Ancient Discoveries

Ancient Roman coins depict sundry sexual acts, but what were they for? The Romans  loved sex . The wrote  graphic poetry  about it, and  scrawled x-rated graffiti  on their city walls. They even emblazoned currency with depictions of sexual acts. But what purpose did this coinage serve?  Fair warning:  numismatic pornography after the jump – potentially NSFW. RELATED The Lost City of Pompeii: Pictures of an Alien World, Frozen in Time In the year 79 AD, Italy's Mt. Vesuvius erupted with superheated ash that rained fiery death on several Roman cities nearby. But none was hit… Read… The graffiti of Pompeii was downright raunchy, and absolutely hilarious Before being entombed with ash by Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii was a thriving city. There was government, there was infrastructure — and yes, there was…  Read… The racy coins in question are known as "spintriae." A single spintria is typically a little smaller than a m...

Israeli archaeologist: 'I have never found so much gold in my life!' Gold treasure trove unearthed at base of Temple Mount Byzantine-era coins and unique menorah medallion found by Hebrew University archaeologists at site abutting Southern Wall By  ILAN BEN ZION   September 9, 2013, 11:12 am   31 Share 1115 Email Print Share Byzantine-era gold coins found near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount (photo credit: courtesy Ouria Tadmor/Hebrew University) WRITERS Ilan Ben Zion Ilan Ben Zion is a news editor at The Times of Israel. He holds a Masters degree in Diplomacy from  …  [More] Follow or contact: Twitter RSS NEWSROOM Email Facebook Twitter RELATED TOPICS JERUSALEM ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL Hebrew University researchers on Monday announced the discovery of a rare trove of Byzantine-era gold and silver artifacts, the most impressive of which is a 10-centimeter solid gold medallio...