In 2000, boaters discovered a Roman shipwreck when their anchor got stuck in the cache of clay jars deposited there. Exploration of the wreck finally got underway this July and archaeologists are delighted with the more than 1,500 clay jars found there containing the Roman condiment of fish sauce.The ship is estimated to have been 30 meters (100 feet) long with capacity for around 400 tons of cargo. That would make it twice the size of most other Roman shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean, de Juan said in an interview with the Associated Press.
The freight was an estimated 1,500 well-preserved clay amphoras, or two-handled jars, used in this case to hold fish sauce -- a prized condiment for wealthy Romans, he said.
For centuries the meter-tall amphoras lay undisturbed except for an occasional octopus that would pry one open, breaking the ceramic-and-mortar seal in search of food or shelter.
Here is a photo of Wednesday's transit of Mercury across the Sun. More images and information are available at:
Mariners in the South Pacific sailed into a "vast, many-miles-wide belt of densely packed pumice." The next day they discovered a newly-formed, active volcanic island. You can read more about their amazing discovery in their blog.
Will the A380 be the next Concorde—an engineering breakthrough with little chance of breaking even? Certainly, the problem the jetliner was supposed to help solve—airport gridlock—still exists. The world's major hubs already operate at full capacity during peak hours, and traffic is expected to increase 4 percent annually, from 4.2 billion passengers in 2005 to 7 billion passengers in 2020. Building new airports or significantly expanding existing ones, though, is a practical and political nightmare.
The Airbus solution: Increase capacity with a plane that carries up to 900 passengers—nearly twice as many as the 747. "It is this big monster," says Hans Weber, president of Tecop International, a San Diego-based aviation consulting firm. "And Airbus has struggled with the nightmare of making something this big economically efficient."
This season’s split schedule is partly the result of backlash from fans who complained loudly last season about the frequent interspersing of new episodes with repeats. At its annual meeting with advertisers in New York last spring, Stephen McPherson, the president of ABC Entertainment, promised to address those complaints.
Getting there is all the fun at
the gallery of Early Aircraft Design.
Ken Booth has more than 15 years experience publishing in print and online. This is a personal site. ken(at)adventurelounge.com