New Research About Hannibal's Route Across Alps
Apr 7, 2016 15:36:12 GMT
diane9247 and jeanthie like this
Post by washi on Apr 7, 2016 15:36:12 GMT
or
"Oh, Horse Pucky!"
Five years ago I posted a piece about possible routes that the Carthaginian General may have taken when he astounded the Romans in 218 BC by leading his army over the Alps. In March of this year a team of 27 authors, lead by W. C. "Bill" Mahaney of York University in Toronto, published two articles in the journal Archeometry. Their research, conducted over two decades, supports the view that Hannibal's army came through the pass called Col de la Traversette. Of the six possible routes that I explored in my post, that was the one that I viewed as least likely. These papers are available on line, but only the abstracts may be read without payment. The first of the two papers describes geological structures on the Italian side of the pass, as they relate to historical documents. The second describes a study began in 2011 of a peaty bog near the pass. Laboratory analysis of a compacted layer, which carbon date to the time of the crossing, indicates strong DNA and bacterial evidence of the excrement of mammals, in some findings likely horses. The likely conclusion drawn by the researchers is that the compacted layer was created by the passing of Hannibal's army.
I'll not attempt to list the specific findings. The various sources that I have listed in the placemark do it in general layman's terms. If you want a more precise description, you can pay the six bucks and wade through the original article.
The attached placemark has links to several online news sources that describe the findings in some detail, and judging from the abstract, the second article very likely puts forth the findings in careful scientific detail. It also will link to the relevant folder in my earlier post.
The placemark is on what I assume to be the location for the study. One source cites the location as "the upper Guil Valley near Mt. Viso," which I suppose could be anywhere below the pass, down as far as the drainage from Col de la Croix. Another article has a photo (copyrighted by one of the authors). This source suggests the site is on the Italian side of the pass, but I have put the placemark on the French side, because it is the place that seemed to me to most closely resemble the photo. (I have put a URL link to the photo in the in the placemark. If you wish to judge the likeliness of the location for yourself, you can open the Properties dialog box and insert the image into the placemark. The placemark also provides a link to the relevant folder in my original post, or to the whole post, if you prefer.
Edit: 15 hours after posting
Before I made this post, I read the news stories I had linked to in the placemark, but as they were all new, it didn't occur to me to do a video search until today.
This video does little more that define the question, and rather misleadingly suggests that the conclusions reached by the research team are indisputable.
There is also a video (which I can't embed) in >>THIS ARTICLE<< of an interview with Dr. Chris Allen (Queens University in Belfast and one of the authors) that provides more specific detail.
I spoke briefly this morning to a friend in the U.S. to whom I had sent a link to this post. He asked me if I really found this new evidence convincing. I said, it probably still depends, (as it always has), on which bits of evidence you are prepared to ignore or explain away. Dr. Allen said, “This is the very first solid scientific evidence because we have found specific DNA sequences linked to the exact date he went across the Alps.” In my opinion, the question very much hangs on just how solid the scientific evidence really is. For all the reasons I listed in my post, I still regard Col de la Traversette as the least likely of the six possibilities I examined. I am not, of course, able to evaluate how well the science supports the conclusions the team has drawn. If peer review proves to support the conclusions, then I will reluctantly be forced to acknowledge that Travesette is the most likely route.
"Oh, Horse Pucky!"
Five years ago I posted a piece about possible routes that the Carthaginian General may have taken when he astounded the Romans in 218 BC by leading his army over the Alps. In March of this year a team of 27 authors, lead by W. C. "Bill" Mahaney of York University in Toronto, published two articles in the journal Archeometry. Their research, conducted over two decades, supports the view that Hannibal's army came through the pass called Col de la Traversette. Of the six possible routes that I explored in my post, that was the one that I viewed as least likely. These papers are available on line, but only the abstracts may be read without payment. The first of the two papers describes geological structures on the Italian side of the pass, as they relate to historical documents. The second describes a study began in 2011 of a peaty bog near the pass. Laboratory analysis of a compacted layer, which carbon date to the time of the crossing, indicates strong DNA and bacterial evidence of the excrement of mammals, in some findings likely horses. The likely conclusion drawn by the researchers is that the compacted layer was created by the passing of Hannibal's army.
I'll not attempt to list the specific findings. The various sources that I have listed in the placemark do it in general layman's terms. If you want a more precise description, you can pay the six bucks and wade through the original article.
The attached placemark has links to several online news sources that describe the findings in some detail, and judging from the abstract, the second article very likely puts forth the findings in careful scientific detail. It also will link to the relevant folder in my earlier post.
The placemark is on what I assume to be the location for the study. One source cites the location as "the upper Guil Valley near Mt. Viso," which I suppose could be anywhere below the pass, down as far as the drainage from Col de la Croix. Another article has a photo (copyrighted by one of the authors). This source suggests the site is on the Italian side of the pass, but I have put the placemark on the French side, because it is the place that seemed to me to most closely resemble the photo. (I have put a URL link to the photo in the in the placemark. If you wish to judge the likeliness of the location for yourself, you can open the Properties dialog box and insert the image into the placemark. The placemark also provides a link to the relevant folder in my original post, or to the whole post, if you prefer.
Edit: 15 hours after posting
Before I made this post, I read the news stories I had linked to in the placemark, but as they were all new, it didn't occur to me to do a video search until today.
This video does little more that define the question, and rather misleadingly suggests that the conclusions reached by the research team are indisputable.
There is also a video (which I can't embed) in >>THIS ARTICLE<< of an interview with Dr. Chris Allen (Queens University in Belfast and one of the authors) that provides more specific detail.
I spoke briefly this morning to a friend in the U.S. to whom I had sent a link to this post. He asked me if I really found this new evidence convincing. I said, it probably still depends, (as it always has), on which bits of evidence you are prepared to ignore or explain away. Dr. Allen said, “This is the very first solid scientific evidence because we have found specific DNA sequences linked to the exact date he went across the Alps.” In my opinion, the question very much hangs on just how solid the scientific evidence really is. For all the reasons I listed in my post, I still regard Col de la Traversette as the least likely of the six possibilities I examined. I am not, of course, able to evaluate how well the science supports the conclusions the team has drawn. If peer review proves to support the conclusions, then I will reluctantly be forced to acknowledge that Travesette is the most likely route.
