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Dalael posted:Hmm.. odds are Crassus raised his legions in the east, so most of those legionaires probably came from wherever that was, not Italy. Fair enough, but they were recruited from somewhere west of China.
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Jun 28, 2020 18:45
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Libluini posted:OK, I'll bite. We don't know who you are and where you live, why do you think illegal wood harvesters would go through the length of tracking down some random goon? I’m probably just overly worried. But there are a lot of old hardwoods that were used on ships (even on steel steam vessels) that are worth quite a lot. Some of them get used now in the highest end wood instrument manufacture. Some are even extinct now. I don’t know what this one is, but I know how heavy it is. I know it’s current color and probable geographic origin, and rough age. I don’t really want to know more. My in-laws didn’t pay a lot for it, but it was being valued as a ships wheel not as the wood.
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Jun 28, 2020 18:54
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Ola posted:Fair enough, but they were recruited from somewhere west of China. Oh definitely. By east, i mean Roman east. Syria, Egypt etc..
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Jun 28, 2020 19:01
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Bar Ran Dun posted:I’m probably just overly worried. This is so strange. But then again, we're living in a world where people steal dumb poo poo like manhole covers (Germany, for the iron) and entire bridges (Russia) all the time, so I can't really claim the idea of some dipshits going around to steal ancient historical artifacts to turn their wood into far less valuable instruments is surprising me. By the way, a couple of years ago right here we had people stealing beehives from a beekeeper (around 40-60k worth of bees) and right here in my state someone managed to steal wheat right from the field. When the farmer showed up to harvest, around 40k Euros worth of wheat was missing. It's mystifying, but stealing seems to be deeply ingrained in the Human DNA. 
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Jun 28, 2020 19:06
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Like they used to use blocks of lignum vitae for stern tubes bearings. A 3” x 3” x 12” of that might go for 50 to 150 USD depending on origin for something cut down now. Some older hardwood are... more than that. Bar Ran Dun fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Jun 28, 2020 |
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Jun 28, 2020 19:08
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Tree poaching is a $30 billion industry, and there's a huge black market in rare woods, particularly in China. There are teams of illegal lumberjacks flying helicopters into protected forests and stealing old-growth endangered trees, piece by piece. I don't think tree poachers are known to steal antiques, but for a rare enough wood it's plausible.
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Jun 28, 2020 19:34
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And I know it spent at least a century on deck in sea conditions and is still in good condition as wood. The ocean and being near the ocean just destroys things. I’m sure the iron parts were replaced maybe multiple times.
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Jun 28, 2020 19:59
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Badger of Basra posted:Probably fake history but still an interesting thread for the mythmaking parts of it: It's fun to see the kitsch, but yeah, they're not Romans. They've been DNA tested, there's nothing about anybody in that village that isn't local. They don't look very Han, but that's not a region where Han have ever been a majority so that's not surprising.
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Jun 28, 2020 20:20
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I lived in a town where some temporary housing was run up for army personnel and their families in the early 50's but then just sold off to the public and never demolished and apparently there was all sorts of rare woods in these houses because I met a guy whose side business was essentially just looting them. He said if one of these houses came on the market he would buy it up, perform a "renovation" that would strip the building of its valuable original materials but make it look like it had been spruced up, and sell it for more.
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Jun 28, 2020 20:34
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Ola posted:Speaking of owning old things, does anyone have any reproduction pottery in daily use? I wouldn't mind owning some Samian ware or orange/black figure, but they don't go very well with our interior. Particularly the Greek buggery... I would pay good money for some plates or something painted in the classic Greek art style but, like, using modern gym equipment. The shameful plate of someone doing curls in the squat rack, for which the gods will wreak a terrible vengeance.
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Jun 28, 2020 20:40
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Kylaer posted:I would pay good money for some plates or something painted in the classic Greek art style but, like, using modern gym equipment. The shameful plate of someone doing curls in the squat rack, for which the gods will wreak a terrible vengeance. Heh, that's an awesome idea. Perfect black figure, only Athena is DJing while the argonauts are losing their poo poo on the dancefloor.
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Jun 28, 2020 21:00
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Grand Fromage posted:It's fun to see the kitsch, but yeah, they're not Romans. They've been DNA tested, there's nothing about anybody in that village that isn't local. Also, we’re talking about a single group of men from two thousand years ago, not a wholesale migration or invasion. How big a difference could that one group make?
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Jun 29, 2020 00:43
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Libluini posted:This is so strange. But then again, we're living in a world where people steal dumb poo poo like manhole covers (Germany, for the iron) and entire bridges (Russia) all the time, so I can't really claim the idea of some dipshits going around to steal ancient historical artifacts to turn their wood into far less valuable instruments is surprising me. Let me tell you about the time a group of people stole 3 000 tones of maple syrup over the course of a year.
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Jun 29, 2020 02:52
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETAcIbzOTYs Jacob Geller made a fascinating video about theft of historical materials, in particular a story about some millenial who stole priceless preserved birds of paradise, stripped their feathers, and used them to make fly fishing lures.
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Jun 29, 2020 03:05
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Ola posted:Speaking of owning old things, does anyone have any reproduction pottery in daily use? I wouldn't mind owning some Samian ware or orange/black figure, but they don't go very well with our interior. Particularly the Greek buggery... Sounds like you need to redecorate.
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Jun 29, 2020 03:05
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Small Town China Rome, reminds me of when movies or media get set in a small town or filmed there you get a small explosion of tourism that fades away to a semi-ironic trickle. My knowledge of this is mostly limited to the PNW, but I have three examples. Forks: Twilight Snoqualmie: Twin Peaks Astoria: Goonies Obviously none are to quite the extent of what China was doing here, but you can see the kinda relics of a brief tourist boon following these things popularity.
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Jun 29, 2020 08:22
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Ola posted:Speaking of owning old things, does anyone have any reproduction pottery in daily use? I wouldn't mind owning some Samian ware or orange/black figure, but they don't go very well with our interior. Particularly the Greek buggery... Why not? Buggery goes very well with my interior.
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Jun 29, 2020 09:08
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Steely Dad posted:Also, we’re talking about a single group of men from two thousand years ago, not a wholesale migration or invasion. How big a difference could that one group make?
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Jun 29, 2020 09:16
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Jack2142 posted:Obviously none are to quite the extent of what China was doing here, but you can see the kinda relics of a brief tourist boon following these things popularity. Chinese villages really like going big on this stuff, there's a lot of it and it's all hilarious. They're just financial scams by the local government, which is one reason why they end up abandoned.
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Jun 29, 2020 16:39
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Grand Fromage posted:Chinese villages really like going big on this stuff, there's a lot of it and it's all hilarious. They're just financial scams by the local government, which is one reason why they end up abandoned. The only place I have seen successfully pull off this type of tourist kitsch in Washington is the town of Leavenworth in the Cascades and maintain it for decades. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leavenworth,_Washington Random Bavarian Themed Town that is one of the main local tourist "extended weekend" vacations in this state. Essentially the city government decided to pivot from like logging to tourism in the 60's and decided on a "Bavaria Theme" after partnering with some business guys in Seattle.
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Jun 29, 2020 20:27
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Phobophilia posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETAcIbzOTYs Thanks for linking this. I now have a new subject to read about, the Kingdom of Benin.
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Jun 29, 2020 20:48
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Dalael posted:Hmm.. odds are Crassus raised his legions in the east, so most of those legionaires probably came from wherever that was, not Italy. I think at that point legionaries were still all Italian; auxiliaries would have been recruited locally, the socii in Italy had only just been granted the franchise and allowed to join regular legions.
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Jun 29, 2020 21:28
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Jack2142 posted:The only place I have seen successfully pull off this type of tourist kitsch in Washington is the town of Leavenworth in the Cascades and maintain it for decades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenmuth,_Michigan theyre not even the only state to have had that idea 
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Jun 29, 2020 22:27
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Frankenmuth is pretty cool, actually. Half-decent pseudo-Bavarian food, a good place to get all your Christmas decorations bought (like a giant, indoor, Christkindlmarkt all year long), and as a bonus nobody screws up when spelling or saying my name.
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Jun 29, 2020 23:18
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Oberndorf posted:Frankenmuth is pretty cool, actually. Half-decent pseudo-Bavarian food, a good place to get all your Christmas decorations bought (like a giant, indoor, Christkindlmarkt all year long), and as a bonus nobody screws up when spelling or saying my name. How could people possibly misspell Ottovordemgentschenfelde von Tiesenhausen?
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Jun 29, 2020 23:51
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Oberndorf posted:Frankenmuth is pretty cool, actually. Half-decent pseudo-Bavarian food, a good place to get all your Christmas decorations bought (like a giant, indoor, Christkindlmarkt all year long), and as a bonus nobody screws up when spelling or saying my name. I'm sorry but zhender's chicken sucks rear end
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Jun 30, 2020 00:55
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WoodrowSkillson posted:I'm sorry but zhender's chicken sucks rear end I’m talking about their schnitzel. Their chicken is perfectly adequate American Fried (compare with Kentucky Fried), but the schnitzel is quite good.
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Jun 30, 2020 01:51
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Jack2142 posted:Snoqualmie: Twin Peaks Excuse me, North Bend. Edit: The intro is a drive from Snoqualmie to North Bend. Bar Ran Dun fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Jun 30, 2020 |
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Jun 30, 2020 03:53
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Jack2142 posted:Small Town China Rome, reminds me of when movies or media get set in a small town or filmed there you get a small explosion of tourism that fades away to a semi-ironic trickle. My knowledge of this is mostly limited to the PNW, but I have three examples. Can verify that Monteriggione has a small Assassin’s Creed shop that was probably bigger closer to the time the games were made.
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Jun 30, 2020 04:19
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Bar Ran Dun posted:Excuse me, North Bend. Look its a mix of North Bend & Snoqualmie.
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Jun 30, 2020 04:27
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WoodrowSkillson posted:I'm sorry but zhender's chicken sucks rear end If you go to an ethnic restaurant and order American food you usually get what you deserve.
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Jun 30, 2020 04:50
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Jack2142 posted:Look its a mix of North Bend & Snoqualmie. Here’s why it’s North Bend. If one goes out into Si view park on a nice day... it’s Heaven. The sky is blue, the mountains surround you, and a community appears normal and healthy. On a day with bad weather... you can’t even see across the street. The clouds descend to the ground. The community goes away, it’s just ones home and everything else is grey and secreted. There are days where you can see it snowing above you looking upwards but rain hits you. There is a neat microclimate, that’s not quite as present in Snoqualmie, and it’s the one that I think caused Lynch to pick the place as the intersection of dreams and reality and fetid underbelly of small outwardly happy communities. Snoqualmie is cool too. But it isn’t North Bend.
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Jun 30, 2020 05:34
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Way behind, but this is likely a great example of early gem treatment (I k ow I've talked about this one before, sorry if you're sick of it). This isn't a color/pattern combo you usually see naturally in agate, but it can be easily produced by soaking a common grey agate in honey and then burning it at the bottom of a dung heap. The layers have differential porosity and the hot reducing flames at the center of the heap gently carbonize the sugar, giving a brown to black color. Also essential for cameos as alternating, even black/white bands aren't super super common in nature, likely not enough to suppprt a lsrge cameo industry. Pliny laid out the method which is how we know the deets. The same process is done today on agate and opal, though of course with table sugar, and sulfuric acid is usually used to dehydrate and carbonize the sugar more directly. You could go to a gem show today and see cheap agate slabs with this kind of color next to unnatural pinks, blues, greens, etc (mostly done with more boring metal salt dyes). Outside possibility it's natural but I'd not rate it highly. In conclusion, MORE TAXES WHEN posted:That's a very cool chalice. Also, I read Suger as Sugar and was briefly very amused before I realized no, I'm just bad at reading. Scarodactyl fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Jun 30, 2020 |
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Jun 30, 2020 06:19
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Oberndorf posted:Frankenmuth is pretty cool, actually. Half-decent pseudo-Bavarian food, a good place to get all your Christmas decorations bought (like a giant, indoor, Christkindlmarkt all year long), and as a bonus nobody screws up when spelling or saying my name. Are they still better known for this than GVF?
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Jun 30, 2020 08:08
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WoodrowSkillson posted:I'm sorry but zhender's chicken sucks rear end That's why you go to the other place across the road. And then order the bratwurst.
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Jun 30, 2020 11:07
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Bar Ran Dun posted:Could be worse I accidentally had people googling Ram’s neck tape in the dangerous chemicals thread. There is an uh, farming, alternative to the marine tape I was referencing talking about securing hatch covers. that’s a rare form of wood that grows in the shape of a ships wheel. you can tell the age by how many spokes it has
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Jun 30, 2020 11:12
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I wouldn't like for my drinking cup to be forged in dung.
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Jun 30, 2020 14:43
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SlothfulCobra posted:I wouldn't like for my drinking cup to be forged in dung. That's fine, you can have one of the fine lead-lined mugs instead.
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Jun 30, 2020 16:50
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sullat posted:That's fine, you can have one of the fine lead-lined mugs instead. Only the finest skull vessel for me!
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Jun 30, 2020 17:26
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What was the experience like of transitioning from Roman polytheism to Christianity, for people who personally made that choice? Was it usually a sharp break, or was there a transition/syncretism, like praying to Jupiter and Jesus at the same time (or something like that)? I think Christian doctrine says there shouldn't have been anything like that, but for the average citizen I'm not sure how much they would have cared about that.
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Jun 30, 2020 18:53
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