Violence in Sports: A Comparison of Gladiatorial Games in Ancient Rome to the Sports of America
Aristocrats’ funerals celebrated their victories and enhanced their reputations. Emperors presented the games to show the public how much power they had. Among the gladiators were thousands of prisoners of war.
The Elusive Tomb of Alexander
Egyptologist and former ARCHA EOLOGY contributing editor Robert S. Bianchi wrote two articles for us on the many expeditions–scientific and fringe–that have tried to find the location of Alexander’s final resting place.
Trial by Fire: a Comparison of Provincial Cremations within the Roman Empire and the Implications for Cultural Analysis
It has become clear that the culture of the Romans influenced the cultures of the provinces. Many theories have been developed to explore the nature of the exchanges between the Romans and the peoples of the provinces, and how they affected the culture and the material remains within the provinces.
Trophies and Tombstones: Commemorating the Roman Soldier
How were the corpses disposed of and to what extent were these men commemorated and remembered? The intention of this paper is to unite the diverse relevant evidence for the first time and to argue that, although displays of public loss and mourning were often muted, the sacrifices of some soldiers did receive public acknowledgement.
The Neanderthal dead: exploring mortuary variability in Middle Palaeolithic Eurasia
The question of whether or not Neanderthals buried their dead has received considerable attention over the last few decades and has played a central role in exploring the similarities and differences between Neanderthals and early anatomically modern humans.
Thrown Away Like Rubbish – Disposal of the Dead in Ancient Greece
In this article, the literary and archaeological evidence for burial practices that can be associated with the English expression ‘to be disposed of like rubbish’ are discussed.
Burial customs and the pollution of death in ancient Rome: procedures and paradoxes
In this study the traditions relating to the correct preparation of the body and the subsequent funerary procedures leading up to inhumation or incineration are reviewed and the influence of social status is considered.
Painting the wine-dark sea: traveling Aegean fresco artists in the Middle and late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean
By examining the fresco fragments themselves I establish that the motifs represented and the style of manufacture are in fact Aegean. Textual evidence from the Near East and Egyptian tomb paintings suggest that the Aegean was well-known for its artistic accomplishments and that Aegean goods and the artisans that produced them were treated as elite commodities.
The healing hand: the role of women in Graeco-Roman medicine
This paper provides a detailed examination of the role played by women in ancient medicine. The period under discussion extends from the height of Greek civilisation (the 5th century BC) to the Roman Empire of the 4th century AD.
A Lady of York: migration, ethnicity and identity in Roman Britain
Here, the authors of a multidisciplinary project use a combination of scientific techniques to illuminate Roman York, and later Roman history in general, with their image of a glamorous mixed-race woman, in touch with Africa, Christianity, Rome and Yorkshire.