Ethiopian grave reveals 2,000-year-old link to Rome :

Flask for the tears of the dead:

Archaeologists have discovered dazzling jewels from an Ethiopian grave that revealed the 2,000-year-old link to Rome. The grave in Ethiopia where the woman dubbed ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was discovered [Credit: Graeme Laidlaw] Spectacular 2,000-year-old treasures from the Roman empire and the Aksumite kingdom, which ruled parts of north-east Africa for several centuries before 940AD, have been discovered by British archaeologists in northern Ethiopia, the Guardian reported. Louise Schofield, a former British Museum curator, named one grave “Sleeping Beauty,” because the way the body and its grave goods had been positioned suggested that she had been beautiful and much-loved. Perfume flask found at the site [Credit: Graeme Laidlaw] The woman was also wearing a necklace of thousands of tiny beads, and a beaded belt. The quality of the jewellery suggested that she was a person of very high status, able to command the very best luxurious goods. Other artefacts with her include Roman glass vessels, two perfectly preserved drinking beakers and a flask to catch the tears of the dead.

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Trade and cultural exchanges always was a winner for me, influences was a common thing even when both empires were the equal of and yet competitors of each other, the Axumites never a push over for anyone competed corporated in the market place and battlefields with the other great powers of their day, namely the Persians and Romans they also had contacts with China a power far to the east.
RANT- I wished folks that know better would stop injecting names that had only a fleeting connection with an actual empire or civilization, take the name Ethiopia for example, many are confused and rightly so with the Ethiopia of the Greeks, which was a completely different civilization known as Kush later Meroe, every time I saw a biblical movie or pop art depicting the "Ethiopian" ambassador and eunuch that got converted by Philip on the road to Jerusalem to worship ,I just want to pull my dreads out by the roots, for they always without fail cast him as an Axumite with quasi Axumite gear, not only that but modern politics come into play as Eritreans have a problem with Ethiopians taking credit for the Axumite empire which covered both lands by stamping the name Ethiopia all over it.
Another thing Ethiopia or an out post also existed in the Levant this is where the Greek myth of Andromeda took place, this was perhaps a serviving outpost of Kus-hitie occupation from the days of the Egyptian empire. I have the same problem with the term " Nubia" and its misuse by folks who should know better.

a reply to: Spider879
What about love? What if a ruler had a consort that he loved dearly? Love is not as new thing. Just because a female corpse, adorned with precious stones or ornate jewelry, does not mean she was royalty.
It could be that a king or emperor lost his mate and had to cope some way.

originally posted by: Kratos40
a reply to: Spider879
What about love? What if a ruler had a consort that he loved dearly? Love is not as new thing. Just because a female corpse, adorned with precious stones or ornate jewelry, does not mean she was royalty.
It could be that a king or emperor lost his mate and had to cope some way.

True but the article only hinted that the person was of high status as such luxury imports would have been very costly for the average Axumite family , she was perhaps part of the 1% of her time.

a reply to: Spider879

In response to the rant....Ethiopians consider themselves to be mixed peoples. They are semitic, hermetic, kush and nile peoples.

Ehipia got its name from Ethiopis, which was a general name for the western half of Africa in ancient times. Saudan was the eastern half which served as inspiration for the name of modern day Sudan.

Cool find BTW. S&F

originally posted by: tadaman
a reply to: Spider879

In response to the rant....Ethiopians consider themselves to be mixed peoples. They are semitic, hermetic, kush and nile peoples.

Ehipia got its name from Ethiopis, which was a general name for the western half of Africa in ancient times. Saudan was the eastern half which served as inspiration for the name of modern day Sudan.

Cool find BTW. S&F

Hi Tadaman longtime, some Ethiopians maybe mixed some are not no matter what features they have, but the name itself is Greek meaning burnt faced, and it was applied to the blackest of Africans, it also was applied to Africa in a general way and areas unevenly adjacent to Africa. (GREEK ERA)
The name of Ethiopia today for the nation is modern and do not go back much beyond the late eighteen hundreds before then it was Abyssinia, the local rulers wanted to connect more with a Black people of the bible known as Ethiopians to the Greeks which was in fact kush or Sudan.
Semites are a language group that may have emerged in the horn of Africa and spread outwards, there they mixed with west Asians and some doubled backed into the horn, thus you will find a variety of folks speaking the Semitic languages of various shades inside and outside Africa proper.

Djimon Hounsou Stargate
What the Greeks would call an Ethiopian.

Carlos Lauchu Stargate
The Greek may have identified him as Ethiopian but with qualifiers.