Khopesh - the Egyptian sword that forged an empire

The Khopesh is an Egyptian sickle-sword that evolved from battle axes. The khopesh dates to at least 2500 BC. The weapons changed from bronze to iron in the New Kingdom period.

The earliest known depiction of a khopesh is from the Stele of Vultures, depicting King Eannatum of Lagash wielding the weapon.

The khopesh evolved from the epsilon or similar crescent-shaped axes. It is a sword that was actually a hybrid between a sword and an axe. The khopesh went out of use around 1300 BC. Various pharaohs are depicted with a khopesh, and some have been found in royal graves, such as two examples found with Tutankhamun. The khopesh was a solution to the limitations of bronze as a sword material. Bronze swords that were too long broke.

Hoard of five Roman Republican silver denarii

A rare hoard of five Roman Republican silver denarii was uncovered near Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany in 2025. One coin dates to 148 BC, and the other four were minted between 82 and 79 BC. Heavy wear indicates the silver coins were in circulation before being buried. Because no imperial-era coins were present, researchers believe the small cache arrived in the region around the turn of the millennium or shortly after. The coins were kept together in a small pouch that was eventually scattered by farming. Found well outside the borders of the Roman Empire, the silver likely arrived via trade. Three of the five coins are serrated denarii, known as serrati, with saw-like edges. Two of those carry scratched graffiti.

People living in what is now Saxony-Anhalt didn't use coins as everyday money. The silver denarii likely served as prized objects and a store of wealth. The coins could have reached the area through trade, diplomatic gifts, payments, exchanges between Germanic groups, or Roman military campaigns. Earlier archaeological work has linked Roman expeditions led by Drusus, Ahenobarbus, and the future Emperor Tiberius to central Germany. Roman marching camps have also been identified in the region.

Salt Mining

Halite rock salt (NaCl)

Salt is a mineral made up of cube-shaped crystals composed of two elements, sodium and chlorine. It is translucent, colourless, and odourless. Salt has always had a permanent place in the life of human beings. Salt was considered sacred, a gift from the Gods; it was used to confirm oaths and sacrifices. Salt served as money at various times and places, and the quest for salt has been the cause of warfare. Offering bread and salt to visitors is a sign of hospitality from ancient times.

Prior to industrialization, it was expensive and labor intensive to harvest the mass quantities of salt necessary for food preservation and seasoning. This made salt a very valuable commodity throughout history. Mining salt causes rapid dehydration. Accidental excessive sodium intake was often fatal. (hypernatremia)

Entire economies were based solely on salt production and trade.

The 'Man in Salt' greets visitors at the Salzwelten Hallstatt Mine, Austria. In 1734 a corpse preserved in salt was discovered in the deposit. Salzwelten Hallstatt is the world's oldest salt mine, with a history of salt extraction spanning over 7,000 years.

At the Chehrabad Salt Mine, Iranian miners recently uncovered the 6th salt man to be found in the last 15 years. Salt men are ancient corpses killed or crushed in the cave and mummified by the extreme conditions. Hair, flesh and bone are all preserved by the dry salinity of the cave, and even internal organs have been found intact. The first salt man, dated to 300 A.D., was discovered in 1993, sporting a long white beard, iron knives and a single gold earring. In 2004 another mummy was discovered 50 feet away, followed by another in 2005 and a "teenage" boy later that year. The oldest of the salt men has been carbon dated to 9550 B.C.

Egyptians may have been the first civilization to preserve fish and meat with salt. Food that could be preserved was extremely valuable. Recognizing the worth of preserving food, Egyptians turned to trade. The Egyptians did not export salt by itself, it was bulky and difficult to transport. Food that was salted was transported easily over long distances without spoiling.

Boiling brine into salt in China.

In the Iron Age evaporated salt was obtained by boiling seawater or brine in clay pots over a fire. Roman salt making entailed boiling seawater in large lead-lined pans. In ancient Rome, salt on the table was a mark of a rich patron; those who sat nearer the host were "above the salt," and those less favored were "below the salt". Roman salt mining was often done by slaves and prisoners, and life expectancy was short.

Malta Roman salt flats

Ancient Roman glass salt dishes

Roman salt extraction relied on coastal solar evaporation ponds (salinae), inland brine springs, and underground rock salt deposits. The most famous marine salt works of Rome were the salinae located at the mouth of the Tiber, where extensive lagoons existed in antiquity. Salt was a strategic necessity for the Roman army. A salarium was a standard monetary allowance or stipend given to soldiers to buy their own salt and daily necessities.

Roman salt pans in Hortales.

The Coppergate Helmet

The Coppergate Helmet (York Helmet) is an eighth-century Anglo-Saxon helmet found in York.

It was discovered in May 1982 during excavations for the Jorvik Viking Centre at the bottom of a pit that is thought to have once been a well. The helmet is one of seven Anglo-Saxon helmets known to have survived to the present day, and is by far the best preserved. The brass banding within the crests bears a Latin inscription: IN NOMINE : DNI : NOSTRI : IHV : SCS : SPS : DI : ET : OMNIBVS : DECEMVS : AMEN: OSHERE : XPI "In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God; and to all we say Amen / Oshere / Christ". Oshere is a male Anglian name and XPI are the first three letters of the word Christos Χριστός (khristos) in Greek.

The helmet forms part of the permanent collection of the Yorkshire Museum and has been included in many public exhibitions.

The helmet was probably made around 750-775 AD. The Vikings invaded York in 866, and the Northumbrians, unsuccessfully, a year later. The helmet's owner had much motivation to hide the priceless artifact.

Sweden’s Sandby borg yields gold

Four miles off the Swedish coast in the Baltic Sea, the rocky island of Öland was the site of an ancient mass murder. In 2010, archaeologists uncovered scores of skeletons that had initially been left unburied. They estimate that the massacre at Sandby borg took place in the 5th century. The fort’s 15-foot-tall ramparts were no match for the attackers. A discovery of two gold rings and a coin at the site may hint at the motive. The gold gives credence to the theory that the island may have had ties to the Romans. At the site of an important house the team uncovered pieces of Roman glass.

The solidus dates to the time of the massacre and depicts Emperor Valentinian III, who ruled between 425 and 455. Mysteriously, the site wasn't looted.

Even the murdered inhabitants’ horses were tied up and left to starve.

Roman calceus

The intricately punched, 2,000-year-old Roman leather shoe excavated at the Saalburg fort in Germany in 1907 belonged to a wealthy, high status woman. The shoe dates to the first half of the 2nd century. (100–150 AD). The stylish calceus (a type of enclosed shoe), survived for two millennia because the oxygen-poor, waterlogged environment it was found in drastically slowed decomposition. In ancient Rome, women’s shoes were decorated with embroidery, motifs and often with lace, displaying the wealth and social status of the Roman woman who wore them. Saalburg was a Roman fort on the summit of Mount Tanus and part of Roman border fortifications. With the surrounding village, the fort was home to about 2,000 Romans in its heyday.

The Saalburg fort was constructed in 90 A.D. and remained in operation until 260 A.D. See ----- The Roman shoe hoard of Vindolanda

A new Roman road unveiled

A preserved stretch of Roman road has been unveiled in the car park of IKEA Anagnina in Rome. It was uncovered while the store was being built in 2017. IKEA restored it and opened it to visitors. Archaeologists also uncovered the remains of a 3rd-century BC farm storage building next to the road, along with large clay storage jars (dolia) used for wine and goods. Ancient structures are regularly found during excavations in Rome.

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In 2022, thousands of years after legionaries last tramped along its worn paving stones, a well-preserved stretch of Roman road was opened to the public – beneath a McDonald’s restaurant. The 150ft-long stretch of basalt road has been cleared, cleaned and made into a permanent attraction at Frattocchie, south of Rome. Customers in search of cultural heritage can descend underground and view the Roman road, as well as three skeletons. The bodies are believed to have been buried in the period after the road was abandoned. The skeletons belong to three men, the oldest of whom was aged 35-40.

Customers view the Roman road, as well as three skeletons found buried in the culverts on either side.

The find came to light in 2014 when the area was excavated for a new McDonald’s. Archaeologists were summoned and the chain contributed 300k euros to the three-year restoration of the site.

The stretch of road was built in the 2nd century BC but fell into disuse by the 3rd century AD and remained buried for more than 1,700 years.

Experts say the paved road connected with the Appian Way. Named after the Roman official who conceived it, Appius Claudius Caecus, it became known as the “regina viarium” or queen of roads.

Emperor Valerian

Double Aureus (Binio) of Valerian, minted 255-256 in Turkey.

Valerian (Publius Licinius Valerianus) was Roman emperor from 253 to spring 260 AD. Valerian is known as the first Roman emperor to have been taken captive in battle, captured by the Persian emperor Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa. Roman political culture placed supreme value on courage, and emperors followed Augustus’ example by framing their role through displays of virtus. The epithet “Unconquered” (invictus) meant everything to Romans. Ancients expected Valerian to kill himself before being humiliated by capture.

Valerian’s surrender to a foreign enemy in 260 represented a Roman failure of unparalleled magnitude. A Bishapur Bas-Relief shows Roman Emperor Gordian III defeated and trampled under Shapur's horse, while Shapur leads Valerian by the hand for his slavehood. Valerian was probably not skinned alive, nor killed by molten gold. Vivid tales of revenge, flaying, torture and taxidermy came from hostile propaganda. One theory suggests Valerian was kept alive. He and his captured Roman soldiers were put to work on Persian construction projects according to texts.

Aureus that sold for $131,040 dates from 258. It depicts a bare-headed Saloninus as Caesar on the obverse. He had been appointed Caesar (first in line of the succession) in 258 by his father, probably at the instigation of his grandfather, Valerian I, the senior Emperor at the time. In 260 Saloninus was murdered by rebellious troops in Cologne at age 18.

Kingdom of Macedon - Philip II

MACEDON. Kingdom of Macedon. Philip II, 359-336 B.C. AV Stater (8.59 gms), Pella Mint, ca. 340/36-328 B.C. NGC AU, Strike: 4/5 Surface: 2/5. Brushed. Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000, sold for $5,800. MACEDON. Kingdom of Macedon. Philip II, 359-336 B.C. AR Tetradrachm (14.31 gms), Amphipolis Mint, ca. 316-311 B.C. NGC Ch AU★, Strike: 5/5 Surface: 5/5. Estimate: $1,000 - $2,000, sold for $5,612.

The Circus Maximus

In AD 121, on the anniversary of Rome's founding, Hadrian inaugurated new games and chariot races at the Circus Maximus. A rare aureus commemorates the event, providing an absolute date of 874 years since the founding of Rome.

The coin depicts the Genius of the Circus Maximus holding a chariot wheel while reclining around the three-pointed metae (the turning posts that mark either end of the spina) of the Circus Maximus, accompanied by the accompanying legend: ANN. DCCCLXXIIII NAT. VRB. P. CIR. CON. ann(is) dccclxxiiii nat(ali) urb(is) P(rimum) cir(censes) con(stituti) Year 874 Since the Birth of the City; First Circus Games Established.

The crucible of Roman chariot racing was the Circo Massimo, or Circus Maximus. Chariot racing was fast and dangerous. According to the historian Livy, the inaugural events and wooden seating were instituted by Tarquinius Priscus in the sixth century BC. Julius Caesar gave the Circus Maximus its iconic shape in the first century BC by greatly extending the racing track and seating capacity.

At its largest, the Circus Maximus reached a length of 621m and 190m in width. It had three tiers of seating, with the lowest, nearest the action, reserved for the elite. It's said the Circus Maximus could accommodate over 100,000 spectators. Located in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, the arena had many additions over the centuries and major rebuilds. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus called it “one of the most beautiful” structures in Rome.

Races began when the sponsor dropped his napkin and ended seven laps later. A race consisted of 13 turns of the spina, totalling seven laps of the Circus Maximus, run counterclockwise. Those who didn't get maimed or killed and finished in the top three won prizes. Crashes were called naufragia ('shipwreck'). Drivers who became entangled in a crash risked being trampled or dragged along the track by their horses. Most commonly raced were four-horse chariots, known as quadrigae. Drivers (aurigae) wrapped the reins around their waists to steer with weight shifts, holding a knife (falx) to cut themselves free if needed. The two middle horses provided the primary pulling power, while the outer horses were steered.

Life expectancy of the highly paid aurigae was short.

Caracalla. AD 198-217. AV Aureus Rome mint. Struck AD 213. Near EF. Extremely rare with 4 known and an important architectural type. Est $75,000. Sold for $140,000.

Trajan's Circus Maximus Sestertius. (c. 103–111 AD) Viewed from the nearby Forum Boarium, the coin offers rich detail.

Tyrian purple found for first time in Israel

Purple-dyed fabric dating to the Biblical reigns of David and Solomon was discovered in Israel in 2021. Produced in Phoenicia as early as 1570 BC using the distilled glands of sea snails, “Royal” or “Tyrian” purple was associated with the elite and exremely wealthy. It was more valuable than gold in the ancient world. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the samples found date from about 1000 BC.

True purple (argaman) was produced from a gland located near the rectum of three species of mollusc indigenous to the Mediterranean Sea, through a complex distillation process lasting several days. The find was in the Timna Valley, a vast ancient copper mine. Copper smelting in ancient times required advanced knowledge which was a closely guarded state secret. Those who held this knowledge were of the highest status.