Dr Crom
@doccrom.bsky.social
Classicist, archaeologist, sci-fi and horror nerd and, most importantly, ginger. Oh, and... "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn". #EdgyPedlar #AncientStuff
November 14, 2025 at 10:51 AM
#FrescoFriday - From a series of fresco depictions of the Muses from the Praedia of Julia Felix, Pompeii (II.4.10/3). Here is Urania, Muse of Astronomy, with a celestial globe and measuring rod. #Pompeii #Art 🏺
Image: Louvre Collections (ED 2759 ; P 12). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
Image: Louvre Collections (ED 2759 ; P 12). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
November 14, 2025 at 10:37 AM
#FrescoFriday - From a series of fresco depictions of the Muses from the Praedia of Julia Felix, Pompeii (II.4.10/3). Here is Urania, Muse of Astronomy, with a celestial globe and measuring rod. #Pompeii #Art 🏺
Image: Louvre Collections (ED 2759 ; P 12). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
Image: Louvre Collections (ED 2759 ; P 12). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
#FrescoFriday - A fresco of Fortuna from the Caupona of Tertius, Pompeii (IX.7.22), with the addition of a notable graffito:
"CACATOR / CAVE MALU(M)" (CIL IV 3832)
'Shitter, Beware of Evil!'
Best mind your step! #Pompeii #Archaeology 🏺
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (112285)
"CACATOR / CAVE MALU(M)" (CIL IV 3832)
'Shitter, Beware of Evil!'
Best mind your step! #Pompeii #Archaeology 🏺
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (112285)
November 14, 2025 at 10:32 AM
#FrescoFriday - A fresco of Fortuna from the Caupona of Tertius, Pompeii (IX.7.22), with the addition of a notable graffito:
"CACATOR / CAVE MALU(M)" (CIL IV 3832)
'Shitter, Beware of Evil!'
Best mind your step! #Pompeii #Archaeology 🏺
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (112285)
"CACATOR / CAVE MALU(M)" (CIL IV 3832)
'Shitter, Beware of Evil!'
Best mind your step! #Pompeii #Archaeology 🏺
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (112285)
#OnThisDay - 14 November - in AD 565 the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I died at the age of 83. His was an energetic reign, perhaps most famous for his legal revisions. #History 🏺
Image: Gold Solidus of Justinian I, Constantinople, AD 538-545. ANS 1948.19.743. Link - numismatics.org/collection/1...
Image: Gold Solidus of Justinian I, Constantinople, AD 538-545. ANS 1948.19.743. Link - numismatics.org/collection/1...
November 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
#OnThisDay - 14 November - in AD 565 the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I died at the age of 83. His was an energetic reign, perhaps most famous for his legal revisions. #History 🏺
Image: Gold Solidus of Justinian I, Constantinople, AD 538-545. ANS 1948.19.743. Link - numismatics.org/collection/1...
Image: Gold Solidus of Justinian I, Constantinople, AD 538-545. ANS 1948.19.743. Link - numismatics.org/collection/1...
I haven't done a #PhallusThursday post in a while, so here's an Athenian amphora, ca. Late 6th Century BC, showing an ithyphallic Satyr flanked by a pair of Sphinxes. Attributed to the 'Pointed Nose Painter'. 🏺
Image: Louvre Collections (E862). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
Image: Louvre Collections (E862). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
November 13, 2025 at 9:11 AM
I haven't done a #PhallusThursday post in a while, so here's an Athenian amphora, ca. Late 6th Century BC, showing an ithyphallic Satyr flanked by a pair of Sphinxes. Attributed to the 'Pointed Nose Painter'. 🏺
Image: Louvre Collections (E862). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
Image: Louvre Collections (E862). Link - collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/5335...
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay – 13 November #Horace
“otium divos rogat in patenti
prensus Aegaeo, simul atra nubes
condidit lunam neque certa fulgent
sidera nautis;
otium bello furiosa Thrace,
otium Medi pharetra decori,
Grosphe, non gemmis neque purpura venale
neque auro....
#LatinForTheDay – 13 November #Horace
“otium divos rogat in patenti
prensus Aegaeo, simul atra nubes
condidit lunam neque certa fulgent
sidera nautis;
otium bello furiosa Thrace,
otium Medi pharetra decori,
Grosphe, non gemmis neque purpura venale
neque auro....
November 13, 2025 at 9:07 AM
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay – 13 November #Horace
“otium divos rogat in patenti
prensus Aegaeo, simul atra nubes
condidit lunam neque certa fulgent
sidera nautis;
otium bello furiosa Thrace,
otium Medi pharetra decori,
Grosphe, non gemmis neque purpura venale
neque auro....
#LatinForTheDay – 13 November #Horace
“otium divos rogat in patenti
prensus Aegaeo, simul atra nubes
condidit lunam neque certa fulgent
sidera nautis;
otium bello furiosa Thrace,
otium Medi pharetra decori,
Grosphe, non gemmis neque purpura venale
neque auro....
#OnThisDay - 13 November - in 36 BC Octavian (later Augustus) celebrated a triple ovation, with his later Res Gestae (25.1) describing this victory as 'pacifying the sea from pirates'. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: Aureus of 42 BC; RRC 497/1; BM (1864,1128.237). Link - numismatics.org/crro/id/rrc-...
Image: Aureus of 42 BC; RRC 497/1; BM (1864,1128.237). Link - numismatics.org/crro/id/rrc-...
November 13, 2025 at 9:04 AM
#OnThisDay - 13 November - in 36 BC Octavian (later Augustus) celebrated a triple ovation, with his later Res Gestae (25.1) describing this victory as 'pacifying the sea from pirates'. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: Aureus of 42 BC; RRC 497/1; BM (1864,1128.237). Link - numismatics.org/crro/id/rrc-...
Image: Aureus of 42 BC; RRC 497/1; BM (1864,1128.237). Link - numismatics.org/crro/id/rrc-...
#OnThisDay - 11 November - in AD 109 Trajan dedicated his 'naumachia' - a stadium for the recreation of naval battles - reflecting not only his military persona, but also the role of emperor as impresario. #History 🏺
Image: RIC II Trajan 209; ANS 1958.214.9. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC II Trajan 209; ANS 1958.214.9. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
November 11, 2025 at 11:56 AM
#OnThisDay - 11 November - in AD 109 Trajan dedicated his 'naumachia' - a stadium for the recreation of naval battles - reflecting not only his military persona, but also the role of emperor as impresario. #History 🏺
Image: RIC II Trajan 209; ANS 1958.214.9. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC II Trajan 209; ANS 1958.214.9. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
#OnThisDay - 10 November - in AD 41, the Emperor Claudius wrote a letter to the Alexandrians trying to defuse the civil unrest between the city's various ethnic communities: an issue left unresolved by Gaius Caligula. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: Papyrus 2248 Recto (P.Lond. VI 1912r. descr., TM 91987)
Image: Papyrus 2248 Recto (P.Lond. VI 1912r. descr., TM 91987)
November 10, 2025 at 8:55 AM
#OnThisDay - 10 November - in AD 41, the Emperor Claudius wrote a letter to the Alexandrians trying to defuse the civil unrest between the city's various ethnic communities: an issue left unresolved by Gaius Caligula. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: Papyrus 2248 Recto (P.Lond. VI 1912r. descr., TM 91987)
Image: Papyrus 2248 Recto (P.Lond. VI 1912r. descr., TM 91987)
#OnThisDay - 8 November - in AD 30, Marcus Cocceius Nerva was born. He would be proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Senate following the assassination of Domitian in AD 96, reigning until AD 98. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: Obverse of RIC II Nerva 34 (aureus); BnF. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: Obverse of RIC II Nerva 34 (aureus); BnF. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
November 8, 2025 at 10:51 AM
#OnThisDay - 8 November - in AD 30, Marcus Cocceius Nerva was born. He would be proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Senate following the assassination of Domitian in AD 96, reigning until AD 98. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: Obverse of RIC II Nerva 34 (aureus); BnF. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: Obverse of RIC II Nerva 34 (aureus); BnF. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
#OnThisDay - 6 November - in AD 15 Agrippina the Younger was born. Great-granddaughter of Augustus, wife of Claudius, and mother of the Emperor Nero, Agrippina was herself a key figure of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. #Agrippina 🏺
Image: BM (1907,0415.1). Link - britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Image: BM (1907,0415.1). Link - britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
November 6, 2025 at 10:26 AM
#OnThisDay - 6 November - in AD 15 Agrippina the Younger was born. Great-granddaughter of Augustus, wife of Claudius, and mother of the Emperor Nero, Agrippina was herself a key figure of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. #Agrippina 🏺
Image: BM (1907,0415.1). Link - britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Image: BM (1907,0415.1). Link - britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
Cut from the House of the Vestals, Pompeii (VI.1.7) #OnThisDay - 6 November - in 1789: a fine example of a sacro-idyllic landscape fresco, though that Billy-Goat rather seems to be lining up the gent on the bridge! #Pompeii 🏺
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (9488)
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (9488)
November 6, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Cut from the House of the Vestals, Pompeii (VI.1.7) #OnThisDay - 6 November - in 1789: a fine example of a sacro-idyllic landscape fresco, though that Billy-Goat rather seems to be lining up the gent on the bridge! #Pompeii 🏺
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (9488)
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (9488)
The erasure of our original inscription has been associated with the fall of Emperor Elagabalus in AD 222, who had very much promulgated an association between himself and Sol Invictus.
Image: RIC IV Elagabalus 143d; Münzkabinett Wien (RÖ 37688). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC IV Elagabalus 143d; Münzkabinett Wien (RÖ 37688). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
November 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
The erasure of our original inscription has been associated with the fall of Emperor Elagabalus in AD 222, who had very much promulgated an association between himself and Sol Invictus.
Image: RIC IV Elagabalus 143d; Münzkabinett Wien (RÖ 37688). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC IV Elagabalus 143d; Münzkabinett Wien (RÖ 37688). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Sun-worship was very much an eastern cult, with references to it relatively rare in Britain, except in later examples where it was associated with the cult of Mithras, such as the example below from AD 307-308.
Image: Museum of London (18499). Link - www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/...
Image: Museum of London (18499). Link - www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/...
November 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Sun-worship was very much an eastern cult, with references to it relatively rare in Britain, except in later examples where it was associated with the cult of Mithras, such as the example below from AD 307-308.
Image: Museum of London (18499). Link - www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/...
Image: Museum of London (18499). Link - www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/...
Text:
⟦Soli Invicto⟧
vexillatio
leg(ionis) VI Vic(tricis) P(iae) F(idelis) f(ecit)
sub cura Sex(ti)
Calpurni Agrico-
lae leg(ati) Aug(usti) pr(o) pr(aetore)
⟦Soli Invicto⟧
vexillatio
leg(ionis) VI Vic(tricis) P(iae) F(idelis) f(ecit)
sub cura Sex(ti)
Calpurni Agrico-
lae leg(ati) Aug(usti) pr(o) pr(aetore)
November 4, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Text:
⟦Soli Invicto⟧
vexillatio
leg(ionis) VI Vic(tricis) P(iae) F(idelis) f(ecit)
sub cura Sex(ti)
Calpurni Agrico-
lae leg(ati) Aug(usti) pr(o) pr(aetore)
⟦Soli Invicto⟧
vexillatio
leg(ionis) VI Vic(tricis) P(iae) F(idelis) f(ecit)
sub cura Sex(ti)
Calpurni Agrico-
lae leg(ati) Aug(usti) pr(o) pr(aetore)
Discovered in 1911, the stone originally had flanking panels bearing the image of Victory, but these have now been lost. Thus its original appearance would have more closely resembled other panels such as the Bridgeness Distance Slab.
Image: National Museum of Scotland (X.FV 27); RIB 2139
Image: National Museum of Scotland (X.FV 27); RIB 2139
November 4, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Discovered in 1911, the stone originally had flanking panels bearing the image of Victory, but these have now been lost. Thus its original appearance would have more closely resembled other panels such as the Bridgeness Distance Slab.
Image: National Museum of Scotland (X.FV 27); RIB 2139
Image: National Museum of Scotland (X.FV 27); RIB 2139
#EpigraphyTuesday – A really rather interesting inscription from Roman Corbridge, ca. AD 161-166, being part of a dedication to the ‘Invincible Sun God’, though with a notable subsequent erasure in the first line. #Latin 🏺🧵
Image: Corbridge Museum (CO 23325). 📸 Mike Bishop
Image: Corbridge Museum (CO 23325). 📸 Mike Bishop
November 4, 2025 at 11:15 AM
#EpigraphyTuesday – A really rather interesting inscription from Roman Corbridge, ca. AD 161-166, being part of a dedication to the ‘Invincible Sun God’, though with a notable subsequent erasure in the first line. #Latin 🏺🧵
Image: Corbridge Museum (CO 23325). 📸 Mike Bishop
Image: Corbridge Museum (CO 23325). 📸 Mike Bishop
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay – 4 November #Ovid
“nec dubito, quin haec, cum sit tam iusta, vocetur
rustica iudicio nostra querela tuo.
rustica sim sane, dum non oblita pudoris,
dumque tenor vitae sit sine labe meae.
si non est ficto tristis mihi vultus in ore,...
#LatinForTheDay – 4 November #Ovid
“nec dubito, quin haec, cum sit tam iusta, vocetur
rustica iudicio nostra querela tuo.
rustica sim sane, dum non oblita pudoris,
dumque tenor vitae sit sine labe meae.
si non est ficto tristis mihi vultus in ore,...
November 4, 2025 at 11:10 AM
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay – 4 November #Ovid
“nec dubito, quin haec, cum sit tam iusta, vocetur
rustica iudicio nostra querela tuo.
rustica sim sane, dum non oblita pudoris,
dumque tenor vitae sit sine labe meae.
si non est ficto tristis mihi vultus in ore,...
#LatinForTheDay – 4 November #Ovid
“nec dubito, quin haec, cum sit tam iusta, vocetur
rustica iudicio nostra querela tuo.
rustica sim sane, dum non oblita pudoris,
dumque tenor vitae sit sine labe meae.
si non est ficto tristis mihi vultus in ore,...
#MosaicMonday - Back at work, so inspiration's needed! Yes, I'm feeling it already! 😂
Therefore here's a panel of the Muses - each shown with a symbol of their province. From Torre de Palma, ca. 4th Century AD. #Myth #Art 🏺
Image: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisbon (999.149.1).
Therefore here's a panel of the Muses - each shown with a symbol of their province. From Torre de Palma, ca. 4th Century AD. #Myth #Art 🏺
Image: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisbon (999.149.1).
November 3, 2025 at 9:28 AM
#MosaicMonday - Back at work, so inspiration's needed! Yes, I'm feeling it already! 😂
Therefore here's a panel of the Muses - each shown with a symbol of their province. From Torre de Palma, ca. 4th Century AD. #Myth #Art 🏺
Image: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisbon (999.149.1).
Therefore here's a panel of the Muses - each shown with a symbol of their province. From Torre de Palma, ca. 4th Century AD. #Myth #Art 🏺
Image: Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, Lisbon (999.149.1).
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay – 3 November #Ovid
“Luna fuit; specto, siquid nisi litora cernam.
quod videant oculi, nil nisi litus habent.
nunc huc, nunc illuc, et utroque sine ordine, curro;
alta puellares tardat harena pedes.
interea toto clamavi in litore “Theseu!”:...
#LatinForTheDay – 3 November #Ovid
“Luna fuit; specto, siquid nisi litora cernam.
quod videant oculi, nil nisi litus habent.
nunc huc, nunc illuc, et utroque sine ordine, curro;
alta puellares tardat harena pedes.
interea toto clamavi in litore “Theseu!”:...
November 3, 2025 at 9:15 AM
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay – 3 November #Ovid
“Luna fuit; specto, siquid nisi litora cernam.
quod videant oculi, nil nisi litus habent.
nunc huc, nunc illuc, et utroque sine ordine, curro;
alta puellares tardat harena pedes.
interea toto clamavi in litore “Theseu!”:...
#LatinForTheDay – 3 November #Ovid
“Luna fuit; specto, siquid nisi litora cernam.
quod videant oculi, nil nisi litus habent.
nunc huc, nunc illuc, et utroque sine ordine, curro;
alta puellares tardat harena pedes.
interea toto clamavi in litore “Theseu!”:...
#OnThisDay - 3 November - in AD 361 Constantius II died. He had come to power in AD 337, but the final years of his reign saw increasing challenges, including from his own cousin Julian. #History 🏺
Image: RIC VIII Antioch 68; Münzkabinett Berlin (18200511). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC VIII Antioch 68; Münzkabinett Berlin (18200511). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
November 3, 2025 at 9:13 AM
#OnThisDay - 3 November - in AD 361 Constantius II died. He had come to power in AD 337, but the final years of his reign saw increasing challenges, including from his own cousin Julian. #History 🏺
Image: RIC VIII Antioch 68; Münzkabinett Berlin (18200511). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC VIII Antioch 68; Münzkabinett Berlin (18200511). Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
#OnThisDay - 1 November - in AD 36, according to the Fasti at Ostia, Tiberius gave 100 million sesterces to rebuild areas in Rome around the Circus and the Aventine that had been damaged by fire. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: RIC Tiberius 39; ANS 1944.100.39284. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC Tiberius 39; ANS 1944.100.39284. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
November 1, 2025 at 2:46 PM
#OnThisDay - 1 November - in AD 36, according to the Fasti at Ostia, Tiberius gave 100 million sesterces to rebuild areas in Rome around the Circus and the Aventine that had been damaged by fire. #AncientHistory 🏺
Image: RIC Tiberius 39; ANS 1944.100.39284. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
Image: RIC Tiberius 39; ANS 1944.100.39284. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....
If you see this, quote with a vampire that is not Dracula.
October 31, 2025 at 6:26 PM
If you see this, quote with a vampire that is not Dracula.
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay for #Halloween – 31 October #Lucan
“illi namque nefas urbis summittere tecto
aut laribus ferale caput, desertaque busta
incolit et tumulos expulsis obtinet umbris
grata deis Erebi. coetus audire silentum,
nosse domos Stygias arcanaque Ditis operti...
#LatinForTheDay for #Halloween – 31 October #Lucan
“illi namque nefas urbis summittere tecto
aut laribus ferale caput, desertaque busta
incolit et tumulos expulsis obtinet umbris
grata deis Erebi. coetus audire silentum,
nosse domos Stygias arcanaque Ditis operti...
October 31, 2025 at 1:39 PM
ClassicsBluesky 🏺🧵
#LatinForTheDay for #Halloween – 31 October #Lucan
“illi namque nefas urbis summittere tecto
aut laribus ferale caput, desertaque busta
incolit et tumulos expulsis obtinet umbris
grata deis Erebi. coetus audire silentum,
nosse domos Stygias arcanaque Ditis operti...
#LatinForTheDay for #Halloween – 31 October #Lucan
“illi namque nefas urbis summittere tecto
aut laribus ferale caput, desertaque busta
incolit et tumulos expulsis obtinet umbris
grata deis Erebi. coetus audire silentum,
nosse domos Stygias arcanaque Ditis operti...