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Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#11

Post by MonkeyMalarky »

tsol wrote: post #9
colechristensen wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read SPQR The Romans are really… familiar. They invented the blueprint for western civilization and there are lots of things about the people that feel very modern. With a few tweaks and lucky chances, the Industrial Revolution could have happened more than 1000 years earlier. To get a sense of this go look up translations of Roman graffiti, especially at Pompeii.

When you think about it, that's not so surprising. I imagine that set up would be the optimal one for a good of unknown but probable high value. It'll always be more work than it's worth for the army, and yet by auctioning off the unknown treasure they could capitalize on it. I wonder if this was employed anywhere else in the ancient world, if others came to the same conclusion in similar situations.

A friend once said, in the future they'll be mining out dumps for the mix of already refined metals and minerals.

Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#12

Post by MonkeyMalarky »

totetsu wrote: post #7

How were those long clothing pins used?

Assuming they were thick enough to not bend or break, I guess pretty long. Enough to pass through fabric more than one or two times? The longest look like they could temporarily sew a cloak shut like zipper.

Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#13

Post by contravariant »

GalenErso wrote: post #10
colechristensen wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read SPQR The Romans are really… familiar. They invented the blueprint for western civilization and there are lots of things about the people that feel very modern. With a few tweaks and lucky chances, the Industrial Revolution could have happened more than 1000 years earlier. To get a sense of this go look up translations of Roman graffiti, especially at Pompeii.

> They invented the blueprint for western civilization Ahem. The debate between Mary Beard and Boris Johnson convinced me it was the Greeks.

Nah can't be, they were too busy arguing with each othe--

Actually, you may be on to something there.

Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#15

Post by imoverclocked »

I immediately wonder if someone wished to be remembered… thus unearthing this 3k years later grants their wish.

Does anyone know how delicately these sites are dug up? Ie: would we know if they had thrown straw or other degradable materials in and it had been covered up? Seems like a well being deeper than usual has the opportunity to have multiple ages of use and artifacts.

Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#16

Post by beambot »

hvs wrote: post #8
colechristensen wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read SPQR The Romans are really… familiar. They invented the blueprint for western civilization and there are lots of things about the people that feel very modern. With a few tweaks and lucky chances, the Industrial Revolution could have happened more than 1000 years earlier. To get a sense of this go look up translations of Roman graffiti, especially at Pompeii.

The idea that the Roman Empire was on the verge of an Industrial Revolution on par with the 19th and 20th centuries is a bit overblow: https://acoup.blog/2022/08/26/collections-why-no-roman-indus...

Fascinating article... But when you consider that the driving initial application was pumping water (out of coal mines), you have to acknowledge that pumping water would've also been a major concern for the Romans too -- i.e. hydrology and aquaducts

Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#19

Post by turndown »

yareally wrote: post #4
zetazzed wrote: post #2

Ancient Celtic culture was really into the practice of casting valuable objects into bodies of water - apparently this was a central religious practice for them. So what did the Romans do when they conquered Celtic territory?They would auction off the rights to dredge a captured lake and keep its treasure, Storage Wars style. Truly a pioneering capitalist civilization!

Wow, I never heard anything about this before and I love reading about Roman history. Humans don't really change much, do they? Any additional reading you might recommend?

This exact anecdote appears in The History of Rome podcast by Mike Duncan, if you are into podcasts.

Re: Archaeologists Unearth 3k-Year-Old Wishing Well in Germany

#20

Post by kelseyfrog »

ftyers wrote: post #18

I always wonder what they mean by "ritual", it always seems to be a throwaway word for modern or ancient cultures that just have different beliefs or traditions. But it's rarely used when talking about the author's (or anthropologist's) own culture.

The Nacirema have a deep and complex ritualistic culture.
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