Archaeologica.org

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/127892.p ... -in-Kerala

Archaeological teams in Pattanam village, near the port city of Kochi have been working on a site, which has yielded pottery, amphora, beads and other artefacts that are reminiscent of the ancient Romans.

"The initial studies carried out in this region have amply indicated that there was a Roman presence. The Roman ceramics, pottery and coins found here indicates deeper Roman ties and therefore, based on the artefacts abounding this area, we presented a proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which got approved," said the Director of the Kerala Council for Historical Research, P J Cherian,

Roman presence found in India, along with a lost port, it's thought.
From Archaeologica News.

Makes perfect sense. Commerce was extensive and the Romans even overran Mesopotamia for a while...although they ultimately elected not to try to hold such an advanced position.

In any case, the trade routes would have been buzzing both by land and sea.

Beagle - it reminds me of a post you made awhile back about a roman denarius being found in Britain
http://archaeologica.boardbot.com/viewt ... oman#28005

Seems roman trade was active even before the empire fourished. Then remember this post from KBS2244:

I just see it as real good evidence of regular contact across the Atlantic prior to Columbus. Most of that trade went away with Rome detroying Carthage. Even though they have found Roman shipwercks in the Amazon, Rome was much more Europe oriented, and the trans Atlantic trade died off.

I did check this a while back, and it seems the discoverers believe it is a Roman vessel. Shipwreck from a storm perhaps or evidence of trade?

I did check this a while back, and it seems the discoverers believe it is a Roman vessel. Shipwreck from a storm perhaps or evidence of trade?

What would the Romans trade with the Amazon that they couldn't already get from closer lands? Where is the economic incentive? I vote for shipwreck.

We had a whole thread on this somewhere....sometime.

The Roman Province of Mauritania had a couple of ports on the West Coast of Africa, beyond the pillars of Hercules. There would have been Roman shipping going up the coast of what is now Portugal to Britain and Gaul and a good stiff west wind could easily have driven the occasional ship to the West. But there is no indication that any of them ever got back.

I read a learned article once that trade was what finished the Roman empire. The argument ran thus.
During the expansion of the empire Rome had a net inflow of liquid cash paid as tribute by the conquered peoples that was then replaced by taxation as they integrated into the empire, but as the borders extended and more and more mercenaries were employed the cash flow became reduced.
What finished them was the net outflow of gold, amounting to many millions in modern terms, that was lost to imported luxuries from as far apart as China, India, and Africa. Apparently none of the later rulers had the guts to stop the trade for fear of revolution amongst the people.
When Rome was ;ater attacked the empire was already fatally weakened.
I wonder on occasion what our world would be like if the empire had survived.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/ ... 030703.asp

The warriors and horses of China's terracotta army contain different pollen compositions, scientists have discovered, a finding which could help locate the long-sought kilns where the clay figures were made.

For over 2,200 years, a secret terracotta army of about 8,000 soldiers, 300 horses and 200 chariots has protected the hidden tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang. Unearthed in 1974, the life-size statues are said to represent the pinnacle of achievement in ancient pottery, and archaeologists have been trying to solve the mystery of how and where they were produced.

We're all familiar with the Chinese terra cotta army. A little pollen chemistry helps to find where they were made.
From Archaeologica News.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local ... 709020.ece

Sea
The bones of one of the women found in one of Norway's most famous Viking graves suggest her ancestors came from the area around the Black Sea

The analysis data was withheld, however, and the woman's remains were returned to the Oseberg burial mound in 1947. Holck has only worked with the DNA extracted at the time, and he thinks they should be reexamined.

He worries, however, that her bones may have been damaged during the past 60 years. If the remains are intact, he said, it would probably be possible to take more DNA tests that could reveal more about the woman and another female's bones also extracted from the Oseberg site.

From Archaeologica News.

Well the Vikings reached the Black Sea so what is so surprising about that, if correct?

Not too hard to imagine a state wedding in which the daughter of a tribal chief is married to a Viking prince or something. That sort of thing happened all the time.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ ... 032307.php

From Archaeologica news:
Another interesting story with a crummy illustration!

According to tales here Min they weren't always royal and had little choice in the matter, 'to the victor, the spoils.'

Digit wrote:According to tales here Min they weren't always royal and had little choice in the matter, 'to the victor, the spoils.'

Of course, Dig, but I wouldn't expect a slave taken as war booty to end up in a burial mound. That indicates a person of some status.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/28/news/dino.php

The mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs and other life 65 million years ago apparently did not, contrary to conventional wisdom, immediately clear the way for the rise of today's mammals.

In fact, the ancestral branches of most mammals, including primates, rodents and hoofed animals, emerged long before the global extinction and survived it more or less intact. But it was not until at least 10 million to 15 million years afterward that the lineages of living mammals began to flourish in number and diversity.

From Archeaologica News.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms. ... sid=782649

VADODARA: In an underwater exploration in the Gulf of Cambay, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) scientists discovered almost 9,500-year-old bricks made of clay and straw.

Archaeological experts of the MS University who, too, are involved in a part of the exploration near Surat and the coast of Gulf of Cambay, however, feel that a further insight into the size of the bricks can confirm its age and its period.

The bricks, believed to be pre-Harappan, have been identified to be of the Holocene age.

In the NIOT surveys in the 17 sq km area, stone artefacts like blade scraper, perforated stones and beads were found.

The Gulf of Cambay is giving up quite a few interesting artifacts. Hopefully reports like this will keep coming while the underwater dig is in progress.