historical « Alison Morton's Thrillers

The Mysterious Youth of Magdalensberg

Modern copy in the collection of the Landesmuseum Kärnten at Magdalensberg

When I was writing JULIA PRIMA, my research about her hometown of Virunum uncovered the story of the Youth of Magdalensberg (Der Jüngling vom Magdalensberg), an ancient Roman bronze statue dating to the first century BC. Now, Romans, statues – […]

'Feeling' the Virunum Amphitheatre

Last year, just before the launch of JULIA PRIMA, I wrote a post about Virunum, Julia’s birthplace. After poring over research papers and reading Géza Alföldy’s comprehensive and accessible Noricum, I was able to produce a reasonably informative piece for this blog.

But… (You knew that was coming.)

I had no ‘feel’ for Virunum. […]

Walking round Roman Emona

After breaking out of Italy, Romans spread all over Europe. During the 1st century BC they looked north and east and a Roman military stronghold was built on the site of the present day Ljubljana in Slovenia. Construction of the Roman settlement of Emona (Colonia Iulia Aemona), fortified with strong walls, followed in AD 14.

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