Continuing my digital enhancement of the images of artwork in the House of the Vettii in Pompeii, I have reached room q (Mau's floorplan) aka the Room of the Cupids or Cherubs, the largest entertainment space on the ground floor of the residence. Although frescos featuring male cupids and female psyches engaged in various tasks in horizontal registers within the space are beautifully preserved, many of the panel paintings did not survive, with the exception of floating figures of gods and heroes and a small painting of Silenus and Hermaphroditus viewable upon exiting the room. So, we have no i ..read more

I've been working on images from rooms designated as a "gynaeceum" (women's quarters) in the House of the Vettii. Since Roman women were not sequestered like Greek women in the ancient world, I've wondered what archaeological attributes would prompt Roman scholars to designate such areas in a Roman architectural context. House of the Vettii VI 15,1 Pompeii 2023 Triclinium “t”, detail of painted figure in medallion at the south end of the east wall (Mau plan) courtesy of Klaus Heese House of the Vettii VI 15,1 Pompeii 2023 Looking towards east wall of black triclinium “t” (Mau pl ..read more

The article entitled Last Stone Age hunter-gatherers avoided inbreeding: (https://cosmosmagazine.com/.../stone-age-genetic-inbreeding/ made me curious about the development of sibling marriage within the royal families of Egypt if strategies to avoid inbreeding appears to have developed as far back as the Stone Age. Image: Beautiful bust of a Lagid queen, either Cleopatra II or Cleopatra III, with the braids characteristic of Isis and the headband of royal status now in the collection of The Louvre courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Marie-Lan Nguyen. So I asked Gemini about this ..read more

Today I noticed the Thracian tomb of Kazanlak is set for inclusion in the National Atlas of Immovable Culture of Bulgaria. (See https://gazettengr.com/thracian-tomb-of-kazanlak-set-for.../ ) The Kazanlak tomb has a beautifully frescoed dome that includes this wonderfully detailed painting of a chariot race. Detail of a chariot race painted in the dome of the Kazanlak Tomb image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Psy Guy  The tomb is part of a large royal Thracian necropolis in the Valley of the Thracian Rulers near their ancient capital of Seuthopolis in a region ..read more

I've been working on more images from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii and here are some of those images from contributors to pompeiiinpictures.com. I've been using the latest version of Topaz Gigapixel AI to not only sharpen and denoise the images but double their resolution to make them more suitable for use in research and teaching. Under US copyright law, photographs of two-dimensional public domain art are considered public domain work as well and are recognized as such on Wikimedia Commons. So, these digitally enhanced images have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons for public use by US ..read more

 The Ara Pacis seems to be the target of local Roman politicians who apparently don't appreciate the structure that was erected around it. The article points out that the Ara Pacis was not originally located at its current location but moved there by Mussolini in 1938. Gemini points out that it wasn't just a simple relocation, however. "Original Location: The Ara Pacis wasn't moved directly from its original location to its current one. Its initial site was in the northeastern corner of the Campus Martius, a large open space in ancient Rome near the Tiber River. This area was roughly nort ..read more

 I watched Netflix's docudrama and, like Professor Paul Cartledge in his recent interview (https://www.thecollector.com/paul-cartledge-alexander-the-great-interview/), I thought Netflix overemphasized the possible physical aspects of the relationship between Alexander and Hephaestion as a lead-in to the program. I also thought the program did not really emphasize Alexander's intellectual prowess as it pertained to military strategy, especially in the dramatization of the battle at the Granicus River. Alexander did not charge headlong recklessly into the Persian troops immediately upon arr ..read more

 Another beautiful artifact from the collections of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington D.C. photographed by my good friend Allan Gluck - a fourth century CE fragmented gold necklace studded with cabochons (gemstones that have been polished but not faceted) of emeralds, garnet, pearl, and amethyst. Gold Roman necklace fragments with cabochons of emerald, garnet, pearl, and amethyst, 4th century CE, from Libya now in the collections of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington D.C. Image courtesy of Allen Gluck. Purchased from a private collector in 1977 Gold Roman neckla ..read more

These Roman treasures, solid gold medallions dated between 370-390 CE (I'm a little dubious about the dating as both of these sons of Constantine were already dead and had been subjected to damnatio memoriae before those dates), from the collections of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington D.C. photographed by my good friend, Allan Gluck represent the precarious existence of members of Constantine I's family. Gold medallions celebrating the consulships of Constantine's sons Crispus and Constantine II dated from 370-390 CE photographed at the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington D.C. by ..read more

A ..read more