""A Roman goblet could be an 1,600-year-old example of nanotechnology, according to experts. The mysterious Lycurgus Cup is made of dichroic glass and appears green when lit from the front and turns bright red when a light is shone on it from behind.
The chalice, which is on display at The British Museum, London, uses similar techniques to modern nanotechnology - the manipulation of materials on an atomic and molecular scale - which scientists believe could be used for everything from diagnosing diseases to identifying bioharzards at airports.
Scientists only solved the mystery of the color-changing chalice in 1990, after being baffled by its behavior for decades, Smithsonian Magazine reported.
After putting broken fragments of glass under a microscope, scientists found the Romans had impregnated it with particles of sliver and gold, which they ground down to tiny proportions - around 50 nanometres in diameter - a thousand times smaller than a grain of salt.
The precise amount of metals has lead experts to hail the Romans as 'nanotechnology pioneers' who really knew what they were doing. Archaeologist Ian Freestone, of University College London, who researched the cup and its unusual optical properties, called its construction an 'amazing feat'.
The cup appears to change color as when light hits it as the flecks of metals' electrons vibrate in ways that seem to change the color, depending on where the observer is looking at it. The chalice was used to hold drink on special occasions and experts believe that when it was filled, the behavior of the vibrating electrons changed, as well as it's color.
Gang Logan Liu, an engineer and nanotechnology expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign told the publication: 'The Romans knew how to make and use nano-particles for beautiful art.'
Of course scientists could not investigate the effects of the one-of-a-kind cup by filling it with liquid. Instead, they reportedly imprinted billions of little wells onto a piece of plastic the size of a postage stamp and sprayed them with gold and silver nano-particles to essentially re-create the special configuration of the cup.
The scientists then poured different liquids into the wells to note the effect they had. When they filled a well with water it turned the surface light blue, while pouring oil inside turned it bright red.""
""An ominous soundtrack of bass drums and woodwinds thumps throughout the dimly lit exhibit.
“POMPEII: The Exhibition” is dark in lighting and mood.
It is also a hauntingly beautiful glimpse into daily life in Pompeii, an ancient Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. The featured exhibit at Pacific Science Center lives up to its tagline that what nature destroyed, it also preserved.
The massive eruption of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano six miles from the city, killed an estimated 20,000 of Pompeii's citizens. The city sat quietly beneath the ash for centuries, before being unearthed by a Spanish archaeological team in the 18th century.
The 150 artifacts are impressive in range and thought-provoking in subject matter.
A vast collection of paintings, ceramics, mosaics, jewelry, gladiator armor, coins, kitchen utensils and elegant marble sculptures seem untouched by time. The artifacts preserved by the layers of ash are a testament to the impressive skills of their craftsmen.
The Romans had an eye for design. Even the smallest details remain visible in their work, from the tiny etches on jewelry, coins and candle-holders to perfectly symmetrical patterns adorning massive porcelain sculptures, tableaus and fountain bowls.
The Pompeiians created masterful art and architecture. They entertained guests in lavishly decorated open-air rooms. They ate well, drank too much, made jokes about drinking too much, went to the gym and enjoyed shows at the amphitheater.
The artists of Pompeii were candid about their vices. Artwork from the period reveals the society's alcoholism and unabashed promiscuity. From the bathhouses to the brothels, the exhibit doesn't exclude any corner of the city.
Most of the displays are suitable for kids. There is a posted warning for parents before the erotic artifacts.
The exhibit never loses sight of the human tragedy caused by the eruption. Most of the 20,000 victims were asphyxiated by extreme heat and noxious gases.
Preserved by volcanic ash and filled with plaster when first unearthed, their bodies replicate the same poses held when killed by the eruption.
Throughout the exhibit, visitors can be heard whispering to each other about “the bodies,” though they are not actual bodies. Displayed behind glass, they are plaster models of the original casts made of the victims.
The bodies are memorialized by their will to live: Figures of men, scrambling up a flight of stairs together. A pregnant woman. A young child.
The exhibit comes to a close with a five-minute time-lapse film of Pompeii's destruction, complete with computer-generated imagery, strobe lights, fog machine and surround-sound of buildings crumbling.""
Ash and Brimstone:
""Researchers at a site near Italy's northeastern border with Slovenia have discovered the hidden remains of the oldest known fort from ancient Rome. The site, which is in San Rocco, in the Trieste province, is the only Roman fortress discovered in Italy, and it may have been built to defend against people from the north, whom the Romans called "pirates."
The findings are described in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the researchers believe the fort could explain the Roman army's rise in power. The team believes the hilltop fort, which spans 32 acres, was built in 178 B.C.E., which dates it back several decades further than previously discovered Roman forts. They made the impressive find using Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) scanners from a helicopter over the area, as well as ground radar techniques.
Researchers believe the "pirates" in question were the Histri, who controlled the Istrian peninsula, Ancient Origins explains. The site includes a main camp and two smaller camps, and the researchers believe the camps were used until the foundation of Tergeste, which would eventually become the modern Trieste.
Now that the radar has located the site, scientists are planning a full-scale archaeological excavation at the fort. The fort could provide important clues about the Roman Republic's military as well as Trieste's founding."" Meghan DeMaria
