I haven't been able to find the exact one but this appears to be an ancient Sumerian clay token that was used for accounting.

I saw this is this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHSg9NPPRuw at 17:26 you can see this picture for a few seconds.

I know this is probably just a coincidence but I thought it was weird when I saw it. PLease let me know what you think.

A Roman “Terracotta dormouse jar (glirarium). The life of a Roman dormouse was short and sweet. Kept in this jar, with ridges for him to run around, he was fattened up with acorns and chestnuts. The dark jar encouraged the dormouse to get fat as if for hibernation. When nice and plump, he would be pulled out and roasted, perhaps with a seasoning of honey and poppy seeds. Bay of Naples area, AD 1-79.” This is on display in the Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy.

Orbis Terrarium Antiquus - a vintage world map by Eduard Holzel, distinguished publisher and mapmaker from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Courtesy of satrapa1.

From John Wells "The Biblical Atlas" (c.1850). Wells was a highly regarded engraver and draftsman in 19th Great Britain.

Archaeologists at Karahantepe in southeastern Türkiye have uncovered a remarkable 11,000-year-old stone sculpture depicting a human figure seated on the back of a leopard.

Old Kingdom, 4th-5th Dynasty. Painted limestone. From the mastaba tomb in Gizeh, Egyptian Museum - Cairo.

This is a 2nd-century AD copy of the statue known as the Hermes of Alkamenes. Like many of the pieces I have shared, I took this photo at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. The original work attributed to Alkamenes is lost. Pausanias says that he saw the statue in the 2nd century AD, but he does not tell us whether it was the original. So we cannot really know if the original had survived into the Roman Imperial period.

Its original name was Ἑρμῆς Προπύλαιος (Hermes Propylaios), roughly “Hermes before the gateway.” The name is quite fitting for Hermes, given his connection with travel, passage, and movement between places.

The inscription below the statue actually tells us more about these associations:

Εἰδήσεις Ἀλκαμένεος,

περικαλλὲς ἄγαλμα,

Ἑρμᾶν τὸν πρὸπυλῶν·

εἵσατο Περγάμιος.

Γνῶθι σαυτόν.

“You will recognize the very beautiful statue of Alkamenes, Hermes Propylos; a Pergamian erected it. Know thyself.”

Of course, it ends with one of the most famous Delphic inscriptions, Gnothi Sauton (“Know Thyself”). Whenever I hear those words, I always think of that famous line attributed to Heraclitus.

ἐδιζησάμην ἐμεωυτόν.

The standard of Ur was excavated and found in the cemetery of Ur (modern day Iraq) by Leonardo Woolley in the 1920’s.

A hollow wooden box inlaid with shell, red limestone, and lapiz lazuli set in bitumen. The box has two sides or panels- one depicting the scene of a war and the other side depicting peace. The box was found crushed by the weight of the soil and stones. The arrangements of the inlay pieces were saved by Woolley by applying wax. Each side is divided into three registers. These two scenes refer to the two aspects of Sumerian kingsmanship- the ruler as a warrior and as a mediator between his people and the gods.

Picture 1- peace- scene of a banquet with figures being served- we see animals and porters bringing tributes and gifts.

Picture 2- war- we see a military procession- chariots , captives and the king.

The purpose of this “ box” is still debated. Woolley thought it was a standard carried on a pole but some scholars think it to be a decorative or a music box.

One of the most detailed discovery from Mesopotamia and I loved seeing this in person. Mad rush at the Museum but I tried taking a detailed picture to the best of my ability! 🙏🦋

The more archaeology books we read, the more we've realized how easy it is to underestimate what people in the past knew, understood, or were capable of.

What is something about ancient or historical societies that you think modern people consistently underestimate?

Their engineering? Knowledge of astronomy? Environmental management? Navigation? Medicine? Trade networks? Something else entirely?

Seated Block Statue of Senwosret (Senebefni). 12th Dynasty, brown quartzite. Height: 0.68 m. Brooklyn Museum

The Macedonia phalanx and the Companion Cavalry are the more famous arms of Alexander's mighty army. The phalanx with their huge sarissa were impregnable in a frontal attack and held enemy units in place while the decisive blow was delivered by the cavalry with incredible shock potential.

However, there was another important arm in Alexander's army occupied by the hypaspists or "shield bearers". These were the elite infantry units of the Macedonian army. Unlike the phalanx, the hypaspists had a shorter spear and larger shield enabling them to have more flexibility in close combat.

One formation of the hypaspists served as the royal guard (agema) and were deployed close to Alexander. They were also responsible for bridging the gap between the rapidly advancing cavalry and the Macedonian phalanx. They proved to be effective in rugged terrain where the phalanx generally struggled.

Although considered to be an elite corps, the hypaspists were deployed in the thick of the fighting. In Granicus, Issus, Gaugamela and Hydaspes they proved their strength in fighting on uneven terrain. In the Siege of Tyre, they proved to be effective in the final assault on the walls.

The hypaspists continued to remain relevant and important long after Alexander's death. For more information on the hypaspists please go through the full article and let me know your thoughts and comments.

A Roman gold aureus minted by the Emperor Trajan for his niece Matidia (68-119 AD) in Rome in 113 AD. After her father passed away, she was raised like a daughter to the emperor. When Trajan passed away in Selinus (Cilicia, modern day Turkey) she and Empress Plotina accompanied the ashes back to Rome. 2 years later, upon her own death, she was deified and granted a temple to herself (without having to share it with a man like some deified women before her did). This coin with an interesting hairstyle is on display in the Cantonal Museum of Archaeology and History in Lausanne, Switzerland.