Archaeologists have discovered that wealthy black Africans lived in Roman Britain in one of the country’s earliest examples of multiculturalism.
Scientific research techniques have established that a lavish grave containing a woman’s skeleton, an ivory bangle, perfume bottle, mirror and jewellery, belonged to a North African member of York’s high society in the 4th century.
Scientific analysis of isotopes from the teeth revealed that water she drank during her childhood had contained minerals likely to have been found in North Africa. Skull measurements have also established that the “Ivory Bangle Lady” was black or of mixed race.
Her sarcophagus, which was made of stone, a sign of immense wealth in Roman Britain, was discovered in 1901 in Bootham, York. The city was then a legionary fortress and civilian settlement called Eboracum, founded by the Romans in AD71.
Her well-preserved remains showed that she was 1.5m (5ft 1in) and aged between 18 and 23. There were no signs of a violent death, and muscle markings showed that she had not lived a strenuous life, suggesting that she was affluent. Among the goods found in her grave was a bone with the inscription “Sor ave vivas in Deo” (Hail, sister, may you live in God), suggesting that she may also have been a Christian.
A bracelet of jet, probably from Whitby, North Yorkshire, showed that she had access to local trade networks. Researchers from the University of Reading’s department of archaeology believe that the ivory bangle, an artefact rarely found in Roman Britain, may have been kept by the woman as a memento of home.
Hella Eckardt, who carried out the study, said: “Multicultural Britain is not just a phenomenon of more modern times. Analysis of the ‘Ivory Bangle Lady’ and others like her, contradicts assumptions about the make-up of Roman-British populations as well as the view that African immigrants were of low status, male and likely to have been slaves.”
She said that “Ivory Bangle Lady” was very wealthy — “absolutely from the top end of York society”.
“The link between slavery and Africans is an early modern one. In the Roman world this simply was not the case. Slaves in Roman times could come from any area.”
She added that inscriptions from that period showed that African people were most often members of the imperialist power’s army. But the latest research on a series of skeletons showed that African men had immigrated to Britain, invariably with the Roman Army, and had brought their wives and children.
Dr Eckardt continued: “We’re looking at a population mix which is much closer to contemporary Britain than previous historians had suspected. In the case of York, the Roman population may have had more diverse origins than the city has now.
“This skull is particularly interesting, because the stone sarcophagus she was buried in, and the richness of the grave goods, means she was a very wealthy woman.”
The research, A Lady of York; migration, ethnicity and identity in Roman Britain, is published in the March edition of the journal Antiquity. The “Ivory Bangle Lady” will be the centrepiece of an exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum in August entitled Roman York: Meet the People of the Empire.
12/02 Update on CLC site situation from Keith Toda, Co-moderator of the Cambridge Latin list:
"Today, I have been in communication with Jim Harmon, CUP NA Classics Specialist, about the CSCP website and its subscription status. Here are a few things to pass along:
1) Subscriptions to the site became available this past Monday, but there have been some glitches with folks signing up.
2) Non-subscribers will be able to access the first two stages of each CLC UK book for free (note - the CLC UK series is a FIVE book series), so stages 1, 2, 13, 14, 21, 22, 29, 30, 35 and 36 are available for folks to look at freely in order to consider whether they wish to subscribe.
3) Payment is only by credit card via PayPal. Subscriptions are good for one year (beginning with the day you subscribe). I would assume that you would have to re-enter student information at the beginning of the school year.
4) Read over the Frequently Asked Questions section carefully.
5) The whole subscription process is still a work in progress, so if you wish to pursue this option, there may be a few glitches. Today, there appeared to be some, but they have been taken care of.
As the site appears now, it would probably be helpful if there were something on it, explicitly stating that it is now a subscription site.
Please remember that though we here on this side of the Atlantic do use this site, it is by nature a British site for the CLC UK series. CUP North American cannot do anything regarding the site itself or its management procedures."
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Cambridge School Classics Project Down
Latin teachers on the various lists and forums have been reporting that the free web-based Cambridge Latin Course activities on the Cambridge School Classics Project have been made "temporarily unavailable" to a lack of funding to support the site. Efforts are underway to find a solution. This is the message currently found on the site:
"Sorry, but the page you requested is unavailable.
Due to changes in our finances, the CLC and CLA Stage pages are not currently available.
CSCP is part of the University of Cambridge. We are very sorry to report that as of 1st August 2009, CSCP's financial situation has been significantly altered. As a result we are not currently able to provide free web-based materials to support the Cambridge Latin Course or the Cambridge Latin Anthology.
Timeline update: 29th October
We are sorry to announce that, due to the sudden death of a member of our team, these pages will now by available again in mid-November rather than mid-October.
Funding update: 29th October
We have so far been unable to find a suitable source of funding and, as a result, it is likely that a moderate charge will be made for access to the materials. The annual cost of access is likely to be as follows:
Schools and school students: $30 per school per year, plus $2 per student, with a minimum of 20 students. (i.e. the minimum annual cost to schools will be $70, which will include access for 20 students.) A school wanting access for, e.g., 50 students would pay $130 ($30 for the school and $100 for the students).
There is no upper limit on the number of students who may be given access.
Students and staff will be able to access the website from home or from school.
Homelearners: $10 per user per year.
We hope this level of charging will be acceptable.
To be informed when this happens, enter your email address and click Submit."
If you are interested in hearing from them , you will need to provide your email address.
Meanwhile, if you are looking for alternative, interactive websites where students can find Latin quizzes and activities, Richard Popek has compiled a significant number of activities at the Quia website, specifically keyed to Cambridge:
Click on the box "Cambridge Latin Course".
Under the heading "Electronic materials", click onto the hperlinked "Online Activities"
If the CSCP site returns, here are the directions for use.
To access these free resources just choose a book from the menu shown at this site. For Books I, II, III and IV you can:
1) explore stories,
2) test your understanding,
3) test your vocab,
4) use a dictionary,
5) practice the language and
6) follow web links into the cultural life of the Roman world.
Feeling like playing some games? Try NUGAE LATINAE:
Ms. Chester D-262
Voice mail: (978) 534-7715 x 459 E-mail: linda.chester@leominster.mec.edu
Text Series: The Cambridge Latin Course
I. Latin Notebook:
• This should be a separate, divided section in a 3 ring binder. Please set it up by the individual Stages (chapters) using dividers. Each Stage will have its own culture sheet, derivative sheet, comprehension questions for the stories, grammar sheets, and text exercises (About the Language and Practicing the Language). You will need to keep your handouts, class work and homework assignments here throughout the year.
II. Classroom Expectations:
• Please be respectful to yourself, your teacher, and your classmates.
• Please be seated at your assigned desk when the bell rings. Seating is alphabetical. Group work will be assigned by row. Always bring your covered text, #2 pencil, blue/black pen, and 3-ring notebook.
• Please contribute to the class discussion positively and pertinently. Please do not interrupt!
• Please do not waste class time with requests for a pass unless you need to see the nurse.
• Consequences: warning, teacher detention, referral to dean/advisor/parent contact
III. Your Work
• You are expected to complete class work, homework assignments, quizzes, and tests in a timely manner. Class work/homework and quizzes must be done in blue/black pen.
• If you are absent from class, YOU are expected to:
a. Consult my web page (Student-Parent URL: http://magistra.gradeweb.com) OR with me
before/after class bell) for details on assignments/quizzes which were missed.
b. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out the work/assignments missed.
• All homework assignments must be submitted within three school days of the absence. At the top of your heading, write ABSENT followed by the date(s) of your absence.
• Quizzes and tests must be made up in class by the 2nd day you return from the excused absence, unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as a lengthy absence. Generally, one day of grace is given for each day you are absent for an extended time.
IV. Grading Policy
• Your quarterly average is weighted as follows: Homework 20%, Class work 20%, Quiz 20%, and Test/Project 40%. Homework will be corrected in class. Expect at least ten each of your class and homework assignments to be collected at random. There will be a vocabulary quiz and a test at the end of each Stage in the CLC book. Projects will be assigned in the 1st and 3rd quarters.
• Late submissions (unless due to an excused absence) earn a maximum of 60% credit. Any late homework must be submitted by start of the next class. Late project work will result in the loss of 10 percentage points for each day late.
• Your grades will be available on line this year at: http://magistra.gradeweb.com You (and your parents) will receive a password to log in after schedule changes are complete. You will also receive an individual printout of your grades at the middle and end of each quarter.
• Failure to put your name and date on the top of any work submitted results in the automatic deduction of one point each. If you are submitting a PTL or ATL assignment, you are required to list page number(s), exercise letter/number and questions. E.g. p. 8, ex. B, #1-5. No torn, crossed out or scribbled papers accepted.
V. Extra Help:
• Thursday 2:15-3:00 PM
The lost wax process is shown in another video also:
ADIUVATE CERBERUS!
The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily so they can meet their quota of getting FREE FOOD donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (about 15 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals for free'. This doesn't cost you a thing.
Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! http://www.theanimalrescues...
SON OF CITATION MACHINE
Need help in creating MLA citations for your sources?
1-1/2" 3 ring notebook binder with clear insert for cover sheet (used for projects)
2" 3 ring notebook binder for class notebook
30 plain tab paper index dividers
3 ring binder plastic zipper pocket for pens/pencils
#2 pencils for tests
Pens with blue or black ink for daily work
Red pens or pencils for correction
Portable three hole paper punch
Cover for textbook
LATIN I TEST/QUIZ ALERT!
Stage 12 Quiz p.222 Mon. 03/08
Stage 12 Test Wed 03/10 (Per. 1)
Stage 12 Test TH 03/11 (Per. 6)
LATIN II TEST/QUIZ ALERT!
Stage 26 Quiz Wednesday 03/03
Stage 26 Test and Notebook Check Thursday 03/04
LATIN III-IV TEST/QUIZ ALERT!
Stage 41 Quiz p. 148 Fri 3/05
Stage 41 Test/Notebook Check Wed. 3/10
Book Covers
Your textbook is required to have one! Book covers are available in D-269. The next book cover check (for a quiz grade)is:
TBA
Free Rice
FreeRice is a sister site of the world poverty site, Poverty.com.
FreeRice has two goals:
1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
How does playing the vocabulary game at FreeRice help me?
Learning new vocabulary has tremendous benefits. It can help you:
* Formulate your ideas better
* Write better papers, emails and letters
* Speak more precisely and persuasively
* Comprehend more of what you read
* Read faster because you comprehend better
* Get better grades
* Score higher on tests like the SAT
* Perform better at interviews
You can now visit the Pompeii ruins via Google maps "street view". The link takes you to an overhead view. Click on the "B" and then click on "street view". You can zoom in or out and look around using your mouse movements. To walk down the streets click on ovals further up the road or on the arrowheads. http://maps.google.com/maps...
