Monday, November 09, 2009

50,000 MIA

Courtesy The Dark One, a great story about a historical tall tale that turns out to be true.
The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology's biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.

Bronze weapons, a silver bracelet, an earring and hundreds of human bones found in the vast desolate wilderness of the Sahara desert have raised hopes of finally finding the lost army of Persian King Cambyses II. The 50,000 warriors were said to be buried by a cataclysmic sandstorm in 525 B.C.

In the Comments, your favorite Fortean tale.

54 comments:

  1. This was done as a terrific thriller ala the Indiana Jones template, but with some real craft in the writing. The author is Paul Sussman, who was an archeologist in various digs across Egypt. He has two other great books out since "The Lost Army of Cambyses", including "The Last Secret of the Temple", and "The Lost Oasis". I mention him and his books on my blog, The Last Reveal (http://thelastreveal.blogspot.com/). These books are well above average as thrillers. Check them out!

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  2. Anonymous5:58 AM

    "Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time," #1-2. Atomic Robo, Charles Fort, and a bunch of lightning guns vs. HP Lovecraft transformed into a slavering tentacular beast from outside the universe? Hell, yes.

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  3. Ambrose Bierce. Journalist, muckraker, co-inventor of the Weird Tale genre (with EA Poe) and all around super curmudgeon (think: Warren Ellis of the 19th century) While touring Civil War battlefields, decides to head down to Mexico to hang with Pancho Villa and... just disappears. Is never seen nor heard from again.

    Charles Fort, in his amazing collection of weird happenings, The Book of the Damned talks about Bierce and several other men named Ambrose who disappeared around the same time, speculating half-seriously if some otherworldly power wasn't collecting Ambroses for obscure purposes.

    I've always wanted to write a story about an army of Ambroses, led by Bierce, collected by aliens, and sent through time on missions of cosmic import. A sort of Doctor Who meets Global Frequency, with historical figures and plenty of steampunkery.

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  4. Niels G.2:23 PM

    Very cool indeed. Same story, with a bit of video and a slideshow, at discovery.com.

    A translation of Herodotos' account of Cambyses' lost army (Hdt. 3.25-26) from here:

    [25] Having seen everything, the spies departed again. When they reported all this, Cambyses was angry, and marched at once against the Ethiopians, neither giving directions for any provision of food nor considering that he was about to lead his army to the ends of the earth; [2] being not in his right mind but mad, however, he marched at once on hearing from the Fish-eaters, ordering the Greeks who were with him to await him where they were, and taking with him all his land army. [3] When he came in his march to Thebes , he detached about fifty thousand men from his army, and directed them to enslave the Ammonians and burn the oracle of Zeus; and he himself went on towards Ethiopia with the rest of his host. [4] But before his army had accomplished the fifth part of their journey they had come to an end of all there was in the way of provision, and after the food was gone, they ate the beasts of burden until there was none of these left either. [5] Now had Cambyses, when he perceived this, changed his mind and led his army back again, he would have been a wise man at last after his first fault; but as it was, he went ever forward, taking account of nothing. [6] While his soldiers could get anything from the earth, they kept themselves alive by eating grass; but when they came to the sandy desert, some did a terrible thing, taking by lot one man out of ten and eating him. [7] Hearing this, Cambyses feared their becoming cannibals, and so gave up his expedition against the Ethiopians and marched back to Thebes , with the loss of many of his army; from Thebes he came down to Memphis, and sent the Greeks to sail away.
    [26] So fared the expedition against Ethiopia. As for those who were sent to march against the Ammonians, they set out and journeyed from Thebes with guides; and it is known that they came to the city of Oasis, inhabited by Samians said to be of the Aeschrionian tribe, seven days' march from Thebes across sandy desert; this place is called, in the Greek language, Islands of the Blest. [2] Thus far, it is said, the army came; after that, except for the Ammonians themselves and those who heard from them, no man can say anything of them; for they neither reached the Ammonians nor returned back. [3] But this is what the Ammonians themselves say: when the Persians were crossing the sand from Oasis to attack them, and were about midway between their country and Oasis, while they were breakfasting a great and violent south wind arose, which buried them in the masses of sand which it bore; and so they disappeared from sight. Such is the Ammonian tale about this army.

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  5. If you see a copy of Herodotus in a used book store, pick it up. Amazingly entertaining. It is also reassuring, in that it shows you that the world and its people were just as screwed up back then as now.

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  6. Murasaki_19669:18 PM

    Dear Mr Rogers, are you ever going to answer the questions about The Lost Heir Job that so many people posted so long ago?

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  7. Anonymous11:11 PM

    The annalist Tubero, around 30 BC, has an account of the Roman general Regulus in the 1st Punic War, around 250 BC (so this is history, not mythical prehistory). On the African campaign Regulus fought a major battle against a single giant serpent using the whole of his army and employing ballistae and catapults; and when he had killed it he sent its skin, which was 120 feet long, to Rome (Gellius 7, 3).

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  8. GinaFan2:54 PM

    OT: I saw the rerun of The Ice Man episode last night...

    and something is poking me about Parker. When she trys to be authoritative and barks orders, it never sounds like she's serious. I always get the feeling that she's uncomfortable doing that and includes some intonation in her voice like she's only pretending, and doesn't want to hurt you feelings.

    It's fine to watch, because it just makes you like her more, but that little uncertainty could foul a con.

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  9. GinaFan2:57 PM

    The Lost Heir is replaying next Wednesday (18th), btw.

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  10. Here in Rochester NY, the Eastman Theater is famous for not only it's fabulous acoustics but it's murals by artist Maxfield Parrish.

    As you enter the theater - on your right a procession of peasants march towards a woman playing on an organ; the woman is a portrait of Maxfield Parrish's wife who died while the murals were being completed.

    To your left, a procession of nobles march towards trumpet bearers and a regal figure that's supposed to be a portrait of George Eastman; directly before the podium that holds the trumpeters stands a white figure dressed like a chevalier with a plumed hat, he beckons to the viewer. It's a portrait of Maxfield Parrish - some say he is the heartbroken Harlequin; some say he is the spirit of death.

    When the Eastman Theater was being restored, some really strange things happened - especially whenthat figure was being cleaned.

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  11. Glad someone brought up Ambrose Bierce;

    "The Devil's Dictionary" is a work of genius. You try writing one now that still as funny in 100 years.

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