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“Bread and circuses,” the poet Juvenal wrote scathingly. “That’s all the common people want.” Food and entertainment. Or to put it another way, basic sustenance and bloodshed, because the most popular entertainments offered by the circuses of Rome were the gladiators and chariot racing, the latter often as deadly as the former. As many as 12 four-horse teams raced one another seven times around the confines of the greatest arenas—the Circus Maximus in Rome was 2,000 feet long, but its track was not more than 150 feet wide—and rules were few, collisions all but inevitable, and hideous injuries to the...

It’s a safe bet that most of you reading these words have been to a professional football game. Many of you—particularly those who live in Philadelphia—have probably witnessed the occasional brawls between the home crowd and those foolish enough to wear an opposing team’s colors. A few of you, I dare say, have been involved in such altercations. But how often have you witnessed football fans actually kill opposition partisans? Well, perhaps I should qualify that by saying American football fans. When was the last time you heard of agitated sports nuts rioting in the streets and burning down half...

A Roman mosaic depicting a mythical chariot race has been fully uncovered in a Berkshire village - and it could be one of Britain's most exciting archaeological discoveries. The 1,600-year-old mosaic, which was found in Boxford in 2017 but only fully uncovered recently, is one of only three of its kind in the world and is 'totally unknown' in Britain, experts said. It depicts a chariot race involving Greek mythological figure Pelops, who is racing to win the hand of love interest Princess Hippodamia. ... The mosaic will now be covered over once more to protect it and to allow...

When the white handkerchief dropped, the Ben Hurs of Colchester would have set off down Circular Road North, past the banked tiers of seats, turning left at Napier Road, their iron tyres gouging a deep rut in the track,and back up past St John's gatehouse towards the water-spouting dolphin marking the end of the first lap. Colchester, it seems, was the Formula One track of Roman Britain, with the only chariot racing circus ever found on the island, and the first found in northern Europe for 20 years... The racetrack is still buried under roads, gardens and old army buildings,...

A ROMAN coin unearthed by a Wrexham metal detecting enthusiast has been confirmed as one of the oldest ever found in Wales. Retired butcher Roy Page, 69, of Coedpoeth, found the detailed 2,000-year-old coin on a farm near St Asaph when he went on a search there with the Mold-based Historical Search Society earlier this year. Roy gave the tiny silver coin, which depicts two horses being driven by a man on a chariot, to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), who have recently confirmed the specific date that it was made. It is believed to have been brought over some...

Mosaics depicting prominent Bible scenes were uncovered during annual excavations of an ancient synagogue in Israel's Lower Galilee. During the excavation in June, archaeologists found two new panels of a mosaic floor in a Late Roman (fifth-century) synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village. One panel showed Noah's ark with pairs of animals, such as lions, leopards and bears. The other panel depicted soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots in the parting of the Red Sea. Such images are extremely rare for the time period, according to excavation director Jodi Magness, of the University of North...

Egnatia digs reveal Roman road secretsExcavations uncover ancient equivalent of interstate highway A man walks along the remains of a wayside inn along the route of the ancient Via Egnatia, near the northern town of Komotini. Culture Ministry officials have unearthed extensive traces of the second-century-BC highway, which was built with safety features to protect even the clumsiest charioteer. By Costas Kantouris - The Associated Press KOMOTINI - Archaeologists excavating along the route of the ancient Via Egnatia are revealing the secrets of the ancient Romans' equivalent of an interstate highway. Stretching 861 kilometers (535 miles) across modern-day Albania, the...

A relief depicting a 2,000-year-old chariot race scene and new gladiator names has been discovered at an archeological dig in Mugla, proving the area was an important center for sporting events. "We have found a block with a relief of a chariot race scene," said Professor Bilal Sögüt, head of the excavation from Pamukkale University. "The chariot race scene provides us information on cultural and sporting activities. The chariot race relief also gives us considerable characteristic details of the carts and harness of that period." Ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Stratonikeia located in the Aegean province of Mugla...

COLCHESTER, England (Reuters) - It is the home of Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole and Camelot -- or so legend has it. But archeologists raking over the past can now go one better for the English city of Colchester. After painstaking excavation work they have proof of real heroes from the ancient world. Last month they revealed the remains of a Roman Circus or chariot racing track. In the past 30 years archeologists in the city have unearthed evidence dating back to Roman rule over 2,000 years ago, rewriting British history along the way. The circus underlines the city's importance...

LONDON, Dec 03, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- After 2,500 years, the chariot's wheels remain intact, complete with their iron tires. Inside lie the remains of a man in his 30s, believed to be a tribal chief. Workers constructing a highway through northern England have unearthed a "rare and nationally significant" Iron Age burial chamber containing a two-wheeled chariot and its owner, archaeologists said Wednesday. Oxford Archaeology, an independent archaeological practice investigating the find, said it was the first chariot burial to be found so far inland. The similarity to contemporary French burials "indicates some form of contact and...

Iron Age leader and his chariot found in motorway excavation By Paul Stokes (Filed: 03/12/2003) Archaeologists working at the site of a £250 million motorway upgrading scheme have discovered the remains of an Iron Age leader buried in his chariot. The find could provide a valuable insight into customs and social standings in pre-Roman northern England. Carbon dating suggests the funeral took place between 400 and 500BC with evidence of a huge feast. Chariot burial was reserved for people of high rank among the Parisii tribe, who lived in what is now east Yorkshire. They originated from northern France and...

In Yorkshire, a Chariot from the Iron Age was found, making it the second such find in two years. In a small town in Yorkshire named Pocklington, on a construction site, houses were built. The discovery was made. There has now been a delay in construction on the homes as a new dig begins in October. Interesting is that not only the chariot is discovered but the horse’s skeletons are also found that pulled up the wagon and the driver’s human remains.

ETERNAL LOVE Skeletons of 5,000-year-old Romeo and Juliet ‘lovers’ found buried alongside remains of two sacrificed horses ‘pulling a chariot into the afterlife’The couple were found buried with lavish jewellery, spearheads and ceramic pottery in the Karaganda regionTHE 5,000-year-old remains of a "Romeo and Juliet" couple have been unearthed next to the skeletons of two sacrificed horses in Kazakhstan. Their bones were found lying side by side in an ancient grave alongside metal spearheads, precious stones and ceramic pottery in the Karaganda region. Their bones look worn but it's clear both lovers are lying on their sides and almost locked...

The weekend report of a German-owned, Ukrainian-chartered ship carrying weapons to Syria should raise questions and alarm bells.  Der Spiegel reported that the Atlantic Cruiser, owned by the German company Bockstiegel, had been chartered by the Ukrainian White Whale company to pick up Iranian-origin cargo in Djibouti.  White Whale said the cargo was "mainly pumps and similar things," according to the German shipping agent.  However, the ship was refused entry for refueling at the port of Limassol, Cyprus after the crew told the Cypriots that the cargo was "weapons and munitions."  The Cruiser tried then to sail for Tartus, Syria,...

Tutankhamen was the most famous of all the Egyptian Pharaohs, but it's always been a bit of a mystery how he died. He passed at only 19, and he seemed to have pretty bad injuries at his death, but there was no record of an assassination. Thanks to Science, we now know it was probably due to a chariot accident. King Tut is best known because when his tomb was found in 1922, it was in relatively good condition compared to other, more ransacked pharaonic resting places. The sarcophagus and mummy were still there, which is always a good sign,...

The mummified body of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun burst into flames inside his sarcophagus after a botched attempt to embalm him, according to scientists in a new documentary. After his death in 1323 BC, Tutankhamun was rapidly embalmed and buried, but fire investigators believe a chemical reaction caused by embalming oils used on his mummy sparked the blaze. A fragment of flesh from the boy pharaoh, whose tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter and the Earl of Carnarvon, was tested by researchers who confirmed his body was burnt while sealed in his coffin. Tut has long fired the public imagination....

King Tutankhamun, the pharaoh who ruled Egypt more than 3,300 years ago, rode full speed over the desert dunes on a Formula One-like chariot, according to new investigations into the technical features of the boy king's vehicle collection. Discovered in pieces by British archaeologist Howard Carter when he entered King Tut's treasure-packed tomb in 1922, the collection consisted of two large ceremonial chariots, a smaller highly decorated one, and three others that were lighter and made for daily use. "They were the Ferrari of antiquity. They boasted an elegant design and an extremely sophisticated and astonishingly modern technology," Alberto Rovetta,...

Wearable "chariot" offer hope for amputees and mobility challengedThis invention offers great hope for amputees and people who have mobility issues. They would be able to move around in an upright position. And it looks very cool. Hopefully, this product will be available soon. Video is here Wearable chariot

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,900-year-old well-preserved chariot at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Thursday.

Archaeologists have dug up the skeletons of 16 horses and a two-wheeled chariot in a grave dating back to the Roman Empire in north-east Greece, the culture ministry announced today. Half of the horses were buried in pairs, whilst two human skeletons were also discovered in a dig near Lithohori, in the Kavala region. Near to the remains of six of the horses archaeologists found a shield, weapons and various other accessories... diggers found a grave and four tombs covered with a ceramic lid, which contained four bronze coins dating back to the fourth century AD. The chariot, dating from...