archaeology news for Feb 15-Feb 22

[archersangel]

2,000 year-old boxing gloves found

We know that the Romans liked boxing. Roman Emperor Augusts used to love watching matches, whether fought among professionals or street fighters, and he famously exiled the actor Pylades after he disrupted a match by giving the finger to a fellow spectator. Despite this popularity, it is rare to encounter boxing artifacts when digging around Roman sites, as boxing gear was mostly made of perishable materials, such as leather and wool. That’s what makes the recent discovery of a pair of boxing gloves so notable.

Secret of Roman 'Gate to Hell' Discovered

Two millennia ago, a small Greco-Roman temple in present-day Turkey awed and enthralled its residents. Just beyond its stone gate, in a grotto shrouded in a heavy mist, a strange force worked dark deeds: Bulls ushered inside would lie down and perish; the castrated priests in charge would emerge unscathed.

Was it the bloodthirsty will of Pluto, the god of the underworld? The supernatural power of the priests? New research published on Feb. 12 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences suggests a far earthlier explanation to the cave’s mystery: noxious carbon dioxide.