Sarcophagus with depictions of a vintage festival, including the grape harvest and wine production, ca. 290-300 CE.
2008.14; Getty Villa collection
Shouting, squelching, singing, constantly moving, ancient urban wineries were an assault on the senses
In popular culture, the eruption is usually depicted as an apocalyptic event.
Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is no longer one of annihilation; it also includes the people who managed to escape the city.
(Left to right) A Roman shield, a copper alloy Roman legionary helmet, an iron sword with gilded bronze scabbard, a suit of parade armour made from crocodile skin and a bronze head depicting the first Roman emperor, Augustus.
Yale University Art Gallery/British Museum
There are some incredible rare finds on show at this exhibition but it fails to depict a more diverse life in and around Rome’s armies.
Andrej Maculskij/Shutterstock
In my experience of university teaching, the title of the course seems to strongly influence the gender balance of the class.
The Roman bathhouse at Birdoswald will be reburied to preserve it for the future.
HE Archaeological Projects Team and University of Newcastle
It might seem odd to rebury what’s been dug up but it’s to make sure what’s found is preserved for future research.
An artist’s depiction of the temple at La Chapelle-des-Fougeretz as it would have looked in the first century AD.
Marie Millet, INRAP
There may have been a main god or goddess at many temple sites, but there was a clear tendency to worship a range of deities.
Around 400 local children have been involved in this archaeological project in Cardiff, Wales.
Vivian Paul Thomas
Since 2011, professional and amateur archaeologists in Cardiff have been unearthing prehistoric artefacts. But last summer, they began to discover something even more extraordinary.
Marc Antony, left, offers Julius Caesar a crown; Caesar refuses.
Bettman/Getty Images
With much public discussion of President Donald Trump as, potentially, a king, a scholar of Roman history and rhetoric sees 2,000-year-old parallels.
In the very beginning of the Roman calendar (more than 2000 years ago), there were only 10 months in the year.
Jule Berlin/Shutterstock
December is named for the Roman word for “tenth”. So, why is it the twelfth month?
Kevin Jackson, Robyn Hendricks and Ty King Wall in the Australian Ballet’s production of Spartacus.
Justin Ridler
When Spartacus and 70 or so of his comrades revolted and escaped from their gladiatorial school near Capua in 73 BC, everyone imagined the matter would soon be dealt with. But his rebellion has continued to inspire political movements.
IgorZh/Shutterstock
Without the scientific knowledge we have today, ancient cultures turned to myths and legends to understand celestial objects.
Detail from the Roman-era Sousse Mosaic Calendar, El Jem, Tunisia.
Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons
If you’ve ever wondered why our 12-month year ends with names that mean the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months, you can blame the Romans.
Brothels in Pompeii were decorated with murals depicting erotic and exotic scenes: but the reality was far more brutal and mundane.
Thomas Shahan/Wikimedia Commons
Though their activities were depicted alluringly in murals, the sex workers of Pompeii were slaves who lived hard lives.
Giovanni Cavino, I primi dodici imperatori Romani (‘The first twelve Roman emperors’), plaquettes produced at Padua, c. 1550.
Wikimedia Commons
Suetonius’s unforgettable tales of sex, scandal, and debauchery have ensured that his writing has played a significant role in shaping our perceptions of imperial Rome.
Shutterstock
We’ve always needed a party to look forward to in the bleak midwinter.
Malcolm Turnbull is now more circumspect when it comes to the matter of an Australian republic.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
For Australians to vote in favour of a republic, it may require something more than just crossing out ‘governor-general’ in the Constitution and writing in ‘president’.