Since ATS doesn't have an Archeology forum, I guess this is this best place for this discovery. Five beautiful telescopes from the 18th century have
been discovered in Amsterdam, 2 were found in a "toilet".
www.livescience.com...
Five telescopes made of bone and dating to the 18th century have been discovered in Amsterdam, with two of the scopes found in the equivalent of
toilets.
At the time, called the Enlightenment, the telescopes would have been considered luxury items and were likely used to gaze at objects on land or sea,
rather than to look at the stars. They were created during a period when Amsterdam was a flourishing center for trade, one that attracted talented
craftsmen.
Ranging in length from roughly 3 to 5 inches (80 to 140 millimeters), the telescopes were made using cattle metatarsal bone. "This particular bone of
cow, the metatarsal bone, is actually quite straight and round," Marloes Rijkelijkhuizen, of the Amsterdam Archaeological Centre at the University of
Amsterdam, told LiveScience."It's a nice shape to make these telescopes from, it's straight and (has a) very round narrow cavity."
This is a pretty neat discovery. I do wonder how and why these fantastic telescopes ended up in this cesspool. You would think that something like
these telescopes would be prized possessions in the 18th century, but thankfully they were very well preserved due to the environment that they were
found in.
I'm always fascinated by objects from the past, and it's great to find items like this is great condition.
edit on 26-3-2012 by isyeye because: (no reason given)
edit on 26-3-2012 by isyeye because: (no reason given)
