Herculaneum beach

The beach at the Herculaneum archaeological park, located in Campania, opened in June 2024 after a multi-year restoration project. Herculaneum lay buried under 35 meters of solidified ash until it was discovered by chance in 1709 as a worker drilled a well for a monastery.

Digs in the 1980s and '90s uncovered the skeletons of more than 300 people in stone boathouses near the beach. They died from the heat as they awaited rescue by Pliny the Elder.

Work at the Antica Spiaggia area began in January 2022. It was already partially excavated in the 1980s. Dozens of skeletons were found, including the famed 'Ring Lady,' named for the rings on her fingers. Herculaneum was much closer to Vesuvius than Pompeii, and was buried by pyroclastic surges. Excavations unearthed lavish villas, organic matter such as fruit and bread, wooden furniture, and hundreds of charred papyrus scrolls.

Evidence was found of high temperatures on the skeletons of those found in the arched vaults on the seashore, which is now 500 metres inland, as well as the existence of carbonized wood in the boathouses, which became their tombs. The beach is now about four metres below current sea levels.

In 2021, the skeleton of a man dubbed the “last fugitive,” was found. Its believed he had been attempting to escape toward the sea with his valuables. The man was aged between 40 and 45 and was found with a heavily blackened skull and bones with numerous heat-induced fractures. Under the left arm of the skeleton was a cloth shoulder bag inside which was a wooden box containing objects in metal, pieces of cloth, and traces of gold. He suffered the same fate as the others. The extremely high temperatures of the pyroclastic flow caused human tissue to instantly vaporize and the skeleton was imprisoned in a mass of ash, gas and debris.

Dubbed the ‘Herculaneum 300’, their remains were found just four miles (6.43 km) from Mount Vesuvius. Historians have suggested the group was minutes away from being rescued by Pliny the Elder, commander of the local naval fleet. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, wrote two letters describing the eruption, both of which have great historical significance due to their accurate description of the eruption.

Claudius

Bust of Claudius at the Naples National Archaeological Museum

Claudius (10 BC – AD 54) was Roman emperor from AD 41 to 54. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul, the first (and until Trajan, only) Roman emperor to be born outside Italy. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, Augustus' sister, and he was the great-great grandnephew of Gaius Julius Caesar. He was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness as a child, causing his family to ostracize him. Claudius's infirmity probably saved him from the fate of other nobles during the many purges of Tiberius and Caligula. He wasn't seen as a serious threat. Claudius. AV Aureus. Rome mint. Struck AD 46-47. Good VF. Est $7500, sold for $20,000.

His survival led to his being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination.

Obverse of this coin (50 CE–54 CE) portrays Claudius while the reverse portrays his wife Agrippina the Younger. Agrippina the Younger was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Some blame her for the termination of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

On 24 January 41, Caligula was assassinated in a broad-based conspiracy involving the Praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea and several senators. There is no evidence that Claudius had a hand in the assassination.

In the chaos following the murder, Claudius witnessed the guard cut down several uninvolved noblemen. He fled to the palace to hide. According to tradition, a Praetorian named Gratus found him hiding behind a curtain and declared him princeps. Eventually the Senate was forced to give in again and, in return, Claudius pardoned virtually all the assassins. He ruled well and left a large treasury behind. After his death in 54 aged 63, his grand-nephew, step-son, and adopted son Nero succeeded him as emperor.

Roman grave marker found in New Orleans yard

"To the Spirits of the Dead [Dis Manibus] for Sextus Congenius Verus, soldier of the praetorian fleet Misenensis, from the tribe of the Bessi [of Thrace]" "(who) lived 42 years (and) served 22 in the military, on the trireme [warship] Asclepius" "Atilius Carus and Vettius Longinus, his heirs, made (this) for him well deserving"

The Classis Misenensis (Fleet of Misenum) was the senior and most important imperial Roman navy fleet, established by Augustus in 27 BC to protect the Western Mediterranean and act as a central naval reserve. Based at Portus Julius near Misenum, it served the emperor directly, maintaining security and conducting transport duties.

The Roman grave marker found in the back yard of a New Orleans home was inherited and left there by the granddaughter of a US soldier who fought in Italy during the second world war. The headstone dedicated to circa second-century Roman sailor and military Sextus Congenius Verus had been stolen from the city museum of Civitavecchia, Italy. Erin Scott O’Brien told local media outlets that her grandfather, Charles Paddock Jr, kept the artifact in a display case at his home in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood until his death in 1986.

Amazing historical artifacts

Roman iron slave collar. The inscription on the collar reads – “I have run away; hold me. When you have returned me to my master, Zoninus, you will receive a solidus" (gold coin) Blood Stained Cloak of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – Austrian Military Museum, Vienna. The murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand plunged the world into the first World War.

Broadsword of Oliver Cromwell c. 1650. This is one of the finest surviving swords of it's type, favored during the English Civil War (1642-51). The association of this sword with Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) is confirmed with the inscription and heraldic arms of England and Ireland on the blade.

Monomachus Crown – Hungarian National Museum, Budapest.

The crown is engraved Byzantine goldwork, decorated with cloisonné enamel. King Constantine Monomachus ruled the Byzantine kingdom from 1042 to 1055 with his wife Zoe and her sister Theodora. It was probably made in Constantinople in 1042. It was found in 1860 by a farmer while plowing. The objects passed to the local landowning nobility, who sold it in four transactions to the Hungarian National Museum between 1861 and 1870.

A Surviving Crate from the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was the spark in the powder keg for the American War of Independence. The rebelling colonials climbed aboard a ship carrying England’s most valuable commodity – tea, and threw it overboard in an act of open defiance. Two crates survived.

The Axe of Pharoah Ahmes

A gold ceremonial axe was found among the treasures in the Tomb of Ahmes. It is funerary object that was not used in the life of the pharaoh. One of the sides of the blade is adorned with Nekhbet, vulture goddess and the guardian of Upper and Lower Egypt, and other deities who protect the pharaoh . The other side of the blade depicts the pharaoh tormenting one of his enemies as a symbol for sovereign power.

Corinthian helmet and skull from the Battle of Marathon 490 BCE. A pivotal moment in history, the battle of Marathon saw a smaller Greek force, mainly made up of Athenian troops, defeat an invading Persian army. A fierce and bloody battle, with numerous casualties this helmet (with skull inside) belonged to a Greek hoplite (soldier) who died during the fighting. The story of the man who ran back to Athens with the news of the victory became synonymous with the long distance running event in the Olympics.

Bullet that killed Lincoln. On April 14, 1865, five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox, Virginia, actor John Wilkes Booth achieved historical immortality by firing the shot that claimed the life of Abraham Lincoln.

Macrinus aureus - $288k

Roman emperor Macrinus reigned for about a year, from 217 to 218, before falling victim to assassination, a fate he shared with many of his peers. Veteran soldiers revolted. One of three known gold aureus coins of the type for Macrinus was a highlight of a Heritage auction in 2019. At the same sale a Diadumenian aureus made $336k

AV aureus. NGC Choice AU ★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 218. $288k

Macrinus served under Emperor Caracalla as a praetorian prefect and dealt with Rome's civil affairs. He later conspired against Caracalla and had him murdered. Macrinus proclaimed himself emperor without confirmation from the Senate in Rome. This and reigning in soldiers’ pay made him deeply unpopular.

Diadumenian, as Caesar (AD 217-218). AV aureus. NGC Choice AU ★ 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 218. $ 336k

Macrinus was overthrown at the Battle of Antioch on 8 June 218 and Elagabalus proclaimed himself emperor with support from the rebelling Roman legions. Macrinus fled the battlefield and tried to reach Rome, but was captured in Chalcedon and later executed.

Marcus Opellius Diadumenian, ten-year-old son of emperor Macrinus (AD 217-218), was granted the rank of Caesar soon after his father had succeeded the murdered Caracalla. Coinage in his name was struck in all denominations, though his gold is extremely rare. Diadumenian was captured and executed in late June 218.

Pyrrhic Victory

When the Romans broke a treaty with Taras in 282 B.C. to subdue an adjacent Greek city, Taras expelled the Roman garrison from the captured township. The Romans sought revenge. Taras or Tarentum, in Calabria, is modern Taranto in southern Italy.

Bust of Pyrrhos

Taras appealed for help to King Pyrrhos of Epirus in northwestern Greece. Pyrrhos embarked upon the Pyrrhic War of 280-275 B.C.E. A skilled commander, with a strong army fortified by war elephants, Pyrrhus had initial success against the Roman legions, but suffered heavy losses even in victory. 3 battles represent the origin of the phrase “Pyrrhic victory” The battle of Heraclea was a decisive victory for Pyrrhus, who employed a tight phalanx formation with elephant charges. Though the win was complete, it caused high casualties of Pyrrhus’ best troops.

The next battle of Asculum was a similar result; the Romans attempted to repulse the elephants with war wagons but failed. The Romans withdrew to higher ground. The Romans were worse off, but Pyrrhus lost thousands of men and his best officers. The battle of Beneventum was either inconclusive, a Roman victory or a victory for Pyrrhus. The Romans repulsed the elephants and send them rampaging through Pyrrhus’ lines. The result drove him from Italy and in 278 B.C.E. Pyrrhos abandoned Taras to its fate.

He returned in 275 B.C.E., but was soundly defeated and returned to Epirus. Three years later Taras was besieged and the city finally fell to the Romans.

A superbly struck example of a rare gold stater from the ancient Greek city state of Taras (Tarentum) in southern Italy, a.k.a. Calabria. The 8.55 g coin dates from 276-272 BC. The obverse shows the head of Zeus. On the reverse an eagle with wings displayed perches on a thunderbolt. $ 18,000 in VF.

EPIRUS. Pyrrhus (297–272 BC). Silver tetradrachm (16.56 gm). $60K in 2012.

After the particularly bloody Battle of Asculum in 279 BCE, Pyrrhus famously remarked: “If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.” This would live forever in the phrase “Pyrrhic victory”. The silver tetradrachms were a high-value coin and were struck with dies engraved by the most skilled artisans.

Pyrrhos, King of Epiros, (297-272 BC.), AV Stater, 8.55g, Struck in Syracuse, 278 BC. $180k.

To pay mercenaries needed to fight the Carthaginians, Pyrrhus produced a huge issue of gold staters and half staters at Syracuse. The finest engravers were hired to produce stunning designs.