Discoveries

This Sunday, thousands are expected to wake up early, take a couple of pounds of bacon and sausage from the fridge, and prepare a Bacon Explosion, the latest in excessive-fare (even replacing the turducken, which has been relegated to seasonal fare). Although many may amend their definitions for “rich” and “fatty” amidst the flash and glam of the Super Bowl, and perhaps justify their consumption by the large array of performances, a number of relatively mundane discoveries have been made recently.

Mark Aretz, an architect and renovator in eastern Germany, opened the door to an apartment that appeared to have remained untouched since 1988. He found a calendar on the wall turned to August 1988 and a variety of East German products; only one “western” product was found, a bottle of deodorant [all puns purposely omitted]. Apparently the occupant had to flee from the East German authorities and had abandoned everything, including a bottle of vodka.

In Istanbul archaeologists have discovered a grave that pushes back the date of first habitation 6,000 years (700 BC to 6,400 BC). The grave is located in a swamp and nearby they found evidence of houses constructed of tree branches.

At the AIA, Dr. James presented a paper which suggests that the Persians were the first to use “chemical warfare” against their enemies. The paper shows that Persians, in the 3^rd century AD, tunneled under the Roman city of Dura in modern Syria and ignited a mixture of bitumen and sulphur crystals to poison the Romans working in a counter- mine.