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Swords and Sandals (Spectacular Mosaics of the Glories of Rome Uncovered in Libya)
Smithsonian Magazine ^ | April 2005 | Vivienne Walt

Posted on 03/27/2005 5:12:32 PM PST by nickcarraway

click here to read article


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1 posted on 03/27/2005 5:12:33 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

There seesm to have been that lots of construction jobs were available back in the ancient days.


2 posted on 03/27/2005 5:18:53 PM PST by jolie560
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To: SunkenCiv

I thought this might interest you.


3 posted on 03/27/2005 5:22:34 PM PST by TruthConquers (Delenda est publius schola)
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To: SunkenCiv

I thought this might interest you.


4 posted on 03/27/2005 5:22:53 PM PST by TruthConquers (Delenda est publius schola)
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To: TruthConquers

Sorry!


5 posted on 03/27/2005 5:23:16 PM PST by TruthConquers (Delenda est publius schola)
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To: jolie560
bttt

fascinating story

6 posted on 03/27/2005 5:24:17 PM PST by Babu
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To: Tax-chick

tomorrow.


7 posted on 03/27/2005 5:31:06 PM PST by Tax-chick ("I have been half in love with easeful Death ... Now more than ever seems it rich to die.")
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To: nickcarraway

Again, no one thought to bring a camera.


8 posted on 03/27/2005 5:35:33 PM PST by Rudder
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To: nickcarraway

"It's always better to leave something where it is," Musso says.

If the objective of archeology is to expand the knowledge of humanity by studying past human life and culture, the focus ought to be on the former as well as the latter. If the objective is to give people like Musso trips to dig sites, what's the bother? I don't care if educated people dig up nifty stuff if no one else ever gets to see it.

Maybe the Libyans should have preserved it better, or transported it more safely, but their judgment on this issue still seems better than Musso's.


9 posted on 03/27/2005 5:38:18 PM PST by LibertarianInExile (The South will rise again? Hell, we ever get states' rights firmly back in place, the CSA has risen!)
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To: nickcarraway
The area saw the return of the Italians in 1911. Too bad they didn't know about it then. The Fascists later would have boasted of Rome's return to Africa.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
10 posted on 03/27/2005 6:32:09 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: TruthConquers; blam; FairOpinion; Ernest_at_the_Beach; SunkenCiv; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; ...
Thanks TruthConquers. Libya has some of the best preserved Roman stuff in the world, between the dry climate and the relative isolation (although one of the barbarian hordes did make it all the way to Tunisia, via Spain etc).
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)

11 posted on 03/27/2005 7:08:33 PM PST by SunkenCiv (last updated my FreeRepublic profile on Friday, March 25, 2005.)
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somewhat related:

Archaeologist's dig reveals solution to ancient riddle of lost Roman town
Telegraph Online | Sunday 30 July 2000 | Adam Lusher
Posted on 07/30/2004 7:47:49 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1181721/posts

Bernheze Roman Bronze Hoard from the Netherlands
Minerva: the International Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology
Last Updated: Friday, 9 July, 2004 at 3:10:29pm | Ruurd B. Halbertsma
Posted on 03/23/2005 11:56:02 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1369464/posts

From Hand-drag to Jumbo: A Millennium of Dredging
[note: this topic *should* have a post about Drusus' canal near the Rhine mouth, but doesn't]
IADC (International Association of Dredging Companies) | 1999 | IADC
Posted on 07/30/2004 8:27:24 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1181760/posts

Laocoön and His Son
Vatican Museums | circa 2000 | Mary Ann Sullivan
Posted on 08/28/2004 4:07:50 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1201959/posts

Majdel Tarshish (Roman Remains - 50 km from Beirut)
Ikama Lebanon | 2003 | staff
Posted on 11/06/2004 8:32:02 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1273270/posts

Quality of Life in the Desert? High Living in Rome's Distant Quarries
Univ of Leicester | September 9, 2002 | Dr Marijke van der Veen
Posted on 11/26/2004 6:09:01 PM PST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1289111/posts

Romans in China?
Archaeology | Volume 52 Number 3, May/June 1999 | Erling Hoh
Posted on 07/18/2004 8:43:09 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1173944/posts

The Romans in Ireland
Archaeology Today | 2000? | L.A. Curchin
Posted on 07/18/2004 8:54:58 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1173950/posts

Roman roads in Britain
Channel 4 | before 2004 | staff
Posted on 10/16/2004 5:46:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1247442/posts


12 posted on 03/27/2005 7:16:06 PM PST by SunkenCiv (last updated my FreeRepublic profile on Friday, March 25, 2005.)
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To: nickcarraway
President Bush lifted the 23-year-old ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Libya

Bump

13 posted on 03/27/2005 7:16:18 PM PST by A. Pole (Graham Greene: "Innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world ...")
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To: SunkenCiv

"Maximus Decimus Meridius" bump.


14 posted on 03/27/2005 8:16:34 PM PST by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.d)
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To: nickcarraway
Fascinating story!! Thanks for posting it. I adore the ancient Roman mosaics (whether created by Roman or African artists). If anyone finds a photo of these mosaics, please post! (Or post a link.) Um, if anyone is interested, here is a photo of the marble mosaic I am currently working on to go in our foyer. The motto says "Cave felis" (beware the cat).
15 posted on 03/27/2005 10:45:01 PM PST by Hetty_Fauxvert (http://sonoma-moderate.blogspot.com/)
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To: Hetty_Fauxvert

I would like to attempt something like that. Where do you get the tiles and other supplies?


16 posted on 03/27/2005 11:44:28 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: Hetty_Fauxvert

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/leptis_roman_villa.htm


17 posted on 03/27/2005 11:52:24 PM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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To: FreedomCalls

Hi, FreedomCalls! I hope you don't mind, but I am going to post part of an email I wrote to a friend who was thinking about creating a mosaic for his entryway to his house. Here goes:

As for a primer on how to do it ... well, the best thing you can do is get yourself a good book on the subject! As for it being hard -- in one way it is quite easy, in
another it is very hard. Conceptually there's nothing to it, piece o' cake. Basically, what you do is glue the pieces to a piece of special netting (using water-soluble glue), then when it is all done, you use mastic to
stick the netting and tile down to your base (usually cement board). Let that dry, then grout it. Not hard.

The hard part is twofold: one, marble is much harder to work than tile! It is really, really dense and hard, difficult to cut through. (Though thick porcelain tile can be quite hard also.) Think seriously about whether a thinner tile wouldn't work just as well as marble. Also, if you use tile, you could do part of it in mosaic and part of it, maybe the border, in solid (maybe fancy) tile, and save yourself a lot of work. The second hard part is that
this takes FOREVER! We have been working on this project for months. Every time we have to make a cut on a marble bit, you have to either do it by hand (with one of two different kinds of nippers) or step over to the tile saw.
Then like as not, the cut isn't quite right, so you have to fiddle with it a bit more. You end up making 2 or 3 cuts on a single 1/2" x 1/2" piece! So you can see why this is time-consuming.

If you are a marble tesserae junkie, I'd suggest trying to figure out a pattern that uses as few cuts as possible, maybe a geometric. (Curves in the pattern almost always mean cuts! Try not to use curves, unless they are gradual enough that you won't need cuts.) If you could do a pattern in straight geometric lines, or mostly that, it would take a lot less time, since all you would need to do is glue the bits on place, rather than cutting them first.

Another issue is cost. It has turned out to be a bit on the costly side, since it has taken more marble than I originally figured. I have been afraid to add up all my receipts, but I think the materials have run about $400,
and it is only 40" x 43". I also bought two pairs of nippers at about $20 each, and a small tile saw from Home Depot for about $90. (Of course, the nippers and saw will be used for other projects.) You also need a small file
and an edge smoothing stone. Professionals often use a hardie (a small anvil) and special hammer, but I have not been able to find any locally and was reluctant to order something unless I was sure I would like it.

Where do you get this stuff? Almost any tile store, or over the Internet. Comparison shopping is a must! Also, different stores handle different manufacturers, so colors and sizes can be a bit different. It is all about 3/8" thick, but sizes range from 1/2" to 5/8" square. It is available in polished or tumbled. I chose polished since it has more intense color. Prices can also rise, for seemingly inexplicable reasons. The price has doubled on two of the colors since I started, and no one seems to know why.

I'd suggest trying it on a small scale first, maybe do the top of an end table or cover a terra cotta pot, if you have never done mosaic work at all. I have heard stories from many people now about projects they started and abandoned. I would also suggest making the piece first, and then cutting out the spot for it on your floor last, so that you are not walking around an empty spot on your floor for months on end (as we have been!) OTOH, if you do have the patience, it is certainly rewarding. It makes me so happy when I go out to our garage and see our nearly completed piece. I do think it is beautiful, and it is exactly what I wanted.


18 posted on 03/28/2005 12:43:36 AM PST by Hetty_Fauxvert (http://sonoma-moderate.blogspot.com/)
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To: Hetty_Fauxvert
"CAVE FELIS"

FVNNY!

19 posted on 03/28/2005 5:33:00 AM PST by Max in Utah (By their works you shall know them.)
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To: Hetty_Fauxvert

Thanks. I saw a beautiful mosaic in Greece once that I have forever regretted not buying. I didn't want to lug it around and didn't want to spend the moeny and have regretted it ever since.


20 posted on 03/28/2005 7:05:41 AM PST by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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