George Araouzos

“The corruption of man is followed by the corruption of language" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@grahamscheper @ArmandDAngour To drench someone to the skin.When skin is submerged in water for too long, it can lead to maceration—a state of hyperhydration where the skin softens, wrinkles, and breaks down(wrenched skin)

[Sarah @Sarah404BC]

Northern Aegean Found to Be Earliest Producer of Commercial Amphorae 

https://t.co/uNPgxHPQq3

[CNN International @cnni]

Archaeologists working at the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt have unearthed a mummy with a passage from Homer’s “Iliad” stuck to its abdomen, in a first-of-its-kind discovery. https://t.co/2ARrFvC9ug

[Archaeo - Histories @archeohistories]

University of Kentucky researchers challenged computer scientists to reveal contents of carbonised papyrus, a ‘potential treasure trove for historians’, as they use AI to read word on ancient scroll burned by Vesuvius in 79 AD...

When blast from eruption of Mount Vesuvius reached Herculaneum in 79 AD, it burned 100s of ancient scrolls to a crisp in library of a luxury villa and buried Roman town in ash and pumice.

Disaster appeared to have destroyed scrolls for good, but nearly 2000 years later researchers have  extracted first word from one of texts, using artificial intelligence to peer deep inside delicate, charred remains.

Discovery was announced on Thursday (12 October 2023) by Prof Brent Seales, a computer scientist at University of Kentucky and others who launched Vesuvius challenge in March to accelerate reading of texts. Backed by Silicon Valley investors, challenge offers cash prizes to researchers who extract legible words from the carbonised scrolls.

“This is first recovered text from one of these rolled-up, intact scrolls,” said Stephen Parsons, a staff researcher on digital restoration initiative at university. Researchers have since uncovered more letters from ancient scroll.

To launch Vesuvius challenge, Seales and his team released 1000s of 3D X-ray images of two rolled-up scrolls and three papyrus fragments. They also released an artificial intelligence program they had trained to read letters in scrolls based on subtle changes that ancient ink made to structure of papyrus.

Unopened scrolls belong to a collection held by Institut de France in Paris and are among 100s recovered from library at villa thought to be owned by a senior Roman statesman, possibly Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, father-in-law of Julius Caesar.

Two computer science students, Luke Farritor in Nebraska and Youssef Nader in Berlin, who took up Vesuvius challenge, improved search process and independently hit on same ancient Greek word in one of scrolls: “πορφύραc”, meaning “purple”. Farritor, who was first to find word, wins $40,000 with Nader winning $10,000.

Race is now on to read surrounding text. Dr Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at University of Naples Federico II, said three lines of scroll, containing up to 10 letters, were now readable with more expected to come. A recent section shows at least four columns of text.

“This word is our first dive into an unopened ancient book, evocative of royalty, wealth and even mockery,” Seales said. “Pliny the Elder explores ‘purple’ in his ‘natural history’ as a production process for Tyrian purple from shellfish. Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus was mocked as he was clothed in purple robes before crucifixion. What this particular scroll is discussing is still unknown, but I believe it will soon be revealed. An old, new story that starts for us with ‘purple’ is an incredible place to be.”

As only intact library to survive from antiquity, there is immense interest in Herculaneum scrolls. Most of texts analysed so far are written in ancient Greek, but some may be Latin texts. Fragments have revealed letters from Philodemus’s work On Vices and Opposite Virtues, and details of Hellenistic dynastic history.

“Strong suspicion is that non-philosophical part of library remains to be discovered and here fantasy runs riot: new plays of Sophocles, poems of Sappho, Annals of Ennius, lost books of Livy and so on,” said Robert Fowler, emeritus professor of Greek at University of Bristol. “It would be great too to find so-called documentary papyri; letters, business papers, and so on; these would be treasure-trove for historians.”

“Reading words from within Herculaneum scrolls is like stepping onto moon,” Seales added. “Honestly, I knew that text was there, waiting for us to arrive, but arrival only happens at last step. And with such a talented team working together, reading words is that step into new territory and we’ve taken it.

© The Guardian

#archaeohistories

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@ArmandDAngour Ammonia was used in the leather tanning industry

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@ArmandDAngour ἐνούρηθρον

[Rafail Kaliviotis @rkaliviotis]

Απαγχόνισαν τον Ευαγόρα Παλληκαρίδη και η φυλακή σείστηκε διότι οι κρατούμενοι όλοι μαζί έψελναν το Χριστός Ανέστη! ΑΝΑΤΡΙΧΙΑΣΤΙΚΗ ζωντανή μαρτυρία. Αθάνατος!!!

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

Do you remember when you joined X? I do! #MyXAnniversary

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@turarchaeonews @PIELexicon Pot burials, known as enchytrismos, were extremely common in the Greek world and the primary practice for the burial of fetuses, babies and small children.

https://t.co/DAm6Tdjo99

[GEN (ret.) Konstantinos Floros @ChiefHNDGS]

🇨🇾 68 χρόνια πριν...

...θα πάρω μιαν ανηφοριά, θα πάρω μονοπάτια
να βρω τα σκαλοπάτια που παν στη λευτεριά....

Ζήτω η Κύπρος μας κι όσοι έδωσαν τη ζωή τους για τη Λευτεριά!

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

τό σαρανταήμερο μνημόσυνο
the forty day remembrance day after the funeral

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@OlaWikander …ἀστραπῆς ἐναύσεις…
Teshub god of sky, thunder, and storms.

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@andrewidy @FreshSummerWind Ώρα καλή ” is the expression

Ώρα καλή τζι ώρα χρυσή τζι ώρα ευλο(γ)ημένη …however “ώρες καλές”is also a greeting beyond the wedding invitation , possibly related to ὤρα, ἡ, akin to care, concern, heed, regard for a person or thing.

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@IoannisIoannou9 @hellenophron @ellenomatheia 🇨🇾έχω σε δείν

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@yakabikaj Crushed carob is made into a drink in Alexandria since Faraoh times.They actually use the same word for drink and carob Syrup actually uses fruit juice (anc. greek ὀπός) after having been dehydrated and sieved (anc.greek σειρόω)
Hence the etymology of σιρόπι σειρόω+ὀπός(syrup)

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

Carob does make a great drink at least in Egypt.Carob kibbled is strained and filtered and traditionally consumed in Alexandria during Ramadan .Etymologically from σειρόω(strain and filter)and οπός(fruit juice) hence sherbet
σειροω+όπος

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

@yakabikaj Σιρόπι: English sherbet : Spanish jarabe: Arabic sharab markaz
from anc. Greek σειρόω to strain, filter.

[George Araouzos @GAraouzos]

Anc.Greek ψαλτύρι,ψαλτούριν
from ψάλλω (πσάλλω) to pluck, pull, or to twitch similarly also σαντούρι, Santur, Santoor, or Pers.سنتور.

🇬🇷πανδούρι , πανδουρας (δουράς, τζουρας) also 🇬🇧banjo

All are chord instruments that are to be «twitched»to be played.