inscriptions. The format is that of the Arch of Titus in Rome, but made taller, so that the bronze figures surmounting it, of Trajan, his wife Plotina and sister Marciana, would be a landmark for ships approaching Rome's greatest Adriatic port.










More info *here*.

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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Lascaux is just amazing.

*Medina Azahara (Córdoba, Spain)*

5 km away from Córdoba, the capital city of Cordoba's caliphate, Abd al-Rahman III built a palatine city. It began in 936, and it continues until 970.
The city was discovered 90 years ago, and at the moment only the 10% has been excavated. It's said if Medina Azahara was intact, the Alhambra would be just a palace. And it's said too everyone in Cordoba has a stone of Medina Azahara in his house. There are famous the ivory pieces made here at the 10th century.
It had a botanic garden, a zoo, mercury fountains, sewers... The city of the 1,000 doors.

General view (but it doesn't show the whole complex, not even all the excavated zone)










The mosque










The "Salón Rico" (rich hall), the only one that has been rebuilt


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Arch of Trajan (Benevento, Italy)*

Benevento, as Maleventum, one of the chief cities of Samnium, and at a later period one of the most important cities of southern Italy, was situated on the Via Appia at a distance of 32 miles east from Capua; and on the banks of the river Calor (modern Calore).










The importance of Benevento in classical times is vouched for by the many remains of antiquity which it possesses, of which the most famous is the Triumphal Arch erected in honour of Trajan by the senate and people of Rome in 114, with important reliefs relating to its history. Enclosed in the walls, this construction marked the entrance in Benevento of the Via Traiana, the road built by the Spanish emperor to shorten the path from Rome to Brindisi. The reliefs show the civil and military deeds of Trajan.










Horace famously notes Beneventum on his journey from Rome to Brundusium (modern Brindisi).[14] It was indebted to the same circumstance for the honor of repeated visits from the emperors of Rome, among which those of Nero, Trajan, and Septimus Severus, are particularly recorded. The Arch of Trajan, provided with a portcullis, as it appeared in the 18th century, etching by Piranesi. Some of the bas-reliefs are now in the British Museum.It was probably for the same reason that the triumphal arch, the Arch of Trajan, was erected there by the senate and people of Rome and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus in 114. The Arch of Trajan is one of the best-preserved Roman structures in the Campania. It repeats the formula of the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum, with reliefs of Trajan's life and exploits of his reign. Some of the sculptures are in the British Museum.










More info & pictures *here*.

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## Adrian12345Lugo (May 12, 2008)

cool thread!!!


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

*Monumento de Pozo Moro (Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón, Spain)*

It's a funerary monument, built in 500 B.C. for a iberian hero. It revels that iberian art was very influenced by hittite and eastern cultures. It was found in 1970, is 5 metres tall and has really interesting relivary sculpture with a complex iconography. Nowadays is at Archeological National Museum of Madrid.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

....


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

---


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Colonne di San Lorenzo (Milan, Italy)*

The Colonne di San Lorenzo is the best-known Roman ruin in Milan. It is located in front of the Basilica of San Lorenzo. It is a square with a row of columns on either side, which were taken from a temple or public bath house dating from the 2nd century.










The columns were moved to their current location sometime in the 4th century. South of the columns, one of the medieval gates of the city is still in place, with Roman marbles in it. Up until 1935, the space between the church and columns was entirely occupied by old houses abutting onto the façade of the church itself. Indeed, the church complex was fully surrounded by old houses.










Despite the plans to conserve this ancient urban fabric, the renovations led to the demolition of the old houses and the isolation of the monument on the front side. Following bombing during World War II, the church complex became isolated also on the rear side, where a fenced urban park (which is called Basilicas Park or Parco delle Basiliche in Italian) now stands, allowing popular views of the complex and of another church nearby.










*Wikipedia*

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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

*Cave of Altamira (Cantabria, Spain)* Unesco World Heritage

Date: 15.000 - 12.000 B.C.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

...


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iptucci said:


> _Son tres fotos, y algo de explicación._


El caso es que tenía 3 fotos almacenadas y me dije ¿por qué sólo tengo 3, si eran 4 las que hay que postear? :lol: Explicación si quieres pon tú algo, yo no sabría, la pintura rupestre no es lo mío...


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*Rock Drawings (Valcamonica, Italy)*

It is home to the greatest complex of rock drawings in Europe, with approximately 300,000 petroglyphs drawn by members of the Camunni tribe on hundreds of exposed rocks dating from the upper paleolithic (6000 BCE) to the 19th century; cosmological, figurative, and cartographic motifs are featured, in some locations forming monumental hunting and ritual `scenes´. It includes also scenes of zoophilia.
In 1979, UNESCO included these samples to its World-wide Patrimony listing of rock art, first site in Italy.




























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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iptucci said:


> _Son tres las fotografías a postear, y si puede ser el mapa, más que nada por atención a los visualizadores e interesados en el tema, sobre lo de que ponga yo los datos de las fotos que tú posteas, ¡ya es tener rostro!_ :lol:.


No, el caso es que si yo creo que tú das una información incompleta de algo y creo que podría aportar algo de interés, lo hago :baeh3: El mapa sí que se me ha olvidado...

Really weird petroglyphs! zoophilia?!?! :lol:


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

Mapa! kay:


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

Wikipedia docet :lol:


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Maxximus said:


> Wikipedia docet :lol:





> In a cave painting from at least 8000 BC in the Northern Italian Val Camonica a man is shown about to penetrate an animal. Raymond Christinger interprets that as a show of power of a tribal chief.


:lol:


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

buho said:


> :lol:


The ancient Romans was worst :lol: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=865296


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

...


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

*Bobastro mozarabic church (Málaga, Spain)*

That's the just one remain of mozarabic churchs in Al Andalus. There was a big number of mozarabic people, and a big number of churchs and cathedrals, but the almoravids, almohades and the centuries have destroyed all remain. It's exceptional due to this, and because it's excavated on the rock: it's not a cave-church because doesn't use a previous cave to acomodate the church, the building was made emptying a big rock, sculpting walls, columns and capitals.

It's asociated with Ibn Jafsun, a muladí (hispanorromans that converted to Islam were muladíes) that rebelled against Cordoba's emirate at the 2nd half of 9th century. He stablished a rebel town (Bobastro), with a defensive alcazar (castle), and he converted to christianism in 899 (absolutely forbidden by Coran, and this caused to him lots of problems). Bobastro's church is unfinished, so posibly was built in 899-928 (the year that the city was absolutely destroyed by the new Calipha of Cordoba). It's rude, due to the way of sculpting the stone, but presents horseshoe archs, basilical plant with 3 naves ended in 3 apses (central one with horseshoe form, and laterals just with square form), very similar to mozarabic churchs of the north of Spain (San Cebrián de Mazote, San Miguel de Escalada...), and possibly was the church of a monastery.


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iptucci said:


> Comprendo que resulta muy cómodo poner sólo las fotografías, -por cierto de Altamira sé que existen fotografías espectaculares-, siembargo; aunque te dé pereza, el público se merece un respeto, piensa que estamos exponiendo temas de suma importancia, la huella de nuestros antepasados, lo que fuimos, lo que somos y lo que seremos está en esos antiguos restos, de modo que una excelente exposición acrecenta el interés de los cultos y de los neófitos, la arqueología no es demasiado popular entre el vulgo, por ese motivo decidí que fuesen tres fotografías, para no aborrecer, y sí atraer el interés de los que nada sabían sobre arqueología e historia; no es simplemente poner tres fotografías, y tumbarse a la bartola, pensando: ¡qué se busquen la vida! o esperando que el compañero nos haga el trabajo, el compañero puede ampliar tema, pero tu trabajo lo haces tú.
> 
> ¡Así que no me rechistes!, que ya sé que tienes contestación para todo :lol:


:lol: Es simplemente que Altamira no me motiva... Y que pienso que unas pinturas rupestres no tienen tanto que contar como otras cosas. Decir quién las descubrió, que son del periodo margaritiense o el que sea y decir que son bisontes? Si eso ya se ve! Por eso sólo puse la fecha.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

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## Stranger_77 (Sep 9, 2007)

*Burnum Municipium, in inland Dalmatia, Croatia*

Burnum or Burnum Municipium, an archaeological site, was a Roman Legion camp and town. It is located 2.5 km north of Kistanje, in inland Dalmatia, Croatia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnum


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*Su Nuraxi - Barumini, Italy*










Su Nuraxi is an important nuraghic archaeological site in Barumini, Sardinia. It was inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 as Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
Su Nuraxi simply means "the nuraghe" in Sardinian.
The complex is centered around a three-story tower built around 1500s BC.



















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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

...


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

Iptucci said:


> ^^
> 
> *I remember the style that will not break the thread posting more than three photos. *
> 
> Thank you.


Voilà, tnx i'm new


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

*Roman city of Segrobria (Cuenca, Spain)*

Roman city, mentiones by Plinio in his Natural History, was discovered at the late 19th century. Was a celtiberic village until roman invasion at 80 b.C., being since this year one of the most important cities of the region. In 7h century still was an important city, having a visigothic cathedral (iglesia de Cabeza de griego- Greek head church), and abandoned after muslim invasion. 

The best preserved area is the theater, that houses every year classic theater plays. The amphitheater is interesting too, the other buildings are ruined.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

....


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Megalithic face of Borzone (Liguria, Italy)*

It is the biggest rocky palaeolithic sculpture in Europe, and probably in the world as well. The megalithic face of Borzone represent a human face and is 7 m high and 4 m wide.









*The face*

It is situated in Borzonasca (Genoa province), near the Borzone small village in a place called Rocche di Borzone. The giant face has been always interpreted as Christ’s face.









*The face*

The legend tells that once a year all the inhabitants of the valley reunited in front of the sculpture to pay homenage to the divinity.









*The abbey*

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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

looks a litle bit develope (i meen the details) to the palaeolithic but is endeed curiouse that face :uh:


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Casa di Augusto (Rome, Italy)*
_House of Augustus, Palatine Hill_

*House of Augustus opens to public*

Sunday, 9 March 2008

Almost 50 years ago, archaeologists searching for the ruined house of Augustus found a tiny clue buried deep in 2,000 years' worth of rubble overlooking the Forum in Rome. The single fragment of painted plaster, discovered in masonry-filled rooms, led the experts to unearth a series of exquisite frescoes commissioned by the man who would later become Rome's first emperor. On Sunday following decades of painstaking restoration, the frescoes in vivid shades of blue, red and ochre went on public show for the first time since they were painted in about 30BC. One large room boasts a theatrical theme, its walls painted to resemble a stage with narrow side-doors. High on the wall a comic mask peers through a small window. Other trompe l'oeil designs include an elegant garden vista, yellow columns and even a meticulously sketched blackbird.










The Rome authorities have spent nearly 2m euros preserving the four Augustus rooms - thought to comprise a dining-room, bedroom, an expansive reception hall at ground-level and a small study on the first floor. The quality of the work has been compared with that in Pompeii. Experts say the frescoes are among the most splendid surviving examples of Roman wall paintings, on a par with those found in the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Archaeologists believe they may have been painted by an Egyptian. In the large entrance hall, graffiti on one wall is believed to have been left by the builders, who seem to have sketched out geometric designs, possibly for mosaic floors, and left their names. In 31BC Augustus - or Octavian, as he was then known - had triumphed over the combined forces of Mark Antony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.










The victory brought Egypt, and with it immense wealth, into the empire. But if the frescoes on the walls are exquisite, their surroundings, though impressive, with vaulted ceilings, are less than palatial. The Roman historian Suetonius described how Augustus lived in a modest house on the Palatine before he assumed supreme power and built a sprawling imperial complex higher up the hill.

[...]

Continue here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7286305.stm










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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

Iptucci said:


> ¿?


is the case of the tunel in post #147 enter there is a big adventure :dunno:

that frescoes in the hause of Augustus :drool:


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

*Bobadela Roman arch - Bobadela - Portugal*

Bobadela Roman arch dates back to II Century AD thought to have been the entrance to the Forum, according to archeological excavations in the square around the arch.

Render:










The arch in the square:










Detail of the arch:


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

...


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*National Archaeological Museum of Florence (Italy) - Etruscans*

The museum was inaugurated in the presence of king Victor Emmanuel II in 1870 in the buildings of the Cenacolo di Fuligno on via Faenza. At that time it only comprised Etruscan and Roman remains. As the collections grew, a new site soon became necessary and in 1880 the museum was transferred to its present building.
The collection's first foundations were the family collections of the Medici and Lorraine, with several transfers from the Uffizi up to 1890 (except the collections of marble sculpture which the Uffizi already possessed). The Egyptian section was first formed in the first half of the 18th century from part of the collections of Pierre Léopold de Toscane, from another part of an expedition promoted by the same Grand Duke in 1828-29 and led by Ippolito Rosellini and Champollion (the man who first deciphered hieroglyphics). In 1987 a new topographic museum on the Etruscans was added, but it was destroyed in the 1966 floods.


The Chimera









The sarcophagus of Laerthia Seianti (2nd century BC)









The sarcophagus of the Amazons (4th century BC)


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

Iptucci said:


> Where is Bobadela?.


close to Oliveira do Hospital, district of Coimbra :yes:

wow Etruscan painting tombs :shocked:


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

Iptucci said:


> Where is Bobadela?.


I have never heard of this place before, is it some pacific island?


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*National Archaeological Museum of Florence (Italy) - Ancient Greek*

The huge collection of ancient ceramics is shown in a large room with numerous cases on the second floor. Generally the vases come from Etruscan tombs and are evidence of cultural and mercantile exchange with Greece, and particularly Athens (where most of the vases were made) and date to the period between the 4th century BC and the present.
The most important of the vases is a large black figure krater of c. 570 BC signed by the potter Ergotimos and the painter Kleitias. It is named the "François vase" after the archaeologist who found it in 1844 in an Etruscan tomb at fonte Rotella, on the Chiusi road, and shows a series of Greek mythological narratives on both sides. Other notable objects are
the red figure hydria signed by the Meidias painter (550-540 BC)
the cups by the Little Masters (560-540 BC), named after their miniaturist style of their figures
the sculptures of Apollo and Apollino Milani (6th century BC, named after the man who gave them to the museum)
the athlete's torso (5th century BC)
the large Hellenistic horse's head (known as the Medici Riccardi head after the first place it was displayed, in the Medici's Riccardi palace), fragment of an equestrian statue, which inspired Donatello and Verrocchio in two famous equestrian monuments in Padua and Venice.
two Archaic marble kouroi, displayed in a corridor.


François vase 560 BC









Kouros of Milani 530 BC









Apollo of Milani 540 BC


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

Pincio said:


> I have never heard of this place before, is it some pacific island?


now you now Bobadela


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*National Archaeological Museum of Florence (Italy) - Ancient Egypt*

Development
The museum was officially opened in 1855. The first director was Ernesto Schiaparelli, from Piedmont. He later went on to become director of the larger Egyptian museum in Turin. By 1880 he had catalogued the collection and organized transportation of the antiquities to the Florentine Archaeological Museum. Under Schiaparelli, the collection expanded with further excavations and purchases carried out in Egypt. Many of the artifacts were, however, later transferred to Turin.
The Florentine collection continued to grow after this time, with donations from private individuals and scientific institutions. In particular, the Papyrological Institute of Florence provided artifacts from its expeditions to Egypt between 1934 and 1939. These now provide one of the most substantial collections of Coptic art and documents in the world.

The Egyptian Museum today
The museum now has a permanent staff including two professional Egyptologists. It houses more than 14,000 artifacts, distributed in nine galleries and two warehouses. The artifacts displayed in the galleries have been substantially restored. The old classification system devised by Schiaparelli is being replaced by a new, chronological and partly topographical system.
The collection comprises material that extends from the prehistorical era right through to the Coptic Age. There are remarkable collections of stele, mummies, ushabti, amulets and bronze statuettes of several eras. There are statues from the reign of Amenhotep III, a chariot from the eighteenth dynasty, a pillar from the tomb of Seti I, a New Testament papyrus (𝔓2, 𝔓65) and many other distinctive artifacts from many periods.


Portrait from Al-Fayum









Book of death









Vase


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

that Portraits are very realistic :yes: is amazing find the same kind of portraits in Mummys of the same period, looks like they are alive...


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

Arpels said:


> now you now Bobadela


Yes, I know. I was only remembering a famous português thread...


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

ohhh that one :doh: its alive lololol


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*Egyptian Museum of Turin (Italy) - Part 2*

The Egyptian Museum is one of the most important collection in the world with the one in Cairo and the one in London. It documents the history and civilisation of ancient Egypt and contains about 30,000 exhibits - artefacts, papyri and funeral caskets. Among these, the exceptional rock temple of Ellesjia, the intact tomb of Kha and Merit and the imposing statues of Ramses Il, Thutmoses I, Tutanchamon.


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*TABULARIUM (Rome, Italy)*

The Tabularium was the official records office of ancient Rome, and also housed the offices of many city officials. Situated within the Forum Romanum, it was on the front slope of the Capitoline Hill, below the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, to the southeast of the Arx and Tarpeian Rock.










Within the building were the remains of the temple of Veiovis. In front of it were the Temples of Vespasian & Concord, as well as the Rostra and the rest of the forum. Presently the Tabularium is only accessible from within the Capitoline Museum, although it still affords an excellent panoramic view over the Forum Romanum. The Tabularium was first constructed around 78 BC, possibly by order of Sulla or maybe even Pompey the Great. It was later restored and renovated during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, about 46 AD.










The building itself had a facade of peperino and travertine blocks. The interior vaults are of concrete. The rear facade, facing the ruins of Temple of Julius Caesar in the Forum, consisted of three stories, the upper two probably stuccoed. The first story was largely blank with small doors and windows. The second story featured a Doric arcade (partially preserved). The third, no longer extant story had a high Corinthian order colonnade. This triple story effect, with a different order on each story had a strong influence on later architecture, such as the Colosseum.










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## Viva_Bulgaria (Jul 6, 2008)

*The Thracian tomb of Kazanlak, Bulgaria*

The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is a vaulted brickwork "beehive" (tholos) tomb near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria.

The tomb is part of a large Thracian necropolis. It comprises a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The monument dates back to the 4th century BC and has been on the UNESCO protected World Heritage Site list since 1979. The murals are memorable for the splendid horses and especially for the gesture of farewell, in which the seated couple grasp each other's wrists in a moment of tenderness and equality. The paintings are Bulgaria's best-preserved artistic masterpieces from the Hellenistic period.

The tomb is situated near the ancient Thracian capital of Seuthopolis.




























From flickr


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## Ribarca (Jan 28, 2005)

Great work. Amazing thread.


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## simcard (Feb 18, 2009)

spectacular


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

*Cancho Roano (Badajoz, Spain)*

It's the best preserved tartesic complex. It's a VI century B.C. palace and santuary, destroyed in a fire at IV B.C. The central building is surrounded by a moat with water, and there is the theory of the building was a ziggurat, something that would be unique in Europe.


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

that i now very well  looks in fact a ziggurat...

that frescoes in Bulgaria :uh:


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

:uh: i tough it was there, Axum obelisk it is a litle bit strange!!


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Pincio said:


> No, the Axum obelisk was repatriated in Ethiopia in 2005


I say *had* :lol:


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Arpels said:


> yep :yes: tienes el templo de Debod...


¿En Portugal no tenéis nada de Brasil o China de la época de vuestro imperio marítimo?

*Templo de Debod (Madrid, Spain)*

It was originally 15 km away from Aswan, where the big dam was built. Spanish archeologists helped Egypt to save the Abu Simbel temple, and they gave a temple in exchange. It was built in the 2nd century B.C., and has hieroglyphics inside.


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

Cooooool! :nuts:


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

buho said:


> It was originally 15 km away from Aswan, where the big dam was built. Spanish archeologists helped Egypt to save the Abu Simbel temple, and they gave a temple in exchange. It was built in the 2nd century B.C., and has hieroglyphics inside.


I did not know, but, in the *Egyptian Museum in Turin is the temple of Ellesija*. It was consecrated by King Tuthmosi III in 1454 a.C. in the Nubian, between the first and second cataracts, region which was a transit area for commercial shipments of goods to luxury. The temple of Ellesija, like many other monuments, it was intended to be submerged by the waters of lake Nasser, after construction of Aswan dam. The Arab Republic of Egypt gave to this church, as a thanksgiving for the role of UNESCO in the campaign, launched to save the temple of Nubia.




























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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

buho said:


> ¿En Portugal no tenéis nada de Brasil o China de la época de vuestro imperio marítimo?


nothing ancient there like Maya or something close, only some furniture and ceramic but from modern times (XVI/XVII/XVIII etc.).


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

This Villa opened just 1 years ago, so I found few pictures and only italian wiki-info :dunno:

*Villa Romana del Tellaro (Noto, Italy)*

La villa del Tellaro, nei pressi di Noto, è una ricca residenza extraurbana della tarda età imperiale romana. I resti, rinvenuti a partire dal 1971, si trovano in un fertile comprensorio agricolo, su una bassa elevazione presso il fiume Tellaro, sotto una masseria sette-ottocentesca. Il corpo centrale della villa, più piccola di quella di Patti, si articola intorno ad un vasto peristilio. Il tratto del portico sul lato settentrionale presentava una pavimentazione a mosaico con festoni d’alloro che formano cerchi e ottagoni con i lati inflessi includenti motivi geometrici e floreali e su di esso si affacciano altri due ambienti che conservano i mosaici figurati.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/leoniedas/3470910146/

Nel primo di questi ambienti il mosaico, molto danneggiato, conserva un pannello con la scena del riscatto del corpo di Ettore: Ulisse, Achille e Diomede, identificati da iscrizioni in greco, sono impegnati nella pesatura del cadavere dell’eroe. La figura di Priamo è perduta; il corpo di Ettore, frammentario, si trovava su un piatto della bilancia; l’oro del riscatto era nell’altro piatto. Quest’episodio, non ricordato nell'Iliade di Omero, deriva probabilmente una tragedia di Eschilo. Il pavimento musivo del secondo ambiente presenta una scena di caccia, con un banchetto all’aria aperta tra gli alberi ed una figura femminile interpretata come personificazione dell’Africa.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/leoniedas/3470162133/

Le scene del secondo ambiente richiamano i mosaici di caccia della Villa del Casale a Piazza Armerina, ma con figure più stilizzate e bidimensionali, dalle proporzioni incerte, che rendono l'effetto grandemente diverso. Probabilmente i mosaici sono opera di maestranze africane. Sulla base dell’evidenza numismatica, i mosaici vennero realizzati dopo la metà del IV secolo DC. La villa del Tellaro è stata oggetto negli ultimi anni di un rinnovato interesse, grazie soprattutto ad una serie di progetti di ristrutturazione e riqualificazione dell'area interessata. Il 15 marzo 2008, oltre trenta anni dopo gli scavi, la villa del Tellaro è stata finalmente inaugurata e resa fruibile al pubblico.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/leoniedas/3470977810/

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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

belo :yes:


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Apollo di Veio (Rome, Italy)*
_Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia_

The statue of Apollo from Veio, in polychrome terracotta, is one of the masterpieces of Etruscan art from the end of the 6th century BC, famous the world over. Together with other statues, it decorated the roof beams of the Temple of Veio in Portonaccio, a sanctuary dedicated to Minerva. Placed on high plinths they were erected with an arcoterial function twelve metres high and even though they were created separately, they narrated Greek mythical events at least in part tied to the god Apollo.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/amenon/3546374837/

The statue, together with the statue of Heracles, formed a group representing one of the labours of the hero before his apotheosis among the divinities of Olympus. The myth narrates the contention between the god and the hero for the possession of the doe with the golden horns. There was probably also a statue of Mercury united to this group of which only the head and a part of the body remain. Apollo, dressed in a tunic and short cloak advances towards his left with his right arm outstretched and bent (his left arm is towards the ground maybe with a bow in his hand); Heracles, with the doe tied around his legs, is outstretched towards the right, leaning forwards to attack with his bludgeon and with his torso in a violent curve.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/amenon/3546375379/

The Group was conceived for a lateral vision and the solid volume of the figures united with the fine dissymmetry both in Apollo (the torso and face) and Heracles torso indicate that the artist was quite knowledgeable regarding optical deformations. The style of the statues is in the ambit of the “international” ionic manner that characterizes not only the Etruscan artistic culture of the late archaic period of the last years of the 6th century BC but the result achieved reaches very high expressive levels that can be attributed to someone with great talent. The creator of the arcoterial statues can be identified as the “Artist from Veio an expert in coroplastic art”.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/amenon/3540228782/

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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*Villa Romana Imperiale del Casale - Enna - Italy*

Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali) is a Roman villa located about 5 km outside the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily, southern Italy. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world.[1] It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site[2].
Plan.

The Villa was constructed (on the remains of an older villa) in the first quarter of the 4th century AD, probably as the center of a huge latifundium covering the entire surrounding area. How long the villa kept this role is not known, maybe for less that 150 years, but the complex remained inhabited and a village grew around it, named Platia, derived from the word palatium (palace). It was damaged, maybe destroyed during the domination of the Vandals and the Visigoths, but the buildings remained in use, at least in part, during the Byzantine and Arab period. The site was finally abandoned for good when a landslide covered the villa in the twelfth century AD, and remaining inhabitants moved to the current location of Piazza Armerina.

The existence of the villa was almost entirely forgotten (some of the tallest parts have always been above ground) and the area used for cultivation. Pieces of mosaics and some columns were found early in the 19th century, and some excavations were carried out later in that century, but the first serious excavations were performed by Paolo Orsi in 1929, and later by Giuseppe Cultrera in 1935-39. The latest major excavations were in the period 1950-60 by Gino Vinicio Gentili after which the current cover was built. A few very localized excavations have been performed in the 1970s by Andrea Carandini.



















In late antiquity most of the Sicilian hinterland was partitioned into huge agricultural estates called "latifundia" (sing. "latifundium"). The size of the villa and the amount and quality of its artwork indicate that it was the center of such a latifundium, whose owner was probably a member of senatorial class if not of the imperial family itself, i.e., the absolute upper class of the Roman Empire.

The villa evidently served several purposes. It contained some rooms that were clearly residential, others that certainly had official purposes, and a number of rooms of as yet unknown intended use, though they were definitely not built for commercial or production reasons. The villa would probably have been the permanent or semi-permanent residence of the owner; it would have been where the owner, in his role as patron, received his local clients; and it would have functioned as the administrative center of the latifundium.

Currently, only the manorial portions of the complex have been excavated. The ancillary structures - housing for the slaves, workshops, stables, etc. have not yet been located.

The villa was a single-story building, centered on the peristyle, around which almost all the main public and private rooms were organized. Entrance to the peristyle is via the atrium from the west, with the thermal baths to the northwest; service rooms and probably guest rooms to the north; private apartments and a huge basilica to the east; and rooms of unknown purpose to the south. Somewhat detached, almost as an afterthought, is the separate area to the south. containing the elliptical peristyle, service rooms, and a huge triclinium.










---


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*Villa Romana Imperiale del Casale - Enna - Italy (2)*

The overall plan of the villa was dictated by several factors: older constructions on the site, the slight slope on which it is built, and the passage of the sun and the prevailing winds. The higher ground to the east is occupied by the Great Basilica, the private apartments, and the Corridor of the Great Hunt, the middle ground by the Peristyle, guest rooms, the entrance area, the Elliptical Peristyle, and the triclinium, while the lower ground to the west is dedicated to the thermal baths.

The whole complex is somewhat unusual, as it is organized along three major axes; the primary axis is the (slightly bent) line that passes from the atrium, tablinum, peristyle and the great basilica (coinciding with the path visitors would follow), while the thermal baths and the elliptical peristyle with the triclinium are centered on separate axes. In spite of the different orientations of the various parts of the villa they all form a single structure, built simultaneously. There is no indication that the villa was constructed in several stages.

Little is known about the earlier villa, but it appears to have been just a large country residence, probably built around the beginning of the second century.



















On the floor of the room dubbed the "Chamber of the Ten Maidens" (Sala delle Dieci Ragazze in Italian), the mosaic was excavated by Gino Vinicio Gentile in 1950-60. The bikini girls are in the artwork dubbed "Coronation of the Winner", performing exercises including weight-lifting, discus throwing, running and ball-games, while one woman in a toga is depicted with a crown in her hand and one of the Maidens is holding a palm frond in her hand.










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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

very modern that ladies :yes:


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

What are they playing? :lol: It seems rugby!


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

*Estela de Madrid (Madrid, Spain)*

It's a mayan piece with relief dated on year 600-800 A.C. It was in Palenque (México), and was made to hold up the throne of Palenque's palace. The character is one of the 4 Bacabs, the mayan gods that held up the Earths bay. It was brought to Spain at the 18th century, in one of the first archeologist expeditions of Spain. It is at Museo de America in Madrid.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iptucci said:


> ^^
> 
> Memos mal que no se les partió en el viaje, ¡imagínate!. :lol:


:lol: Es que es pequeñaja, debe medir 50 centímetros de altura o así. Se me olvidó mencionar que "it is at Museo de América in Madrid".


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Bocca della Verità (Rome, Italy)*

La Bocca della Verità (in English, "the Mouth of Truth") is an image, carved from Pavonazzetto marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. The sculpture is thought to be part of a 1st century ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods, probably Oceanus.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunello2412/3279118442/

La Bocca della Verità, statue by Jules Blanchard, in the Luxembourg Garden, Paris.The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. The piece was placed in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin in the 17th century.This church is also home to the supposed relics of the saint, St Valentine.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2413044713/

*Popular culture*

The Mouth of Truth is known to English-speaking audiences mostly from its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn's and Peck's characters are not initially truthful with each other. This scene from Roman Holiday was parodied in the 2000 Japanese film Sleeping Bride by Hideo Nakata. It was also replicated in the film Only You starring Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei. The Mouth of Truth also has an appearance in Hugo Award-winning short novel Nightwings by Robert Silverberg.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3130718809/

*Replicas and similar sculptures*

Electronic coin-operated reproductions of the Mouth are found in fairgrounds of Spain and Hungary, at some motorway service stations in the UK, and at some train stations in Denmark, usually together with photo booths. There is a similar sculpture of a lion in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India that, according to local lore, bites off one's hand if a lie is told.

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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Pincio said:


> The Mouth of Truth is known to English-speaking audiences mostly from its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*Rome opens up underground wonders of the ancient world to tourists*

*THE TIMES* - Visitors to Rome will soon be able to discover a world of ancient treasures beneath their feet when the city opens dozens of previously unseen underground sites to the public.

They include the Ludus Magnus, the barracks beneath the Colosseum where gladiators assembled before entering the great arena to meet their fate; the well-preserved necropolis of Santa Rosa at the Vatican, with tombs from the 1st to the 5th centuries, and pagan temples.

Guided tours through the sites begin on Monday. Gianni Alemanno, the Mayor of Rome, said he hoped that the experiment would be repeated next year and that in future some of the sites would remain open throughout the summer. “There is a lot of unknown Rome to explore, not just the best-known sights,” he said.

The 30 underground marvels are rarely seen by tourists, or residents. “Hidden Rome is in front of everyone’s eyes but nobody notices it,” said Umberto Broccoli, the superintendent of cultural heritage in Rome. “A large part of Rome’s history lies underground.” 

He singled out the auditorium of Maecenas, the wealthy close adviser to the Emperor Augustus, whose encouragement of poets and painters in 1st century Imperial Rome made his name a byword for patronage of the arts.

The ruins of his frescoed theatre for readings and performances, now below ground and protected by a modern roof, are tucked away in a small urban square that is all that remains of his once vast and magnificent horti, or gardens, on the Esquiline Hill.

Few visitors are aware that a 2,000-year-old underground aqueduct, the Acqua Virgo — originally built to supply the Baths of Agrippa near the Pantheon in 19BC and still used to bring water to the city — lies beneath the Renaissance-era Villa Medici, now the French Academy, and ends in the Baroque stone fantasy of the Trevi Fountain.

Tourists can also explore the frescoed 2nd century Temple of Mithras, the pagan cult, beneath the 17th Century Palazzo Barberini, which houses one of Rome’s foremost art collections.

Francesco Marcolini, the head of Zetema, the cultural foundation in charge of the project, said that next year 15 more underground sites would be added, including a Jewish necropolis in the grounds of Villa Torlonia, formerly the Rome residence of Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator.


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

Maxximus said:


> *Rome opens up underground wonders of the ancient world to tourists*
> 
> *THE TIMES* - Visitors to Rome will soon be able to discover a world of ancient treasures beneath their feet when the city opens dozens of previously unseen underground sites to the public.
> 
> ...


*Auditorium of Maecenas*


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

Maxximus said:


> *Rome opens up underground wonders of the ancient world to tourists*
> 
> *THE TIMES* - Visitors to Rome will soon be able to discover a world of ancient treasures beneath their feet when the city opens dozens of previously unseen underground sites to the public.
> 
> ...


bravo, thats cool :happy::banana:


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

no hay mumias Peruanas Buho:?


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

...


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Arpels said:


> no hay mumias Peruanas Buho:?


Creo que no... por lo menos no las recuerdo hno: Lo que sí hay es calaveras deformadas (como la última de Indiana Jones, pero no de cristal :lol

They deformed the skulls of the nobiliary kids, because it was "beautiful" for them...


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

...


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

lol pero que las hay hay...that one comes from where:?


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Arpels said:


> lol pero que las hay hay...that one comes from where:?


I think from Chile, Atacama desert.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*CAPITOLIUM - Tempio Capitolino (Brescia, Italy)*

The Capitolium, built by the emperor Vespasian in AD 73, was a religious site and the monumental centre of ancient Brixia. The building was situated on the decumanus maximus (on the line of Via Musei) and was discovered in 1823. It is a temple with three chambers, where the Capitoline trinity of deities was worshipped, and is based on the plan of the underlying Republican temple (probably constructed in 80-70 BC, soon after Roman citizenship was granted in 89 BC), which has also been brought to light by the archaeological excavations. It seems that the Capitolium originally had four chambers, a peculiarity due to the form of the preceding Republican temple, the easternmost of which was demolished to make way for an extension of the theatre.










This fourth cella was probably used for the worship of a local deity, perhaps a Celtic god such as Bergimo, or maybe Hercules, given that there existed an oral tradition of referring to the Capitolium as the Temple of Hercules. Inside marble fragments of an enormous male statue were found; others have come to light recently. The most probable intriguing explanation is that these came from a sculpture of the enthroned Capitoline Jupiter Optimus Maximus which dominated the central chamber; such a statue would have been modelled on that in the Capitoline temple in Rome, copies of which were installed in religious buildings throughout the empire.










The temple was reached by means of two flights of stairs, and overlooked the forum and basilica. Cidneo Hill thus provided a dramatic background to the setting, in the style of Hellenistic architectural models. The surrounding area, once the Roman city centre, contains the remains of numerous monumental buildings of importance for civil, social and economic life, such as the theatre, which was used for entertainment and public meetings and is calculated to have held fifteen thousand people. The forum, in front of the Capitolium (under Piazza del Foro), housed Brixia’s market and was the centre of commerce; it was surrounded by arcades lined with shops and closed to the south by the basilica, the ancient law court.










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## aby_since82 (May 5, 2007)

Why some parts of columns are so white?


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

aby_since82 said:


> Why some parts of columns are so white?


I think the white parts are the reconstruction. Actual restorations try to show what part is the original part and what one is the restored.


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

buho said:


> I think the white parts are the reconstruction. Actual restorations try to show what part is the original part and what one is the restored.


I think white parts are the original ones, the temple is a reconstruction.


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Ponte di Tiberio (Rimini, Italy)*

Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, near the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa. Coast navigation and fishing are traditional industries and, together with Riccione, it is probably the most famous seaside resort on the Adriatic Riviera.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/maddleine/3437137281/

As the inscription on the internal parapets recalls, the bridge over the Marecchia River, then known as Ariminus, began under the Emperor Augustus in 14 and was completed under Tiberius in 21. The bridge still connects the city centre to Borgo San Giuliano and leads to the consular roads Via Emilia and Via Popilia that lead north.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/leosagnotti/1416435609/

Built in Istria stone, the bridge consists of five arches that rest on massive pillars with breakwater spurs set at an oblique angle with respect to the bridge’s axis in order to follow the current. The bridge’s structure on the other hand, rests on a practical system of wooden poles.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/doc-cesena/2325916281/

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Arch of Augustus (Rimini, Italy)*

The Arch of Augustus. Built in 27 BC, it has a single gate 9.92 high and 8.45 wide. The merlons were added in the Middle Ages. At the southeast end of the Corso di Augusto in Rimini rises the Arch of Augustus (Arco d'Augusto), a triumphal arch built in 27 B.C. (the oldest one known) to commemorate the construction of the Via Flaminia.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/steflex65/2439404714/

As its inscription declares, the arch was built in 27 B.C. as an honorary gate to celebrate Octavian Augustus. It once formed part of the stone-built city walls, the remains of which are still visible, but is now isolated because the adjacent structures were demolished in the 1930’s. The structure, which was originally topped by a parapet bearing a statue of the Emperor, is richly decorated with religious and political references.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/839677747/

In fact, the divinities represented in the round shields (Jupiter, Apollo, Neptune and Rome) recall the grandeur of Rome and of Augustus himself. The arch was once part of the city walls, which were destroyed by Mussolini in 1936 although some remains of the walls are still visible.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidemontanari/3354902386/

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## ReiAyanami (May 14, 2008)

This thread should be renamed "Ancient monuments in Italy". Everything is very nice, but after 13 pages nobody bothered posting from anywhere else, why start now?


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

ReiAyanami said:


> This thread should be renamed "Ancient monuments in Italy". Everything is very nice, but after 13 pages nobody bothered posting from anywhere else, why start now?


So you haven't read the thread in fact... because most of posts are from Italy, but there are lots of posts from Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, France and Croatia too. And it's not Pincio's fault that most are from Italy, it's just they have a huge archeological heritage, and people that complain are just lazy people that don't post by themselves hno:


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

es caso para decir porque no te callas e pones fotos e informacion? :|


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

ReiAyanami said:


> This thread should be renamed "Ancient monuments in Italy". Everything is very nice, but after 13 pages nobody bothered posting from anywhere else, why start now?


Italy, Spain and Portugal. Forumers from other countries are lazy


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Domus del Chirurgo (Rimini, Italy)*

*"The Surgeon's House"* (Domus del Chirurgo) was inaugurated on 7 December 2007. The important archaeological complex, situated in Piazza Ferrari, was discovered in 1989 and presented to the city of Rimini after 18 years of excavation and conservation activities. The archaeological area covering more than 700 square metres includes many different building elements, among which the most interesting is the so-called Surgeon's House (Domus). This was a residential building of the roman period , built during the second half of the 2nd century A.D.










Other finds of great archaeological interest were unearthed: remains of buildings dating probably to the Late Republic period, traces of an Early Medieval settlement as well as a burial ground. The complex provide us with an exceptional example of historical and urban stratification. With a great deal of care and patience, the archaeologists of Rimini, lead by Jacopo Ortalli, Director in charge of the excavations, have brought to light a singular historical patrimony. The two-storey Surgeon's House, was situated directly on the Adriatic seacoast, which at that time , was more than 1 km further inland than in the present day.










The large number of unearthed remains and mosaics are of great interest. Well preserved, the remains have allowed a true reconstruction of the House, its owner and its long and fascinating history. The most extraordinary discovery is the collection of 150 surgical instruments. They leave us no doubt as to the profession of the owner: a medical doctor. It would seem that his name was Eutyches, probably of Greek origin and, as was common in ancient times, he would probably have been trained in a military environment. In fact, the specificity of the surgical instruments unearthed were mostly for use in cases of bone traumas and wounds, thus testifying that Eutyches was a military doctor.










The House had baked clay walls and a stone base. An inner corridor led onto a garden on one side, and on other side, onto several rooms. There was a dining room (triclinium), a bedroom (cubiculum) and two living rooms. One of these had a fine mosaic floor with Orpheus surrounded by animals. This was the room where the surgeon looked after and operated on his patients, very similar to a modern infirmary. There were also other service rooms: a heated area (hypocaust), a latrine and on the upper floor a kitchen with pantry. The sudden collapse of the walls, probably caused by fire occurred during the second half of the 2nd century A.D, preserved fittings, furnishings and mosaics. When visiting the Surgeon's House you can admire the beauty of the mosaic floorings on site; while the collection of surgical instruments is preserved in the Rimini Archaeological Museum.

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Is this archeology? By the way, Obama talked about peaceful coexistence, not about racial mixture :nuts: Obama talked about Cordoba's caliphate that was really friendly with christians and jews.
P.D: Abderraman III was red-haired (his mother was from Navarra)... And all omeyas used to have blond hair. And 95 % of muslims of Al-Andalus were hispanorromans converted to Islam: muladies.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iptucci said:


> ^^
> The genetic information can be completed, where the archaeological remains incomplete. The Muslim era in Andalusia or Spain is just a page in our vast and great history, only one page, and was counted wrong, some experts claim that it was not so kind, but we ask Omar Ben Hafsun.


My friend Hafsun... I hope someday will be made a movie about him :lol:


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## krkseg1ops (Mar 19, 2009)

Tomorrow I will post some pictures from my home city of Kraków, Poland. Believe me, we have some pretty old (at least Poland-wise) stuff up here


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iptucci said:


> ^^
> First you have either the history of the Muslim era in Spain, then to make the film about Omar Ben Hafsun.
> 
> Andalusia has always been the Andalusians are you listening to Mr. Obama?, And took thousands of years in our land, and was praying to Tanit, Zeus, Allah or Jesus.


In fact I studied Menendez Pidal texts about Hafsun, Gabrielle Crespi's "Los árabes en Europa", Anwar Chejne, Pierre Guichard, even XIX century minded F. J. Simonet... and I did an universitary work about mozárabes in al-Andalus and Bobastro, city of Omar ben Hafs. 
The fact was: al-Andalus was an example of religious and racial tolerance in Islam's history.


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## Maxximus (Apr 27, 2009)

*The Runners, at Royal Borbonic Archaeological Museum of Naples - Italy*









http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3358/3335377452_ef8b335261_b.jpg

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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

mmm


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

*Roman Bronze from the Museum of Évora*

Bronze sculpture from the 1 or 2nd century A.D., representing a naked young boy in foot. It was discovered, 0ccasionally, in São Manços, in the neighborhoods of Évora, during the execution of agricultural works, in 1976. 
Could be a representation of Apolo or Baco.


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

fantastic archeologycal place that one Iptucci :yes:


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

*Roman Villa of Cardilivm - Torres Novas - Portugal*

Villa Cardílio (II/IV century A.D) are the ruins of a Roman Villa in central Portugal, located approximately 3 km outside of Torres Novas.
The ruins receive their name from one inscription in a mosaic, the exact meaning of that inscription is unknown, it is assumed that the area, as well as the city of Torres Novas received their name from these inscription.
The ruins were first excavated in 1962 and yielded hundreds of coins and well as ceramics, bronze works and glass works. Some jewellery and a statue of Eros/Cupid were also found.


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

*The Cupid found in the Villa *


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

,,,


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## Arpels (Aug 9, 2004)

:lol:


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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Pantheon (Rome, Italy)*

The Pantheon (from Greek: Πάνθεον, meaning "Every God") is a building in Rome, originally built by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt in the early 2nd century AD. The intended degree of inclusiveness of this dedication is debated. The generic term pantheon is now applied to a monument in which illustrious dead are buried. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs". The Pantheon is the oldest large-scale dome in Rome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).









http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlcga/1357033880/

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. Though often still drawn as a free-standing building, there was a building at its rear into which it abutted; of this building there are only archaeological remains. In the walls at the back of the portico were niches, probably for statues of Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa, or for the Capitoline Triad, or another set of gods. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, are ancient but not original to the Pantheon. The current doors-too small for the door frame-have been there since at least the 15th century. The pediment was decorated with relief sculpture, probably of gilded bronze. Holes marking the location of clamps which held the sculpture suggest that its design was likely an eagle within a wreath; ribbons extended from the wreath into the corners of the pediment.









http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgoulao/2877865683/

The 4,535 metric ton (5,000 tn) weight of the Roman concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 9.1 metres (30 ft) in diameter which form the oculus while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the 6.4 metres (21 ft) thick drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from 6.4 metres (21 ft) at the base of the dome to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) around the oculus. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (alternatively, the interior could house a sphere 43.3 metres (142 ft) in diameter). These dimensions make more sense when expressed in ancient Roman units of measurement: the dome spans 150 Roman feet; the oculus is 30 Roman feet in diameter; the doorway was 40 Roman feet high. The Pantheon holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome. The interior of the roof was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The Great Eye at the dome's apex is the source of all light in the interior. The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.









*Interior*

More info & pictures *here*.

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## Pincio (May 30, 2007)

*Theatre of Marcellus (Rome, Italy)*

The Theatre of Marcellus (Italian: Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient theatre built just before the Roman Empire. Its ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo, Rome, provides one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist sites. It was named after Marcus Marcellus, Emperor Augustus's nephew and who died five years before its completion. Space for the theatre was cleared by Julius Caesar, who was murdered before it could be begun; the theatre was so far advanced by 17 BC that part of the celebration of the ludi saeculares took place within the theatre; it was completed in 13 BC and formally inaugurated in 12 BC by Augustus. The theatre was 111 m in diameter; it could originally hold 11,000 spectators. It was an impressive example of what was to become one of the most pervasive urban architectural forms of the Roman world.










The theatre was built mainly of tuff, and concrete faced with stones in the pattern known as opus reticulatum, completely sheathed in white travertine. The network of arches, corridors, tunnels and ramps that gave access to the interiors of such Roman theaters were normally ornamented with a screen of engaged columns in Greek orders: Doric at the base, Ionic in the middle. It is believed that Corinthian columns were used for the upper level but this is uncertain as the theater was reconstructed in the Middle Ages, removing the top tier of seating and the columns. Like other Roman theaters in suitable locations, it had openings through which the natural setting could be seen, in this case the Tiber Island to the southwest. The permanent setting, the scaena, also rose to the top of the cavea as in other Roman theaters (like Avalon theaters).










Theater of Marcellus by night.The name templum Marcelli still clung to the ruins in 998. In the Early Middle Ages the Teatro di Marcello was used as a fortress of the Fabii and then at the end of the 11th century, by Pier Leoni and later his heirs (the Pierleoni). The Savelli held it in the 13th century. Later, in the 16th century, the residence of the Orsini, designed by Baldassare Peruzzi, was built atop the ruins of the ancient theatre. Now the upper portion is divided into multiple apartments, and its surroundings are used as a venue for small summer concerts; the Portico d'Ottavia lies to the north west leading to the Roman Ghetto and the Tiber to the south west. In the 17th century, the renowned English architect Sir Christopher Wren explicitly acknowledged that his design for the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford was influenced by Serlio's engraving of the Theatre of Marcellus.










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## Niceforo (Jul 19, 2009)

*Nero's dining room found*

'Nero's dining room found' 

Room rotated on wooden platform to follow movement of Earth 

(ANSA) - Rome, September 29 - A 'rotating room' built by Roman Emperor Nero to please his dinner guests has been unearthed, Italian archaeologists say. Excavations in the Domus Aurea ('Golden House') on the Palatine Hill have revealed remains of a room experts think is the one described by the ancient historian Suetonius in his Lives of the Caesars.

The room contained a wooden platform, Suetonius said, which rotated day and night to follow the movement of the Earth.

It was one of the many attractions of the pleasure dome of the ill-famed emperor who reigned from 54 to 68 AD.

''This discovery has no equal among ancient Roman architectural finds,'' said the superintendent of work on the Palatine, Maria Antonietta Tomei.

Tomei is overseeing a project to shore up the hill that houses the villas of ancient Rome's great.

Architect Antonella Tomasello is leading the efforts while archaeologists like Francoise Villedieu, leader of the team that made Tuesday's discovery, have taken the opportunity to make fresh digs.

Rome's commissioner for urgent archeological work, Roberto Cecchi, on Tuesday earmarked new funds to verify the ''hypothesis'' that the dig has indeed found Nero's fabled dining room. Recent work has shown that the Domus Aurea is even bigger than previously thought and takes up a huge chunk of the Palatine as well as spilling over onto the Oppian Hill across from the Colosseum.

The only part of the immense structure that has been opened up is a series of underground halls on the Oppian.

But they have been opened and closed several times over the last few decades as restorers and structural engineers struggle to keep the mighty complex from collapsing.


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## Iptucci (Feb 20, 2009)

....


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## ***** (Apr 2, 2008)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2302/2325916281_501f2ccd0d_b.jpg

This need restoration...


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## AnOldBlackMarble (Aug 23, 2010)

Ruins of the Ancient capital of Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital city of the Dacians. The Dacians were the only people who consistently defeated the Romans for more than 200 years before Trajan finally destroyed them and tried to erase them from history. He mostly succeed since today not many people have heard of them, while back then after the Romans and Greeks, they were probably the third most powerful culture in Europe. 

These are some of the ruins so far uncovered but most of the city is still covered by old growth forest. 
































































The Dacians are still alive and well today in the blood of the Romanian people. Based on archeological evidence much of Romania's traditional clothing, music, farming and animal husbandry, and aspects of language have been retained due to the exaggerated "dark age" Dacia/Romania suffered after the Roman conquest and then the migrations.


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## AnOldBlackMarble (Aug 23, 2010)

Woops! ^^ Sorry I got carried away and forgot about the three image rule. :bash:


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## Dotty87 (Sep 2, 2007)

I took some pictures at the Domus Aurea (Nero's imperial house) last sunday. It is stunning, I can assure it!  

I take my post from the roman thread on SSC:



Dotty87 said:


> Azz.. peccato, non era male.
> 
> Intanto, grazie al nostro amico forumer Vitruvio che ringrazio  , ecco un giretto al cantiere della Domus Aurea:


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