A team of researchers from the University of Jaén has identified the first stone mold used for coin production in ancient Hispania. The discovery, made at the archaeological site of Obulco, in present-day Porcuna (Jaén), provides new insights into the coin manufacturing processes during the Republican period and the organization of minting workshops, whose location […]
Roman Republic
Posted inAncient Rome
The Tarquinian Conspiracy: The Failed Attempt to Restore the Monarchy in Rome After the Republic Was Proclaimed
Ancient Rome transitioned from a monarchy to a republic in 509 B.C., after its seventh king, Tarquin the Proud, was overthrown in a palace coup triggered by his son, Sextus Tarquinius, who violated a young patrician woman named Lucretia, driving her to take her own life and unleashing widespread indignation. However, the monarchists did not […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Cincinnatus, the Dictator Who Voluntarily Renounced His Power Twice After Saving Rome
In Italy, it is not uncommon to find streets and neighborhoods named Cincinnatus, but even more familiar is the name of a city in the American state of Ohio. Although similar, these names have different origins: the U.S. city is named after The Society of Cincinnati (a society of veterans of the Revolution), while the […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Spectacular Bronze Statues and Thousands of Coins Found in the Etruscan-Roman Sanctuary of San Casciano dei Bagni
In the picturesque municipality of San Casciano dei Bagni, located in the Italian province of Siena, archaeological discoveries continue to shed light on the rich history of the Etruscan-Roman sanctuary of Bagno Grande. In 2002, this site revealed the largest collection of bronze statues from the Etruscan and Roman periods (article on our Spanish edition) […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Cannae, the Catastrophic Defeat That Left Rome Defenseless Against Hannibal
The last human sacrifices carried out in Rome—beyond considering the ludi gladiatorii as an acceptable adaptation of the concept—took place in 216 BC. It was during a colossal catastrophe that shook Rome to the point of desperately reviving those ancient practices. The same disaster that caused tens of thousands of deaths, the loss of many […]
Posted inAncient Rome
The Debated Historicity of the Overthrow of the Roman Monarchy and the Birth of the Republic
Traditionally, the history of Rome begins with its founding by Romulus, a descendant of the exiled Trojan Aeneas, and the establishment of a monarchy under which seven kings succeeded one another. The last of these was Tarquinius Superbus the Proud, who was overthrown in the 6th century BCE after his son assaulted a patrician woman […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Marcus Valerius Laevinus, the Roman general who persuaded the senators to donate their assets to fund the war against Hannibal
The name Marcus Valerius Laevinus doesn’t mean much to most history enthusiasts, not even to those interested in Ancient Rome, as he remains overshadowed by other contemporaries who achieved lasting fame due to their roles in the Second Punic War, such as Hannibal Barca, Scipio Africanus, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, or Quintus Fabius Maximus. But Laevinus […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Large Roman Villa Where Falernian Wine, the Most Esteemed in the Empire Was Produced, Found in Campania
Construction work on an agrivoltaic plant has unearthed a Roman villa approximately 2,000 years old in the small Italian municipality of Cancello ed Arnone, in the province of Caserta. The discovery offers an opportunity to study and better understand the settlement dynamics of a historic area of great importance to Roman civilization: the ager Falernus. […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Vercellae, the battle that led to the demise of Teutons and Cimbri peoples
In the year 105 BC, while Gaius Marius was awaiting a triumph for crushing the rebellion of the Numidian Jugurtha and hoping his contested candidacy for another consulship would be accepted, another threat arose on the frontier, this time in the north: a coalition of Germanic tribes was preparing to invade the territory of the […]
Posted inAncient Rome
“Locationes Censoriae”, the Contracts That Enabled the Construction of Rome’s Great Public Works
A recent study published in the Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies reveals interesting details about the system of public contracts in the Roman Republic, highlighting the delicate interaction between state power and private interests in managing the public affairs of ancient Rome. The research, conducted by Anna Tarwacka of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in […]
