All articles tagged with #byzantine empire
Archaeologists revealed a well-preserved Byzantine-era residential city at the Dakhla Oasis and at Marina el-Alamein near Alexandria, including a mid-fourth-century basilica, watchtowers, house-church remains, ovens, tools, and hundreds of artifacts such as bronze and gold coins and octraca inscriptions, offering new insights into daily life and commerce in Byzantine Egypt as the country eyes a tourism revival.
A metal detectorist in Vestre Slidre, Norway, has discovered a "very rare" ancient gold coin believed to have once belonged to an early monarch. The coin, known as a "histamenon nomisma," was introduced in the Byzantine Empire around 960 C.E. and likely minted in Constantinople. Decorated with depictions of Christ, Basil II, and Constantine VIII, the coin is estimated to have been minted between 977 and 1025 C.E. Speculation suggests that the coin may have been acquired by Norwegian king Harald Hardråde during his time as a guard in Constantinople and brought back to Norway. This discovery follows previous findings of gold artifacts in Norway by metal detectorists.
Greek fire, a deadly weapon used by the Byzantine Empire in medieval times, was likely based on a crude or refined type of petroleum mixed with unknown ingredients. It was a closely guarded state secret, with only a few families knowing the formula. The weapon was a system composed of a ship, tube, caldron, and liquid, and its devastating effects could not be recreated without knowledge of how to wield it and build the equipment to pump and store it safely. The Byzantine compartmentalized knowledge of their system, making it difficult to ensure that the secret survived, and the technology was eventually lost.