Plinian eruption of Mount Vesuvius

A Plinian eruption of Mount Vesuvius occured around 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before the one that buried the Roman city of Pompeii. The village of Afragola was situated near present-day Naples, about 10 miles from Mount Vesuvius.

Afragola became a snapshot of the Early Bronze Age in Italy.

Following the eruption, the village was encased in meters of ash, mud, and alluvial sediments. The course of the eruption happened in different phases, starting with a dramatic explosion. The villagers had time to flee, which is why the site doesn't contain human remains. Then the direction of the wind changed, bringing a huge amount of ash toward Afragola. In Campania at this time there were huts, but in Greece, they had palaces. Evidence points toward the eruption happening in the fall, as the villagers amassed their food stores for the winter. The eruption occured around 1780 BC.

Devil's Coulee - Alberta

Devil’s Coulee is the richest dinosaur nesting site in Canada and the third nesting site discovered in North America. The site was found in May 1987 near Warner, Alberta when ten fossilized Hadrosaur eggs were found. The site was designated a Provincial Historic Resource the same year.

Finds at the site include young dinosaurs, eggs, embryonic bones, and nests of hadrosaurs.

The find dates from the Late Cretaceous. (100-65 mya). Hadrosaurids, or duck-billed dinosaurs, were a common herbivore in the period. The Royal Tyrrell Museum reports the Devil’s Coulee site is rich with ancient nests of at least two separate duck-billed dinosaurs and five different Cretaceous-era carnivores.

The Devil's Coulee area was once part of a vast inland sea.

Treasures of Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town near modern Naples. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, Pompeii was burned and buried in ash, while nearby Herculaneum was destroyed by the pyroclastic flow. The area was buried under 4 to 6m (13 to 20 ft) of ash and pumice from the eruption. Pompeii was lost for 1500 years until its rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later in 1748. Discoveries continue to this day.

The objects that lay beneath the city have been well preserved for thousands of years.

Marble statue with traces of gold-plating from the Temple of Isis, Pompeii.

Helmet of a ‘Thracian’ (Thrax) gladiator. Bronze, from Pompeii.

Mosaic (detail) from Pompeii.

Apollo as an Archer

A gold bracelet bears an inscription. On its inside face are the words 'dominus ancillae suae'– from the master (dominus) to his slave-girl (ancilla).

Highlights from 2019 Künker Fall World and Ancient Coin Auction

Lucania. Poseidonia. Stater, 530/500 B.C. Est: 15k euros, Hammer price: 30k euros.

The Künker Fall World and Ancient Coin Auction has many spectacular ancients changing hands.

Sicily. Gela. Tetradrachm, 425/420 B.C. Est: 12,500 euros, Hammer price: 38k euros.

Sicily. Kamarina. Tetradrachm, 425/405 B.C. Estimate: 10k euros, Hammer price: 40k euros.

Pertinax, 193. Aureus, Rome. Est: 40k euros, Hammer price: 47k euros.

Kingdom of Macedonia. Alexander III, 336-323 B.C. Distater, 330/320 B.C., Amphipolis. Est: 7,500 euros, Hammer price: 28k euros.

The Gjermundbu Helmet

On March 30 1943, during World War II in Nazi-occupied Norway a rich discovery was made. A burial mound on a farm in Ringerike contained the burnt remains of two males and 76 different objects. They were placed in a wheelbarrow and hidden from the Germans. Among the objects was a Viking helmet. 80 years after its discovery, the Gjermundbu helmet is still very special. Many Viking warriors used helmets, but only two survived enough to be reconstructed. The Gjermundbu helmet was found in nine fragments and restored.

The helmet was made some time between the years 950 and 975 and was part of a very high status burial. A sword, pieces of chain mail, and stirrups from the Gjermundbu burial.

The helmet remains the first and only known helmet dating back to the Viking era. Research indicates that Vikings rarely used metal helmets. Despite popular culture, there is no evidence that Vikings used horned helmets in battle. The helmet was made of iron and was in the shape of a peaked cap made from four plates.

Treasures From the Ancient City of Teotihuacan

One of the most significant archaeological sites in the world took center stage in 2018 at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) with the de Young Museum’s “Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire.” The exhibition featured over 200 artifacts from the site, with loans from major collections as well as recently excavated objects.

At its zenith Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population estimated at 125,000 or more, making it at least the sixth largest city in the world during its epoch. At 63 meters tall, the Sun Pyramid was one of the largest and tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere. The city reached its peak around 450 AD.

Great Goddess of Teotihuacan

Water Goddess; from Teotihuacán