A recreation of the military sandals. (Photo: Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD))

The Roman Empire is renowned for its vast extent, reaching from England's moors to fertile crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates in the Near East. The Roman armies conquered this vast expanse over many years and emperors, with legions of soldiers stepping foot on far reaches of the empire. These conquering armies set up camp to rule the outposts of the empire, bringing Roman military culture and artifacts to locals. Evidence of this cultural dispersion through conquest was recently discovered in Bavaria, Germany. An ancient Roman sandal, largely decayed but reconstructed through X-ray, suggests the spread of military fashion to local populations.

The singular sandal was discovered near the city of Oberstimm, Bavaria, Germany. The site was once home to a military fort full of Roman soldiers and surrounded by civilian encampments. The sandal was found in the latter during excavations. The ancient civilians walked the site between 60 and 130 CE. During this time, the singular sandal found its way into the archeological record. Once discovered in the present day, it was in two pieces. Only the sole with nails and remnants of other material were present.

Archeologists X-rayed the sandal to learn more about it. The X-ray demonstrated the shoe was of the type known as a caliga. These were used by the military. They had tough soles with hobnails which provided traction for the troops. Many leather straps, as demonstrated by the artist's drawing, were tied up to encase and protect the foot. This design would have been more comfortable for marching.

By the end of the first century CE, the Roman army began using boots. However, clearly during their occupation of the fort in Bavaria, the Roman military footwear spread to the local civilian population.

“So-called caligae were mainly worn by Roman soldiers during the Roman Empire,” Amira Adaileh, Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD) said in a statement. “The find makes it clear that the practices, lifestyles, and clothing that the Romans brought with them to Bavaria were adopted by the local people.”

The remains of an ancient Roman army-style sandal in Bavaria, Germany, demonstrates the reach and regional influence of the conquering armies.

The sandal remains. (Photo: Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD))

An x-ray of the ancient sandals. (Photo: Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLfD))

h/t: [Live Science]

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READ: Ancient Roman Sandals Discovered in Germany

Perseid Meteor Shower as seen in 2017 from Egypt. (Photo: Ahmed abd elkader mohamed via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Summer is a prime time for meteor watching.The weather is great, the nights are warm, and the skies are putting on a show. As Earth enters the path of debris fields in space, the debris hits our atmosphere. The hot rocks burn up as they pass through our atmosphere, creating the trailing “shooting stars” that we see from Earth. A meteor shower is a stunning celestial event, and there are plenty of chances for American viewers to catch the spectacle in summer 2024. Chief among these is the annual Perseid Meteor shower, which due to the lower moonlight expected this year, will be particularly visible and exciting.

The Perseids will begin in late July, amping up to a peak on August 11 and 12, before tailing off through August 18, 2024. At peak, observers will likely see between 50 and 100 meteors in an hour. For the week leading up to August 12, the Moon is at less than 50% brightness, allowing the shooting meteors to shine. Meteor enthusiasts should be sure to watch in pre-dawn darkness for the best viewing, and intrepid travelers can hope to catch especially amazing views from national parks including Grand Canyon National Park. (See a list of the top seven dark sky parks to view the event from on Outside.)

In case you miss the Perseids, there are other smaller meteor showers throughout the summer. From late July to late August 2024, according to Space.com, six meteor showers will occur, including the “Capricornids, Delta Aquarids, Piscis Australids, Alpha Capricornids, Iota Aquarids, and Kappa Cygnids.” So get outside and observe these incredible sights. The Perseids have been fascinating humans since at least 36 CE when they were first recorded by observers, and they are just as incredible in 2024.

In the second week of August 2024, observers can expect to see an especially impressive display of the Perseid Meteor shower.

The shower seen in summer 2010. (Photo: ESO/S. Guisard via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)

The Moon will be at less than 50% brightness, making it a perfectly dark sky for the best viewing of “shooting stars.”

The meteor shower in 2007. (Photo: Brocken Inaglory via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

h/t: [Space]

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The Queen of Hearts as originally drawn. (Photo: British Library via Wikimedia Commons)

Think of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and you will probably see the grinning Cheshire Cat. Perhaps you see the Queen of Hearts with her neck frill and painted cheeks or the White Rabbit with his pocket watch. Images from this legendary book are embedded in English and American culture, with reference points and quotes that conjure iconic images.

But where did such iconic images begin? Before John Tenniel created the influential illustrations for the first published volume, author Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) sketched the product of his imagination in his own hand. In 1864, a little girl named Alice received a precious gift: a handwritten and illustrated manuscript by the author himself.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was a mathematician at Christ Church College, Oxford University. He first invented his legendary character Alice in 1862 on a boat ride on the River Thames when the three bored children of Christ Church's dean required amusement. Lorina, Alice, and Edith Liddell were the first young ears to hear about Alice's journey through Wonderland. Alice Liddell, whose name inspired the titular character, was reportedly enchanted.

She requested Dodgson write the story down, which he eventually did and presented it to her in 1864. Printed by hand and shorter than the later published version, the manuscript was beautifully illustrated throughout, as Dodgson proved himself not only a talented author but also a skilled artist. The book was then formally published in an expanded version with professional illustrations in 1865.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has been continually in print since its first release, enchanting new generations of children and adults. It was an immediate success upon release, changing the face of children's literature. To go back through the looking glass to where it all started, one must visit the British Library, where the original manuscript has been in its possession since 1948.

If you can't make it to London, the manuscript has been digitized and is available online. It's well worth a look, especially for those wanting to read the original, shorter, personalized version. Doing so allows readers to relive the characters and adventures as they were first imagined.

In 1864, a little girl named Alice received a precious gift: a handwritten and sketched manuscript by a mathematician named Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

Lewis Carroll's original manuscript drawings. (Photo: British Library)

Photo: British Library

Late published under the pen name Lewis Carroll, the book quickly became a bestseller called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Photo: British Library

Photo: British Library

h/t: [Open Culture]

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Photo: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Ancient cities carry ancient secrets under modern streets and buildings. One of the most interesting ancient cities of the Mediterranean, Constantinople, lies underneath and throughout what is now Istanbul, poking its historical fingers above ground throughout in in interesting ways. There's Hagia Sophia, the ancient church turned modern Mosque, or the ancient columns left behind by the city's Roman inhabitants. The city's fascinating history crosses empires and nations, continuing to reveal itself as archeologists expand their knowledge of what lies below the city. Recently, a series of tunnels and rooms under the ruins of the ancient Byzantine Church of St. Polyeuctus have been discovered and are being excavated, offering a window into early Christianity.

The tunnels consist of brick walls and arches, two rooms and a connecting tunnel. The subterranean complex seems to have linked to the above-ground church, which was constructed under the Emperor Justinian during the period from 524 to 527 CE. The underground portion connected to the prothesis above ground, part of an Orthodox church where the Divine Liturgy is prepared. The Divine Liturgy, still celebrated in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is the Eastern name for the Eucharist and was important in Byzantine Christianity. The exact use of these connected underground rooms is not known yet, but the remaining mosaics and carvings may eventually present clues.

The subterranean complex was originally discovered in the 1960s but was stopped up with earth for preservation. The area of the city in which the above-ground ruins lie is being revitalized, and Turkish officials intend to turn the ruins into an archeological attraction. Rediscovering the ruins and the former church has ensued. The church was finally destroyed in 1204 during an attack by European crusaders. Parts of the ancient building were carried away and repurposed in Europe, such as in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in 1453, the ruins were built over as the city developed. Its re-excavation and revitalization is just the next step in the ancient history of this plot within the ancient city. It has the potential to tell us much about the early practice of Christianity in the Byzantine Empire.

Under the ancient Byzantine Church of St. Polyeuctus, archeologists have discovered a network of brick tunnels and rooms used in some of the earliest days of Christianity.

Photo: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Photo: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Photo: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

h/t: [Live Science]

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François Antoine slaying the Beast of Gévaudan, 18th century. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Legends about werewolves are ancient. Mentions of men morphing into wolves appear in ancient Near Eastern, Nordic, and Greek literature and myths. The sensational nature of the mythical creature captures a sense of horror and magic that has endured from these ancient mentions to the modern Twilight. But the fearsome werewolves were particularly sensationalized in certain periods. For example, in 18th century France, a mysterious beast known as the Beast of Gévaudan savaged a rural village, killing over one hundred of the locals. This created a media frenzy surrounding just what this creature might be. Perhaps a werewolf?

Between 1764 and 1767, something “like a wolf, yet not a wolf” stalked the French locals, targeting women and children specifically. Described as much larger than an average wolf, it had a long tail like a feline. Its coloring was reportedly brown with a long black stripe and boasted talon-like claws. It stalked its prey and caused brutal damage, even decapitating many victims. While some survived these attacks by fending off the creature, it seemed to recover from wounds and escape efforts to capture it. The frequent attacks were so troubling and shocking that King Louis XV put a reward out for the animal and sent his hunters to try and capture it.

Near Chazes, the king's personal gunbearer shot a massive wolf, believed to be the monster. However, attacks continued for several more years. Across the Atlantic and the English Channel, newspapers worldwide reported on the beast and the deaths it caused. In 1767, the attacks finally concluded when a hunter, Jean Chastel, shot a massive creature. Autopsy records reveal there was still some confusion over whether it was, in fact, a wolf, but human remains were discovered inside the beast's digestion. The townspeople could finally rest easy, but the mystery of the beast has endured.

Today, the creature is often associated with werewolf legends, but many theories exist. Certainly, it may have just been one or more massive wolves, as wolf attacks were not uncommon in early modern Europe. Depictions of the beast are only mildly helpful, as they are likely vastly exaggerated and based on hearsay.

But its brown coloring and the stripe have created suspicion that a hyena or juvenile male lion escaped an aristocrat's menagerie and began terrorizing the neighborhood. Still, further speculation, especially based on the decapitations, has suggested a serial killer. This tragedy for the French village has continued to fascinate for centuries, inspiring a werewolf game similar to Mafia called Les Loups-garous de Thiercelieux (The Werewolves of Millers Hollow).

A French village was terrorized by a creature that has gone down in history as the Beast of Gévaudan.

Villagers attack the beast. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

The Wolf of Chazes on display. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

This mysterious werewolf-like creature captured the attention of trans-Atlantic audiences.

The London Magazine depicts the beast in 1765. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

h/t: [Open Culture, History.com]

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Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-SA 4.0

How a society records the world, depicting its known boundaries and contents, says a lot about belief systems, science, and more. For example, the ancient Hereford Mappa Mundi was drawn in 1300 and depicts the world through a medieval Biblical lens. Or there is a surprisingly accurate crowd-sourced world map created by a Venetian monk in the 15th century. There are also the 12th-century renditions of Muhammad al-Idrisi, an intrepid scholar and traveler. But the oldest map of the known world was not made on vellum or in Europe. It was actually carved in clay and preserved 2,600 years ago in what is now known as The Babylonian Map of the World or Imago Mundi.

Legendary archeologist Hormuzd Rassam discovered the fragment of a clay tablet bearing the map in the 19th century within what is today Iraq. The British Museum acquired it in 1882, and it is still part of the museum's collection. According to the museum, the schematic map is from the late Babylonian period and dates to roughly the 6th century BCE.

It features text in cuneiform script, as well as a sun-shaped drawing with mysterious incisions. Part of the drawing has broken away over time. But researchers have been able to decode the text and the meaning of the map's symbols, which are accompanied by text. The outer circle (numbers 14 to 17 in the schematic below) is the bitter or salty water, meaning the ocean. Babylon is number 13, right below a tall mountain. It appears the Euphrates cuts a channel through the city, marking its central place in ancient Near Eastern civilization.

The number 18, above the mountain, has been translated to “Great Wall, six leagues in between, where the Sun is not seen.” This is considered a reference to sunset, or perhaps a land of darkness thought to lie behind the mountains. However, the map does not stop at labeling the ancient known world of the Babylonians; it also notes the nearby kingdoms of Urartu and Assyria.

According to the accompanying text, mystical beasts frolic across this known world. Sea serpents, winged horses, and bull-man hybrids are noted. Panthers, deer, monkeys, and wolves also roam. The foundation of civilization, the ancient Near East surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, can tell us so much about human history—starting with how ancients viewed the world.

World maps tell us about how ancient people viewed their worlds, and The Babylonian Map of the World is thought to be the oldest example of a rendition of the world.

A schematic of the map, showing for example at 7 a swamp, at 2 a city, and at 1 a mountain. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

h/t: [IFL Science]

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Aganippe Fossa, the steep-walled canyon on Mars. (Photo: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

Mars is known as the Red Planet for its color shining in the night sky, one planet over from our Earth. Although appearing like a warm desert in many satellite images, the planet is actually shockingly cold, a fact with which any human mission will eventually have to contend with. Space exploration has devoted a lot of time and effort to gathering information on the neighboring planet with satellites and rovers dedicated to it. One such satellite is the Mars Express orbiter operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). Onboard is a High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) which recently sent some exciting images of Aganippe Fossa, a 373-mile (600 km) “scar” on the surface of the planet back to Earth.

Aganippe Fossa is what is technically known as a graben, which ESA defines as “a ditch-like groove with steep walls on either side.” It stretches for an impressive 373 miles, longer than the 277-mile length of the United States' Grand Canyon.

Topographical images representing the relative altitudes of the surface of Mars show the depth (in blue) of the canyon. The red to the bottom left of the image (below) indicates the rising slope of Arsia Mons, a volcano rising 5.6 miles (9 km) above the planet's nearby surface. It is one of several volcanoes in this region of Mars, known as Tharsis.

Aganippe Fossa likely formed due to the region's volcanic activity. According to the ESA: “It seems likely that it was formed as magma rising underneath the colossal mass of the Tharsis volcanoes caused Mars’ crust to stretch and crack.”

As if the planet has a stretchmark, the Aganippe Fossa holds a story of change. It also traverses two wildly different lanscapes as shown in the images. The rough leftmost half is called “hummocky terrain,” rocky hills and valleys. This transitions into “lobate terrain” which features more gentle slopes and rocky features. To the far right are “zebra stripes” created by winds whipping sand into patterns.

While the Mars Express continues to explore, each image it sends back—like this new one of Aganippe Fossa—expands our knowledge of the Red Planet.

The ESA’s Mars Express captured a new highly detailed image of a deep 373-mile-long “scar,” a narrow canyon, on the surface of the red planet.

Aganippe Fossa's region shown in different colors to indicate altitude. “Lower altitude parts of the surface are shown in blues and purples, while higher altitude regions show up in whites and reds, as indicated on the scale to the top right,” according to the ESA. (Photo: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

h/t: [Live Science]

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Photo: STUDIOSTOKS/Depositphotos

As you read these words, you can probably hear them being pronounced in your head. It's like listening to an audiobook or hearing someone read a fairytale's beginning. This process of reading aloud inside your head is very common, although some people try to purposefully eliminate the practice for faster reading. This internal speech is called subvocalization. Why humans have developed this habit and what it means for cognition are fascinating topics of scientific study. Subvocalization turns out to reveal a lot about speech, thoughts, and reading.

Researchers have hypothesized that subvocalization is a memory aid, allowing us to conceptually hold on to words as we read ahead to complete a passage's sentences. Dr. Russell Moul wrote about this phonological loop, as postulated by Alan Baddeley, for IFL Science. Under this theory, repeating in our head as we read keeps words in a cyclical sort of mental storage for language. Therefore, understanding what is read becomes like understanding speech. There is also evidence that subvocalization is helpful to reading comprehension, where concepts must be integrated mentally to understand a passage.

It is thought that subvocalization develops from our earliest experiences with reading. Young children learn to read by sounding out words and sentences, by reading aloud. Eventually as we get better at reading skills, the vocalization becomes internal. Subvocalization has been shown to correlate with parts of our throats, tongue, and other body parts that are used in audible speech. Nerve signals to the brain are also similar to speech. To some, subvocalization seems like a hindrance to reading speed, leading to efforts to suppress the internal monologue. By reading frequently, the subvocalization may become less distracting and reading speed can increase. But if you enjoy your inner “Audible,” you can rest assured it helps you process and appreciate the text.

Subvocalization is the internal voice that reads aloud inside our heads while we process text.

Photo: T.TOMSICKOVA/Depositphotos

This skill likely stems from how our brains process language as well as how children are taught to read by sounding out words.

Photo: PERIG76/Depositphotos

h/t: [IFL Science]

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Relics being manually retrieved. (Photo: National Cultural Heritage Administration)

China's history is long and varied, encapsulating an evolving artistic, political, and territorial landscape. One period of famous artistic significance is the Ming Dynasty, which was named after the house of rulers who spanned the period from 1368 to 1644. During this period, China expanded its trade with other nations, sending many ships to India and beyond, especially as its classic blue and white porcelain became incredibly popular in Europe. Some of these ships inevitably met watery ends, leaving behind shipwrecks that act as time capsules from centuries ago. Since 2023, archeologists have raised over 900 exceptional artifacts from two Ming Dynasty shipwrecks in the South China Sea, as announced by China's National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA).

The South China Sea lies in the Pacific Ocean beneath China and between Vietnam and the Phillippines. It was a frequent route for trade ships during the Ming Dynasty. The two wrecks were found in 2022, about 14 miles apart on the seafloor. They lie under nearly 5,000 feet of water. In 2023, a group of researchers from different institutions set about surveying and collecting artifacts from the wrecks, work which has been ongoing over the months. Submersibles were lowered to explore the wrecks and retrieve items, while cameras and laser technology were used to photograph and 3D-map the wrecks.

Thousands of artifacts lie within the wreckage. So far, 890 pieces from the first ship, including copper coins, porcelain, and other parties, have been retrieved. The second ship has produced 38 artifacts, including deer antlers, lumber, shells, and more pottery. Thousands of further discoveries lie in wait.

It's believed that the ships may have sailed from Jingdezhen, a center of porcelain exportation. The beautiful, colorful pottery and intricate vessels in the shape of animals are beautiful examples of Ming Dynasty art styles, mostly seeming to date to the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

“The discovery provides evidence that Chinese ancestors developed, utilized and traveled to and from the South China Sea, with the two shipwrecks serving as important witnesses to trade and cultural exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road,” Guan Qiang, deputy head of the NCHA, noted in a statement. Archeologists can excitedly look forward to further announcements about these remarkable finds.

Two ships sank in the South China Sea during the Ming Dynasty, leaving behind two recently discovered wrecks full of beautiful vases and other treasures.

Discoveries from the two South China Sea shipwrecks. (Photo: National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Discoveries from the two South China Sea shipwrecks. (Photo: National Cultural Heritage Administration)

The retrievals were conducted with a manned submersible named Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior). (Photo: National Cultural Heritage Administration)

h/t: [Smithsonian Magazine]

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An artist depicting Lokiceratops as it may have appeared 78 million years ago in what is now Montana. (Photo: ©Andrey Atuchin for the Museum of Evolution in Maribo, Denmark, CC BY-NC-ND)

Dinosaurs range from the tallest (sauroposeidon) to the smallest (alvarezsaur). New species are continually being discovered, and yet another unique species has resurfaced from ancient rock. This fancy four-legged beast discovered in Montana has ornate horns, inspiring its new scientific name Lokiceratops rangiformis. The discovery was announced in PeerJ.

Lokiceratops rangiformis was a massive beast that roamed Earth about 78 million years ago. Stretching 22 feet long and weighing 11,000 pounds, the dinosaur walked on four legs. It had a plant-based diet. As a ceratopsid, a type of horned dinosaur, its skull evidences its unique cranial structure. It boasts two “regular” horns on its forehead. Above that is a large bone frill that fans out behind the head. Atop this frill are two unique curling horns with tiny adjoining points, one smaller than the other. Hence the name given the new species, which honors the Norse god's horned helmet and the uneven nature of caribou antlers.

Lokiceratops also indicates that dinosaurs in the Montana and Alberta regions were more diverse and swiftly evolving than previously thought. “In addition to being one of the largest and most ornately decorated horned dinosaurs ever discovered, Lokiceratops also reveals an unexpectedly high level of richness in a Laramidia ecosystem,” Dr. Joseph Sertich tells IFL Science. Dr. Sertich is a paleontologist from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Colorado State University and was the study's lead author. “Even more surprising, three of the five horned dinosaurs that lived in this ecosystem are close relatives, revealing a surprising pattern of rapid, regionally restricted evolution in the centrosaurine group of horned dinosaurs, a pattern similar to birds and other animals that use display features.”

“Having a giant head like Lokiceratops required massive neck muscles to balance it on the body and lots of calories to grow as the animal matured,” shares co-author Dr. Mark Loewen, associate professor and vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Utah. “At the same time, it must have been so impressive to potential mates that it really was worth having such a huge head!”

This fancy dinosaur surely would have been impressive roaming its habitat millions of years ago, and its fossil remains impressive today.

Meet the Lokiceratops rangiformis, a massive four-legged dinosaur that roamed what is today Montana 78 million years ago.

Renditions of four centrosaurine dinosaurs who roamed together. (Photo: Fabrizio Lavezzi © Evolutionsmuseet, Knuthenborg, CC BY-NC-ND)

A Lokiceratops skull at the Museum of Evolution. (Photo: Museum of Evolution, CC BY-NC-ND)

h/t: [IFL Science, Gizmodo]

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