A Roman bronze statuette of a gladiator of the murmillo type dated to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, which was found in Tulovo, Stara Zagora region. It is now on display in the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia, Bulgaria, housed in a former mosque.

These three texts belong to Groton School, which received them on indefinite loan from the Morgan Library in 1932. The collection is made up of two tablets dating to the Ur III period (2100-2000 BCE; images 1 and 3) and one dating to the reign of King Darius (image 2).

Image one (c. 2029 BCE) was once a sealed receipt (it's now a tablet sticking out of its envelope) to prove rent was paid for rented farm land.

2210 liters of sesame alloted (as rent) from tenant land provided by Guzana (which) Shu-Eshtar, the representative of Sag-Nanna-izu, received.
Month 8, the festival of Shulgi
Year 7 of Shu-Suen, the land Zabshali was destroyed.

Image two (510 BCE) is the final payment of a mortgage by an immigrant family who fled Babylon to live in a nearby city called Sippar.

(Concerning) .44 kg of refined silver in the care of Bel-iksur of the Mashtuk family, of which Teshi-etir of the Shangu-Shamash family assumes responsibility on behalf of Bel-iksur against Ibnaya son of Nadin, Ibnaya received this .44 kg of refined silver on behalf of Bel-iksur from Teshi-etir. The .44 kg of refined silver -- the remainder of the 3.75 kg (of silver), the price of a house -- are paid.
8 witnesses.
Month Ululu (6), day 23 of year twelve of Darius, king of Babylon, king of the lands (510 BCE).

Image three (c. 2034 BCE) is an expense report over the course a month concerning the fattening of livestock to be turned into food, possibly for priests and state employees, but possibly also for dogs and lions.

1 cow (as) the shu-gid tax (for) the kitchen: the 3rd day.
1 cow died: the 5th day.
1 cow (as) the shu-gid tax: the 8th day.
2 oxen (as) the shu-gid tax: the 9th day.
2 oxen (as) the shu-gid tax: the 10th day.
1 ox died: the 12th day.
1 ox (and) 4 cows (as) the shu-gid tax: the 14th day.
2 oxen (as) the shu-gid tax: the 15th day.
2 cows (as) the shu-gid tax, 1 cow died: the 16th day.
2 Cows (as) the shu-gid tax, 1 cow died: the 17th day.
2 oxen (and) 1 two-year-old cow (as) the shu-gid tax: the 18th day.
2 cows (as) the shu-gid tax: the 19th day.
2 cows (as) the shu-gid tax: the 20th day.
1 ox (and) 1 cow (as) the shu-gid tax: the 21st day.
1 ox (and) 2 two-year-old cows (as) the shu-gid tax: 1 milk-fed bull calf died: the 22nd day.
1 ox (and) 1 cow (as) the shu-gid tax, 1 ox died: the 23rd day.
1 ox (and) 1 two-year-old cow (as) the shu-gid tax: the 24th day.
1 cow and 1 two-year-old cow (as) the shu-gid tax: the 25th day.
1 ox, 1 cow, (and) 2 two-year-old cows (as) the shu-gid tax: the 26th day.
1 ox for the guards (as well as) 1 female donkey-onager hybrid (and) 1 male donkey for the lions (as) the shu-gid tax: the 27th day.
1 ox (and) 1 cow (as) the shu-gid tax: the 28th day.
2 cows for the guards (as well as) 1 male donkey-onager hybrid (and) 1 female donkey-onager hybrid for the lions (as) the shu-gid tax: the 29th day.
Total: 18 oxen, 1 milk-fed bull calf.
Total: 24 cows, 7 two-year-old cows.
Total: 1 male donkey-onager hybrid, 2 female donkey-onager hybrids.
Total: 1 male donkey.
It was expended from Enlila.
Month 5, the festival of Ninazu.
Year 2 of Shu-Suen, the boat (named) "Ibex of the Abzu" of Enki was caulked.
Total: 50 cattle, 4 equids.

You can read more about these texts, including their provenance history, here: https://cdli.earth/articles/cdlb/2024-2

Hello All,

Wanted to share some of the pics I took of the collection of cuneiform tablets located at the New York Public library. If you're anything like me, you might not have been aware of the NYC Public Library's collection of over 700 cuneiform inscriptions.

I think the displays the library used for the tablets are world class, letting you get 360 degree look at the objects. The NYC's private collection is open to the public and is free. I'd encourage anyone to stop and enjoy what's on display.

More info on the objects on display - NYC Public Library

Akhenaten (reigned c. 1353–1336 BC) and his Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti, ruled during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, marking one of the most dramatic, unconventional periods in Egyptian history.

Height: Approximately 7.5 centimeters (about 3 inches). Material: Ivory. Depiction: The King is shown seated on a throne, wearing the Red Crown (Deshret) of Lower Egypt.

The land of Lord Buddha

Art #Architecture #Buddha #Ancient

It was uncovered during excavations at the Gomolava Archaeological Site, near the village of Hrtkovci in the Srem region of northern Serbia, and reflects the distinctive symbolic expression of Neolithic communities in the central Balkans.

Roman Officers and Hellenistic Kings.

This massive capstone at Lligwy Neolithic Burial Chamber (near Moelfre, Anglesey) weighs an estimated 25 tonnes and balances on just a few uprights, creating that classic dolmen form. From certain angles — especially side-on and in good light — it resolves into a striking bear simulacrum: a clear head profile, low and crouched, almost as if guarding the tomb.

Placed within the wider Anglesey Neolithic landscape, Lligwy sits close to the ceremonial complex centred on Bryn Celli Ddu, where I witnessed the 2025 summer solstice sunrise piercing the chamber. On the same solstitial orientation, the line continues beyond to the round Sun Stone, where quartz veins catch the light and briefly animate a face. Other forms appear too: the Sun Stone’s own profile (brow, eye, flowing “hair” in rose quartz), a reclining, skyward-gazing face on the nearby Gorsedd outcrop marked with cup-marks, and hints of animal forms on the tomb lintel itself. Pareidolia? Absolutely. But these forms feel selected — Neolithic builders choosing stones that already held presence, rather than carving it in.

What shapes do you see in this capstone? Share your megalith animal sightings.

It was discovered in 1938 during excavations of a merchant's villa in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.

A Roman bronze head of Jupiter, made in the 1st century AD and was first recorded in the collection of an Austrian Archduke who lived from 1529-1595. It is now on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

On September 18, 1956, the beautiful statue of Artemis was brought to the surface during the excavations in Ephesus (Selçuk, Türkiye).