fandomhigh | Greco-Roman Archaeology

"Okay, class, we're continuing with our pre-Roman cultures.

Today, we're looking at the city of Cerveteri, which was originally known as Caere. It was on a defensible site, above a coastal plain. The first evidence of settlement of the site come from finds of urns at two areas (Cava della Pozzolana and Sorbo) from the 8th and 9th centuries BC. Trade with the Greeks at Etrusco became increasingly common in the middle of the 8th century BC with standardised urns and pottery common in graves of the time. The town became Etruria's main trading centre during the 7th century BC, as well as increasing trade with other Greek colonies in Southern Italy and Sicily, and with the Corinthians. Locally manufactured products began to imitate imported Greek pottery.

Burials of the time became increasingly grand and jewelry and other products were of particularly fine manufacture, illustrating the continuing good fortunes of the city. At the height of its prosperity in the 6th century BC, the people of Caere (with the Carthaginians emerged debateably victorious from clashes with the Phocaean Greeks. Following the "Battle of the Sardinian Sea", captured prisoners were stoned to death in the city, apparently resulting in a plague. In recompense, athletic contests were held every year in the city to honour the dead who were later buried.

Following this historical violent outburst by the people of the city, trade once again flourished through the 5th century BC, partly in spite of the difficulties affecting Etruria during the period. Arguably, this is due to the paricularly good relations with Rome, a traditional ally.

In 253 BC, Caere allied to the Tarquinii lost a war with Rome and with it some of its territory, including the coastal area and ports so important for trade. With this loss, the area lost its wealth and power completely by the first century AD.

Now, homework. I want you to either pick Magna Graecia or the Latins, which are the two other pre-Roman civilizations. I'll chose one from each option to give a brief report to the class on Thursday, so we can go on and actually get to the beginning of the Roman civilization. Any questions?

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"Then that won't work. Darn it." She scowled into her coffee. "I can always go to the library, but I thought maybe you had some brilliant ideas."

"You're talking to the guy who sent a girl with hayfever flowers, and thought it would be a great idea to seranade her whilst drunk," he said, raising his eyebrows. "I think it's safe to say that I'm a bit short on brilliant ideas at the moment."

Sam giggled. "Good point. If it makes you feel any better, Janet dared Jack and I to kiss at the last Refugees party, which we did. Next thing I know, I woke up next to him in bed in just a shirt and my underwear. ~~I have no idea if I'm still a virgin. How humiliating is that?~~ But this is an academic thing, not a romantic thing, so I thought there was still some hope."

Daniel laughed. "I'm going to have to make it to one of these parties some time. I'm going to guess you're not holding one for Uncle George and Murray?"

"You absolutely are. We've missed you, you know." She walked over and hugged him, tightly. "And I'm not sure--I don't live in that room, so I'm not always informed ahead of time. I'm sure Jack or Charlie would know."

Daniel hugged him back. "I've missed you too. I'm sorry for being such an idiot."

"I'm sorry you were such an idiot, too. Not that I was much better." She pulled back and took another sip of coffee. "I don't think I realized how big a change this would be when I decided to be...well...you know. Plus there's the whole thing with Dad, which I'm sure she told you about when you were in Colorado."

He looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Sam. He was a good man."

"Yeah, he was. Thanks." She sniffed and took another sip of coffee.

Daniel passed across a box of Kleenex from his desk.

Sam tensed and looked in shock at the box, then remembered who she was talking to. Daniel. Right. This was okay. She took a tissue and wiped her eyes. "Thanks."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Not a problem," he said. "If you ever need to talk, you can always come to me, okay?"

"Thanks," she said, leaning into him. This was better now that he so much larger than she was. Safe. "I guess you'd know all about it, wouldn't you?"

He looked down at his feet, unconciously holding her tighter. "Yeah."

She laid her head on his shoulder and sipped at her coffee. "You can come to me too, you know. Still the same brain, no matter what the outside package looks like."

He smiled. "Yes, Janet keeps having to remind me of that, but I think it's finally sunk in."

She sighed. "This thing with Janet...you're my friend too, you know. You can come to me ~~especially since I'm female and talk to Janet about you on a regular basis~~."

He blushed. "I should possibly start running my "bright" ideas past you first," he said. "I love her, Sam. I just want to be with her."

"You might want to at least call and make sure she's there next time," Sam chuckled. "I'm glad. I'm glad you can finally say it out loud, and I'm glad that you're getting this second chance together. There aren't many of those in life, y'know. Take care of this one."

Daniel chuckled. "Hey, I was drunk and distraught. That idea never came to me."

He looked serious. "I don't want to waste it," he agreed. "Especially with what happened..." His voice choked up.

"I heard about the one drink, Daniel. Have you considered just sticking to caffeine?" She smiled.

"Then you won't waste it. I have faith that she'll forgive you ~~and you should have seen her face when she first saw the roses~~ and you'll live happily ever after, if a bit scandalously because she'll look like a college student and you'll be a dirty old man."

She hugged him close. "We've got her back, Daniel. The Asgard took care of it--both times. Thor's Hammer wasn't pretty, but it did the job."

Daniel blushed. "I thought the alcohol was appropriate considering the circumstances," he muttered.

He laughed. "Yes, it's always going to look a bit odd, isn't it? But as long as she's still willing to have me, I'm not going to let her go." Daniel was determined.

Sam laughed, but tried to cover it with a sip of coffee. She promptly sputtered coffee everywhere in amusement.

"Yes, it is. Going to look odd, I mean." Sam grinned. "And I don't think she's letting you go anywhere either."

She took one last slug of her coffee and threw the cup in the trash. "Well, since you've been singularly unhelpful, I guess I'm off to the library to figure out some kind of code thing for class."

Daniel smiled. "Sorry, I wasn't of more help. But it was great seeing you, Sam."

"You too. Don't be a stranger, okay?" She hugged him again, briefly, then walked out most of the way out of the room. She stopped in the doorway and turned around. "You're still in for the glitter and wings thing, right?"

Re: After Class

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