Rolling Archaeology Thread

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
faience is stunning, almost translucent as the material thins, unreal craftsmanship and so delicate

Egypt seemed to have a fetish with shades of blue, the more you look the more there is
 

WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
The east coast around the Humber estuary and the Wash, plus Bridgewater Bay to the west, were far more water heavy and swampy in the first millennium AD. We think of the east coast as constantly eroding but sizeable submerged chunks are now above the water (ignore population notes)

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sufi

lala


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. The process used remains unclear, and it is likely that it was not well understood or controlled by the makers, and was probably discovered by accidental "contamination" with minutely ground gold and silver dust. The glass-makers may not even have known that gold was involved, as the quantities involved are so tiny; they may have come from a small proportion of gold in any silver added (most Roman silver contains small proportions of gold), or from traces of gold or gold leaf left by accident in the workshop, as residue on tools, or from other work. The very few other surviving fragments of Roman dichroic glass vary considerably in their two colours.[7]

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The glass​


It is estimated that to a conventionally composed Roman glass flux 330 parts per million of silver and 40 of gold were added: "These particles were precipitated as colloids and form a silver-gold alloy. When viewed in reflected light the minute metallic particles are just coarse enough to reflect enough of the light without eliminating the transmission. In transmitted light the fine particles scatter the blue end of the spectrum more effectively than the red end, resulting in red transmission, and this is the colour observed. Since it is impossible that the Roman artisans managed to add these incredibly low levels of silver and gold to the volume of the glass used to make the vessel deliberately, the levels were probably added at higher levels to a larger volume of glass-melt, and increasingly diluted by adding more glass."[8] The particles are only about 70 nanometers across,[9] and embedded in the glass, so they cannot be seen by optical microscopy, and a transmission electron microscope is needed instead.[10] At this size they approach the size of the wavelengths of visible light, and a surface plasmon resonance effect takes place.[11
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycurgus_Cup#cite_note-11
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycurgus_Cup#cite_note-11
 
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WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
think it was a technique included in certain cathedrals, names escape (Salisbury?)

wondered why architects who slap loads of glass everywhere to suggest space haven’t included these archaic shimmer effects - pure enchantment
 

william_kent

Well-known member
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Really disappointed by this article: generates total hype with the title, "An Ancient Frieze in Mexico Depicts a “Time Without Time”, and then...

In general, the glyphs are allusions to power in the city, to supernatural protection, and to a time without time

and then... that's it...

"in general"

boo...what a let down

no explanation of "a time without time"

ever felt like you've been cheated?
 
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WashYourHands

Cat Malogen
Weird looking, definitely didn’t excavate anything on show, bit too careful with his hat too

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always paying attention to the finest details

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Woah. Careful now, leather for Google

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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
View attachment 11013

Really disappointed by this article: generates total hype with the title, "An Ancient Frieze in Mexico Depicts a “Time Without Time”, and then...



and then... that's it...

"in general"

boo...what a let down

no explanation of "a time without time"

ever felt like you've been cheated?
Yeah, that is disappointing. That concept paired with an ancient Mesoamerican culture could conceivably lead you down a very deep Burroughs-flavoured rabbit-hole.
 

sufi

lala
https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/muth.html

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Arabic Graffito From Muthallath (Near Yanbu’), 23 AH / 643-4 CE


Islamic Awareness


© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.


First Composed: 27th November 2007


Last Modified: 15th April 2013​






Assalamu ʿalaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:


Screenshot 2022-04-21 at 02-25-19 Arabic Graffito From Muthallath (Near Yanbu’) 23 AH _ 643-4 CE.png


Date


23 AH / 643-4 CE.

Register Number


MThLTh-009.

Script


Ḥijāzī.

Contents


The translation of the inscription is:

  1. Salmah wrote
  2. in three and twenty (i.e., 23)

Comments


This inscription written in an old ḥijāzī script is interesting as it leaves out tantalizing detail of what it indicates. Kawatoko apparently considers the number "23" to mean 23 AH.[1] Hoyland, on the other hand, mentions the inscription without commenting on the number "23" or its date.[2] Imbert, like Kawatoko, considers the number "23" to mean 23 AH.[3]

Location


Muthallath, near Yanbu’, Saudi Arabia.





References


[1] M. Kawatoko, "Archaeological Survey Of Najran And Madinah 2002", Atlal: Journal Of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, 2005, Volume 18, p. 51 and p. 52, Plate 8.13(A).


[2] R. Hoyland, "New Documentary Texts And The Early Islamic State", Bulletin Of The School Of Oriental And African Studies, 2006, Volume 69, No. 3, p. 411, footnote 76.


[3] F. Imbert, "L’Islam Des Pierres : L’Expression De La Foi Dans Les Graffiti Arabes Des Premiers Siècles", Revue Des Mondes Musulmans Et De La Méditerranée, 2011, Volume 129, pp. 55-77.


The images above are reproduced from the stated sources under the provisions of the copyright law. This allows for the reproduction of portions of copyrighted material for non-commercial, educational purposes.


With the exception for those images which have passed into the public domain, the use of these images for commercial purposes is expressly prohibited without the consent of the copyright holder.


 

version

Well-known member

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Following the lamassu discovery, the head was stolen in 1995, but was later recovered and preserved in the Iraqi Museum. The main body was then reburied to preserve the architectural remains following the Gulf War conflict. This act likely saved the lamassu from destruction, as in 2015 ISIS systematically looted and destroyed much of the remains of Khursbad.

In a joint Iraqi/French mission, a team led by Professor Dr. Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani have recently re-excavated the lamassu, revealing it for the first time to the world in three decades.
 
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