Primus Pilus

The final resting place of three German U-boats, nicknamed "Hitler's lost fleet", has been found at the bottom of the Black Sea. The submarines had been carried 2,000 miles overland from Germany to attack Russian shipping during the Second World War, but were scuttled as the war neared its end. Now, more than 60 years on, explorers have located the flotilla of three submarines off the coast of Turkey. The vessels, including one once commanded by Germany's most successful U-boat ace, formed part of the 30th Flotilla of six submarines, taken by road and river across Nazi-occupied Europe, from Germany's Baltic port at Kiel to Constanta, the Romanian Black Sea port... The Telegraph

Part of a huge Roman bridge which would have once spanned the River Tyne has been saved from destruction by a team of archaeologists at Corbridge. The original bridge would have carried the main Roman road from London to Scotland

I suppose much of this depends on which Romans we are talking about. I'd hazard to guess that the Romans of the 3rd century BC would have been quite aghast at the Romans of the 4th century AD... let alone the people of the 21st century. While technology didn't change much in the millennium of Roman prominence, attitudes changed greatly. I don't think it's any sort of revelation of course, but the later era Romans probably would've been far more understanding of some of our cultural positions than the earlier.

Congrats on your happiness G-Man. A feeling I will never know.

That's one explanation, but it there are too many possibilities to accept consensus opinion. The topic simply may not interest people. They may have missed it. People may agree but could still be quite wrong. Interesting theory though.

Congrats on the launch Russ. The attendance of gladiatorial re-enactors could really help bring in a crowd and I wish I could attend myself. It's really a fantastic idea. Then again I seem to gravitate towards anything when the words wine and/or pub are mentioned. Seriously though, as I told you privately, we can never have enough writers of the historical genre, be it fiction or non. I hope your event is a raving success.

It's just good to see you back browsing around. I miss your first hand reports of various archaeological activities around the eternal city.

I read "Sons" shortly after it was initially published and despite my lapse in memory as to the details, I believe Ursus captured the spirit quite well. He has a natural flair for relating in his reviews what he has read and it's been quite enjoyable to watch him continue to expand in this area. Unlike what can sometimes occur in professional reviews of academic publications his style is quite personal and informative without an air of elitism or pretension. I have been quite inclined to delve into some topics that I would normally not simply based on these reviews. As for the interview... I still very much want to read "The Political Sociology of the Roman Republic from Sulla to Augustus", despite Maty's trepidation over the re-work. If it's any incentive at all, you would be guaranteed at least 1 sale.

Yes, please do. Generally speaking I suppose this would be no more than a slight irritation, but if people are spammed in such a manner semi-routinely, I'd like to be able to block the offending IP addresses, etc.

A team of archaeologists from the University of Exeter has found a Roman fort dating from the 1st Century AD in fields in Cornwall. Several items of pottery have been excavated and a furnace which may have been used to smelt minerals. Researchers said the find at Calstock, close to a silver mine, could show for the first time the Romans' interest in exploiting Cornish minerals. Very little is known so far about the Roman occupation in Cornwall... BBC

Is this the same thing you told me about via email? We're not opposed to advertising by any stretch (ie Google ads, related amazon links and such) as they certainly pay the bills, but we would like it to be content appropriate. Random advertisers trolling a forum membership list trying to buy or sell ads certainly isn't the sort of thing we like to deal with.

It appears they are only suggesting survival rates. I'm attempting to find some further information on the study with little luck.

Forgive my tardiness to the discussion here, but in Boudicca's case there really isn't any evidence that she led from the front. Neither Tacitus or Cassius Dio (the only sources who mention her) make any reference to it. In the queen's defense though, none of the ancient sources typically provide enough detail for us to know definitively either way for most "generals", but we honestly don't know whether she led from the front or held a place on the battlefield at all. Regardless I see no reason to doubt her presence at Camulodunum, Londinium, Verulamium and in the final battle with Paulinus, nor do I see a reason to doubt her political position as both sources clearly attest to her prominent role in the revolt.

Though on the surface this doesn't exactly seem like an earth-shattering revelation... that the poor and/or frail were more likely to die than those of health and/or means... but its an interesting counter to conventional thought nonetheless.

The Black Death, which killed one person in every three in Europe, was not as indiscriminate as thought, according to studies of remains in mass grave in East Smithfield. The toll was so high during its height in the 1300s that many have concluded that anyone and everyone who came into contact with the agent, thought to be a bacterium, was doomed. But research published today shows that people who were physically frail and malnourished before the epidemic were more likely to die from the disease than healthy individuals... Telegraph.co.uk

During the past 2,500 years, the Parthenon

Indeed, I didn't mean to suggest that this was definitive, but only that IF the Romans had fleets in the Caspium, they would've been allied Armenians and not likely to be official imperial commands.

Perhaps they are taking the term stimulus package far too literally?

*In theory* we're set to get the money in May/June of this year... IN retrospect, Doc is probably much more accurate with her timing prediction than my previous suggestion of March/April...

Didn't mean to suggest that you were unclear... was just having a bit of fun playing on words with your statement for no other purpose than levity. Unfortunately, typed responses don't often give the the impression one is intending. I understand your point, but there are many others who disagree. Do they all have an agenda? I surely don't know, but again, my main concern is being forced to do something that is frivolous or ineffective because of politics. There is of course good intentioned science within all the findings, but I know there is also good intentioned science that is contradictory.

Before likely in March/April. The exact details are still subject to wrangling since it has yet to pass the Senate, but the vast majority of taxpayers will receive a rebate. It will be roughly something like $300 to $500 per individual with a maximum of $1,200 or so for a family. This one is actually quite bi-partisan. The devil is in the details of course, but pretty much every American taxpayer will get something.

Nothing in the Maeotis nor in the Caspium, though there were 2 major fleets in the Euxinus at Noviodunum and Trapezus. Considering the semi-permanent nature (at best) of Rome's authority there, in all probability Rome probably relied on allied Armenian fleets in the Caspium. As for Yemen (Arabia Felix) the only early expedition I'm aware of was a failed enterprise by the Augustan governor of Egypt, Aelius Gallus. Little is known other than that the attempt didn't bear fruit. Cassius Dio 53.29.3. There is no evidence that I'm aware of, of attempts by such eastern expeditions of Trajan and Severus to establish any permanence in Arabia Felix. However, there has been much speculation as the to the range of Roman fleets and capital influence beyond Arabia and into the Indian Ocean. Whether there were Roman fleets involved or it was knowledge passed along by sailors and merchants, I don't know.

Remnants of an ancient city from the Byzantine period have been found during surface excavations carried out in the Anatolian city of

I don't think you need any more "stimulation".

Actually, I'm not sure how one defines the comparable prosperity. If everyone was so prosperous during the principate, why the need for such massive grain doles and common monetary donatives? Extreme populism created a dependent population in the process of reducing political conflict. Was it really any different than the conditions immediately after the punic wars that led to massive prosperity for the elite but relative economic stagnation for the common people? Clearly there were many prosperous people in the Augustan era, but the greatest beneficiaries of this prosperity were the same classes it had always been. The "poor" may have received most of their state provided welfare without the political opposition of previous eras, but they still very much existed.