ROBOT ARCHEO-SPELUNKERS EXPLORE ROME'S UNDERGROUND AQUEDUCTS

A group of amateur archaeologists—aided by caving expert group Sotterranei di Roma (Underground Rome)—are using remote-controlled robots, 3D scanners, and lasers to map ancient Roman aqueducts that had once provided the city with fresh water.

Thomas Ashby, a British topographer and archaeologist who explored the aqueducts before and after the First World War originally created the maps of the tunnels which the team is now working off of, according to The Telegraph. 

The team is using 3D scanners mounted on tripods to produce images of the inside of the tunnels, and laser "rangefinders" to measure the size, direction, and elevation of the tunnels.

A six-wheeled "archeo-robot" is used to navigate along passageways which are too small or dangerous for the team members to enter. 

The remote-controlled robot is equipped with two computers, three high-definition cameras, and laser sensors.

"It's not very nice down there and there's often a build-up of gases, so robots are ideal," said Christopher Smith, the director of the British School at Rome, an archaeological research institute established in 1901.

"They're very good for getting into difficult underground areas. There are miles and miles of tunnels beneath sites like the Colosseum, for instance, much of which we know very little about."

The Aqua Claudio aqueduct, which is one of the tunnels being mapped by the team, began construction in 38 AD and ran for approximately 45-55 miles from the mountains beyond the modern towns of Tivoli and Frascati. 

Aqueducts such as this one used gravity to provide water and can be seen from Germany to North Africa, or what once constituted the land occupied by the ancient Roman Empire.

SPECTACULAR ROMAN EAGLE SCULPTURE FOUND IN THE MIDDLE OF LONDON

A SUPERB Roman eagle sculpture in near pristine condition, serpent prey still wriggling in its beak, has been found by archaeologists in London.

A symbol of immortality and power, it was carefully preserved when the aristocratic tomb it decorated was smashed up more than 1,800 years ago – and is regarded as one of the best pieces of Romano-British art ever found.

The preservation is so startling that the archaeologists who found it a few weeks ago at the bottom of a ditch were worried in case they had unearthed a Victorian garden ornament.

Excitement spread as it became clear from the context that it really was Roman – but carved in Britain, from Cotswold limestone.

Archaeologists are itching to research it further.

But first after a quick clean – and a frame to support the only damage, a broken wing – it has been put on display  for six months at the Museum of London, just 30 days from ditch to gallery.

Martin Henig, an internationally renowned expert on Roman art, said: "The sculpture is of exceptional quality, the finest sculpture by a Romano-British artist ever found in London, and amongst the very best statues surviving from Roman Britain. Its condition is extraordinary, as crisp as on the day it was carved. All it has lost is the surface paint, probably washed away when it was deposited in a ditch."

The London eagle was carved in the first 1^st Century AD, at a time when the Roman city was exploding in population and wealth. It is believed to have stood on an imposing mausoleum, on the roadside edge of the eastern cemetery just outside the city walls. The road was once lined with the monuments of the wealthiest citizens, like the Via Appia outside Rome.

Possibly only a few decades later, many of the monuments were demolished – probably as ownership of the plots changed and new ones were built. There is even evidence suggesting that some of the old bones were left scattered in the open air.

Most of the stone was reused as hardcore or building stone, but the eagle was carefully laid into a ditch, probably just beside its former perch. Michael Marshall, finds expert at Museum of London Archaeology, believes that a superstitious awe probably protected such a powerful religious symbol, even when the tomb of its original owner became builders' rubble.

TOM OF FINLAND SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON November 7th, the Religion of Antinous remembers one of our saints whose gift of erotic artistry and wry humor influenced the Stonewall generation — Saint Tom of Finland.

Tom of Finland's style was so identifiable, so iconic, that it was immediately recognizable. Whether signed or unsigned, his emblematic pencil and ink drawings are always recognizably his.

He became so closely identified with his iconic art that few people ever suspected that his name was not actually Tom, though he was indeed Finnish.

Touko Laaksonen was born in Kaarina Finland on May 8th, 1920, and he died on November 7th, 1991. He studied art in Helsinki and worked as a graphic artist during the 1940s and '50s. On the side he began to master his particular style and vision of male beauty.

His entry into gay erotic art came in 1957 when he submitted drawings to the American bodybuilder magazine Physique Pictorial, a pioneer publication in the field of gay porn from the days when it was still a federal offense to send "indecent images" through the mail. He then started to use the name Tom of Finland.

His art was an overt display of gay sexuality during the dark years of repression that preceded Stonewall. It is said that his images fueled the hearts of young, future gay rights advocates because of their defiant and utterly masculine depiction of the homosexual ideal.

He was among the first to vividly display the fully engorged phallus,  Priapic in its proportions, throwing off the censorship that had kept it hidden for hundreds of years.

During the late '60s and early '70s his erotic images were received with acclaim and became the subject of museum exhibitions, and they soon entered the heart of gay culture as one of the most widely recognized and often copied images of gay sexuality. 

His depictions of extremely masculine, homosexual vitality were a reflection of the deepest erotic fantasies of all gay men, elevating a new form of Priapism into an icon of homoeroticism. 

He met his lifetime partner Veli on a dark street corner in 1953. Veli was the love of his life. For nearly 30 years they shared their lives. Veli died in 1981. Touko Laaksonen died in Helsinki on November 7th, 1991. 

For his work, for changing the face of the gay world with his prolific art, we recognize the sanctity of Tom of Finland and elevate him to the Sainthood of Antinous.

ANTINOUS HELPS YOU HONOR THE SPIRIT OF YOUR HOME

EVERY home in Ancient Rome had a special niche or devotional area known as a "lararium" for honoring the spirit of the household.

Today we tend to move from one house or apartment to another with little or no thought to the spiritual element of the structures we inhabit. We are spiritually poorer for that.

The Romans knew that each structure built by the hand of mankind is imbued with a spirit.

And they knew that this spirit grows and prospers ... as the people who reside there grow and prosper ... the spirit is a spiritual reflection of the people who live there ... and it assists and nurtures "its" residents just as they assist and nurture it.

This is the Spirit which loves to build a comfy nest, a place to call one's own. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home for this Spirit. It is the Spirit of the special place which is your home, whether it be a rented room or a sprawling mansion. This Spirit invites you to step inside, close the door behind you, kick off your shoes and revel in being Home.

The lararium in every Roman home was a niche in a part of the house where people would congregate ... it was a place for prayers and offerings to the spirits not only of the house itself but of all those who had ever lived there.

This image above shows the Roman fresco from the lararium of the house of Iulius Polybius in Pompeii. We love the fact that this fresco is located on a wall adjacent to the kitchen of the house ... the one room which is vital to everyone in the house ... the room from which food and sustenance issues forth.

The fresco shows an enormous serpent coiling forth from the earth to entwine itself around a sacred altar. To our eyes this alarming image seems hardly the thing you would want to see at the door to your kitchen.

But the Romans recognized that this serpent is the Agatho-Daimon (Blessed Spirit) " In Greek, "daimon" means "spirit-being" regardless whether that being is beneficial or detrimental to humans. It was only later that the Christians literally "demonized" the word daimon, so that the modern word "demon" only ever refers to an evil spirit.

Agatho Daimon is a decidedly beneficent spirit, rendered often as a serpent. And in this fresco this beneficent spirit is blessing the altar ... and the feminine being in red wrap is the "genius" or spirit of the household itself. 

Behind her stands a male spirit holding a cornucopia of plenty.

On either side are large figures (perhaps ancestors) pouring libations of wine or holy oil. The smaller figures (child-like household spirits) are making music and serving food ... creating an atmosphere of hospitality.

Antinous was often compared to Agatho Daimon, and is often portrayed with the Serpent in his hand, as in the famous Berlin Antinous-Agathodaimon statue pictured here.

Perhaps you live in a small rented room. Perhaps you live in a grand house. No matter! Honoring the spirit of your home helps to center you and give you a firm home base. By nurturing the spirit of your home, you nurture your own inner spiritual home.

May Antinous Agatho-Daimon ... Antinous the Blessed Spirit ... bless your home ... and you!

SPECTACULAR ROMAN CAVALRY HELMET "COMES HOME" TO NORTHERN ENGLAND

A SPECTACULAR Roman helmet, which was unearthed near the Ancient Roman frontier in Cumbria northern England in 2010 and fetched more than £2 million at auction, has returned "home" to Cumbria to be displayed at Tullie House, Carlisle.

The private owner of the stunning piece of art, called the Crosby Garrett helmet for the place where it was found, finally consented to have the helmet placed on exhibit at Tullie House.

The finding and subsequent sale of the helmet prompted a campaign to keep the historical treasure as the centrepiece of a Roman Frontier gallery which opened at Tullie House last year.

Despite a valiant fund-raising campaign, which brought in £1.96 million in just three weeks, when the helmet went under the hammer at Christie’s in London in May it was sold to a private collector for £2.3 million, almost eight times its estimated price.

Thanks to the generosity of that private buyer, the helmet has been loaned to Tullie House, where it will be on display until the end of January, when it will be transferred to London and shown at the British Museum from 3rd February.

It is just the second time the helmet has been on view to the public after it was previously part of a Royal Academy of Arts exhibition in London called "Bronze."

Hilary Wade, director of Tullie House Trust, said it was only around a year ago that the museum was able to make contact with the private owner and it was thanks to their generosity the artefact could be returned to the county it had lain in for 2,000 years. 

"I’m so proud and delighted to have it here. It is an absolutely stunning piece. There's been so much interest in it over the years and people always ask about it and for us to be able put it on show is a fantastic opportunity," she said. "I think there will be a lot of interest and hope we will be getting a lot of visitors."

The rare cavalry helmet was found on farmland by an unemployed graduate in his 20s, using a metal detector with the landowner's consent.

The mask was found intact but the helmet was in 67 fragments and has been painstakingly restored by experts. The bronze ceremonial parade helmet has been hailed by experts as one of the great masterpieces of Roman metalwork.

Tim Padley, curator of archaeology at Tullie House, believes there are many more Roman artefacts to be unearthed in the Eden Valley, but the likes of the Crosby Garrett helmet would be a once-in-a-lifetime find.

He explained that although historians can never be certain why the helmet was found at Crosby Garrett, it was known to be good horse-rearing country, so that could be a link.

There are also people who believe it was captured from the Romans by the natives, but Mr. Padley felt it was more likely to have been a gift.

TRIPLE-DECKER AUTOBUS GIGANTE TOOK TOURISTS TO TIVOLI IN STYLE

ANYONE who has taken a modern blue municipal bus to Tivoli outside Rome to visit Hadrian's Villa will appreciate the irony of this film (below) showing the inaugural run on February 26, 1932, of the "autobus gigante" ... a luxury triple-decker motor coach catering to well-heeled tourists in furs and three-piece suits.

Despite the incessant bleeping of the horn, there is virtually no traffic on the road to Tivoli aside from bicycles and donkey carts. No strip malls. No subsidized housing projects. No open sewage plants and garbage dumps to assail your nostrils through open bus windows.

For our next Sacred Pilgrimage to Hadrian's Villa, the Hollywood Temple of Antinous should charter one of these:

TEEN SUICIDE MARTYR SAINTS OF ANTINOUS FOR THE YEAR 2013

IT is with solemn gravity that we announce the consecration of Martyr Saints of Antinous for 2013. 

There have been a great many Gay suicides in recent years, these are only a few, and they are from 2012, there will certainly, and sorrowfully be more to add in the future who died in 2013.

ERIC JAMES BORGES - Age 19,  Jan 11, 2012
Only one month after filming an “It Gets Better” video to help inspire young gays and lesbians, 19-year-old Eric James Borges tragically committed suicide. The circumstances surrounding the young filmmaker’s death have not been revealed, although his work showcases that his “coming out” in the last year was extremely difficult.

PHILLIP PARKER - Age 14, Jan. 20, 2012
Took his own life. Reports are coming out that he was the focus of bullying at Gordonsville High School in Tennessee.

JACOB ROGERS - Age 18,  Dec. 7, 2011
From Tennessee, took his life on December 7. A friend of Rogers told WSMV that, despite seeing guidance counselors, he felt no one was helping: "He started coming home his senior year saying 'I don't want to go back. Everyone is so mean. They call me a faggot, they call me gay, a queer." The Tennessean reports that Rogers lived with his grandmother due to family issues, and he had at some point experienced difficulty with an eating disorder and substance abuse.

JEFFREY FEHR - Age 18, Jan 1, 2012
Was a member of his California school's cheerleading team who hanged himself on January 1. The Sacramento Bee reported that Fehr was taunted by bullies for years, and that a relationship had recently ended between Jeffrey and another young man. His family said students started calling Jeffrey a "fag" in sixth grade, and his father, Steve Fehr, is quoted as saying: "We will second-guess ourselves forever.... But we do know that for years and years, people knocked him down for being different. It damaged him. It wore on him. He could never fully believe how wonderful he was, and how many people loved him."

NICHOLAS KELO - Age 13, Feb 23, 2011
A student in Akron, Ohio, shot himself dead on Feb. 23 at the age of 13. His mother suspects Nick may have gone for a gun because he was bullied after classmates began suspecting he was gay before he joined band.

JACK REESE - Age 17,  April 23 2012
A gay teen of LDS background committed suicide on April 22 in Mountain Green, Utah. He was 17 years old. According to Jack’s boyfriend, Alex Smith, Jack was bullied at school. On April 23, Alex, who didn’t know yet that his boyfriend had taken his life, spoke at a panel about the bullying Jack experienced. The panel was held in connection with the screening of the documentary film, “Bullied.”