Romans, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 26, 2024

Devastating Roman-era plagues were ushered in by cold snaps, study finds

Cold snaps may have ushered in devastating pandemics for ancient Romans that killed countless people, new research finds. The new study links periods of climate variation with major pandemics and found that the three largest pandemics of the Roman period occurred during some of the most abrupt and deepest cold...

Jan 30, 2024

Nearly 400 ancient medical tools from Turkey hint at rare Roman doctors' offices

Hundreds of Roman-era medical instruments now being examined by scientists may come from one of the earliest known examples of a group medical practice, or at least a place where health care workers congregated to treat people. A total of 348 artifacts linked to medicine were found at the site...

Jan 31, 2024

Roman-era silver 'toilet spoon' discovered in Wales

A Roman-era silver toilet spoon discovered by a metal detectorist in the U.K. has been declared a treasure by experts. Valentinas Avdejevas made the peculiar finding in 2020 while exploring Vale of Glamorgan, a county in Wales. He surrendered the metal artifact to the Portable Antiquities Scheme for Wales, a...

Feb 1, 2024

1st-century villa discovered near Mount Vesuvius may be where Pliny the Elder watched catastrophic eruption

An excavation to build a playground near Naples, Italy, has revealed an ancient seafront villa thought to be where the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder witnessed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The eruption destroyed Pompeii and devastated other towns in the region, possibly killing up to 16,000...

Feb 5, 2024

1st-ever complete Roman 'bed burial' recovered from under London

Archaeologists have unearthed five 2,000-year-old Roman oak coffins, a funerary bed and skeletons at a construction site in London. The excavation site, which is located nearly 20 feet (6 meters) below street level, was the final resting place of some of Roman London's first residents, according to a statement by...

Feb 5, 2024

Bedbugs plagued Britain 1,900 years ago, Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall reveals

Bedbugs have been plaguing the British for at least 1,900 years, new research reveals. Archaeologists discovered the earliest evidence of the bloodsucking parasites in the U.K. at Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian's Wall in England. Katie Wyse Jackson, a graduate student of archaeology at University College...

Feb 7, 2024

Scroll charred in Mount Vesuvius eruption partially deciphered, earning researchers $700,000 prize

Part of a fragile papyrus scroll carbonized nearly 2,000 years ago in Mount Vesuvius' eruption has been virtually unrolled and almost completely deciphered with machine learning, earning the researchers responsible a $700,000 prize. The text, written in ancient Greek, investigates pleasure from an Epicurean viewpoint, a philosophy whose ideal was...

Feb 7, 2024

Romans kept poisonous, narcotic seeds concealed in bone vials, new discovery reveals

Nearly 2,000 years ago, someone used a hollowed-out piece of bone as a container for storing hundreds of poisonous seeds. Archaeologists found the carved-out animal femur, or thigh bone, which likely came from a goat or sheep, at Houten-Castellum, a rural Roman-period settlement in what is now the Netherlands. Prior...

Feb 13, 2024

Spectacularly preserved Roman-age egg still has its yolk and whites

A three-dimensional scan of a 1,700-year-old egg discovered at a Roman site in England reveals that, eggs-traordinarily, it still has the remains of a yolk and egg white inside. It's thought to be the only time a centuries-old chicken egg found with its insides preserved. We were absolutely blown away...

Feb 15, 2024

1,800-year-old 'Iron Legion' Roman base discovered near 'Armageddon' is largest in Israel

Archaeologists have discovered the remnants of a massive 1,800-year-old Roman legionary base that is the only one of its size and caliber ever found in Israel. Located near Tel Megiddo, a national park and the site of the ancient city of Megiddo (also known as Armageddon) in northern Israel, the...

Feb 18, 2024

1,800-year-old Roman tombs in Bulgaria included medallion featuring an emperor and glass bottles for collecting mourners' tears

Two large graves discovered in northern Bulgaria likely tell a sad family story about wealthy Roman landowners whose child predeceased them in the third century A.D., archaeologists say. In December 2023, a farmer unexpectedly found the graves while plowing his field in the village of Nova Varbovka. Because this region...

Feb 24, 2024

'Incredibly rare' head of deity Mercury reveals previously unknown Roman settlement in UK

A bodiless clay head of the Roman god Mercury, discovered in England, has revealed the whereabouts of a previously unknown Roman settlement. Archaeologists found the head at Smallhythe Place, in Kent, a site that was known for shipbuilding in medieval times. So the team was surprised to find the roughly...

Feb 29, 2024

Items used by Roman cavalry and other treasures unearthed by metal detectorist in Wales

A collection of metal Iron Age and Roman-era artifacts unearthed by a metal detectorist on an island in Wales has been declared national treasure. Ian Porter made the discovery in 2020 while exploring pastures and a spring on Anglesey, located off the western coast of Wales' mainland, according to a...

Mar 7, 2024

1,900-year-old coins from Jewish revolt against the Romans discovered in the Judaen desert

Four coins dating back almost 1,900 years, to when the Jewish people launched a revolt against the Roman Empire, have been discovered in the Judaean desert. The coins were found in the Mazuq Ha-he'teqim Nature Reserve, which is located in the West Bank. They date to the time of the...