Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Two, then three, then four: the fork doesn’t lose its teeth over time like humans do. Contrary to popular belief, the fork is not a medieval or Renaissance invention. Its existence is attested in the Roman Empire, between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. Although […]
In search of the lost torch
Translated from french (please notify us of errors) It’s an object almost as mysterious as the famous Roman dodecahedron[1]… A handle about a cubit long, with five or seven claws at the top, arranged in a star shape around a ring. Many museums have examples on display, including the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève […]
Roman finger game, from fun to fate
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) We have our ‘Rock Paper Scissors’, the Romans had their digitis micare[1], literally ‘waving your fingers around’. The principle is very simple: two people face each other, fist clenched. At the same time, they extend a certain number of fingers while shouting out a number […]
Grapes on his heels
Translated from french (please notify us of errors) Ancient job advert: “prestigious city in the Peloponnese seeks young unmarried men to organise, over four years, a festival in the course of which they will be required to hunt down one of their own, girded with woollen fillets – all under the name of ‘grape runners’.” […]
An uninviting but much-loved ruta
Translated from french with Deepl (please notify us of errors) Beware if you rub yourself against it: it can cause severe skin burns. The rue we’re talking about here is a plant with an ambivalent reputation, but one that was nevertheless much appreciated by the ancient peoples: ruta graveolens. With its finely-cut, green leaves, sometimes […]
Too much water in wine is cheating
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 (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 turn, with a […]