#Romans🏺
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andrewcurry.com
My kid's Latin teacher has assigned a dessert recipe from Apicius as "experimental archaeology." She says canned apricots are verboten, because ancient Romans didn't have cans. Meanwhile it is November in northern Germany, and fresh apricots are ... hard to come by. 🏺🍑
A Roman recipe for apricots, as starter or as dessert
This delicious combination of warm apricots with honey and mint is from Roman antiquity. You can serve it as first course or as dessert.
coquinaria.nl
November 6, 2025 at 4:11 PM
sapinuwa.bsky.social
Dacians sculpted by Romans, in Palazzo Altemps, Capitoline and Vatican, respectively. Why were they carved of pavonazzetto marble? To mention their "impurity"? 🏺
A standing man in a tunic and a Phyriygian cap, the face and hands are in black marble, the rest is pavonazzetto. Upper side of the body of a bearded dressed man, pavonazzetto marble, the arms are missing The upper side of the body of a bearded man wearing a chiton and a Phrygian cap, hands clenched in front
November 5, 2025 at 7:45 AM
oz-of-the-ancients.bsky.social
#RomanSiteSaturday These steps lead up to Jugurtha's Table in Tunisia, a huge flat-topped mountain

Legend says the Numidian king Jugurtha made his last stand against the Romans here in 105 BC

#archaeology #ancientbluesky #photooftheday 🏺
Stone steps leading down past a large cliff face to a dirt road with two parked cars
November 1, 2025 at 9:53 AM
killgrove.bsky.social
And check out my interview with Prof. Tuck at this link for even more info on the Romans he tracked from Pompeii to their new lives elsewhere! 🏺🧪
'It's really an extraordinary story,' historian Steven Tuck says of the Romans he tracked who survived the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius
"I have found two or three rich guys, but I found a couple hundred middle class and even some desperately poor people who made it out and left records. And that shocked me."
www.livescience.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:40 PM
anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
This splendid terracotta #antefix in medium #relief is my offering for #ReliefWednesday this week. It shows #JunoSospita, a terrifying huntress divinity of the Latial peoples, and comes from the ruins of #Antemnæ, one of the #Sabine towns whose women were taken by #Romulus. #AncientBluesky 🏺
TERRACOTTA ANTEFIX, С. 480 ВСЕ. BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN The Sabine town of Antemnæ stood at the point where the Anio river flowed into the Tiber. It was thought by the ancient Romans to be older than Rome itself, and its main religious building was a temple to the goddess Juno Sospita, a quite different and bloodier divinity than the Greek Hera and effectively a different goddess than Juno Regina, wife of Jupiter. She is often depicted wearing a goatskin cloak with its horned hood and ears, rather as Hercules is shown wearing a lionskin or leonté. In this broken antefix from her temple at Antemnæ we can see these characteristics, as well as the painted decoration that shows a red and black checkerboard pattern on the curve between the horns of her cloak. This comes from a cast and closely resembles a similar antefix found on the Palatine.
October 15, 2025 at 7:56 PM
chapps.bsky.social
This guy! To be fair, the bust is almost entirely a modern creation, the original piece being a small portion of the face and hair, made to look like Nero’s coin portraits. But the coin is 100% legit. It still may not look like him, but be stylized to impress. 🏺 2/

📸 me (ALT txt for details)
Beginning with the first emperor, Augustus (ruled 27 BCE-14 CE), the Romans regularly issued coins displaying a portrait of the ruler or one of his family members on the obverse (front). The reverse bore an image of a deity, mythological figure, building, or historical event. The imperial portraits are finely modeled and often represent individuals not seen in surviving sculpture. This small gold aureas depicts a bust of the emperor Nero, facing right, laureate (he wears a laurel crown). His trademark hairstyle is gelled up in the front and long in the back. He’s presented with an enormously thick neck and grotesquely fat chin. But is this how he looked, or was it felt that this looked massive and impressive? We can actually see the resemblance with the statuette in the features of the face. Roman, 65-65 CE, gold. Getty Villa Museum, on loan from Dr. Keith M. Barron What has long been held up as a valid portrait of the Roman emperor Nero - which shows the ugliness in his soul reflected on his face - is about 80% 17th century. In other words, he’s Baroque. Only the front fringe of hair, the forehead, the eyes, most of the nose, and his left cheek (not shown) are ancient. You can see how the ancient portion is older and slightly orangish-brown. The ancient portion can be comfortably dated to around Nero’s or Claudius’ reign, due to the unique hairstyle. Was it once Nero? Possibly. The artist who made the Baroque portion was undoubtedly very talented, and used coin portraits from late in Nero’s reign as a guide, but pushed the oddity, the neckbeard, the double chin, as a way to show the nature of this emperor. So, it’s both 17th century and 1st century CE. Musei Capitolini (inv. MC0427)
October 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
antiquity.ac.uk
Fishy #archaeology for #NationalSalmonDay 🐟
The Romans loved their fermented fish sauce, garum, which was traded widely around the Empire🏺
Ancient DNA analysis found it was made from European sardines, which are still eaten in southern Europe today.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Fish remains from the bottom of a Roman fermentation vat at Adro Vello, Spain before processing (a) and separated into fish spines (b), vertebrae (c) and scales (d).
October 8, 2025 at 12:45 PM
archaeohawke.bsky.social
#MosaicMonday

As we move into Winter proper. A final look at summer 👀

Lullingstone floor mosaic depicts the mythical figure of Summer wearing a garland of corn.

#AncientBlueSky🏺
#Archaeology #History
Lullingstone Roman Villa is a villa built during the Roman occupation of Britain, situated in Lullingstone near the village of Eynsford in Kent, south-eastern England. The villa is located in the Darent Valley, along with six others, including those at Crofton, Crayford and Dartford. Constructed in the 1st century, perhaps around AD 80–90, the house was repeatedly expanded and occupied until it was destroyed by fire in the 4th or 5th century. The villa was occupied over various periods within the Romano-British period, but after its destruction, it is only thought to have been reoccupied during the medieval period. The occupants were most likely wealthy Romans or native Britons who had adopted Roman customs.
October 6, 2025 at 7:00 AM
flaroh.bsky.social
#ClassicsTober Day 4: Shroud 💀🏺👻
Art by flaroh illustration. This illustration shows two hooded skeletons crowding around the burnt offerings to the spirits of the departed. It’s a loose take on the Romans’ offerings to the gods and manes (spirits)
October 4, 2025 at 10:13 PM
antiquity.ac.uk
For #ManufacturingDay here's a new, unbroken timeline of British metal production from the 5th century AD to the present day.
Using a sediment core, researchers explored the impact of the #Romans, plague, Henry VIII & more on the metal industry.

🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
Graph showing the chronological pattern of lead pollution in the core.
October 3, 2025 at 12:45 PM
doccrom.bsky.social
#OnThisDay - 3 October - in 42 BC Gaius Cassius Longinus, one of the chief Liberators, was killed at the first Battle of Philippi. Brutus would mourn him as "the last of the Romans" (Plutarch, Brutus 44.2). #History 🏺

Image: RRC 499/1; Münzkabinett Berlin. Link - numismatics.org/crro/id/rrc-...
Obverse of a Roman aureus: Head of Libertas, right, wearing diadem. Border of dots. Reverse of a Roman aureus: Tripod with cauldron, decorated with two laurel-branches. Border of dots.
October 3, 2025 at 8:08 AM
chapps.bsky.social
A small falcon at his feet represents his animal self as Horus, joined by a dog and tortoise … who do they represent? Harpocrates raises his finger to his chin, the Egyptian hieroglyph for ‘child’, which Greeks and Romans mistook for a symbol of silence.🏺

Romano-British, 1-200 CE. flic.kr/p/2rwwmwz
Roman silver statuette of Harpocrates, found in the River Thames
Harpocrates (Horus) is the son of Isis and Osiris (Serapis). The ancient Egyptian cult of Isis spread throughout the Roman Empire, and the goddess herself and Harpocrates were often depicted as univer...
flic.kr
October 2, 2025 at 2:14 AM
anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
For #EpigraphyTuesday we're diving into the archaic past to find an #inscription from well outside #Rome that may be primary- source evidence of one of the two consuls who founded the #Roman Republic. The Latin might be Volscian and the #epigraphy is unclear. So buckle up, y'all. #AncientBluesky 🏺
LAPIS SATRICANUS, C7 BCE. BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN [3 or 4 letters missing] IEISTETERAI POPLIOSIO VALESIOSIO / SVODALES MAMARTEI This slab of tufo comes from the acropolis of the ancient town of Satricum, founded by the Latins according to Livy, but subsequently taken by the Volsci and then a military flashpoint between the Romans and the local tribes for much of the middle Republic. The town was destroyed twice, sparing only the temple of Mater Matuta. This stone slab was sliced from a monumental base, perhaps for a statue group, and reused in a late C6/early C7 BCE restoration of the foundations of the temple. The inscription has been the subject of lively debate, especially over the first letters. These two lines refer to the "suodales Mamartei" (=sodales Martis) or soldiers under one Poplios Valesios (=Publius Valerius in classical Latin) via the archaic genitive Popliosio Valesiosio. This may be P. Valerius Publicola, who, along with M. Junius Brutus, was one of the two first consuls of the Republic.
September 30, 2025 at 8:47 PM
clairedrinkstea.bsky.social
Had a trip to @royalarmouries.bsky.social a few weeks ago and we exited through the gift shop

💣 Black Powder by Ally Sherrick
🏛️ Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans by Terry Deary
👩🏼 A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women by Emma Southon
🏺Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes
👹 Japanese Myths & Legends
September 20, 2025 at 9:02 AM
sapinuwa.bsky.social
Late #FrescoFriday post. From a suburban villa in Lungotevere of Pietra Papa, from second half of the 2nd century AD, now in the one and only Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.
🏺
Fresco of a boat with 4 men in it, around it several fish and an octopus Two boats, fish, a boy riding a dolphin A boat with 3 people in it, several fish around The frescoes depict boats attended to by naked characters and decorated as the gala boats which went along the Tiber on festival days; their shape appears to be the caudicariae boats, used to transport merchandise. In the fragment exhibited here (Ambiente E) the boat on the left depicts probably the group of Iside Serapide and Demetra on the stern, whereas the one on the right presents a crowned character on the bow and, on the stern, a feminine figure fluctuating in the air. Between the two boats, a young boy (a cupid or Palaimon-Portunus) rides a dolphin. All around are depicted several fish incredibly casting their shadows on the sea. The ichthyic fauna, lifeless as in still life decoration, is detailed as in a scientific catalogue. For the most part the represented species live next to the coast or were bred by the Romans in the piscinae salsae or in ponds. It is possible to recognize the rock mullet (mullus surmuletus) and the mud one (mullus barbatus), the scorpion fish (scorpoena) the dentex (dentex dentex), the aguglia (belone agus) the dolphin (delphinus delphis) and the golden mullet (liza aurata).
September 19, 2025 at 5:50 PM
antiquity.ac.uk
Submerged remains of two altars from the only Nabataean temple discovered outside of Nabataea, at the port of Puteoli, Italy.
This indicates Nabataean traders thrived in Italy before the Romans' annexation of the kingdom in AD 106.

🔗 from 2024 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology
Underwater, partially buried remains of two white marble altars.
September 19, 2025 at 7:13 AM
anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social
#ReliefWednesday takes us to the town of #Gabii, 18 km east of #Rome, where this splendid #antefix was found. This is #Typhon, vengeful son of Mother Earth and enemy of the #Olympian gods, done in a #Latial style identical to work found from the same period in Rome. #AncientBluesky 🏺
ANTEFIX OF TYPHON, C6 CE. BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN This spectacular painted terracotta antefix comes from an archaic temple in Gabii, a site 18 km east along the via Prenestina which had been an independent Latial town until it was conquered by the Romans under the last legendary king, Tarquinius Superbus. This antefix was found in a destruction level more or less contemporary with the foundation of the Roman Republic in 509 BCE, so it may be slightly older than the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. It represents the ur-monster Typhon, child of Gaia and Tartarus, utterly terrifying, born to punish the gods for the destruction of the Giants. His numerous progeny included the Sphinx and Cerberus. Here he looks very humanoid, with a black-bearded face, huge bat ears, a hairy torso, and wings.
September 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
drkeithsmith.bsky.social
3/3 Ancient pollution from mines and smelting shows that Britain's economy did not suffer when the Romans left in 410 AD. Metal production rose for the following two centuries. A fascinating mix of #geochemistry and #archaeology 🏺 reported by @evoscribe.bsky.social.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Great Britain’s economy didn’t completely tank after Romans left, countering conventional wisdom
“Completely surprising” discovery based on ancient pollutants suggests mining and smelting continued apace for centuries
www.science.org
September 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
jdbuffington.com
Discussion topic that is NOT the news: how long has archeology 🏺 been a thing? Like, were Romans excavating bronze and Stone Age sites in Europe? Is there archeology of archealogical practices? When did historical museums become a thing?
September 11, 2025 at 7:44 PM
antiquity.ac.uk
What have the #Romans ever done for us? New research suggests Britain's economy didn't collapse after the Romans left, questioning the idea of a post-Roman 'Dark Age'.

Read the research 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

🏺 #Archaeology

@cam-archaeology.bsky.social @uonclassarch.bsky.social
September 11, 2025 at 8:02 AM
antiquity.ac.uk
NEW Britain's economy did not collapse after the #Romans left

A new, unbroken timeline of British metal production from the 5th century AD to the present day questions the idea of a post-Roman 'Dark Age'.

Strap in for an industrious #AntiquityThread 1/12 🧵

🏺 #Archaeology
Two archaeologists excavating in a trench.
September 11, 2025 at 7:45 AM
antiquity.ac.uk
The #Romans loved recycling their clothes #NationalSecondhandWardrobeDay
Clothes were cheap, but there is abundant evidence for their repair, indicating a 'make-do-and-mend' attitude. The same was true for armour, which was patched just like textiles 🏺

Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
Fragments of mail from the Roman Principate, likely used similarly to scraps of cloth to 'patch up' damage to mail armour.
August 25, 2025 at 1:25 PM
antiquity.ac.uk
Did you know it's #NationalFishingMonth? 🎣
The #Romans loved fish. To make the popular fermented fish sauce garum, they established large-scale salting and preservation plants, becoming one of the first societies to extensively exploit fish resources 🏺

Learn more 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
3D reconstruction of the Roman fish-salting plant of Adro Vello, Spain.
August 22, 2025 at 2:04 PM
majamise.bsky.social
1/2 Exciting news! 🎉 My Oxford Classical Dictionary entry on Pre-Roman Dalmatia is now (finally) published. 🏺✨
It explores how local communities + Greek settlers shaped the Dalmatian islandscape long before the Romans.
No access? DM me for a PDF. #archaeology
doi.org/10.1093/acre...
August 19, 2025 at 3:23 PM
robertemond.bsky.social
For #MosaicMonday the women’s changing room or apodyterium in Herculaneum. It was a vacation spot for rich Romans until buried in 79AD by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

#Photography 📸
#WestCoastKin
#Archaeology 🏺 #AncientBlueSky
A Roman black on white mosaic floor from 1st century AD. It depicts Triton in the center with octopus and dolphins around him. Photo by Robert Emond.
August 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM