Posting like mad, here -- I'll probably disappear for a time later. But I had to read this, when I found out that one of the top ten is Silphium, the herbal contraceptive of the Roman era. The herb was driven into extinction, it was so useful. It had a reputation as a cure-all, which hastened its end. It also apparently did not grow well anywhere else people tried to transplant it. It would be wonderful if we could find the seeds of this herb again, because other herbal remedies that work to block conception are exacting -- you cannot screw up on the dose or how often you take them, or all protection disappears. Even one missed dose, with carrot seed, and you are vulnerable. (No, you need to consult an herbalist -- not something to try on hearsay!)
Nepenthe also made the list, the herb to ease sorrow. We may simply not recognize this -- just recently the herb known in antiquity as Golden Root was rediscovered by the greater world. Fortunately, it will grow in other areas, and countries in the same climate belt are quickly expanding into the market. Good -- I am finding it very useful, and do not want to see it driven into extinction!
And I didn't know we haven't re-discovered Damascus steel. We do have a form of concrete that will last 1,000 years -- the kind used to make Hindi temples (according to a tour I took at the local temple.) But it is very expensive and takes a long time to cure, part of the reason it's not used a lot of places.
Gold granulation has been rediscovered in the past 100 years -- how to set tiny balls of gold upon flat planes of gold, without one or both melting. We're still working on things....
Worth reading!
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-lost-technologies.php
