Rough Archaeology

"We can't find out how Rome ruled without resorting to violence" said a presenter on a BBC archaeological programme. It seems as if BBC researchers may be getting desperate.

The statement presents us with a nice little example of ambiguity:  some other language enthusiast may already have coined the term 'structural ambiguity', but I offer it here, because this remark about historical research does not contain within itself any clue as to its own structure.  It might be the BBC's 'we' who need to resort to violence in order to learn a little more about the empire of Rome; or it might refer to Rome's own problem of how to rule peacefully.

But we are not stupid, are we ?  So we look to our own common sense for the answer that the statement itself fails to provide.  A pity, though, that we probably have to discard the fascinating alternative: a trilby-hatted, gum-chewing researcher poking his gat into the ribs of an Italian professor, demanding a quick answer - and no messing.

Rough Archaeology