Emperor Volusianus - binio

The large sum was lost at the Roman site in the Roman province of Pannonia Superior.

Researchers in Hungary discovered a rare gold Roman coin of Roman emperor Volusianus. The third-century coin depicts Emperor Volusianus, who co-ruled the Roman Empire for about two years with his father, until he was assassinated at age 22 by his own soldiers. The coin was minted during his rule, between A.D. 251 and 253. One side of the coin features a portrait of the emperor, while the other side depicts Libertas, freedom. The denomination of the coin is not an ordinary aureus, but a rare binio, i.e. a double aureus.

Trump's Eagle - Aquila - SPQR

Jaws flapped about Trump's use of the Nazi eagle.

Students of history would recognize the Nazi eagle as that stolen from the Romans. The Nazi swastika was also hijacked from ancient sources.

The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being."

An aquila, or eagle, was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an aquilifer, or eagle-bearer, carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle.

The eagle was very important to the Roman military, beyond merely being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard was considered an extremely grave event. The Roman military often went to great lengths to protect a standard and to recover it if lost. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest the Romans spent decades trying to recover the lost standards of the three destroyed legions. SPQR stood for Senatus Populusque Romanus. The meaning was "The Senate and People of Rome". No legionary eagles are known to have survived.

Mars Ultor 'the Avenger'

Augustus, 27 BCE – 14 CE, Denarius (Silver, 3.85 g)

At the battle of Philippi, Octavian vowed to avenge the assassination of Caesar. Octavian set plans in motion to build a temple honoring the god Mars Ultor 'the Avenger'. While Rome had succeeded in conquering most of the civilized world, they had never succeeded against Parthia. The Parthian Empire was spread across Central Asia and posed a formidable challenge. Rome fought and lost to Parthia three times, the most devastating in 53 BCE. Crassus, the leader of the Roman army, was killed and Rome was humiliated, with the Roman standards of the Legions lost to the Parthians.

The loss of a legion's standard the Aquilae (Eagle) was taken as a huge moral defeat. Romans would spend decades fighting to recover them. Julius Caesar and Mark Antony both attempted to reclaim the Roman standards by force but failed due to heavy battlefield losses. After ascending the throne, Augustus wanted to reclaim them. Through conquering Armenia, he was able to secure a strong offensive position against the Parthians. The Parthian king felt threatened, and proposed a truce to Augustus, offering to return the Roman standards and any surviving prisoners of war. Augustus agreed and he hailed the return of the roman standards as a major victory against the Parthians. He used his coinage to celebrate the triump.

Crusader-era gold found off coast in Northern Israel

The coins are gold florins, minted in Florence, Italy, starting in 1252. The ship must have sailed in the last half of the 13th century.

In 2017 30 gold coins were found amid the remains of a Crusader-era shipwreck discovered off the coast of Acre in northern Israel. The city of Acre is on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, north of Haifa. In the 13th century it was one of the most important strongholds left to European Crusaders in the Holy Land. Archaeologists dated the shipwreck's wood to 1250 A.D. But the gold coins showed that the ship likely sailed later than that.

Crusader Fortress : Old City of Acre – Northern Israel

At the siege of Acre, as Christian citizens made a desperate attempt to flee the city, the knights made their doomed last stand. The Mamluks of Egyptian sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil dug tunnels and the castle’s foundation collapsed, burying the doomed Templars. The sultan’s flag soon flew over Acre, and the Egyptian forces systematically dismantled the Crusader city, leaving its seaport in ruin.

Amazing Discoveries

In 2018, a farmer on Crete parked his car on his property outside of Kentri. The earth under his vehicle sank. He found the remains of an extremely rare undisturbed Minoan grave (1400–1200 BC).

The Greek city of Zeugma was one of the Roman Empire’s pivotal trade centers.

It is known for the most breathtaking mosaics from ancient times. In 2014 three new mosaics were found. The most amazing is a scene depicting the nine Muses.

Around 1,800 years ago, a woman was buried on the small island of Sikinos.

Spectactular grave goods marked her as extremely rich. The entire site is a grave good, likely built to protect the woman’s remains.

The mausoleum stood as one of the most impressive and best-preserved in the Aegean.

Evidence of huge Viking Camp in Lincolnshire

In 2017 archaeologists found evidence of a huge army encampment in Lincolnshire dated to the 9th century. It was established to conquer England.

The camp, set up for the winter of 872 to 873, was home to thousands of Vikings. The army was known as the Great Heathen Army in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 865. Previous Viking invasions were hit and run, but this one was meant to conquer the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The Viking camp was on the banks of the River Trent in Torksey and was a strategic and defensive outpost in the winter for part of the military campaign. The Great Heathen Army remained in England for 10 years, conquering all the kingdoms except Wessex. In 871, Alfred the Great of Essex paid the Vikings to leave. In 875, the Vikings attacked Wessex, but King Alfred defeated the Great Heathen Army and united England.

Archaeologists found 300 coins and 50 pieces of chopped up silver, including brooch fragments and ingots. They also found rare hack-gold. Among the coins are 100 Arabic silver coins that probably came from Viking trade routes. Other artifacts include gaming pieces, spindle whorls, fishing weights, needles and iron tools.

Greek cops seize head of ancient kouros statue in Nemea

The head of an Ancient Kouros statue, dating to the Archaic period (6th century BC) was confiscated in 2019. A Greek man was arrested in Nemea, in Corinth, southern Greece, for illegal possession of the artifact. He was looking for buyers to sell the head for 500k euro. A kouros is a modern term given to free-standing ancient Greek sculptures that first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and represent nude male youths. In Ancient Greek kouros means "youth, boy, especially of noble rank"

The Zliten mosaic

It depicts gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, and scenes from everyday life.

The Zliten mosaic is a Roman floor mosaic from about the 2nd century AD, found in the town of Zliten in Libya, on the east coast of Leptis Magna. The mosaic was discovered in 1913 and is now on display at The Archaeological Museum of Tripoli.

Harnessed horse unearthed in ancient stable near Pompeii

In 2018 archaeologists unearthed the petrified remains of a harnessed horse and saddle in the stable of a villa in Pompeii. It's thought the villa belonged to a high-ranking military officer. The remains of other horses were also found.

The villa's terraces had views of the Bay of Naples and Capri island. The area was previously excavated, during the early 1900s, but later re-buried. It's thought suffocating volcanic ash or boiling vapors killed the horses.

Hawaiian statue of the god of war Ku-ka’ili-moku - $7.5m

Sold in the 'Collection Vérité' on 21 November 2017 at Christie’s in Paris. Hawaiian figurative sculptures are incredibly rare. Kamehameha I associated himself with the war god Ku-ka’ili-moku — the ‘land snatcher’ or ‘island eater’. This example was made circa 1780-1820 from the Metrosideros, a tree found in the high mountains of Hawaii. The figures that are known are all in museums. The statue made $ 7.5m blowing well past it's $3.5m estimate. Also auctioned was a Uli figure, which is a type of wooden statue carved only in the villages of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. Tribal art is rising in value and has been doing so for many years. The reason is extreme rarity, there are more and more museums, but fewer and fewer pieces available for sale.

Aureus of Roman Emperor Nerva

Nerva was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor at age 66 after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero. On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy involving the Praetorian Guard. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. A gold aureus of Nerva reflects the delicate balance of power in ancient Rome at the time. The circa A.D. 97 gold coin features a portrait of Nerva on the obverse, with clasped hands holding a legionary eagle set upon a prow on the reverse. $15k

Nerva’s reign was assisted by his predecessor’s decision to increase wages for soldiers from 225 denarii to 300 denarii per year. Nerva's reign was marred by financial difficulties and his inability to control the Roman army. A revolt by the Praetorian Guard in October 97 forced him to adopt an heir. Nerva adopted Trajan, a young and popular general, as his successor. Nerva died of natural causes shortly after and was succeeded by Trajan.