Pliny the Elder

The paper focuses on the interpretation of Roman Italy and its geographical borders in the Early Modern period, with particular attention to its rebirth in Biondo Flavio’s work - Key words: Italia romana, historical borders, regiones, Augustus, Pliny the Younger, Decretum Rubiconis, Alpine districts, Augusta Praetoria,  tropaeum Alpium, La Turbie, Aquileia, Histria, river Formio,  Tridentum.

(forthcoming publication)
The aim of this article is to show how statistical analysis can improve our knowledge of the language and style of the second book of Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia (astronomy). After a brief summary of previous studies on Pliny the Elder’s language and style, we introduce L.A.S.L.A. statistical tools and methods. In the second part we apply these tools to compare syntactically Naturalis Historia II and Seneca’s Naturales Quaestiones VII, in order to highlight the main differences in the structure of the sentence, as well as pragmatic features which emerge on a statistical ground. In the last section, we proceed with a factorial correspondence analysis on a corpus of Latin texts, to show which texts are associated with Naturalis Historia II.

Na podejście starożytnych Rzymian do przeszłości zwykło sią patrzeć jedynie przez pryzmat źródeł historiograficznych. Często pomija się tymczasem to, jak na tę samą przeszłość patrzono po za kontekstem historiografii, jak historia była odbierana przez ludzi zajmujących się na co dzień innymi dziedzinami wiedzy, jak postrzegali ją gramatycy, encyklopedyści, autorzy podręczników szkolnych, czy traktatów rolniczych, wreszcie dlaczego, w  jaki sposób i w jakim zakresie w ogóle autorzy tego typu dzieł odwoływali się do zamierzchłych wydarzeń i postaci.

This article (written in German) traces the history of the monstruous or marvellous races of India (called Indian or Plinian races, too), the monsters that almost ubiquitous appear in Medieval art and literature. Unfortunately, due to limit of space, the allegorical interpretation of the monsters had to be left untouched. Instead it is argued that these monsters are still pretty alive today - although in far away regions, of course.

In Making Mesopotamia: Geography and Empire in a Romano-Iranian
Borderland, Hamish Cameron examines the representation of the
Mesopotamian Borderland in the geographical writing of Strabo, Pliny
the Elder, Claudius Ptolemy, the anonymous Expositio Totius Mundi,
and Ammianus Marcellinus. This inter-imperial borderland between
the Roman Empire and the Arsacid and Sasanid Empires provided
fertile ground for Roman geographical writers to articulate their ideas
about space, boundaries, and imperial power. By examining these
geographical descriptions, Hamish Cameron shows how each author
constructed an image of Mesopotamia in keeping with the goals and
context of their own work, while collectively creating a vision of
Mesopotamia as a borderland space of movement, inter-imperial
tension, and global engagement.

When the Early Imperial Roman writers imagined the cultural processes taking place in the newly-conquered Gaul, they frequently had recourse to a rhetoric that can appear strikingly similar to some later, colonial narratives of civilizational improvement and the abolition of nefarious ritual life. I will focus on the possible local informants of those Romans who, according to our literary sources (e.g. Pliny, Suetonius), rooted out the Druidic rites from Gaul. How did a Roman administrator recognize the forbidden ‘Druidic’ parts of Gallic ritual life? Who acted as the subaltern middlemen for the Romans in this process, and did they have any influence on the direction of the Roman gaze? This paper seeks to explore whether we might be able to use colonial analogies, particularly from British India, to aid us in distinguishing the knowledge-generation practices of the Roman administrators in the Early Imperial religious ‘middle grounds’ of Gaul.

In 3rd century BC, like a part of the global process of Hellenization of the Roman culture, Hippocratic medicine arrived to Rome. Between year 219 BC, when is attested the first Greek physician in the city, and the 2nd century AD, when Galen of Pergamon developed a doctrine which laid the foundations of western medicine, a succession of medical professionals made possible the progressive importing and assimilation of Greek allopathy in italic soil. In this way, a foreign element turned into a characteristic and representative component of Roman culture. The aim of this paper is to analyze the socio-cultural features that characterized this process of scientific diffusion. To this end, we propose a combined study of literary and epigraphical sources that refers to physicians who made possible this development.

In Book 35, chapters 147-148 of his Natural History, Pliny the Elder offers valuable information on female painters from the Greek and Roman worlds 2. I reproduce below the Teubner text of Mayhoff 1897, followed by my own translation: 1 — This short note was inspired by the piece cited in the bibliography by Jerzy Linderski, who presented a characteristically acute critique of my ideas in nuce while simultaneously offering encouragement. His support of this paper says more about his qualities as a scholar and colleague than the fact that I respectfully dedicate it to him. I also thank Gil Renberg for sharing material in advance of publication and Jacqueline Fabre-Serris for suggesting publication in Eugesta. Finally, the notes below acknowledge my debt to the careful and thorough reports of the journal's two referees. 2 — For bibliography on all these figures but Iaia see Kansteiner 2014: 4.767-768 = #3571, which dates them to the period between 300 and 150 BC; for Iaia, see Kansteiner 2014: 5.445-446 = #4054. Known female painters not in Pliny include Helena, who depicted the battle of Issos (Kansteiner 2014: 4.245 = #3052), and Anaxandra, daughter of Nealkes (Kansteiner 2014: 4.727-728 = #3518). Renberg (forthcoming) adds Hermione, a self-identified painter from a second century AD epigram (Geagan 2011: 309 = V591); cf. too Anthologia Palatina 6.355 [Leonidas]. Two frescoes from Pompeii and now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples depict women painting on tabulae (PPM 4: 75 [V. Sampaolo] = Helbig 1868: 341, #1443; PPM 5: 414 [I. Bragantini] = Helbig 1868: 342, #1444).

Urolithiasis is a common worldwide problem with high recurrence. This review covers forty four (44) families starting from alphabet A to L and includes Bignoniaceae (05) Juglandaceae (01) plant used globally in different countries. The plants of three families Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae are revisited to provide updated information. This review will not only be useful for the general public but also attract the scientific world for antiurolithiatic drug discovery.

Celem tekstu jest przedstawienie magicznych, a w szczególności apotropaicznych zastosowań części ciała hieny, na podstawie fragmentu Historii naturalnej Pliniusza Starszego. W artykule opisuję biologiczną specyfikę tego zwierzęcia oraz jego znaczenie w kulturze, by na tej podstawie zastanowić się nad rolą i praktycznymi zastosowaniami tekstu Pliniusza w kulturze rzymskiej. Opisuję również związki pomiędzy rzeczywistymi właściwościami hieny, jej wizją w kulturze oraz rolą w magii.

An astonishing record of the knowledge of a civilization, The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition catalogs everything known to exist from the perspective of a fourteenth-century Egyptian scholar and litterateur. More than 9,000 pages and thirty volumes—here abridged to one volume, and translated into English for the first time—it contains entries on everything from medieval moon-worshipping cults, sexual aphrodisiacs, and the substance of clouds, to how to get the smell of alcohol off one’s breath, the deliciousness of cheese made from buffalo milk, and the nesting habits of flamingos.

Similar works by Western authors, including Pliny’s Natural History, have been available in English for centuries. This groundbreaking translation of a remarkable Arabic text—expertly abridged and annotated—offers a look at the world through the highly literary and impressively knowledgeable societies of the classical Islamic world. Meticulously arranged and delightfully eclectic, it is a compendium to be treasured—a true monument of erudition.

Abstract
This article examines the longstanding rivalry of Rome and Parthia, which began as an unintended consequence of Crassus’ decisive defeat at Carrhae in 53 BCE. It synthesizes the accounts and opinions of numerous Graeco-Roman writers from the Augustan Age to late antiquity in order to help illustrate the new and interconnected post-Carrhae world and its legacy. The rivalry of the Romans and Parthians became a primary focus of their foreign policies and drastically expanded their perceptions of the world in which they interacted. Even after the fall of the Parthians to the rebellious Sassanid Persians in the 220s CE, the Romans continued to find their three-century-long rivalry with the Parthians of interest and relevant to the changing world of late antiquity.

Static levitation is a form of marvel with metaphysical implications whose long history has not previously been charted. First, Pliny the Elder reports an architect's plan to suspend an iron statue using magnetism, and the later compiler Ampelius mentions a similar-sounding wonder in Syria. When the Serapeum at Alexandria was destroyed, and for many centuries afterwards, chroniclers wrote that an iron Helios had hung magnetically inside. In the Middle Ages, reports of such false miracles multiplied, appearing in Muslim accounts of Christian and Hindu idolatry, as well as Christian descriptions of the tomb of Muhammad. A Christian levitation miracle involving saints' relics also emerged. Yet magnetic suspension could be represented as miraculous in itself, representing lost higher knowledge, as in the latest and easternmost tradition concerning Konark's ruined temple. The levitating monument, first found in classical antiquity, has undergone many cultural and epistemological changes in its long and varied history.

RESUMEN En este artículo se hace un análisis del pasaje de Plinio el Viejo, Historia Natural, 6, 202-205 sobre las Islas Afortunadas, destacando especialmente la información de Juba II de Mauritania como fuente del mismo. PALABRAS CLAVE: Plinio el Viejo. Islas Afortunadas. Juba II de Mauritania. Canarias en la Antigüedad. ABSTRACT «An approach to Pliny the Elder's text (book VI, 202-205) about Fortunatae Insulae». This article provides an analysis of Pliny the Elder's fragment, Natural History, 6, 202-205 about the Fortunate Islands, with special attention on the information of Juba II nd of Mauretania as a source for this fragment. KEY WORDS: Pliny the Elder. The Fortunate Islands. Juba II nd of Mauretania. The Canary Islands in the Antiquity. Juba II de Mauritania, nacido el 52 a.C. en el seno de la familia imperial númida, fue hijo de Juba I, rey de Numidia, cuyo suicidio, tras la derrota a manos de Julio César en la batalla de Tapso el 46 a.C. (McDermott, 1969: 857), determi-nó que la infancia del joven príncipe se viera bruscamente interrumpida y cambia-se totalmente de escenario. Tras este acontecimiento, el reino de la Numidia se convirtió, en su mayor parte, en provincia imperial, y en Roma César tomó al niño Juba bajo su protec-ción y gracias a ello cultivó la amistad de Octaviano, que prosiguió amparando al joven príncipe desheredado después del asesinato de César y que le dio una gran confianza al llevarlo a algunas de sus campañas militares más exitosas (Dión Casio, LI, 15, 6). De esta manera, para recompensarle por la ayuda prestada, quizás, en Accio, y en la Guerra de los cántabros (Dión Casio, LIII, 26, 1), le otorgó, el 25 a.C., junto con las insignias de su reino, el gobierno de la Mauritania que él mismo había asegurado después de la muerte de Boco II el año 33 a.C., incluyéndolo en la esfe-ra administrativa romana bajo la autoridad de un prefecto ecuestre.

Alloys that went under the name of Corinthian Bronze were highly prized in the Roman Empire at the beginning of the Christian era, when Corinthian Bronze was used to embellish the great gate of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. From the ancient texts it emerges that Corinthian Bronze was the name given to a family of copper alloys with gold and silver which were depletion gilded to give them a golden or silver lustre. An important centre of production appears to have been Egypt where, by tradition, alchemy had its origins. From an analysis of the earliest alchemical texts, it is suggested that the concept of transmutation of base metals into gold arose from the depletion gilding process.

The dissertation thesis titled Animals in magical context in literary and epigraphic sources in the area of Roman Empire is centred around the research of the presence of animal ingredients in the ancient magic within the three types of sources - Greek magical papyri, curse tablets and the literary work of Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis. The result of this research is the list of all animal ingredients present in the texts of Greek magical papyri and within the texts of curse tablets, their analysis and comparison with the work of Pliny the Elder. As the part of the thesis there is also included a corpus of selected texts of Greek magical papyri with original slovak translation (Addendum 1) and the table with the list of all animal ingredients (Addendum 2).

This is from a paper which I had written some time ago. The basis for discovering and confirming this is the work of Sir Ronald Syme; particularly, his paper titled 'Domitius Corbulo' (JRS, 1970-71). The subject of which is quite informative. We find, for instance, that (Sextilia) Vistilia was the common (or mutual) ancestor of many illustrious Roman families. Now, the original paper/s of Syme did not go into the detail that will be found in my family tree charts. This is partly because his work stopped short of going a few generations further, and because he was not publishing conclusions based upon the use of alias or alternate names in ancient history.

Classical and Oriental sources tell of a precious metal called Corinthian bronze. They agree that it was an alloy of copper, gold, and silver. Together they describe various stages in its manufacture-heat treatment, quenching, leaching, and burnishing. In addition, the Leiden papyrus X attests to a process of depletion gilding, whereby an alloy containing gold could acquire a golden surface hue. The process that can be pieced together from all these sources turns out to be essentially identical with that re- constructed by H. Lechtman and D.A. Scott for the tum- baga of the pre-Columbian cultures of South America. Experimental reconstruction produced a golden hue even in an alloy containing as little as 15% (by volume) of gold. Silver was found to be a necessary constituent for the gilding process. Some recent scholarship has suspected the accuracy of the ancient accounts, supposing instead that Corinthian bronze simply meant all bronze from Corinth, or alternatively a high-tin bronze invented in Corinth. In fact, however, Corinthian bronze was characterized by the admixture of precious metals and a special process of manufacture, exactly as specified in the ancient sources.

Substantial archaeological finds of Roman oil and wine installations have been uncovered in the Near East and analysed in detail by archaeologists, constituting a significant body of evidence for this important activity of the ancient rural world. The implications, however, have yet to be incorporated into the historiography of Roman technology, which has focussed on western European press technologies. This body of evidence necessitates a fresh review of the literary evidence, which has for so long been the basis of historical accounts. Co-authored with Paul Burton (ANU)

This paper offers a detailed discussion of Pliny naturalis historia 16, 249–251, maybe the best known passage on druids in ancient literature. Pliny’s famous description of druids culling the mistletoe from oaks fundamentally influenced the modern picture of Celtic religion. On the other hand the informations this text presents are far from being unproblematic as can be seen from the disonant opinions in scientific literature. This paper tries therefore to assess what actually can be yielded from Pliny’s testimony. Not only the wider context but also Pliny’s general attitude towards druids and Celtic religion are taken in consideration. Furthermore Pliny’s source(s), his botanic accuracy, and the single elements of the mistletoe rite are thoroughly examined.

Though foundational to the study of art history, Greco-Roman visual culture is often sidelined by the modern, and overshadowed by its own cultural and intellectual reception. Recent scholarship, how- ever, has meticulously unpacked the discipline’s formative narratives, while building on archaeological and literary studies in order to locate its objects of analysis more precisely within the dynamic cultural frameworks that produced them, and that were in turn shaped by them. Focusing on a passage from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History (arguably the urtext of classical art history), this paper explores the perennial question of how the material stuff of antiquity can be most effectively yoked to the thinking and sensing bodies that inhabited it, arguing that closer attention to ancient engagements with materialism can alert us to models of image-making and viewing that are both conceptually and physically grounded in Greco- Roman practices of production, sense perception, and interpretation.

In this paper, I argue that the main legacy of the geography
of Augustan Italy is the very construction of the concept of region. The nature of region which I delineate is based on the dialectics between the ethics of regula, proper to regio, and the ethics of action/movement/change, proper to chora. Regio and chora are the two identities of region emerging respectively from Pliny’s and Strabo’s description of Italy. I aim to explain why region, qua being, in my view, both regio and chora, is the model for any other cultural «cutout» in the continuum of sense.

Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié un corpus de dix textes latins abordant des questions astronomiques telles que la forme de l’univers et de la Terre, la description des constellations ou le mouvement des astres et des planètes, à savoir les Aratea de Cicéron, le livre IX du De architectura de Vitruve, le De astronomia d’Hygin, les Astronomica de Manilius, les Arati phaenomena de Germanicus, le livre II de la Naturalis historia de Pline, une large portion du Timaeus a Calcidio translatus commentarioque instructus de Calcidius, les Aratea d’Aviénus, certains chapitres des Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis de Macrobe et, enfin, le livre VIII du De Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae de Martianus Capella.

Cette recherche avait pour objectif d’une part de comprendre ce qu’était le savoir astronomique pour les auteurs de ces textes et d’autre part de voir quels étaient les moyens à leur disposition pour transmettre cette connaissance. Pour ce faire, nous avons jeté un regard double sur notre corpus : alors que notre plan a été essentiellement guidé par une enquête épistémologique abordant les grands thèmes de l’astronomie antique – autrement dit, le contenu –, notre analyse a été quant à elle davantage concentrée sur la forme, tant logique que rhétorique, de ces exposés.

Nos analyses nous ont permis de mieux comprendre l’aspect didactique de toutes ces oeuvres, aussi diverses soient-elles quant à leur genre, en repérant un certain nombre de procédés littéraires qui leur étaient communs, parmi lesquels nous trouvons la triple mise en scène de l’homme qui observe les phénomènes célestes, de l’homme qui raisonne du ciel lui-même.

An analysis of the language and techniques used by Pliny the Younger to depict his uncle as a hero, and in turn portray himself as equally fortunate in Epistle 6, a letter conveying  their actions during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  (2014)

Form and function of light in architecture between Antiquity and the Fifteenth Century, through the analysis of the texts of Pausanias, Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder, Julian of Ascalon, Isidore of Seville, Pius II Piccolomini, Leon Battista Alberti and Antonio Manetti.

The article is devoted to the 37th book of the «Natural History» of
Pliny the Elder, On Gems. Various approaches to the interpretation and
translation of Pliny’s names of gems and concepts associated with them are considered with references to works in geology and gemology, as well as to the first experience of academic translation of the last five books of «Natural History» (33–37) by academician V. M. Severgin (1819). Pliny's distribution of gems in groups is analyzed, a hypothesis is proposed about the meaning of the Latin adjective candidus in the gemmae candidae group of colored gems, as referring not to their color, but to some special optical properties known in modern gemology (asterism, irisation, opalescence, etc.). The influence of the 37th book of «Natural History» on the practices of collecting gems, including those preserved in modern mineralogical museums, is considered.

Novgorodova D. D. «In Pliny... chrysoprasus is not chrysoprase, nor is topazus topaz or sapphirus sapphire». In INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS AND CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY – XXIII ((Joseph M. Tronsky memorial Conference). Proceedings of the International Conference, St. Petersburg, 24–26 June, 2019 / edited by Nikolai N. Kazansky. Part II (pp. 635–1208). St. Petersburg: Nauka, 2019 . P. 796-822.

Новгородова Д.Д. «У Плиния и хризопраз не хризопраз, и топаз не топаз, и сапфир не сапфир» // Индоевропейское языкознание и классическая филология – XXIII (чтения памяти И.М. Тронского). Материалы Международной конференции, проходившей 24-26 июня 2019 г. / Отв. редактор Н.Н. Казанский. Второй полутом (сс. 635-1208). СПб.: Наука, 2019. С. 796-822.

(THE abstract BELOW IS TO BE TAKEN AS TAGS AND KEY WORDS  THAT GOT JAMMED TOGETHER I WILL UPDATE SOON)
GOOD NEWS IS THE BOOK IS IN GOOD CONDITION !!

INTRODUCTION Gaius Plinius Secundus—usually called Pliny theEldertodistinguishhimfromhis nephewand ward, Gaius Phnius Caecihus Secundus, whose coUectedcorrespondence has preserved suchavivid pictureofRomanlifeinthetimeofTrajan—belonged toafamilyofwealthandpositionintheNorthof Italy. HewasbornatComoina.d.23. Afterstudy-ingat Romehestartedwhentwenty-threeyears oldon anofRcialcareer,servinginGermanyunder L.PomponiusSecundus,andrisingtothecommand ofacavalrysquadron. Sevenoreightyearslaterhe camebacktoRomeandtookupthestudyoflaw.
DuringmostofNero'sprincipatehelivedinretire-ment,buttowardsthe close ofit he re-entered pubhchfeandbecameProcuratorinSpain. Heheld thispostuntilVespasianwontheprincipate,whenhe returnedtoRomeandwasadmittedtotheEmperor's intimatecircle; theyhadbeenacquaintedinearher dayswhenatthefrontinGermany. Healsolaunched into another field of activity, receiving a naval commission.
Throughouthis busycareeras amanofaction hehadkeptupaconstantpracticeofstudyand authorship. Hisinterestinsciencefinallycosthim hislife,attheageof56. Hewasincommandofthe fleet at Misenumon the Bay of Naplesina
Ancient, Gree,k Egypt  near east , Israel , Greece , Archeology  , Archeological, island  , Mediterranean Sea. Black sea ,

Would you like to see actual and genuine photographs of scenes and people from the past, on the very day that Pompeii was buried? You can see them now in this document, which examines paranormal and trans-time photography, also serving as an introduction to trans-time photography, a little-known branch of paranormal photography in which images from the past, or more rarely, the future, appear on photographs.

The amazing images in 'Furious at the Royal Wedding' were extracted paranormally from TV footage.

Containing over 450 very clear, unusual and rare paranormal photographs, among the subjects covered are incredible trans-time photographic images from the day Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24th AD 79, and which are included in the document.

You will be able to see - in color - poignant photographic images of people and scenes as they were on that day almost 2,000 years ago. The images were extracted paranormally from footage of the ruins.

¿En la antigua Macedonia se impartían clases sobre la historia de Argantonio y las aventuras de los griegos en Tartessos?

Argantonios, el rey de Tartessos que reinó durante 150 años en un ostracon griego contemporáneo.

Georgeos Díaz-Montexano | The Epigraphic Society

En las orillas del “Golfo de Tesalónica” o “Golfo Termaico”, en las ruinas de lo que se considera la antigua ciudad de Sindos (Σίνδος) mencionada por Heródoto1, se halló un posible ostracon sobre asa de copa ática de barniz negro de mediados del siglo V a. C., aunque la fecha es solo aproximada, podría ser incluso de finales del VI o principios del V a. C.

En el mismo se halló un grafito con el inesperado nombre de un personaje que hasta el momento del hallazgo solo aparecía mencionado en copias medievales de los escritos de algunos autores griegos y romanos de la antigüedad clásica. El inesperado texto permitía leer el nombre de Argantonio, pero escrito de una manera algo extraña, lo que llevó a una doble lectura, y con ello, a la duda de si realmente se trataba del mismo célebre rey tartésico, Argantonio, citado por Anacreonte, Heródoto, Plinio y otros importantes autores de la antigüedad…

Leer el resto del artículo en http://atlantisng.com/blog/argantonios-el-rey-de-tartessos-que-reino-durante-150-anos-en-un-ostracon-griego-contemporaneo/

In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder refers to a series of paintings left unfinished at the artist’s death. These inperfectae tabulae are ‘held in greater admiration than their completed works’, for they display not only the final traces of each artist’s hand, but also his ‘very thoughts’. While Pliny’s comments have influenced notions of the non finito, less attention has been paid to their significance for his broader ethical and intellectual project. This essay attends to the facture and materiality of the objects that Pliny celebrates, as well as the subjects that they depict.Whilst conventional works are celebrated for their illusionism, the unfinished object offers a different model of viewing, in which the workings of ars are revealed by means of the traces of the artist’s body. Suspended in a state of coming-into-being, the inperfecta tabula invites both a temporal retracing of its own creation, and a connoisseurial fantasy of its imagined completion. Repeatedly returning to themes of parental loss, death, and aborted creativity, the discourse of the unfinished painting evokes cultural
and biological bonds between parents and children that parallel the corporeal connection between the artist and his work.

Symbolika miodu w świecie grecko-rzymskim, pozornie dobrze znana, odsłania ostatnimi czasy swoje nowe znaczenia: jak się okazuje, starożytni znali miody z domieszkami i wykorzystywali je jako środki halucynogenne lub trucizny. W artykule zawarto opis miodu różanecznikowego: starożytne przypadki zatrucia tymże miodem oraz historię badań nad nim. Miód ten, nazywany miodem szaleńców, został przynajmniej raz wykorzystany w starożytności jako broń biologiczno-chemiczna, kiedy to Heptakomeci mieli otruć nim armię Pompejusza podczas pościgu za Mitrydatesem. Dzisiejsze badania nad tureckim miodem z różanecznika wskazują na to, że współczesny turecki miód szaleńców "deli bal" to najprawdopodobniej ta sama substancja, a swą szkodliwość zawdzięcza on zawartości grajanotoksyny.

This is a compilation of what is known about the Germanic people of the north during the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 B.C - 100 A.D). Using ancient primary sources as well as other disciplines such as archaeology and linguistics I address everything known about their tribes, religion, government, and lifestyle in this essay.

Side note: I wrote this because I was playing Rome II Total War as the Suebi Confederation and after attempting to research what was known of my faction I found there was little written on this people in general. I felt I needed to change this!

THE FANTASTIC CAVAGLIÁ CROMLECH AND OTHERS GAMBARI HERITAGE IN THE BIELLA TERRITORY, AND BEYOND

The false cromlech of Cavaglià (Piedmont, Italy) was built by the authoritarian imposition of an official of the Archaeological Superintendence of Turin (F.M. Gambari), complete with recourse to the Carabinieri force, a considerable expense by the Municipality, supervision by the Superintendency and trumpeting on national and foreign magazines by of another official of this  (F. Rubat Borel).  Its falsity is demonstrated, by the author, on the basis of geological and historical-environmental basis, as well as by the judgments of professional archaeologists, from which it emerges that it is an unreal reconstruction, a "stupidity".
And this is just one of many such enterprises in the Biella region and beyond, by the same official.  For the Biella territory a some of them had already been highlighted, especially as regards the area of the Bessa Park (Roman gold mines): the disinformative tables, the alleged archaeological cupels of Zubiena, the alleged stele of Vermogno, the substantial funding for the restoration of the presumed Castelliere di Mongrando (locally defined as a monument to idiocy), the expenses for the abstruse highlighting of the double washing channel (defined by the author as another monument to idiocy). Then there is the story of the famous Elvo river pseudo-pirogue (better known as pirloga) which still hovers in the Biella Museum where it was replaced by a  pirogue of  the Bertignano lake, in a false torrential context set up for the presumed semi-finished Elvo pirogue (which is why the structure is still called the "pirloga museum"). Furthermore, ideological falsifications are not limited to the pirogue, and also there are material errors.
And then there are the alleged Mazzé stele, the fantasies on Viverone Lake, the alleged remains of Roman gold mines in Ossola region, the mineralogical and mining bestialities on the Ticino ones, highlighted in part by the author, in part by other experts.
However, the official has always been "covered" and strenuously defended by the reference body, the Superintendency, although this was well aware of his fantasies and errors: in fact, it has never published, in the specific newsletter, informations about the work of this official and the public money he used.
The behavior is to be related to the last topic dealt, the "alleged presence of the Salassi peoples in the Biellese area and their exploitation of the Bessa gold mines".  From the documentation collected, it is more than evident that, in order to obtain remarkable funding from the Ministry, in 1987 the Superintendency, supported "scientifically" by the officials Brecciaroli Taborelli and Gambari, prepared a "package" full of speculations and inventions: it then continued to support the falsehoods, also through other officials, despite the contrary evidence reported and published by the author, and continues despite the recent archaeological finds that prove the contrary, that ones recognized by themselves, but falsely attributed to Gambari who had repeatedly claimed the opposite.  Consequently, the falsehoods of the officials are accepted by many unconscious authors, Italian and foreign, confident of the authority of the Superintendency, as well as by professional archaeologists and university professors, forced by arrogant bureaucrats, less prepared than they, to prostitute themselves, morally and intellectually, to be able to operate in Italy. Some examples, shown in the article illustrate the issue.
With the public administration reform underway, which would like to introduce merit as a basis for assessing the career of public officials, our Superintendency is stubbornly opposed and would like to silence the past management and even beatify its recently deceased official.

What did Pliny have to say on the matter of stone? A lot, that's for sure: He dedicated 2 out of the 37 books of his "Naturalis historia" to stones. The paper explores what and how he wrote on the matter. It is part of the annotated anthology "Stein. Eine Materialgeschichte in Quellen der Vormoderne" (Stone: A Material History in Pre-Modern Sources).