For the last week or so a story has been in the news for reasons that escape me. However, since it is in the news and it deals with ancient Roman history, I'm bringing it to your attention. One version of it comes from News 24's article Ancient Persians 'gassed Romans'. The article says:
The reason I say it's not news is that Adrienne Mayor, in Greek fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs (2003), not only includes it on her timeline, but describes it in her section on killing enemies by asphyxiation. She says the Dura-Europos (Syria) site revealed signs of an underground battle (fought in A.D 265 by Romans and Persians) to archaeologists in 1935. There was residue of burned sulphur and pitch. Mayor then describes chemical warfare used by the Roman general Sertorius, who defeated the Characitani in Spain in 80 B.C. by forcing the men stationed in caves to breathe in lime dust.
University of Leicester archaeologist Simon James presented CSI-style arguments that about twenty Roman soldiers, found in a siege-mine at the city of Dura-Europos, Syria, met their deaths not as a result of sword or spear, but through asphyxiation.
The reason I say it's not news is that Adrienne Mayor, in Greek fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs (2003), not only includes it on her timeline, but describes it in her section on killing enemies by asphyxiation. She says the Dura-Europos (Syria) site revealed signs of an underground battle (fought in A.D 265 by Romans and Persians) to archaeologists in 1935. There was residue of burned sulphur and pitch. Mayor then describes chemical warfare used by the Roman general Sertorius, who defeated the Characitani in Spain in 80 B.C. by forcing the men stationed in caves to breathe in lime dust.
I really enjoyed Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs (see my review) and am looking forward to Mayor's soon-to-be-published work on Mithradates, the famed expert in poison antidotes.
If you understand why this story is in the news, please post in the comments. I'm sorry if I'm just being dense.
Comments
Chase news patterns with Google. Verify the oldest date and there’s usually a link to source.
Looks like on Jan 10 there was a seminar set on the Archeology of Battle. Usually there’s a synopsis or press release sort of write up or some news stringer posts something that seems apt to the interest of readers of the day. Then, it picked up as filler. The more it’s picked up, the more “important” it looks and the more it’s picked up.
Or that’s how it seems to me.
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10489&searchtype=session&sessionid=6B
That makes sense. Thank you very much.
Metaphorically transfer the asphyxiation into disinformation and maybe it’ll come to you
A.C. Clarke, “Rama II”, p 338: has a comment that bureaucrats choke the creativity out of people.
“”Bureaucracy is the epoxy that greases the wheels of progress.” Dr. Jim Boren
Meaning usually derives from context by extension.
Like Groucho Marx I usually decline all invitations to join.
a.
The basic facts of the underground battle were reconstructed in 1935, based on the skeletons, the evidence of extensive fire, and the residue of sulphur crystals and pitch found in a vase. The original archaeological report did not grasp that the sulphur and pitch added to a fire would have created toxic fumes. They simply assumed these were added to make a hotter more destructive fire.
As ancienthistory notes, I did put two and two together in 2003 for my book Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, citing this as archaeological evidence for asphyxiating toxic gas.
I think what is new about Simon James’ paper is that he adds vivid new Crime Scene Investigation details, to suggest the specific actions taken by the Persians –he identifies one of the skeletons as the Persian who set the fire, but succumbed to the fumes.
I’m happy to see this “earliest archaeological evidence” for a chemical weapon publicized, since it confirms the much more ancient reports of the same chemical incendiaries in Thucydides and Aeneas the Tactician, etc.
But there is another contender for the eariiest archaeological evidence of a chemical incendiary–used vs Alexander in Pakistan in the 4th c BC. This was also described in my book.
Hey, ifound this avery interesting story and it probably made its way into the media as ‘new news’sothat the ‘broader-population’ angain an insight int the past without reading the novel ‘Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs’ because many people are either ‘to busy’ to read a book, are ‘uninterested’ in books about history or are just to lazy. Its just something quick that they can read, not care to much about the particulars and just have as a ‘human interest’ story. By the way, I completley understand and agree with you but unfortunately neither of us dictates the world or the media…
Famous Quotes say it all:
‘If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do read the paper you are misinformed.’
It is a symptom of the abysmal lack of awareness of history in our culture. I am constantly seeing examples of ancient technology astonishing the modern audience. My favorite example is how students are taught that the flush toilet was invented by an Englishman named Crapper; completely ignoring the toilets found on Crete that were built about 3,500 years before Crapper. The Minoan is merely the earliest example; many cultures have left archaelogical evidence of such devices – especially the Romans. Yet young students are taught that the device was invented less than a couple hundred years ago. Pffft…
Hi NS,
You are not dense at all, dear!
But I think the reason Simon James and the CSI style programme was made and aired is to show the same thing as Adrienne Mayor, ie That there is nothing new under the sun.
Cheers,
Your friend Vaughan,
Nova Zealandiae.