An artist’s rendering of the ancient Roman Plutonium
We are occasionally rewarded in our reading and research travels by new discoveries. Sometimes, like treasure hunters of any stripe, our laborious diggings and wanderings into obscurity yield buried hoards meant to be shared with those who would appreciate them.
Such was the case, recently, when after two years of intensive work, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 7000 year-old Native burial site off the coast of Florida. Or, similarly, when archaeologists revealed new theories about the workings of the ancient Roman Plutonium, where animal sacrifices were made to reinforce notions of divinity and the power of the priesthood. Or in Sweden, recently, where archaeologists discovered 8000 year-old human heads impaled on spikes.
Discoveries like that are always rare additions to our thinking, and they can easily slip past us in the daily crush of information. But they remain endlessly fascinating discoveries for those of us scouting the trail for sign, and they can be studied to inform our modern life, and work, and what it is we think we know about the past.
My own recent discovery – and I honestly have no idea why it took me so long – isn’t nearly so old, though it contains marvelous nods to antiquity, an utterly genius exploration of the boundaries of our language, and a deeply held appreciation for the taxing and mysterious burdens of citizenship in service.
The embarrassing part, for this tracker, is that the treasure was always hiding in plain sight, and that I found it late, and by accident.
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