musing about rocks

The Illustrated Book of Manners: A Manual of Good Behavior and Polite Accomplishments, 1866

Isopod

Happy 100th birthday David Attenborough, you absolute bloody legend 💖💖💖💖💖

Painter's Palette Inscribed with the Name of Amenhotep III New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 ca. 1390–1352 B.C.

This painter's palette was carved from a single piece of ivory. Six oval wells contain cakes of pigments including blue, green, brown (?), yellow, red, and black. The oval cartouche at one end encircles the throne name of Amenhotep III, Nebmaatre, and the epithet "beloved of Re."

Amenhotep III (lit. '"Amun is satisfied"'), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different authors following the "Low Chronology", he ruled Ancient Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, after his father Thutmose IV died. Amenhotep was Thutmose's son by a minor wife, Mutemwiya.

3, 2, 1 – liftoff!

The Artemis II Moon rocket lifted off from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026. Our live launch day coverage continues on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf_UjBMIzNo

Roman token in the shape of a crescent moon

Roman Empire (27 BCE - 476 CE)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: 1588, 1581, 1576, 1558

Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1972.118.178, 2000.346

The 2,400-Year-Old 'Skeleton Mosaic'

The Skeleton Mosaic, dating to the late Roman period around the 3rd century AD, portrays symbolic scenes reflecting life and mortality.

Turkish archaeologists discovered the ancient mosaic in the remains of a house from the 3rd century that features a skeleton enjoying a large loaf of bread and pitcher of wine. It was found in 2012 in Turkey’s southernmost state, Hatay Province, in the provincial capital of Antakya, (Antioch in antiquity) during construction of a cable car system.

Dating back to the late Roman period (around the 3rd century AD), this mosaic is divided into three panels that offer a rare, symbolic reflection on life, urgency, and mortality.

The central scene features a reclining skeleton with a pitcher of wine and bread, inscribed in ancient Greek with the word “ΕΥΦΡΟΣΥΝΟΣ” (“Be cheerful, enjoy your life”)—a bold message that subverts typical portrayals of death. Another panel shows a man rushing to dinner, losing a shoe in his haste, with the caption “ΤΡΕΧΕΔΙΠΝΟΣ-ΑΚΑΙΡΟΣ” (“He is in a hurry to get dinner because he’s nearly out of time”), reminding viewers of the fleeting nature of time. The final, partially preserved panel shows a servant preparing a bath—highlighting the social importance of bathing in Greco-Roman life.

Scholars continue to debate its meaning: some see it as a celebration of life’s pleasures, others as a subtle warning against excess. Either way, it’s a vivid window into the philosophies of one of antiquity’s most vibrant cultures.

On display at the Hatay Archaeological Museum in Turkey.

Drinking horn with gilded copper mounts, Europe, 15th century

Cats at the Temple of Apollo Site // Delphi Archeological site, Greece

A kitten I met in Delphi in 2024.