CHAPTER 17

  THE FIRST PALEONTOLOGISTS

  “As the first paleontologists, the great Roman Empire had vast collections of antiquities from all over their empire. The Roman Empire, at its height, stretched from Europe into Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. As it grew and new lands were conquered with it, new paleontological discoveries were made. These discoveries are well documented and preserved in the writings of ancient Roman historians.”

  Darby asked, “Are you saying that the Romans documented discoveries of giants?”

  “Not just that, but they meticulously documented the details of the collections they kept. What they found, where they found them, and where they kept them, all written in historical texts that we can read today. These collections included the dead remains of giants.”

  With that, Grandpa Jack turned the page in the journal to reveal two pages filled with columns and columns of notes. On each of the pages were three columns of bullet points with dates listing various notes in Roman history for the discovery of the remains of giants. Each page had thirty different examples, and there were over six pages of notes. There were nearly two hundred accounts that Grandpa Jack collected from the Roman text.

  “Here is an account,” his finger guided him down the second column on the first page. “From around 106 BC, in Crete, two Roman generals encounter what they call 'an impressive skeleton'. The Romans were at war with the pirates of Crete, and during this battle, there was a huge rainstorm that caused the rivers to flood. After the floodwaters receded, the two generals came upon a rather large skeleton, which was now lying exposed along the dry riverbed. The skeleton measured over 45 feet long. The two generals ordered that the skeleton be ceremoniously buried. This account was recorded by the ancient historian, Solinus.”

  Grandpa continued to point out example after example of similar Roman finds. In some instances, the bones were reburied by the Romans, while others were collected and placed on exhibition.

  Grandpa Jack explained, “It was Emperor Augustus who created the world’s first paleontological museum. It was at his private residence on the island of Capri and contained a large collection of limb bones from what was described as “immense monsters of land and sea”. The collection included giant skeletal bones along with weapons of ancient heroes. The Roman Empire’s fascination with giants is evident in their history, their mythology, and their collections. There is no denying the fact that the Roman Empire, with its advancement as a civilization, held great admiration for giants and therefore carefully documented not just their history with them but also their collection of giant remains.”

  I couldn't help but ask, “Grandpa, you must have been busy while you were in Rome studying how you were going to find these skeletons.”

  “Not exactly,” Grandpa Jack said. “While I was in Rome, I was actually trying to distance myself from giants. I guess you could say that I was trying to lose interest in such things. I focused my study on more concrete fields of anthropology as they related to the Roman Empire and its people.”

  Darby asked, “So all this time, while you were in Rome, you abandoned your ideas about giants?”

  Grandpa Jack reluctantly said, “Well, at first, yes. Then everything changed. One morning in Rome, Grandma went to the marketplace for some groceries. While I was sitting in our apartment reading an Italian English newspaper, enjoying my coffee, I read a headline that would thrust me back into the hunt for the proof of giants. The headline read: “CRYPTOPORTICUS OF SALLUST DISCOVERED AT AMERICAN EMBASSY”

  Darby, “A crypto-what?”

  “A cryptoporticus. It is an underground passageway,” Grandpa Jack answered. “The article was about how construction workers were moving dirt for a garage foundation at the American embassy in Rome. During the dig, they discovered an underground passageway or cryptoporticus that dated back to the first century of Rome.

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  It is common knowledge that the land where the American embassy in Rome is was owned 2000 years ago by Julius Caesar. When he was assassinated in 44 BC, the land passed to his nephew Octavius, who then sold it to his friend and ancient Roman historian, Caius Sallustius Crispus, known through history as Sallust.

  Sallust had used his vast wealth he had earned while he was the governor of the North African province of the Roman Empire to transform the land and villa once owned by Julius Caesar into one of the ancient world’s truest wonders – the Gardens of Sallust.

  Sallust’s Gardens, or Horti Sallustiani, was a property with spectacular botanical gardens featuring classic sculptures, fountains, and wondrous structures. The grounds were said to be magnificent and something of a true wonder of Rome. The lush gardens maintained a slightly cooler temperature than the rest of Rome due to the vast vegetation, cool pools, and elevation. This made the garden a popular summer gathering place for the Roman Emperors. The Roman Emperors would add to the vast collection the gardens held. From Nero and Tiberius to Vespasian and Aurelian, the emperors of Rome found favor in Sallust’s Gardens.

  Sallust’s Gardens were thought to have been completely destroyed. In 410 AD, when the Goths marched into Rome, they demolished Sallust’s Gardens. Following the invasion, the gardens were abandoned, and the priceless sculptures, displays, and pavilions were pillaged and then left for ruin. Through Rome’s long history, fires, earthquakes, and vandalism wreaked havoc on the remains of the gardens. Then, in 1871, when Rome needed land to expand its city, the valley where the gardens had been was filled in and leveled. That land would then be passed into and out of Italian royalty and was even used as a vineyard at one point. Finally, at the end of World War II, the United States government purchased some of the land to build its American embassy compound.”

  I was quick to ask, “But Grandpa, what did this garden have to do with giants?”

  Grandpa smiled and patted me on my back.

  “During the rule of Caesar Augustus between 27 BC and 14 AD, the ancient Roman historian Pliny wrote about Pusio and Secundilla. Pusio and Secundilla were employed by Emperor Augustus to lead the Roman armies into battle. Upon their deaths, Pliny wrote that the bodies of these two Roman heroes were entombed in Sallust’s Gardens as a place of honor by Emperor Augustus. Augustus had their bodies preserved among the lush gardens and palaces, and vast collections of significant artifacts. It was to show that the two were regarded as truly honorable members of the emperor’s kingdom.”

  Darby asked, “Who were Pusio and Secundellio?”

  “Secundilla. Pliny wrote that Pusio and Secundilla stood over ten feet tall. Pusio was a giant, and Secundilla was his giantess.

  When I read that article in the paper that morning, my heart raced as I instantly made the connection between the giants and Sallust’s Gardens. I had hope again. Even though Sallust’s Gardens had been completely lost, I hoped that where there were once bodies laid to rest, there just might be bones or at least some small proof of these giants. Remaining.

  Darby, “So what did you do? Did you and Grandma go and visit the embassy and tell them what you were looking for?”

  Grandpa answers, “No, I was in no position to march into the embassy and ask them for anything. The news about the dig in Greece was well known among Europe’s archaeologist society. My name had been originally associated in the news stories, but Bayne’s ego thankfully took center stage and soon my name was left out of many accounts of the project in Greece. I had read that Bayne was in Asia, where he was certain to find the bones of the great Peking giants. I decided to keep my theories to myself. I was afraid and did not want Bayne to rush from China to Rome at this point.”

  “So, what did you and Grandma do?” Darby asked.

  “Well, here is where I made a big mistake. I didn’t tell Grandma about the embassy at first.”

  “What!” Darby was stunned. “You didn’t tell her anything about the story?”

  “No, not at the time.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Scared, I guess. I was still feeling bad about the experience we had in Greece. We hadn’t talked anymore about it, and I wasn’t sure what your Grandma was thinking. I worried about the fact that I had dragged her all over the world to find something that the rest of the world did not think existed. Plus, we were running out of money, and she never said a thing.”

  “Afraid? Afraid of what?” Darby insisted.

  “Afraid that if I even mentioned the idea of Sallust’s Gardens, it would be the final straw for her. That she would jump on the next ship back home, and I would never see her again.”

  “So what did you do?” I asked.

  “I did what I thought was the next best thing. I was going to call someone I was sure I could trust. Someone I wasn’t afraid to lose. I called Uri in Greece and asked him to come to Rome.”

  Darby, “So you trusted Uri enough but not Grandma. Weren’t you afraid she would find out anyway?”

  Grandpa Jack paused, looked down, and said, “Yes. I was. I had made a terrible mistake. But at the time, I thought for sure I was doing the right thing.”