Effie Photos-Jones of the University of Glasgow collected samples of red dust mineral powder from some specific areas on the Greek islands of Kea and Lemnos, and at Cappadocia in Turkey which the scholars now call ‘Roman Dust’; they also claim that the dust is made up of iron oxide; they subjected this mineral to X-ray diffraction, and also to other tests like, geochemical analysis, dynamic light scattering, DNA sequencing, and antimicrobial tests to know why it was used in antiquity as a pigment and a cosmetic, as well as in ship maintenance, agriculture, and medicine. In the third century B.C. this substance, known was known as miltos. This news has been flashed by Arch. News through Cosmos report on 19.10.2018.
This report shows how our eminent scholars are unaware of the research topics they handle by using so many sophisticated scientific tools. Our scholars do not read ancient texts but work on ancient world and its mineral products and give it the name tagged either with ‘Rome’ or with ‘Greece’. The scholars should have referred to the Periplus also.
The mineral ‘miltos’ refers to the place-name from where it was then mined. It was Miletos and this name was very famous then; it was a place situated on the bank of the river Sada or Sada Nira(Sidon).
Alexander campaign against India find this place near Mt Caucasus and Phrygian region.
Calling miltos as ‘Roman Dust’ is unscholarly; place-names like Kea, Lemnos, and Cappadocia should be seen in other ancient texts before they are used here. Kea is ancient Koa; Cappadocia is Capakondara of Pali texts, and Lemnos was the last port of call in Homer’s epics; and ancient Turkey is identified as Tuhulo also Ti-hu-lo.
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