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(#2) Ancient Romans Weaved Asbestos Into Tablecloths And Napkins, And Cleaned Them Using Fire
From Redditor u/LeonInJapan:
TIL that Romans weaved asbestos fibers into a cloth-like material that was then sewn into tablecloths and napkins. These cloths were cleaned by throwing them into a blistering fire, from which they came out unharmed and whiter than when they went in.
From Redditor u/121PB4Y2:
[Quoting from Asbestos.com]: “While Greeks and Romans exploited the unique properties of asbestos, they also documented its harmful effects on those who mined the silken material from ancient stone quarries. Greek geographer Strabo noted a “sickness of the lungs” in slaves who wove asbestos into cloth. Roman historian, naturalist and philosopher, Pliny the Elder, wrote of the “disease of slaves,” and actually described the use of a thin membrane from the bladder of a goat or lamb used by the slave miners as an early respirator in an attempt to protect them from inhaling the harmful asbestos fibers as they labored.”
Their slaves, however, were not entitled to financial compensation.
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(#4) Unknown Sea Raiders Nearly Conquered Ancient Egypt
From Redditor u/scrubs2009:
TIL of the Sea Peoples. A group of raiders that nearly toppled ancient Egypt. We know nothing about where they came from or who they were.
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(#5) The Collapse Of The Bronze Age Has Been Called 'The Worst Disaster In Ancient History'
From Redditor u/jloyall:
TIL that the Bronze Age ended in a collapse of the civilizations of the time one historian [Robert Drews] called "the worst disaster in ancient history, even more calamitous than the collapse of the Western Roman Empire," and nobody knows for sure what happened.
Sources: Robert Drews; Collapse of the Bronze Age
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(#6) Ancient Rome And China Were Aware Of Each Other
From Redditor u/Nerrolken:
Ancient Rome and Ancient China were aware of each other. Each had heard accounts of the other great empire at the far end of the Silk Road, and they even tried to make direct diplomatic contact several times.
The Romans believed the distant empire of "Serica" was populated by tiny people (like pygmies), who built an empire surrounded by huge walls around a great river (possibly the Yellow River).
The Chinese spoke of the empire of "Daqin" in the west, which was famous for its roads and postal network, and where "kings were not permanent" and would be chosen and replaced based on merit during times of crisis, a clear reference to the Roman Republic.
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(#9) Ancient Rome Had Take Out Restaurants
From Redditor u/TMWNN:
TIL that take-out restaurants existed in ancient Rome, with service counters opening onto the street to pick up food. More than 200 existed in Pompeii, and most of its homes lacked dining or kitchen areas, suggesting that cooking at home was unusual.
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(#10) Iron Weapons Didn't Replace Bronze Ones Because They Were Better; Iron Was More Abundant And Easier To Work With
From a former Redditor:
TIL that bronze is generally harder than iron. The Bronze Age didn't give way to the Iron Age because iron weaponry was superior; rather, iron was more plentiful and easier to work with.
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(#11) Yogurt Was Invented In 5000 BC
From Redditor u/not_not_lying:
TIL yogurt was invented in 5000 BC and the combination of yogurt and honey was called "the food of the gods".
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(#12) The Colossus Of Rhodes (c. 280 BC) Was Approximately As Tall As The Statue Of Liberty
From Redditor u/Texas_Rockets:
TIL that, despite being built in 280 BC, the Colossus of Rhodes was approximately as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
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(#13) Alexander The Great Loved His Horse So Much That He Named A City After It
From Redditor u/Teddy_Red:
TIL in 346BC, Alexander the Great, at the age of 10, after taming a large anxious horse he was allowed to buy it. He named the horse "Bucephalas," and he rode the horse until the Battle or Hydapes in 326BC when it died at the age of 30. Alexander later named a city after his steed.
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(#14) Ancient Roman Walls Were Covered In Graffiti
From Redditor u/DraftAtol:
Roman walls were covered in graffiti. There is a lot that is very relatable to anyone, for example.
"We two dear men, friends forever, were here. If you want to know our names, they are Gaius and Aulus" was written next to a bar in Pompeii. Those could be any two guys going for a night out at any point in time.
"Caesius faithfully loves M[…name lost]" is really sad because the guys proclamation of love has survived for 2,000 years but the name of his lover has faded.
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(#15) The Great Pyramid Was Once Covered In Polished White Limestone And Capped With A Gold-Silver Alloy
From Redditor u/shallowblue:
TIL: The Great Pyramid was once encased in limestone and would have appeared perfectly smooth and blindingly white.
From Redditor u/nowayguy:
I think read somewhere that it was capped with "electrum," a mostly silver-some gold alloy, that looked more like gold than gold in the sun, and had the benefit of not turning green when it eroded
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(#16) Castles Walls Were Not Always Left Bare But Decorated With Colorful Tapestries
From Redditor u/starwars101:
My fav is that the drab, grey interiors you always see when medieval castles are depicted are not accurate. When first being depicted in media, scholars lacked any artifacts indicating whether medieval Europeans had any wall decorations, such as tapestries. Thus, the artists left the walls bare for fear of erroneously assuming how medieval Europeans would have decorated.
This led to the assumption that medieval castles were without furnishings. However, later discoveries and excavations of castles across Europe have unearthed draperies with many bright colors. It has been proven that, even as far north as Northumbria, castles were artfully decorated, with the tapestries used to brighten the place and keep rooms warm.
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The rise of city-states, the emergence of iron tools, the rise of Greece, the attempts of the republican system, what did the civilization of the ancient world look like? Archaeologists and historians have been keen to explore the origin and development of ancient civilizations for centuries, their journeys from the early human civilization of Mesopotamia to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The ancient world is full of mysterious and amazing historical things.
Many people are obsessed with books, movies, and TV shows describing ancient history, they seem to have an accurate understanding of the religion, politics, art, and culture of the ancient world. The random tool explained 16 facts about the ancient world that may change your mind.
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