Part of the ceiling of Roman Emperor Nero's Domus Aurea collapsed on Tuesday.
Some 60 square meters of the baths built on top of the Golden House by the emperor who succeeded Nero, Trajan, came down because of seepage from recent heavy rains, civil protection experts said.
The area where the collapse occurred, a tunnel that was once part of the baths, has been cordoned off because it is close to the entrance to public gardens above it, they said.
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The Domus Aurea, built by Nero soon after the great fire in Rome in 64 AD, has been shut since 2005 for work to make it more stable.
It was closed after masonry fell from flaking walls and a high level of dangerous seepage was detected.
The current project aims to open up 2,600 square metres of the site.
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When the Domus was completed, it actually stretched for 50 hectares and covered most of the neighbouring Palatine and Celian hills as well.
Nero was reputed to have remarked that finally he was beginning to be "housed like a human being".
After Nero's suicide in 68 AD the Flavian emperors who succeeded him proceeded to bury all trace of his legacy.
Citation: When enemy bombing attacks had set on fire many tons of hand grenades on Namsos wharf, with no shore water supply available, Lieutenant Stannard ran Arab's bows against the wharf and held her there. Sending all but two of his crew aft, he then endeavoured for two hours to extinguish the fire with hoses from the forecastle. He persisted in this work till the attempt had to be given up as hopeless.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 21 April 1967, during Operation UNION elements of Company F, conducting offensive operations at Binh Son, encountered a firmly entrenched enemy force and immediately deployed to engage them. The marines in Pfc. Martini's platoon assaulted across an open rice paddy to within 20 meters of the enemy trench line where they were suddenly struck by hand grenades, intense small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire. The enemy onslaught killed 14 and wounded 18 marines, pinning the remainder of the platoon down behind a low paddy dike. In the face of imminent danger, Pfc. Martini immediately crawled over the dike to a forward open area within 15 meters of the enemy position where, continuously exposed to the hostile fire, he hurled hand grenades, killing several of the enemy. Crawling back through the intense fire, he rejoined his platoon which had moved to the relative safety of a trench line. From this position he observed several of his wounded comrades Lying helpless in the fire-swept paddy. Although he knew that 1 man had been killed attempting to assist the wounded, Pfc. Martini raced through the open area and dragged a comrade back to a friendly position. In spite of a serious wound received during this first daring rescue, he again braved the unrelenting fury of the enemy fire to aid another companion Lying wounded only 20 meters in front of the enemy trench line. As he reached the fallen marine, he received a mortal wound, but disregarding his own condition, he began to drag the marine toward his platoon's position. Observing men from his unit attempting to leave the security of their position to aid him, concerned only for their safety, he called to them to remain under cover, and through a final supreme effort, moved his injured comrade to where he could be pulled to safety, before he fell, succumbing to his wounds. Stouthearted and indomitable, Pfc. Martini unhesitatingly yielded his life to save 2 of his comrades and insure the safety of the remainder of his platoon. His outstanding courage, valiant fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty reflected the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
A total of 146 members of the Armed Forces and one civilian have received honours and awards in the Operational Honours List dated today, 19 March 2010.
The full list ... recognises service on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and national operations for the period 1 April to 30 September 2009.
AFGHANISTAN
George Cross (GC)
Staff Sergeant Kim Spencer HUGHES, The Royal Logistic Corps
Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George SCHMID, The Royal Logistic Corps (Killed in action)
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Bar to Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Lieutenant Colonel Angus George Costeker FAIR, DSO, The Light Dragoons
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Major Giles Richard HARRIS, MBE, Welsh Guards
Brigadier Timothy Buchan RADFORD, OBE, late The Light Infantry
Acting Colonel Robert John THOMSON, MBE, The Rifles
Associate Royal Red Cross Medal (ARRC)
Captain Gail Lesley WHITTLE, Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
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Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
Flight Lieutenant Marc Alan HEAL, Royal Air Force
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IRAQ
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Commander James Robert DEAN, Royal Navy
Colonel Andrew DENNIS, late The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment
Major Simon Peter HAMILTON, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
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REST OF THE WORLD
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
Colonel Nigel Malcolm Tree STAFFORD, late 9th/12th Royal Lancers
Among the British Service personnel to be honoured in the latest Operational Awards List, which was published last week, were several members of the Royal Navy.
Nine members of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines were recognised for their gallantry and meritorious service in Afghanistan, Iraq, the UK, and the rest of the world from 1 April to 30 September 2009.
Among them was Royal Marines Warrant Officer Class 1 Matthew Tomlinson whose bravery under heavy concentrated fire by the Taliban while patrolling in a Viking armoured vehicle convoy in Helmand province in May last year was recognised with the awarding of a Military Cross, one of the highest awards for gallantry.
Among the British Service personnel to be honoured for their gallantry and meritorious service in last week's Operational Awards List are six members of the Royal Air Force.
The RAF personnel, who come from various stations across the UK, have been honoured for their bravery and service in Afghanistan, Iraq, and in Search and Rescue missions around the UK.
The highest honour for the RAF went to Flight Lieutenant Marc Heal, aged 29, currently stationed at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, who was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions whilst on operations in Afghanistan in July 2009.
Citation: For having, at Bolandshahur, on the 28th of September, 1857, gone to the support of Lieutenant Blair, who had been severely wounded, and, with a few other men, brought that officer in safety through a large body of the enemy's cavalry.
Citation: Voluntarily carried a wounded officer off the field from between the lines [at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on 13 Dec 1862]; while doing this he was himself wounded.To win you need to first guess the Top 10 Books. But to become the ultimate winner you need to also place them in the correct order of appearance. Do this and you'll win a fabulous prize. Honest. I'm not a giveaway gal, but in this case I can make an exception.
By my calculations book #11 will post on Thursday, March 25th. Therefore you have until midnight of the 25th to email me your guess at Fusenumber8@gmail.com. I will announce the true winner after the #1 book comes out.
A bomb disposal expert, hailed by his commanding officer as "the most courageous man" he had ever met, is to receive a posthumous George Cross.
Staff Sgt Olaf Schmid's gallantry award, second only to the Victoria Cross, will be announced by the Ministry of Defence on Friday, say military sources. He was killed five months ago while working in Afghanistan.
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Staff Sgt Schmid, 30, of the Royal Logistic Corps and who was serving with 2 Rifles Battle Group, was killed on October 31 as he dealt with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the Sangin region of Helmand province.
He died instantly when the device he was defusing detonated. He had previously disarmed 64 roadside bombs in five months.
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The George Cross was instituted 1940 by George VI and is awarded in recognition of "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger". Until now, the medal has been awarded 159 times in 70 years.
The medal is the most prestigious award that can be made for an act of bravery not in the face of the enemy. It was originally dubbed "the civilian VC" but in fact it has also been awarded to scores of servicemen.
Two British military bomb disposal experts, one of whom gave his life in the line of duty, have been awarded one of the UK's highest awards for gallantry, the George Cross.
At a special ceremony in London today, Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup confirmed that Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes and his fallen colleague the late Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid are to have the gallantry award bestowed upon them.
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The George Crosses will be presented in a Royal investiture at a later date.
These honours are part of Operational Awards List 34, the remainder of which will be announced tomorrow, Friday, 19 March 2010.
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Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes and the late Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, both from the Royal Logistic Corps were deployed to Helmand Province as part of 19 Light Brigade, which was deployed to Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK 10 between March and November 2009.
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SSgt Hughes's actions are described in his citation as "the single most outstanding act of explosive ordnance disposal ever recorded in Afghanistan."
The next installment (25-21) of Betsy Bird's "Top 100 Children's Novels" list is up at A Fuse #8 Production.
Citation: On 24th March, 1945, Corporal Topham, a medical orderly, parachuted with his Battalion on to a strongly defended area east of the Rhine [at Diersfordter, Germany]. At about 1100 hours, whilst treating casualties sustained in the drop, a cry for help came from a wounded man in the open. Two medical orderlies from a field ambulance went out to this man in succession but both were killed as they knelt beside the casualty.
Citation: All the officers of his battery having been killed or wounded and five of its guns disabled in Pickett's assault [at Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg, on 3 July 1863], he succeeded to the command and fought the remaining gun with most distinguished gallantry until the battery was ordered withdrawn.Alonzo Cushing, a Civil War hero and the most famous of three Delafield brothers who distinguished themselves in military service, has been recommended to receive the Medal of Honor, 146 years after his death at Gettysburg.
With congressional approval, the U.S. Army first lieutenant would become the 62nd Medal of Honor winner from Wisconsin, the 22nd from the Civil War.
The nomination by Sen. Russ Feingold dates back to 2003. The Army made the recommendation last month, and Feingold announced it Tuesday.
Bailey died of organ failure Sunday at Henry Ford Hospital. The Detroit resident was the fifth oldest person in the world and the oldest living black person as certified by the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks people who are 100 years and older.
She would have turned 115 March 30, said her granddaughter Helen Arnold.
Bailey was one of two supercentenarians, or those older than 110, who died Sunday. Mary Josephine Ray, who was certified as the oldest person living in the United States, died at age 114 years, 294 days, at a nursing home in Westmoreland, N.H.
Bailey's family said she was born in 1895, in Watertown, Tenn. The Gerontology Research Group puts Bailey's birthday a year later, based on U.S. census records.
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Bailey's secret to longevity? She liked "taking a nip" of old bourbon whenever she could, Arnold said.
Bailey was rarely ill and suffered mostly from mild cases of hypertension and arthritis, Arnold said. Arnold also attributed her grandmother's long life to eating a lot of vegetables and pork. "She didn't eat nothing but pork, no beef," she said.
Even at 114, Mary J. Ray was a woman known to belt out a tune with gusto — anytime, anywhere.
Among the top songs in the Westmoreland resident’s repertoire was a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” sung in honor of her beloved Red Sox.
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Ray, who had been listed as the oldest living American and the second oldest person in the world since September, died peacefully Sunday morning at Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland.
Hers was a life spanning the election of 21 presidents, the introduction of six U.S. states, both world wars and American women gaining the right to vote.
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Born May 17, 1895, in Bloomfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada, Ray was one of seven children.
She moved to the U.S. at three, and by 15 had lost both parents.
She took a job as a housekeeper and store clerk, and in 1923 married Walter R. Ray.
The couple had two sons, Robert B. Ray and Donald K. Ray, and lived in Anson, Maine, for 60 years.
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She had eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
Three (Swallows and Amazons, The Children of Green Knowe and Henry Huggins) were on my top-ten list;
I've read 40 (possibly 42) others;
I've seen the film version of one I haven't read;
and I'd never heard of seven of them (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Thief, Love That Dog, My Father's Dragon, Stargirl, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and The BFG).
1. Jamberry, by Bruce Degen
2. Good Night Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann (#12 on Betsy's list)
3. Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson (#7 on Betsy's list)
4. But Not the Hippopotamus, by Sandra Boynton
5. Anno's Britain, by Mitsumasa Anno
6. Tuesday, by David Wiesner (#43 on Betsy's list, and the winner of the 1992 Caldecott Medal)
7. Anno's Journey, by Mitsumasa Anno
8. Anno's USA, by Mitsumasa Anno
9. Mouse Count, by Ellen Stohl Walsh
10. We're Going on a Bear Hunt, written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (#69 on Betsy's list)
The Dragon Heir - YA modern fantasy, by Cinda Williams Chima
