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I just put it here:

plato.jpg.b003e2b9b1fb7f6ab472fc64e5f8e0d2.jpg

11. The Greek philosopher Plato's real name is unknown, as "Plato" is his wrestling nickname.

16. Plato’s name is actually a nickname that means ‘broad’. It was given to him on account of his handsome, robust and well-built figure.

17. Plato won Pankration in the Olympics twice, a form of fighting that only bars gouging and biting.

https://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/plato-x-facts-about-historys-most-famous-teacher/87276581/

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Researchers Use AI to Read Ancient Mesopotamian Texts

 

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—Artnet News reports that artificial intelligence (AI) has been used by researchers from Tel Aviv University and Ariel University to translate ancient cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia into English. Luis Sáenz of Ariel University said that the use of AI is not intended to replace human scholarship, but could speed the process of translating the vast quantity of fragmentary texts in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages that have been recovered from archaeological sites. Artificial intelligence could eventually be used by Assyriologists and non-Assyriologists to read these texts, he added. “The future will require more tools to digitize data published in papers in order to keep training the model and to improve the results,” Sáenz concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PNAS Nexus. To read about thousands of cuneiform tablets unearthed at a Bronze Age city in Syria, go to "The Ugarit Archives." 

 

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/a-i-translates-ancient-cuneiform-2299128

Via archeological news

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Archeologists have discovered the oldest known building plans, estimated 8,000 to 9,000 years:

1397144306_GravierterFelsblockinJebelaz-Zilliyat.jpg.5d09c399a46227113511b6cc61833749.jpg

Those "desert kites" (for their form) were up to 5km and used to trap herds of animals.

https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/saudi-arabien-und-jordanien-aelteste-bauplaene-der-menschheit-entdeckt-a-610899e8-e46c-4875-aa8b-a8f31c2dd634

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0277927

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Abstract

Data on how Stone Age communities conceived domestic and utilitarian structures are limited to a few examples of schematic and non-accurate representations of various-sized built spaces. Here, we report the exceptional discovery of the up-to-now oldest realistic plans that have been engraved on stones. These engravings from Jordan and Saudi Arabia depict ‘desert kites’, humanmade archaeological mega-traps that are dated to at least 9,000 years ago for the oldest. The extreme precision of these engravings is remarkable, representing gigantic neighboring Neolithic stone structures, the whole design of which is impossible to grasp without seeing it from the air or without being their architect (or user, or builder). They reveal a widely underestimated mental mastery of space perception, hitherto never observed at this level of accuracy in such an early context. These representations shed new light on the evolution of human discernment of space, communication, and communal activities in ancient times.

 

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https://twitter.com/HeraklesCithare/status/1666706504647319553

Illustration : Massimiliano Pezzolini

Heart of the sanctuary of Asklepios superbly illustrated by Massimiliano Pezzolini. Pilgrims went there hoping to find healing through the power of incubation, i.e. through dreams, but the sanctuary also attracted the best doctors in Greece.

The marble tholos, erected in the middle of the 4th c. av. probably housed the serpents of Asklepios, healing animals of the god of medicine. The Doric temple includes an internal gallery with Corinthian capitals and a coffered dome.

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This was the heart of the sanctuary, which extended over a colossal surface and presented monuments as varied as they were numerous: Propylon, Katagogeion (hotel for pilgrims with 160 rooms), Hestiatorion (catering for pilgrims), gymnasium, stadium, theater ... But also baths, an altar to Apollo (the father of Asklépios), a temple to Aphrodite.

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https://twitter.com/Yellowriver478/status/1666579698405740545

The coin armour of the North American natives, belonging to the Tlingit people of the Yukon. Most of the coins used is from the Qing dynasty, ranging from the Shunzhi to Xianfeng periods, while the earliest is from Yongle period (1403-1424) of the Ming...
and those of the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors being the most popular. These copper coins may have been obtained from trade with Chinese or Russian merchants. The Tlingit had used such coin armour to make Russians' smoothbore muskets powerless.

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4 minutes ago, Gurken Khan said:

Assuming this doesn't point to intercontinental trade of the North American natives in the 1400s, there were tons of Ming dynasty coins just lying around and used as a commodity?

I think that most of the coins are from the Qing dynasty, only a few from the Ming. But yeah the Yongle coins were used massively for foreign trades so it was mostly used by foreign merchants:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yongle_Tongbao

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persian-windmills.jpg.080e73b2c3948a1e63e120a49eb82e10.jpg

 

In other news: the University of Tübingen has put a database online with 2,400 prehistoric sites.

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The role of culture in human expansions: Large-scale collection of digital data summarizes the results of 150 years of research and can be used by amateurs and scientists alike

Human history in one click: For the first time, numerous sites relating to the early history of mankind from 3 million to 20,000 years ago can be accessed in a large-scale database. Scientists from the research center ROCEEH ("The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans") have compiled information on 2,400 prehistoric sites and 24,000 assemblages from more than 100 ancient cultures. The digital data collection is available for free to scientists and amateurs and was recently published in the journal PLoS ONE.

https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/university/news-and-publications/press-releases/press-releases/article/database-with-2400-prehistoric-sites/

https://www.roceeh.uni-tuebingen.de/roadweb/smarty_road_simple_search.php

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The vikings, who came from Scandinavia, used iron as their main ingredient for forging weaponry, but it was also common practice to add the bones of dead animals to the mix. The belief was that it would infuse the weapon with the spirit of the creature, making it stronger, but they ended up making a primitive version of steel because of the carbon in the bones mixing with the iron making the weapon stronger, just as they thought it would.

(Supposedly true, via ebaumsworld)

 

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5 hours ago, Gurken Khan said:

viking.thumb.jpg.9516fd83c0fcdcec6627e722a969286f.jpg

The vikings, who came from Scandinavia, used iron as their main ingredient for forging weaponry, but it was also common practice to add the bones of dead animals to the mix. The belief was that it would infuse the weapon with the spirit of the creature, making it stronger, but they ended up making a primitive version of steel because of the carbon in the bones mixing with the iron making the weapon stronger, just as they thought it would.

(Supposedly true, via ebaumsworld)

mmmh I don't want to be judging without merit, but this seems like bullshit. Steel requires advanced metallurgy, not just adding carbon to iron like it's a Minecraft recipe. Besides, iron in nature is not pure. I'm not an expert though.

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Ancient polychrome wall found in northern Peru likely over 4,000 years old

LIMA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - An ancient polychrome wall discovered in northern Peru is believed to be over 4,000 years old and could have been part of a ceremonial temple, according to archaeologists, offering new insights into the region's historic cultures.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/ancient-polychrome-wall-found-northern-peru-likely-over-4000-years-old-2023-08-24/

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"These Roman swords were hidden in a Dead Sea cave—and they’re remarkably well preserved

The astonishing discovery in Israel of four swords from nearly 2,000 years ago evokes ancient rebellions and offers unprecedented opportunity for scientific investigation."

They seem pretty protective about their pics so I won't post any here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/roman-swords-spatha-cave-bar-kokhba-dead-sea

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Ancient Greeks Invented World’s First Telecommunications Device

hydraulic-telegraph.jpg.89c99cb4d59fbdd69c0c6f476971c1c1.jpg

 

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The hydraulic telegraph, invented by the ancient Greeks, had the capacity to send long-distance messages as early as the fourth century BC.

The ingenious apparatus is dubbed as the world’s first telecommunications device. It was designed for military purposes by Aeneas Tacticus with the purpose of more efficiently sending pre-arranged messages across the vast empire of Alexander the Great.

TL, DR: timed with torch signals, two messengers set off and stopped their apparatuses at the same time; the position they stopped in would convey the message.

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