Home from another fantastic Roman Festival in York, and huge thanks to everyone who made it possible - organisers, re-enactors, performers, fellow-scribes and of course to the many visitors, without whom we'd all have been very lonely. In previous years I've put up plenty of photos of men on the march, and they do look … Continue reading Eboracum 2019
Just back from the fantastic Dolaucothi Gold Mines in mid-Wales - the only Roman gold mines known in Britannia. This tunnel looks fine in the floodlights, but the original miners would never have seen it like that - they'd have had to manage with little oil lamps. Things hadn't improved much by Victorian times, when … Continue reading Gold rush, AD75-style
To begin at the beginning...
The season of partying has begun! Io Saturnalia! ...although to be honest I’ve never been terribly confident about social occasions. Nothing illustrates my lack of prowess so well as the time I turned up to a party to find the hostess still in her dressing-gown with a towel around her hair. And that was in … Continue reading Coping with the party season, Roman-style
Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire was full of Romans last week. There were soldiers and civilians, and families ranging from toddlers to grandparents. They were wandering in and out of the houses, feeding the sheep, eating, playing, laughing, working, shopping and having their hair done. Some of them were even having their photos taken … Continue reading Toga Tuesday!
Right. Line up, you lot. And get that hair cut! Half of you look like a bunch of girls!
The first half of June's looking pretty busy with a rush of events up and down the country at which I'll be showing off my now not-so-new Roman shoes. 1-4 June Heading north for the Eboracum Roman Festival in York - a spectacular event for all ages. I'll be in the Authors' Tent in the … Continue reading Have shoes, will travel
The new novel from seven talented members of the H-team is published today - and as ever, they've been weaving old stories together in new ways. I wasn't involved this time (deadlines!) and I can't wait to find out what the team have done with the story we all 'think' we know. Meanwhile, they've been … Continue reading The Trojans are back!
Day 7, and the last-but-one stop on the tour today! Across the water to Detroit and Hoover Book Reviews, which is a splendid place to browse if you're on the hunt for contemporary fiction based in the ancient world - and more. (Nip across there and scroll down to where it says 'categories' on the … Continue reading Friday on the Blog Tour – Hoover Book Reviews
Blog tour day 6, and thanks to the splendid Alison Morton for the invitation to join her love-me*-love-my-character series for a chat about Ruso. (*this part, as an Italian driver once said to my husband when discussing traffic lights, is 'merely a suggestion'.) Alison is the creator not only of thrillers but of a whole … Continue reading Thursday on the blog tour – Roma Nova
Ruth Downie 