Colossus of Rhodes to be rebuilt as giant light sculpture

Ancient Amazon cities found; were vast urban network

Gold wreath puzzles archaeologists

I seem to see articles about Roman emperor Hadrian everywhere I go online these days, and here’s another one:
The ‘peaceful’ Hadrian and his endless wars

Hadrian: Empire & Conflict by Thorsten Opper is available from Amazon.com.

The movie Memoirs of Hadrian, based on a novel of the same name by Marguerite Yourcenar, will reportedly star Antonio Banderas as the Roman emperor.

More about the movie and the emperor: The cult of Hadrian

Doubt over date for Brit invasion

Solar sleuthing suggests when Odysseus got home: April 16, 1178 B.C.

“Olive oil infused with fragrant herbs has been identified in an ancient Greek ceramic transport jar.”

Worst science article of the week: Did women wield power in Greece 3,500 years ago?

“Recent scholarship is changing thinking about female pharaoh Hatshepsut, whom Egyptologists once called ‘the vilest type of usurper.’” The queen who would be king

"The sculpture and architecture of the ancient world was… brightly and elaborately painted. The only reason it appears white to us is that centuries of weathering have worn off most of the paint."

I no longer have a link for this quote, but Zahi Hawass of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities reportedly said, “Tutankhamun was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it.”

I normally make a point of not giving my opinion about things like this. But you know, I just don’t understand the big controversy about this. Take a look at the famous mask of King Tut. Take a look at other depictions of King Tut from his time. The guy does look black. Why are some people so resistant to what’s staring at them from King Tut’s face?

I don’t have any axe to grind about this. And I don’t want to get involved in a pointless argument so I will try not to say any more about it.

But as far as I am concerned, King Tut = black. And that controversial bust of him looks like Barbra Streisand to me.

Mythical satyr may be preserved in salt

(Warning: The mummified “satyr” head, shown in a photo, is rather creepy looking.)

What gladiators were really like

An article about silphium (also called laserwort), a plant used for contraception in the ancient world but now presumed to be extinct: The birth control of yesteryear

“Scientists believe they have for the first time identified an ancient graveyard for gladiators. Analysis of their bones and injuries has given new insight into how they lived, fought and died.”