DENTAL TREATMENTS IN ROMAN ALEXANDRIA
In THE DEADLIEST LIE, Miriam complains about the odors emanating from the women pressed near her in the Great Synagogue: Dulled by the...
BRIDES IN ANCIENT ROME
Weddings occur in the course of the Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series; the first is referenced in THE DEADLIEST SPORT. Miriam was likely...
THE DOWRY IN ANCIENT ROME
A dowry, or dos as the Romans called it, was the custom for most marriages. The Roman version probably began out of a desire to get the...
EVIDENCE FROM THE LATRINES AND CESSPITS
The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE gives us evidence of the varied and healthful diet of first-century Roman commoners....
ROSEMARY
Native to the Mediterranean and considered sacred to ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks, rosemary is a woody perennial shrub with...
ABANDONED INFANTS
Miriam tells us about the Phoebe’s origins in THE DEADLIEST LIE: Phoebe was the Greek foundling my mother rescued. Finding her wrapped in...
WHAT ABOUT EPPIA?
I wrote about Sergius in the past two blogs. He was that outlandish ex-gladiator who fled to Alexandria with Eppia, the senator’s wife...
THE EXOMIS
The garment, dating back to the fifth century BCE Greece, encircled the torso and was pinned at one shoulder and girded at the waist....
A ROMAN COOKSHOP
Roman cookshops had a wide counter opening onto the street so that customers could be served on the go. The charcoal-burning furnace was...