Twitter Thread: A Brief History Of Ancient Roman Fossil Hunting

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Ada Elder
Sep 26, 2020 2:00 PM EDT

It's said that you learn something new every day. Sometimes the knowledge one gains can seem pretty mundane. But today, Twitter user @OptimoPrincipi managed to rock our world with an informative thread about ancient Roman paleontology. The short thread is an eye-opener for anyone who thought the science was, well, modern. Turns out that Roman "fossil hunters" were fascinated by the bones of the "monsters" that pre-dated humans, even going as far as to create replicas of the extinct creatures. It's a wonderful look at the inquisitive minds of the past, and a testament to the apparently rich history of archaeological discovery. 

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  • 01
    Text - Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi 1) An ancient Roman-dinosaur- monster-bones thread! Yes you read that right - did you know the Romans were keen fossil hunters, fascinated by the bones of ancient "monsters". Augustus liked to decorate his holiday-villa "not so much with statues and pictures but with..."
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 02
    Text - Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi 2) "..the bones of monstrous beasts, famed for their antiquity and rarity. He called them the bones of the giants". Later, during the reign of Tiberius an earthquake opened gaps in the earth, exposing fossil remains. The people were too frightened to move the bones but they...
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 03
    Adaptation - 3)..sent a single tooth to Tiberius in Rome as an example, more than a Roman foot in length! The messengers showed Tiberius the amazing tooth and "asked if he wanted the whole epic skeleton brought to Rome." Tiberius was curious but did not want to rob the bodies of the dead...
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 04
    Text - Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi 4) Instead he tasked Pulcher, a famous geometrician, with reconstructing the ancient creature. Pulcher worked out the proportions of the monster's whole head and body using just the tooth, made up a replica and eagerly brought it to Tiberius...
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 05
    Text - 5) When he saw the reconstruction of the monster, Tiberius said he was "quite satisfied" and ordered the tooth be taken back to where it was found. We can only imagine the tooth and model that Pulcher created for the Emperor, but it is possible that...
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 06
    Wildlife - 6) ..many such amazing tales had roots in the discovery not of dinosaur, but of mammoth bones, which can be found throughout Europe and North Africa. Some even theorise that myths of the cyclops may derive from mammoth skulls, with their distinctive "one-eyed" skull cavity...
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 07
    Text - Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi 7) Pliny says that in 58 BC, the aedile Marcus Scaurus exhibited in Rome the bones of a giant beast (belua) found at Joppa (modern Jaffa, Israel); forty feet long, with ribs longer than those of an African elephant; perhaps an ancient whale that once inhabited the Mediterranean..
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 08
    Architecture
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 09
    Text - Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi 8) The early Christian writer, St. Jerome recounts that the Emperor Constantine made a special trip from Constantinople (modern Istanbul) to Antioch, across the entirety of modern Turkey, to view the ancient bones of a "satyr" that had been discovered in a salt-mine!
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 10
    Text - Gareth Harney @OptimoPrincipi 9) This Greek vase depicts the Monster of Troy, but rendered as a fossil skull of a prehistoric animal - perhaps a samotherium. The vase is used on the cover of "The First Fossil Hunters" by Adrienne Mayor - good wider reading for anyone interested in ancient paleontology. (END)
    via @OptimoPrincipi
  • 11
    Text - Dr James Anderson #FBPE @NumberNullity Replying to @OptimoPrincipi The ancient Romans also found hominid fossils and recognised that they were not, quite, human! 5:58 AM · 9/26/20 · Twitter for iPhone
    via @NumberNullity
  • 12
    Text - Spesh @snifflegully Replying to @OptimoPrincipi Lovely thread, never knew the Romans were so interested (and afraid) by archaeology. 7:01 AM · 9/26/20 · Twitter for iPhone >
    via @snifflegully
  • 13
    Text - Daniel Newgarden @Gilgamenkidu Replying to @OptimoPrincipi For everyone who's interested in reading more, check out Adrienne Mayor's First Fossil Hunters! 9:06 AM · 9/26/20 · Twitter for iPhone
    via @Gilgamenkidu
  • 14
    Text - Nina * Girly swot EX @yirara_bah Replying to @OptimoPrincipi Yay, connection of geology and archaeology! This thread won the internets today. 9:45 AM · 9/26/20 · Twitter Web App >
    via @yiara_bah
  • 15
    Text - BEN @AndStrats Replying to @OptimoPrincipi Back when dinosaurs Romed the Earth? 10:02 AM · 9/26/20 · Twitter Web App >
    via @AndStrats

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ancient rome cool history tweets rome history Twitter Thread interesting mammoth
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