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A previous post discussed a "Roman bracelet" discovered by a 12-year-old boy in Pagham, West Sussex, England, in 2022 (refer to the post below). Subsequent analysis of the find is intriguing; this “bracelet” was not intended as jewelry for a woman but was likely a military award. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/boy-finds-roman-era-gold-military-bracelet-while-walking-dog-in-uk https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armilla_(military_decoration)

An interesting find dating from the Emperor Septimius (ruled AD 193-211) has been discovered in Bulgaria. Archaeologists discovered more than 500 ancient coins in Plovdiv’s Old Town | Archaeology News Online Magazine (archaeologymag.com) This have been many previous archaeological finds in the area. The thread below examines a Roman coin hoard from the area dating from the Gothic invasion around AD 250-251.

Excavation work is currently underway in Caistor St. Edmund, near Norwich. The site was once the location of Venta Icenorum, a minor regional capital during the Roman era in Britain. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn498lw573xo The previous excavations at the site produced some interesting results.

Here is the news report:

Three almost entirely silver Roman-era ingots were confiscated by a man in Ukraine who attempted to sell them illegally online. Each of the metal blocks, which weighs almost 12 ounces (342 grams), contain a coin-shaped impression of Constantine the Great. These ingots would have been used for minting silver coins. It is uncertain how the ingots ended up in Ukraine. The previous owner claims that his great grandmother discovered the ingots buried in her backyard in Western Ukraine. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/rare-roman-era-silver-ingots-depicting-constantine-the-great-seized-from-alleged-black-market-sale

A magnificent mosaic has been discovered in the Roman city of Wroxeter (Virconium Cornoviorum) near Shrewsbury, England. At its peak, it may have housed a population of 15,000, making it the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain. https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2024/extraordinary-2000-year-old-mosaic-discovered-in-wroxeter-dig-co-directed-by-university https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gv3e6p05do.amp Here are three short clips of the Roman city Wroxeter today

Dura-Europos was founded as a Roman garrison town in AD 164 and is located in what is now Eastern Syria. In AD 194, Septimius Severus used it as a strategic base for his campaigns against the Parthians. The city later fell to the Sassanians led by Shapur I in AD 256-257, and its inhabitants were deported at that time. Dura-Europos was well-known for its religious tolerance. On the same street in the city, a synagogue, Christian house, and Mithraeum were discovered. This technical article challenges the theory that the Christian house, built in AD 232, was also a domestic dwelling or "house church" (domus ecclesiae) to obscure its true nature in an atmosphere of Christian religious persecution. Modern architectural research suggests that the Christian house was actually an openly Christian church and not a domestic dwelling. This raises questions about the extent of Christian persecution by the Roman authorities, at least in that particular area and time. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-house-rethinks-early-christian-landmark.html https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-archaeology/article/debating-the-domus-ecclesiae-at-duraeuropos-the-christian-building-in-context/E76ED3AD86D09A74893368840DEDFA6A

Two bodies have been uncovered in Pompeii at the Regio IX sector. The woman (shown above), aged 35-40, was discovered in a bed with a small collection of coins, along with jewelry including a pair of gold and pearl earrings. The other victim was a male approximately twenty years old (see below). https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/archaeologists-discover-remains-two-more-victims-pompeii-1234714153/ https://pompeiisites.org/wp-content/uploads/19_E-Journal_Scavando-nella-notte-oscura-di-Pompei_Il-rinvenimento-di-due-vittime-nell’ambiente-33_Insula-10_Regio-IX-1.pdf

Here's a brief video that discusses the tragic events of Pompeii. The video suggests that the people of Pompeii were busy with a multi-day festival dedicated to the deified Augustus, which attracted many visitors. (However, it's worth noting that the deification of Augustus was actually celebrated on August 19, so the timing mentioned in the video is slightly off.) On the day before the eruption, there was a festival called Vulcanalia, dedicated to the god Vulcan, who was the god of fire and volcanoes. This festival may have led people to mistakenly believe that the rumbles from Mount Vesuvius were actually favorable signs from the god Vulcan. Interestingly, the festival occurred annually on August 23rd, which almost coincided with the presumed date of the eruption. The eruption of Vesuvius is believed, not without controversy, to have occurred on August 24, 79 AD. Here are previous threads on the controversy about pinpointing the date of Vesuvius’ eruption:

A coin hoard, attributed to the Boudicca revolt in AD 60-61, was discovered in 2022 in Raynham, Norfolk. The hoard consists of 23 silver coins depicting the “Norfolk God” type of the Iceni. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnl0lqgykrdo Here is a good video on the Iceni Celtic coins:

There have been several posts in the past about the efforts to read the preserved scrolls from Herculaneum known as the Vesuvius Challenge (see post below). Fragments of two lost tragedies by Euripides have been found on Egyptian papyri. Hopefully, the Vesuvius Project will have similar success. https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2024/08/previously-unknown-fragments-of-two-lost-tragedies-by-euripides-discovered-in-an-egyptian-papyrus/

This virtual nighttime walk through Caesar’s Forum in Rome looks interesting:

A center for Roman tile kilns is being investigated in Minety, England, near Cirencester. Cirencester was known as the Roman town of Corinium. Tile production is thought to have been a significant regional industry in Roman Britain. Many of the tiles were stamped with “TPF” (Tegularia Publica Fecerunt), which is thought to be Latin for “made in the public tiles works” presumably at the municipal tile works of Cirencester. Tile with a dog footprint and another with a hoofprint Tile kiln from the area https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93pp2zwk9go Location of Cirencester, England A good video on the research of the Roman tile production in the area:

A wonderful Greek mosaic with Satyrs was found in Eretria (located on map below). It is thought to date from after the mid 4th century BCE. https://greekreporter.com/2024/08/03/ancient-greek-mosaic-satyrs-eretria/

Here is an article from the BBC stating that this find supports the belief that Wales was more integrated into the Roman Empire than previously thought. The find was 2 to 3 hectares in size could support 500 individuals. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y1x4n9qko.amp

Here’s an interesting story about a collection of gold Persian coins, called darics, that were discovered in the ancient city of Notion, in Turkey. The collection dates back to the late 5th century BCE. Darics were produced in the Persian Empire from the late 6th century BCE until 330 BCE, when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians. Here’s a picture of the director of the Notion Archaeological Project, Christopher Ratté, recording details of the Temple of Athena at Notion. Here’s a https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-team-finds-ancient-persian-gold-coins-in-western-turkey/ Site of the Notion excavations on the Western coast of Turkey.

Remains of a possible second Roman fort has been discovered in the Pembrokeshire region of Wales.The second Roman fort found in this area would support the belief that the Romans had a major presence in this area. (Above is a photo of a tile thought to be part of a Roman roof.) This finding could challenge previous concepts about the extent of the Roman occupation in Wales. https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/roman-fort-pembrokeshire-0021190#google_vignette Here are two posts about recent Roman findings in Wales.

A Greco-Roman sculpture head of Zeus was found in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, Turkey. It dates from the 2nd or 3rd century AD. It measures 66 cm (almost 26 inches). The sculptors and sculptures of Aphrodisias were known throughout the Roman world. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/07/marble-head-depicting-zeus-found-in-ancient-aphrodisias/152772

It wasn’t until the late 1950s, with improvements in underwater exploration, that the submerged section of the Baiae site could be properly excavated. Here are two other articles on the recent discovery. Letter (51) to Lucilius from Seneca the Younger on Baiae and Morals. https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_51 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-roman-ornate-mosaic-flooring-discovered-underwater-2515275 Divers Discover Mesmerizing Roman Mosaic Beneath the Sea (msn.com)

Baiae was Rome’s resort town, now underwater in the Gulf of Naples. Recent excavations have discovered some stunning mosaics. https://www.newsweek.com/remarkable-roman-marble-mosaic-revealed-notorious-sunken-city-1928724

A Roman temple dating from the 2nd century AD has been found in Ptuj, Slovenia (see map below). I’ll post more details as they become available: https://english.sta.si/3326122/remains-of-2nd-century-roman-temple-likely-discovered-in-ptuj

The trailer for Gladiator II has been released, and it seems to lean more towards fantasy than reality. The movie is set in AD 211 and features both Caracalla and Geta as emperors. It emphasizes gladiatorial fights, including a naval battle inside the Coliseum. Additionally, it includes some fantasy elements, like a conflict involving a rhinoceros. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator_II

Above is a picture of one of the fatalities at Pompeii AD 79, thought to be the victim of a crush injury possibly the result of an earthquake. Below are two articles on the earthquake theory (including the scientific article). https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2024/07/18/pompeii-skeleton-discovery-earthquake https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2024.1386960/full

Around twenty Roman villas have been excavated in the Limburg region of Southern Netherlands (see map below). Above is a reconstruction of one of the Roman villas. Below is excavation of Roman baths found in the area. Here is the article on the ongoing research: https://the-past.com/feature/roman-villas-in-limburg-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-prosperous-farming-community/

Pliny the Younger wrote about the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 while he stayed at a villa in Misenum with his mother and his uncle, Pliny the Elder. He chronicled the unsuccessful rescue mission of his uncle, who tragically perished. Researchers are investigating the "trembling of the earth" mentioned in Pliny the Younger's accounts. Recent studies indicate that seismic activity may have had a more significant impact on the destruction than previously believed, potentially changing the sequence of events that led to the devastation of Pompeii. https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/catastrophic-eruption-of-mount-vesuvius-in-ad-79-was-not-the-only-killer-of-pompeii/cid/2034697 The two letters written by Pliny the Younger describing the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD (pompeii.org.uk) See Letters LXV (to Tacitus) and LXVI (to Cornelius Tacitus) Letters of Pliny, by Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (gutenberg.org)