Free Republic

According to a Reuters report, 27 silver Roman coins were discovered in the ancient Greek acropolis on the remote Mediterranean island of Pantelleria by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Thomas Schaefer of the University of Tübingen. He thinks that the coins, which first surfaced in loose soil after heavy rains, may have been hidden during a pirate attack. Additional coins were later found under a nearby rock. Analysis of the coins shows that they were minted in Rome between 94 and 74 B.C. "This discovery... offers valuable information for the reconstruction of the events, trade contacts, and political...

More than 30 ancient anchors have been discovered near the small Sicilian island of Pantelleria. Leonardo Abelli of the University of Sassari says that the anchors were abandoned by the Carthaginians during the First Punic War more than 2,000 years ago. The Romans had captured the strategically located island with a fleet of more than 300 ships. “The Carthaginian ships that were stationing near Patelleria had no other choice than hiding near the northern coast and trying to escape. To do so, they cut the anchors free and left them in the sea. They also abandoned part of their cargo...

The rich heritage of Tunisia, maybe the only place where the Arab Spring stands a chance Modern-day Tunisians, more Westernized than most Arabs, see themselves as descendants of the great Carthaginian general who invaded Italy. The Arab Spring began in Sidi Bouzid, a small Tunisian town, at the end of 2010. In a desperate protest against the corrupt and oppressive government that had made it impossible for him to earn a living, food-cart vendor Mohamed Bouazizi stood before City Hall, doused himself with gasoline, and lit a match. His suicide seeded a revolutionary storm that swept the countryside and eventually...