In the strange but true category, the carved head of Emperor Constantine was just discovered in a sewer pipe in Rome:
Archaeologists found the 60cm (2ft) head while clearing an ancient drainage system in the ruins of the Roman Forum.
[snip] Constantine, who reigned from 306 to 337, is known for ending persecution of Christians and founding Constantinople.
Although most of his subjects remained pagans, he is credited with helping to establish Europe’s Christian roots by proclaiming religious freedom.
It could have been put there to symbolise the resentment of a pagan people for their Christian emperor.
Probably carved between 312 and 325 AD, when Constantine was at the height of his power, it may have belonged to a statue of the emperor in full armour.
“Recovering a portrait of this size and in this state of conservation in the very heart of the city is really extraordinary,” said Mr La Rocca.
“We have concluded that the head did not fall by accident into the passage, but was put there on purpose.
“It could have been used as a big piece of stone to divert water from the drain, or it could have been put there to symbolise the resentment of a pagan people for their Christian emperor.”
The head’s unceremonious insertion in the drain may have saved it from the plundering of the Forum after the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th Century.
BBC
Using my calculator I estimate that the statue was created approximately 1700 years ago. I hope that someone discovers the head of George W. Bush in a Washington, DC sewer in 3700. They can debate whether it was placed there to ‘divert water from the drain’ or because he was the worst President in the history of the nation.
Gosh Boo – I hope you mean the ‘carved’ head of George W. Your comment gave me paws! I hope it doesn’t happen until 3700, I couldn’t bear the speculation now.
Changing the subject, it was only thirty years ago today that Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.
I don’t want to give you ‘paws’, you might scratch somebody 🙂
… energy polices, there will be no life on earth other than rats and cockroaches in 3700. A sentient being recognizing the bust of his head in a sewer would not only be just about the greatest miracle we could hope for, but that miracle would also have an aspect of poetic justice.
You mean… redundant.
I’m tempted to say that’s redundant too but my wife hits me everytime I say something like that. 🙂
Religious freedom? Constantine did nothing of the sort. He was for religious freedom in the same way Republicans are for religious freedom: free to use the power of the state to force their religion down your throat.
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/milan.stm
The reason Constantine chose to support the Christian ideology of the day was because he had a vision that he believed that told him he’d be victorious in battle if he wore the “cross” rather than the Roman “eagles”. His initial embrace of Christianity was a war decision, not something based on spiritual epiphany, and certainly not for a reason likely to have pleased Jesus, had he been around to see it.
Constanine’s head in a sewer? Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy… some of the people he killed:
310 AD.. Maximum, his wife’s father
314 AD.. Bassinius, his sister Anastasia’s husband
319 AD.. Licinianus, son of his sister Constantia
320 AD.. Fausta, his wife (forced into a bath of
boiling water
321 AD.. Sopater, his former counselor
325 AD.. Licinius, his sister Constantia’s husband
326 AD.. Crispus, his son
link
I think his son was something like 11 years old…have to look that up though.
That Roman Empire…
The model for what Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush want for the USA.
I can’t think of a more fitting place for it. Couldn’t they just leave it there?
If Bush’s head ends up in a sewer… [insert endless opportunities and material for jokes here]
If Bush’s head ends up in a sewer…
… it’ll be because he got caught up in it when he flushed the rest of the country down the crapper.
… further proof he’s had his head up his ass his whole Presidency.
Can I request the location, so I can enjoy my daily bodily functions OH so much more?
I hope it is not a publicity stunt for this
Constantine (2005) the movie
(Rotten Tomatoes gives it 44%, it’s rotten.)
I think the Romans did the right thing, considering how Constantine abandoned the city, effectively putting the Western Roman Empire up for grabs.
inserted into shit for the past 5 years it’s nice to know that eventually I may be pulled from it all in pretty good shape.
What made the archaeologists gasp though, was that when the head was exposed to daylight for the first time in 1700 years, its eyes opened; it licked its lips; hummed an ‘A’ and immediately broke into a rendition of “I’ve got no body to love”.
</ducks and runs>