Adventure Ausrama Blog

There is proof that the Roman Empire had trade links with Pangkung Paru in Bali in Southeast Asia. This is a revelation. It was thought that Rome conquered most of the known world, but knowledge of far away Asia must have been commonly known on Europe. An oval stone sarcophagus was found and it was excavated by the Bali Institute of Archaeology (BALAR). It contained the largest collection of Roman gold-glass beads. Moreover, there were also bronze mirrors from China. People did not stay in their home villages in those days. They travelled widely. Trade from Europe to far Asia blossomed on the mid 1st-millennium. However it was not thought to have happened this far back. Another four burial sites in Pangkung Paru yielded bronze artifacts, shells, gold ear pendants, and more gold-glass beads as well as Chinese bronze mirrors. A second sarcophagus had a bronze drum and artifacts draped around the individual's skull. The gold-glass beads were from the time when Rome occ...

SOCIOLOGY It was believed that the Romans were the peak civilization of the time and their toileting methods were hygienic. A quick look at the after toilet cleaning mop used by all would suggest otherwise.  It was a stick with a lump of sponge tied to the end. A tale, tale sign during Roman times was the increase in parasites. In the Iron Age they were virtually nonexistent. Fleas and mites were prevalent on all citizens of Rome. Whipworm and roundworm lived comfortably in their bodies. Getting the "runs" was routine. We know this because parasites survive for centuries in human faeces from ancient latrines and soil where the pelvis area was in human remains. Why did the Romans fail. Note, there were no tomatoes around to add natural MSG to meals and make it tastier. The Romans made their own MSG. It was a fermented fish sauce called garum. However, this made humans prone to tapeworm. Not only that, they fermented raw sewerage to enhance food. Worth a menti...

Police are upgrading detective work from fingerprints to "nose prints". It seems we all have different noses, so we can be identified by surveillance cameras. While fingerprints and iris scans are being used for "signing in" and entry to premises, work on identification by nose shape is being ramped up. A lot has been done on ear shape, which also differs quite markedly from person to person. People tend to cover everything but their noses when they are up to no good. Another thing is, if a suspect does not cooperate he/she can be identified by the shape of their nose. Plastic surgeon Dr Peter Callan says some noses are easy in determining a person's identity. For example, there is the classic Roman nose, Greek nose, turned-up, snub and hawk nose. Cameras that film in 3D give a very accurate picture of nose shape. However, to take a picture this way a person has to be moving quite slowly. It would be okay for prisoners. For general camera surveillance, whe...

How were ancient buildings constructed? They followed instructions of course. Archaeologists in Italy have found building directions on structures near Potenza. The actual identity of workers has been ascertained. Greek artisans contributed to the palace at Torre Satriano. Friezes had numbered feminine marks on them while cymatiums had male markings. Ornamental figures were replicated in molds. It seems pre-Roman people had architects in their midst who looked to the past for inspiration. The buildings were notably Greek in character. Much of daily life even today derives from established ideas. The ancient builders must have had records kept for such purposes. So culture strongly influenced life in the past. The tried and true was the norm for society. Until today people have resisted change. Indeed, many in our time are uncomfortable with the rapid pace of scientific endeavor. Will the Renaissance occur again? Probably it will when Mankind's experimentation runs out of steam...

If Man was pushed back into the stone age men would have to get women to fight for them. Men have become real cissies with all the modern amenities. Even laborers today don't do much laboring. Trench diggers and Bobcats are the order of the day. Even farmers use mechanised fence hole diggers. Professional fighter don't do it tough any more. They demand all the luxuries. Take for example ice hockey players. it is deemed to a be tough sport with fights breaking out in just about every game, but with all the protection there are few injuries from the physical clashes. If you were a Roman gladiator you could lose your life or have to fight on with painful injuries. Why are sporting records being broken you say? The reason is due to the greater opportunity for those with preferable genes to succeed at sport as children, not because athletes train harder. As a child I was awed by my father's capacity to carry two one cwt bags of cement, one on each shoulder. He was quite a small ...

Things have been falling from the sky for hundreds of years with no solid explanation. It has been claimed that marble pillars from ancient Rome fell gently to earth a century or so ago. This is deemed to be just a story, but Frogs, fish, worms and squid being dumped onto the earth during rainstorms is fact. The main theory is that they were picked up from small shallow ponds by whirlwinds. This is just theory and has not be proven. Indeed, no one has observed actual "pick up" occurring. When a fall has taken place more of the same can be expected. The species of frogs and fish are not always local. They are from different climes than the dumping location. Such passengers of storm have one thing in common: they are generally small. Although stories of small creatures falling with rain are usually much the same, some cases are truly extraordinary. Fish fell from the sky during a Singaporean earthquake in 1861. Leonard Bourne was running in a rainstorm in 1966 in Australia when...