Sunday, April 13, 2025

More evidence a cold spell helped doom the Roman Empire

Yes, the climate on Earth keeps on changing from warm to cold and vice versa over the centuries! Why should it now be different? Because some demagogues or charlatan scientists call it now "human-driven" or even "anthropogenic"?

After the Little Antique Ice Age (from about 536 CE to 660 CE) followed the Medieval Warm Period (from about 950 CE to 1250 CE) and the Little Ice Age (from about 1650 CE to 1850 CE) etc. We all should be happier as it is a little warmer now! 😊

"Historians have long debated the reasons why the Roman Empire—which once stretched across the Mediterranean sea and from northern Africa to the U.K.—collapsed. Recently, some have pointed to a sudden period of cooling called the Late Antique Little Ice Age. This cold spell could have hindered agricultural production, facilitated disease outbreaks, and driven people to migrate. According to a new paper, serendipitously discovered rocks on the shore of Iceland add to the evidence for this chilly period. ...

Analyses indicated that the rocks came from Greenland—most likely carried by icebergs that broke off from the island’s glaciers. The layer of soil the granite rocks were found in dates back to roughly 500 to 700 C.E., which is around the time Rome fell. For so many rocks to have moved at that time, there must have been tons of icebergs, which would occur if cold temperatures were promoting glacier growth.

If that’s the case, the change in climate may have compounded the troubles of an empire that was already in decline. “When it comes to the fall of the Roman empire, this climate shift may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back,” ..."

From the abstract: (I skipped, because the abstract is too technical and narrow focused)


Ancient rocks boost case for mini ice age linked to fall of Rome "Unusual rocks on an Icelandic beach were dropped there by icebergs, adding to evidence that an unusually cool period preceded the collapse of the Roman Empire"

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