Medieval History
The earliest depiction of Scottish tartan has been discovered ? on a fragment of a Roman statue.
The bronze statue once stood on top of a giant triumphal arch in the ancient Moroccan city of Volubilis, in the south-west corner of the Roman Empire, 1500 miles from Scotland. It depicted the Emperor Caracalla ? the self-styled conqueror of the Caledonians ? riding a six-horse chariot.
The statue, erected 1800 years ago, was destroyed centuries ago, and only a three-foot-long fragment of the emperor's cape remains in a museum in Rabat. Remarkably, the surviving bronze includes the image of a captive Caledonian warrior ? wearing tartan trews.
Dr Fraser Hunter, of the National Museum of Scotland, yesterday identified the carving ? inlaid with bronze and silver to give texture to the Scottish weave ? as the "first-ever depiction of tartan".
Click here to read this article from The Scotland Herald
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Medieval History
'First tartan' discovered on statue of Roman emperor
The bronze statue once stood on top of a giant triumphal arch in the ancient Moroccan city of Volubilis, in the south-west corner of the Roman Empire, 1500 miles from Scotland. It depicted the Emperor Caracalla ? the self-styled conqueror of the Caledonians ? riding a six-horse chariot.
The statue, erected 1800 years ago, was destroyed centuries ago, and only a three-foot-long fragment of the emperor's cape remains in a museum in Rabat. Remarkably, the surviving bronze includes the image of a captive Caledonian warrior ? wearing tartan trews.
Dr Fraser Hunter, of the National Museum of Scotland, yesterday identified the carving ? inlaid with bronze and silver to give texture to the Scottish weave ? as the "first-ever depiction of tartan".
Click here to read this article from The Scotland Herald
- 'capitoline Wolf' Could Be 1,700 Years Younger
A study has shown that the ?Capitoline Wolf,? a bronze statue representing Ancient Rome's most famous symbol, was probably sculpted during the Middle Ages, some 17 centuries later than what has long been thought, media reports said Saturday. Researchers...
- Ancient Statue Reveals Prince Who Would Become Buddha
In the ruins of a Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan, archaeologists have uncovered a stone statue that seems to depict the prince Siddhartha before he founded Buddhism. The stone statue, or stele, was discovered at the Mes Aynak site in a ruined...
- Romulus And Remus Symbol Of Rome Could Be Medieval Replica
The symbol of Rome ? a bronze she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the city ? may be a medieval replica rather than a 2,500 year-old Etruscan creation, it was claimed yesterday. The bronze statue, which encapsulates the mythical...
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In recent weeks pre-excavations have begun in Turkey's Kaynarca District, near the village of Uzunalan where a 2000 year old Roman statue was discovered. This lovely find of a sculpted torso ? with no head or legs and missing one arm ? was most...
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Martin and Georg of Klausenburg: St. George Prague, National Gallery I haven't had a lot of time to update my blog recently - but I thought I would post this for St. George's day. The image above depicts what may be the most beautiful statue...