Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus

A Roman coin minted for an ill-fated emperor was found in 2019 during road work. It is only the second of its kind to be unearthed in England. It depicts Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus, who reigned for several months in AD269. Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus was a usurper against Postumus, the emperor of the Gallic Empire. His revolt lasted from late February to early June 269 at which point he was executed.

A fake Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus areus

Another unusual coin discovered during the dig was a Gallic War Uniface coin, minted in 57BC by the Ambiani tribe in the Somme area of modern-day France. Experts believe it was exported to help fund the British Celtic resistance to Julius Caesar.

Gold coin hoard speaks of Galilee Christian city’s demise

Nearly 100 gold coins and dozens of jewelry fragments have been unearthed in an excavation at the ancient city of Hippos, east of the Sea of Galilee. The hoard was buried during the final years of the Christian Byzantine era (early 7th century CE), as the Sassanid (Sasanian) Empire swept into Israel in 614 CE. Stashed by an extremely wealthy resident as the Sasanids advanced on the city, the treasure lay undisturbed for some 1,400 years before being uncovered by pure chance. Hippos was founded by Greek Seleucids on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in the 2nd century BCE. During the Byzantine period (330 CE-636 CE), Hippos became an important Christian town. It endured the Arab conquest in the 7th century until a devastating earthquake in 749 CE leveled the city, which was then permanently abandoned.

It is a Byzantine hoard and can be dated with precision. It spans roughly a century, beginning with Emperor Justin I [518–527 CE] and ending in the early reign of Emperor Heraclius [610–613 CE]

One of the hoard’s unique features is its mix of denominations: while some coins are solidi — full-value coins weighing 4.45 grams — others are semisses, worth half a solidus, or tremisses, a third of a solidus.

Hippos-Sussita site at the Sussita National Park. Hippos likely persisted as a Christian settlement but gradually declined until the earthquake of 749 delivered the final blow.

Ancient ‘Texas Serengeti’ had rhinos, alligators, 12 kinds of horses

From 1939 to 1941 a federal agency that provided work to millions of Americans during the Great Depression put unemployed Texans to work as fossil-hunters. They dug up tens of thousands of specimens from sites near Beeville, Texas.

For the past 84 years the fossils have been stored at the University of Texas at Austin and virtually forgotten.

The fossil trove of nearly 4,000 specimens represent 50 animal species, all of which roamed the Texas Gulf Coast around 12 million years ago.

Among the finds was a new genus of gomphothere, an extinct relative of elephants with a shovel-like lower jaw.

Other fossils include the American alligator and an extinct relative of modern dogs.

Ancient Egyptian Tomb found with spectacular art

In 2019 researchers discovered a 4,300 year old tomb belonging to a high-ranking official covered in colorful reliefs and well-preserved inscriptions.

The tomb dates to the Fifth Dynasty, around 2400 BC.

Saqqara, where archaeologists made the discovery, once served as the necropolis for the Egyptian capital of Memphis. It's located on the west bank of the Nile, 15 miles south of Cairo.

Spectacular Ancient Bronze

Dated to 330 BC, the Boxer at Rest is a sculpture of a sitting nude boxer at rest, still wearing his caestus, a type of leather hand-wrap, in the National Museum of Rome.

The Boxer was discovered in 1885, possibly from the remains of the Baths of Constantine.

“Portrait of Seuthes III” (310-300 B.C.), Greek. Bronze, copper, calcite, alabaster, and glass. Seuthes III was a ruler of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from 331 BC to ca. 300 BC. This bronze was found in his tomb. “The Medici Riccardi Horse” About 350 B.C. Italian Bronze and gold.

The bronze "Chimera of Arezzo" is one of the best known examples of the art of the Etruscans. It was found in Arezzo, an ancient Etruscan and Roman city in Tuscany, in 1553. Inscribed on its right foreleg is an inscription, TINSCVIL, showing that the bronze was a votive object dedicated to the supreme Etruscan god of day, Tin or Tinia. The statue is thought to have been made around 400 BC.

The over-lifesize "Dancing Satyr" of Mazara del Vallo is a Greek bronze statue recovered from the sea floor at a depth of 500m (1600 ft.) off the southwestern coast of Sicily in 1998. The satyr is depicted in mid-leap, head thrown back ecstatically and back arched, his hair swinging with the movement of his head. The figure is highly refined; the whites of his eyes are inlays of white alabaster.

Artemis and the Stag is an early Roman Imperial or Hellenistic bronze sculpture of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis. In June 2007 the statue fetched $28.6 million at auction, the highest sale price of any sculpture at the time. The statue depicts Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting and wild animals. She stands in a pose that suggests she has just released an arrow from her bow. At some point in its history, the bow was separated from the sculpture and was lost.

Alexander the Great on Horseback, 100-1 B.C., bronze and silver. Victorious Athlete, "The Getty Bronze" 300-100 B.C.

Statue of Athene (“The Peiraeus Athena”). Bronze. 340—330 BCE

The Artemesium ZeusThe horses of St Mark's Basilica. 2nd or 3rd century AD.

The Riace Bronzes (The Riace Warriors) Around 460 BC.

British woman accused of stealing ancient tiles from Pompeii

In 2019 Caprice Arnold, then 21 from Tunbridge Wells, Kent thought it would be great idea to loot tiles from Pompeii. She climbed over a barrier and used a sharp object to cut 20 tiles from a floor.

A caretaker of the grounds spotted her. The guard stopped her and asked for her details to make a report, but she walked away, leaving the mosaic pieces on the ground. "The woman showed no remorse" said a statement. Back in the UK, she claims she only bent down to 'inspect loose tiles.' She cannot explain how 3 tiles ended up in her bag. "It ruined the trip from then on and I was not able to enjoy it" she said.

Authorities spotted Arnold scaling the security rail at the House of the Anchor, one of the most famous homes at the ancient historical site. The house is known for the mosaic tile anchor design at the front of the residence.

The damage is thought to be around $5k. It is far from the first time Italian police has taken action on tourists vandalizing and looting the historic city.

Caprice Arnold never took responsibilty or apologized for her looting.

Lewis Chessmen 'Rook' brings £735,000

The rook is a warder holding a sword and was bought by an antiques dealer in 1964 for £5 in Edinburgh. It was catalogued in his purchase ledger that he had bought an ‘Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman.’

The piece, carved out of walrus ivory, was then inherited by the dealer's daughter when he died. For many years it resided in a drawer in her home where it had been wrapped in a small bag. The piece was sold by Sotheby's in 2019 for £735,000. The Lewis Chessmen are four sets of chess pieces which were found on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland, in 1831. The British Museum holds 82 pieces, the National Museum of Scotland holds 11 and until this sale, 5 pieces were missing.

It was described by the auction house as the "most famous chess pieces to have survived from the medieval world".

One knight and three warders are still missing.

Roman Emperor Nerva

Nerva, started the period known as the "Five Good Emperors". He brought stability to the empire precisely when it was needed.

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. Nerva gold is rare and expensive.

Nerva’s reign was greatly assisted by his predecessor’s decision to increase wages for soldiers from 225 denarii to 300 denarii, annually. In addition, the coins used to pay the wages were of increased weight and purity compared to previous coins, so the payout was even better.

Nerva's reign was marred by financial difficulties and his inability to assert full control over 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.

Montefortino - style helmet found

A remarkably well preserved "Montefortino"-style helmet was found in an underwater excavation in the Aegadian Islands off the coast of Sicily. The helmet was likely lost in the Battle of the Egadi Islands (also known as the Aegates Islands) in the First Punic War in 241 B.C.

This style of helmet was introduced to the Romans by the Celts and was a popular armor choice from the fourth century B.C. through the first century A.D. Notably, the Montefortino-style helmet has a small knob on the top where plumes were attached. It also had a projecting bill, like a modern baseball hat, and hinged cheek plates.

On March 10, 241 B.C., Carthage and Rome engaged in the Battle of the Aegates, the Latin name for the islands off the west coast of Sicily. According to the ancient historian Polybius, although the Carthaginians outnumbered the Roman army, the Romans were better trained and defeated them. As a result, Carthage surrendered Sicily, and the First Punic War came to an end after 23 years. Last year, a Roman "rostrum" — a naval battering ram that would have been attached to the bow of a warship — was also cleaned and studied. This revealed a new inscription "Ser.Solpicio C.F. Quaestor Probavi(t)", linking the ram with Gaius Sulpicius Gallus, a Roman magistrate during the First Punic War.

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.