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The mystery of the Roman Lycurgus Cup: Nanotechnology in the ancient world?
The British Museum holds a very beautiful ancient exhibit – the Roman Lycurgus Cup. But he is more famous for his unusual optical properties. Under normal lighting, the goblet appears yellowish-green, and in transmitted light it acquires a deep wine-red hue. Only in 1990, scientists were able to reveal the secret of these unique properties, but how could such an effect be achieved in ancient times? After all, these are the real nanotechnologies …
The cup is a so-called diatret – a double-walled bell covered with a figured pattern. Its height is 16.5, and its diameter is 13.2 centimeters.
The earliest found diatrets belong to the 1st century BC. n e., and their heyday reached its production in the III and IV centuries. Diatrets in that era were considered very expensive items and were available only to the rich. Continue reading
10 archaeological discoveries, because of which rewrote the history of ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is undoubtedly one of the most impressive “chapters” in the history of mankind. The complexity and duration of the existence of Greek culture is impressive today, because after this civilization, many ruins and objects of art remained. Archaeologists still find lost cities and strange artifacts, which often reveal new facts about the life of the ancient Greeks.
1. Ancient mall
In those days, a group of shops was called a portico. When archaeologists excavated in 2013 a neighborhood of the ancient coastal city of Argylos, they found a similar portico. Located in Greece near the Aegean Sea, the old shopping center served hundreds of customers about 2,500 years ago. This makes it the oldest ever found in northern Greece. Continue reading
Riddle of Alexander of Macedon: Why “the flight of Tsar Alexander” was popular in Russia and throughout the Christian world
A unique pectoral cross was found on the land of the former Drutsk faction, which emerged in the 11th century on the way “from the Varangians to the Greeks”. Crosses with the image of the Crucifixion from this period have come down to us a little, the image of the Crucifixion is much more common on encolpions, but this is not the main thing. Not for nothing, the cross from Drutsk was found on the way from the “Varangians to the Greeks”, some “Varangian”, Scandinavian features are present in the design of the cross, but this does not make it unique. Of particular interest is the image on the back of the cross.
The crucified Christ is depicted with closed eyes – it means already dead on the cross, but the head is straight. Above the cross nimbus is a depressed inscription ICXC. With the increase, the depressed points are visible not in the palms, but above the wrists, depicting nail heads. Continue reading
