The Real C. Julius Caesar

[Poulp']

Before I begin translating those newspapers articles, a few reactions.

I agree Pez, it seems pretty suspect. The only link to Caesar is that he founded the town where this was discovered. It seems like the French Government may be trying to stimulate a tourist industry in the area?

I can't imagine why they would claim this is Caesar and not present some kind of corroborating evidence....

I'm waiting for cross examination too.
Now, boosting tourism in the region ? I can't rule it out, but it's rather unlikely; there's already a good share of "antiquities" and other attractions in the region (some ancient history museum, the Papal City, great landscapes, music festivals in the summer...).
Tourism is far more dependent on the economical good health of European countries and USA than on some statue. Acts of terrorism also have a major impact on the touristic activity.

It's highly suspect indeed. This bust to me, quite frankly, bears very little resemblance to the JC we've seen in all the versions known. Is the French government trying to say all the busts of JC, probably the guy with the most media/sculpture coverage in his day and age, are wrong on the basis of this one bust? Even if you get older, your face does not change in shape. And I find it unlikely that JC would look so mild, even in 'old age'. He died at the height of his power and ambition, after all.

Though of course there may be others who see a resemblance, I don't know. I'm a names person, not a face person.

EDIT: Yeah. Gaivs sees a resemblance. Hooray. Your opinions on face shape, Gaivs?

Unfortunately, the picture is shot full front, it flattens all the relief and facial features. I'd like to see a set; front, profile, low and high angle. Maybe on the 21st on TV...
About the French Gov's announcement; according to an article I mentionned, it seems the info was leaked and it prompted them into announcing it officially.
Stay tuned, Pez, I'll translate them ASAP.
Be patient though, it's 5 in the morning in France and I still have to go to bed.

Fully agreed. But I think for it to be a hoax would be too much of a publicity disaster for the French. To speak up for them a bit, it was restored so I suppose the weathering is not so apparent.

To be fair the scientists they have on the job are probably Cold War professors conscripted into the project for lack of ancient history professors, and that they simply did a misattribution.

That, or they really believe this is Julius Caesar, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.

Don't be that harsh^^. The one thing they lack is funds... and new buildings.
Just an anecdot, my mom (65) and cousin (25) both studied in the same college in Aix. The buildings haven't changed, they date back from the reconstruction. BTW, my cousin is in the History department. The world is small sometimes...

I disagree. If buried in the mud then being at the bottom of a river is an excellent place to preserve archaeological material. Look at all the great stuff that has come out of the Thames, for example.

I haven't been to the Rhone, but I do know that Arles in the lower stretch of river and that the Rhone is a fast river, historically prone to flooding. Floods deposit soft muds in the lower stretch and surrounding floodplain (which in time gets reworked by the river, so this statue could in fact have spent 2000 years near but not in the river until erosion freed it again).

As to the identity of the bust, I cannot say, but very few of the lines and angles and proportions of the face look like any other bust of Caesar to me. So probably not him.

Recovered underwater buried in the mud according to the guy who dived, Luc Long from the Drassm, "Département des recherches archéologiques subaquatiques et sous marines" (Department of Subaquatic and Underwater Archeological Researches)
Now, there's nothing unusually with finding antiques in the Rhone.

I just wonder how they say it "undoubtedly" is from 46 BC. Really, they pull it out of a river and date it to *exactly* 2054 years ago? And elsewhere in the article they say they are trying to find out what exactly the context was. Yeah, it might be Caesar, but so what, we have a lot of other portraits of him too. They want publicity and trumpet that it's the "earliest" and therefore "most accurate" depiction - bah! "*Our* version is the *right* one!" Whatevah.

Ahhh!
That's my field of work.
TA, you got that "undoubtedly" from the yahoo article, didn't you ?
From my POV, that's a mistranslation. My point is that in french, the meaning of "sans doute" is closer to "most probably". It depends on the context though. I'll keep my eyes open for such an assertive use of "undoubtedly" and "sans doute" when I'll work on the articles.