The Mystery of The Lost Amber Room

Six tonnes of amber displayed on gold-leaf walls and embellished with mosaics and mirrors decorated a chamber of the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia. (Amber is fossilized tree resin)

These priceless amber panels, called an "Eighth Wonder of the World" were created in 1701 but disappeared during WW11.

Tsarskoye Selo, Catherine Palace. The Amber Room in 1917.

Originally designed for Charlottenburg Palace, the residence of  Frederick, the first King of Prussia, the complete panels were eventually installed at Berlin City Palace.

Peter the Great of Russia had admired the amber room during a visit to Berlin City Palace, and in 1716, King Frederick I's son Frederick William I presented the amber room to Peter as a gift.

With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, attempts were made to move the amber panels, but as they were fragile, they were simply hidden behind curtains.

Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo). Catherine Palace (destroyed in World War II): interior, Amber Room. 1930s, PD

The Nazis found the room and on 14 October 1941, the amber panels arrived ta Königsberg in East Prussia, for storage and display in the town's castle.

In November 1941 the Amber Room was to be exhibited at Königsberg Castle.

Then, in August 1944, Königsberg was bombed by the Royal Air Force and then further damaged when occupied by the Red Army on 9 April 1945.

The Amber Room was never seen in public again,

Various people claimed they saw the amber room loaded onto a German ship, Wilhelm Gustloff, which left Gdynia on 30 January 1945, part of Operation Hannibal,. The ship was then torpedoed and sunk by a Soviet submarine.

Soviet general-secretary Leonid Brezhnev ordered the destruction of Königsberg Castle in 1968, making it impossible to search for evidence of the amber room here.

In October 2020, Polish divers found the wreck of the SS Karlsruhe, also part of Operation Hannibal, but the amber room was not found in the wreckage.

Sudan has More Pyramids Than Egypt

In the desert of eastern Sudan, along the banks of the Nile River, there is a collection of nearly 200 ancient pyramids, constructed using a combination of mud bricks and stone.

Many of the pyramids are tombs of the kings and queens of the Kushite Kingdom, which ruled the area for more than 900 years.

Although these pyramids are, obviously influenced by the Egyptians, Nubian kings built their pyramids 1000 years after Egyptian burial methods had changed.

Sudan has More Pyrimids Than Egypt

Most of the pyramids were built between 2,700 and 2,300 years ago, located around 200km (125 miles) from Sudan's capital, Khartoum, in Meroë in the Nile Valley.

Approximately 255 pyramids are known to have been constructed by the Nubians.

Sudan has More Pyrimids Than Egypt

Sadly, these pyramids have been plundered, but wall reliefs in the tomb chapels show that the royals had been mummified, covered with jewellery and placed in wooden mummy cases.

The Nubian pyramids are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ancient Fast Food: The Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

Ancient Fast Food: The Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus. Fresco at Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus (place where food and hot drinks were sold).

In ancient Rome, the Thermopolium was a place which served hot food and drinks, something like today's fast food or diner.

The word hermopolia comes from Greek, θερμοπώλιον (thermopōlion), literally "a place where (something) hot is sold".

The best-preserved thermopolium in Pompeii is that of Lucius Vetitius Placidus, though 89 have been found, it is believed that about 150 once existed here.

The marble counter has jars inset into the worktop (dolia) which were used to hold food, such as chickpeas, beans and dried fruit.

Ancient Fast Food: The Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

During excavation work one of these dolia was found to hold a large quantity of coins to the value of about 585 sesterces, maybe put there for safe-keeping until the eruption subsided. A stove, on the counter facing the eastern wall, was for heating food.

The well-preserved aedicule (household shrine) on the back wall, is a lararium dedicated to the protector gods of the house (Lari), the Genius protector of the owner, the god of commerce (Mercury) and the god of wine (Dionysus).

The owner's private house was attached to the room, accessed by a separate entrance. There was also an enclosed garden, where herbs for cooking were grown.

At another site in Pompeii, at the Thermopolium of Asellina, jugs and dishes were found on the counter, as well as a kettle filled with water.

Ancient Fast Food The Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus

The Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus was reopened after restoration in March of 2010. 

 Pompeii, the almost 2,000 year old Roman town destroyed and preserved by a volcano, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy

The Only Intact Roman Legionary Shield

The only intact Roman legionary shield in the world was discovered in the 1930s at the ancient Roman city of Dura-Europos in modern-day Syria.

Dura-Europos, besieged by the Sassanids in 256, was eventually captured and destroyed.

The city appears to have been under constant attack by the Sassanids since the 220s.

This artifact, dates from the early 3rd century AD, and provides a glimpse at the military equipment of Roman soldiers.

The Only Intact Roman Legionary Shield

The shield, made of wood and iron with a detailed boss and bronze fittings, was preserved by the anaerobic conditions of the city's soil but was found broken up into thirteen parts. 

Unfortunately, the shield hump that was once there is missing. The back of the shield once had reinforcing strips of wood, but they weren't found. 

A red covering of skin on the back of the shield was later lost. The surface of the front was covered with fabric and then with skin or parchment, with a painting on it. There are several decorative ribbons around the central hole.

Its survival offers a unique glimpse into Roman military history and craftsmanship.

The First Balloon Flight With a Human Aboard

French brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (1740 – 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745 – 1799) were the inventors of the first succesful hot air balloon.

An unmanned flight lasting 10 minutes, took place on September 19, 1783.

The first passengers were not people, but animals: a sheep, a duck and a rooster.

The first balloon flight with a human aboard, was a tethered flight, on or around October 15, 1783, by Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier.

The first free flight with human passengers was made a few weeks later, on November 21.

Jean-Pierre Blanchard was the first person, to fly hot air balloons in various countries. His most notable flight crossed the English Channel, accompanied by John Jeffries, heading to Dover Castle, on 7 January 1785.

Blanchard suffered a heart attack in a balloon above The Hague and fell to the ground, experiencing fatal injuries. 

His wife, Sophie Blanchard, became the first female professional balloonist. She also died during ballooning, when fireworks ignited the gas in her balloon. causing a crash onto the roof of a house, and she fell to her death.

Image Description: A vintage drawing of a Montgolfier balloon floating over a crowd in Paris in 1783.

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Olympic cauldron rose by hot air balloon to light up the skies over Paris, as night fell.

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Olympic cauldron rose by hot air balloon to light up the skies over Paris, as night fell.

A 1/10 scale model of the balloon made by French brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (1740 – 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745 – 1799), the inventors of the first practical hot air balloon to carry humans, on November 21, 1783

The precursor of the hot air balloon was the sky lantern, developed in China around 250 BC and used for signalling between armies.

The Museum of Flight
9404 E. Marginal Way South
Seattle, WA 98108-4097

The Oldest Wheel Ever Found

The oldest wooden wheel yet discovered was found in the Ljubljana Marsh some 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, in 2002.

The wooden wheel belonged to a prehistoric two-wheel cart, made primarily of two planks of wood held together with four cross braces.

Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the wheel’s age, which is somewhere between 5,100 and 5,350 years old.

Without wheels, there would be no cars, bikes or cogs for gears in machines. Water wheels to irrigate crops and grind gains, or spinning wheels used to spin thread or yarn from raw fibre, would not have been invented.

The Oldest Wheel Ever Found at Ljubljana Marsh some 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, in 2002.

The wheel is held at The Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana, Slovenia

When England Battled The Vikings

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for AD 789 reports a Viking raid in Britain. An official serving the king, Beaduheard (means "battle-hard") became the first known person killed by a Viking raid in England.

Four years later in 793, a Viking raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in the kingdom of Northumberland killed many, took others as slaves and pillaged valuable artifacts. This began a period of conquest and expansion by the Vikings in England.

In 835 A.D, Vikings in longboats entered the Thames estuary and raided the Isle of Sheppey on the Kent coast.

The first known naval battle in English history, the Battle of Sandwich in 851, was a Saxon victory against the Danish Viking fleet.

In 865, a Viking force of an estimated 3,000 men landed on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, intending to seize England. The Vikings made threats and the English used danegeld to appease the Vikings. This was a payment of such things as gold but usually silver.

In 871, at the Battle of Edington, King Alfred of Wessex battled the Viking army led by Guthrum.

Danish Vikings occupied parts of Britain, controlling large areas, known as the Danelaw, for more than 100 years.

The Old Norse language of the Vikings had a deep influence on the English language, as intermarriage and assimilation between the two cultures, brought about an adaptation between the two languages. English, today has almost no inflections, no case and gender for nouns, and almost no verb conjugation.

Other large influences on the language occurred when the Romans invaded Britain in the 1st Century AD bringing their alphabet. Then, the Angles and Saxons in the 7th Century took over, with their language. Then came the Vikings in the 8th Century. When the Normans, Norsemen, who settled in northern France conquered England in 1066, they brought French to the mix.

Experience Viking culture at the Jorvik Viking Centre, a museum and visitor attraction in York, England.

An Outstanding Example of Hellenistic Art

The Derveni Krater, dated to the 4th century BCE, was discovered in a tomb in 1962, near the Greek city of Thessaloniki.

This vessel was used as a funerary urn for an aristocrat but kraters were often used for mixing undiluted wine with water.

Weighing 40 kg, the krater is made of an alloy of bronze and tin in skillfully chosen amounts, which creates the superb golden sheen without the use of gold.

Probably made in Athens, the krater is an outstanding example of Hellenistic art.

The Derveni krater, late 4th century B.C., Pentheus dressed as an armed hunter, Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece

The Derveni krater, late 4th century B.C., Pentheus dressed as an armed hunter, Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece 

The Derveni krater, late 4th century B.C., Pentheus dressed as an armed hunter, Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece

The Derveni krate is located at the Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece.

 

Wonderful Ancient Roman Glass

The production of Roman glass developed from Hellenistic technical traditions, beginning with coloured cast glass vessels.

During the 1st century A.D., the glass industry rapidly developed technically and artistically with the introduction of glass blowing.

Roman Glass Bowl from 1st century B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum

Bird-shaped glass perfume bottles have been found in many regions of the Roman Empire. The scented oils were sealed inside the glass vessels.

Bird-shaped glass perfume bottles, have been found in many regions of the Roman Empire. The scented oils were sealed inside the glass vessels.1st century CE.

In the wreckage of a 2,000-year-old sunk Roman cargo ship, discovered in 2012, found off the coast of Italy, glassware in perfect condition was recovered.

In the wreckage of a 2,000-year-old sunk Roman cargo ship, discovered in 2012, .found off the coast of Italy, glassware in perfect condition was recovered

Glass skyphos with white cameo overlay, dated to the 1st Century AD. on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples

The Lycurgus Cup,  a Roman glass 4th-century cage cup was "perhaps made in Alexandria" or Rome in about 290–325 AD. Same cup, from front and back. Present location    British Museum, Room 41

The Lycurgus Cup,  a Roman glass 4th-century cage cup was "perhaps made in Alexandria" or Rome in about 290–325 AD. 

The cup is made of a dichroic glass, which has a different colour depending on whether or not light is passing through it.

Featuring a scene with King Lycurgus of Thrace, the cup appears green when lit from the front but red when lit from behind. 

The dichroic effect is achieved by making the glass with tiny proportions of nanoparticles of gold and silver dispersed in colloidal form throughout the glass material.

Light and Darkness, Good and Evil

We may look around us today and observe that black-and-white thinking is everywhere. This tendency to think in absolutes, in all-or-nothing terms, is called binary thinking. Others may refer to this thinking style as Manichean thinking.

The Parthian prophet Mani (216–274 CE), who was born into a Jewish Christian Gnostic sect, claimed the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus were incomplete and that their messages had been corrupted and misinterpreted.

Jesus was one of the four prophets of the faith, along with Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha and Mani.

At a young age, Mani began preaching and presented his dualistic interpretation of the world as one of light and darkness, good and evil.

Manichaeism spread rapidly from the east to the west and reached Rome through the apostle Psattiq, by 280 C.E.

This religious system saw the world as a conflict between light and darkness and had a rigid adherence to doctrine and resistance to changing beliefs, even in the light of new evidence.

Manichaean priests, writing at their desks. Eighth or ninth century manuscript from Gaochang, Tarim Basin, China.

When confronted with conflicting evidence, Manichean-style thinkers will likely interpret information to align with their prior beliefs. 

This cognitive distortion, often called confirmation bias, can become a systemic way of thinking and make it difficult to engage in critical reflection, see that people and situations may have a mix of positives and negatives or inhibit the ability to change your mind.

Even though Manichaeism is a now-extinct religion, the tendency to think in terms of opposing categories: good and evil, is very prevalent and this often distorts our perception of reality.

Polarised thinking, viewing the world through a binary lens, without shades of grey inclines us to see people, groups and ideas as either, good or bad.

The world is complex and unpredictable and so are people. Everywhere we find messiness, paradox, contradiction and hypocrisy: Even in ourselves.

Freedom From Tyranny

After the Norman Conquest, of 1066, England was ruled by Norman and Angevin kings who centralised government, created institutions such as the exchequer, and reformed the legal system.

By the time of King John (1199 to 1216), the feudal barons of England were in open revolt over excessive military service requirements and/or exorbitant taxation payments.

The barons joined together and made their demands, modelled on an older document called the Charter of Liberties.

This document, Magna Carta, limited the power of the English king and became the basis of English liberty and human rights law.

When on June 19 1215, King John put his seal on the Magna Carta or Great Charter, the barons renewed their oath of allegiance to King John and ended the threat of civil war.

The Magna Carta, the first written constitution in European history, made the king and everyone else, subject to the rule of law. It also set out the liberties that "free men" had against tyranny, abuse of power and oppression.

The right to a fair trial and limits on taxation without representation were set down and agreed to by the king. And, this document would later inspire the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Our Hunter-Gatherer Ancestors

Until around 11,000 to 12,000 years ago, mostly everyone lived as hunter-gatherers, in small groups within the confines of local ecosystems. This means that if you could go back about 12,000 years and see your ancestors, they would likely have been hunter-gatherers.

For more than 95% of our evolutionary history, we lived as hunter-gatherers. 

A hunter-gatherer lifestyle required access to large areas of land, and population density was probably closely linked to how productive the local ecosystem was.

The variables which may have influenced the size of populations were such things as, biodiversity, seasonal rainfall, climate, the effects of pathogens and ability to store food.

Hunter-gathers around the world, often immigrated when food and other resources like water and firewood become scarce. This migration led to humans colonizing most of the world.

People who live outside Africa today can trace our ancestry to a migration that left that continent 60,000 years ago. 

A chunk of plant resin (probably fuel for fires) shows humans living on an island in eastern Indonesia at least 55,000 years ago.

However, a skull found in Greece is dated to 210,000 years ago, at a time when Europe was occupied by the Neanderthals. So, there was once a group of Early Modern Humans in Greece by 210,000.

Homo sapiens fossils from Israel have been dated to between 90,000 and 125,000 years ago. And, human fossils from China date to between 80,000 and 120,000 years ago. These groups did not survive.

Today, Central Africa still has the largest population of mobile hunter-gatherers worldwide.

Jewellery Dating back 150,000 Years

Shell beads discovered in the Bizmoune Cave in Morocco date to between 142,000 and 150,000 years old, made by Early Modern Humans.

Found during excavations between 2014 and 2018, uranium-series dating, which measures the radioactive decay of uranium, was used to date the shell beads.

Made from half-inch-long sea snail shells, the 33 beads, are older than the 130k-years-old eagle talons found at Krapina Cave in Croatia, collected by Neanderthals, The talons came from at least three different birds and showed cut marks and polishing.

Red and yellow pigmented shells found in Spain, also made by Neanderthals, date to 115k years ago.

 The oldest beads discovered date back to 150,000 years and were snail shell beads found in a cave in Morocco