Restoring the Classics from Carbonized Scrolls
A computer scientist believes he can reveal the entire library of Julius Caesar’s father-in-law from scrolls carbonized by Vesuvius. It’s a bit complicated!
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Community Potpourri
Assyrian Women: Letters and Weaving
I hope you’ll be Intrigued, as I was, by these letters of women from 1860 BCE. These women were integral to the international textile trade between Assyria and Anatolia. Or perhaps you’re interested in watching an experimental archaeologist reconstruct what these weaving women actually did with wool.
Author Tales, The Joy of Reading Aloud
My reading at the Avid Reader was great fun. Since the excerpt I crafted for this event is spookily appropriate for the Halloween season, I’m sharing it with you. Amazing what happened when I looked at the first chapter not as the opening for the whole book, but as a place from which to pluck a brief, spellbinding tale for an audience. I hope you enjoy it.
Subtle Art, Translation of the Iliad
A new translation of the Iliad is causing much more of a stir than you’d think. For good reason. Do you enjoy the layers of meaning one word can have and other subtleties of translation? I took a look at what people are saying and put it together for you.
Special Treatments of the Dead
I noticed two unrelated articles in the recent Archaeology Magazine. Their juxtaposition got me thinking about treatments of the dead. We humans are really good at over-the-top respect on the one hand, and fear on the other. Have a look.
The Orchid Hour, Interview with Nancy Bilyeau
Join me for an interview with historical novelist Nancy Bilyeau and her latest, The Orchid Hour, set in 1923 NY during Prohibition. Our conversation even came with a cocktail.
The History of Writing, Independence & Resistance
The history of writing reveals some of the most profound ideas and values we humans ponder. The Hittite world that inspires my fiction used the cuneiform writing system–as did every other Near Eastern empire in the Bronze Age. Until a great shift into a variety of scripts came about. The question is why.
Lettuce, An Unlikely Divine Egyptian Aphrodisiac
Myths about ancient gods often bring us tales of sexual adventures, but this one about the Egyptian god Min involves lettuce. Go figure, and enjoy.
Why 30,000 People Slept on the Beach One Night
In her guest post my good friend Nancy Bilyeau tells you why 30,000 people slept on the beach one night. I’ll add the words Coney Island into the mix to entice you to read her post about “America’s Playground” during a heatwave.
Archeo-pizza in Pompeii
Is that a Pompeian pizza frescoed on that wall? A pizza historian is calling it an archeo-pizza. I’m calling it yummy sounding and fun. Read all about it.