Robin Fowler's Blog
Posted by Robin Fowler
The cat was a beloved member of most Egyptian families. Cats kept the pests away, helped hunt and fish for family food, and provided unconditional love and cuddle time with every member of the household. and when a household cat died, the Egyptian family would go into a period of deep mourning for their loss. They would shave their eyebrows as a sign of grief.
Cats would be mummified upon death, like their human masters. Like humans, feline mummification was a multi-step process performed by priests who were specially trained for the task. The steps of feline mummification included:
- removing the internal organs (except for the heart)
- stuffing the body cavity with sand
- placing the cat into a sitting position, to retain its lifelike quality
- wrapping the body tightly in linen strips
- painting a face and various symbolic designs on the wrappings with black ink
In mummifying cats, there were no chemicals used like there were in mummifying humans. The cat mummy was left to dry out naturally. When cats were placed in tombs, they were given bowls of milk and rodents. Their comfort for the journey into the afterlife was just as important for their humans.
Posted by Robin Fowler
The drachma was the standard currency of ancient and modern Greece (until Greece's switch to the Euro, anyway). Its origin can be creditied to the Athenians.
The word drachma comes from the Ancient Greek verb dratto, to group.
Before the Athenians began minting coins, they used small iron rods called obols as their currency. The average adult could hold or grasp six obols in his or her hand, and thus six obols became equal to one drachma, which became the basic denomination of Greek currency.
When the Athenians did begin minting coins around 510 B.C., the drachma continued to be used as the standard basic currency of Greece.
Posted by Robin Fowler
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is renowned for its vast collection of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art and artifacts. One piece stands above all the others, and has emerged as the unofficial mascot of the museum. Dubbed "William", a blue faience hippopotamus, dating to about 1900 B.C., it is a fine example of an ancient fornm of craft, known as faience, which is a type of glazed earthenware pottery.
William came to the Metropolitan Museum in 1917, when it was donated by Edward Harkness. William was originally discovered in 1910, in the Tomb of Senbi at Meir. William has captured the hearts of myuseum visitors ever since his arrival there, and reproductions of William can be bought, along with smaller figurunes, stuffed animals, and more.
William is only one of many, many faience hippos and other figurines that were crafted by the Ancient Egyptians. They were used as protective amulets and figurines in the home, and they were placed in tombs to protect and aid in the journey to the afterlife.
Posted by Robin Fowler
In the Roman baths, the warmer rooms (the tepidarium and the caldarium) had to be heated to certain temperatures and maintained in order to perform there given functions. How did the Romans achieve this? Through the magic of engineering and ingenuity.
The Romans developed a simple yet sophisticated heating method known as the hypocaust system. This hypocaust system worked by taking heat from the furnace room and allowing it to circulate underneath the floors and in the walls of the rooms, which would have created the heat or warmth needed. The level of heat needed would have been controlled by the amount of wood used in the furnace.
The caldarium would have been closest to the furnace, followed by the tepidarium. The floors of these rooms were raised during construction using pillars that created spaces through which the hot air could circulate. The tepidarium would have had these same spaces built into the walls so that the entire room would have been heated, creating the effect of a steam room.
Some Roman baths were heated more naturally. In the Roman provincial town located just beyond the River Avon, a local hot spring with a constant temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit was found. A city, aptly named Bath, was built there, which included the construction of a reservoir to control the 260,000 gallons of water that came to the surface each day. A large bath complex was built, of course, along with a temple and an altar. The springs at Bath became sacred, considered a place of healing, and drew visitors from throughout the Roman Empire.
Posted by Robin Fowler
Combining a little bit of the ancient with a little bit of modern, the new Seven Wonders of the World span five continents and seven civilizations from the past. Each represents a moment in history, and the amazing ability of human engineering and artistic vision. The new Seven Wonders of the World are:
- Chitzen Itza, Mexico
- Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- The Great Wall of China
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Petra, Jordan
- The Roman Colosseum
- The Taj Majal, Agra, India
While I was disappointed to see the Athenian Acropolis (as well as the Great Pyramids at Giza, an original wonder that is still standing after 4,000 years!) omitted from the list, I think that this list is a great overall representation of the evolution of architecture and engineering through the ages. What do you think?? Visit the discussion board and voice your opinion!
