Musings
New geographic term: where was the Roman Province of Pannonia? Turns out, if the info I have is correct, that my grandfather came from what was at one time Lower Pannonia.
The Latin term was from their predecessors in invading and record-creation, the Greeks. Turns out that the people living in the grandfather-area were not the Pannoni (probably), but Illyrians, according to the records (depending); the material culture is more difficult to sort spatially, showing some occupations of one and some of the other.
That is, this area was a cultural and political edge, frontier, or boundary for millennia, as it is today.
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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My ignorance is vast.
Today I worked on improving my knowledge about the Roman Empire’s eastern provinces—specifically those of the Carpathian Basin. And their post-Roman history….
Posted at 10:26 PM |
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The north half of Jones Bridge over the Chatthoochee has been, um, an archaeological site for over nine decades (if the combo of WikiPee and my math are correct; abandoned 1922), while it was a functioning bridge for a bit less than two decades.
Find the bridge here: 34.00156,-84.23428.
Posted at 9:45 PM |
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Scary hands…scary smiles….
Actually, if you like fruity sodas, as I recall, Jarritos Mandarin is pretty tasty. And I’m not much of a soda fan….
Archaeology in service of advertising…scary most every time, ¿no?
Posted at 8:09 PM |
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View south, immediately east of Kirkwood at Kenyon, in SE Atlanta.
We went for a drive, which is kinda strange since it’s not Sunday, but the sun was inviting and off we went. We wound along old roads (truly; they were there during the Civil War/War of Northern Aggression—and before) near Kennesaw Mountain, and then dropped down to Mableton, then followed the old highway into Atlanta.
We encountered the Beltline ROW north of Memorial Drive, and I was happy to see the Beltline Art is there, too, not just along the developed section near Piedmont Park.
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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I was globe-wandering today, the cheap way—using Google Earth. These fields are just west-southwest of Stonehenge, and I just loved the colors and textures of the fields and borders, along with the barrows (or whatever), that the farmers avoided.
British archaeology literature often carries mention of crop marks, and Google Earth is an excellent tool for exposing them. Crop marks result from the differential moisture, soil quality, etc. above and around archaeological features (e.g., foundations or building wall bases, fire pits, etc.). The soil variation can be stark or subtle.
In this area around Stonehenge, crop marks and above-ground features are all over the place. Even after centuries of plowing and other degradation. Archaeologists now look at Stonehenge not as a bunch of stones, but as one dramatic feature in a landscape of occupation and use. Which is as it should be. After all, people didn’t just hang at Stonehenge.
Posted at 10:22 PM |
5 Comments »
Did just a few quick errands today, and my ground-alerted eyes found these two, in different parking lots. I found the cross one first (1974), and then the normal one (1984).
I guess they’re my two-cents worth.
(Perhaps misleading) title from The Big Bang Theory (TV show).
Posted at 7:40 PM |
2 Comments »
Our neighbors are doing some flinging preparatory to remodeling, and gifted this fine selection to JCB.
Takes me back—and I was never a graphic designer!
Mmmmmm; kitchen smells great—regular white ’taters, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts are roasting in the oven….
Posted at 7:12 PM |
3 Comments »
Find this ex-roundhouse and turntable here (33.73155,-84.39808) on a map.
This Southern Railway complex was called the South Shops, later the Pegram Shops. The railroad infrastructure has been decommissioned as the shipping business has shifted to the roads (semis and containers). It’s across I-75/85 from Turner Field, now slated for destruction.
What cracked me up are the huge potted palm trees against the building. John says they use the complex as a movie set.
We visited another historic building, the hilltop former Coats & Clark thread mill (on a map here: 33.83189,-84.65691). They just did the spinning there; dying was elsewhere. The mill closed in 1983, and it’s now (at least an attempt at) a mall.
Read more about the thread mill from the historical marker text….
Posted at 6:01 PM |
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Marquette, like many towns, has shifted the focus of its downtown from an industrial to a touristrial (??) and service orientation. In this case, they’ve left a major visual element of the old Marquette, this ore dock is partially preserved. The wooden trestle that bridged from land to dock is gone, and we watched mallards sleeping and preening on the pier-stubs.
This is a huge structure, wide enough to have two sets of rails so ships on either side could be loaded simultaneously.
Speaking of gravity fed, we very much enjoyed our upscale meal at L’Attitude, with a fine view of this dock from our seats.
Read more about Marquette on WikiPee here, or from the downtown biz org here. Read more about ore docks on WikiPeehere; there’s also a B&W photo of this ore dock when it was still in use.
Posted at 10:22 PM |
1 Comment »
