#roman border

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Stone Head of the Native God, Antenociticus from the Roman Temple at Benwell, The Great North Museum, Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne.

[canisalbus]

seeing all those sheep/goat vaschete asks inspired me to draw these (they got a bit more lazy as i went on but it's whatevs)

i like to imagine that machete could be a long haired goat breed which would give him his signature floof! couldn't choose which one to settle with tho ^^"

.

[lutnistas]

Limes trail - border of the Roman Empire ( Bad Hönningen & Rheinbrohl / Germany )

[existencebringsonlypain]

ok I understand prettiness in theory. now someone please explain what makes a person ugly

[blueiscoool]

Spy Satellite Photos Reveal Hundreds of Long-Lost Roman Forts

Declassified photos captured by United States spy satellites launched during the Cold War have revealed an archaeological treasure trove: hundreds of previously unknown Roman-era forts, in what is now Iraq and Syria.

Many of those long-lost structures may be gone forever at this point, destroyed or damaged over recent decades due to agricultural expansion, urban development and war. Nevertheless, the discovery of the forts’ existence challenges a popular hypothesis established in the 1930s about the role of such fortifications along the ancient Roman Empire’s eastern border, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Antiquity.

Based on the satellite views, the high number of forts and their widespread distribution hints that the forts may not have been erected to keep enemies out, as the decades-old theory suggested. Rather, the structures were likely built to ensure safe passage for caravans and travelers along routes that saw plenty of nonmilitary traffic. These forts, according to the study authors, were outposts and havens, not hostile barriers.

High-resolution images analyzed in the new study were taken during flyovers by multiple satellites belonging to two US military programs: the Corona Project (1960 to 1972) and Hexagon (1971 to 1986). Corona’s images were declassified in 1995, and Hexagon’s photos were released to the public in 2011.

Images from Hexagon and Corona are invaluable for archaeologists because they preserve snapshots of landscapes that have since undergone significant disruption, said lead study author Jesse Casana, an archaeologist and professor in the department of anthropology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

“Agriculture and urbanization have destroyed a lot of archaeological sites and features to a shocking degree,” Casana said. “This old imagery allows us to see things that are often either obscured or no longer extant today.”

Spy satellite photos vs. the Poidebard survey

Satellite images are especially helpful for searches across the northern part of the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East — from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to western Iran — because of the area’s archaeological importance and high visibility of the ground in photos, Casana added.

The research team pored over the images for signs of Roman forts, which have a distinctive square shape and walls that usually measure about 164 to 262 feet (50 to 80 meters) long. The scientists began their search using reference maps from an aerial survey of the region conducted in the 1920s and 1930s by French archaeologist and Jesuit missionary Father Antoine Poidebard. That survey was among the first to photograph archaeological sites from the air, and in 1934 Poidebard reported finding 116 Roman forts.

It was an unprecedented achievement. But nearly a century later, mapping Poidebard’s forts to satellite photos was challenging. Because his map wasn’t large-scale, it contained numerous spatial errors, Casana said. Poidebard also did not provide names or numbers for most of the forts he found, identifying them instead by their proximity to geologic features.

Those forts were aligned north to south along what was once the easternmost boundary of the Roman Empire, according to Poidebard. This arrangement, he claimed, was surely intended to guard against invaders from the east.

But Poidebard’s survey provided only a partial view of Rome’s ancient infrastructure, the researchers found. What he overlooked — and what the satellite photos revealed — was that the north-to-south line of 116 forts was actually only a narrow sliver of a cluster spreading from east to west and containing 396 fortified structures.

The forts spanned approximately 116,000 square miles (300,000 square kilometers), “extending from Mosul, on the Tigris River in Iraq, through Ninawa province, across the Khabur and the Balikh valleys, continuing to the semi-arid plains west of the Euphrates River, leading to western Syria and the Mediterranean,” according to the study.

Oases of safety for ancient Rome

When the archaeologists performed a second survey of an image subset, they found 106 more fortlike structures, hinting that further investigations will yield many more Roman forts. Based on excavations of other Roman sites in the region, the scientists estimated that the forts were built between the second and sixth centuries.

While Poidebard’s row of forts along the Roman Empire’s eastern front looked like a military fortification, this new evidence suggested that the forts collectively served a different purpose. Rather than presenting an impassable wall on a violent frontier, they provided oases of safety and order along well-traveled Roman roads.

Borders in this world “were places of dynamic cultural exchange and movement of goods and ideas,” not barriers, Casana said. And perhaps that perspective holds a lesson for the modern era, he added.

“Historically, as an archaeologist, I can say that there have been many attempts by ancient states to build walls across borders and it has been a universal failure,” Casana said. “If there’s any way that archaeology contributes to modern discourse, I would hope it is that building giant walls to keep people out is a bad plan.”

By Mindy Weisberger.

[potential-fate]

As the others filed out to the back yard, Roman glanced over at the dining room table where Wanda had sat only minutes before and frowned. He’d heard her ideas more than once, both about synths as well as how Arkhelios could be improved. It was an impossible topic to avoid when she constantly debated Salem about it. Roman knew that the argument they’d been having in the study earlier was an old one, just with new words. Wanda wanted more regulations and programs that would protect and serve minorities, including synths, who she considered essentially human.

Grandfather, of course, fell on the opposite end of this argument. He and Abraham Helios had founded the town with the idea of freedom, above all else. Roman knew that his grandfather believed Abraham had taken it too far in the end though. Why, Roman hadn’t been told, only that there was a greater rift between the two patriarchs in town than Salem would ever admit to.

Nonetheless, Salem and Wanda stood on opposing sides of this argument every time she brought it up (and she was always the one who brought it up). Wanda claimed to want to help those who had less, and Salem believed that it would only impede their own progress, and affect the freedom of everyone else. He still firmly believed in the same concepts of self reliance and self-mediation being a cornerstone to what their freedom was based on.

[imaginaryanon]

So you're the Eagle Bearer everyone's been talking about. I hope you live up to your reputation.

[lesbicastagna]

had a vision for a photo set up and it wouldn't leave my mind. i got up this morning hungover no makeup hair doing whatever it wants but by god. it worked [no nudity but borderline sorry]

[nicosraf]

Fun question for you! What architecture inspired your take on heaven? I was getting hints of ancient Rome with how the bath houses and fountains are described. However, I'm really curious and I've gotta know!

I sorta referenced this a while back but I can be specific about the architecture now !

ABM Heaven is, actually, mostly inspired by colonial Latin America, particularly south-central Mexico — the painted tiles and the sunny colors of the houses (all so smushed together that they resemble one) and hidden gardens and balconies. Rosier's house, for ex, is a house I stayed at for a little while in Mexico. This is what I mean (!):

I was envisioning a typical Mexican town plaza at the center of Heaven, actually. Why? Because it's funny, and also basing Heaven's architecture on a colonial force is definitely saying something I think sksk

Though I focus on the above, Heaven is a mix of a lot of architectural style though! One time I visited Spain (which, as you might realize, relates to my interest in colonial architecture) and I found the clash of architecture on the older streets really interesting (because of Spain being Roman, then under Muslim rule, then Christian (etc)). On the note of mixing Rome, Islam, and Christianity:

The observatory was inspired by Islamic architecture.

The cathedral was pure gothic Christian.

The colosseum was, obviously, Roman.

Oh, and I was actually inspired by Turkish baths for the bathhouse, though Turkish baths come from Roman baths (allegedly) so the connection makes sense!

Michael's house is literally a typical Latin American house with a flat roof and a bunch of random stuff on top.

The architecture question for Heaven was really interesting when I was drafting. I wanted it to be a mix of stuff -- almost nonsensical -- to make it feel familiar but still strange. So yeah it's a little Roman, but it's a little bit of everything.

Very much any architecture that the humans will invent, the angels have already done it, I think.

[darabeatha]

    /  ok so! I don’t know about yq’s favs but I can talk about what would be my Daybit’s favorites dinos; which I will limit to a small list from diff periods in no specific order;

T-rex: This is a pretty common favorite if not the most easy to recognize; probably one if not the first dinosaurs that would come to someone’s mind when mentioning dinos as a whole. He likes them because they are easy to talk about with others (As he is not the smoothest talker out there) as there is usually a general idea about them even if a lot of it is still founded on old movies and information about them like as an example; the idea that t-rex had this massive roar, recent studies have concluded that bc of the way their skulls were formed + their closest relatives alongside other proof, they could have not been able to do anything more than closed mouth vocalizations, something like a deep hiss/grunt; test sounds actually sound even more scary than the roars. As such this goes on; in all truth. he doesn’t really mind this and would just inform you about what differs.

Therizinosaurus: He finds it curious the rather unusual anatomy of this one; although a lot of dinosaurs did use to have short forelimbs, this one is very unique as it used to be the dino with the (or one of the) longest claws reaching aprox 50+cm in lenght with very lil curvature, kind of like scissors tbh (picture down below for ref), despite this, I read that there’s a possibility they were herbivores bc of its possible ties with other mammals (principally herbivores) and that their long claws were useful for tearing through vegetation more easily rather than them being used for attacking and stuff. He likes this one bc despite its intimidating appearance, it is not what it shows to be.

troodon: chicken looking (Headcanon that daybit likes birds as association to dinos so true-), colorful. Actually had a remarkable brain size in relation to its overall size + compared to other current reptiles which led to think that this guy could have been maybe as smart as some of our current birds. Probably had some big ol eyes at that too. Kind of cute

Sauroposeidon: one of the biggest ones, so big that initially their fossils were thought to be pieces of petrified wood; which makes sense as their necks are so long that they looked more like trunks of trees rather than a neck. He likes this one because its so tall it looks quite surreal, he’ll stand in a museum and look up for a long while thinking about his own physical insignificance-

honorable mentions that i won’t write about but that are interesting to him; linhenykus, psittacosaurus, helicoprion (shark tm), dunkleosteus, deinocheirus

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Distance Stone Replica, Antonine Wall, Croy Hill, Scotland

[terfywho]

i think they should do all of logans funeral in doric. just for a laugh.

[overbearingstruggles]

Deep into Roman/Tabitha tags on a Friday night help

[lutnistas]

Limes trail - border of the Roman Empire ( Bad Hönningen & Rheinbrohl / Germany )

[makima-s-most-smile]

I is back!

[archaeologyinbulgaria]

Early Medieval, Roman Structures Found Close to England-Wales Border at UK’s Wrexham

Archaeologists are excavating the Early Middle Ages and Roman settlement site at Wrexham, Wales, close to the border with England, in the UK. Photo: University of Chester / Newsweek An “extremely rare” discovery of structures from the early medieval period and remnants of a Roman settlement has been made in Wrexham, a city and county in northeast Wales, close to the Anglo-Welsh border. This…