Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) It’s common knowledge that the Romans cut their wine with water, either hot or cold, depending on the occasion. Not to do so was to run the risk of sinking quickly into uncontrolled drunkenness, and above all to be seen as a barbarian ignorant of […]
‘At the cauldrons’, customers aren’t jugs
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) From the top of these four jugs, almost 2,000 years look down on us. The fresco was discovered in a street in Herculaneum in 1961, at eye level, i.e. 1.70 metres above the ground. It is almost certainly a shop sign[1], a rare find since […]
Institutio alimentaria: children, let’s eat!
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) A skilful military strategist, a sensible statesman, loved by his soldiers and the people. And generous. Emperor Trajan was highly praised, both by his contemporaries and by ancient historians. In fact, it was under the reign of Optimus Princeps that the Empire reached its territorial […]
Take the grain and be quiet!
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) The news has caused quite a stir. Not only in archaeological circles, but also beyond: the recent discovery of a portion of the porticus minucia, one of the places where the Roman authorities distributed free wheat. Even if the place and its function were already […]
Drink or play Kottabos, there’s no need to choose
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) You don’t play with food. But in the Greek world, around the 5th century BC, this modern rule of etiquette did not apply. Imagine: at the end of a banquet, the guests, having drunk as much as philosophised, engage in a game of skill. In […]
Don’t ever call me “Thermopolium” again…
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) The word has met with great success. First among a handful of archaeologists and historians, then in the media and in the words of all those passionate about Roman antiquity. The thermopolium has become the paradigm of Roman-style fast food, a concept that will be […]
A viral love poem in the ancient world
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) From present-day Spain to Mesopotamia, the same Greek words can be found, generally engraved on inexpensive precious stones (agate, onyx or sardonyx). The best-preserved examples were found on a piece of jewellery around the neck of a young woman in a sarcophagus in Hungary and […]
Smelling divinely good, on the trail of ancient perfumes
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Votre navigateur ne prend pas en charge la balise vidéo. The most basic method of creating pleasant scents was to burn branches, gums, resins or aromatic mixtures. It was probably in temples that the art of perfumery flourished, through the use of purifying fumes in […]
Ancient cheese: the mozzarella mystery
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) In the West, cheese is a must. Switzerland, France and Italy, for example, have several hundred varieties. The importance of this food has a long history. Historians generally agree that the mastery of cheese-making techniques dates back to the ancient Neolithic period, more than 5,000 […]
The Gallic rooster, a tough cookie
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Roosters are not usually cooked. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, apart from its reproductive function, the animal is useless. It is therefore rare in the poultry yard: one rooster, many hens. Finally, when it is replaced by a younger, more hardy specimen, the […]