Welcome to this month’s Ancient Rome News column, where we survey the latest unearthing of Roman bones — and boners — that get armchair archaeologists inappropriately excited 😜 Prepare yourself for a collection of old bones (sadly inanimate), large boners (hilariously decorated), and double entendres from this Roman enthusiast, who’s been known to weave all […]

Droughts Exposing Archaeology Aquis Querquennis is a Roman fort in Galicia, Spain. Constructed circa 69-79 AD, it was occupied by the Legio VII Gemina until that unit was posted to Dacia in 120 AD, when it was abandoned. It was rediscovered in 1920 and had undergone excavations, but what is interesting is that in 1949 […]

I’ve posted this image on Instagram with a short blurb, but thought the subject warrants more expansion. The coins feature the emperor Nero throughout his reign. Born in 37 CE, proclaimed emperor at 54 (aged just shy of seventeen) and overthrown in 68 at the age of thirty one, he’s probably one of the more […]

A while ago I wrote at length about Roman Footwear — which, I assure you, goes much beyond the traditional “sandal” ubiquitous in modern writing. While the post addressed how you’d wear street shoes on your way to a dinner party only to change into slippers once you got there, there were still a lot […]

I loved Saylor’s previous Roma and Empire novels (as well as his Gordianus series), so was naturally keen to read this latest installment. What to Expect A continuation of the Pinarii’s observation of Roman history, covering the period from Marcus Aurelius to Constantine the Great. Saylor has chosen an old patrician family, and has placed […]