#bronze era

[synergysilhouette]

10 Disney hot takes/unpopular opinions (Part 7)

I'm sure the title is self-explanatory. You know the drill! Check out part 6 here.

Phoebus is Disney's best main-supporting character--I know I stated this objectively, but obviously "best" is subjective. I always appreciated his kindness and strength, and while he doesn't really grow in viewpoint since he always has a strong moral compass, his allegiance changes, and we love to see it when a good guy stops working for the bad guy! Only wish he got to sing.

2. Aurora's dress is the best Disney princess gown--I think it's because of the uniqueness of it; the sharp elements instead of rounded aspects, as well as the pink color (which helps her stand out; blue pits her against Tiana, Jasmine, and Cinderella). Plus I love when merchandising gives her a blue AND pink dress.

3. Eric should've sang in the musical and he and Ariel should've gotten to talk after the battle--I'm glad other adaptations (the live-action remake, the Broadway adaptation, and the anniversary special) have fixed the singing part, but I do feel like it was a missed opportunity to not have Eric sing in the film. It's kind of disappointing actually that it's actually other characters who sing most of the songs rather than the main character (who only gets 1.5 songs) and her love interest. Plus I always wished we got a reconciliation scene between Ariel and Eric rather than a "back to square one" approach they did.

4. I think Disney could get away with more (censored) violence--Kind of an oxymoron, but what I mean is that "Pocahontas" and "Mulan" got away with violence in a way that was still digestible for a younger audience. Not saying that every Disney film needs a lot of violence, but when violence is warranted, they can do so by getting creative with how it's shown, rather than it being offscreen or skipped over.

5. Mirabel should be a Disney princess--I know some people see the DP line as kind of elitist and only admitting "a certain type" of heroine, but aside from adding diversity to the line by being the first Latin-American princess/first South American princess/first Disney princess with glasses, she's also a well-written character who's personality and heart makes her join the line without feeling like she's just there for the sake of optics.

6. "If I Never Knew You" is the greatest Disney love song--I've said it before, but not on a hot take post. It stands out as a song that isn't about the sweetest moments of love, but the darkest elements and consequences of love. Not saying I want the next Disney couple to have a sad ending like Pocahontas and John Smith, but a love song when all seems lost is really unique, and I kinda wonder if this song would've won an Oscar if it had been included in the final cut.

7. We need more complex stories with complex antagonists--I feel like Disney has started telling more complex storylines with "Frozen," "Zootopia," "Big Hero 6," "Encanto," and "Raya and the Last Dragon," and I want them to continue to. Obviously you want a story with a happy ending and something to please the kids who may want something uplifting, but that doesn't mean you can't have more grey-area movies with the protagonist having to change/grow their perspective, and the antagonist not necessarily being a villain.

8. "Tangled" is the wrong movie for Disney on Broadway to be working on--While I understand that it's a popular film, there are renaissance films that should've gotten that treatment before, as well as "Moana" and "Encanto" feeling like better ideas, especially in order to capitalize on their viral impact.

9. "Frozen 2" has the most (emotionally) impactful soundtrack of the Revival Era--I've thought a lot about this, but while Disney always has an emotional song or two in their musicals, "Frozen 2" is an emotional journey from start to end; even the fun songs like "Some Things Never Change," "Lost in the Woods," and "When I'm Older" have a profound meaning to them, a sense of change that Disney should've brought into the 2020s with them. While I found the film narratively clunky, all of the songs (even the ones I wasn't big on) still left me with a feeling of fufillment, like I had just went on an amazing journey of self-discovery. Mature movies like that usually aren't musicals, so I'm glad this was.

10. The Bronze Age is one of my least-favorite Disney Eras--If you know my channel, you know my opinion on animal-centric films; not a fan, with "Zootopia" being an exception because I loved the plot AND they were somewhat human in the world/setting. Almost all of Disney's films during this era were animal-centric, and none of them were good enough for me to be engaged. And while I find "The Black Cauldron" underrated, I do kinda wish Disney had made it a musical instead.

[episkey-rpg]

Kieran Wilson

Kieran Wilson is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. He is known to be Strong-Willed, Ambitious, Obsessive, Toxic, and Manipulative. He was sorted into Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

SHORT BIO: Kieran is a typical Alpha male. He's popular and is a straight-A student. He is obsessive and controlling when it comes to people he loves, and will do whatever it takes to make sure he keeps them.

Kieran��s face claim is Tom Blyth (younger) and Matt Bomer (older). This role has been closed.

[thebibliosphere]

Sat too long in my feelings about the Gotham Knights video game Jason Todd going to therapy and trying to engage with his siblings from a place of healing and hurt myself, so now I'm inflicting this on all of you, but:

Do you ever think about how Jason only ever gets to experience Dick as an extension of the breakdown of Dick and Bruce's relationship at that time? Granted, depending on the comic era, Dick maybe doesn't show up as much as he should, or Jason acts like an antagonistic little shit, but overall, Dick's falling out with Bruce overshadows all of it.

And, like, yeah, it's funny to joke that only Jason knows that Dick went through a shitbag teenage phase and that no one ever believes him. (Gaslight, Gate Keep, Gotham ✌) And Jason is irate about it because how can they not see through what is clearly The World's Best Big Brother Act? How can no one else see it's fake?

(Unless it's not fake, and Jason just wasn't worth loving... No, fuck off, he doesn't care, he doesn't. Leave him alone.)

But at the same time, what if Jason's the only one who realizes it's a trauma response?

What if Jason's in the middle of a therapy session or reading one of the self-help books we see him ordering, and he just has to take a moment to breathe because, of course, it's a fucking trauma response. Of course, it is.

Dick's not pretending to be anything. He was, in fact, so severely affected by Jason's death that he over-corrected and now refuses to let himself be anything other than the Perfect Big Brother. Because he can't. Because when he's not perfect, when he's not there for them, they die.

Suddenly the golden retriever's cheerfulness is less grating and more worrying. Dick's need for perfection is less an annoying personality trait to compete with and more an exhausted cry for help that no one else seems to see. Not even Dick.

Because Jason realizes now that he might have never managed to live up to the Golden Boy mantle, but Dick will never get to put it down, either. Because he can't let himself. Because bad shit happens when he does.

So what if that's what he hopes Dick reads between the lines in the email he sends him in GK?

What if, by saying, "Hey, I realize now trying to hold myself to your standards was damaging my relationship with you, but I need you to know it wasn't your fault," was also Jason saying, "Hey, this shit isn't healthy are you fucking okay?"

[blueiscoool]

Bronze Statues and Coins Found at Ancient Sacred Bath in Tuscany

Archaeological excavations at the Bagno Grande sanctuary in San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany, Italy, have uncovered a wealth of artifacts that highlight the Etruscan-Roman heritage of this ancient thermal site.

Dating back to the 3rd century BCE, the sanctuary was originally constructed by the Etruscans and later developed by the Romans into the renowned spa complex, Balnea Clusinae. Revered for its therapeutic hot springs, the site attracted visitors from across the Roman Empire, including Caesar Augustus.

The recent excavation, spanning June to October 2024, focused on the sacred temenos, a walled enclosure surrounding the sanctuary, and revealed the remnants of a central temple built around a thermal water basin. Within this sacred space, archaeologists unearthed an array of votive offerings and artifacts remarkably preserved by thermal waters and clay.

Among the most notable finds are four bronze statues, votive limbs, and heads, inscribed with dedications. A striking bronze torso, bisected from neck to genitals, was dedicated by a man named Gaius Roscius to the “Hot Spring.” Researchers suggest this statue symbolizes the healing of specific ailments. Other discoveries include a child statue portraying an augur priest holding a pentagonal ball, likely used in divination rituals, and elegant votive heads inscribed in Latin.

Inscriptions in both Etruscan and Latin were uncovered, including dedications to the Nymphs and the thermal spring, referred to as “Flere Havens” in Etruscan, and oaths to Fortuna and the Genius of the Emperor.

The sacred basin contained a diverse range of offerings, including oil lamps, glass unguent jars, painted terracotta anatomical votives, and coins—more than 10,000 spanning the Roman Republic to the Empire. Precious metals, such as a gold crown and ring, Roman aurei, and fragments of amber and gemstones, were also uncovered. Notably, the presence of preserved eggs, some with intact yolks, suggests rites symbolizing rebirth and regeneration.

Decorative elements such as pinecones, branches, and bronze serpents—one nearly a meter long and thought to represent the Agathodaimon, a protective spirit—emphasize the connection between the rejuvenating waters and nature’s generative power.

Efforts are underway to preserve these extraordinary finds. The National Archaeological Museum of San Casciano dei Bagni is being established in the Archpriest’s Palace to house the artifacts, while a thermal archaeological park is planned around Bagno Grande to promote cultural tourism.

By Dario Radley.

[avelera]

thesis about the sea peoples you say? may i request an infodump about the sea peoples?

Heya!

So, basically in college (undergraduate) I got really obsessed with the questions around the Collapse of the Aegean Bronze Age, mostly because I wanted to set my big Magnum Opus historical fiction novel in that time, and the deeper I dug into the rabbit hole the more it appeared that no one, absolutely no one, actually knows why the civilizations around the Mediterranean all fell from a state of pretty sophisticated internationally-trading civilizations to literal Dark Ages (all except for Egypt which was substantially weakened and never really recovered), all at once around 1200-1100 BCE.

The Sea Peoples are the names of the only contemporary (Egyptian) account we have that names who might have been responsible if this collapse was due to an invasion. It's a popular theory because a viking-style invasion is a much sexier reason for a civilization to collapse so we all gather around it like moths to flame. But the thing is, there's a lot of contradictory evidence for and against and shading that hypothesis.

Suffice to say, literally no actually knows what happened and almost every answer comes up, "Some combination of these things, probably?"

But what makes the Collapse even more interesting from a modern perspective is that if there was a historical Trojan War (and I think there was) as fictionalized in the Iliad and the Odyssey (and Song of Achilles, for the Tumbrlistas), then it would have taken place within a generation of the entire civilization that launched the Trojan War crumbling to dust.

So like, if you're Telemachus, your dad Odysseus fights in the Trojan War, some even manage to get home, and then like... everything goes to shit. Catastrophically. And doesn't recover for 400 years.

Seriously, they lost the written word, like how to actually write things down and read them and it took 400 years to get it back. That's how fucked shit got during the Collapse of the Bronze Age.

So my thesis was asking: what if these two things were related? What if the Trojan War either led to the Collapse or it was part of the Collapse or it was a result of the Collapse? Because the timeline is so unknown and muddled that it really could be any of those and again, that's if the Trojan War isn't entirely fictional (which I don't think it is, but many academics disagree, it used to be a whole thing up until Schliemann dug it up, and many doubted it was ever a historical event even after that.)

Ok, so at the risk of writing 75 pages on this again, let me just say:

My conclusion (more of a hypothesis proposal ultimately since there are so many gaps in our knowledge) was that the Trojan War took place before the Collapse of the Bronze Age. But, it might have been launched in response to a wider breakdown in trades routes and resources, causing the Greeks to launch the campaign basically as a bid to replenish their own coffers because they were getting squeezed by what they didn't know was the first rumblings of a global domino effect.

Therefore, since taking out Troy didn't solve those larger trends and forces, they all went home and then got slammed by the REAL problem, which was all the people who had been displaced from further away by this rolling drought or invasion or whatever that was disrupting these delicate international trade routes.

But the Greeks might have been part of the Sea Peoples too! Our only record of the Sea Peoples is from the Egyptians in a highly propagandistic text which makes them sound like this big fearsome foe but that might have been because saying, "We slaughtered a bunch of desperate refugees at our border who were looking for shelter," didn't sound as cool. If the Greeks (or Achaeans or Ahhiyawa) got swept up in this slow-rolling collapse/displacement of people, then they absolutely could have been among those refugees who crashed against the shores of Egypt.

A lot of my evidence was based on looking at how Troy was sacked (it was stripped literally down the nails and there was a lot of evidence of a long-term siege, like what we read about in the Iliad) vs. how Mycenae (Agamemnon's city) or Pylos (King Nestor's city) was sacked, where they were burned and stuff was stolen but they weren't stripped, it looks more like a standard looting hit-and-run type thing. Which led me to believe that it was different turmoil that rocked Mycenae and Pylos than what led to the sacking of Troy, despite the fact these things happened within about 20 years of each other. (Helen being a made-up reason for a resource-driven war would only be the oldest trick in the book, as far as propaganda goes, after all.)

But really, the craziest detail I'll leave you with is: we just don't know! And then it gets weirder. Because the Hittites fell at the same time so the Hittites scholars say, "Nah, the Sea Peoples weren't Hittites, they were probably Greeks." And the GREEK scholars say, "It wasn't us, it was probably the Hittites or someone else. " and the EGYPTIAN scholars say, "Yeah it was someone north of Egypt, maybe the Hittites or the Greeks." and the LEVANT scholars say, "It wasn't from the Levant, we know what was going on there, it has to be from somewhere else."

Literally every single possible source of the Sea Peoples has the scholars who specialize in that location saying it's not them and it must be the guy next door.

It's maddening!

And then there's a big ol' gap around Bulgaria and the Black Sea because, oh yeah, the Soviet Union forbade archaeology in those areas to quash any local pride so those places that were behind the Iron Curtain are decades behind on scholarship that would allow them to say, "Oh hey, it was actually us! Yeah, the invaders came from Bulgaria and got pushed down by a famine." or something to that effect.

We also have some histories from the time saying that the Sons of Heracles returned not long after the Trojan War to lay Greece to waste! And it's really evocative and sounds like it fits what we've got of all these burned cities that happened right after Troy fell! Except that's in doubt now too!

The latest theory is that it was climate change that led to a massive drought. You can read about it in the latest and most popular book on the subject, 1177 BCE which I highly recommend because if it had existed when I wrote my thesis, I wouldn't have had to write it.

But I disagree with the conclusion! Or rather, I'm skeptical. Because very decade, the problems of the day have been hypothesized as being the cause of the Collapse. Like, in the 60s, there was a theory that maybe it was internal strife around a labor strike, like the French Revolution. And y'know when there's a world war, they think it's an invasion. And there was a theory that it was 'cuz of an earthquake (I think that one is nonsense, Mediterranean civilizations famously bounce back quickly from earthquakes.) And now that climate change is on our mind, I'm a little weary to see that it's the new theory because it feels way too much like we're just projecting our problems onto this giant question mark.

Was climate an aspect! I think so! I think it might have contributed to the break down in trade routes that made everyone in the Mediterranean really stressed out and hostile and warlike and led to a lot of displacement. I'm not sure if it's the only reason though and I think the book just kinda reiterates everyone else saying, "I think it was this but in the end, we just don't know, and it was probably a lot of things." which we've known for ages so it's just repeating all the same conclusions. *sigh*

... Like I said, I wrote my thesis on this so yeah, I could go on for a while lol.

[retrodisneydaily]

retrodisneydaily's five year anniversary celebration

favourite films by era (as voted by our followers)

snow white and the seven dwarfs the adventures of ichabod and mr. toad cinderella robin hood

[titsthedamnseason]

eras tour lookbook: my favorites edition

[based-bobcat]

[yebreed]

Warring States Beverage Fridge of Marquis Yi of Zeng

Judging by the burial items, Marquis Yi, this Chinese Petronius, was a socially inclusive person and managed to keep a positive outlook on life even under the Warring States.

This antique beverage fridge was found in 1978 among the treasures of the Leigudun Tomb No.1, Suizhou, Hubei.

A smaller vessel (Fou 缶) with rice wine was placed inside Jian (鑑) bronze frig, fixing all with three hooks on the bottom, and ice cubes were poured between the walls. Cooled rice wine was filtered and scooped up with ladles when needed without removing the inner container.

Two such beverage fridges were discovered in the burial site. Like some other items, Jian frig is signed “For the perpetual use by Marquis Yi of Zeng.” In his quirk, the Marquis is not unique: beverage fridges have been common since at least the Spring and Autumn period. However, for few they were such an essential utensil to take it with to the afterlife.

Total weight (Jian + Fou) is 168.8 kg. On display in Hubei Provincial Museum (湖北省博物館).

Photo: ©湖北省博物馆藏

[avirtualdrive]

FUNNIEST SET OF TAGS I'VE GOTTEN IN MY NOTES TO DATE. POLLY...

[episkey-rpg]

William "Bill" Weasley

Bill is the son of Arthur Weasley Sr. and Molly Weasley. He is known to be Active, Outgoing, Adventurous, Clever, Strategic, and Curious. He was sorted into Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

SHORT BIO: William Weasley is the oldest of the Weasley pack of children, having already graduated by the time Harry Potter started attending school. He was Gryffindor Prefect and Head Boy for passing all twelve OWL exams. After graduating he began work immediately as a Curse Breaker for Gringotts Bank.

Bill’s face claim is Domhnall Gleeson. This role has been open.

[siriusblack-the-third]

The Marauders: Pranks!

(in no particular order)

31st October, 1971 (First Year): the idiots somehow managed to get Peeves on their side and messed with the feast. Additives to the food had the entire castle running towards the bathrooms. The pipes were clogged for weeks afterwards. They served detention for the entirety of the duration.

31st January, 1973 (Second Year): Sirius tricked the gargoyle that protected the headmaster's study, got into his library and took several rare tomes. Dumbledore only realised when Sirius marched into his office two weeks later and dropped 14 books onto his table, announcing, "I'll be borrowing your books frequently, thank you." Just for the sheer talent of getting through his protective spells, Dumbledore allowed him to do so. However, detention of two weeks was handed out for breaking and entering.

23rd September, 1976 (Sixth Year): everyone woke up to see that the 26ft bronze dragon statue atop the fountain in the courtyard vanished in the middle of the night. No-one has seen it since. Nobody knows where it is. However, every time James or Sirius pass by the fountain, a small smirk curves over their lips. On another (completely unrelated, of course) note, James has an exquisite new pen, made of bronze and covered in a beautiful, intricate dragon motif.

13 December, 1974 (Fourth Year): the entire castle just. Floated up into the air without a warning. Exactly 77 feet off the ground for 77 minutes. It took all four of them three months to hand carve runes into the perimeter of the castle, and before that it took all of August for Sirius to come up with the right rune sequence that would stick a timer to the magic. They didn't serve detention, only because the rune sequence was such a stroke of genius— fourth year students barely knew how to use single runes in magic, let alone sequences long enough to cover a perimeter.

12th May, 1977 (Sixth Year): any time someone touched a goblet, said goblet would turn into purple butterflies. Very pretty, but very frustrating when all you wanted was a drink after a hot day. It turned out that they had mixed a transfigurative potion into the dishwashing water, and McGonagall made James write a paper about his invention. Technically, he earned his Potions mastery before he got his N.E.W.T. results.

4th February, 1976 (Fifth Year): a vicious storm cloud hung over Hogwarts starting from the 4th all the way till the full moon, making it rain sleet and hail non-stop, 24 hours a day. Everything came to a standstill, including Quidditch (James had to be persuaded for this one). Under the pretense of a month-long detention, McGonagall and Flitwick sat Sirius and James down and had them explain the thought process that went into the spellwork— weather magic not only required obscene amounts of raw power, but the steps as well were notoriously difficult to execute.

21st December, 1977 (Seventh Year): at exactly 23 minutes after eleven at night, the entire castle got wrapped up in huge, terrifying thorny branches. They crawled through the hallways, spilled through windows, blocked the doors and crept over the suits of armour. Huge roses— about two feet in diameter— bloomed all over the castle, dark haunting pink in colour. Waking up in the morning was quite a shock for people when they found out the vines had grown literally everywhere and taken over the dorm rooms. The inspiration was Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty, and Flitwick and Babbling both gave the Marauders twenty-five points each for the creativity. They did serve four months of detention, though.

.

WARNINGS

do NOT tag w*lfst*r or j*gul*s i mean it i will block you

I do not want anyone calling Sirius or James stupid

If you wanna argue with any of these, argue with the wall. These are headcanons, not reality. Chill.

[tardigradesonthemoon]

I'm actually not ready to stop talking thinking obsessing about this dress.

I don't know that I ever will be

just look at the twirl

this is a bronze evermore dress stan account

[percyweasleyapologist]

Chat imma make some picrews of how I see characters, which ones should I do first?

LIST OF ALREDY DONE (don't choose these in the poll): SKITTLES VALKYRIES MARAUDERS ACADEMIC DISASTER

I will end up doing all of these, this is just for the order.

[blueiscoool]

A Rare Roman-Era Bronze Filter Discovered in Turkey

Archaeologists excavating in Hadrianopolis, located in Turkey’s Karabük province, have discovered a 5th century AD bronze object believed to have been used as a beverage filter.

Hadrianopolis is an ancient city named after the Roman emperor Hadrian. The site was inhabited during the Late Chalcolithic, Roman, and Early Byzantine periods, until it was suddenly abandoned and left to ruin.

Ongoing excavations by archaeologists have uncovered numerous public buildings, including bath houses, a theatre, villas, and churches decorated with ornate mosaics featuring images of the Gihon, Pishon, Tigris, and Euphrates rivers, which are referenced in the Bible. Additionally, various animals are depicted in the mosaics, leading to comparisons between Hadrianopolis and the ancient city of Zeugma.

According to a previous statement by Ersin Çelikbaş from Karabük University’s archaeology department: “It is a very important ancient city and a ‘mosaic haven,’ because Hadrianapolis is known mostly for its mosaics. We can say that it is the most important city in the western Black Sea region.”

Archaeologists have recently uncovered a 9.2 cm-long conical bronze object with a carrying ring, offering new insights into ancient drinking practices. Experts studying the object suggest that it was designed to filter drinks, where small holes in the filter allowed liquids to pass through while trapping unwanted solids.

“This bronze filter was used repeatedly in ancient times. It was cleaned and preserved after each use,” Çelikbaş explained – evidenced by the carrying ring that suggests it was a reusable item rather than a disposable one.

“The filter was placed on the end of straws made of reed, allowing drinks to be consumed more easily. Today, we use plastic straws, but the people of Hadrianopolis did this process in a much healthier way, with herbal materials and bronze filters,” added Çelikbaş.

By Mark Milligan.