[vannrox]

AWESOME!

[father_elijah]

Bump

[PianoMan]

Fascinating article BUMP

[vannrox]

Grant May Fund Recovery of Lost Latin Library in Italy

British and Italian archeologists are poised to begin restoration of parts of the 2,000-year-old sister city of Pompeii that could include excavation of a library that one scholar calls “the holy grail of Latin scholars,” the London Times reported August 8.


An international committee is optimistic about receiving a $100-million grant from the Packard Humanities Institute, a California foundation, that would allow work to begin at Herculaneum, which is less than 10 miles from the more famous Pompeii. Both towns were overwhelmed by ash and lava spewed out during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The houses and streets of Pompeii have been excavated; work at Herculaneum began in the 18th century but has been hampered because much of the ancient city is buried beneath the modern town of Ercolano.


Herculaneum was a city of patrician villas, including that of Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, which is said to contain a celebrated “lost Latin library” of the works of such poets as Horace and Virgil. Many upper stories of buildings in the buried city have been preserved, said Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, director of the British School at Rome, and “who knows, the great library may have been equally well preserved over 2,000 years.”


American Library Association

[chance33_98]

As long as Geraldo is not airing a special about it as they open the doors I am for it....

[germanicus]

This literature and writings are the soul of early Western civilization. I wish I had the monetary means to help preserve these scrolls. 20 million dollars is nothing compared to the knowledge and history contained in them.

[denydenydeny]

Spare no expense.

[Moonmad27]

Now THAT is what I consider an exciting news article! Thanks for posting it.

[Risky Schemer]

If they find the records it may turn out somebody owes a giant overdue fee. Could amount to over $MCMXXLCM.VII.

Probably for "Yvrtle est Tvrtle" by "Dr Svess". It's never returned on time.

[RadioAstronomer]

WOW! This is so cool!

[ValerieUSA]

Millions of dollars could be spent teaching people to read and to write today.
Ancient texts are not necessarily superior to modern texts, they are just older. The words of the "reprints" are only as reliable as the scribes, and the integrity of the historians of the time was just as fallible as the veracity of journalists today.

[Avoiding_Sulla]

bump

[Lancey Howard]

Wow...!
bttt

[RightWhale]

the prospect of finding copies of Virgil’s Aeneid, missing volumes of Livy’s History of Rome, or lost works by Sophocles or even Aristotle

The Dead Sea Scrolls were difficult to restore, and they weren't even carbonized by volcanic mud.

[ccmay]

Bill Gates could look under his sofa cushions and find enough money to excavate the whole damn place. What's keeping him? I know he appreciates old manuscripts and scientific history. After all, he bought one of Leonardo's codices for millions of dollars.

-ccm

[griffin]

Ah....big deal. Kinda like moving...if you haven't had a need for it in a few years...throw it out! We've survived lotza years without these old pieces of jiberish...so what would we do with them now?

Let me have one or two and I'll use 'em to grill some burgers....anyone want cheese on theirs??

[SunkenCiv]

Not a ping, just a GGG update.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[Graymatter]

Do you have Claudius' history of the Etruscans? Shhhhhhhhhh!!!!

[SunkenCiv]

"Most have turned out to be works of Greek philosophy, including writings of Epicurus missing for more than 2,000 years."

Interesting claim, since the eruption was in 79 AD, and other copies must have been available somewhere in the Empire. File this message under "minor quibbles".

[facedown]

bump