tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82461832024-03-13T10:05:03.113+00:00History Mysteries of Caroline LawrenceTopics linked to the historical novels for kids by Caroline Lawrence: The Roman Mysteries, The P.K. Pinkerton Mysteries, The Roman Quests, the Time Travel Diaries and more!Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.comBlogger377125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-34654913062296857262023-07-16T15:54:00.009+01:002023-07-17T07:36:36.841+01:00City Wall - a new mini-museum in London<p> <i style="font-family: "New York", serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">As I stood at the top of the black marble stairs going down, I felt a prickle at the back of my neck... ‘At almost every ancient site in the world,’ said Solomon Daisy over his shoulder, ‘when you go down, you go back in time.’ (<a href="https://carolinelawrence.com/series/time-travel-diaries" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries</a>, p 15) </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">I was inspired to write those words (and an entire book) by stairs at the <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com" target="_blank">London Mithraeum</a>, a relatively new museum that brilliantly showcases Roman London using archaeology and artefacts in a creative way. Black marble stairs lead you from street level down to a mysterious temple, recording the ground level with every few steps. As you descend you go back in time: past the Blitz of 1941, the Great Fire of 1666, the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066 and the Roman exodus from Britannia in AD 410. <o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UjigpLPJfi6l5zBf8SEXjFd4jon5umhv6A8Pk-PeprZJpzTLr0e_OH7fR6lCnJO84xnqc3cMbDNpKhoY5YwyAhDGSXFVx9sfi5kSM-MUGTnvIRXoCt3zv9bn_6wxI3DDuoBPQaEI1_PhW7AlWmN103lIIWvuare-4z9HRw8Z5uzFsrKDQgHsww/s1968/caro_mithraeum_stairs_ed_miller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1968" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UjigpLPJfi6l5zBf8SEXjFd4jon5umhv6A8Pk-PeprZJpzTLr0e_OH7fR6lCnJO84xnqc3cMbDNpKhoY5YwyAhDGSXFVx9sfi5kSM-MUGTnvIRXoCt3zv9bn_6wxI3DDuoBPQaEI1_PhW7AlWmN103lIIWvuare-4z9HRw8Z5uzFsrKDQgHsww/w400-h285/caro_mithraeum_stairs_ed_miller.jpg" title="Caroline on the Mithraeum stairs" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline on the stairs of the London Mithraeum</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">That’s when it first occurred to me that if you were to put a portable time portal on the modern street level, set the dial for Roman London and step through, you would fall at least 5 metres and probably break both legs. It’s not that London is sinking, but rather that the street level rises with each successive generation, so that the older parts of London are gradually being swallowed. That’s why you must go underground to find not only the <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com" target="_blank">Mithraeum</a>, but London’s amphitheatre, various bathhouses and other random ruins. This includes the twenty-odd surviving fragments of London’s city wall; all are at a lower level than the surrounding ground, one section is even located in a fume-filled underground car park.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Much nicer than a fume-filled underground carpark is one of London’s newest museums, <a href="https://citywallvinestreet.org" target="_blank">City Wall at Vine Street</a>. As at the <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com" target="_blank">Mithraeum</a>, the stairs you descend become a kind of time machine taking you from the 21</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">st</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">century to Roman level.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3tPOLf0Fvjr_FoUtxsmfTWK09NYVILMDTFqsEqOAqk2JrSN9hHmwFNZHpUPX-BHnuzIJEg1Jf7r9znlHZGhKEAPFYBDC-y-dEjlY5SZGHkzhtXDgOB8lFz9VebhP5Yqr6N1CSGIY94RU2Gf4P3tE51Cz2e-osadlNy-VY0Udk0GREFP-ZuZ2AQ/s4032/01_CityWallVineStreetStairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3tPOLf0Fvjr_FoUtxsmfTWK09NYVILMDTFqsEqOAqk2JrSN9hHmwFNZHpUPX-BHnuzIJEg1Jf7r9znlHZGhKEAPFYBDC-y-dEjlY5SZGHkzhtXDgOB8lFz9VebhP5Yqr6N1CSGIY94RU2Gf4P3tE51Cz2e-osadlNy-VY0Udk0GREFP-ZuZ2AQ/w300-h400/01_CityWallVineStreetStairs.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stairs at City Wall at Vine Street</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Whereas the black marble stairs at <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com" target="_blank">London’s Mithraeum</a> (top photo) plunge you down into a suitably murky underground temple that Romans called a ‘cave’, the installation here is the opposite. It is light, bright and spacious. I first went in May of 2023, and again in July. After the seething summer crowds at the Tower of London and the British Museum it was a joy to have this airy, echoing space all to myself. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL__jknaNG4zXQGe2SUKlqAOIdYWj0a3Uizr1aQ5q6Iilucd7cz0aVGXbX9DXrUOqut5A_DjB7w3-mpA838ELklBfoGtC_162hhW_AMjaltJ1qy2ZUThumH9q9HiZWnjvU1j_aePLkECQEPOHc7lJ3rQljIEo5hn_5jz1QT9oAgYy6xlFEWqB9nQ/s4032/02_CityWallandDisplayCases_fromUrbanest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL__jknaNG4zXQGe2SUKlqAOIdYWj0a3Uizr1aQ5q6Iilucd7cz0aVGXbX9DXrUOqut5A_DjB7w3-mpA838ELklBfoGtC_162hhW_AMjaltJ1qy2ZUThumH9q9HiZWnjvU1j_aePLkECQEPOHc7lJ3rQljIEo5hn_5jz1QT9oAgYy6xlFEWqB9nQ/w300-h400/02_CityWallandDisplayCases_fromUrbanest.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the wall and display case at City Wall</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">London was founded by the Romans circa 47 AD at the crossroads of land route and the river Thames. Used as a military and supply base it immediately attracted entrepreneurs from across the channel. Therefore, most of Londinium’s early population were ambitious immigrants, just like today. When Boudicca led some of the local British tribes to burn Londinium to the ground, it rose from the ashes within a year. There was another less well-documented disaster around 120 AD but it wasn’t until the year 200 that a massive stone and brick wall was built to replace an earlier wooden palisade. The wall has a fascinating history of nearly two millennia. Now a slice of that history is revealed in this bite-sized museum. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">The beautifully preserved chunk of Roman wall is teamed with a couple of glass-fronted cases of choice artefacts. The developers, Urbanest, hired the talented design firm <a href="https://www.metaphor-design.co.uk" target="_blank">Metaphor</a> to work with archaeologists from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) who had excavated the site. <a href="https://www.metaphor-design.co.uk" target="_blank">Metaphor</a> call themselves ‘storytellers’. One of their early proposals shows a mural listing some of the people who would have lived in the shadow of this wall: Legionary, Centurion, Gravedigger, Beggar, Gunmaker, Tea Merchant, Hawker, Silk Weaver, Tanner, Ankle Beater, Match Girl, Nipper, Gold Beater, Glassblower, Lamplighter. I love this idea because history is all about people and their stories. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">As you reach the bottom of the stairs you are confronted by a massive chunk of wall, brightly lit to show off its original structure as well as later additions. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPk0SgGiSyfpf5ufNSjUzZOGrHP1Hh4SjDLM5x9OEtQGcO4T9uKxTW22Y3WlAG6zOF47wk0RDw_Yq0cXaFdAropghGEzOGr_FMVtCg0hrCLY-eSicQhzUjlAFgVT_nxqNXv85Rs_rbSaFF42srNn8qwMJuXgGFqTJJ9mc94Cr7GMb8U0ck1xLHQ/s4032/03_CityWallInnerFace_jacks_blackbricks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPk0SgGiSyfpf5ufNSjUzZOGrHP1Hh4SjDLM5x9OEtQGcO4T9uKxTW22Y3WlAG6zOF47wk0RDw_Yq0cXaFdAropghGEzOGr_FMVtCg0hrCLY-eSicQhzUjlAFgVT_nxqNXv85Rs_rbSaFF42srNn8qwMJuXgGFqTJJ9mc94Cr7GMb8U0ck1xLHQ/w300-h400/03_CityWallInnerFace_jacks_blackbricks.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The west-facing inner part of the Roman wall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This is the inner, western-facing wall. It’s an excellent example of Roman building: several courses of squared Kentish ragstone sandwiched by narrow layers of red ceramic tiles to level the wall and make it stronger. (Whenever you see those narrow courses of red brick like the burgers in a Big Mac, you can be sure your wall is Roman, not medieval.) Originally set on a base of orange sandstone, there are later additions beneath the wall, all designed to keep it standing: black-painted brick columns built in 1905, concrete blocks added in the late 1970s, red jacks and horizontal steel props inserted during the construction of the current building around 2021. This part of the wall is itself a kind of Time Machine. I can imagine the sweaty soldiers and slaves grunting as they bring rubble to fill the core; the legionary pacing up and down atop the finished wall, keeping watch; the centurion in his horizontal crested helmet and twisty olive-wood staff, barking orders.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8b8bTzxXWSkixto9VzsTNpGaV5IABbUwvJTJ1K-vuXb3pSbBWowOYkVnGIPLbMfFVrdr14Jox5Vk5-XKXUrVdVeyKdFz8VFv5GR9Z2cuehgPtSH7DcXozMFldfWKWRc5XL95J-QEIJsLKwNEwqKQb62go23JnLalilgl4aWKMLIJGavLA365VwA/s3659/04_CrossSection_CityWallAtVine_diagram_byChrisGreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2273" data-original-width="3659" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8b8bTzxXWSkixto9VzsTNpGaV5IABbUwvJTJ1K-vuXb3pSbBWowOYkVnGIPLbMfFVrdr14Jox5Vk5-XKXUrVdVeyKdFz8VFv5GR9Z2cuehgPtSH7DcXozMFldfWKWRc5XL95J-QEIJsLKwNEwqKQb62go23JnLalilgl4aWKMLIJGavLA365VwA/w400-h249/04_CrossSection_CityWallAtVine_diagram_byChrisGreen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cross section of London's Roman wall with bastion</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The glass case shows us bits of amphorae, heating flues and food preparation bowls. I imagine burly sailors bringing the amphorae full of olive oil and wine from ship to city gate; a fish-sauce merchant from North Africa pressing his bare hands to the plaster wall warmed by a hypocaust on a winter day; the Germanic wife of a retired soldier grinding spelt for bread.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Somewhere between 350-375 AD bastions were added to the Roman wall in an attempt to keep out Saxon raiders. Go around the outside of the wall to see the only surviving remnant of one of these bastions. These towers didn’t discourage Saxons who settled west of the wall in what was first called Lundenwic and would later be known as Westminster. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">For the only time since London was founded, the space within the wall was abandoned. For nearly four hundred years the only things living here were snails, birds, small wild mammals, a few shepherds, and a smattering of monks who used the seclusion to pray (and to build the first St Paul’s Cathedral around 604 AD). Amusingly, the case displays snails on a wall for this period. I imagine a hooded monk from St Paul’s watching a snail in the ruins of a Roman courtyard and praising God for all creatures great and small. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">In the 800s Viking raids became a constant threat, so in 886 AD King Alfred repaired the crumbling Roman wall and moved Londoners back inside. The trench outside the walls was widened. This was for protection, but people still used it to dump rubbish, beloved of archaeologists. Hundreds of churches were built within the walls and the Poor Clare nuns built an Abbey over the Roman graveyard outside the city wall. New mass graves were needed after the Black Death in 1348. I can see a gravedigger in a grubby tunic with calloused hands and a well-worn spade. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUZybVbaQq7-46jZxpZTq-OHhMwsBMS8l5doFseXs-6RhSplkqB6iM0Yt0QPg55d3Bpa_6wR-2ZTliKy7SECJRWsK6QOn2y7b-P1h_Pxc7oxMWmOJ2ZuN38dFEVWbxmmdCodWoWMX0bQDluREmO7VSzxzWp11GPYVPGNBDBIdf7heCUATNyhPtQ/s4032/05_CityWallatVine_display_13May2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUZybVbaQq7-46jZxpZTq-OHhMwsBMS8l5doFseXs-6RhSplkqB6iM0Yt0QPg55d3Bpa_6wR-2ZTliKy7SECJRWsK6QOn2y7b-P1h_Pxc7oxMWmOJ2ZuN38dFEVWbxmmdCodWoWMX0bQDluREmO7VSzxzWp11GPYVPGNBDBIdf7heCUATNyhPtQ/w400-h300/05_CityWallatVine_display_13May2023.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Display cases at City Wall at Vine Street</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In the 1500s the ditch outside the wall was filled in to become gardens and pasturage for animals. With the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII the Abbey and its land was sold. From the mid-1500s people began to build workshops and houses here. Luckily the Great Fire of 1666 does not quite reach this part of London. Meanwhile the wall was being gradually swallowed by the rising ground level.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Thanks to objects in the cases from the 17<sup>th</sup> and 18<sup>th</sup> century, I imagine sweaty workers casting copper alloy bells in pits lined with horncore, the inside part of animal horns. I visualise a glassblower in a leather apron, dropping dark-green toffee-like strings and blobs of glass on the floor. I see a goldsmith skimming dross from the top of a crucible; he is squinting because the window panes don’t let in much light. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Two Georgian residents are singled out in their own double display. Francis Joyce and James Reynolds both lived in Georgian townhouses near this section of the wall. Both houses had back gardens with cesspits that yielded fascinating clues to their lives. Although cesspits were intended for the contents of chamberpots, (which ‘night soil men’ would regularly collect), both pits contained broken porcelain, glass bottles and the bones of animals that had been butchered. Thanks to other documentation we know that Joyce was a boxmaker (an undertaker) who lived with his wife, their children, his mother-in-law and possibly a bird in a cage. They may have kept a pet bunny as the bones of a complete angora rabbit (with no butchering marks) were found in their pit. Reynolds was a gunmaker. He left less rubbish, but enough to conjure an image of him smoking a white clay pipe, while his wife used a fine boxwood comb to untangle her long hair. Or maybe she was the smoker and he was the owner of the comb. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ELI6ByE2-Ti4JBdE-_YtkY7CdXKM2YExS7BUaWcRPPHVPEmtgagJpb4FDOqcpaHfb7q0nDdyJwtN4CCRvbsL09xqFdN1YL5fgZR_VhX6h3oZV8zM6NM_3c7y5A1RLmggCZC3w4ynMOHX6bKc7RlX7GFHZYjVfp6TuTfyxb-3b9Lwfn0baBrzMw/s2926/CityWallatVine_RabbitBones_13May2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2336" data-original-width="2926" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ELI6ByE2-Ti4JBdE-_YtkY7CdXKM2YExS7BUaWcRPPHVPEmtgagJpb4FDOqcpaHfb7q0nDdyJwtN4CCRvbsL09xqFdN1YL5fgZR_VhX6h3oZV8zM6NM_3c7y5A1RLmggCZC3w4ynMOHX6bKc7RlX7GFHZYjVfp6TuTfyxb-3b9Lwfn0baBrzMw/w400-h319/CityWallatVine_RabbitBones_13May2023.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bones of a complete rabbit found in a 18th century cesspit</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With the coming of the railways and building of Fenchurch Street Station this part of London begins receiving even more imported goods from the docks. In 1863, the massive Metropolitan Bonded Warehouse opens on this site. Here wine and spirits arrived by train to be recorded, taxed, bottled and sent out to merchants and shopkeepers. Tea and cork were shipped here, too. The remaining stub of the Roman wall above ground was used as part of the structure but plastered over, so nobody knew they were walking past an ancient landmark. I can see a Victorian Clerk dipping a quill pen into a stoneware inkpot and sipping tea. Messenger boys play marbles between running errands. A Matchgirl on the street outside examines her reflection in a precious fragment of mirror she has just found.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">I imagine a Christmas party in the Interwar period with men and women dressed like characters from P.G. Wodehouse’s <i>Jeeves and Wooster</i>. They are drinking wine, sipping cocktails and later quaffing cure-alls from smaller bottles to ease their hangovers. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSvLCTOEQhn9wmaPVmXst2LqyHpfBbw7hIakWoKMyUaBaAiAe4iBPfAnJ5AyEEtwLxWhOLI9TzOOO2G7ySatE0dcuoUrlvhpyIskx8lcBNG6qc3ChiqoaDJfPGcgnpECVz8Yd3Ze_FG1sGYXLF3NlKHtrT780EgJ4lV9ptSf5KGYfAXakWv6XSw/s3127/CityWallAtVine_cocktailShakers1928_3July2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3127" data-original-width="2267" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSvLCTOEQhn9wmaPVmXst2LqyHpfBbw7hIakWoKMyUaBaAiAe4iBPfAnJ5AyEEtwLxWhOLI9TzOOO2G7ySatE0dcuoUrlvhpyIskx8lcBNG6qc3ChiqoaDJfPGcgnpECVz8Yd3Ze_FG1sGYXLF3NlKHtrT780EgJ4lV9ptSf5KGYfAXakWv6XSw/w290-h400/CityWallAtVine_cocktailShakers1928_3July2023.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cocktail shakers from the 1920s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Now it is 1944. I hear the rattling drone of a V-1 ‘Doodlebug’ missile suddenly going quiet, just before the massive explosion that rocked the warehouse and destroyed most of it. But it was rebuilt, again incorporating the surviving part of the ancient wall.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">In the late 1970s I visited London as a student. I still remember seeing smart city businessmen in bowler hats walking on the same pavement as girls in mini-skirts and hippies. I imagine them now, stopping to watch the demolition of the old Metropolitan Bonded Warehouse just around the time of my visit. (A tiny blue bead in one of the final cases might have been dropped by a hippie.) By now the wall had been completely swallowed by the rising street level so those 1970s businessmen and hippies had nothing to see. However builders found this bit of wall in the basement of the warehouse, and in 1979 they stopped construction long enough to let archaeologists excavate. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Because the wall was now under preservation order, the two buildings that rose on the site kept it in their basements and adopted suitable names: Roman Wall House and Emperor House. Between 1980 and 2010 the wall could only be viewed upon request. Then, for a few years between 2011 to 2018, it appeared behind glass as a feature of a nightclub with the suitably Roman name of Club II AD. This ancient wall vibrated to the sound of House music and the sight of clubbers dancing under strobe lights. From Roman soldier to Raver in 1800 years!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8TiigqCXOmf-PKsLXIKOwRXmxQYKhEIVVg1TsmNwHF7cfFfO2uti2-4fWwgpILqVhdYtNSlgUoQ6Wi87qbXnfxE8B-OL3wxt5DALPfR8pMDKzj1MEf-1EkqJD17FE6D8D1bFlUM9rO75foajRrRJHIdIa7BA2-PuLrl3Jk1SAqRKT5LbAhLJ5A/s2775/ClubIIAD_GoogleStreetView_Jun2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2775" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8TiigqCXOmf-PKsLXIKOwRXmxQYKhEIVVg1TsmNwHF7cfFfO2uti2-4fWwgpILqVhdYtNSlgUoQ6Wi87qbXnfxE8B-OL3wxt5DALPfR8pMDKzj1MEf-1EkqJD17FE6D8D1bFlUM9rO75foajRrRJHIdIa7BA2-PuLrl3Jk1SAqRKT5LbAhLJ5A/w400-h208/ClubIIAD_GoogleStreetView_Jun2012.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Club II AD on Google Street View from June 2012</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roman Wall House, Emperor House and Club II AD were all demolished in 2018 to make way for a new 11-storey building for Urbanest, a company which offers luxury student accommodation at more than half a dozen London sites. I don’t have to use my imagination to see wealthy and ambitious students from the UK and abroad; they’re coming and going in the lobby next door.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">The designers have thought of many other clever aspects for this mini-museum. A compass in the floor shows the direction of the river, the fort and the cemetery. A short, animated filmstrip on a loop tells you what went on here over the years and documents the succession of warehouses that incorporated the wall. (Watch it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm4X7pzIi5I">HERE</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">) Charming graphics illustrate how to use a commode (a chair with a chamberpot in it) and a Georgian townhouse cesspit. A two-storey tall mural by artist Olivia Whitworth presents stylized versions of famous treasures of London history, with – appropriately – the oldest at the bottom and most recent on top.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpl4EEFYY2lpL618EepK1z3OX_F_AQQcuDJC_drmF-lTuPD8dNUAa-fYsAbZEUyM_Unnb74BuQ5Njg5Yws5JAObbGfAjKT1uyhXrH44nJ8HnGd0MFZxeMUeJ8bDKvMxPxFCqXcez0sBSYLSiQVBp59m-7UpwB9caXpuW7SdmUbywPnwH7oGkOOw/s4032/06_CityWallatVine_FloorCompass_13May2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpl4EEFYY2lpL618EepK1z3OX_F_AQQcuDJC_drmF-lTuPD8dNUAa-fYsAbZEUyM_Unnb74BuQ5Njg5Yws5JAObbGfAjKT1uyhXrH44nJ8HnGd0MFZxeMUeJ8bDKvMxPxFCqXcez0sBSYLSiQVBp59m-7UpwB9caXpuW7SdmUbywPnwH7oGkOOw/w300-h400/06_CityWallatVine_FloorCompass_13May2023.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A compass in the floor and artwork on the wall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Unlike the hero of my</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://carolinelawrence.com/series/time-travel-diaries/" target="_blank">Time Travel Diaries</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">book, I didn’t have to be decontaminated and debriefed after my visit to the past. When I came up the stairs through the exit, I found a delightful little coffee shop called </span><a href="https://www.wearesenzo.com" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank">Senzo</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. Tables on a mezzanine allow you to sip a fairtrade cappuccino and gaze down on the Roman wall and its artefacts, pondering what you have just seen.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">As I was finishing my coffee and making notes on my second visit, <a href="https://www.wearesenzo.com" target="_blank">Senzo</a>’s affable co-founder came down to chat. Born in Denmark to Asian parents, A.J. is typical of today’s Londoners who have come from all over the world – like me – to achieve their ambitions. He clearly loves his job. He is friends with lots of the students who live upstairs, and he actively encourages tourists to stop and sit and take in the world. ‘For me, it’s not about the coffee,’ A.J. told me. ‘It’s about the people.’ <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">I couldn’t have put it better myself. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJNSEVqEpqE1PqGyOtaIzrfYbUvFLWp6lrWGknKjGGVtAY2GUniPOQKm2r0mMexTzOAfCSSGcQ8Re7REg3S9fL6ecmJ6M9RNxz9C235mWAxlnO0Uq21NoiL94-mkoMi2gVVrOm8P4k5vUwJkRYhBGFB6PrkUwzFDbzIzlLfeWcrVEHXFDOyoWzQ/s4032/SenzoCoffee_overlooking_CityWallatVine_13May2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJNSEVqEpqE1PqGyOtaIzrfYbUvFLWp6lrWGknKjGGVtAY2GUniPOQKm2r0mMexTzOAfCSSGcQ8Re7REg3S9fL6ecmJ6M9RNxz9C235mWAxlnO0Uq21NoiL94-mkoMi2gVVrOm8P4k5vUwJkRYhBGFB6PrkUwzFDbzIzlLfeWcrVEHXFDOyoWzQ/w300-h400/SenzoCoffee_overlooking_CityWallatVine_13May2023.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Senzo coffee overlooking City Wall at Vine St</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">P.S. When you leave the building look out for Stop 4 on the London Wall Walk. It is one of a dozen remaining tile plaques that will take you on a pleasant treasure hunt around the City to see the other surviving remnants of London’s Roman wall.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1edxJf7M_02UG7ENNHPOSJ26bagQwhF_NBeJgXNWbZB6JfdkZvrqZRNOlCd2MKroaiFn2iubdCfo64tsY8sV5INqFpq_u9sO8rA-qlaHDlFClmorVhzaAezcuWZoSYPkUJsySA2QIiIgfs_wtEIl1hr0lBCCOhw3mFpO1TLVsrLsNpgiCEw7Xw/s3547/07_LondonWallWalk4_VineSt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2008" data-original-width="3547" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1edxJf7M_02UG7ENNHPOSJ26bagQwhF_NBeJgXNWbZB6JfdkZvrqZRNOlCd2MKroaiFn2iubdCfo64tsY8sV5INqFpq_u9sO8rA-qlaHDlFClmorVhzaAezcuWZoSYPkUJsySA2QIiIgfs_wtEIl1hr0lBCCOhw3mFpO1TLVsrLsNpgiCEw7Xw/w400-h226/07_LondonWallWalk4_VineSt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stop 4 on the London Wall Walk</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><a href="https://citywallvinestreet.org" target="_blank">City Wall at Vine Street</a> is closed on Bank Holidays but open every other day from 9am to 6pm. Entry is free but they ask you to <a href="https://citywallvinestreet.org" target="_blank">book a time slot</a>.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"> Find City Wall just a few minutes’ walk from Fenchurch Street rail station, Tower Hill or Aldgate tubes. <i>Thanks to <a href="http://MainlyMuseums.com">MainlyMuseums.com</a> who commissioned this article and published it first</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "New York", serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-38933900573556262092021-10-20T10:47:00.012+01:002021-10-20T11:45:34.822+01:00How We Wrote Amarantus by Caroline Lawrence<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1800681550/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="1148" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVWls2oNn0FB8C-eo5lBbwmg22GU0ayPe65sopQ3iohLZuNtwmxUhehql-Iy-28nV6lXLy2xybXJc6Gv2CzSL6QSvKq3-4pHh2QxOAkZarx5awbX35_R3X8uToSAng7I-Ao_SmQ/s320/Amarantus_cover_amazon.jpg" width="221" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In July of 2018 I was invited to join a team putting together an online ancient history module for students in Key Stage 3. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Headed by Caroline Bristow of the <a href="https://www.cambridgescp.com" target="_blank">Cambridge Schools Classics Project</a>, this online course would be based around the ancient Roman inhabitants of the so-called House and Bar of Amarantus in Pompeii. Archaeologists Andrew Wallace-Hadrill and Sophie Hay would provide the physical evidence; <a href="https://greekmythcomix.com" target="_blank">Greek Myth Comix</a> artist and Classics teacher Laura Jenkinson would illustrate it; historians like Olivia Elder would advise and I would write a narrative incorporating some of what we know about the residents. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The story would be fictional, showing daily life of a middle-class Pompeian family, but based on the archaeology, especially the house plan, artefacts, graffiti and plant remains. Caroline Bristow wanted six modules each based around a specific topic, such as Roman Beliefs and Ancient Food. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxufCzLUaXqcriU_xWmh2EFDg0Okk-dh_GHbNsmN4q1ai4CMnWb8kP4EkkYsj1f-aLzXoNBZcOq2fIlFrwUsRW2N8W3tUOk8GNNhCENXIr8sqcI0nYu_cg1P2q46Aq2lPeS1uFA/s2048/amarantus_team_25Oct2018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1191" data-original-width="2048" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxufCzLUaXqcriU_xWmh2EFDg0Okk-dh_GHbNsmN4q1ai4CMnWb8kP4EkkYsj1f-aLzXoNBZcOq2fIlFrwUsRW2N8W3tUOk8GNNhCENXIr8sqcI0nYu_cg1P2q46Aq2lPeS1uFA/w540-h314/amarantus_team_25Oct2018.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">The Amarantus Team. Back row from left to right: Stephany Ungless, Charlie Andrew, Mair Lloyd, Caroline Bristow, Dr Olivia Elder, Dr Sophie Hay, Dr Ian Colvin, James Watson. Front row: Prof Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Caroline Lawrence, Laura Jenkinson-Brown</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEE7XTfUq2dKfFc2IKG9tbo94a1yg_wHshbq3pAk8vvTfM_Xt7_wAIqp3dyTQvARkr_Fyeos5GCkwY3dmSadoek494oQKQ5ldqh9nPWTBCU0E0gkeEJCvxt5qYq6tnKJEJ0oANTQ/s1546/amarantus_ring_mule_donkey_intaglio_sophie_hay.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1546" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEE7XTfUq2dKfFc2IKG9tbo94a1yg_wHshbq3pAk8vvTfM_Xt7_wAIqp3dyTQvARkr_Fyeos5GCkwY3dmSadoek494oQKQ5ldqh9nPWTBCU0E0gkeEJCvxt5qYq6tnKJEJ0oANTQ/w424-h331/amarantus_ring_mule_donkey_intaglio_sophie_hay.jpeg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">signet ring with mule, photo by Chris Warde-Jones</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Instead of making up my own plot, as I usually do, I had to stick to the six specific topics. I was also given a wish-list of scenes and ideas to incorporate, especially by Dr Sophie Hay, who helped excavate the site for several years and discovered the remains of a mule and dog in one of the front rooms! I felt like writer on a TV show working with a room full of collaborators. We had to decide the age and status of our hero Amarantus, when to set the story, the time span of the narrative and other elements of the plot, (like the names of the mule and dog). </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Most books or stories about Pompeii conclude with a bang: the town’s destruction by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. However, archaeologist Sophie Hay was keen to set our story seventeen years before the eruption when a sizeable earthquake rocked Pompeii. I suggested we begin the book with a bang: the earthquake. But Dr Sophie (as we call her) was adamant that the earthquake occur halfway through. After a few days of sulking, I realised she was right. There is often a dramatic event at the halfway point of a story and this could be it. It could also show that what seems to be a disaster for many can be a blessing for a few. The earthquake becomes crucial for Amarantus’s personal journey from slave to successful freedman. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2omUSaAjEE3hHDDN6AlD2woB9ggveaTaziG1Zlq3zoqw7AH9zRcy3NeWziJiIeWZDUItd19P64LRULPUbgZiywNrobwvNKueMh_RDGD4Ry5Ve9kJcJ4Zeb0K_f9y6oYs85c6DGA/s2048/sophie_jenks_mair_molasses_house_2Aug2018.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2omUSaAjEE3hHDDN6AlD2woB9ggveaTaziG1Zlq3zoqw7AH9zRcy3NeWziJiIeWZDUItd19P64LRULPUbgZiywNrobwvNKueMh_RDGD4Ry5Ve9kJcJ4Zeb0K_f9y6oYs85c6DGA/w419-h314/sophie_jenks_mair_molasses_house_2Aug2018.jpg" width="419" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brainstorming ideas at my London flat in August 2018</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The earliest age that a slave can be manumitted is thirty. So we decided to make Amarantus thirty. Graffiti shows him with spiky hair and a bulbous nose. So we incorporated those elements into our story. And what about the dead mule and dog? I couldn’t bear to write a story with unhappy animals so decided to give them to Amarantus and also to make him soft-hearted, which I’m pretty sure was not the case for most ancient Romans. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Once we agreed these basic elements, I was given free rein. My main motivation as a writer of historical fiction has always been to transport readers back in time, using soundscape, smellscape, touch and taste as well as visual descriptions. That is what I wanted to do here. I also set myself the challenge of making each chapter unique and compelling. Finally, I wanted to show how like us the ancients were, but with a surprise or even sting at the end of each tale, reminding people how unlike us they were. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I wrote the first draft in a few months, finishing it by Christmas of 2018. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIyb8CB16QXNfSv6LEO42fXdLHxY9wkFan6wKcTnZ9NDgQR4N1Y84QcvOzx2RlosmnCAIk_j7yywNQEKK1_rdXQYKsI-_IlvVjH74LSFxxlWrizUJRNxxGgP2LGH6FbvSw7qEfQ/s1585/360_fountain_kitty_corner_amarantus_bar.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1585" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIyb8CB16QXNfSv6LEO42fXdLHxY9wkFan6wKcTnZ9NDgQR4N1Y84QcvOzx2RlosmnCAIk_j7yywNQEKK1_rdXQYKsI-_IlvVjH74LSFxxlWrizUJRNxxGgP2LGH6FbvSw7qEfQ/w413-h338/360_fountain_kitty_corner_amarantus_bar.jpg" width="413" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the crossroads fountain, seen from the bar of Amarantus</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I wasn’t done yet. Oh no.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Esteemed professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill whom I have nicknamed the ‘Myth Buster’ challenged many of my decisions. Did they really have ‘wheels of cheese’ in Roman times? Is there actual evidence of betrothal rings? We had to find evidence! I too am obsessed with accuracy and I long to know what it was really like in the past, so I didn’t mind at all. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDURt_m8-uNhk60MCoVkGF67cSsU919e7ehYzyp-YmnOpUSO_b_THfCui-2w89CBWUoFXKjkaVvdN_4HFo1TUltLgmwSTbPd3nt6TYypeZ3v74pdfm0Vc1C4EkjDKJcfbqNKa-A/s2048/Amarantus_forum_wheel_cheese_Jenks.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1494" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDURt_m8-uNhk60MCoVkGF67cSsU919e7ehYzyp-YmnOpUSO_b_THfCui-2w89CBWUoFXKjkaVvdN_4HFo1TUltLgmwSTbPd3nt6TYypeZ3v74pdfm0Vc1C4EkjDKJcfbqNKa-A/w419-h305/Amarantus_forum_wheel_cheese_Jenks.jpg" width="419" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amarantus with a 'wheel of cheese' by Laura Jenkinson-Brown</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Because this story is set in the ‘universe’ of Caecilius, Metella, Quintus et al from the original Cambridge Latin Course book, we decided to put in a few ‘Easter Eggs’. I believe James Watson suggested a cameo by baby Quintus.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Olivia Elder, our graffiti expert, requested graffiti only found in Pompeii and the environs. This included a few quotes from Virgil. Again, I was happy to comply. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUCepVqdbXOKGUqjkcRU0or3K4VkArOyxnRDW2kAZwe7fXmpvIB_WTOTc6nQmsJ0JUb2HdsI1eQyQV7C8EiUNxYuTnaH-JlsVOtzemqOV3PzOdfY0lqM4dt4AJAV7fmnFwCENkQ/s2048/jenks_model_vatia_garden_fruit_orchard_BAN.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="2048" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUCepVqdbXOKGUqjkcRU0or3K4VkArOyxnRDW2kAZwe7fXmpvIB_WTOTc6nQmsJ0JUb2HdsI1eQyQV7C8EiUNxYuTnaH-JlsVOtzemqOV3PzOdfY0lqM4dt4AJAV7fmnFwCENkQ/w435-h324/jenks_model_vatia_garden_fruit_orchard_BAN.jpg" width="435" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of Vatia's garden by Laura Jenkinson-Brown</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then in came Laura Jenkinson-Brown, our amazing Classics teacher by day and illustrator by night. As she began to draw the scenes, this raised a myriad of new questions. How BIG was a wheel of cheese? What does a wineskin actually look like? Where would the shadows fall in a west-facing dining room? Laura went as far as constructing 3D cardboard models to better depict some of the scenes and even persuaded her delightful husband Sy to pose with soft toys while she sketched the characters. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wr173Eyjk0VH95Ho-yoh6SBQWCJYDQYcKkfQVXLYgZuNtykp31PrDy475KIhlzKteVClDlTW_2FFfha7K-ev8qEFtvXwJ5lmWZCn-ACZpGKDQQN3O0KzSlE7JYk_Z6o8HqrTGQ/s2048/Young_Sophie_Hay_Pompeii.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="956" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wr173Eyjk0VH95Ho-yoh6SBQWCJYDQYcKkfQVXLYgZuNtykp31PrDy475KIhlzKteVClDlTW_2FFfha7K-ev8qEFtvXwJ5lmWZCn-ACZpGKDQQN3O0KzSlE7JYk_Z6o8HqrTGQ/w202-h434/Young_Sophie_Hay_Pompeii.jpeg" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Sophie digging in Pompeii!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">At this stage we all contributed, especially Dr Sophie, who knows the house and bar of Amarantus like the palm of her hand. Sometimes Sophie, Laura and I were sending comments on the illustrations back and forth into the wee hours. Did we grumble? No! We loved every minute of diving down these many rabbit holes. </span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Amarantus Project turned out to be one of the most enjoyable projects I have ever worked on. I would like to thank the <a href="https://www.cambridgeamarantus.com/amarantus-team" target="_blank">CSCP team</a> and all the other brilliant and meticulous scholars who helped me write this story. This truly is a labour of love. I’m sure my collaborators would all agree when I say that we hope this book will grip middle grade readers and get them as excited about Pompeii and the past as we are. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">P.S. You can now buy the book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1800681550/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Amarantus and his Neighbourhood</a> from Amazon. If you want to dive down more rabbit holes with us, go to the interactive site, <a href="http://www.cambridgeamarantus.com">www.cambridgeamarantus.com</a>, where there is evidence for almost every line in this book. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WRS8MnrE1698QOFilgfKPH_H77k_pBbDYQV_Lj0MQDriMGIm6_MGDa2bvO1LdIGB_65do1O9Tl3mMo5h1xCEzVeFxXiLyRm-VL0remvv95H6FSiphyphenhyphenu6kuz_UlkpbVZ-GRc8dA/s2048/Problem_tituli_picti_dock_scene_Jenks_Amarantus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="2048" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WRS8MnrE1698QOFilgfKPH_H77k_pBbDYQV_Lj0MQDriMGIm6_MGDa2bvO1LdIGB_65do1O9Tl3mMo5h1xCEzVeFxXiLyRm-VL0remvv95H6FSiphyphenhyphenu6kuz_UlkpbVZ-GRc8dA/w530-h385/Problem_tituli_picti_dock_scene_Jenks_Amarantus.jpg" width="530" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophe at Pompeii's port, my fave illustration by Laura Jenkinson-Brown</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">P.P.S. Observant readers will spot that street urchin Sophe resembles Dr. Sophie Hay in certain respects. This was a clever visual tribute by Laura Jenkinson-Brown, who also represents herself as one of the characters. Can you guess which one? </span></span></p>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-80139161820162739552021-10-09T17:25:00.007+01:002021-10-09T20:16:39.255+01:00How to Get Published by Caroline Lawrence<span style="font-size: large;">People often ask me how to find a publisher for their books. Here is my advice.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfv58MHJK627tFLc-eHeeAlSMtBS3lE7TAu-cQEnqaKjEp-yGrY7tVS009qdlrzA3vS_enttfXWjR6FtyjSNhxMVVgCp8aExIs5qkigvWmjg2PgoPv8SHFZE4kG0G4PCDWGX2dQ/s1954/H2WAGS_front_cover+copy+2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1954" data-original-width="1362" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfv58MHJK627tFLc-eHeeAlSMtBS3lE7TAu-cQEnqaKjEp-yGrY7tVS009qdlrzA3vS_enttfXWjR6FtyjSNhxMVVgCp8aExIs5qkigvWmjg2PgoPv8SHFZE4kG0G4PCDWGX2dQ/s320/H2WAGS_front_cover+copy+2.jpg" width="223" /></a></div></span><br /><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1. DON'T SUBMIT YOUR FIRST BOOK</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Make sure your book is the best it can be. I read somewhere that it is usually a writer's fourth book that gets published. You are still learning to write during the first three. I personally have several failed attempts in a drawer. I might go back to them later, but no way am I submitting them without a major rewrite first. Of course there are always exceptions to this rule!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2. READ THE BASIC BOOKS</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I am amazed by the number of people who tell me they want to be a writer, but have not read any basic books on writing. Here are five essential books I would recommend. Do not even think about sending your stuff to an agent until you have read these (or something similar.) </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B084MCFWRD/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Becoming a Writer</a> by Dorothea Brande</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B083X758NX/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Artists Way</a> by Julia Cameron</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00HFUJP5Y/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">On Writing</a> by Sol Stein</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005G14LQC/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Word Painting</a> by Rebecca McClanahan</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">5. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003BVFZ4Q/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">On Writing</a> by Steven King</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3. LEARN THE CRAFT</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">For me, the structure used by Hollywood screenwriters is most helpful. My breakthrough was hearing an audio course on Story Structure by Hollywood script guru <a href="https://truby.com" target="_blank">John Truby</a>. I realised that I needed a road map to keep my story fast moving, compelling and on course. Some people object that popular movies are 'formulaic'. You be they are! That's why they are popular. Writing is a craft like carpentry. You need to learn the skills involved. I have written a book with all the tips and tricks I learned from scriptwriters and movies which I hope will help prospective writers aged 8 to 80. It is called <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128142/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">How To Write a Great Story</a>. Read it. Apply the principles. Have fun! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4. GET SOME DISTANCE</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Once you have written a book you think is good enough to be published, put it aside while you work on your next project. Then come back to the original book. You will be amazed at how much you will want to change about it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">5. GET AN AGENT</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Very few publishers will look at stories sent to them by a person they don't know. They will only consider manuscripts submitted by an agent. To find an agent you have to search through a book called The <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B097GPLL4X/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Artists & Writers Yearbook</a> (or its US equivalent) and send the first three chapters and synopsis of your book to likely agents. Even getting an agent is difficult these days, but hopefully one of them will like your story and start sending it out to publishers. Most agents take 10% of every payment you receive. It is worth it. Even after they have found you a publisher they do all the tricky stuff like asking for more money. This keeps your energy free for creative writing.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">6. DON'T GIVE UP</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">One thing that separates successful authors from unsuccessful ones is persistence. Keep at it and don't give up. Don't listen to anybody who says you can't do it. Believe in yourself and in your desires. You have to be single-minded. Sometimes you have to sacrifice other things in your life. (For ten years I used to get up an hour early to write. I was a single mum with a long working day as a teacher.) Go on courses. Read books about the craft. Get together with other writers to encourage one another. Listen to podcasts like <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prepublished/id1491561063" target="_blank">Prepublished</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/piers-torday-author-of-the-wild-before-childrens/id1273996998?i=1000537853453" target="_blank">Writers Routine</a>. There are many YouTube clips about writing, too. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">7. WRITE TO ENRICH NOT GET RICH</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">J.K. Rowling is a once-in-a-century phenomenon and therefore NOT a helpful role model! If you are one of the lucky ones you will make a living by writing. But don't make that your main motive. Instead, write the sorts of thing you would like to read. Write about issues and questions that really interest you. Then, even if your book never gets published, the hours you put in will not be lost. They will have enriched your life. That is the best advice I ever heard, and I got it from my mentor, the wonderful <a href="https://truby.com" target="_blank">John Truby</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Happy writing and good luck!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Caroline</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">P.S. I’m sorry but I don’t read other people’s stories unless they are about to be published and need a quote or last minute notes. If you would like a professional to read your novel then I suggest you contact the excellent <a href="https://jerichowriters.com/our-services/jericho-editors-room/" target="_blank">Jericho Writers</a>. Of course you will have to pay them, but if you want to be a writer then it is worth it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">[This is an article I wrote over ten years ago in 2011 but I have given it a light update!]</span></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span> </p></div>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-77705155142744727362021-08-05T11:26:00.009+01:002021-08-06T06:59:11.511+01:00Aesop's World by Caroline Lawrence<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkhsofmRchI6HpDxhsCJmraajQFAbetcZ5L0SLh7oh7UqtZksHaue8OIjFHYDitUxFBWWWhbemy_TQ85eeYo82VbdOpHU0uH6-BQe9MQkIaQloWou1o31SLiNew_WI9Kr6oGWlw/s1458/ivory_hunchback_Potts_Alexandria_profile_BM_flipped.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkhsofmRchI6HpDxhsCJmraajQFAbetcZ5L0SLh7oh7UqtZksHaue8OIjFHYDitUxFBWWWhbemy_TQ85eeYo82VbdOpHU0uH6-BQe9MQkIaQloWou1o31SLiNew_WI9Kr6oGWlw/s320/ivory_hunchback_Potts_Alexandria_profile_BM_flipped.jpg" width="195" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When I was invited to do a new translation of Aesop’s Fables, I was thrilled. It was like opening a window into daily life in ancient Greece. Talking animals and walking gods aside, the stories are full of detail about ancient family life, agriculture, religion, education and travel. They also cast a light on the ancient mindset, something much more elusive. But some of the people and objects from those long-ago times need illustrating, so we can visualise them. Here are a few images to help us ‘see’ that ancient world. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">1. Earliest Depiction of Aesop? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxG1na4jUpoKuS5e8pvDQGPuMQFxMCVREMXU5HPo0tbw5URK2HVpu5rqnU2AegT4RNiSYeZYSRcCuGd1c5J_IlaejEzRTbllPPP3y5zrSy0Br0GBSagnNks8RBXd59QzOrqFZEw/s1376/red-figure_Aesop_Fox_kylix_c470BC_Vatican.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1376" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYxG1na4jUpoKuS5e8pvDQGPuMQFxMCVREMXU5HPo0tbw5URK2HVpu5rqnU2AegT4RNiSYeZYSRcCuGd1c5J_IlaejEzRTbllPPP3y5zrSy0Br0GBSagnNks8RBXd59QzOrqFZEw/s320/red-figure_Aesop_Fox_kylix_c470BC_Vatican.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Aesop lived so long ago that some even question his existence. Others say he was born around 620 BCE and died perhaps sixty years later. This is the inside of an ancient Greek kylix (wine cup) now in the Vatican Museum. It shows a bearded man in a cloak apparently conversing with a fox. Because the subject matter is so unusual many have assumed it must show Aesop who told fables about talking animals, especially clever foxes. The first thing we notice about the man – apart from the fact that he is listening to a fox – is his abnormally large head. Most men on Greek vases are usually shown with idealised beauty; this man has wrinkles on his brow, a big nose and a scruffy beard. An ancient biography of Aesop tells that he was hideously ugly and possibly a hunchback like the image at the top of this blog, a small ivory figurine in the British Museum. Maybe that is why on this cup his body is so small in relation to his big head. That may also be why his staff looks like a crutch. This kylix is usually dated to about 460 BC, so if it does show Aesop then it is our earliest representation of him in any form. The first written mention of him is by the historian Herodotus around 425 BCE, at least a generation later. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">2. The Cloak and Staff </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247927" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1783" data-original-width="2048" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7Q_1rtkSr7ChDwLC6u2YZiFgJ0slwxT6V6CmPF3KS2FN3wMhTU1dgxtLfX6IHnDnE0hojl0svSBulNNzJFrKYjJdiZOirshwj5kE4h5A8yczqrq47mhyphenhyphen1Fp5kjPU8a6TqvNXuQ/s320/Hegesiboulos_red-figure_bearded_Man_animal_dog_kylix_MetMuseum.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I have a crazy theory that this <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247927" target="_blank">ancient Greek kylix now in New York</a> shows Aesop with a hedgehog. I may be wrong. It may not be Aesop. It may not be a hedgehog. Scholars have suggested that the mystery animal could be a dog, a pig or even a porcupine. But notice how the man is dressed. He is wearing a himation, a cloak like a tablecloth or blanket. Judging from many Greek pots and sculptures, some men wore only this cloak and nothing else. The cloak and walking stick became a kind of uniform of rich, upper class men in Ancient Greece. Many philosophers are shown with a cloak and staff. Some philosophers, like Socrates and Diogenes, famously went barefoot like the man on this cup. The ancient biography of Aesop tells us that he was born a slave, but eventually won his freedom and became famous. Like many philosophers and sophists (the ancient version of motivational speakers) he went on tour, sharing his wisdom with others. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">3. Different types of Tunics</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1874-1110-4" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1544" data-original-width="1706" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4axCHELY4O6lM2vQDCUlRbQ4LTJoZFLZWAf3F9X1WD-Z80g_iVTY0S6XiMRSZU9xfAWzmCEBCSuzsoRBSnNiYASLXHcThqhpEqBrGaiWLdac1KjlRBaPLAwgcYS6C1Wyc95M-yg/s320/Charon_lekythos_c410BC_BMroom69.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Younger men and those who had to work for a living often wore a tunic instead of a cloak. The tunic, called a chiton, was like a long T-shirt of linen or wool. One type, called the ‘exomis’ left one arm and shoulder uncovered and was favoured by workmen like blacksmiths and potters. Or you could roll down the upper half of your tunic and make it into a kind of kilt. This lekythos (funeral oil-jar) now in the British Museum shows Charon, the ferryman of the dead, in a red exomis and strange crested cap. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">4. No clothes at all!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbe14jpoW1Zz_V3-J8MFdMX5dFBIYqUX5wYVQ0XvB7XSDrB6gKxzvUHoUh0PzaQUzkrL3-Ozv45budsb7kHcQt33n0NwCKEkqpKplWNQgAfFjvD3guFwHYpvg427axFXThBwizWA/s1706/black-figure_olive_harvesters_amphora_BM.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1524" data-original-width="1706" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbe14jpoW1Zz_V3-J8MFdMX5dFBIYqUX5wYVQ0XvB7XSDrB6gKxzvUHoUh0PzaQUzkrL3-Ozv45budsb7kHcQt33n0NwCKEkqpKplWNQgAfFjvD3guFwHYpvg427axFXThBwizWA/s320/black-figure_olive_harvesters_amphora_BM.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In ancient Greece many men wore no clothes at all, even in public. Working men like fishermen and potters may have gone completely naked. Rich men who had time to exercise often did so naked at a place called the Gymnasium, which comes from the Greek word ‘gymnos’ or ‘naked.’ In sacred games like the Olympics the athletes competed in the nude. Because women mainly stayed in the home, men could run around naked more easily. Imagine the hot Athenian marketplace full of naked men, some of whom wore the T-shirt like tunic or the tablecloth-like cloak. One of my favourite Greek vases, a black-figure amphora (two-handled storage jar) in the British Museum, shows men and boys harvesting olives by beating the tree and shaking the branches. The men wear their purple tunics with the tops rolled down and the boys are naked! </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">5. Women in Ancient Greece</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX__39I_jTd11kwktmTyzi5s1X_57vZxegTxKZwj6WsCWWE8PXSv-1o5dnrr5hFRiX5oOjzmYlKtA7UhcTXRmO2R4dbm3K9ssLEL2I3KmzmQ0lVPaZblCCibFkcb5YG5SALr1Bg/s1440/black-figure_hydria_BM.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1364" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX__39I_jTd11kwktmTyzi5s1X_57vZxegTxKZwj6WsCWWE8PXSv-1o5dnrr5hFRiX5oOjzmYlKtA7UhcTXRmO2R4dbm3K9ssLEL2I3KmzmQ0lVPaZblCCibFkcb5YG5SALr1Bg/s320/black-figure_hydria_BM.jpg" width="303" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Greeks had dozens of different types of ceramic pots, each for a different purpose. This black-figure vase in the British Museum is a hydria, a jar for holding water. Suitably, it shows women and girls fetching water from the public fountain. It also shows what women wore: a long tunic with an outer tunic and/or a shawl or mantle, the female equivalent of a cloak. You can see some of the girls have pads on their head to cushion the weight of the heavy hydria full of water that they balanced on their heads. Although there are lots of female animals in Aesop’s Fables, women and girls hardly appear at all. The realm of women was the household, where they would cook food, weave cloth, raise children, tend domestic animals, command their slaves and avert evil spirits. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">6. The Evil Eye</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZw1F5ICh2sGl8juzelWPLoZoTU23dPl3Lk1xt2QZGjq-uF2wlJuI8I7sPDrXstBX2b29Az0VZz_UM3If4txML4OLBwfFq58_CMYWdwLuhFAyDfunjypauXdMVPcCQBY3RyuREg/s2048/eye-cup_outside_kylix_c520BC_MetMuseum.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1379" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZw1F5ICh2sGl8juzelWPLoZoTU23dPl3Lk1xt2QZGjq-uF2wlJuI8I7sPDrXstBX2b29Az0VZz_UM3If4txML4OLBwfFq58_CMYWdwLuhFAyDfunjypauXdMVPcCQBY3RyuREg/s320/eye-cup_outside_kylix_c520BC_MetMuseum.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In ancient times, many people believed that when you looked at something, tiny beams made of fiery particles flew out of your eyes. That was how you could see. That’s why Jesus says ‘The lamp of the body is the eye.’ Matt 6:22. If you looked at someone the beams from your eye touched them. If you looked at someone with envy, malice or anger it could hurt them, possibly because your look allowed in evil spirits. That is why people used amulets confusingly called ‘evil eyes’ to reflect back this ‘evil eye’. Such images and amulets are ‘apotropaic’ which means they </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">‘<span>turn away’ evil. An Evil Eye amulet might have a pictures of eyes or a scary face. </span>The face of Medusa is called the gorgoneion. A scary mask is called a mormolukeion. This kylix in New York is doubly apotropaic. It has medusa on the inside and eyes on the outside so when a drinker raised it to drink the eyes would seem to gaze back, averting any evil spirits or reproachful looks from other diners. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">7. Demons and Evil Spirits</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD381krEw_XG8eytjayEZbIPmwKWycOvhxcmmKn-BxUwTivCgslP5hUkVzGXO3fg7A7kmrTSKucwAUlx423XvlrMrp99R0o6Zo8Ppedq3Jos28XMV5qbJe4yQr1eCnoIC-Dp23fA/s1296/Athens_mormolukeion.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1296" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD381krEw_XG8eytjayEZbIPmwKWycOvhxcmmKn-BxUwTivCgslP5hUkVzGXO3fg7A7kmrTSKucwAUlx423XvlrMrp99R0o6Zo8Ppedq3Jos28XMV5qbJe4yQr1eCnoIC-Dp23fA/s320/Athens_mormolukeion.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most ancient Greeks and Romans believed in a world full of gods, demi-gods and spirits. Some were good and some were bad, but they were everywhere. You could distract the malicious spirits with complicated borders on clothes, the sound of bells or nasty smells. You could frighten them away with scary faces or animals. Stone masks like this one from Athens were obviously not worn by actors, nor were the scary masks shown in frescoes and mosaics. They were meant to scare away evil spirits. Amusingly, they were also used to threaten children, like a bogeyman. Ugly </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Aesop tells a slave dealer that he could be a ‘mormolukeion’ to frighten children into behaving. And later he says he can be a walking talking evil eye.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">8. Greek gods, especially Hermes!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugMv6CDIG5jNInWMjLyziN6ukTsyjkRYC4lG4Vf__69Hu7b6mBgAYKQ5rWyb4mxYkbrFAbWkpOupOX2WnEVWszixgdUiIKgF6jPrQ3ws0MGcJ-jfU_GCc96itiQmrJc_lepb1cg/s1426/red-figure_herm_pig_youth_pelike_berlin_detail.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="1382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugMv6CDIG5jNInWMjLyziN6ukTsyjkRYC4lG4Vf__69Hu7b6mBgAYKQ5rWyb4mxYkbrFAbWkpOupOX2WnEVWszixgdUiIKgF6jPrQ3ws0MGcJ-jfU_GCc96itiQmrJc_lepb1cg/s320/red-figure_herm_pig_youth_pelike_berlin_detail.jpg" width="310" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Greek gods frequently appear in Aesop’s Fables, especially Zeus and Hermes. Zeus is portrayed as a mainly benevolent creator god, like the father of a household. Hermes is his messenger and errand-runner, a bit like a son who is old enough to drive. The name Hermes is naturally linked to the word ‘herma’ which was a square pillar of stone used to mark boundaries and crossroads and protect them against evil. Sometimes the carved stone head of a deified hero like Heracles or the god Hermes was placed on top of these herms to make them even more protective. This pelike (jug) now in Berlin shows a young man bringing a pig to a herm. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">An image of your favourite god or hero might also protect your house from evil. In Aesop we see people buying statuettes of gods to put in their homes. They would lay an offering such as a candle, cake or flower in front of the statue. They might also pour a libation, a little bit of wine or oil, at its feet or at the base of the altar or niche in which it stood. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">9. Strange Jobs </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigImaUe3kpEbL0783qJqZpxEYqlDgEzrLrdHiJ7OvMS3DRaRJiJocoZuR05s6-c4igWgKEVMwCpAgQ2WG5qK4_6yFCG722ueQ1HqaMteuSx0NcMCK9GztP1ple0xD-0EuTCPk9IQ/s1652/red-figure_krater_priest_altar_libation_c425BC_LouvreG496.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="1652" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigImaUe3kpEbL0783qJqZpxEYqlDgEzrLrdHiJ7OvMS3DRaRJiJocoZuR05s6-c4igWgKEVMwCpAgQ2WG5qK4_6yFCG722ueQ1HqaMteuSx0NcMCK9GztP1ple0xD-0EuTCPk9IQ/s320/red-figure_krater_priest_altar_libation_c425BC_LouvreG496.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">People had jobs then that we do not have today. A charcoal burner made charcoal from wood. A fuller cleaned clothes using urine and sulphur smoke. A fowler caught birds using sticky birdlime smeared on twigs, then sold them to people to eat. Professional mourners were women who helped families grieve their dead by wailing and beating their breasts. An orator was a public speaker, usually an upper class rich man who defended people in law courts for free as part of his career in politics. A sophist was a combination philosopher and orator, like a motivational speaker. A temple priest knew how to sacrifice a live animal and put certain bits on the altars to various gods. A soothsayer would look at the internal organs of a sacrificed animal and tell whether the gods were for or against a certain course of action. This red-figure krater (wine mixing bowl) now in the Louvre shows a priest and his attendants at an altar. The priest seems to be holding an internal organ while one of his helpers pours a libation (drink offering). Another helper is roasting meat over the flames on the altar. Apart from the garlands on their heads, the priest and his attendants wear only cloaks.</span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">10. Other professions</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMgn8buG9rZkZXFcNmLi1BpWNy09KEkk6lWK8u2MfEVEIt7R3lX3sbnRKXilEmTvGgCS3Z39muxkKSYOJZObOCjaUO-dp0S8azLIV98SOdo74xiYA7AiUWa1CkRKehwV6624thw/s1868/Agrigentos_painter_red-figure_hydria_music_BM_cat_dog.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="1868" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMgn8buG9rZkZXFcNmLi1BpWNy09KEkk6lWK8u2MfEVEIt7R3lX3sbnRKXilEmTvGgCS3Z39muxkKSYOJZObOCjaUO-dp0S8azLIV98SOdo74xiYA7AiUWa1CkRKehwV6624thw/s320/Agrigentos_painter_red-figure_hydria_music_BM_cat_dog.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span>Men and women from all walks of life are mentioned in Aesop’s fables. In addition to the less-well-known professions mentioned above we read of actors, artisans, astrologers, athletes, beekeepers, beggars, blacksmiths, builders, butchers, carpenters, cooks, cowherds, craftsmen, doctors, donkey drivers, </span>executioners, farmers, ferrymen, fortune-tellers, gardeners, goatherds, grooms, hunters, innkeepers, judges, landowners, litter bearers, locust catchers, merchants, millers, musicians, ox drivers, pedlars, ploughmen, potters, robbers, sailors, sculptors, shepherds, shipbuilders, ship-owners, shoemakers, shopkeepers, slave dealers, soldiers, sorceresses, storytellers, tanners, tax-collectors, teachers, tutors, vintners, wall painters and woodcutters. At the lowest level we find many slaves and at the highest are a couple of kings and tyrants. This red-figure hydria (water jar) shows a music teacher giving lessons to young people. Note the pets:</span><span style="font-size: large;"> a dog and small leopard (not a house cat) listening. Presumably the music entrances them. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">11. Unfamiliar Animals </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254210" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1638" data-original-width="1538" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5L3eqvduzs8eBLk80Myad7ppoV4FoWDKgQWAELKiOyt3tqRV36DtUEOjOJhGORMJMBBK1BJ7Zkc6dZz0HcTWEly5xkGiogPOsyfZ3ycNWIeQZOwabcjP9LmPp7pbKdJgB9FEuA/s320/askos_weasel_stoat_Campanian_4thBC_MetMuseum_flipped.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Speaking of cats and dogs... Although dogs were extremely popular, some scholars think cats were rare in ancient Greece and that people often kept stoats or weasels instead to keep down the mice. Aesop seems to confirm this for he has several fables about stoats. The fable about the mice </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">‘B<span style="font-family: inherit;">elling the Cat’ was added much later, in medieval times, so in my retelling I call it ‘Belling the Stoat</span>’<span style="font-family: inherit;">. This black-glazed askos (jar with handle) from about 400 BCE shows a charming stoat (or weasel). Another unfamiliar animal was the onager, also known as a wild donkey. Onagers could not be tamed. They were so fierce that people caught them and forced them fight other wild beasts in the arena. A cicada is a small insect like a cricket that features in several of Aesop’s fables. They are the tiny creatures who make the rhythmic creaking noise you hear in Mediterranean countries on a hot afternoon. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">12. Appearance not everything</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAzJLSXYc4c-qZNlQOvTqboyI7vK2W_5rfv-ZeEuS-9LVPKDWeWnSyiqOHPktVj0fpvnAogusaeiov9tKsG2_Rhu6A_8w1hyGNYmQcWkAvv7XbssXx3FRfadkYHmq25Amei5eQA/s1768/Agrigentos_painter_red-figure_hydria_music_BM_cat_panther.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1562" data-original-width="1768" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAzJLSXYc4c-qZNlQOvTqboyI7vK2W_5rfv-ZeEuS-9LVPKDWeWnSyiqOHPktVj0fpvnAogusaeiov9tKsG2_Rhu6A_8w1hyGNYmQcWkAvv7XbssXx3FRfadkYHmq25Amei5eQA/s320/Agrigentos_painter_red-figure_hydria_music_BM_cat_panther.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">In this post I’ve tried to give you a quick glimpse of what Aesop’s world looked like. But while I was translating the fables the message that came through to me over and over is this: It is not the outward appearance but the inner nature that is important. Hideously ugly Aesop became a success because of his wit, bravery and sense of humour. One of his fables sums this up beautifully. It is the story of the Leopard and the Fox. <i>A fox and a leopard were disputing about which of them was more beautiful. ‘Look how beautifully I am adorned!’ said Leopard. ‘See how varied and delightful is each one of my spots!’ Said Fox, ‘Too bad you cannot see how varied and delightful is each one of my thoughts! Your beauty is only of the body, my beauty is of the mind.’</i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We hope the retelling of Aesop's Fables will be out in Autumn 2022, illustrated by the wonderful <a href="http://robertingpen.com/about/" target="_blank">Robert Ingpen</a>. In the meantime you might enjoy my book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128479/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Adventure in Athens</a> about a couple of kids who travel back to ancient Greece during the time of philosophers, sophists and policemen in striped pyjamas. </span></p>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-74463209223307620932021-07-22T08:03:00.003+01:002021-07-22T11:17:30.361+01:00Caroline Lawrence Membercast Objects<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFeMfozW6wfKBfv_ykapgCdH6GIxPXo2l_7edtShUR7XVQk5YeT7x4dQReeV_-ewXgFeV5_zGKEefFlbjRsfh1Q6plF1019O8xNb5vGaMhOJg5Bh__i7r7TkrL1wY3HuAHLjqpw/s1624/square_iszi_BM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="1624" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFeMfozW6wfKBfv_ykapgCdH6GIxPXo2l_7edtShUR7XVQk5YeT7x4dQReeV_-ewXgFeV5_zGKEefFlbjRsfh1Q6plF1019O8xNb5vGaMhOJg5Bh__i7r7TkrL1wY3HuAHLjqpw/w332-h298/square_iszi_BM.png" width="332" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In July 2021 I was interviewed by fellow children's author Iszi Lawrence (left) for the British Museum Membercast. We talked about artefacts in the British Museum that have inspired my writing. For anyone who wants to know more, here are some of the objects we discussed. Click the photos for links to the objects. </span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">1. Rock crystal die. Find it in the Greek and Roman Life room (room 69) display case 9. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">This beautiful little object was a vital clue to the identity of a dog-killer in my first book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842550209/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Thieves of Ostia</a></i>.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1923-0401-1187" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="2048" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBtRbKFoQnOIurV3A2dAW6BRPKJKLNjJSl6hyilw7xmsN8L0dwAPseAfJGnZC9MdPT6NJ8OG5xDaHm7KCckNXrq-5gnJqaT36_wS8cc9AmffrrMa2LEvyz2LDizvAf8PDyh9dZg/w468-h262/rock_crystal_die_dice_BM.jpg" width="468" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">2. Wax-tablet and writing things. Greek and Roman Life room (room 69). I try to make some artefacts a matter of life and death, like a wax-tablet for Lupus, a character from my <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00AN548CS/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Roman Mysteries</a></i> series</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> of books. Lupus is mute and illiterate but as he learns to read and write his wax tablet becomes a </span><span style="font-size: large;">vital</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> means of communication. My replica wax tablet smells like honey because of the beeswax on it. </span></div><div><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1968-0212-1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1796" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXcn1VFlkf0Ajfp0XLesNEBVdSHm72Aae7gFrTop8eJi68PRqjJLJ5GUlxfVkidlcquty9oMT7JQmJCUhYg3Llxh4o-qtKRQIa8hGvHIXZ728b6927WUkfyV3jw93doifIJWI6g/w385-h288/Writing_things_stylus_wax-tablet_BM.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">3. Why would you put a scary actor’s mask on a baby feeder? I believe the answer is that it is apotropaic (turns away evil). A face like this, possibly called a <i>mormolukeion</i>, keeps malicious spirits from turning the milk sour. This becomes an object of life or death importance in my book <span><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1510100237/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Escape from Rome</a></i></span>. Find it in the room next to the Greek and Roman life room, in room 70 and display case 14.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1856-1226-422" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1865" data-original-width="1678" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJNj_M9kxz5Hvr6OxiYSV2S8Gnss3jzcDJjWUiEGGlLy8T13FY7WExx59we8GSbjlQLNzAgSaKcDMQoA-nStD349_4_OZD4mL6yFro19iqf8CjqYIF71_IBHstIM9SnDnD90hRQ/s320/baby_beaker_mormolukeion_mask_BMAug2018.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">4. Hydria. This beautiful Greek jar for carrying water is one of literally thousands of Greek, Roman and Etruscan vases in the British Museum. Women and slave-girls would take a pot like this to the fountain and bring it back on their heads, full of water. Other Greek vases range from tiny perfume bottles to big mixing bowls for wine. The decoration on them gives us glimpses into daily life, customs and beliefs. For a scene where kids hide in a fountain, check out my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128479/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Adventure in Athens</a></i>. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1837-0609-53" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1364" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyV38sAXDp-uWGx78ZBljUGYTYg61WfJvmtC40L9hpyHLyYhD2RcP3VW_ZXJKcBOO9hzCOmetC1SRqdYtG0D8J1oXi9j7jqa8iHp7SdSXOtVpOTuJremFhvd5Gdc0wmY0rtVvuHg/s320/black-figure_hydria_BM.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">5. Oil-lamps are like snapshots of the ancient world… Many of them also have apotropaic images on them, and the oil-lamps themselves – lights in the darkness – keep away evil. One of my favourite oil-lamps is in the Greek and Roman Life room (room 69) and shows what racing chariots really looked like. I incorporated that knowledge into Roman Mystery 12, <span><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842555448/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Charioteer from Delphi</a></i>.</span> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1814-0704-106" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="1194" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vbAhtzal8Da-hxeCFZU2e_sF5TUG1k2LgmWdrBhLQXbjOPSfEAq8Vh4XtlxyzwQYR34Y58L8f1Jpy7k61OxGCOwvrt2IzGRmhjpdaDhvN2ADP9GnZV0AAl47WFjAz4JKII2c-w/s320/charioteer_oil-lamp_BMroom69.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">6. This superb statuette of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates informed my most recent historical thriller, <span><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128479/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries, Adventure in Athens</a></i></span>. Note that he is only wearing a cloak, probably light linen for those hot Athenian summers. Find him downstairs in Room 22 and display case 6. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1925-1118-1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-5G36Hgh58lfk1otkC8GjQDmzeCJAV_G1s_7z2uJYaZrg05Y3Y1eFdCjv3RHv1hkNiYxrXqvPRGpYZG4_6R624RXJPr1Nv7-CEhPMY6XwTx_WE2cZl5EyuKhgmdZR4jTkp-Llw/s320/marble_socrates_figurine_2ndBC_BM.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">7. Another figurine, a little ivory hunchback from Alexandria, is inspiring my current work in progress, a retelling of <span><i>Aesop’s Fables</i></span>. (According to some ancient sources, Aesop was a hideously ugly hunchback.) Note that he is wearing nothing at all. You can find him near the Socrates figurine just mentioned in display case 6 in room 22. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1814-0704-277" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1904" data-original-width="2022" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGQYTH-VtE_QOfdxyJsAsFSncbvhKe1_3aFnqZ38rkv3QeCg7_wDvCSpYqrtr9JDw2v3ymplwpRznLtKqCjnikEVDFoUTJ8Ibfej8L_bUjkcfp1MYFChndIr9UMuMGX9fMybvuw/w320-h315/square_ivory_hunchback_Potts_Alexandria_BM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14px;"><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Thanks to Iszi Lawrence for letting me gush about some of my favourite objects and thanks to the British Museum for inspiring my writing. Find out more about my books at <a href="http://carolinelawrence.com">carolinelawrence.com</a>. Find out more about Iszi's books at <a href="http://iszi.com">iszi.com</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">P.S. All the photos on this post are copyright of the British Museum. </span></p>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-79424866315179339462021-03-15T12:11:00.000+00:002021-03-15T12:16:16.926+00:00Up Yours, Brutus!<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaoDUkoi1MG4Sgs4HKm6Z0iP-5iYSjkhEgBiTcSIRVaKE4cf2hJ-mEbjuamAqS8-lJA4nAm005U_KyPP2mNIoEWQEETLVQO4bup6N03VJIOn-u2_ALUfF17-sy3-I3gdAAc7Yokg/s616/julius_caesar_knife-holder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="433" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaoDUkoi1MG4Sgs4HKm6Z0iP-5iYSjkhEgBiTcSIRVaKE4cf2hJ-mEbjuamAqS8-lJA4nAm005U_KyPP2mNIoEWQEETLVQO4bup6N03VJIOn-u2_ALUfF17-sy3-I3gdAAc7Yokg/s320/julius_caesar_knife-holder.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">by Caroline Lawrence (author of the Roman Mysteries)</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the first things that greeted visitors to the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> exhibition at the British Museum in the summer of 2013 was a jolly fresco of a phoenix above two peacocks (below). On the audio guide, curator Paul Roberts called this fresco a pub sign. It was found on a wall of a </span><i>popina</i> or<span style="font-family: inherit;"> fast food joint in Pompeii. The slogan reads <i>Phoenix felix et tu: The Phoenix is happy (or lucky), and you</i>!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">What caught my attention was the phrase <i>et tu</i> which immediately called to mind Julius Caesar's last words according to Shakespeare: <i>et tu, Brute</i>. Of course, as any Classicist knows, Caesar didn't really say <i>et tu</i>. He spoke in Greek: <i>Kai su, teknon</i>, which means 'and you, my child'. This is often interpreted as the poignant words of a noble, betrayed Roman to the young assassin who might have been his illegitimate child: 'Even you, my son?'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6cZ6yzRmJKEjJ9TPM7LgEBiWWqM7AiEiFQm_MGjnAogzTiDHgmwh9gWJvSuS9wSCmBCLHY9G236yNoAsOamERnUXrmtfNhUtnF7PDUZ9Xtdjn4ZKARzX6e8NEkMR4NyMGawOBg/s720/pompeii_phoenix_fresco_filter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig6cZ6yzRmJKEjJ9TPM7LgEBiWWqM7AiEiFQm_MGjnAogzTiDHgmwh9gWJvSuS9wSCmBCLHY9G236yNoAsOamERnUXrmtfNhUtnF7PDUZ9Xtdjn4ZKARzX6e8NEkMR4NyMGawOBg/s320/pompeii_phoenix_fresco_filter.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />But the phoenix pub sign hints that Caesar might not have gone down quite that submissively on the Ides of March in 44 BCE.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One thing the Pompeii exhibition brought home to me was how obsessed the ancient Romans were with keeping away evil. A little research showed me that the phrase 'and you' – whether in Greek or Latin – is apotropaic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Apotropaic is Greek for something that 'turns away'. It usually refers to anything that averts evil or bad luck. Apotropaic images include the raised palm of the left hand, erect phalluses, the unflinching gaze of a full frontal face and the eye amulets that are still so popular in the Mediterranean. Also apotropaic is the peacock, which has a tail full of 'eyes'. All these things 'turn away evil'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The phrase <i>et tu</i> ('and you') has a similar meaning. It reflects back. Our modern equivalent might be 'the same to you!'. In Roman times, if a person approached you with good intentions, saying 'et tu' would be a blessing. But if they came at you with evil intent, the phrase becomes a curse. So whether Julius Caesar said <i>et tu</i> or <i>kai su</i> to the young man stabbing him, it meant the same thing: 'Back at you, punk!' or better yet: 'Up yours, Brutus!'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Check out my 30 plus history-mystery books for kids at <a href="http://www.carolinelawrence.com">www.carolinelawrence.com</a>!</span></p><p><br /></p>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-16395347988050433042021-02-01T11:19:00.002+00:002021-02-01T11:19:59.399+00:00Pliny's Laurentine Villa?<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Visit to Laurentum and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">the possible villa of Pliny the Younger</span></span></p><p><span><span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBI-7ue_no3830qEUbxYnEgHq_Q_YRBwowqq-l-jjauER7LGQ7FAAxCd238E-ugO_6VMfpMFWuZaO28EagvqwSA4Fq6djIdz7oHm2v6kR2BQ72oyUtkJWOaEmeLU5OK6Qw7887CQ/s1015/Laurentum_arches_by_Jason_Carlin.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1015" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBI-7ue_no3830qEUbxYnEgHq_Q_YRBwowqq-l-jjauER7LGQ7FAAxCd238E-ugO_6VMfpMFWuZaO28EagvqwSA4Fq6djIdz7oHm2v6kR2BQ72oyUtkJWOaEmeLU5OK6Qw7887CQ/w400-h228/Laurentum_arches_by_Jason_Carlin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Set of Pliny's Laurentum villa by Jason Carlin</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My name is Caroline Lawrence and I am a teacher turned historical author. My best-known series of books are <i>The Roman Mysteries</i>. In the second book of that series, <i>The Secrets of Vesuvius</i>, a Roman girl named Flavia Gemina and her three friends are playing on the beach of their home town Ostia when they spot a man in trouble out at sea. They combine efforts to rescue him from drowning. When they get him safely to shore, clever Flavia deduces that he is the famous author and naturalist, Pliny the Elder. She is correct and the polymath gratefully promises to reward them over lunch the following day at his seaside villa a few miles south. Here's a passage from the book:</span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>It was only a few miles from Ostia to Laurentum, a pleasant drive along the coastal road. The carriage crunched up the gravel drive of Pliny's seaside villa less than half an hour after they had left Ostia. A door-slave in a red tunic met them on the steps of the butter-coloured villa and led them through cool rooms and sunny courtyards to a breezy dining room.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Flavia and her friends gazed around in amazement.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>The room they stood in was surrounded on three sides by water. Only a low wall and spiral columns separated them from the blue Mediterranean. Jonathan and Lupus immediately went to the marble parapet and leaned over.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>'Careful!' wheezed Admiral Pliny, shuffling into the room. 'We're right above the sea.' </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">(from <i>The Secrets of Vesuvius</i> page 17)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In book five of the Roman Mysteries, <i>The Dolphins of Laurentum</i>, Flavia and her friends return to this villa following the eruption of Vesuvius. This time they meet Pliny the Younger, who is only seventeen years old at the time. I assume he has inherited the villa from his uncle, who sadly died in the eruption of Vesuvius. The children's adventures include diving for sunken treasure and encounters with dolphins. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCCUKw1nlTa7H2-atqMXhBIDf82_4c7rZ2m-Wc_eSbAQCq0FzDdQi8FO20oZVVuw1mqdmNj0ojSytZiDo-rPitE2KmAiQd-V4a_Lhrb04zSvQMX6SXaGpys6JYLYup8k0LlfXog/s1854/Pliny_Flavia_Laurentum.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1854" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCCUKw1nlTa7H2-atqMXhBIDf82_4c7rZ2m-Wc_eSbAQCq0FzDdQi8FO20oZVVuw1mqdmNj0ojSytZiDo-rPitE2KmAiQd-V4a_Lhrb04zSvQMX6SXaGpys6JYLYup8k0LlfXog/w400-h228/Pliny_Flavia_Laurentum.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pliny the Younger & Flavia Gemina from the TV series</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger were both real people. We know that the younger Pliny had a lovely seaside villa in Laurentum which he called his 'Laurentine'. He writes about it in loving detail to his friend Gallus. <a href="https://www.romanports.org/images/plinius/Plinius-Gallo-Suo.pdf" target="_blank">(Epistulae 2.17)</a> The letter is so detailed that many architects and historians have tried to come up with a plan of his mansion. Below is the plan my husband and I put together based on a close reading of Pliny's letter... and our imaginations. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigU6q0VeZqd3qX1QqvuxZikVvxmGK4VFYtj6gTTLrYqDaApMUQPNxSX4v7l66G-cBAeWrZyZRlGgkmPoQFJeH7lXJsXhSR5P-x5gS8GnTlNQEBZAxE2JGNxq-FlqLFLcQhIgJFxw/s2048/Pliny_laurentine_villa_plan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1313" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigU6q0VeZqd3qX1QqvuxZikVvxmGK4VFYtj6gTTLrYqDaApMUQPNxSX4v7l66G-cBAeWrZyZRlGgkmPoQFJeH7lXJsXhSR5P-x5gS8GnTlNQEBZAxE2JGNxq-FlqLFLcQhIgJFxw/w256-h400/Pliny_laurentine_villa_plan.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">While I was still planning book five, the one set at Laurentum, I was invited to the Bologna Book Fair. It was the perfect opportunity to take few extra days to travel to Ostia to do some research. Pliny's Laurentine villa is only a few miles away. I didn't want to hire a car, but I could take public transport. But in those pre-smartphone days it was tricky to find. Here is my original account: </span><p></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It is a mild spring day in mid-April of 2002. Although rain had been forecast all week, so far I have been blessed with beautiful spring weather. I catch the 3pm train from Ostia Antica and arrive at Cristoforo Colombo just ten minutes later. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvZJUK5WIuiHoTWoSSuCuLCvPay9FCni9UzEHK9tJhApPsmcpNnbUsvbc5HzUGbtiVTCUEApDK4MPQOc8kOvOi1515z_z-oIVWY4wA6V5a262Ja0Co8lRQm59GVR4YkNQ-h0l-g/s2028/Stazione_CristoforoColombo_Apr2019_Google.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="2028" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQvZJUK5WIuiHoTWoSSuCuLCvPay9FCni9UzEHK9tJhApPsmcpNnbUsvbc5HzUGbtiVTCUEApDK4MPQOc8kOvOi1515z_z-oIVWY4wA6V5a262Ja0Co8lRQm59GVR4YkNQ-h0l-g/w400-h266/Stazione_CristoforoColombo_Apr2019_Google.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stazione Cristoforo Colombo via Google maps</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">A friend has given me a map and directions. Once out of Cristoforo Colombo station, I turn right, walk along <i>Lungomare Amerigo Vespucci</i> a few hundred metres to the petrol station, then turned right again along <i>Via Cristoforo Colombo</i>. It is very dangerous walking along <i>Via Cristoforo Colombo</i> because there is no pavement. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;">The traffic roars past me, only inches away. After about ten minutes I glimpse a road through some woods to my right, blocked off for traffic but open to pedestrians.</span></span><p></p><p><span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0FirmfWthyphenhyphen4uvfZx695mt1l_vEVYe4YlAhhtdMcNejrjYj35p9VHWBkKqKsfj18rHTexIiN11lUuyzivbLNP0ie6cTF4ZvjHSaprQzsgw1XbMfR_pRsr5krGcbIhNYqR9qZpJw/s2048/Villa_di_Plinio_from_Cristoforo_Colombo_googlemaps.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD0FirmfWthyphenhyphen4uvfZx695mt1l_vEVYe4YlAhhtdMcNejrjYj35p9VHWBkKqKsfj18rHTexIiN11lUuyzivbLNP0ie6cTF4ZvjHSaprQzsgw1XbMfR_pRsr5krGcbIhNYqR9qZpJw/w400-h269/Villa_di_Plinio_from_Cristoforo_Colombo_googlemaps.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">(There's now an entrance closer to Cristoforo Colombo station)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Gratefully, I leave <i>Via Cristoforo Colombo</i> and go past the barrier into a peaceful nature reserve. A sign informs me that I am in the <i>Pineta Castel Fusano</i> (Pine Woods of Castle Fusano). I am surrounded by whispering umbrella pines and oak trees. Although it is a Saturday afternoon, the place is almost deserted. Only a few elderly couples stroll, some kids on micro-scooters, one or two young people on bikes. This road is now called the <i>Viale della Villa di Plinio</i> (Villa of Pliny Road). It runs along the course of the ancient Via Severiana. Although Septimius Severus - the Emperor who built the Via Severiana - lived about a century after Flavia, an earlier version of this road almost certainly existed in the time of my books.</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The reserve is pancake flat, perfect for walking. There are</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span>picnic tables in the shade of the umbrella pines and even </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">a drinking fountain. I stroll between pine trees, hawthorns, myrtle, oaks and poplars.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a clearing near a crossroads, I spot some ruins marked by a modern brick arch. These are certainly the remains of a large house, but did it belong to Pliny</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">? I can see traces of a large colonnaded central garden and rooms on the side. The baths are where you would expect them to be. But there is no sign of the famous sea-view triclinium. or Pliny's later additions like the annex to which he retreated during the mid-winter Saturnalia festival while the slaves had parties in the main house. No ball court, and certainly no heated swimming pool... The bath complex does have wonderful black and white mosaics like those you can still see in Ostia, but these are more commonly from a slightly later period. I spot tritons (half man, half fish), seahorses, dolphins and a wonderful crayfish.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNr5EkLvEKvAAEwQ-xo1wtpQropFdSi6czWpTB7Z34n_GjRgYvnp2O_HA0YN62rBfmOxkZLZw5_fKcXE0qx9kJurdytlXtoWkgOjirSyzZKXqTC2WON1PKdwUlPQnMwZOjm4OJQ/s840/Villa_di_Plinio_Ugo_Becattini_May2017.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="840" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNr5EkLvEKvAAEwQ-xo1wtpQropFdSi6czWpTB7Z34n_GjRgYvnp2O_HA0YN62rBfmOxkZLZw5_fKcXE0qx9kJurdytlXtoWkgOjirSyzZKXqTC2WON1PKdwUlPQnMwZOjm4OJQ/w467-h320/Villa_di_Plinio_Ugo_Becattini_May2017.jpg" width="467" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arch & mosaic of the so-called Villa di Plinio by Ugo Becattini</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;">(A few years later, while watching the TV episode based on my book, I wonder if set designer <a href="https://vimeo.com/channels/jasoncarlinshowreels/82082476" target="_blank">Jason Carlin</a> saw photos of the modern arch and used it for his design.) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">Back in 2002, I pretend to be Flavia and take a few steps towards the place where the sea-view triclinium would have been. The coast is now about half a mile away and I find only a forest glade. Is that a fence beyond? Yes. Pushing through a hole in it I find myself on a traffic-free road called the <i>Via dei Transatlantici</i>.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">As I take notes, the afternoon sky grows dark. There is an ominous rumble of thunder and some rain spatters down onto my notebook. The drops are blood red. Later, my friend Barbara Cooper tells me that this red rain is due to dust from the Sahara desert which has been blown over Italy. But ancient Romans would certainly have taken this as a bad omen. </span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The rain soon stops and I walk towards the sea. At the place where the <i>Via dei Transatlantici meets</i> the <i>Via Litoriana</i> I come upon a sign telling me I am leaving the nature reserve. There is a list of some of the animals still found in this parkland: <i>cinghiale</i> (boar), <i>tasso</i> (badger), <i>donnola</i> (weasel), <i>puzzola</i> (polecat), <i>martora</i> (marten), <i>volpe</i> (wolf), <i>istrice</i> (porcupine), <i>scoiattolo</i> (squirrel), and <i>lepre</i> (hare).</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Presently I reach the <i>Lungomare Amerigo Vespucci</i>, the present coastal road. Now I know where I am. I can easily find my way back to Cristoforo Colombo train station</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. But before returning I decide to have a restorative snack at one of the beachfront cafeterias. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few minutes later as I sip Coke, munch peanuts and gaze at the</span> sea,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I decide it is unlikely that the villa I just visited belonged to a </span>Pliny.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> But my jaunt helped me learn about the flora and fauna of the area, and gave me the good idea of using ominous red rain!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Later, I discovered that other archaeologists came to the same conclusion that I did. Excavated in the 1930's, this villa has five different levels of rebuilding and occupation with the earliest during Flavia's time. Although it is <i>like</i> Pliny's villa it almost certainly not his. Some now call it the Villa della Palombara after the wood pigeons (<i>Columba palumbus</i>) that used to roost in a large oak tree nearby. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you decide to visit on foot, I suggest the blue-dotted route below. The first few photos show landmarks on the route from the station to the entrance of the park. However your up-to-date device may tell you otherwise. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_mppVq37uUmJsj_oWlrz81lXruIfRzscHiy87_54-KRgVQo62PGvjPmlccRFoIzDETXIg4BYUX8fqwMfYV6fsVmAWsV-QQ7bCIGNDlt8X_koow-cnchxgYKUbLNiUwBF8yvLtQ/s1858/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="1858" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_mppVq37uUmJsj_oWlrz81lXruIfRzscHiy87_54-KRgVQo62PGvjPmlccRFoIzDETXIg4BYUX8fqwMfYV6fsVmAWsV-QQ7bCIGNDlt8X_koow-cnchxgYKUbLNiUwBF8yvLtQ/w400-h304/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right out of Cristoforo Colombo station then right again...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEPbm25uLXuGPK7hnsVZhAfmys7wuUOu9e0cuLqqKxVbupNC9CwmSNxhLEIQ72zLMC_eBZsWYLqcz-R20tYLBaR7aRhaD7acIMHmTCCuT9JznIxvk5sau7S1QFHaMyZ9bTY0L7A/s1440/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1440" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEPbm25uLXuGPK7hnsVZhAfmys7wuUOu9e0cuLqqKxVbupNC9CwmSNxhLEIQ72zLMC_eBZsWYLqcz-R20tYLBaR7aRhaD7acIMHmTCCuT9JznIxvk5sau7S1QFHaMyZ9bTY0L7A/w400-h263/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Go north over the train tracks via Via Cristoforo Colombo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBllTa1a_zdczeq57lFXz0qLPMB4F3rScGMQ_dcU8r4O2oDFbA7T-v1keyYVg_DDoMcW7JjfGK6jBQ9upnGLIqH-FU_1Zi7YYrC5SEECt9vXVPRREK2q-Q8yiu0ZHQ4QXPsv6jlw/s864/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="864" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBllTa1a_zdczeq57lFXz0qLPMB4F3rScGMQ_dcU8r4O2oDFbA7T-v1keyYVg_DDoMcW7JjfGK6jBQ9upnGLIqH-FU_1Zi7YYrC5SEECt9vXVPRREK2q-Q8yiu0ZHQ4QXPsv6jlw/w400-h334/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla03.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carefully along busy Via Cristoforo Colombo...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB57AyvT3jxr-_g97xMmyFE7qXC4a6CsHPRqc6Qg3ZGMfSJwkFLaLJo9QBYvuPCMlV_DATysRDz1eeN-HAQLIYoCC0jk9gQRH87sbNDHO0HNiKyTbukWJ9mS2I90SU5fUyWVgq5Q/s1240/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla04.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1240" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB57AyvT3jxr-_g97xMmyFE7qXC4a6CsHPRqc6Qg3ZGMfSJwkFLaLJo9QBYvuPCMlV_DATysRDz1eeN-HAQLIYoCC0jk9gQRH87sbNDHO0HNiKyTbukWJ9mS2I90SU5fUyWVgq5Q/w400-h279/CristoforoColombo_2_PlinysVilla04.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And into the park via this entrance!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can read the entire archaeological report </span><a href="https://www.romanports.org/images/plinius/Villa_della_Palombara_2007-2008_-_leggero.pdf" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">HERE</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. It's in Italian but has</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> a good introductory </span>paragraph<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in English and some great diagrams and photos. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can read my book <i>The Dolphins of Laurentum</i> in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842552236/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">hardback</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B011T8ORWI/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">paperback</a> or <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004JHY8HQ/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">ebook</a> formats. And you can buy the complete <i>Roman Mysteries TV series</i> on DVD <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003CYOOE4/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">NB: At the time of writing this, February 2021, the </span><a href="http://www.sovraintendenzaroma.it/i_luoghi/roma_antica/monumenti/villa_cosiddetta_di_plinio" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Official Site</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> says that the villa is closed to the public (presumably fenced off) unless you reserve a place to go with a group of 30 or more. If this is not possible, you should still be able to catch a glimpse of the villa. And at the very least you will get a feel for the trees, animals and atmosphere of the region where Pliny the Younger enjoyed his Laurentine Villa. <i>Buon viaggio! </i></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><p></p><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-73163807370027423652021-01-09T23:42:00.005+00:002021-01-10T00:20:26.069+00:00How Audiobooks Helped Me Find a Voice <p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">by Caroline Lawrence...</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKHPG1wLJIm2g3b9MaPymKmond3c7wiunqEJLgtziR1xJecqQ6wjLG6_kdX1cA6sT7eUfAyYFOjR-N8tNa5n6MD_heY7-Rc8dA5ndcS02BussXrNLLFpaQsWHO2UegDZxr7Iuzg/s961/4_PK_books_poster.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="682" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKHPG1wLJIm2g3b9MaPymKmond3c7wiunqEJLgtziR1xJecqQ6wjLG6_kdX1cA6sT7eUfAyYFOjR-N8tNa5n6MD_heY7-Rc8dA5ndcS02BussXrNLLFpaQsWHO2UegDZxr7Iuzg/s320/4_PK_books_poster.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When I was a teacher, I discovered that students prefer one of three learning modes. They are either predominantly visual (and learn best by seeing things), auditory (they like hearing things) or kinaesthetic (they get it by doing things). Of course this is a generalisation. Most students are a combination of the three. But good teachers will use all three modes to reach their students. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The same goes for storytellers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the world of storytelling I think movies appeal to the visual mode, plays to the auditory and platform games to kinesthetic learners. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">A writer of novels depends on visual and auditory modes. We all know authors who are superb at capturing dialogue but not so good at painting the world. And vice versa. An author will strive to be good at both. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My main mode is visual. I want to be able to see my world and I want my readers to see it, too. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">For me, dialogue has always been a challenge. Following a conversation I can rarely remember exactly what was said, only the gist. This was a disadvantage when my son still lived at home. He favours the auditory mode and could always tell me exactly what I did or didn’t say. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When I was writing books set in ancient Rome, I didn’t try to make the dialogue sound Latin. I just wrote in plain English with a smattering of Latin words and tried to avoid modern idioms and ideas. (A reader once took me to task for using the word ‘weekend’ which is not an ancient concept.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But everything changed when I wrote a series of four books set in Nevada during the early 1860s. In researching my P.K. Pinkerton Mysteries, I discovered a vast wealth of primary sources. As well as books and short stories, there were diaries, letters, newspaper accounts and even reports of the proceedings of the Territorial Legislature. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The literature of Nevada and California around the time of the American Civil War is often dubbed ‘Sagebrush Literature’ after the scrubby little plant that dots the Nevada deserts and perfumes the air. ‘When crushed,’ wrote Mark Twain, ‘sage-brush emits an odor which ain’t exactly magnolia, and ain’t exactly polecat, but a sort of compromise between the two.’ </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The most famous of these ‘sagebrush writers’ was Sam Clemens, who would become Mark Twain. But there were a passel of others who were just as drily witty. Like Clemens, Dan De Quille, Andrew Jackson Marsh and Alf Doten were all journalists at one point. By dipping into their articles, essays, journals, stories and poems, you taste the primordial literary soup from which Mark Twain emerged. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Here are some examples of slang that has passed out of use: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Hell did pop - Alf Doten</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">He kicked up thunder - Doten</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Flew like a streak of chalk - Doten</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The new mines are a bilk - Dan De Quille</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In ‘borrasca’ – out of luck - De Quille</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">He did it in a hurry-skurry fashion - A.J. Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The whole capoodle - Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The council met at high 12 - Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I got the dead-wood on him - Mark Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I don’t care a snap - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">1860s slang that is still around: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Stuck up - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Don’t get huffy - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">They entered the saloon to take a nip - Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Keep your shirt on - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">That girl is one in a million - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Ruffle your feathers - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Phrases to make you chuckle: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">First it blew, then it snew, then it thew, then it friz. - Doten</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I like myself first rate and think I am some punkins - Doten</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Expectation stood on tiptoe - Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You are a liar from your midriff up - Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Cast soft glances upon his manly form - De Quille</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">He was a love of a dog, and much addicted to fleas - Twain </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The cat let fly a frenzy of cat-profanity - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Would have made a Comanche blush - Twain</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Some phrases require further research: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A basket of champagne - Marsh</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Three cheers and a tiger - Alf Doten</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Living on alkali water and whang leather - Rollin Daggett</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I wanted my characters to employ these same delicious words and expressions. I wanted to have these phrases in the top drawer of my brain so whenever I reached for an idiom or word it is right there. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But I am a visual learner. Auditory stuff doesn’t stick. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So how did I get it in my brain? Audiobooks! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I listened whenever I can. Not just during my daily walk or while travelling on public transport, but when I was making my breakfast, doing the dishes, putting laundry in the machine. Even little five or ten minute chunks could be useful. I’d often hear a phrase and pause the audiobook to make a note. (The audiobooks are all on my iPhone now so I can stick it in my pocket put in headphones and have it wherever I go). For a while I tried putting on Huckleberry Finn or Walt Whitman during one of my afternoon powernaps. Unfortunately, it’s a myth that you can learn while asleep. You definitely have to be awake. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the three modes of audio I employ to get the sound of period narrative in my head. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Primary Sources - I love listening to books written during my time period, the mid-19th century. Mark Twain’s <i>Roughing It, The Innocents Abroad, Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn</i>. Bret Harte’s <i>The Luck of Roaring Camp</i> has stories about the California Gold Rush, while it was going on. Ambrose Bierce, the cynical Civil War writer, also helps me get into the mindset of the period. Poetry from Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman set a mood. George Alfred Townsend’s contemporary account of Lincoln’s assassination, <i>The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth</i>, has more concrete descriptive detail than any other writer I’ve found; but is also richly peppered with period expressions. I even have <i>Dombey and Son</i> by Charles Dickens on my iPhone audiobook library, because that’s the book Twain and his pals were reading in 1861. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Historical Fiction - <i>True Grit</i> by Charles Portis is famous for its quirky narrative and dialogue, all historically accurate. My favourite audiobook of all time is Donna Tartt’s reading of <i>True Grit</i>. It is pure genius. A couple of other great Western novels I listen to over and over are <i>Boone’s Lick</i> by Larry McMurtry (read by Will Patton) and <i>Appaloosa</i> by Robert B. Parker (read by Titus Welliver) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Homemade Recordings - Some of the letters and legal proceedings I really want embedded in my brain are not available on audiobook, so I read them into my iPhone and then listen to myself reading them. This is doubly good because reading out loud involves the kinesthetic (doing) as well as the auditory (hearing) and the two together are a powerful tool. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you listen to something over and over, it becomes part of you, and even if you’re a visual thinker and writer like me, you can begin to achieve the special voice that tells your reader they are in another place and time. The spoken word on tape, CD or digital download is a fabulous resource for many writers and one that has not been available until relatively recently. Long live the audiobook! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>*<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9veGIeHWSdhdAjsZ6BX8cM7B22PN94BgtB5qFxzDVzjj5cD-0_GYj4w47QN2NKaI01-x8SUFrwAyh9eIYwUQ2qM92W5jXbec2aO_7gu2sT2Rs0NAEm2cA7l2xQHY6ZnuF9fn5-g/s1527/Pat_Rodriguez_studio_16Jun2011.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1527" data-original-width="1471" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9veGIeHWSdhdAjsZ6BX8cM7B22PN94BgtB5qFxzDVzjj5cD-0_GYj4w47QN2NKaI01-x8SUFrwAyh9eIYwUQ2qM92W5jXbec2aO_7gu2sT2Rs0NAEm2cA7l2xQHY6ZnuF9fn5-g/s320/Pat_Rodriguez_studio_16Jun2011.JPG" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My sagebrush-scented P.K. Pinkerton novels are set in the mile-high mining town of Virginia City in 1862, when a 12-year-old misfit detective hero named P.K. Pinkerton rubs shoulders with Mark Twain, Dan De Quille, Joe Goodman and other sagebrush journalists as they witness shootouts, fires, poker games and furniture auctions. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The audio book of the first P.K. Pinkerton mystery, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005F5E7MC/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Case of the Deadly Desperados</a></i>, is read by <a href="https://www.patriciarodriguez.co.uk" target="_blank">Pat Rogriguez</a> (above) with just the right amount of sagebrush-dry, deadpan humour. You can listen to a sample <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005F5E7MC/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">(An earlier version of this article was first posted on the Booktrust site in 2012.)</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span></p>Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-64475289031141420712020-07-13T08:23:00.000+01:002020-07-24T09:39:00.779+01:00Crossing the Threshold<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg328PMVVwLf3vt7vq31oaxrADbEjnxyHAFMCiO0F01L8I5LnCmVuLra3JnZUClZOhZZtxdiDeLNjcxSWwBEhSOXN1eG5vIpatI2JNqvpReP0EeiCIZ3weC-dvl4LL6NmTOdh1w/s1600/crossing_threshold_linzie_caro_feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1156" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg328PMVVwLf3vt7vq31oaxrADbEjnxyHAFMCiO0F01L8I5LnCmVuLra3JnZUClZOhZZtxdiDeLNjcxSWwBEhSOXN1eG5vIpatI2JNqvpReP0EeiCIZ3weC-dvl4LL6NmTOdh1w/s320/crossing_threshold_linzie_caro_feet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">by Caroline Lawrence</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I first started writing, I didn’t know how to write plot. Then I discovered story structure principles used by Hollywood script gurus like John Truby, Christopher Vogler and Blake Snyder of </span><i>Save the Cat!</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> fame.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It was a major breakthrough for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">At first I just used story structure as a guide to keep me on track.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Later I used story structure to help generate ideas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But over the past few years I’ve come to realise that story structure is not just a tool of good storytelling; it’s the KEY to good storytelling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">At its most basic level, storytelling consists of two beats: The Desire and The Battle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">At slightly more advanced levels there are additional beats like The Problem, The Opponent, The Plan, The Revelation and The New Level.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGr71sJhogsa5Li3m-6ndfsQmLIFLmuyfYmw1-CeQ85gaS6K781ZFEcklRXTq-hmBUedPXVf7sVXy71ruaxz3tm-xykVop_P7p256nT62fom8Nog53eUnhyphenhyphenIYQ6Sz47bp0zTy1FA/s1600/linzie_hunter_rubber_ducky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="726" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGr71sJhogsa5Li3m-6ndfsQmLIFLmuyfYmw1-CeQ85gaS6K781ZFEcklRXTq-hmBUedPXVf7sVXy71ruaxz3tm-xykVop_P7p256nT62fom8Nog53eUnhyphenhyphenIYQ6Sz47bp0zTy1FA/s320/linzie_hunter_rubber_ducky.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">At its best, storytelling includes fun beats like The Rubber Ducky, The Mentor, The Talisman, The Dance, The Miniature and Crossing the Threshold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One of the elements I am currently obsessed with is that last beat, the one called Crossing the Threshold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In many movies there is often a moment when the protagonist must leave their ordinary world and enter a world of adventure, usually on a journey or a quest for knowledge or a reward (i.e. The Desire). Think of <i>The Wizard of Oz</i>. A terrifying tornado lifts farm girl Dorothy out of black and white Kansas and deposits her in technicolour Munchkinland. In the first <i>Harry Potter</i> movie, Harry has to push a trolly through a brick wall at Platform 9 and ¾ to get on the Hogwarts Express. In <i>The Matrix</i>, Neo takes the red pill and melts into a mirror. This is borrowed from Jean Cocteau’s film <i>Orphée</i>, based on the Greek myth of Orpheus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In the <i>Pixar's Up</i>, Mr Karl Frederickson flies away from his ordinary world in a house attached to a thousand coloured helium balloons. Remember how WALL-E, in pursuit of Eva (his Desire) grabs onto a rocket and passes through a crust of junky satellites before fizzing through Saturn’s rings? Epic!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Sometimes Crossing the Threshold involves crossing an actual threshold. In the first <i>Hunger Games</i> film, the camera lingers on the train door. The train door! That’s because that single step up will take Katniss out of her ordinary world and into the world of adventure. The moment she steps on the train she has left drab District 12 and enters a world of colour and abundance, in short she is in the Capital. This transfer is reinforced by a long shot of the train snaking through wooded mountains to the big city. There are many crossings of thresholds in the first <i>Hunger Games</i> movie. I counted at least half a dozen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In <i>Paddington</i>, my favourite film of 2014, the bear from darkest Peru crosses no fewer than a dozen mini-thresholds, including the actual threshold of the Brown’s house. The writer/director, Paul King, knows the power of crossing the threshold which is why the camera lingers on Paddington’s paws stepping over it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JkDmEfs8CC_pnWheG3dmcKRltUf1IwarCB2J0d4k3XkFmmPniVMfVbLgt6D_1R1fHDlzOHC01KGXZbRCOvpedGOc72ZqSZU-x4V3RMo84mc4nsUUjhnqkYOox90pFP4AC-6mgQ/s1600/mentor_as_threshold_guardian_linzie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="860" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JkDmEfs8CC_pnWheG3dmcKRltUf1IwarCB2J0d4k3XkFmmPniVMfVbLgt6D_1R1fHDlzOHC01KGXZbRCOvpedGOc72ZqSZU-x4V3RMo84mc4nsUUjhnqkYOox90pFP4AC-6mgQ/s320/mentor_as_threshold_guardian_linzie.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Sometimes there are Threshold Guardians, another fun trope. Threshold Guardians are people or creatures stationed at the portal between one world and another to make sure the hero really deserves to pass through. I always think of the old man by the bridge in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D7hFHfLEyk" target="_blank">a hilarious scene</a> from <i>Monty Python and the Holy Grail</i>: ‘Stop! Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Sometimes the threshold is to keep bad things out. This is the premise of many horror stories including <i>Alien</i> and <i>Jaws</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Sometimes Crossing the Threshold marks the end of Act One. Or The Point of No Return. Or the beginning of the Battle. Sometimes the best Crossing of a Threshold comes right at the end: <i>The Shawshank Redemption, Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner</i>…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Why do we like this beat so much? I believe it is because everyone who ever lived can identify with it. We cross thresholds a dozen times a day, whenever we leave a room, a house or even a town or country. We also cross major Thresholds in our lives. When I visit schools, I ask the kids to tell me the Seven Major Thresholds they have crossed (or will cross) in their lives. ‘What’s the first threshold you ever cross?’ I ask. ‘The first time you leave a place you feel safe and go into a strange and unknown world?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">They all get it: When we are born! And the last threshold we ever cross? Presumably when we die. As Peter Pan says, ‘… an awfully big adventure.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Our lives are a succession of journeys, some big and some little. Strung all together, they make up our life’s journey.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7tTKiMSPPjxL7v5b7L78K_7agcL01hiPzvOeJXeV0KlPFTnE3YiiaS7sfpcZP94OOFZwKC_do3R0cJqoYsYYq3tB_oBo39XTCb5DdOVtIuXhRD7188HsseNPlvWjJmqWAzJNpw/s1600/big_H2WAGS_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7tTKiMSPPjxL7v5b7L78K_7agcL01hiPzvOeJXeV0KlPFTnE3YiiaS7sfpcZP94OOFZwKC_do3R0cJqoYsYYq3tB_oBo39XTCb5DdOVtIuXhRD7188HsseNPlvWjJmqWAzJNpw/s400/big_H2WAGS_cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">To discover more about this trope and others mentioned in this blog post, dip into my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128142/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">How To Write a Great Story</a></i>, delightfully illustrated by Linzie Hunter, who did all the illustrations on this page. </span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-13692911730691777512020-05-27T12:05:00.000+01:002020-05-27T12:05:42.343+01:00Ancient History Quiz (hard)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime3uZ5vr068GzB3SjJjVbf6ghTyuhrAJNu_B6lHmUoIchsBQyfAvdjEILBFA4GRZZCdl0_tY017jeZIdHBkjgz54qRzu6rSx4RPgaGAAQOSfmI2xFFAZNUdfciVaU2jamlFh5sg/s1600/Molossian_hound_flipped_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1022" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime3uZ5vr068GzB3SjJjVbf6ghTyuhrAJNu_B6lHmUoIchsBQyfAvdjEILBFA4GRZZCdl0_tY017jeZIdHBkjgz54qRzu6rSx4RPgaGAAQOSfmI2xFFAZNUdfciVaU2jamlFh5sg/s320/Molossian_hound_flipped_cropped.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molossian Hound, British Museum</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Recently I was asked to write a quiz for a kids</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> book site based on my first two <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07XK88DXS/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Time Travel Diaries</a> books. I sent them a quiz which they thought was TOO DIFFICULT. So I am posting it here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">How well will YOU do? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This quiz is based on some of the strangest facts I have come across while writing my first two Time Travel Diaries, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MR7R3BL/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">the first set in Roman London</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07XK88DXS/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">the second in Ancient Athens</a>. If you don</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">t know, have an educated guess! Answers at the bottom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. The enamel in a skeleton’s tooth can sometimes tell you</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) where the person grew up</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) what colour their eyes were</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) what part of the world their mother came from</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) all of the above </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Athens was famous for producing some of the world’s most famous playwrights. Which of the following died after being attacked by dogs? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) Aristophanes (author of The Birds, etc)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) Euripides (author of Medea, etc)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) Aeschylus (author of the Oresteia etc)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) Sophocles (author of Oedipus Rex, etc)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. What did the philosopher Socrates use to slice a hardboiled egg?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) A spear</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) A hair </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) A fork</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) A stylus</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. The word gymnasium comes from the Greek word for</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) naked</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) athletic</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) muscular</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) exercise</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Londinium (modern London) was founded by </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) The Celts</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) The Greeks</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) The Romans</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) The Saxons</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. Certain animals frightened away evil spirits and were therefore used to decorate jewellery, clothing, walls and other objects used by Romans. Which animals were NOT used this way by the Romans? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) snakes</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) sharks</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) leopards</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) dogs</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. Which of the following fascinating objects was NOT found in Roman London?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) An ancient version of a Swiss army knife</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) two pairs of leather bikini bottoms</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) an ivory knife </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) an amber amulet in the shape of a gladiator’s helmet</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">8) The Roman god Mithras was popular from the first to third centuries AD. Which of the following groups people were his most faithful followers? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) high-ranking soldiers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) retired soldiers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) men</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) all of the above</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">9. The god Mithras wore strange clothes. Which of the following was NOT in his wardrobe? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) a Greek helmet </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) a flapping cloak</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) leggings</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) a floppy hat like a Smurf</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. Today you can still visit the foundations of London’s Mithraeum, where the god Mithras was worshipped. Which American company restored it to its original position deep below their London branch and offers free access every day but Monday? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">a) Microsoft Corporation</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">b) Bloomberg LP</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">c) Google LLC</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">d) Walt Disney Corporation</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Want to know more? Read or listen to Caroline Lawrence</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s first two <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07XK88DXS/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Time Travel Diaries</a>. And check out her other 30+ historical novels for kids on her website: <a href="http://www.carolinelawrence.com/">www.carolinelawrence.com</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">_____</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Answers: 1 = d (using DNA and isotopes); 2 = b (When he was an old man, Euripides was savaged to death by Molossian hounds); 3 = b (Plato has Socrates tell of using a hair to slice an egg); 4 = a (because Greek men exercised without clothing); 5 = c (London started life as a Roman trading post around AD 50); 6 = b (No shark has ever been found on Roman jewellery); 7 = a (something like a Swiss army knife WAS found, but not in London); 8 = d (In fact we think only men were allowed into his temples); 9 = a (Mithras is never shown with a Greek helmet); 10 = b (You can find London’s Mithraeum in the European headquarters of Bloomberg LP by Bank tube station)</span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-12229179145821214682020-03-26T12:25:00.000+00:002020-03-26T17:09:30.407+00:00Historical Fiction for Kids<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical fiction can do much more than bring dull names and dates alive; it can spark a lifelong passion. What got me into history and Classics was a book I read aged 18. It literally changed my life. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KdlvD-MAdZJydL0RuqW7OUowvUPMDYZTRWa_NwR9ZIT1zLedGKYA6wIOShHk5LJYKNMvEW7OQpfon8z-YMhvaLAwd4WqZBpygavTMnnwUTfh93Qywb5yVNLpPHDLqjmeZcRP8g/s1600/girls_reading_MOL_22Feb2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KdlvD-MAdZJydL0RuqW7OUowvUPMDYZTRWa_NwR9ZIT1zLedGKYA6wIOShHk5LJYKNMvEW7OQpfon8z-YMhvaLAwd4WqZBpygavTMnnwUTfh93Qywb5yVNLpPHDLqjmeZcRP8g/s400/girls_reading_MOL_22Feb2019.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My fave historical novels are those which combine historical accuracy with a great story and compelling characters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is a list of ten of the best, all suitable for kids or YA readers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00TE3HF2U/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Last of the Wine</a> by Mary Renault </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Classical Athens (c. 430 - 400 BC) ages 14+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A gripping tale of a boy growing up in Classical Athens during the time of the philosopher Socrates and with the Peloponnesian War as a backdrop. This book changed my life because it made me realise how fascinating history could be. Mary Renault is the Queen of Historical Fiction. She is my idol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B006FH2W4O/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Master and Commander</a> by Patrick O’Brian </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nelson’s Navy (early 1800’s) ages 14+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If Mary Renault is the Queen of Historical Fiction, then Patrick O’Brian is the King. Almost as fluent in Greek as he was in Latin and most fluent in the language of ships and sailing, O’Brian is another one of my idols. My husband and I knew we were ‘meant to be’ on our first date nearly thirty years ago when we both named his Aubrey/Maturin series as our favourite books of the moment. My husband often says, ‘In Patrick O’Brian, a storm is more exciting than a battle, and a dinner party can be more entertaining than either of those.’ Master and Commander is the first of a 20-book series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004PJ38AG/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">True Grit</a> by Charles Portis </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Wild West (late 1800s in America) ages 10+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mattie Ross – deadpan, devout and determined – is one of the great heroines of any period, and she’s only 14. Both movie versions were good, but this better than both rolled up together. This is one of my top books of all time: ‘Fill your hands’ with it! The audiobook read by Donna Tartt is perfection. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0046A9MRC/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Once and Future King</a> by T.H. White </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Arthurian England (c. 500 AD) ages 8+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There are lots of fab books about King Arthur (like those of Kevin Crossley-Holland and Philip Reeve) but this one will always have a very special place in my heart. It is the closest to fantasy of any of the books on this list, and it is pure magic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004KZOQSS/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Eagle of the Ninth</a> by Rosemary Sutcliffe </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman Britain (c. 100 AD) ages 10+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Densely-written evocative depiction of Britain in the Roman period. Colder, grittier and with much more blue woad than my <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B011A8S5BG/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Roman Quests</a> series, also set in Roman Britain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01C2LYEOC/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Little House on the Prairie</a> by Laura Ingalls Wilder </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">American Pioneer West (late 1800s) ages 10+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The covers make them look babyish but they are most definitely not. Adults will love them, too. This is a vividly-told, clear-eyed reminiscence of a pioneer girl. Moving, quietly dramatic and humbling. Best of all, there are seven more books in the series. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004OEIDCA/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Spanish Bride</a> by Georgette Heyer </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Europe during Peninsular Wars (early 1800s) ages 14+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Based on the true story of a Spanish girl during the Napoleonic wars who sought refuge with British troops. She marries a British soldier, impresses everyone with her beauty and bravery, learns English in London and finally accompanies her husband on the Waterloo campaign for the story’s climax. My husband loves this book so much that he reads it yearly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">8. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ANJUETA/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Blitzcat</a> by Robert Westall </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">England during WWII (1940s) ages 8+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Great story about a cat during the Second World War by the same author who gave us The Machine Gunners. This is a story that has stayed with me, as all great stories do. Animal lovers will love it because he really gets into the head of a cat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">9. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B06ZZMLMKT/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">My Family and other Animals</a> by Gerald Durrell<br />Greek isle of Corfu (1930s) ages 8+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Supposedly this is a biographical account of the childhood of the conservationist Gerald Durrell and therefore not strictly fiction, but much of it is embellished and I love it so much that I’m going to include it on this list. It bears very little resemblance to the 2016 ITV series which is more about his mother. This one is about the joy of nature, life and family. Try the first few chapters. You’ll be hooked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1405288736/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">I am David</a> by Ann Holm </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Europe (late 1920s) ages 10+</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A boy escapes from a concentration camp in a nameless country. With nothing but a map and a compass he crosses Europe in search of the mother he has never known. He is wary, distrustful, older than his years. And yet in many ways he is a baby, with his journey across Europe a kind of rebirth. Full of sensory detail and tiny joys as well as tragedies, this is the perfect story to put our current problems in perspective! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Reading! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Caroline Lawrence is the author of over 35 historical novels for kids aged 7-14. Start with her first, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004JHY826/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Thieves of Ostia</a>, or her most recent, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MR7R3BL/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries</a>. Check out her website <a href="https://carolinelawrence.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i></span><br />
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Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-90505677972486788522020-03-18T14:41:00.000+00:002020-03-18T14:45:02.807+00:00Mule vs Volcano<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I go into schools and stay on to do a writing workshop, I almost always set a task of writing a story called ‘Escape from Vesuvius’. There were at least 20,000 people living around the volcano in the first century AD and I reckon each one of them had their own story. We always start by listing the seven plot beats which I have adapted from Hollywood script guru John Truby. Sometimes we start with the hero’s weakness – or Achilles Heel – which will give us the lesson learned AKA step 6, The Knowledge. At St Lawrence Junior School yesterday we were running short on time so we started with his problem: volcano! Acting as the show-runner in a TV writers’ room I got the kids to brainstorm ideas for our hero’s gender, age, name and skills. We voted on them and quickly mapped out the basic plot. If possible I try to get them to come up with a subtitle and in this case we voted for <i>Mule vs Volcano</i>. We had just enough time for a few of the children to read their first paragraphs and they were great. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But this morning I took a few hours to write my own version. Here’s what I came up with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Escape from Vesuvius: Mule vs Volcano </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">by Caroline Lawrence </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(with the help of year 4 from St Lawrence Junior School)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It started like any other day. But that was the day I learned an apple can save your life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I woke at dawn, slipped on my tunic and splashed water on my face from the jug beside my bed. Then I let myself out of the front door and ran to the baker’s shop. Although our baker makes deliveries, I like to run whenever I can. Most afternoons I train in the palaestra of the Stabian Baths but I like to run first thing in the morning too, when the world is still cool and fresh and the sun is just rising. I run barefoot along the smooth pavements of my town, Pompeii. The soles of my feet are hard as leather. I usually take the long way round to the baker’s, then come back with three warm round loaves under my arm. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0cF6YkCR7S-Pe0zmMa0vhnblOEbd1iGzeGOvSJS5wWhw19wP4AfvsP4Eh6NMVxc2J0nYjZf0tmrKnJxkhb3JS_hgtWp0xAEgZdWFibqtWpV95q6cD2WsFsDCc7JYvak0F7S9qw/s1600/escape_vesuvius_beats_MuleVsVolcano_StLawrenceJr_Mar2020_small.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0cF6YkCR7S-Pe0zmMa0vhnblOEbd1iGzeGOvSJS5wWhw19wP4AfvsP4Eh6NMVxc2J0nYjZf0tmrKnJxkhb3JS_hgtWp0xAEgZdWFibqtWpV95q6cD2WsFsDCc7JYvak0F7S9qw/s320/escape_vesuvius_beats_MuleVsVolcano_StLawrenceJr_Mar2020_small.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">My name is Maximus and I am sixteen years old. My household is small. Just me and my aged parents. We used to have a slave but never got around to replacing him. Our needs are few. My mother can only walk a few steps at a time but she weaves happily in her high-backed wicker chair while my father teaches me to speak eloquently in Greek as well as Latin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the evenings I read passages of Homer’s Iliad or Odyssey to my parents. My favourite story is the one at the end of the Iliad where Achilles chases Hector around the walls of Troy. I always hope that somehow this time Hector will escape, but of course he never does. The words of the poem are etched into my brain like letters in a wax tablet. That story is like one of Plato’s forms: it exists somewhere outside our world, on a higher level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes when I run, I recite that passage. It is as if I am Hector, running from Achilles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On that fateful day, I was having a lesson with my father in the garden. My mother sat nearby, in the shade of our apple tree. She was making thread from a drop spindle, turning a clump of wool into fine strong yarn. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was almost noon when we heard shouts coming from outside. I hurried out into the street. My neighbours were pointing north, and I saw something like a fat white thread of wool rising up on the horizon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My father came out a moment later, leaning on his walking stick. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The smell of rotten eggs filled the air and soon ash was falling. The sky was getting darker, as when clouds gather. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That was when I remembered the dream I’d had the previous night. The white-hot ghost of Achilles had been chasing me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I knew it was a warning, sent by the gods. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘We must go!’ I told Pater about my dream. ‘We must get away as fast as we can.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘But how?’ he replied. ‘I can only walk with the help of a stick and your mother can barely walk at all.’ Then he grasped my shoulders. ‘Son, you are fast. Save yourself. Run! Your mother and I have lived a good life. If it is the will of the gods, we will die a good death.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘No!’ I cried. ‘I will not leave you.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If had been strong I might have carried my parents, one under each arm. But despite my name I am not powerful. I am fast, yes, but also skinny. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then I had an idea. ‘Your old chariot!’ I cried. ‘I can pull you in the chariot!’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When my father was young, he had raced chariots and he still kept his favourite in our storeroom. It was made of wicker, leather and beechwood and was very light: like a basket on wheels. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Put on all your jewellery!’ I cried to my mother. ‘Pater, get anything valuable that we can easily carry! And bring some food!’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A moment later my aged parents stood in the small chariot as I pulled them out the front door of our house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ash covered the pavement and street. People were already fleeing, carrying their belongings on their backs, holding children by the hand. Some had cushions tied to their heads to keep off the falling embers. Others wore napkins over their noses and mouths to keep out the ash. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hurried back inside and soaked two cushions in water from the fountain, then tied them to my parents’ heads. For myself I soaked my hooded woollen cloak in water and put that on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then I grasped the two side beams of the chariot and pulled. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At first it was easy enough, but soon I was coughing and wheezing. I was not used to pulling the weight of two people, even old ones who are not very heavy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we reached the town gate, I had an idea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the stables we could hire a horse to pull us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But as we reached the stables, I saw others had the same idea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The only animal left was a stubborn looking mule with a badly swollen front left hoof. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘That one’s Podagrosus,’ said the stable owner. ‘I’ll let you have him for a thousand sesterces. But I doubt you’ll get him to move.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One thousand sesterces was a huge amount to pay for a lame mule, but I had no choice. I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out ten gold coins, almost all our savings. The stable owner greedily took them, then bit one to make sure it was pure. A moment later he was hurrying out of the stable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Left alone, pulled the chariot over to the mule, hitched him to it with a wooden yoke lying nearby, then grasped his bristly mane and tugged. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Come on, Podagrosus,’ I said. ‘Let’s go.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mule gave me a sideways look but did not budge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I took my father’s walking stick and beat his rear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was like beating a marble statue of a mule. The creature did not even twitch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Stop, Maximus!’ called my mother, who has a soft heart. ‘Here!’ She reached down the front of her stola and pulled out a red apple. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Look, Podagrosus,’ I said, holding it up. ‘A nice juicy apple, fresh from the tree in our garden.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Podagrosus took a step forward. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Holding out the apple, I backed through the open doors of the stable and onto the street. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Podagrosus followed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had done it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly the mule lunged forward and closed his teeth on the apple.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Ow!’ I cried. ‘He almost bit my hand off!’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘I have one more,’ said my mother. ‘Use it wisely.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Think, Maximus!’ I told myself. ‘Think!’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then I had an idea. ‘Mater,’ I said. ‘Do you have any thread?’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Always!’ She pulled her spindle from down the front of her tunic and I took two arms’ lengths of strong woollen thread. I tied one end to the stem of the apple and the other to the end of my father’s walking stick. Then I stuck the other end of the stick into the yoke of the mule so that the apple hung about half an arm’s length before his nose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Podagrosus limped forward, always going for the apple but never quite able to reach it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the time his swollen foot prevented him from going any further we had made it beyond a spur of the Milky Mountains near Stabiae, and I knew we would be safe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Well done, Podagrosus!’ I said and gave the tired mule the apple he had been straining after for three hours. ‘I promise we will take good care of you for the rest of your life. And all the apples you can eat.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The End</span><br />
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Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-69201967771624084032020-01-24T20:24:00.000+00:002020-01-24T20:24:03.687+00:00Tabula Rasa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUBTdQsveonuY3W8Jakiquv3SMpRBDqXaaBIYwpfNAZqJI5qwuS2QIkOqPQb3ChfoQ-paSL6p9bIPiJFiB3EiHQaSoLCxihFoPa1Y-f1HU3ubaF4W4c5IqDdp87Jj2Si0k6Ialg/s1600/black_wax_stylus_tablet_paternoster_sept2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="759" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUBTdQsveonuY3W8Jakiquv3SMpRBDqXaaBIYwpfNAZqJI5qwuS2QIkOqPQb3ChfoQ-paSL6p9bIPiJFiB3EiHQaSoLCxihFoPa1Y-f1HU3ubaF4W4c5IqDdp87Jj2Si0k6Ialg/s320/black_wax_stylus_tablet_paternoster_sept2017.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lower leaf is a 'tabula rasa' or blank tablet</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Latin Programme has just announced a competition for kids to write a story or poem under 500 words. You have until 24 April 2020 and the pieces can tackle any theme and take any form as long as they use the Latin phrase ‘tabula rasa’ as a starting point. First prize is £100 in book tokens with two £25 runners up. And I am one of the two judges! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But what is a TABVLA RASA? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Roman times, a ‘tabula rasa’ was a clean writing tablet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The word ‘rasa’ is a participle from the verb ‘rado’, <i>I shave or smooth</i>. We get the word <i>razor</i> from it. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-CBNpciYwWFJ8H0-9qNqTJmJEG30DrlaX01a1Cf5_8rsrYmPuXRAgpBBxxIQtTn1rkOa18G4vhnwCwQdtYamPOaC8oQC6wKjaLXBCSdC8N9AXDa-blwv29bpIxA8cBfRVpPqCg/s1600/Latin_Project_Writing_Comp_2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1415" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-CBNpciYwWFJ8H0-9qNqTJmJEG30DrlaX01a1Cf5_8rsrYmPuXRAgpBBxxIQtTn1rkOa18G4vhnwCwQdtYamPOaC8oQC6wKjaLXBCSdC8N9AXDa-blwv29bpIxA8cBfRVpPqCg/s320/Latin_Project_Writing_Comp_2020.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The word ‘tabula’ means a <i>board</i> or <i>plank</i>. We get the word <i>tablet</i> from it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Romans often made writing tablets from small, thin wooden planks coated with beeswax. They would then inscribe letters in the wax, using a the sharp end of a stylus made of metal, bone or wood. By the way, we get the word <i>stylus</i> from Latin ‘stilus’, which means <i>stick</i>, <i>stake</i> or <i>pointed instrument</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Romans wanted to erase the words they had written on a tablet, they would use the flat end of the stylus to smooth the wax. Some frescoes show a triangular-shaped spatula that could be warmed and then pulled across the wax to smooth it and make it blank. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cbnf7VwKHKcj057etWP9POSJt0L1nKXTJOoeJO4XHQyJH0ZnLl7ShV_GyJYdl8ASsp0eC3ECTIDnZ7RXqPyXE8ovaZKSem30h-mMHnnQgmieN_e3Qp3klWYjSW6rGt-byqiXlg/s1600/best_pompeii_fresco_writing_implements_by_mym.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1584" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cbnf7VwKHKcj057etWP9POSJt0L1nKXTJOoeJO4XHQyJH0ZnLl7ShV_GyJYdl8ASsp0eC3ECTIDnZ7RXqPyXE8ovaZKSem30h-mMHnnQgmieN_e3Qp3klWYjSW6rGt-byqiXlg/s400/best_pompeii_fresco_writing_implements_by_mym.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spatula (far left) on a fresco from Pompeii via @LiberalDespot</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So the most literal meaning of ‘tabula rasa’ is a smoothed or ‘shaved’ wax tablet. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiXKoV5x5FtRd7jVmYrMN0xgHx4ivqOgf3nOBugsgLNyedc-S5EnMtl2hQu98ZUIrpxC54Rq4xDOaieB5zAW0b6eT7rcfAIk2FKVSeWdqOwxl7e5GvvR6qdjWzU2zgji9NBGZvw/s1600/big_lupus_tablet_holder_2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="940" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtiXKoV5x5FtRd7jVmYrMN0xgHx4ivqOgf3nOBugsgLNyedc-S5EnMtl2hQu98ZUIrpxC54Rq4xDOaieB5zAW0b6eT7rcfAIk2FKVSeWdqOwxl7e5GvvR6qdjWzU2zgji9NBGZvw/s320/big_lupus_tablet_holder_2007.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lupus with wax tablet holder (2007)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my Roman Mysteries, one of my characters can’t speak so he uses a wax tablet to communicate vital messages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe your hero needs a tablet to communicate like Lupus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The phrase ‘tabula rasa’ has a metaphorical meaning as used by philosophers such as Aristotle and John Locke: a blank mind. Locke believed babies were born with a totally blank mind and that the things that happened after their birth were etched into their brains forever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So ‘tabula rasa’ can also mean <i>blank mind</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe your hero has amnesia.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghizIBlMlam0i3-RjF313MMInrP3P1PsqiU4T3sdRHBlnsgAAkdJvMJTd39KE-FHenCS_XQ9uI1ryw37SKJNTd6dF4ZJEIu8b0OFwDeLiuuziaTFJyUH2kS0MAJaIyLOqwSrWb9A/s1600/stylus_spatula_via_peter_lorimer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghizIBlMlam0i3-RjF313MMInrP3P1PsqiU4T3sdRHBlnsgAAkdJvMJTd39KE-FHenCS_XQ9uI1ryw37SKJNTd6dF4ZJEIu8b0OFwDeLiuuziaTFJyUH2kS0MAJaIyLOqwSrWb9A/s320/stylus_spatula_via_peter_lorimer.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stylus and scraper via Peter Lorimer</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Tabula rasa’ can be applied to the type of slate on which Victorian schoolchildren wrote with chalk, like a mini blackboard. For this reason ‘tabula rasa’ can also mean a <i>clean slate</i> like when all your debts (the money you owe) or sins (things you’ve done wrone) are cancelled and you can ‘start fresh’. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe your hero has a chance to start fresh. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, a fun idea for a mystery or spy story based on the phrase ‘tabula rasa’ is an ancient method of delivering a secret message where you write a message on the wood tablet, then put the wax on top to hide it. That way the writing tablet looks blank but actually contains a hidden message. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12fbAPjwAP_9BH3b95ZnUGy1dPq5-Q0AWitffXXrG6IoOrIAP2afLWweuIiYmnF139un94df-TT-k3JQLa0SUOTHrfm109wiP6S6u45Es9fy6Lzkbvrwitjq7fCMCwtw7Cht6gw/s1600/black_wax_tablet_uplateinpompeii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="864" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12fbAPjwAP_9BH3b95ZnUGy1dPq5-Q0AWitffXXrG6IoOrIAP2afLWweuIiYmnF139un94df-TT-k3JQLa0SUOTHrfm109wiP6S6u45Es9fy6Lzkbvrwitjq7fCMCwtw7Cht6gw/s400/black_wax_tablet_uplateinpompeii.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">re-enactor writing on a replica tablet of beeswax coloured with soot</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe your hero must get a message to a rescuer. Or intercept a message from a spy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So there are lots of meanings of ‘tabula rasa’. You might even think of a new one. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just make sure you put that phrase somewhere in your entry! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thelatinprogramme.co.uk/scriptores-writing-challenge-2020" target="_blank">HERE</a> is the link to the competition. And <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2019/10/fun-with-first-lines.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> is a link to some ideas for <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2019/10/fun-with-first-lines.html" target="_blank">how to start your story</a>... Good luck! I can</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">t wait to read your entries. </span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-72209212204371548672019-10-13T17:00:00.003+01:002019-10-13T22:02:56.216+01:00Fun with First Lines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiJmulJwh5yzDZWZ9ouDJyXkM9Rphiq9-xjbRTmYt4IYYYcA4UZ5ED6Mp44kCBTmo43MAnGtXsd_vVnJKZsmaG9wUzRIwJm3aDB0qA_s3s0YQgvWaafWZAJ_DKL-s6zoNrHBz5Q/s1600/linzie_Frankensteins_first_lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1544" data-original-width="1036" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiJmulJwh5yzDZWZ9ouDJyXkM9Rphiq9-xjbRTmYt4IYYYcA4UZ5ED6Mp44kCBTmo43MAnGtXsd_vVnJKZsmaG9wUzRIwJm3aDB0qA_s3s0YQgvWaafWZAJ_DKL-s6zoNrHBz5Q/s400/linzie_Frankensteins_first_lines.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">illustration by Linzie Hunter</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some people collect stamps, Star Wars action figures or ceramic pigs. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I collect first lines. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I love to go into a bookshop or library and pick a book off the shelf and open it up to check the first line. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here is one of my favourites: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God, and the word was God.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You might think it is from John’s Gospel in the New Testament portion of the Bible, but it’s also the first line of Umberto Eco’s book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0089WCFSG/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Name of the Rose</a></i>, now being televised on the BBC. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here’s another of my best first lines. One of the oldest, too. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sing goddess, the wrath of Achilles...</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s the first line of Homer’s epic Greek poem <i>The Iliad</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I also love Virgil’s riff on it, the first line of his <i>Aeneid</i>, an epic poem in Latin. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I sing of arms and the man... </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How about this one?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Call me Ishmael.</i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />That is one of the most fa</span>mous first lines in the world. It’s from <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B006HHWBK2/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Moby Dick</a></i> by Herman Melville. But did you know that Kurt Vonnegut begins his book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141189347/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Cat’s Cradle</a></i> with this first line? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Call me Jonah.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Can you see the point I’m making? Good first lines can be begged, borrowed and adapted. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Another of my fave first lines is from the Anthony Horowitz’s <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1406360198/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Stormbreaker</a></i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>When the doorbell rings at three in the morning it’s never good news. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That first line inspired the opening of my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1510100237/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Escape from Rome</a>.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Emperor’s men came at midnight. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTfTdVSNf1_xrW6wjGSSCX_U14v4Og_tq6aa58teX2h_Y92oTzTZvYc_HJz49zO4aOUlM_vpuqJp6xNUc4Px-i6py0Necnusm-cvJLN6kySQhibS4bucA4WDBKmsP6jIi9ogfjQ/s1600/escape_cover_1st_page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1134" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTfTdVSNf1_xrW6wjGSSCX_U14v4Og_tq6aa58teX2h_Y92oTzTZvYc_HJz49zO4aOUlM_vpuqJp6xNUc4Px-i6py0Necnusm-cvJLN6kySQhibS4bucA4WDBKmsP6jIi9ogfjQ/s400/escape_cover_1st_page.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But I don’t think Anthony Horowitz will sue me. All writers gain inspiration from one another and in fact it’s a kind of tribute when you use a famous first line as inspiration. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m a writer-in-residence at the junior division of Kings College School Wimbledon this week. Hopefully we’ll have time to play a fun game I call Dr Frankenstein’s </span><span style="font-size: large;">First Lines.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlBrgokBPgk03NPcgpYvCe-rp3LKPRRDgcNwbo-5FtC0uMiG4kkGufKA_1eARoCCivrEDYy_TtSjXfEfmUPBuGuhJzyTBWK9U5j97jPgjjuzVJXgSWml2o_mPMDVx2_QrNcu-4A/s1600/How_Write_full_cover_July2019_magpie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1183" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlBrgokBPgk03NPcgpYvCe-rp3LKPRRDgcNwbo-5FtC0uMiG4kkGufKA_1eARoCCivrEDYy_TtSjXfEfmUPBuGuhJzyTBWK9U5j97jPgjjuzVJXgSWml2o_mPMDVx2_QrNcu-4A/s400/How_Write_full_cover_July2019_magpie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is one of over a hundred tricks and tips I include in my new </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">book </span></span><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128142/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">How to Write a Great Story</span></a></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">. Th</span><span style="font-size: large;">e principle is pretty obvious. You take a fave first line (or two) chop them up and stitch them together, a bit like Dr Frankenstein does with his monster. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve used it in schools and it’s proved really fun and inspirational. Here are a few great first lines we have played with. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sophie had waited all her life to be kidnapped.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(from <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ALKS0JM/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The School of Good and Evil</a></i> by Soman Chainani)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(from <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00IVWYLUY/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Secret Garden</a></i> by Frances Hodgson Burnett)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(from <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0076795A6/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Iron Man</a></i> by Ted Hughes)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBdUxPep3Vdi8lZj0mgPXGqHq0s3e4KMv3L7rGPt2Ni1HfBFhvq7P_2G2icvOwk6HbOMU1JmD81qx1SnhSYPDHwXXuZwHjaOfMXhR_0XI4wNYfK0NvBFijj3Iywai4Yb_8YbIqQ/s1600/Thieves+of+Ostia+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="763" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBdUxPep3Vdi8lZj0mgPXGqHq0s3e4KMv3L7rGPt2Ni1HfBFhvq7P_2G2icvOwk6HbOMU1JmD81qx1SnhSYPDHwXXuZwHjaOfMXhR_0XI4wNYfK0NvBFijj3Iywai4Yb_8YbIqQ/s320/Thieves+of+Ostia+cover.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">And finally, here is a first line I actually didn’t nick from anybody else but am proud of because I use it to tell you the hero, the genre and the setting. And I did all that in the first line! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Flavia Gemina solved her first mystery on the Ides of June in the tenth year of the emperor Vespasian.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">(from <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842550209/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Thieves of Ostia</a></i> by Caroline Lawrence)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Feel free to play with it and have fun. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Writing! (And chopping…)</span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-25062226985343856202019-07-30T19:55:00.000+01:002019-07-30T20:03:06.701+01:00Ideas 4 Teachers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;">deas for Teachers based on the Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE FIRST LESSON OF HISTORY: </span><span style="font-size: large;">NO TOILET PAPER!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Romans used a <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2008/10/so-whats-with-sponge-stick.html" target="_blank">sponge-stick</a> instead of toilet paper. Discuss what was the same and what was different about Roman times.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHw5Oj5I5i6lT0DMB6hftEdd-cJr8frWUSjtPDuW_ZNbUGJhya2g_jyhU6IqhL9-AqSZSuDGrJHMIIiwS_1wD6fvh6Bl33auAVX-R5PmT8JR3NkieVAUuXV-UIUoQ_pBwJMdX5g/s1600/big_wax_tablets_vertical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHw5Oj5I5i6lT0DMB6hftEdd-cJr8frWUSjtPDuW_ZNbUGJhya2g_jyhU6IqhL9-AqSZSuDGrJHMIIiwS_1wD6fvh6Bl33auAVX-R5PmT8JR3NkieVAUuXV-UIUoQ_pBwJMdX5g/s320/big_wax_tablets_vertical.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">INSPIRATIONAL ARTEFACTS</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Take a real object or a replica artefact. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Study it in silence for a full minute. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Touch it. Sniff it. Listen to it. Taste it. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Now write a story or poem about it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">DESIGN YOUR OWN SIGNET RING</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In Ancient Rome educated people signed documents with a signet ring, which could be recognised even by those who couldn't read. If you had been a well-educated and rich Roman, what design would you have on your signet ring? A god, like Mars or Venus? A hero, like Hercules or Atalanta? An animal, like a cricket or dolphin? Or a mythological creature, like the hydra, which had the body of a dog and nine snake heads? Design your ring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">NUBIA THE SLAVE-GIRL</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Read the passage in <i>The Thieves of Ostia </i>where Flavia buys Nubia. Now put yourself in Nubia's position and write in the first person about how Nubia feels.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">LUPUS THE MUTE BEGGAR BOY</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Read the passage in <i>The Thieves of Ostia</i> where Jonathan's father discovers that someone has cut out Lupus's tongue. Put yourself in Lupus's position and write in the first person about Lupus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">MORE EMPATHY</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Find a passage that triggers a memory of something that happened in your own life. You might have felt sad, happy, jealous, excited, etc. Compare the scene in the book with the incident from your life. How were they similar? How were they different? Detail how you felt during that experience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">HOW A BOOK COVER IS DESIGNED</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What is a book cover designed to do? Do you think the covers of the Roman Mysteries are good? What aspects do you like about them? What don't you like? Choose a title of a Roman Mystery that you've read and design a cover for this book that would appeal to boys. Design a cover that would appeal to girls. Now design a cover that would appeal to everybody!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">VOICES FROM THE PAST: PRIMARY SOURCES</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The author of the Roman Mysteries uses primary sources like letters by Pliny the Younger, history by Suetonius, poems by Catullus. Read part of a letter, speech or poem by a real historical character. Write a story around it or about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">GREEK MYTHS AND MODERN STORYTELLING</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Think about some movies or TV shows that use Greek myths (e.g. <i>My Fair Lady</i> is based on the myth of <i>Pygmalion</i>). <i>Star Wars, The Matrix, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings</i> all use elements of Greek mythology. Choose a famous or obscure Greek myth and make it into a modern story. Or make it into a science fiction story. Or set the story in medieval times. You get the idea...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For more ideas related to specific books in the series, check out the <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2019/07/roman-mysteries-themes-and-topics.html" target="_blank">THEMES and TOPICS</a> blog post. </span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-26962275841637085552019-07-15T11:56:00.000+01:002019-07-16T10:34:16.316+01:00Roman Mysteries Themes and Topics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">In each of the 17 books in my Roman Mysteries series, I have consciously embedded a Greek Myth. This short guide tells which ones and also highlights the themes, topics and artefacts featured in each book. I hope teachers will find it useful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 1: The Thieves of Ostia </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia, the port of Rome (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">June 79 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: introduction to a Roman town and social structure</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical characters: Cartilius Poplicola (resident of Ostia)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: The Aeneid, the Bible, Ostian inscriptions</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Aeneas, Cerberus, Perseus and Medusa</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: fruit, snails, stuffed dormice (ironically)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">artefacts: signet ring, wax tablet, stylus, oil lamp, amphoras, dice</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ROMANS #KS2 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-make-stola.html" target="_blank">How to Make a Stola</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-in-ostia.html" target="_blank">A Day in Ostia</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 2: The Secrets of Vesuvius (theme: parentage and adoption)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia, Laurentum, Pompeii, Stabia (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">August 79 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: the eruption of Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii and surrounding towns</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical characters: Pliny the Elder, Titus Tascius Pomponianus, Rectina</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Pliny the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Catullus, Ostian graffiti</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: the return of Vulcan, Thetis, Achilles</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman festivals: Vinalia, Vulcanalia</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: Pliny's simple fare: cheese, fruit, eggs; Tascius' rich fare: turbot in dill sauce</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: scrolls, portable inkpot and pen, flute, pan-pipes, parasol, cushions, wooden false teeth</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2013/06/children-in-pompeii-herculaneum_2.html" target="_blank">Children in Pompeii and Herculaneum</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 3: The Pirates of Pompeii (theme: slavery and freedom) Nubia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Stabia, Vico Equense, Sorrento (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">August/Sept 79 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: Patrons and clients, slaves and freedmen</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical characters: The Emperor Titus, Pollius Felix (attested in a poem of Statius)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical site: the villa of Pollius Felix on the Cape of Sorrento, Scraio (spa town near Sorrento)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Pompeian graffiti, Statius's 'Silvae' (poems)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Dionysus and the pirates, Ariadne & Theseus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: lemons (recently introduced); goat stew, flat bread, chickpeas, mineral water, sage tea</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: earrings, hairpins, theatrical masks, lyre, flute, kylix (Greek drinking cup)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2009/04/serendipity-in-surrentum.html" target="_blank">Serendipity in Surrentum</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 4: The Assassins of Rome (theme: guilt) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jonathan's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia & Rome (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">September 79 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: Nero's golden house, the destruction of Jerusalem, Jewish slave labour, chariot races</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical characters: Emperor Titus, Berenice, Domitian, Josephus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Suetonius, Cassius Dio, Homer, Josephus, the Bible</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Odysseus, Polyphemus the cyclops, Penelope the faithful wife</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jewish festivals: Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, Succot</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: exotic oranges; buttermilk; honey dipped apples for Rosh Hashanna</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: wax tablet and stylus, alabastron, loom and weights, bass lyre, tambourine</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 5: The Dolphins of Laurentum (revenge and forgiveness) Lupus's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia and Laurentum (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">October 79 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: a real maritime villa, sponge-diving on the Greek islands</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical characters: Pliny the Younger</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Pliny the Younger's letter about his Laurentum villa (letter II.xvii)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Medusa, Arion and the dolphins, Neptune & Amphitrite</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman festival: Meditrinalia</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: honey glazed prawns, chicken soup</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: sponge-stick, sea-sponges, dolphin earrings, anchors, ball games</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 6: The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina (love and marriage) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Flavia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia (ITALY) December </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">79 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: Love, betrothal and marriage in first century Rome</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical site: notable buildings in and around Ostia</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Ostian inscriptions, Ovid, Martial, Apollodorus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Twelve Tasks of Hercules, Pygmalion, Cerberus, Atalanta</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman festival: Saturnalia</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: lentil stew, omelettes, plums, oysters, mushrooms, quail pie, boar, ostrich, love potion!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: sigilla (figurines), dice, objects in the household shrine, strigil and bath set</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 7: The Enemies of Jupiter (theme: hubris) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jonathan's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING: Ostia and Rome (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">February 80 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: medicine and doctors in first century Rome</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical sites: Tiber Island, Palatine Hill, Capitoline Hill and the Temple of Jupiter</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Suetonius, Cassius Dio, Galen, Pliny the Elder, Hippocrates</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Prometheus and Pandora, Aesculapius, Niobe and her children</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: food for medicinal properties, light, medium & heavy foods, etc</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: bleeding cup, votive parts of the body, medical instruments</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 8: The Gladiators from Capua (theme: blood and sacrifice) Nubia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Rome (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">March 80 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topic: gladiators, beast-fights and the opening of the Colosseum in spring of AD 80</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical sites: the Flavian Amphitheatre (the Colosseum), Domus Aurea, Mons Testaccio</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Real historical figures: Titus, Domitian, Carpophorus the beast-fighter, Martial</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Martial, Suetonius, Cassius Dio, Ovid, Statius, Seneca, Pliny</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Orpheus, Ganymede, Prometheus, and more</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jewish festival: Passover</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: barley porridge for gladiators, snacks sold at games, etc.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: gladiatorial arms and armour, ancient souvenirs, raffle balls thrown to crowds</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 9: The Colossus of Rhodes (theme: vows and promises) Lupus's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia, Greek islands including Patmos, Symi & Rhodes (ITALY and GREECE) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">April 80 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: the seven wonders of the world, ancient 'tourism'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical sites: Rhodes, Symi , Kalymnos</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Pliny the Elder, Apollonius of Rhodes, Homer</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Jason and the Argonauts by Apollonius of Rhodes</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">GREEKS #KS2 and #KS3 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2011/08/colossus-of-rhodes.html" target="_blank">The Colossus of Rhodes</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2011/03/ancient-roman-chewing-gum.html" target="_blank">Ancient Gum</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2009/07/hylas-by-waterhouse.html" target="_blank">Hylas</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 10: The Fugitive from Corinth (theme: jealousy) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nubia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Corinth, Delphi, Athens (GREECE) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">May 80 CE</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: Greeks in the Roman world</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical sites: Corinth, Delphi, Athens</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Pausanias, Apollodorus, Herodotus, Aeschylus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Theseus's Athenian adventures, Eumenides</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 11: The Sirens of Surrentum (theme: sex and decadence) Flavia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Sorrento (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">June 80 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: Roman philosophy and the failed plot to kill Nero</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical characters: Nero, Seneca, Lucan, Polla Argentaria, Flaccus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Seneca, Lucan, Suetonius, Tacitus, Statius, Propertius</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Dido and Aeneas, Odysseus and the Sirens</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ROMANS #KS3 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2005/06/villa-di-pollio-felice.html" target="_blank">Villa Limona</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2005/07/poison-in-garden.html" target="_blank">Poison in the Garden</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 12: The Charioteer of Delphi (theme: faithfulness) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nubia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia & Rome (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">September 80 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: chariot races and factions</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical site: the Circus Maximus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical characters: real charioteers like Scopas, Hierax and Crescens</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Ovid, Juvenal, Martial</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Pelops and Oenomaus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman festivals: Ludi Romani</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ROMANS #KS2 and #KS3</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2010/01/fun-chariot-facts.html" target="_blank">Fun Chariot Facts</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2005/09/whistlejacket-and-roman-ho_112776576997251694.html" target="_blank">Names of Roman Horses</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 13: The Slave-girl from Jerusalem (theme: death and birth) Jonathan's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">December 80 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: childbirth, funerals, wills, Roman law courts, gestures of a rhetor</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical backstory: destruction of Jerusalem and siege of Masada</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Josephus, Quintilian, Cicero, Juvenal, Seneca, Roman legal documents</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Cassandra and the Sack of Troy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: pea and leek soup, mastic chewing resin, sage tea, chestnut flour</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: birthing chair, funeral pyre, bier, tombs, seal-box for wills</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ROMANS #KS2 and #KS3 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2009/06/roman-law-courts.html" target="_blank">Roman Law Courts</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 14: The Beggar of Volubilis (theme: piety) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Flavia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia, Sabratha (LIBYA), </span><span style="font-size: large;">Volubilis</span><span style="font-size: large;"> (</span><span style="font-size: large;">MOROCCO) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">March 81 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: Roman theatre, Cleopatra's descendants, sightings of Nero</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical sites: Sabratha, Tripolis, Volubilis, Ghadames</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Plutarch</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Diana and Actaeon</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: millet porridge, roast locusts, lizard meat, camel-milk pancakes, senna tea, cola nuts</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: bow, arrows, quiver, betrothal ring, bath-set, Nero's emerald, lens</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Egypt #KS2 and #KS3 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2011/09/ugly-cleopatra.html" target="_blank">Ugly Cleopatra</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2006/01/volubilis.html" target="_blank">Volubilis</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Book 15: The Scribes from Alexandria (theme: going home) Nubia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Alexandria, stops along the Nile to Nubia (EGYPT)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">May 81 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: Roman Egypt especially Alexandria, eunuchs, the Great Library, the Nile</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical sites: Canopus, Alexandria, Giza, Edfu, Aswan, Nubia</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Strabo, Martial, Juvenal</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Egyptian myths and legends, including story of Isis, Osiris and Seth</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: sun-bread, bean porridge, palm wine, onions, leaf-cups, dom-fruit</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: hieroglyphs, graffiti, riddles, codes, treasure map</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Egypt #KS2 and #KS3 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Related posts: <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2008/01/seth-animal.html" target="_blank">The Seth Animal</a>, <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.com/2008/02/upside-down-egypt.html" target="_blank">Upside Down Egypt</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 16: The Prophet from Ephesus (theme: redemption) Jonathan's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Halicarnassus, Heracleia, Ephesus (TURKEY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">August 81 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: early church in Asia Minor</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical sites: Halicarnassus, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Laodicea</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical characters: St John the Apostle, Tychichus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Strabo, the New Testament</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Pluto and Persephone, Endymion and Selene</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: grapes from the vine, cucumber, sour cherry juice, sheep entrail kebabs, pomegranates</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: dolls, travel baskets, reed flute, lyre, carpets, looms</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Book 17: The Man from Pomegranate Street (theme: resolution) Flavia's book</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">SETTING - Ostia, Rome, Sabina, Castelgandolfo (ITALY) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sept 81 AD</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman topics: mysterious death of Titus in September AD 81</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical sites: Rome, the Sabine Hills, Palace of Domitian and the Emissario on Lake Albanus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical characters: Titus, Domitian, Ascletario, Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sources: Suetonius, Babylonian Talmud, Apollonius of Tyana</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Greek myths: Romulus and Remus, Rape of the Sabine Women, Death of Odysseus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">featured food: Sabine olive oil, brown bread, honey, grapes, imported oysters</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">key artefacts and objects: needle-sharp stylus, graffiti, wedding veil and the spear to part the bride's hair<br /><br /><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">[The 17 books in </span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/Books/detail.page?isbn=9781444009996" target="_blank">The Roman Mysteries</a> are perfect for children aged 9+, especially those studying Romans as a topic in Key Stage 2. </span><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Carrying on from the <a href="http://www.romanmysteries.com/" target="_blank">Roman Mysteries</a>, the <a href="https://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/Books/detail.page?isbn=9781510100237" target="_blank">Roman Quests</a> is a four-book series set in Roman Britain.</span></span></i><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> You can watch <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07R6YT4HH/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Roman Mysteries on Amazon Prime</a>.]</span></i></span></span></i></span><br />
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Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-29785692323328139012019-06-27T20:29:00.001+01:002019-06-27T20:30:21.737+01:00ADORN: Protective Roman Jewellery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Many people who lived in ancient times believed that when you looked at something your eyes would emit little particles of fire, (a bit like Superman with his laser vision.) That meant that an angry, jealous or envious person could actually hurt the person they were looking at. The anger or envy in their heart, transmitted by the beams, could make someone sick and even cause their death. This was called the ‘evil eye’ and children were considered particularly vulnerable. People also believed in a world full of gods, demigods and spirits, not all of them friendly. For this reason, people often wore magic amulets to avert the evil eye or distract demons. Borders, patches and knots in clothing often served this purpose. but it is most clearly seen in jewellery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">At a <a href="https://colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/exhibitions/adorn/" target="_blank">new exhibition</a> of jewellery dating from the Bronze Age to the 21st century, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at some of the objects and spotted five different types of protective Roman jewellery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">MEDUSA MEDALLION</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The first object I spotted is this marvellous little medallion showing the gorgon Medusa. Any face shown looking back will reflect back the ‘evil eye’ but Medusa is doubly powerful, her gaze can turn you to stone! In addition, the amulet is made of jet which was considered a special substance in Roman times because it warms quickly in your hand and if you rub it, then it can move things like dust and hair, seemingly by magic (but really by static electricity.) Jet was very popular with women, so I imagine the British wife of a retired Roman soldier wearing this around her neck for protection. If you look carefully you will see this Medusa also has snakes at her throat as well as in her hair, probably because demons and evil spirits dislike snakes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">SERPENT BANGLES</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Speaking of snakes, these charming little bracelets are stylised serpents. They are made of copper-alloy and come from the later Roman period in Colchester. I think they are a bit sad because they are quite small and may have been worn by a little girl after she died. Perhaps she wore them when she was alive to scare away evil spirits. Snakes were associated with death and rebirth in the Roman world and so these might also protect her in the afterlife. We have found other serpent bracelets from the Roman world. Girls and women seemed to like snakes more than men, but that may just be because men didn’t wear bracelets. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">BULLA EARRINGS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In Roman times baby boys were often given a gold bulla (the word means ‘ball’) to hang around their neck. This was a protective amulet and when the boy reached manhood he would offer it to a god in thanks for protecting him. I have never seen a girl wearing a bulla medallion, but these earrings would have provided twice the protection of a single bulla. They are exactly the same style as some found in Pompeii and might have come all the way from Italy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">MOON BRACELET</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">If boys often wore amulets that resembled the sun (gold balls), girls often wore amulets in silver that looked like a crescent moon. The goddess of the moon was Diana and the moon is often associated with females. The lunate or moon-shaped pendant can be seen on many of the so-called Fayum portraits, paintings of Romans living in Egypt in the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. The protective qualities of the silver moon on this bracelet are enhanced by the beads which are made of jet, amber and glass, all ‘magical’ substances. See the coin with the hole? That was another good-luck token. This was literally a ‘charm’ bracelet in that it has protective properties. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">SATYR GEMSTONES</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You might have trouble finding these gemstones in the exhibition because they are TEENY tiny, about the size of your little fingernail! They are called intaglios which means they have something engraved into them. These stones would probably have been put in a ring and then used as the owner’s seal or signet. In Roman times a person’s ring was their ‘signature’! In the case of both these semi-precious blue-black gemstones we think the figures are satyrs. Satyrs were mythical creatures – half goat and half man – sacred to the god of wine, Dionysus. Also known as Bacchus, Dionysus was another god who could protect you, and after death he often led worthy souls down to the underworld. So, like all the other objects in my list they served an additional protective function in addition to their decorative use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The exhibition is called ADORN but they could also have called it ADORN & PROTECT! It is on from 27 July 2019 until 16 February 2020 at <a href="https://colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/" target="_blank">Colchester Museums</a>. The show is included in the price of entry to the Castle. For more information, go <a href="https://colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/exhibitions/adorn/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Thanks to curators Glynn Davis and Pippa Pickles for showing me around! The superb photos were taken by Douglas Atfield and are all copyright <a href="https://colchester.cimuseums.org.uk/exhibitions/adorn/" target="_blank">Colchester Museums</a>. I have used them with permission.</span><br />
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Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-21583064300270712182019-03-09T18:00:00.000+00:002019-10-28T10:56:07.101+00:00Time Travel Diaries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 2003, London builders were digging foundations for a new block of flats about half a mile south of the Tate Modern when they came across human bones in what appeared to be an ancient graveyard. Archaeologists were called in. They realised the bodies were from Roman times. Some of the dead had been buried in wooden coffins, others on a bed of white chalk dust, and some had both: a layer of chalk at the bottom of a coffin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One skeleton, that of a girl, had some expensive grave goods. There were two small glass perfume bottles either side of her head. There were the remains of a small wooden casket decorated with bone and bronze at her feet. Also, at her left hip were a small key and a clasp knife. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The knife was unique. An iron blade folded into a handle of ivory, carved in the shape of a leopard devouring its prey. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ivory was an exotic and expensive material, suggesting that the girl may have been wealthy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, her bones show signs of possible malnourishment, suggesting she was poor. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The skeleton also told archaeologists that the girl died aged about 14. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because her remains and grave goods were so interesting, samples of her teeth and bones were sent to be analysed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">From the teeth we got a DNA sample, which showed that she had blue eyes and that her mother was from Northern Europe. But stable isotopes in her ribs tell us that she grew up in the southern mediterranean, possibly even North Africa. They also tell us that from the time she was nine she started eating a London diet. This meant she made the long trip from North Africa (possibly) to Britannia (definitely) aged only nine years old.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We also know that she was tall for her age, she had bandy legs that were getting better and she had very bad teeth with several large cavities. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is no tomb or other identifying marker with her, so we don’t know her name or why she ended up in Londinium (Roman London). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">As soon as I read about her, I longed to go back in time to Roman London to meet the blue-eyed girl with the ivory knife and find out her real story. But of course Time Travel hasn't been invented yet – and probably never will be – so there was no way to know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the differences between an archaeologist and an author is that an archaeologist has to stick to the facts, but an author can use his or her imagination to create a story.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So I did just that. With the help of bioarchaeologist Dr Rebecca Redfern and other clever people at the Museum of London, I gathered as many facts as I could about her. Then I used my imagination to make up a possible scenario that would explain why a blue-eyed girl from North Africa would come to Londinium in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD, and why sh</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">e would have those particular objects in her grave.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB11bFAVhyphenhyphenfANhcBGFHlRIK0geCowyrwzCr3gN4tWUoPP8LcuJ9BdKuZsGVW-b_MgQNcb2YNKHRR9h0OTv178eTI_3-7hZ9fO9Zya_ehsNdg4hcudmipDiq5MhyphenhyphenlzB8FeMVinQuQ/s1600/Sara_Mulvanny_london_amphitheatre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1376" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB11bFAVhyphenhyphenfANhcBGFHlRIK0geCowyrwzCr3gN4tWUoPP8LcuJ9BdKuZsGVW-b_MgQNcb2YNKHRR9h0OTv178eTI_3-7hZ9fO9Zya_ehsNdg4hcudmipDiq5MhyphenhyphenlzB8FeMVinQuQ/s320/Sara_Mulvanny_london_amphitheatre.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To link the story to modern times, I had a 12-year-old London schoolboy travel back to find her. That way I could describe Roman London in terms that a modern kid would understand. Also, having a modern boy go back in time to find a girl from the past adds ri</span><span style="font-size: large;">sk and humour. And maybe even romance. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV3Hnpg8adza_bUcXVv4yIYZbcT_Qp6TLmgjAaKqcJNYXbU9Y8vr_fEXQ6KN0vRDY-umCmMDJ_NLh0Unc1_vZu1IvItmTGwxwFcVaXxJaQ0_2Ebrut4cvz-MPzYnFd-yPfipvKg/s1600/Mithraeum_Sara_Mulvanny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="577" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEV3Hnpg8adza_bUcXVv4yIYZbcT_Qp6TLmgjAaKqcJNYXbU9Y8vr_fEXQ6KN0vRDY-umCmMDJ_NLh0Unc1_vZu1IvItmTGwxwFcVaXxJaQ0_2Ebrut4cvz-MPzYnFd-yPfipvKg/s320/Mithraeum_Sara_Mulvanny.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I used as many real settings from Roman London as I could: the amphitheatre, a bathhouse, the massive basilica and – best of all – London's newly re-opened Temple to Mithras. This temple is in almost exactly the same place it would have been in the third century so it is the perfect place for a portable time portal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You could take the same facts about the Lant Street Teenager and make up a completely different story. In fact there are thousands of possible stories that could be told about her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatCv_HQZdVSE1R3WNO1OF1x_qIqTp7g-xu01_4OIklLr9pcFIuDz9357S3t7nR1qs95WTbmJbHf-2FTzZ1CCwxm5QTJJt2AE2CA1b5k4okJjwtYsJYohJmQN3dW6nf6lsQwlyhA/s1600/time_travel_front_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatCv_HQZdVSE1R3WNO1OF1x_qIqTp7g-xu01_4OIklLr9pcFIuDz9357S3t7nR1qs95WTbmJbHf-2FTzZ1CCwxm5QTJJt2AE2CA1b5k4okJjwtYsJYohJmQN3dW6nf6lsQwlyhA/s320/time_travel_front_cover.jpg" width="206" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why don't you have a go? Write a story about how and why a blue eyed girl with an ivory knife travelled thousands of miles by ship to arrive at Londinium in the late third century. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then read <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128002/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries</a> and see how our ideas compare. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Museum of London regularly does a <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/schools/session-detail?id=1059" target="_blank">FREE live stream</a> about the Girl with the Ivory Knife which you can watch from the comfort of your own classroom. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">P.S. All the lovely black and white illustrations from the book are by the brilliant <a href="http://www.saramulvanny.com/" target="_blank">Sara Mulvanny</a> and they are her copyright, too. </span></span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-61792413422239431022018-08-07T14:57:00.002+01:002019-03-09T12:56:07.223+00:00Crazy Dead Romans!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTpvtPF-aV2tqJI3JZkox7og66JXE6OutCcMMH7sNJWCcuMO94rNwP2Dfea44VIXw4eja_I-Pt0UTyPmeM7T_AFO6r1qVINIndEYEMVgWppG7RTf9neR3-gVVXLFCD2Ze8lRwSw/s1600/genius_romans_crazy_closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTpvtPF-aV2tqJI3JZkox7og66JXE6OutCcMMH7sNJWCcuMO94rNwP2Dfea44VIXw4eja_I-Pt0UTyPmeM7T_AFO6r1qVINIndEYEMVgWppG7RTf9neR3-gVVXLFCD2Ze8lRwSw/s320/genius_romans_crazy_closeup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;">f you go down to Canary Wharf today you’re in for a big surprise. At the <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands" target="_blank">Museum of London Docklands</a> there is an exhibition called <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands" target="_blank">Roman Dead</a>. In a dimly lit room, you will find over a dozen real (!) skeletons along with ashes of the dead. You will also see tombstones, inscriptions, funeral urns along with hundreds of grave goods (personal objects buried with the dead). It may sound gruesome, but it’s utterly fascinating. Some of the things in the <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/exhibitions/roman-dead" target="_blank">Roman Dead</a> Exhibition </span><span style="font-size: large;">might make you agree with Obelix (from the Asterix graphic novels), when he taps his head and declares, ‘These Romans are crazy!’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have been obsessed with the ancient world for over forty years. I have been <a href="http://www.romanmysteries.com/" target="_blank">writing books set in the Classical world</a> for nearly twenty years. What first attracted me to study the ancient Greeks and Romans was how much like us they seemed from their literature. But the more I learn about them, the less I find I know. Yes, they are like us in many ways. But they are also <i>unlike</i> us in many other fascinating ways. Here are some of the objects that made me go ‘What on earth were the Romans doing with <i>THAT</i>?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">IRON RATTLES</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUNXzm1nUiUEmxlO_MvgDgd-aG670tQfLwBEnC_nsJs300Um8aUBacL_106wEIE1RKR6NNlrO57LCCoPE59TjmAWCdEojwESxy4XVxpqacSJLli7bDM46yT5nzo5jzi5yeXFGsw/s1600/RomanDead_rattle_3Jul2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUNXzm1nUiUEmxlO_MvgDgd-aG670tQfLwBEnC_nsJs300Um8aUBacL_106wEIE1RKR6NNlrO57LCCoPE59TjmAWCdEojwESxy4XVxpqacSJLli7bDM46yT5nzo5jzi5yeXFGsw/s320/RomanDead_rattle_3Jul2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Several rattles have been found in or near Roman burials, suggesting that they were shaken at funerals. <i>Imagine shaking a rattle at a modern funeral!</i> The <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/exhibitions/roman-dead" target="_blank">Roman Dead</a> exhibition even provides a hands-on shakeable rattle near three tubs containing different things you might have smelled at a funeral (bay leaves, frankincense and mastic). This type of rattle was called a <i>sistrum</i> and was especially popular in ceremonies for the Egyptian-Roman goddess Isis. We know that other instruments might have been played, and that mourners might have cried out the name of the deceased. One theory is that the noise kept away the ghosts and evil spirits that presumably haunted the graveyard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A TINY JET DIE</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Die! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No, I’m not telling you to go kill yourself. I’m giving you the singular of the word ‘dice’. A tiny die is one of many objects in the exhibition made of Whitby Jet. This rare substance was considered to have magical properties in Roman times. It looks like stone but in fact it is ancient fossilised wood from the Jurassic era. The Romans didn’t know that. But they did know that when you rub jet against wool or skin it attracts a static charge and can move hair and other small particles without touching theme. Romans didn’t know the scientific explanation. They believed jet to be a magical substance that could keep away evil. So maybe this was a good luck charm to keep away evil spirits as the soul of the dead person made the journey to the underworld. <i>But why a die?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">FACE POTS</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mwI9q88c5Ua4twKfOCyrzNHbWCDdwrhYlSvFmEP2HZB3M8PGTzZM6zv-V83SAwNA77b6FhIUdsXxJzsKHx4yXbUIEVTWk1taawmMuYwDNUm4l84InOTx5tskxPUTQqGZFL9RVg/s1600/cremation_facepot_romandead_11Jun2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mwI9q88c5Ua4twKfOCyrzNHbWCDdwrhYlSvFmEP2HZB3M8PGTzZM6zv-V83SAwNA77b6FhIUdsXxJzsKHx4yXbUIEVTWk1taawmMuYwDNUm4l84InOTx5tskxPUTQqGZFL9RVg/s320/cremation_facepot_romandead_11Jun2018.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This pot with a face on it looks jolly, doesn’t it? But it’s an urn to hold ashes of the dead! One theory is that pots like this represent a death-mask of the deceased. Another theory suggests that head pots could stand in for the heads of defeated enemies because some Romans and lots of Celts liked to<i> chop off the heads of their enemies so they wouldn’t be able to have a happy afterlife!</i> Then, to make sure the restless spirit didn’t haunt them, they would drop the head into a pit or stream. In another part of the museum you will see <i>actual skulls of decapitated people</i>, almost certainly either hated enemies or vile criminals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">SKULL ON HER LAP</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PWuVq8_hciMP3yLpSUrNj7IcSDSppH4_QMY_w9LVH71j5xkyX7NgGb-2-ovPXcquxFmUvNs2ORkh8bPuzBY7GA2MLD1cdhaK-I0esqs92AN9lStxlEVL39K7OJmxxn9_GbFH8w/s1600/caro_skull_lady_romandead_juliette_25Jul2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1477" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PWuVq8_hciMP3yLpSUrNj7IcSDSppH4_QMY_w9LVH71j5xkyX7NgGb-2-ovPXcquxFmUvNs2ORkh8bPuzBY7GA2MLD1cdhaK-I0esqs92AN9lStxlEVL39K7OJmxxn9_GbFH8w/s320/caro_skull_lady_romandead_juliette_25Jul2018.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">What on earth is going on here? We have the complete skeleton of a woman aged between 36 and 45 found deep underground at Hooper Street, Tower Hamlets. She was buried in a wooden coffin on a bed of chalk powder. Some time after she was buried, but before she turned to bone, someone dug her up again, removed the top of her skull and placed it over her pelvis!<i> </i>Then the coffin was reburied and rocks were piled on top. Among the rocks was a copper-alloy key. Was the key part of the reburial? Or accidentally dropped? Why was she buried on a bed of chalk? But most importantly, <i>why was the top part of her skull placed over her pelvis?</i> Maybe the newly positioned skull, rocks and key (along with a ceremony we can’t guess at) were designed to stop her spirit from haunting those still above earth, like those heads dropped in pits or water. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">MASSIVE SARCOPHAGUS</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE4sOn1a-vlDxvyOEfZgm3wMQ6DIMNifRL2dGimQCQE_jnEsQbh5kRHlfVV-a90cYHTWAko67csiOPjwxzV2k5LE9S42heKxLrUK_cafY-ApcLpkijKUgRtFvEn8V2mueC__jag/s1600/harper_road_sarcophagus_Jul2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE4sOn1a-vlDxvyOEfZgm3wMQ6DIMNifRL2dGimQCQE_jnEsQbh5kRHlfVV-a90cYHTWAko67csiOPjwxzV2k5LE9S42heKxLrUK_cafY-ApcLpkijKUgRtFvEn8V2mueC__jag/s320/harper_road_sarcophagus_Jul2018.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This sarcophagus (the word means </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">flesh eater</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> in Greek!) was found in Southwark (south London) only last year. It inspired the exhibition. It weighs two and a half tons and was brought a great distance. That must have cost a lot of <i>sesterces</i>! Why put a body inside such a heavy stone box? Roman magic expert <a href="https://romanmagic.wordpress.com/2018/06/15/the-walking-dead/" target="_blank">Adam Parker </a>believes that many things done to a body were to protect the living from its ghost but also perhaps to protect the body from being dug up and used for magic. We know from authors like Pliny the Younger and Apuleius that witches used body parts in their spells. Is that what’s going on here? Or was the lady buried in this sarcophagus a Christian who believed in a bodily resurrection and wanted to keep her corpse intact? <i>We have no idea! </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">COPPER KEY</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also from Southwark comes a small copper-alloy key which you can see in one of the cases. It was found near the left hip of a girl’s skeleton. She is called the Lant Street Teen because of the location of her grave and because her age at death was estimated to be fourteen. She was also buried with a wooden box, two small glass bottles and a folding knife. Because of the richness of her grave goods, samples of her bones were tested. Her DNA tells us she was of European ancestry and had blue eyes. But the isotopes in her teeth indicate that she lived in the southern Mediterranean – possibly North Africa – until she was nine, when she made the long journey to Londinium. Her skeleton is not in the Roman Dead exhibition because <i>it is used in workshops for schoolchildren at the Museum of London’s Barbican site!</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Roman times most keys looked more like big combs on a handle than modern keys. They fit into a pattern of holes to lift up a crossbeam on the inside of the door. Unlike the big iron key on the left, the Lant Street Teen</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s copper-alloy key also has little teeth. But what did it open? Surely not a door; it’s far too delicate. Perhaps it opened the box that was found at the girl’s feet? But although the box had copper-alloy decoration, no lock was found. Was the key a magic charm of some sort, like the one found in the stones piled on the Hooper Street Woman’s grave? <i>What was the key for?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">IVORY KNIFE</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also belonging to the Lant Street Teen and found next to the copper-alloy key at her left hip was a folding knife with an iron blade and an ivory handle carved into the shape of a leopard. I have noticed that small folding knives like these are often found in the graves of women. In life, they would have been useful for personal grooming, eating and cloth- making. Several other folding knives found in Romano-British graves have fierce animals on them. Why? <i>Why would a girl have a hunting hound or big cat on her knife handle?</i> Perhaps these show the knife can ‘bite’. Or perhaps the animals on the handles symbolically protect their owner and keep away evil. Therefore a knife like this might have dual purpose of being a tool but also protective, making it a practical version of a lucky rabbit’s foot. But we don’t really have the faintest clue. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuRG1php8vHicaboRx2L5Tl_6wrnPuqIDo6d3kLIQ_wPYyd2laMHriQbZal9pzotUkYR7vpnd6BZsdNXSZlKxjVK1cjzm-CF60P1kTHAegl8RiGHXEcE6g4_GnLbrQ34h52WEaA/s1600/mithraeum_lights.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="1296" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuRG1php8vHicaboRx2L5Tl_6wrnPuqIDo6d3kLIQ_wPYyd2laMHriQbZal9pzotUkYR7vpnd6BZsdNXSZlKxjVK1cjzm-CF60P1kTHAegl8RiGHXEcE6g4_GnLbrQ34h52WEaA/s320/mithraeum_lights.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The blue-eyed fourteen-year-old girl who owned these items fascinated me so much that I am writing a book about her called <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128002/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries</a></i>. In this book an eccentric bazillionaire is also obsessed with her. His boffins have accidentally invented a time machine. Unfortunately, he can’t go back so he recruits a twelve-year-old London schoolboy to go back to third century Londinium (using London</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s Mithraeum as a portal) in order to find her. In this book, I tried to imagine what Roman London would really have been like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will be reading chapters from <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128002/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries</a></i> at a FREE family event on Saturday 18 August 2018. And I will also be telling you lots more amazing things I have learned about these Crazy Dead Romans, including the answers to some of the questions I raised in this blog post. For more information and to get your name on the list for my free event, go <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/docklands-summer-shows?id=182208" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">P.S. Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/MOLArchaeology" target="_blank">MOLA</a>, <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com/" target="_blank">London’s Mithraeum</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ClassicalJG" target="_blank">Juliette Harrisson</a> for huge support (and some of the photos!) </span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-81357280396009972222018-06-20T11:48:00.001+01:002018-06-21T08:50:34.447+01:00The Sherlock Holmes of Roman Kent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hector the dog, an archaeologist's best friend</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">by Caroline Lawrence</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘There’s a bit of ragstone,’ says Simon Elliott for perhaps the fifth time that morning. It is Tuesday 19 June, 2018. He and his wife Sara are taking me on a tour of Roman features near their home in East Farleigh near Maidstone on the River Medway in Kent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I first met Simon at the Guildhall Library in London when I attended <a href="http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2017/10/roman-londons-grey-gold.html" target="_blank">one of his lectures on Roman London</a>, (the setting of my own fictional work in progress.) A tall man with a big voice, vast knowledge and accessible nature, he would make a great tour guide. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blocks from a Roman villa?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After picking me up from the train station Simon and Sara drive me across the Medway to the ancient parish church of East Farleigh. Simon points out nicely incised blocks that make up the gate to the churchyard. ‘Those probably come from one of the Roman villas nearby,’ he says. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘The incisions in the stone help the plaster stick,’ adds Sara, his wife and (today) our driver. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘And these blocks of ragstone on top of the churchyard wall show water-wear. I think they might have been part of a Roman lock and weir system.’</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beam-slot visible above tufa block</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He takes me to the church itself and points out things on the outer wall. Mainly built of small regular blocks of ragstone, Simon shows me some odd-shaped stones probably from the Roman Villa at East Farleigh. These include a long block of tufa (not <i>tuff</i> volcanic rock, but a type of limestone favoured by Roman in bathhouses because it is light and porous) and also a block with a visible beam-slot. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As we leave the church he points to a big shrub. ‘There’s a bit of ragstone,’ he says happily. I never would have noticed. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon promoting his book on Severus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Simon Elliott came to archaeology late in life. A management consultant, he always loved history and his first passion was Alexander the Great. But living in East Farleigh he was sucked down the ‘rabbit hole of the Roman occupation in Britain’ when he learned it was the site of at least five quarries supplying stone to Roman London. Realising that nobody had done much to consolidate theories about who owned and ran these quarries, and how they worked, Simon went back to university as a mature student. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 2011 he got an MA from University College London and now, in 2018, he is about to publish <i>Ragstone to Riches</i>, a popularised version of his PhD thesis on the Roman quarries of Kentish ragstone. An amateur in the best sense of the word – he loves what he does – he is opening up a whole new aspect on the world of Roman Kent. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">slide from one of Simon Elliott's lectures</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the past ten years Simon has made several possible discoveries in and around East Farleigh: a possible canal from a giant quarry to the Medway, two Roman roads, a Roman cemetery and a Roman milestone. A few years ago he also discovered the so-called Medway stones (four big chunks of ragstone recovered from a possible wreck) and has a theory that Romans installed locks and weirs to make the Medway deep enough for boats to <a href="http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2017/10/roman-londons-grey-gold.html" target="_blank">carry stone on a two-day trip to London</a>. Another of his theories posits the playing-card shape of a field near him as a marching fortress turned headquarters for the quarrying industry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He has even come up with a new theory about the site of the Battle of Medway, Aulus Plautius’ important victory against the Britons in AD 43. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This ‘amateur’ is now beginning to make a living from Roman archaeology. In the past few years he has published four acclaimed non-fiction books, got himself a gig as a tour guide with posh <a href="https://www.andantetravels.co.uk/tour/575/Italy/Pompeii-Herculaneum--Classical-Campania-.html" target="_blank">Andante Tours</a> and is now making TV documentaries.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon and Caroline by the walled garden of Timbers</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our next stop after the Norman church is ‘<a href="http://www.timbersgardenkent.co.uk/" target="_blank">Timbers</a>’, a house with beautiful gardens that include part of a massive quarry, the so-called Dean Street Quarry. Known to older locals as ‘The Roman Quarry’ Simon’s theory is that this was one of the main sources of the stone from which London was built. </span><span style="font-size: large;">By previous agreement with the owner we are allowed access. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Simon takes me through a beautifully landscaped back yard. It includes a Roman-style walled garden with geometric beds, a rectangular pond and even a giant amphora. We pass ancient cherry and black walnut trees. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">panoramic view of the Dean Street Quarry looking east</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘I’m about to take you into the hole where most of the stone from Roman London comes from. This is a big reveal,’ Simon promises. ‘If you want to film anything, film this.’ </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LIDAR shows quarry as a long channel</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He’s right. We step through a gate (and across a threshold of anti-badger wire) and onto the top of a steep grassy slope that plunges down into a narrow mini-valley stretching north and south. This lush valley was once the quarry used by the Romans on a monumental scale. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sara, working late the night before, waits in the car and Simon takes me down the steep hillside to where a groundsman is using a tractor mower to cut the grass. This part of the back garden is beautifully landscaped but the opposite side of the quarry, where it slopes up again, is thickly wooded. Sunshine barely makes it through here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Clambering up part of the wooded incline, Simon shows me how the slopes would have been terraced. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘There’s a bit of ragstone,’ he says. ‘You can see it is obviously quarried and ready to be moved. I always say this quarry was the ancient version of IKEA, with flat pack stones ready to be transported.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the sort of exploration I could never do unless I had access to a kind expert with a car, someone who knows the area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the reasons Simon knows the area so well is because he takes his dog Hector on long walks and is often discovering things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘You have a great back yard,’ I comment as we puff up the hill back to the gardens of ‘Timbers’. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘It’s a big back yard,’ he replies. ‘The problem with being an archaeologist is that you’re always looking down.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At one point, while looking down, he finds a piece of (possibly Roman) iron slag in a wheat field and is as excited as a child with a new toy. ‘Look what I found!’ he tells his wife Sara. ‘Iron slag!’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Yes, dear,’ she says indulgently, and shoots me a twinkly look. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggloHktZVpW93agWj38DbqlNwnF7RgGtRvql0HFM-HpvWewH5jmMdBvNcLHsMy1G9zQpxHGcW7-fpVxAL7lG4bxi8J3Xnl5O5lAv-U6WJgO-LjALr2lk6QfTuKN1fZ4DBr0w773A/s1600/simon_elliott_quarry_map_19Jun2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggloHktZVpW93agWj38DbqlNwnF7RgGtRvql0HFM-HpvWewH5jmMdBvNcLHsMy1G9zQpxHGcW7-fpVxAL7lG4bxi8J3Xnl5O5lAv-U6WJgO-LjALr2lk6QfTuKN1fZ4DBr0w773A/s320/simon_elliott_quarry_map_19Jun2018.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horseshoe shaped bend in the River Medway</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Later, over lunch, they tell me they got married at London Zoo, where they had their first date. They have two children at University. Alexander is doing War Studies and Elizabeth, studying chemistry, has done some of the illustrations for Simon’s books. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We have an excellent meal of hamburgers and steak sandwiches at the Horseshoe Pub, possibly named after the horseshoe-shaped bend taken by the river Medway, visible on Simon’s Quarry Tour map. Simon’s theory is that the commander Plautius crossed at the southern end of the horseshoe, above the tidal flow and therefore on drier ground. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After lunch Simon takes me to see traces of a road that might have connected the quarry to an opulent Roman villa, one of four or five in the immediate area. We walk past apple and pear orchards, as well as ancient cherry trees. Apart from Simon’s fascinating commentary I hear only the sound of birdsong and the crunch of our feet. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KnRqnVrRnIaecLV0dYOMc3Y7HtYC12j2kWCRxzNHDI5xUFEHk0F3IxguKH1ZVZXI2Tx62bWM9VS7MzpdRK_f3FdBN4id13t_rAUE-ZLNarSNVsrSnYmL2r478OI7PcLXirGkrw/s1600/simon_elliott_roman_road_wheel_rut_19Jun2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KnRqnVrRnIaecLV0dYOMc3Y7HtYC12j2kWCRxzNHDI5xUFEHk0F3IxguKH1ZVZXI2Tx62bWM9VS7MzpdRK_f3FdBN4id13t_rAUE-ZLNarSNVsrSnYmL2r478OI7PcLXirGkrw/s320/simon_elliott_roman_road_wheel_rut_19Jun2018.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possible wheel rut in foreground</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘There!’ he says. ‘See the stones? That’s a Roman Road.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Is this Watling Street?’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘No. This is my Roman Road.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘What, you discovered it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Yes, I did. While walking my dog Hector. Look! You can even see the wheel rut in that stone.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He’s right. I see a rut just like the wheel ruts in the big hexagonal paving stones of Pompeii. ‘Has anyone ever noticed this road before?’ I ask.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Very few of the locals knew this was here,’ says Simon. ‘Not even the farmer.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘What did he say when you told him?’</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman milestone? Or tombstone?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘He was blown away. He also owns the land with the milestone.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘And did you find the milestone as well?’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Yes. Hector chased rabbit into the windbreak. When I followed him in, I tripped on the neck of a Roman amphora, one of several that held cremated remains. My milestone might be a tombstone,’ he adds. ‘We won’t know until we excavate it.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The best time to explore is late October, when the vegetation has died down, but I ask to see the milestone/tombstone now, so Simon gamely leads the way along a springy vegetal path of brambles and burrs between a field and the windbreak. Happily, he finds the stone. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman ash heap with critter holes & cherry</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Following a path through another windbreak, this one marking the northern Roman road, Simon points out circular patches where nothing grows. ‘Those mark ash heaps, he says, ‘the sites of charcoal burning, iron manufacture, or both.’ By one of these barren circles I see another old cherry and am reminded that this is a tree brought to Britain by the Romans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes I confess I can’t see what Simon points out. Is he only seeing what he wants to see? Or is it really there? His theories will soon be proven or disproven by excavation at close range and LIDAR (3-D laser scanning) from a great height. Plus he told me that he has a lengthy list of sites to investigate as he continues his career as an historian and archaeologist, including a possible Roman villa near a local church. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I suspect his theories will be proved correct. Sherlock Holmes famously tells Doctor Watson, ‘You see but you do not observe.’ </span><span style="font-size: large;">I am like Doctor Watson; I see, but don’t notice. Simon Elliott notices everything.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Simon Elliott</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s new book about <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1784382043/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Septimius Severus in Scotland</a> is out now. Caroline is working on a novel for children set in 3rd century Roman London.</span></i><br />
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Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-86110151991588118552018-05-09T10:25:00.000+01:002020-05-14T15:29:22.537+01:00Interactive Mithras by Caroline Lawrence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The evening of Thursday 17 May 2018, just over a week from the date of this post, is your chance to meet me, Caroline Lawrence. I will be welcoming children (and their guardians) to an ancient Roman underground temple: London’s Mithraeum. This is the first <a href="http://museumsatnight.org.uk/" target="_blank">#MuseumsAtNight</a> session at the Mithraeum which only opened to the public last year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am honoured to have been invited and will be doing some fun interactive activities to prepare kids aged 8-13 for the Mithraeum</span><span style="font-size: large;">’s <i>Immersive Experience</i>. </span><span style="font-size: large;">There will be four separate sessions, each lasting about half an hour. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To brainstorm ideas for a new book I am writing called <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848128002/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Time Travel Diaries</a></i>, I will be trying to recreate some of the sensations of being a worshipper of Mithras. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This will be difficult in one sense. Mithraism was a Mystery Cult which means that lots of its rites and rituals were purposely kept secret, like a secret club. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the flip side of the coin, because we know so little, we can play around with various ideas based on the evidence and what we think we know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here’s my script for what I hope to say:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">First you need to know THREE BASIC THINGS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who Was Mithras? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We think that Mithras was a new god created out of different older gods. This is called syncretism and is something the Greeks and Romans often did to link cultures together. Serapis was a blend of Dionysus, Hades, Osiris and Apis for Greeks in Egypt. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Sulis Minerva linked a Roman god to a British deity.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Mithras was certainly partly inspired by the Persian god Mithra (no ‘s’) and a creation story involving the stabbing of a cosmic bull. The Greek goddess of victory – Nike – i</span><span style="font-size: large;">s sometimes shown stabbing a bull. Mithras wore distinctive Persian clothes, which happens to be the same thing the Trojans wore, a long-sleeved tunic over leggings and the famous Persian cap which looks like a Smurf hat. He also has a billowing cloak, a dagger and sometimes a bow and arrow. Mithras looks a lot like Paris, the Trojan who started the Trojan War and killed Achilles by firing a poisoned arrow into his heel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What Did Worshippers Want?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The worshippers of Mithras wanted part of themselves to live forever. They may have believed that a series of initiations took the soul on a journey whose goal was immortality. There is lots of evidence for seven grades of achievement. Why seven? Because the Greeks and Romans believed in seven planets: the five they could see and also the sun and moon. They thought each ‘planet’ and the god who went with it ruled a sphere, or a ‘heaven’. So when you reached the highest level you were in the seventh heaven. One ancient document encourages the worshippers to say ‘<i>stella sum</i>’ or ‘I am a star.’ I wonder if they imagined the soul getting purer and purer as it rises through the grades until it is a little twinkling star, looking down on earth and waiting go into another body. (Yes, Mithraists probably believed in reincarnation) But, like every journey, there is often a battle or an ordeal. Each time a follower of Mithras wanted to go to a higher grade he had to go through a scary initiation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What’s with the bull?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If the cross is the symbol of Christianity, this very complicated and mysterious image of Mithras stabbing a bull is the symbol of Mithraism. It’s called a ‘tauroctony’ (tar-AWK-tony) which is Greek for ‘bull-slaying’, though that word never appeared in ancient times and we’re not even sure he was actually killing a bull. People have written whole books about the ‘tauroctony’ but for now just know that some of them have the signs of the zodiac around it, along with two men holding torches. The signs of the zodiac are linked to planets of course and the guys with torches might be guarding the gates to the heavens. The one with his torch up ushers the soul in its upward journey towards the stars. The one with his torch down is showing the immortal soul the way back down to a mortal body. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did you notice I keep saying ‘men’? That’s because, unlike almost every other religion known to us, Mithraism was for men only. So the first thing I will do is to give all you girls a sex change and grow you up real fast. Imagine you are a Roman man, probably a soldier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next, I will assign you your grades or levels. As I said, there are seven. The avatars are Raven, Bridegroom, Soldier, Lion, Persian, Sun-Runner and Father. Each has its own ruling planet and the god who goes with that planet. They each had their own attributes. And each probably had a special colour and sound. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who wants to be a Raven?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You get a black wristband. You are the lowest and possibly most common grade. You are under the protection of the planet/god Mercury. Your code name is <i>Corax</i>. Several accounts talk of Ravens flapping their arms and making a ‘cawing’ noise. Everybody flap your arms and make a cawing noise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who want to be a Bridegroom? <br /><br />Your attributes are a lamp and a garland. You get a yellow wristband. Bridegrooms are under the protection of the planet/goddess Venus. Your code name is <i>Nymphus</i>. The sound you made might have been ‘Yo!’ which was the ancient equivalent of ‘Yay!’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who wants to be a Soldier? <br /><br />You get an orange wristband because the soldier’s colours were red and yellow and when you mix red or yellow you get… orange! Soldiers were under the protection of the planet/god Mars. Your code name is <i>Miles</i> (<i>MEE-layz</i>). The sound you made might have been ‘Sin dex!’ Or maybe you just stomped. Everybody stomp and say <i>Sin dex</i>, which is short for <i>sinister, dexter</i> or ‘left, right’!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who wants to be a Lion? <br /><br />Lions get a red wristband. You were under the protection of the planet/god Jupiter. Your code name is <i>Leo</i> for one and <i>Leones</i> for more than one. <i>Leonibus</i> means ‘to or for the lions’ and you will hear it in the salutation ‘<i>Nama, leonibus!</i>’ or ‘Hail to the lions!’ No prizes for guessing the sound ‘Lions’ made! Everybody roar!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who wants to be a Persian? <br /><br />You get a white wristband because of your protective planet. Any guesses? Yes, the moon. Of course you know the moon isn’t a planet, but the Mithraists counted it as one. Your code name is <i>Persis</i>. Nobody has a clue what sound the Persians made but we know that sometimes worshippers made vowel sounds like <i>Aahh, Eh, Ayyy, Eeee, Oh, Oooh, Ohhh</i> because each planet had its own vowel: alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, upsilon & omega! So maybe the Persian made a vowel sound mentioned in one papyrus text: Or maybe they purred like a Persian cat. Everybody purr!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The sixth grade is very mysterious and we think very few people reached this level. Who wants to be a Sun-Runner?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> You get a gold wristband. You are under the protection of the ‘planet’ Sol, the sun! Your god is ‘Sol’ in Latin and ‘Helios’ in Greek. Your code name is <i>Heliodromus</i>. Your attributes are a torch, a crown with rays like the statue of the sun god (the Statue of Liberty wears a sun crown) and a whip. Why a whip? Because the sun was often imagined driving a fiery chariot. What sound did you make? Perhaps a whip-crack, or maybe a neigh! Everybody whinny! Now everybody say ‘<i>Nama, Heliodromis!</i>’ Which means ‘Hail to the Sun-Runners!’</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The seventh and highest grade was the Father. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Their colour was the purple of royalty so you get a purple wristband. But there was only one for each Mithraeum. So only one of you can be Father. Fathers were under the protection of the planet/god Saturn. Their code name is <i>Pater</i>. Their sound might have been ‘Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn.’ (joke!) Now everybody say ‘<i>Nama, patri, tutela Saturni</i>.’ Which means ‘Hail to the father, under the protection of Saturn.’<br /><br />(If you want to see all the chants in Latin and English go <a href="http://the-history-girls.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/londons-mithraeum-liturgy.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You’re about to go down into the Mithraeum for the <i>Immersive Experience</i>. The word <i>mithraeum</i> has not yet been found, but we do know they said ‘Cave of Mithras’. They called it this because the temple was designed to look like a cave. In Roman times you had to go down seven steps, (natch!) into a dark space mysteriously lit by torches. Today you have to go seven meters below street level, because you usually go down to go back in time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because this temple was restored to almost the exact position it occupied in Roman London, I had an idea that it would be the perfect spot for a time portal. When you go to another time, it’s like beaming to a planet in <i>Star Trek</i>. You don’t want to beam into a wall or ceiling. So, if you want to travel to Roman London in the mid third century, the Mithraeum is the <i>perfect place to put a portable portal</i>. (Say that three times quickly!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The premise for my work-in-progress is this: <i>When 12-year-old London schoolboy Alex Papas is recruited by eccentric bazillionaire Solomon Daisy to go back to Roman London, his mission is to get information about a mysterious blue-eyed girl whose bones were discovered in a cemetery in Southwark. But things go wrong almost from the start and when Alex finds the girl he is totally unprepared for what happens next.</i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07MR7R3BL/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">BUY THE BOOK!</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />P.S. <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/ten-things-you-probably-didnt-know.html" target="_blank">Ten Fun Things About London's Mithraeum</a>. </i></span><br />
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Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-56915978688725037412018-01-12T12:38:00.000+00:002018-01-18T06:27:33.571+00:00Interview with a Roman Sewer Expert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcqdp2EmsG9IINTfu-RITIoHCr2JYfVJP0eZSR5sF29jN9UdFQ-ERxopAwu8NeAXbOBFfVImN4JFggDPKwdaMkQnR5mBIeSsYBL5YRot9mktC3se1taK2c-Dcq6jL09dlx0-Arw/s1600/erica_herculaneum_sewer_card_CoriniumMuseum_May2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcqdp2EmsG9IINTfu-RITIoHCr2JYfVJP0eZSR5sF29jN9UdFQ-ERxopAwu8NeAXbOBFfVImN4JFggDPKwdaMkQnR5mBIeSsYBL5YRot9mktC3se1taK2c-Dcq6jL09dlx0-Arw/s320/erica_herculaneum_sewer_card_CoriniumMuseum_May2015.jpg" width="316" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">A few years ago I interviewed Erica Rowan, an archaeobotanist who has excavated Roman sewers around the world. Erica grew up in Toronto and studied Classics and Health Science at <a href="http://www.mcmaster.ca/" target="_blank">McMaster University</a> in Canada, graduating with both a BA and BHSc. She then read for an MSt in Classical Archaeology at Oxford and was later awarded a DPhil in Archaeology, also from Oxford, with a specialisation in Roman archaeology and archaeobotany. In September 2014 she took up the two year post of Leventis Associate Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and then spent a year at Exeter as a teaching fellow. She is now a lecturer at <a href="https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/erica-rowan(852c8ff4-6f04-47b2-a5c0-66ca8da2abbb).html" target="_blank">Royal Holloway, University of London</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exhibition poster from 2015</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I first met Erica at the <a href="https://coriniummuseum.org/" target="_blank">Corinium Museum</a> in May of 2015 when she participated in a fascinating exhibition called <i>Food for Thought</i>. Wanting to know more about Roman eating and toilet habits, I lured her to an interview in London by promising lunch in the members</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> room of the British Museum. The interview took place in October 2015, but ancient toilets and sewers never go out of fashion so I thought I would post a slightly edited transcript as a New Year</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s Treat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: So, Erica, you’re an archaeobotanist, which basically means you study plant remains and especially food remains. Are you happy to be doing sewers? Is it quite fun?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: It is quite fun. You get to see what people actually ate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Is being an archaeobotanist a separate thing from being a ‘poopologist’? Or are they essentially the same career description? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica (laughs): They’re slightly different. Human waste only survives in limited number of contexts; latrines, sewers and the like. Archaeobotanical remains, and especially carbonized material, tends to preserve at almost all sites. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: You’ve been on digs at Aphrodisias in Turkey, Herculaneum in Italy and Utica in Tunisa, a Phoenician site. So what were the Phoenicians eating? </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A New York Sandwich... with pepper! </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Waiter (interrupting): One New York sandwich and one Middle Eastern Salad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline (laughs): I’m the Middle Eastern Salad. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: And I’m the New York Sandwich. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline (looking at the newly arrived platter): So which of these things would the Phoenicians have been eating in Utica, in Tunisia? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Not potatoes, tomatoes or cauliflower. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: But they might have had a balsamic vinaigrette? And chicken?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Yes. Chicken, bacon, cheese… But the earliest material I have from Utica is Roman, not Phoenician.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Ah! What sort of remains tell you it’s Roman? Fragments of fish sauce jars for example? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: No, we dated the site from the context. Its hard to tell Roman influence from food remains because the whole Mediterranean had the same staple foods. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What do you mean by staples? Is fish sauce a staple?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: A staple food would be anything they depended on. In the Mediterranean the three main staples are grains, wine and olive oil. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Is there any evidence of food fads?<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Not in Utica, but in Herculaneum black pepper was very popular. The people eating it were not necessarily upper class but they were willing to pay. It comes all the way from India so is expensive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: So it was a status symbol. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Yes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Speaking of black pepper, may I grind you some? And smile! I’m taking a picture. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">(Erica laughs and submits to having her photo taken.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: So what got you interested in Classics? What was your spur moment?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: My friend made me go see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172495/" target="_blank">Gladiator</a> and I really liked it, although it’s not historically accurate... Also, we were studying the Romans in high school. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Fun! So Tell me a bit about being an archaeologist. Are you out in the sun and the rain? Under a tent? Or is it mainly lab work <a href="http://flavias.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/career-in-ruins_10.html" target="_blank">in a basement</a>?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: It depends on the site. If it’s a small section I’ll excavate it myself. When I was in Aphrodisias I excavated a section of a drain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: With a trowel and everything?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Yes. I take my samples and then do flotation and process them on site.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Flotation?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: It’s a method used to identify plant remains using buckets of water and sieves. You put the material in agitated water. The soil and sand sink but seeds, grains and lighter objects float to the surface. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What did you find at Aphrodisias? The staples? Anything remarkable? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: I’ve found wheat and barley, and also grapes, olives and peaches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Do you remember your first dig? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: I was in Jordan for seven weeks. It was an amazing experience. The site was Humayma, about an hour north of Aqaba, and very dry. There were about a dozen of us from Queen’s University on this particular dig. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Describe an average day?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: We would drive up there every day. We would get up at 5.30 am, pile into a minibus at 6am and get to the site around 7am. We were working with Bedouin. They would make us extremely sweet black tea when we arrived. It was really good. Then we would dig until about 10am and stop for breakfast, cooked in a frying pan over a file kindled by the Bedouin. I was excavating part of a bath complex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What did you eat for breakfast?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: They would bring fresh flat bread baked by their mothers or wives. And we would bring food, too: canned tomatoes, corned beef and peas. They would heat the food in frying pans over a kindling fire and we ate it with the fresh flatbread. Then we would dig again until 1pm when we finished for the day. We would go back, have lunch, sort and wash the pottery and then leave it on the roof of the building to dry. Once that was done you had the rest of the afternoon free. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What was Aqaba like? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: It’s not too big. A fort town. Pretty modern but with a few old buildings including a fort and giant flagpole. I really liked it. I liked Tunisia, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: When were you in Tunisia? What period was the site?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: The site was Utica, so about 30 minutes outside Tunis. It was a Punic, then Roman, then Islamic site. I was there from 2013 to 2015. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: I love going to places like that. Sometimes I think it’s the closest we’ll get to travelling back to the past. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: In Tunisia you go to these outdoor barbecues in a big group and they cook freshly slaughtered meat for you. If you drive past at a certain part of the day you often see an animal they’ve slaughtered just hanging there. There’s no blood so they must have drained it before they hang it outside underneath a tent. They put the head on display. There are often live sheep tethered to the tent near where they cook the meat. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">preparing to slaughter a ram in Morocco 2006</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: A dozen years ago my husband and I saw a ram slaughtered, inflated, skinned and dismembered at a Berber village outside Marrakech, Morocco all in the space of about half an hour. It was like a scene out of the Old Testament: <a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/22-13.htm" target="_blank">Genesis book 22</a>, the binding of Isaac. There was a thorn thicket and everything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Polite Woman (interrupting): I wonder if we might borrow your salt and pepper; we seem to be in rather short supply. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline (laughs): Sure. Here’s our luxurious pepper. And salt. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(to Erica) Have you ever been on a dig here in Britain? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Yes. An Iron Age and Roman site called <a href="http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/VRP1.html" target="_blank">Marcham</a> near Oxford. It was a rural sanctuary site. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What did you notice about the diet there? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Cereal and chaff. I was doing flotation. In the Iron Age, people were bringing their crops and processing them there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: When you process grain its like a biblical threshing floor, correct?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Yes. You often find burnt chaff nearby, which shows it was used for kindling. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Did they dedicate some of it the grain after threshing? Or just take it back home? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: They ate it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What evidence do we have for a Roman presence at Marcham?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: There were a lot of oysters, even though Marcham is quite far from the coast. Experts can tell which coast an oyster comes from by the markings on its shell. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: What’s the most memorable revelation you’ve had digging through sewage material? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: The diversity of their diet. That particular sewer at Herculaneum served Romans from the lower and middle classes. It was below an apartment building with shops at ground level and people living behind and above. There were a few independent apartments on the upper floor, but nothing elite. From that one sewer we catalogued 114 different types of food including fish, shellfish and plants but not including other animal meat. They didn’t seem to have any food taboos; privately they would just eat anything. It’s often assumed the poor would eat cheap bread and wine but they’re eating a huge variety of things, and seasoning their food with dill, coriander, fennel…</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magna Roma menu cover</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: sometimes when you read their recipes they really seem to overdo it, with up to a dozen spices. I once ate at a short-lived restaurant called Magna Roma near the Colosseum in Rome. The owner tried to replicate authentic Roman dishes. But the food tasted so strange that the restaurant folded after just a few years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Some friends and I tried to recreate some Roman dishes and I think it’s actually more like Asian than modern Italian food. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Yes! They say that garum is more like Thai Fish Sauce than like Worcestershire Sauce. It’s pretty revolting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: The fish sauce is essentially salt because they didn’t add salt. And although there were often lots of spices the quantities were quite small, so the taste was hidden. My friends and I made a lentil dish with chestnuts, honey, red-wine vinegar, and Thai Fish Sauce. Within those ingredients you can’t identify any one thing. It’s a good holiday dish for winter. Feed it to people and don’t tell them what they’re eating. Then afterwards you can mention it had fish sauce in it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: It sounds delicious!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica (nodding): We also made a dish of pork and figs. We boiled the figs to make syrup and then cook the pork in that. It was the moistest piece of pork I have ever had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Fascinating. They found an ancient Roman amphora in the Thames full of olives preserved in sweet grape syrup!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Columella talks about olives in honey and how it’s both salty and sweet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: That would be such an alien taste.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: When you cook these dishes it doesn’t taste like anything you’ve tasted before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Caroline: Thanks for sharing all that, Erica. Do you have a photo of you on a site that I could post?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Erica: Sure... </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Thanks, Erica, for letting me post this interview. Good luck in your future adventures and research! </i></span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-92205819638599761482017-12-14T09:35:00.000+00:002019-09-09T11:19:31.311+01:00Ten Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About London’s Mithraeum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">by author Caroline Lawrence</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie Jackson, Catharine Edwards, Fiona Haarer & Michael Marshall</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A few days ago I went to see London’s Mithraeum, recently reopened in the basement of Bloomberg’s new building. I’m fairly jaded by museums and wasn’t expecting anything special, but it was great. Coming up out of the ‘experience’ I ran into Sophie Jackson and Michael Marshall of <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a> – two of the archaeologists responsible for the display – along with Catharine Edwards, Professor of Classics and Ancient History from Birkbeck College and lecturer Fiona Haarer of the Roman Society. Although I am <span style="font-family: inherit;">one of <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/support-us/ways-help/archaeology-ambassadors" target="_blank">MOLA</a></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/support-us/ways-help/archaeology-ambassadors" target="_blank">’</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/support-us/ways-help/archaeology-ambassadors" target="_blank">s archaeology ambassadors</a>,</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I had <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com/visit/#book-your-visit" target="_blank">booked the normal way</a> and our meeting was totally serendipitous.</span> Chatting with them, I learned a couple of facts which I share below, along with a few other things you might not know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I do urge you to go and I hope this short list enhances your experience!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>1. Exit 8.</b> It’s easiest to reach London’s Mithraeum via Bank station exit 8. If you’re coming from Waterloo just get the Waterloo & City line. One stop is all it takes. Exit via the travelator and when it ends make a sharp left to reach Exit 8 which now has <i>London Mithraeum</i> added at the bottom of a list of landmarks. Go up the stairs to street level and continue straight ahead for less than 200 meters, passing the Starbucks on your left. You’ll see entrance to the Mithraeum on your right. It’s on the ground floor of Bloomberg</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">s brand new European headquarters. It doesn’t look like a Mithraeum from here; it looks like a modern art gallery because it <i>is</i> a modern art gallery called SPACE. <span style="color: red;">N.B. As of 2019, you can take the brand new Walbrook Exit and emerge literally next door to the entrance!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>2</b></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>. Dead Time.</b> Entry to <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com/" target="_blank">London’s Mithraeum</a> is free </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">but you have to <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com/visit/#book-your-visit" target="_blank">book a visit</a>.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> They won’t just let you roll up. But sometimes if you roll up at their ‘dead time’ of 3pm they <i>might</i> let you in. N.B. Never show up on Monday, when the exhibition is closed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>3. Three Parts. </b>Like Gaul, the London Mithraeum is divided into three parts. The first part is in the art gallery reception where a guide will give you a Samsung tablet and point you at a modular wall displaying around six hundred roman artefacts all found within a few metres of where you are standing. Tap the outline of an object on your tablet and up comes a <a href="http://case.londonmithraeum.com/" target="_blank">superb hi-res image of the artefact</a>. Swipe right and find a line or two about what it is in a nice big, easy-to-read font. Why do you need a tablet when you can just look? Because some of the pieces are quite high up and/or small, and the imagery is superb. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>4. Special Glass.</b> The piece of glass in front of the modular display of Roman objects is state-of-the-art. According to <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/people/sophie-jackson" target="_blank">Sophie Jackson</a>, Director and Archaeologist at <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a>, (</span><span style="font-size: large;">Museum of London Archaeology)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">, it is the biggest piece of glass you can get of that thickness and with the non-reflective properties. Hidden hinges on the left allow the slab of glass to swing open so that the modular displays can be regularly updated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>5. Lucky Amulet.</b> The tiniest object in the modular display wall is an amulet of amber shaped like a gladiator’s helmet. It is minuscule, about the size of your little fingernail. According to <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/people/michael-marshall" target="_blank">Michael Marshall</a>, Senior Finds Specialist at <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a>, it was put in a day before we were there, replacing a less sexy pair of tweezers. Michael also told us that this tiny object was spotted by an archaeologist the old-fashioned way, with the naked eye. (Near the amulet is the famous <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtxUXdI1Zq8" target="_blank">LONDINIO</a></i> tablet, also recently added by popular demand.)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>6. Go Down to Go Back.</b> Someone at <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a> or Bloomberg had the very clever idea of showing how you have to descend to go </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">back in time</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">. As you go down the black marble stairs you see what the ground level would have been for important moments in London</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">s history such as the WWII bombing level and the Great Fire of 1666. There is a similar graphic on the back of the elevator. The Temple of Mithras dates from about 240 AD, almost 200 years after Londinium was first established. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>7. Famous Actress</b> Joanna Lumley narrates some of the commentary on the mezzanine level, which is the second part of the experience where ‘clues to what form the cult took are explored in light and sound.’ Listen to the commentary as you watch a ghostly light show on the walls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>8. Please Touch.</b> You are allowed to touch the three resin casts: the head of Mithras, a tondo with inscription and a 3-D plan of the temple. As a cheerful guide named May explained to me: </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The exhibition is meant to be touchy-feely!</span><span style="font-size: large;">’ The head of the mysterious god Mithras with its distinctive Persian cap was found in 1954 on what was intended to be the last day of excavation of just one of hundreds of bomb-exposed sites in London. Planned building on the site was halted so that the Mithraeum could be excavated and eventually removed to another site. Bloomberg and <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a> have brought it back to exactly the place it was originally found. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>9. Just Theories.</b> Don’t swallow the written explanations or spoken commentaries whole. Our understanding of this mysterious cult is changing all the time. We don’t really know what they did at these ceremonies. We don’t even know if Mithras was actually killing the bull or just wounding it. In a recent article, scholar Christopher Faraone claims </span><span style="font-size: large;">the word </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘t</span><span style="font-size: large;">auroctony</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> (i.e. </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">bull-slaying scene</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">) is a </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">nice-sounding Greek noun that appears nowhere in Mithraic inscriptions or literary testimonia and in fact nowhere in ancient Greek.</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://www.academia.edu/7481387/_The_Amuletic_Design_of_the_Mithraic_Bull-Wounding_Scene_Journal_of_Roman_Studies_2013_1-21" target="_blank">JRS 103</a>, pp 1-21</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>10. The Experience. </b>The third and final part of London’s Mithraeum is an ‘experience’ on the site of the ruins themselves. I don’t want to spoil it for you but it involves sound, light and mist. And although it was one of the coldest days of the year this underground space was comfortably warm. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">case.londonmithraeum.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">There is a superb free guide to the history of London as revealed in the <a href="https://data.bloomberglp.com/company/sites/30/2017/11/BLA-web.pdf" target="_blank">Archaeology at Bloomberg</a> co-produced by <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a>. You can download it <a href="https://data.bloomberglp.com/company/sites/30/2017/11/BLA-web.pdf" target="_blank">HERE</a>. (Spoiler alert: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">There are some images in the final pages of the brochure which might spoil the third part of the experience.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You can also get an interactive guide to the wall of artefacts on your smartphone or tablet by going to <a href="http://case.londonmithraeum.com/">case.londonmithraeum.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Bravo to Bloomberg, <a href="https://www.mola.org.uk/about-us" target="_blank">MOLA</a> and <a href="https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/bloomberg/" target="_blank">Foster + Partners Architects</a>! You did a great job. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Book your FREE tickets to the Mithraeum <a href="https://www.londonmithraeum.com/visit/#book-your-visit" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-38194433733149873222017-11-16T12:06:00.001+00:002021-04-14T13:50:28.499+01:00Ten Myths About Pompeii<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun poster for the movie Pompeii (2014)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The poster on the right is huge fun, but if you</span><span style="font-size: large;">’ve studied</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Pompeii at school or read my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842550217/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Secrets of Vesuvius</a></i>, you know it</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s wrong.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There was plenty of warning. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There was a chance to escape.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There were no flaming rocks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There were no rivers of lava. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And there were almost certainly no passionately kissing couples!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You know it was a Plinian eruption, named </span><span style="font-size: large;">after the two Plinys, Pliny the Elder, the naturalist who died in the eruption, and Pliny the Younger, the one who wrote about it. You know all about the ash and the pyroclastic surge. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">staged reconstruction of making the casts at Pompeii</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You know that the so-called frozen bodies are not frozen bodies at all, but plaster casts made when Italian archaeologists filled the body-shaped cavities in the tufa (hardened ash) with plaster of Paris. When the plaster hardened they chipped away the tufa to reveal shockingly accurate moulds of the vanished dead, sometimes showing folds of cloth and facial expressions. This was a kind of death-mask, but for the whole body, not just the face. And they didn</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">t just take moulds of people but animals, too, such as mules, pigs and a dog. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallace-Hadrill at Pompeii, 2013</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I thought I knew all the facts, too. Then I went to the Bay of Naples with Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill and my world was rocked. He showed me that many of my beliefs were actually myths. Wallace-Hadrill was director of the <a href="http://www.bsr.ac.uk/research/archaeology/completed-projects/herculaneum/herculaneum-conservation-project" target="_blank">Herculaneum Conservation Project</a> for fifteen years, from 2001 until 2016. Some people call him </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">Professor Herculaneum</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">, because few people know Pompeii’s smaller, richer sister-city better than he does. I call him </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">Myth-Buster</span><span style="font-size: large;">’!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline at Pompeii in January 2013</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few years ago, Cambridge Alumni Travel in conjunction with <a href="https://www.andantetravels.co.uk/" target="_blank">Andante Travels</a> proposed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit ruins on the Bay of Naples with Wallace-Hadrill. I jumped at the chance. I had visions of him telling us things no book would reveal and taking us places no tour guide would have access to. I was right. He did get us into places the other tours didn’t reach. But he also demolished some long-accepted facts about the famous eruption of Vesuvius and the cities it destroyed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the end of our first hour with Andrew Wallace-Hadrill I realised he was a Myth-Buster extraordinaire. Like all great historians and archaeologists, he does not accept facts just because they’ve been repeated in print a bazillion times. He has a knack for looking at things with fresh eyes and reinterpreting the evidence if necessary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are ten of my most cherished beliefs: BUSTED!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallace-Hadrill at Pompeii, 2013</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #1 – Vesuvius Did Not Erupt on 24 August AD 79. Everybody confidently quotes this as the date of the eruption, but everybody is probably wrong! At the turn of the 20th century, everybody claimed the eruption occurred in November. But Wallace-Hadrill thinks late September or early October is a likelier date. His clue is a lot of ripe pomegranates found near a buried villa at a place called Oplontis between Pompeii and Herculaneum. (This villa is known as the Villa Poppea or Villa Poppaea because it was owned by Nero’s wife Poppaea.) In Italy, pomegranates ripen in late September/early October. The problem is not with Pliny the Younger, whose famous letters tell us the date of the disaster, but with the monks who interpreted his dates as they copied his manuscripts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #2 – Villa Poppea Not Owned by Nero’s Wife. The Villa at Oplontis probably wasn’t called the Villa Poppea and it probably wasn’t owned by Nero’s wife Poppaea. (Though both things might be possible.) Furthermore, the town where it’s located wasn’t called Oplontis. Or maybe it was. We just don’t know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #3 – Population of Herculaneum. Guide books often say the population of Herculaneum was 4,000 people. We simple do not know! Those who hung around were possibly vaporised by the first pyroclastic surge. This explains why so few bodies have been found in the town at the foot of Vesuvius. The only bodies we’ve found at Herculaneum were those sheltering deep underground or in the vaulted boat-houses facing the waterfront. But wait…</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #4 – Not Boat-houses. The famous bone-filled “boat-houses</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> in Herculaneum probably weren’t boat houses. Yes, they were by the sea but they probably had a double function as foundations for the Suburban Baths and storehouses for various goods, (but probably <i>not</i> for boats.) Wallace-Hadrill thinks the dozens of skeletons found there were those of people sheltering from what they believed was just another earthquake. He believes there were dozens of earthquakes in the run-up to the eruption, starting with the big one in 62 CE. But wait…</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #5 – The Earthquake of 62. The famous earthquake of 62 CE was almost certainly in 63 CE. Scholars got the dating wrong. Seneca tells us who the consuls were and this allows us to date it precisely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #6 – Buried Under Hot Mud! Herculaneum was NOT buried by hot mud as all the guidebooks tell you. It was buried under alternating layers of tufa (hardened ash) and lapilli (light aerated pebbles of volcanic matter). You can see it before your very eyes, if you just look!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #6 – Don’t Call it a <i>thermopolium</i>. The Romans called those fast-food places <i>popinae</i> or <i>tabernae</i>. The word <i>thermopolium</i> only occurs once in Plautus (a 3rd century BC Roman comic playwright). It was probably a joke word. Wallace-Hadrill, the Myth-Buster, called this a </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">dubious term</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #7 – Don’t Call it the Decumanus Maximus. Romans did not call the main road through town the Decumanus Maximus. That is a term invented by modern scholars. They probably called it Venus Street. Or Street of the Fishmarket, or similar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #8 – Don’t Call it a <i>lararium</i>. Romans might have worshipped Hercules or Diana there, rather than the Lares of the household. Call it a shrine, an <i>aediculum</i> in Latin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #9 – So-called Discovery of Pompeii. Pompeii was not really “discovered</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> in the 18th century. They knew it was there but just weren’t interested or were discouraged by the church from investigating too deeply.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Myth #10 – The Phallus is Not Always Apotropaic. In Pompeii, guides will tell you that the male member points the way to brothels. Experts tell you it was a symbol of good luck, used against the </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">evil eye</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">. They are correct, but to bust a busted myth: sometimes the phallus <i>did</i> point the way to a brothel. (See picture above of a phallus on a paving stone of the Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeii’s main drag.)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wallace-Hadrill at Herculaneum, 2013</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main thing I learned from our time with Professor Herculaneum was this: There’s a lot we don’t know. Don’t believe things just because you’ve read them or heard them. Always check the primary sources in conjunction with the archaeological evidence and make up your own mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those of you not lucky enough to travel to the Bay of Naples with Andrew Wallace-Hadrill as a tour guide, don’t despair. His lavishly-illustrated and clearly-written book, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0711231427/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">Herculaneum Past and Future</a></i>, is now out in paperback. It is a wonderful resource.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have written over thirty history-mystery books for children set in Roman times. Three of my <i>Roman Mysteries</i> are set on the Bay of Naples during and after the eruption of Vesuvius: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842550217/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Secrets of Vesuvius</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842550225/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank">The Pirates of Pompeii</a></i> and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1842555065/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank"><i>The Sirens of Surrentum</i>.</a> Find out more at my website: <a href="http://www.carolinelawrence.com/">www.carolinelawrence.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">P.S. A version of this post was first published on <a href="https://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2013/02/pompeii-myth-buster.html" target="_blank">Wonders & Marvels</a> in February 2013, a month after our trip to the Bay of Naples. </span></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246183.post-87666772826576958222017-10-28T23:40:00.000+01:002017-10-29T15:00:44.028+00:00The Naples Tunnel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So-called crypta Neapolitana of Seneca</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">by Caroline Lawrence</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Traveling from the Roman resort of Baiae to Naples one day nearly 2000 years ago, the Stoic philosopher Seneca decided to take the land route instead of the short but choppy sea voyage. Part of the road took a shortcut through a mountain by means of the famous Naples Tunnel. But the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Crypta Neapolitana</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"> turned out to be almost worse than a sea voyage, a virtual </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">visit to death</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">. In one of his famous <i><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Introduction" target="_blank">Letters to Lucilius</a></i>, Seneca describes his harrowing journey.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bronze portrait thought by some to depict Seneca</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>When I had to return from Baiae to Naples, I convinced myself there might be a storm so I wouldn't have to endure another sea voyage. But the road was so waterlogged that I might as well have gone by ship. Anointed with the mud of the road and then dusted in the Naples Tunnel, I felt like a wrestler. Nothing could be longer than that prison, nothing gloomier than the torches that enabled us to see not through the darkness but rather the darkness itself. Had the place any other light sources it would still be clouded by dust which even in the open air is heavy and annoying. How much more so in that tunnel where the dust swirls back on itself. Shut up without any ventilation, it blows into the faces of those who stir it up. In this way we simultaneously endured two opposing inconveniences: on the same road, on the same day we battled both mud and dust. (<a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_57" target="_blank">Letter to Lucilius 57.1-2</a>)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Emerging from the gloom into daylight restored Seneca to his usual good spirits, but thinking about t</span><span style="font-size: large;">he claustrophobic darkness of the tunnel afterwards prompted him to <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_57" target="_blank">write about the nature of death and the immortality of the soul</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mergellina station seen from Tomb of Virgil</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Seneca</span><span style="font-size: large;">’s</span><span style="font-size: large;"> tunnel was in constant use up until about a century ago, when the middle of the tunnel collapsed, but you can still see both ends. The eastern (Neapolitan) entrance is found near the so-called Tomb of Virgil in the <i>Parco Vergiliano a Piedgrotta</i>. Located near Mergellina train station (only a half hour’s walk from <i>Castel dell’Ovo</i>) this <i>Parco Vergiliano</i> (with an <i>e)</i> is not to be confused with the large <i>Parco Virgiliano</i> (with an <i>i)</i> four miles southwest. In 2013 it barely appeared on Google maps but now you can easily locate it by typing in the words <i>Parco Vergiliano a Piedigrotta</i>. It is behind the</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Church of the Madonna of Piedigrotta and easily reached by taxi or by train to Mergellina. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand-made tile plaque about myrtle at Virgil's Tomb</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Virgil, of course, was the great Roman poet who wrote the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclogues" target="_blank">Eclogues</a></i>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgics" target="_blank"><i>Georgics</i></a> and the <i><a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Virgil/aeneid.1.i.html" target="_blank">Aeneid</a></i>, my favourite Latin poem. I was lucky enough to visit the <i>Parco Vergiliano</i> in September 2013 with <a href="http://www.specialistjourneys.com/brand/andante-travels/" target="_blank">Andante Travels</a>. In this densely populated city without many public gardens the so-called site of Virgil</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s tomb offers a cool, green oasis. Flanking the paths are plants and herbs mentioned in the works of Virgil, all beautifully labelled with tile plaques giving descriptions and the Latin names. <br /><br />Another plaque tells about Virgil and you can see a modern bust of him in a niche, done in 1930 on the 2000th anniversary of his birth. Although the poet was born in Mantua and studied in Rome, he called Naples his home. <br /><br />The plaque reads:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A modern bust of the ancient poet Virgil</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope. Cecini pascua, rura, duces...</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mantua bore me, the Calabrians snatched me away, now Naples holds me. I sang of pastures, countrysides, leaders...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The steep hill is formed of honey-coloured tufa </span><span style="font-size: large;">cloaked in ivy and dripping with vines. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Like honeycomb, the soft rock is perfect for tombs, niches and tunnels, which the Neapolitans call </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>galleria</i></span><span style="font-size: large;">. The biggest of these tunnels is the dramatic </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Crypta Neapolitana</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"> – Seneca’s tunnel. Next to it is one contender for Virgil’s tomb, a cave carved into the hill with a bust of Virgil in a niche nearby. Nearby is another tomb, that of Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) a hunchback poet who was a great worshipper of Virgil. Sometimes this area is called the Hill of the Poets. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval fresco of Santa Maria dell’Idria above the tunnel</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Undaunted by the background noise of the Mergellina train and police sirens, our <a href="http://www.specialistjourneys.com/brand/andante-travels/" target="_blank">Andante</a> guide proclaimed Tennyson’s <i><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45391/to-virgil-written-at-the-request-of-the-manuans-for-the-nineteenth-centenary-of-virgils-death" target="_blank">Ode to Virgil</a></i>. Then he told us there is another possible tomb to Virgil on a higher level. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Climbing the brick stairs with the aid of a sturdy wooden handrail we found a small Roman aqueduct that ran above Seneca’s tunnel. From up here you can get a closer look at a niche with a faded fresco of Madonna and Child. Mounting more stairs takes you to a beehive-shaped tomb that also might be Virgil’s. This atmospheric freestanding cylindrical tomb is of the columbarium type, with niches for ash-filled urns. There is a convenient tripod where you can burn fragrant bay leaves in memory of the great poet. The view from up here is breathtaking; you can see right across the bay to Vesuvius. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline Lawrence in Virgil's tomb</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although Virgil’s real burial place is probably lost in antiquity, this site became a popular place of pilgrimage. During the Middle Ages the poet became known as a magician. This belief might have started because of one of his poems, the so-called </span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;">Messianic</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclogue_4" target="_blank"><i>Fourth Eclogue</i></a>, in which Virgil seems to have miraculously prophesied the birth of Christ. (The poet died in 19 BC.)</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Other legends grew up around him and by the mid-14th century a book called the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/9004194894/theromanmyste-21" target="_blank"><i>Cronaca di Partenope</i></a> or <i>Chronicle of Parthenope</i> (</span><span style="font-size: large;">‘</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Parthenope</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">is another name for Naples) recounts some amusing achievements of Virgil the Magician. For example, he made a metal horse that cured all sick horses, a golden fly that kept away all flies, and a magic leech that, thrown into a well, rid all Naples of her leeches. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Virgil the Magician also placed a magic hen</span><span style="font-size: large;">’</span><span style="font-size: large;">s egg somewhere in the eponymous </span><span style="font-size: large;">Castel dell’Ovo</span><span style="font-size: large;">. As long as the egg remains, goes the legend, the castle will stand strong. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">painting of the Naples Tunnel by Gaspar Vanvitelli c 1700</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My favourite legend is that Virgil himself drilled the Naples Tunnel merely by turning his intensely poetic gaze on the hill, not unlike Superman with his laser vision. </span><span style="font-size: large;">According to one eighteenth century travel writer, the <i>grosso popolo</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i>of Naples revered Virgil more for his magical creation of this tunnel than for the <i>Aeneid</i>. So it is fitting that you will find Virgil’s Tunnel near one of his possible tombs in the vibrant city he loved so much. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">My two retellings of stories from Virgil</span><span style="font-size: large;">’s <a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Virgil/aeneid.1.i.html" target="_blank">Aeneid</a> are <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1781123667/theromanmyste-21">The Night Raid</a>, about Nisus and Euryalus from book 9, and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1781125260/theromanmyste-21">Queen of the Silver Arrow</a>, about Camilla from books 7 and 11. The reading level is easy but the content is dark.</span></i><br />
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<i>A version of this post was originally published on the <a href="http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2014/02/senecas-tunnel-or-virgils.html" target="_blank">Wonders and Marvels blog</a>. </i></div>
Caroline Lawrencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.com1