THE FASCINATING REMAINS OF THIS ROMAN theatre is quickly becoming one of the historic buildings that symbolise the ancient city of Cartegena.
The theater was built between 5 and 1 BCE, and for centuries was covered by a cathedral built over the upper part of the the theater’s “cavea,” or seating area. The first remains were discovered in 1988, and the theater underwent restoration, completed in 2003. Today the ancient arena still holds performances, and there is a museum at the site displaying the finds from a series of archaeological excavations.
Visiting the theater you can imagine what it would have been like in Roman times. The cavea sits above a series of vaulted galleries. The arena can seat some 6,000 spectators, and is divided horizontally in three parts, in order to be occupied by various social strata. The public would have entered from two side passages (“aditus”) and the semicircular orchestra contains three rows of wooden seats which would be reserved for the authorities. To the rear of the stage were three semicircular plinths decorated by two rows of pink travertine columns, with marble bases and capitals marble.
Know Before You Go
The entrance to the museum is situated on Plaza del Ayuntamiento, in front of the City Hall. Visitors enter the theatre through the museum but it can also be viewed from above from small park near the top of Conception Hill which can be ascended by an elevator.
The theatre and museum are closed on Mondays but the park on top of the hill, where the theatre can be clearly seen, is open.
Archaeologists Find ‘World’s First’ Golden Cross, But Will it Contain Fragments of the Cross of Jesus? READ LATER PRINT
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of a golden cross, thought to contain remnants of the Holy Cross of Jesus, in the medieval capital of the Bulgarian Empire. The cross is a striking piece of religious art and is believed to be the only example of its kind in the world. The object holds great significance for the local Orthodox Christian community. But does it contain particles of the Holy Cross of Jesus?
Treasures from recently discovered Tarnovgrad church Archaeologist Konstantin Totev is leading a large team of experts who are investigating the Trapezitsa fortress in Tarnovgrad, once the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396). Tarnovgrad is now only a series of extensive ruins and is situated in the modern city of Veliko Tarnovo, which is approximately 170 miles (210 kilometers), from Sofia. The Trapezitsa fortress was one of two strongholds in the former capital of the medieval Bulgarian Empire.
Bulgarian archaeologists only recently discovered a previously unknown Church that was once probably the private house of worship of a member of the Bulgarian nobility. The church, which is the 23rd Orthodox Church found so far in Tarnovgard fortress, dates from the 13 th century and is located next to the walls of the fortress, not far from the former imperial palace. It has a remarkably well-preserved altar table and there is a small necropolis in its grounds.
Archaeologist Konstantin Totev with the newly found altar table inscribed with three crosses. (Regnews)
Archaeologist Konstantin Totev with the newly found altar table inscribed with three crosses. (Regnews)
According to Christian Today, ‘’the cross was dug up near an altar pillar’’ in the church which is inscribed with prayers in Old Bulgarian. This religious artifact is exciting experts not only because of its workmanship but because it is offering an insight into the medieval Second Bulgarian Empire and its links with the Byzantine Empire. It is exciting members of the Orthodox Church too because it potentially contains a relic of the cross of Christ.
The Medieval Gold Cross The ornate cross is very-well preserved and it is the fact that it is made of gold that makes it a unique find, as typically crosses of this sort from this time were made from bronze and iron. According to Konstantin Totev:
'It is a gold cross, an encolpion – a work made to hold relics…It is unique because the vast majority of such crosses have been made by bronze and silver.'
The article is only 4 ½ inches (11 cm) long and is actually extremely light encolpion, presumably because it is hollow. The cross has a series of engravings with the one on its front being the crucifixion scene. According to Archaeology in Bulgaria, on the back of the cross is “an image of the Holy Mother of God (Virgin Mary) with arms in upright position.”
The front of the cross bears the image of the crucifixion. (Regnews)
The front of the cross bears the image of the crucifixion. (Regnews)
The cross was made by means of ‘a Byzantine jewelry technique using niello, a metal mixture applied to gold’ reports Archaeology in Bulgaria. It seems highly likely that the cross was made in a workshop in the capital of the Byzantine Empire, during the 12 th century, because of its iconography and style. It was made at a time when Bulgaria was still part of the Empire and before the emergence of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
Huge religious significance The Medieval artifact is an encolpion (enkolpion) cross, which would have been worn around the neck of a cleric. Totev seems certain it is a reliquary and so it possibly holds some tiny relics of the Holy Cross. If this is found to be true, the item is of great historic and religious importance, as it is believed to be the only golden encolpion cross to have been uncovered to date, anywhere in the world.
However, the experts have not opened the artifact, as of yet, and, “It seems like the cross has not been opened” stated Totev. Even if they do open it up, as is true in of all of these cases, it will be a tall order to establish whether the contents (if any) are a true relic. These crosses were first made in Byzantium during the Macedonian Dynasty and remained popular down to the fall of Constantinople. They are popular items in Orthodox churches around the world. Christian Today reports that these crosses are often known as 'Russian encolpion crosses' because of their popularity in Russia in the medieval period.
Tarnovgrad - Capital of an Empire The religious artifact was found in Tarnovgrad which was once ‘capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396), one of the biggest countries in Europe’ in the Middle Ages, reports Reuters. The Second Bulgarian Empire was established after the decline of Byzantium and it came to dominate the Balkans. Tarnovgrad was originally a fortress but became a cosmopolitan city and the cultural and religious center of the Bulgarian Empire. The wealth and sophistication of the city can be seen in the many murals and works of art that have been found there in recent years. The capital was captured by the Ottomans and it went into decline in the 15 th century.
The discovery of the cross is very important. It is an amazing work of religious art and is adding to our knowledge of Byzantine art. The find is also showing us the power and wealth of the Second Bulgarian Empire and that it was heavily influenced by Byzantine culture. It is expected that Tarnovgrad will reveal more treasures in the future as archaeological digs are continuing at the medieval city.
Top image: The gold cross found in Bulgaria. Source: Regnews
Scientists develop novel method to extract gold from old electronics using cheese — here's how it works
"You can't get much more sustainable than that!"
BySusan Elizabeth Turek
July 14, 2024
Photo Credit: ETH Zurich/Alan Kovacevic)
Scientists have developed a novel way torecycletoxic waste — extracting gold from old electronics using a byproduct of a staple cuisine in many cultures.
Researchers at Switzerland's ETH Zurichannouncedin a press release that they used "denatured" whey proteins (thewatery portionof cheese that separates from curds) to create a sponge to recover gold ions from e-waste.
To extract the gold, researchers placed the whey sponge into a metal ion solution. The gold flakes then adhered to the protein fibers. Heating the sponge allowed the team to obtain around 450 milligrams of gold from 20 computer motherboards (around 22 karats).
According to theWorld Health Organization(WHO), "e-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world," with more than 59 million tons generated globally in 2019 alone.
Lead and other toxic substances, such as mercury, are commonly released into our environment in the event of improper disposal orrecycling. This creates a conundrum about keeping our communities connected with moderntechnologywhile reducing public health concerns.
Recycling solutionsdo exist. For example, major companies, includingAmazonandBest Buy, have programs that help consumers recycle and dispose of old electronics.
However, per the WHO, less than20%of all e-waste was officially collected and recycled in 2019. Moreover, asdetailedin the ETH Zurich press release and byZME Science, traditional e-waste recycling methods are energy-intensive and generally require toxic chemicals to harvest precious metals.
The breakthrough by ETH Zurich researchers sidesteps this problem. It could also help reduce food-industry waste — and thus eliminate some production of planet-warming gases likemethaneas unused proteins decompose in landfills.
"The fact I love the most is that we're using a food industry byproduct to obtain gold from electronic waste," Raffaele Mezzenga, a professor from ETH Zurich's Department of Health Sciences and Technology,saidin the release. "You can't get much more sustainable than that!"
Mezzengabelievesthe process is commercially viable, with costs expected to be 50 times lower than the value of the gold obtained from the waste.
Researchers will now investigate whether they can make "protein fibril sponges" from other food-waste byproducts, and they intend to test their method on industrial waste from sources such as microchip manufacturing and gold-plating.
