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Caleb Strom

Caleb Strom is currently a graduate student studying planetary science. He considers himself a writer, scientist, and all-around story teller. His interests include planetary geology, astrobiology, paleontology, archaeology, history, space archaeology, and SETI.

History

Member for: 7 years 5 months

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Posts

The Oval Forum and Cardo Maximus in ancient Jerash

27 February, 2018 - 14:00 Caleb Strom

Garshu, Gerasa, Jerash: the Everchanging City of the Ancient World

Today, Jerash is a relatively unimposing town in the modern-day country of Jordan but its expansive and majestic ancient ruins reveal its glorious past. Even beneath its existing ruins lies a history...

Right: Detail of a statue of a reclining Attis. The Shrine of Attis is situated to the east of the Campus of the Magna Mater in Ostia. Statue of Jesus Christ as a shepherd with a lamb.

22 February, 2018 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

The Pagan Attis and Christian Jesus: A Spurious Connection?

Recently, it has been popular to suggest in some circles that Christianity was influenced, or even derived from, the ancient Roman mystery religions – religions often known to have orgiastic rituals...

A shepherd (Jesus? Tammuz? Other?) with his flock.

8 February, 2018 - 22:48 Caleb Strom

Tammuz and Jesus: More Than a Distant Connection?

Christianity has its origins in a Middle Eastern religion, Judaism, so it is little surprise that there are some residual similarities between Christian theological thought and ancient Middle Eastern...

29 December, 2017 - 22:55 Caleb Strom

Medical Astrology: Moon Fever and Diseases Sent from the Skies

For centuries, humans have believed that the celestial realm could influence everyday life. This is the basis of astrology. The rise and fall of kingdoms and the fortunes of individuals have all been...

29 December, 2017 - 13:54 Caleb Strom

The Celestial Temple of Sogmatar: A Sacred Site Dedicated to Sin and the Planets

Ancient Arab accounts tell of a mysterious temple in eastern Anatolia dedicated to the planets. The ruins surrounding the modern village of Sogmatar used to be an important city during the...

Detail of a bronze statuette of Pazuzu, circa 800 BC - circa 700 BC. Pazuzu was an Assyrian evil spirit believed to frighten away other evil spirits - protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes.

22 December, 2017 - 18:53 Caleb Strom

Mesopotamian Ghostbusters: The Evil Acts of Assyrian Ghosts and How They Were Vanquished

Assyria, like Mesopotamia in general, has always excited the Western imagination. Assyrian beliefs about the spiritual world are no exception. The Assyrians believed that ghosts could return from the...

Mór Than's painting The Feast of Attila, based on a fragment of Priscus.

19 December, 2017 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

Did the Roughly-Hewn Stone Throne at Torcello Really Belong to Attila the Hun?

On the island of Torcello there exists an ancient white chair that local legend names as the throne of Attila the Hun. The chair is large, of solid stone and certainly has the air of unyielding...

Mummy of a 900-year-old Russian "polar princess"

5 December, 2017 - 18:55 Caleb Strom

Viruses Sleeping in Mummies—Could Ancient Corpses Lead to Modern Epidemics?

Mummies fascinate historians, archaeologists, and anyone with antiquarian leanings. Mummies allow scientists to learn more about the diets, clothing, appearance, genetics, and general lifestyle of...

18 November, 2017 - 13:50 Caleb Strom

Where the West Actually Meets the East—The Tarim Mummies

Ancient Rome and China were on opposite sides of the world as far as both civilizations were concerned. Although both cultures were aware of each other’s existence because of the Silk Road, each...

7 November, 2017 - 14:01 Caleb Strom

The Mandala: Mapping the Cosmos and the Soul

Human cultures are replete with ways to depict or represent some aspect of the universe. Calendars, ordinary maps, star charts, and other diagrams are all examples of ways to make sense of or map...

Male and female cones on the Wollemi pine

17 October, 2017 - 18:49 Caleb Strom

Reviving a Leafy Dinosaur: The Wollemi Pine

A popular idea in science fiction is the resurrection of prehistoric creatures such as dinosaurs, mammoths, and even Neanderthals. In reality, such a resurrection of a prehistoric creature has yet to...

Reconstructed heads of the children that may have been sacrificed for a double burial in Sunghir, Russia.

5 October, 2017 - 19:00 Caleb Strom

The Sunghir Burial Site: Were these Two Children Sacrificed in a Form of Prehistoric Scapegoating?

One of the clearest signs of behavioral modernity in the archaeological record is the appearance of art and religion. Once we see indications of creative and speculative minds at work trying to...

3 September, 2017 - 23:05 Caleb Strom

Constructing an Obelisk: How the True Rocks of Eternity were Made

Since Classical antiquity, the West has had a fascination with ancient Egypt. Even Roman tourists would regularly visit Egypt in droves and all but one of the Egyptian obelisks were removed at some...

1 September, 2017 - 22:35 Caleb Strom

Taos Pueblo: Evoking the Story of Ancestral Puebloans for 1000 Years

North and South America had their own civilizations which flourished in pre-Columbian times. The western hemisphere’s population before the 15th century is estimated at about 100 million people...

1 September, 2017 - 01:50 Caleb Strom

Divine, Demonic, or Something In-Between: How the Changing Face of Elves Reflects the Zeitgeist

Just as human culture has changed over the centuries, supernatural creatures also change with time. For example, elves were originally a type of nature spirit similar to Nymphs in Greek mythology...

24 August, 2017 - 14:00 Caleb Strom

Ancient Runways and Flying Fish: Did the Nazca Culture Take Flight?

The Nazca lines are still mysterious even after decades of being carefully studied. Archaeologists believe they know how they were made, but why they were made remains uncertain. Recently,...