Dura-Europos: The Syrian Pompeii

<p>When we think of Pompeii, we remember the city which became frozen in time after a natural catastrophe. Well, in 1920, exactly 100 years ago, another 'frozen city' was rediscovered. This time it was Dura-Europos, and rather than falling victim to a volcano, this city was destroyed after a bloody siege in 256 AD. Whilst there is no historical record of life in the Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman border city and garrison, its remains have proven to be a rich source for archaeologists since the 1920s. Between the only complete example of the semi-cylindrical Roman legionary shield and the perfect oval shields with beautiful paintings of Greeks and Trojans or Greeks and Amazons; beyond the regimental records and complete horse armour and the Palmyrene Gate; archaeologists have uncovered the story of the city. </p><br><p>Tristan was joined on the podcast by Simon James from the University of Leicester, who talked through what we now know about life in Dura-Europa and the relationships between the Roman garrison, their dependents and the other inhabitants. He also offers a play-by-play of the battle which brought this city to a halt, and possibly one of the earliest examples of chemical warfare, all discovered through archaeology.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>