​The most expensive ancient coin was returned to Greece ● How would it be to smell the past? ● Population decline could begin in less than two decades

The most expensive ancient coin was returned to Greece

The Brutus dinar, or Id Mar coin, is considered the most expensive ancient coin. It was created at the request of Marcus Junius Brutus (yes, the Brutus who is falsely said to have struck Julius Caesar) to commemorate the assassination of the Roman dictator. As you know, the fame of Brutus was short-lived, as was the coin, which appeared only in 43-42 BC.

Most of the coins were made of silver after a pattern made by Lucius Plaetorius Cestianus on orders from Brutus, probably to pay his troops. However, there was also a gold version, somewhat exclusive, which was offered to Roman nobles to commemorate, as I said, the moment of the assassination. First of all, the coin was a symbol of the state’s legalization of Caesar’s murder. Hence the name “Id Mar” according to the inscription on one side of the coin. Eid Mar – Eidibus Martiis – Eid of Mars. That it did not work as Brutus had hoped is a well-known fact.

Of the gold coins, only three have survived today, which increases their value even more. One of these coins was sold at an auction in London for approximately $4.2 million. This is in 2021. Meanwhile, the new owner was forced to return it to the authorities in Athens after the provenance papers were found to have been forged.

This coin was probably found in Greece at an ancient archaeological site where Brutus had set up his military camp. No details are currently available on how it was dug up and subsequently sold at auction.

Together with it, dozens of other heritage monuments, some of them belonging to the Neolithic period, were returned to the Greek authorities. Among them are five marble statuettes with anthropomorphic or zoomorphic images dating from 5,500 to 7,000 years old, which until this month were on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

What would it be like to smell the past?

You don’t have to be an archaeologist to feel the urge to travel back in time and see for yourself what the world looked like in the past. But we all know that physical time travel remains just a science fiction idea. But you can do this with other methods, and one of them is the reconstruction of past smells. And in case you didn’t know, there is already a project that aims to “bring back to life” the smells of the past to give the curious a unique experience of time travel.

The project is called Odeuropa, it started less than a year and a half ago and is supported by the University of Ulm. With its help, several scientists in Europe are trying to reproduce, as I already mentioned, the smells of the past.

The first example is one of the oldest human settlements in Saudi Arabia, namely the archaeological site of Taim. There, archaeologists have discovered vessels containing traces of frankincense, myrrh and pistachios, both in temples and tombs, and in private buildings. By using the appropriate ingredients, the experts were able to at least partially reproduce the smell that prevailed in the relevant premises, as today the church is associated with, for example, the smell of incense and burning wax.

Based on this idea, scientists recreated not only the smells in buildings, but also the smells of perfumes that were used in antiquity or even in more ancient periods. This also applies to the perfumes used by Cleopatra, recreated from recipes found on Egyptian papyri and inscriptions.

One of the ideas that formed the basis of the project was to recreate the perfume according to the ancient methods of processing oils, fats, plants and minerals used in those times.

So far, the project looks very successful, which means that there are many history buffs. If you are among them, know that you can take such an excursion at the University of Ulm.

Population decline could begin in less than two decades

The fact that by the end of the century the number of inhabitants of the planet will decrease significantly is already well known. Many studies have been written on this topic, we are not repeating the same information. We want to emphasize that a new report made by the experts of the Club of Rome claims that the fall will be somewhat steeper than expected and will happen even faster than previously said.

The first data related to this hypothetical fall appeared as early as 1972, when the Club of Rome, just four years after its founding, published a report entitled “The Limits to Growth”, which drew attention to the collapse against which the population of the planet will reach against the background of economic growth and irresponsible consumption of resources. Later data indicated a decline in population to approximately 7 billion inhabitants in the year 2100.

But a new report suggests that the decline could begin as soon as the next 20 years. And here comes the really interesting part, because the real problem is not the number of inhabitants, but the distribution of resources. In general, 10% of the planet’s population consumes more resources than the remaining 90%, and this entire small percentage is responsible for the destruction of the biosphere. Surprisingly, in places where population is growing (Africa, Asia), the environmental impact is still small compared to places where population peaked decades ago (Europe, North America).

Going back to the statistics, the authors of the study say that population decline will begin sometime in 2050, to stabilize at around 6 billion inhabitants in 2100. The cuts could be avoided by reallocating resources, but it is hard to believe that this will be possible.

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