Free Republic

The city of Arles, ARELATE, set up as a roman colony for veterans of Caesar's 6th legion on a low hill on the left bank of the Rhône near the river mouth, grew out to be one of the most important cities in the Western Roman empire, known as "Gallula Roma", the Rome of Gaul. Such an important city needed an aqueduct, and the most suitable area to provide the city with water was a 35 km long EW trending limestone massif to the NE, known as the Alpilles, with a maximum elevation of 492m. In roman times, the range...

No visit to Rome is complete without a visit to the Pantheon, Trajan's Markets, the Colosseum, or the other spectacular examples of ancient Roman concrete monuments that have stood the test of time and the elements for nearly two thousand years... Working at ALS beamline 12.3.2, a superconducting bending magnet X-ray micro-diffraction beamline, the research team studied a reproduction of Roman volcanic ash-lime mortar that had been previously subjected to fracture testing experiments at Cornell University. In the concrete walls of Trajan's Markets, constructed around 110 CE, this mortar binds cobble-sized fragments of tuff and brick. Through observing the mineralogical...

A hoard of Roman treasure believed to have been hidden from Boudicca in the first century has been discovered by archaeologists in Colchester. The collection, including fine gold and silver jewellery, had been buried for safekeeping during the early stages of Boudicca's Revolt, Colchester Archaeological Trust said. It represents the first hoard of precious metals ever found in Colchester town centre and is thought to have belonged to a wealthy Roman woman, who stashed the treasure under her house when she heard the vengeful queen's armies were approaching. The archaeologists said the hoard was found under the floor of a...

The treasure trove was unearthed after a member of the public stumbled across four coins in the cave in Dovedale in Derbyshire's Peak District. The discovery prompted a full-scale excavation of the site. Experts say it is the first time coins from these two separate civilisations have been found buried together. Archaeologists discovered 26 coins, including three Roman coins which pre-date the invasion of Britain in AD43, and 20 other gold and silver pieces which are Late Iron Age and thought to belong to the Corieltavi tribe. Although Roman coins have often been found in fields, this is understood to...

If you don't know your Roman numerals, the Super Bowl can be a confusing time. However, no one will be confused when Super Bowl L kicks off after the 2015 season because for one year only, the NFL will be making the switch from Roman numerals to standard numbers. That's right: Super Bowl L will be Super Bowl 50. The first-regular numbered Super Bowl will air on Feb. 7, 2016 on CBS.

Tunnelers expanding London's Underground (Tube) stations have stumbled on a cache of more than two dozen Roman-era skulls. The skulls likely date from the first century A.D. and may possibly—just possibly—be victims of the famed Queen Boudicca's troops, decapitated during her uprising against Roman rule in 61 A.D.

"If we continue down the misguided path that the government is taking us, then the future does not look good," says Free Market Institute's Ben Powell. Reason's Nick Gillespie caught up with Powell to discuss the theme of this year's Freedom Fest, "Are We Rome?" and whether America is following in Rome's footsteps towards decline. "Our economic freedom has been plummeting the last ten years," Powell says, "and this isn't a product of Obama. It's Bush [and] Obama consistently. More than half of our decline in economic freedoms happened under Bush. It's just the rate of decline is happening more...

Thousands of Roman artefacts have been unearthed in an archaeological dig hailed as 'the most important excavation ever held in London'.Archaeologists have found coins, pottery, shoes, lucky charms and an amber Gladiator amulet which date back almost 2,000 years.Experts leading the excavation have also uncovered wooden structures from the 40s AD around 40ft beneath the ground.The site is just yards from the River Thames and alongside a huge building project for new offices on Queen Victoria Street in the heart of London's financial district.he Bloomberg Place construction siteArchaeologists work to unearth Roman artifacts. The discoveries have been so well preserved...

A team of researchers led by the UAB has found the first ancient remains of a calcified ovarian teratoma, in the pelvis of the skeleton of a woman from the Roman era. The find confirms the presence in antiquity of this type of tumour -- formed by the remains of tissues or organs, which are difficult to locate during the examination of ancient remains. Inside the small round mass, four teeth and a small piece of bone were found. Teratomas are usually benign and contain remains of organic material, such as hair, teeth, bones and other tissues. There are no...

Two Roman-era shipwrecks have been found in deep water off a western Greek island, challenging the idea that ancient shipmasters stuck to coastal routes. The merchant ships were sunk nearly a mile deep between Corfu and Italy - proving that ancient traders didn't 'hug the shore'. Greece's culture ministry said the two third-century wrecks were discovered earlier this month during a survey of an area where a Greek-Italian gas pipeline is to be sunk.

The information in this section comes largely from The Urban Character of Christian Worship, by Rev. John Baldovin, S.J. Footnotes refer to the pages in his text where further information can be found.Station Churches 2012 Each year, the North American College follows the ancient tradition of the Roman stational liturgy. All are invited to join us for the celebration of Mass each day. Using the side bar on the left, you will find the schedule and listing of the churches. Each page contains a short description and history of each church. At the bottom of each page, you will find...

Made from bronze and smaller than a ten pence piece, the coin depicts a man and a woman engaged in an intimate act. Historians believe it is the first example of a Roman brothel token to be found in this country. It lay hidden in mud for almost 2,000 years until it was unearthed by an amateur archaeologist with a metal detector. On the reverse of the token is the numeral XIIII, which experts say could indicate the holder handed over 14 small Roman coins called asses to buy it. This would have been the equivalent of seven loaves of...

Fresh off of his endorsement from former KKK Grand Wizard and former Congressman from Louisiana David Duke, we find this photo of Congressman Ron Paul with former Klansman, former Nazi and current radio show host and moderator of Stormfront.org Don Black. Pictured next to Black in the cool hat appears to be his radio sidekick and son Derek. (Here's an interesting note....Derek's mother is David Duke's ex-wife. Que the banjos.)

A Texas woman was arrested after relatives said they caught her having sex with a 15-year-old boy on Thanksgiving Day. The scene unfolded at a family gathering held on the holiday at a house in Oakridge Forest Lane in Spring. Police arrested Amanda Billiris, 23, after relatives said they witnessed her having sexual intercourse with the boy, the arrest report states. The avid motorcycle racer has been charged with sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony, reports the Houston Courier. According to the Texas Penal Code, if convicted, she faces between two to 20 years in prison. Ms Billaris...

“Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish,” says voice therapist Lionel Logue to King George VI as the brassy Australian walks the about-to-be-crowned king through a particularly orotund part of the coronation ceremony in The King’s Speech. Logue’s comment nicely sums up the media and Catholic Left commentary on a “Note” released today by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary System in the Context of Global Public Authority.” Drudge got it wrong: “Vatican Calls for ‘Central World Bank’.” CNBC got it wrong: “The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a ‘global public authority’ and...

     'OCCUPY WALL STREET' (HEARTS) WALL STREET October 19, 2011The worst thing about Occupy Wall Street is that it's ruining a good cause: hating Wall Street. Just when opposing Wall Street was gaining momentum, these brain-dead zombies are forcing us to choose between thieving bankers and them. If the Flea Party were really concerned about the greedy "Wall Street 1 Percent," shifting money around to make themselves richer and everyone else poorer, their No. 1 target should be George Soros. Of course, we don't know exactly how much money Soros has, since he keeps all his money in offshore...

A bit actor who appeared in the first "Austin Powers" movie is suspected in the death of his cellmate at the California prison where he is serving a life sentence, corrections officials said Tuesday. Joseph Son , 40, wore a bowler hat and played one of Dr. Evil's henchmen, named Random Task, in 1997's "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." He also was a mixed martial arts fighter who appeared in several other movies or videos in the 1990s, according to his Hollywood biography. He arrived at Wasco State Prison in the state's Central Valley on Sept. 16 after he...

Here's a trillion dollar deficit question: Where did Iran's Favorite Congress Critter, Ron Paul, get his army of followers ? It's an important question to ask. Bloggers can't criticize Paul without having a cross burned on their blog by the RuPaulista SS. (Erick Erickson's RedState has had to ban anyone who wasn't a member for more than six months for mentioning Paul in a post.) Conservative radio show hosts can't utter a peep about Mahmoud AmendinePaul without having his lines jammed up for the rest of the show.

Not every anti-Israel step the Obama administration takes is reflected by policy. For every "start negotiations with the 1949 Armistice lines" there is disinformation, a falsification of history spewed out by the administration. The latest example of this falsification of history was presented tonight by new Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. On his way to meetings with Israeli and Egyptian officials, Panetta warned that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, and said Israeli leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey. In a blunt assessment made as he was traveling...

With homosexuals now able to serve openly in the military, the gay rights movement’s next battleground is to persuade the Obama administration to end the armed forces’ ban on “transgenders,” a group that includes transsexuals and cross-dressers.