The Long History of Damnatio Memoriae and the Destruction of Monuments
Publisher: Jezebel
Author: Tracy E. Robey
After video emerged Monday of protesters toppling and kicking the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham, North Carolina, some suggested that such statutes should remain standing because they’re part of our history and heritage. Yet the monuments were mostly erected decades after the fall of the Confederacy and made of flimsy materials, bought from factories that specialized in budget-friendly “racist kitsch.” The United Daughters of the Confederacy sought to reify the myth of the Lost Cause by funding the Durham monument and others like it—precisely because people who lived through the Confederacy were forgetting it or dying.
Analysis of Roman coins tells of Hannibal's defeat and Rome's rise
Publisher: the Guardian
Author: Maev Kennedy
Scientists find that silver used came from mines captured by Rome from Carthaginian leader on Iberian peninsula
If Mary Beard is right, what's happened to the DNA of Africans from Roman Britain?
Publisher: The Guardian
Author: Jennifer Raff
There are many reasons why a genetic legacy of Africans in Roman Britain might not be present in contemporary populations
Mary Beard is right – ‘Romans’ could be from anywhere, from Carlisle to Cairo
Publisher: the Guardian
Author: Charlotte Higgins
The classics professor’s naysayers refuse to believe ancient civilisations could have been anything but Caucasian, but there is evidence that proves them wrong
Roman Britain in Black and White
Publisher: The Times Literary Supplement
Author: Mary Beard
I have been in something of a Twitter storm over the past few days, all because of an argument about the ethnic diversity of Roman Britain (sounds harmless enough you think, well . . . just see). I have decided by the way not to include Twitter screenshots, on the grounds that they might incite …
A Kerfuffle About Diversity in the Roman Empire
Publisher: The Atlantic
Author: Sarah Zhang
How a children’s cartoon ignited a debate about skin color in Roman Britain, and what it has to do with genetics
How Ancient Rome Viewed The Deaths Of Antony And Cleopatra
Publisher: Forbes
Author: Sarah Bond
In order to avoid seeing Octavian take Egypt and avoid capture, Mark Antony and later Cleopatra would take their own lives in August of 30 BCE. Let's take a look back on this the 2,047th anniversary of their deaths.
A Very Modern Map of Britain's Ancient Roman Roads
Publisher: Atlas Obscura
Author: Sarah Laskow
Let's take the VII from Londinium to Letocetum.
Why Ancient Roman Concrete Is So Strong
Publisher: Smithsonian
Author: Erin Blakemore
A rare chemical reaction strengthens it even today—and that could help threatened coastal communities
The politics of fire: from Ancient Rome and San Francisco to Grenfell Tower
Publisher: the Guardian
Author: Jack Shenker
Throughout history, devastating fires have sparked crises in the status quo. And like the Grenfell Tower blaze, they reveal much about the political structures of shaping our cities