Month: June 2022

Enlarge / Archaeologists found a crude graffiti drawing of a penis accompanied by a personal insult at the ancient Roman fort Vindolanda. (credit: Vindolana Charitable Trust)

Archaeologists excavating the remains of a Roman auxiliary fort in the UK recently made a surprising and rather hilarious find: a small stone carved with the unmistakable image of penis—basically an ancient Roman d**k pic, accompanied by a crude insulting message directed at someone the carver clearly disliked.

The Vindolanda site is located south of the defense fortification known as Hadrian's Wall. An antiquarian named William Camden recorded the existence of the ruins in a 1586 treatise. Over the next 200 years, many people visited the site, discovering a military bathhouse in 1702 and an altar in 1715. The Rev. Anthony Hedley began excavating the site in 1814, but he died before he had the chance to record what he found for posterity. Another altar found in 1914 confirmed that the fort had been called Vindolanda.

Serious archaeological excavation at the site began in the 1930s under the leadership of Eric Birley, whose sons and grandson continued the work after his death, right up to the present day. The oxygen-deprived conditions of the deposits (some of which extend six meters, or 19 feet, into the earth)  mean that the recovered artifacts are remarkably well-preserved. These include wooden writing tablets and over a hundred boxwood combs, which would have disintegrated long ago in more oxygen-rich conditions.

Enlarge / Boston Medical Center Child Life Specialist Karlie Bittrich sees to a baby while in a pediatrics tent set up outside of Boston Medical Center in Boston on April 29, 2020. (credit: Getty | Boston Globe)

Update 6/18/2022, 3:34pm ET: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now recommended use of both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months to 5 years. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously earlier today to recommend both vaccines after a two-day meeting to review and discuss data on them. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky quickly signed off on their recommendation this afternoon, which is the last step in the regulatory process. Administration of both vaccines can now begin. Distribution has already begun and the vaccines should be available at thousands of pediatric practices, pharmacies, health centers, local health departments, clinics, and other locations this week, according to the CDC.

"We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can," Walensky said in a statement. "I encourage parents and caregivers with questions to talk to their doctor, nurse, or local pharmacist to learn more about the benefits of vaccinations and the importance of protecting their children by getting them vaccinated."    

Update 6/17/2022, 9:25am ET:  Two COVID-19 vaccines for infants and young children ages 6 months to under 5 years are now authorized for use by the US Food and Drug Administration. The regulator issued the authorizations early Friday, following Wednesday's unanimous endorsements of the authorizations by the agency's committee of expert advisers.