This hooked metal tool was called a “strigil” by Ancient Romans. Centuries ago, such instruments were used in the process of bathing: you would scrape dirt, sweat, and the ubiquitous Mediterranean olive oil off your skin with it before your bath.
Much of south-central Pennsylvania’s landscape is extremely ancient. For instance, a large swath of Cumberland County, where this photo was taken, straddles the Cambrian, Ordovician,…
“There never was a greater crime against humanity,” wrote the famed Byzantine scholar Sir Steven Runciman, “than the Fourth Crusade.” And although unfortunately untold numbers…
