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 – […]

Going Roman in Eboracum 2023

The Roman authors! Left to right: Nancy Jardine, Graham Sumner, Jacquie Rogers, Simon Elliot, Jason Monaghan, LJ Trafford, Alison Morton Ruth Downie, Kate Cunningham, Simon(SJA) Turney (Photo courtesy of Tracey Turney)

What a fantastic weekend! Despite the rain on the Saturday, the atmosphere among the authors and reenactors was warm at the Eborcum […]

'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. […]