A "How To" guide to dress as an ancient Roman.

Statecraft requires intelligence to determine the potential threats to a nation. It should be no surprise, given Rome’s highly organised military and civil bureaucracy, that the army provided the means to gather the necessary information. What follows is an attempt to unravel the "who’s who" and discover what roles, tasks, and functions Rome’s "secret agents" performed.

This article questions the oft quoted parallels between Mithraism and Christianity that have led to so much deliberation on whether Christianity is a re-branded version of Mithraic beliefs.

In an earlier article, we challenged the idea that Roman soldiers cooked farinata, a type of unleavened bread made from chickpea flour, on their shields (link here). Given that Roman shields (Latin scutae; sing. scuta) were typically made of wood this is highly unlikely and at best a myth. So, if not using their shields, then what utensils might the average Roman soldier carry to cook with?

While teaching primary school children about the Romans, and specifically hygiene, we have encountered the belief that they cleaned their teeth with urine. We dispel this myth while explaining what uses urine did have in the past.

Continuing the series "Ludi", and following on from ancient Egypt, here are selection of board games played by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

In the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Roma there is a mosaic, dating from the early 1st-century AD, depicting various food items including a basket of fruit brimming with figs, grapes, pomegranates, and one curious object. Some viewers see a pineapple and this has led others to postulate this as clear evidence that the ancient Romans had contact with South America. Find out why it's a myth.

What's in a name? Where barbarians really just uncouth savages or is there more to the original meaning behind this term?

A recent search of the internet for information on Roman artillery machines returned, amongst other results, a website with a page entitled ‘The Roman Trebuchet Catapults’ [sic]. The title is misleading and we challenge the 'facts' cited.

Farinata, a classic Italian street food, is claimed to have been discovered by Roman soldiers who baked chickpea flour pancakes on their shields. For good reason this is undoubtedly a myth. Find out why.

A brief introduction on how little Romans were educated to climb the greasy pole to attain military and political glory for Rome (and themselves).

A century is a hundred, right? So how come a Roman army century was only 80 soldiers? Find out more.

We think it is great for children to dress up but many of the products for sale are, to the trained eye, rather dubious. What follows is a guide to avoid common mistakes and create more historically accurate costumes.

A simple guide for teachers and pupils on food history in Britain and some of the foods introduced by the Romans.

If you are an English speaker, have you ever wondered why we call the months of the year what we do? Well wonder no longer because here is a handy guide to where those names came from. Like many elements of western European culture we can, once more, thank the Romans.

This “How to:” guide is for those readers wishing to recreate simple yet effective historical costume. It is primarily aimed at teachers wishing to inspire their pupils on “Wow Days” when dressing up is the order of the day. In our experience, in most UK schools, that might be for history topics on the ancient Egyptians, Greeks or Romans.

Reclining to eat was the preserve of rich Romans so how did ordinary citizens dine? Find out how "fast food" is not a modern idea but has roots in Roman towns and cities.

One of two bodies found in Pompeii in 2020 was assumed to be a "slave", but is this true?

A brief introductory guide to wine and winemaking in the Roman period.

Discovery of "whistling" sling bullets in the Roman siege works at Burnswark, Scotland.