A prefab temple, just add Allen Wrench.
Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed the remains of a 6th century BC temple-style building complete with detailed assembly instructions which they have likened to an Ikea do-it-yourself furniture pack.
The archaeologists have speculated that the indigenous, pre-Roman nobility may have developed a taste for Greek fashion and that enterprising local builders came up with the idea of relatively cheap, DIY buildings to satisfy local demand.
Each stone component bears identification symbols showing how they fit together, just like a bed or book case produced by the Swedish low-cost furniture manufacturer.
The symbols would have indicated to builders how “male” components fitted into “female” joints.
The coded symbols also appear on red and black decorative panels known as “cymatiums”.
“All the cymatiums and several sections of frieze also have inscriptions relating to the roof assembly system,” Massimo Osanna, the director of the archaeology department at Basilicata University, said.
You know, it’s funny; I have this dumb separation in my head between “modern” life and “olden days” life, but the more I learn, the more it’s plain that the essential qualities of life don’t change much.Maximus !!! Have you got my philips-head screwdriver? * How many times have I told you!..”)*
brujaja:
You know, it’s funny; I have this dumb separation in my head between “modern” life and “olden days” life, but the more I learn, the more it’s plain that the essential qualities of life don’t change much.Maximus !!! Have you got my philips-head screwdriver? * How many times have I told you!..”)*
Yeah, they had central heating, too.
I’ve got this picture of the first archeologue on the field, looking at the ruins and thinking to himself:
*Another year, another find. And this one looks to be a big one. But how the hell does it fit together?
Hey, wait a minute . . .
I think the pictographic instructions that came with the last Ikea shelving unit I bought somehow got muddled up with the ones for that funky pre-Roman temple. Yeah, it all makes sense now.
howye
April 23, 2010, 1:24pm
6
Next they will be finding those little allen wrenches all over the place.
Zebra
April 24, 2010, 3:15am
7
When they find an angry letter complaining of a missing piece, then you will know that some things never change.
It’s named TJÖMPEL and is actually marble-clad particle board.