Summarize research. Ancient Romans Hunted ‘Sea Monsters.’ Were They Whales?

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Ancient Romans Hunted ‘Sea Monsters.’ Were They Whales?
A Greco-Roman poem dating second or third century talks about fishers harpooning a sea monster. After hooking the beast, they would haul it into the beach. There is a likelihood that the “sea monster” is a whale. Roman may have done industrial-scale whaling during this period. A study conducted demonstrates that both the grey and North Atlantic whales may have habited the Mediterranean about 2,000 years ago (Fleur, 2018). The researchers believe that the Romans who had processing plants on the coasts of the Western Mediterranean had a thriving whaling industry. The investigators obtained suspected whale bones and analyzed the DNA. Two of the bones belonged to the gray whales while three to the right whales. Using radiocarbon dating, the researchers dated the bones belonging to the two species about 230 B.C. to 525 A.D. (Fleur, 2018). During this time, the Romans controlled the area where the bones were obtained. The finding does not provide compelling evidence that the Romans engaged in commercial whaling. However, it gives an opportunity for an interpretation. The study may encourage other researchers to revisit Romans collections with marine animal bones and genetically test them to determine if they belonged to the two species of whales.
The week’s sessions have demonstrated that awareness of past is an essential element. Through archeology, individuals discover what happened in the past and related it to the present. In this c...