Carina, Aurelia and the Pompeii gladius

Twenty-first century Roma Nova military train with state of the art weaponry; their firepower and weapon handling are undoubted. But they also train on a ‘volunteer’ basis with a modern carbon steel version of the traditional Pompeii gladius, a short sword in use from at least AD 79 and not uncommon in the 4th century […]

The Roman way

Roman road, Ambrussum, Via Domitia, France

Yes, this is a Roman road. And yes, it does eventually lead to Rome, the centre of the world at that time. It was part of a superhighway network that replaced mud tracks with paved, drained and fast roads which not only facilitated conquest but also economic […]

Isca Dumnoniorum, or Exeter to you and me

Isca Dumnoniorum c. AD 350

I’ve been over in Devon staying with my writing friend Helen Hollick for a week and yesterday we visited Exeter, including the museum. Of course, I went for the Roman stuff!

The Romans established a large castrum (fortified camp) named Isca around AD 55 at the southwest end […]