Limonum or Lemonum? (Poitiers to you and me)

Funerary goods, Antran (Author photo)

Earlier this week I took an afternoon off and went visiting Romans in Poitiers, about an hour’s drive south of where I live. France is rich in Roman archaeology and you can trip over remains in almost every town even if the experts can’t quite agree the site […]

Reconciling 'real' Romans and Roma Novans

Family of Drusus, Museum of Roman Civilisation, Rome (Author photo)

I’ve been fascinated by all things Roman since I walked on my first mosaic in northern Spain. At age eleven, I wanted to know who the people were who had lived in houses with such beautiful floors: what did they eat, what did […]

Our friends(?) the Praetorians

Inventing a military unit like the 21st century Praetorian Guard Special Forces in my Roma Nova books was an interesting challenge!

I chose to use the old Roman name because, although later corrupt and power broking, they were the courageous, battle-hardened elite who guarded the Ancient Roman emperor’s life with theirs. And service to the […]