Noricum | 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. […]

Is it just a load of old stones and pots?

Why do I insist on clambering over old stones, foundations, really, of buildings dating back 2,000 years? Or paving slabs, funny concrete, remnants of wall paintings or bits of mosaic? And looking at broken bits of pottery and metalwork? And sometimes staring at beautiful whole glass and marble creations that I can’t possibly understand how […]