The image of Caligula as a deranged despot obsessed with power and violence has been etched into history thanks to accounts from his contemporaries. Now, a new study led by researchers at Yale University reveals that beyond his notorious cruelty, the Roman emperor possessed a sophisticated and sinister knowledge of ancient pharmacology, particularly the use […]
Roman Empire
Posted inAncient Rome
How Fake Coins Kept the Roman Empire’s Economy Alive in Its Decline
A recent study published in the journal Vegueta reveals how counterfeit coins were key to sustaining the economy in the final centuries of the Roman Empire. The research, focused on the territorium gerundensis region (present-day northeastern Spain), analyzes these imitations and their impact on daily life at the time. In the 4th and 5th centuries […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
A Garrison of Giants at Hadrian’s Wall? Oversized Roman Footwear Found at the Magna Fort
In the defensive ditches of the Roman fort of Magna, located in Northumberland and now home to the Roman Army Museum, archaeologists have uncovered remains of ancient footwear of extraordinary size, raising questions about who once inhabited this northern frontier outpost of Britannia nearly two thousand years ago. The Vindolanda Charitable Trust has been investigating […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Two Anchor Stocks from Large Roman Cargo Ships, One with a Cathead, Recovered off the Coast of Campania
In an operation coordinated by the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape of Salerno and Avellino, with operational support from the Carabinieri’s Underwater Unit of Naples and in collaboration with the specialized association ASSO (Underwater Archaeology Speleology Organization), two Roman-era anchor stocks and an amphora in remarkable condition were recovered off the coast of […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology, Uncategorized
Ancient DNA Discovered in Remains of Roman Garum: This Is How the Empire’s Most Popular Condiment Was Made
A team of researchers has managed to extract and sequence DNA from fish remains found in an ancient Roman salting factory in northwestern Spain, providing insight into the production methods of the famous garum, the fermented fish sauce that flavored the diet of the Roman Empire. The recently published study shows that even under extreme […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Mystery of the Roman Lead Pipes Found in the Rhône Solved: They Supplied Water to the Baths of Constantine
The city of Arles in French Provence is home to a unique legacy of Roman engineering: a system of aqueducts that for centuries supplied water to its inhabitants, the public baths, and even a large complex of water mills. Now, a team of researchers from the universities of Mainz (JGU), Oxford, and Innsbruck has managed […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
The Homes of the Centurions Discovered with Charred Remains and Mysterious Pits at the Roman Camp of Haltern in Germany
Excavations carried out prior to the construction of a new community and senior center in Haltern am See have brought to light a series of archaeological discoveries related to the ancient camp established in the area during Augustus’s campaigns to turn trans-Rhenish Germania into a Roman province. The work, carried out by a company specializing […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
The Romans Stacked Architectural and Sculptural Materials to Create a Breakwater in the Ancient Port of Misenum, the Base of the Imperial Fleet
Beneath the waters of the port of Misenum in the Italian town of Bacoli, a team of archaeologists and underwater heritage specialists has managed to recover a collection of pieces from the Roman Imperial period. The work allowed for the documentation and extraction of architectural and sculptural fragments from the Portus Iulius of the ancient […]
Posted inAncient Egypt, Archaeology
The Ancient City of Akhetaten, Built as a Capital by Akhenaten, Reemerged as a Christian Sanctuary at the End of the Roman Period
Until now, researchers believed that the city of Amarna (the Arabic name for the ancient city of Akhetaten), founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten in 1370 BCE, had been abandoned forever after its fall. However, a recent study published in the Minia Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research reveals that Amarna not only survived but was transformed […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Rock-Carved Dwellings and a Roman Domus with a Spectacular Mosaic Found on a Hillside in Southeastern France
Archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) have unearthed, on the slopes of the hill overlooking the city of Alès, in southeastern France, a Gallo-Roman archaeological site that reveals continuous human occupation between the 2nd and 6th centuries AD. The excavations, carried out between February and June of this year, uncovered remains […]
