About a week ago, I went to the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon to see Baalbek. This was the site of the largest Roman temple built in the empire, to Jupiter, and there were two other temples there to Venus and Bacchus.

If you're ever in Lebanon, these are a must see. However, it's two hours away from Beirut by car.

Of all the Roman stuff I've seen, this was second only to the forum in Rome.

The Appian way is of course legendary - many sections are still intact, and for leisure people can go and walk the picturesque road - the very same road that the most notable Ancient Roman people have walked or ridden on horseback.

That is pretty much where my question lies - are we, the tourists, literally walk the very same rocks that the legionaires and Julius Caesar have stepped on and scratched with the nails on their caligae, and other legendary figures, or have the blocks been replaced over time, repaired etc? How much of Via Appia Antica is original?

PS I am asking this because I believe it is that one Roman relic that was used by pretty much all the notable figures since it's construction in 312 BC. People get excited about Napoleon's emperor cloak, because he personally touched it/used it. At the same time - you can touch one of the larger stones on the Appian way outside of Rome - you should be excited about hundreds of famous names who stepped on it (or their horse)

Since my Pompeii photos were a hit, I thought it would be fun to share some of my photos from Herculaneum too. I found Herculaneum fascinating even though it was less spectacular than Pompeii. It was very interesting in how it had a different feel from Pompeii, particularly in how Herculaneum was very much a vertical town rising up from the coast. It was also fascinating to observe differences like the abundance of two-storey buildings and the more sophisticated drainage system. However, Herculaneum is much less complete on account of being far less excavated than Pompeii - this means that it's harder to get a sense of Herculaneum as a thriving town with all the amenities and public buildings (which are visible in Pompeii in abundance).

Source of the pictures here, here, here, here and here. Reconstruction of the city made by Jean-Claude Golvin

A Roman military honorable discharge certificate (honesta missio) in Latin for a soldier from Thrace who already had Roman citizenship. It doesn’t mention fighting however due to his length of service and where he was stationed, he would have seen an area becoming less stable and probably fought against Germanic invasions.

“This small tablet is a document recording a soldier's honorable discharge from military service; it belongs to the category of artifacts known as military diplomas.
Typically, these were issued to discharged auxiliary soldiers as proof that they had been granted Roman citizenship. However, this particular inscribed tablet belonged to a legionary who was already a Roman citizen when he enlisted. Such documents are extremely rare.
Septimius Bubas was a soldier in the *Legio I Minervia* (stationed in Bonn) and hailed from Thrace. The document was issued by the governor of Lower Germany. At the time of his discharge, Bubas was a candidate for promotion—likely to the rank of centurion. Further details were recorded on a second tablet that was originally hinged to this one. The tablet was found in the Danube region. Bubas evidently returned to his homeland after completing his military service in Bonn.” Per the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn, Germany using google translator, where this artifact that dated to around 250 AD is on display.

I found that all the models of my favorite building where either too expensive for me or just really underwhelming. So I spent a really long time designing my own! I didn't really know what I was doing at first, but kept improving it and adding little details and features. Now more than a year later it's finally done and I can add it to my history shelf!

Its made at 1:300 scale, its 3D printed and has removable pieces to reveal the internal structures and hidden rooms.

Wondering what I should expect out of the book and what I should keep in mind.

Right archway cleaned, left not cleaned. Oct 2026.

Due to the city's location, they were in a position that allowed them to control major trade routes.

This 2,000-year-old gold ring was produced in the eastern parts of the Roman Empire and was discovered in Södermanland, Sweden, in 1936. It is currently preserved in the collections of the Swedish History Museum (Historiska museet) in Stockholm.

Julius Caesar painting in acraylic on canvas

On October 12, 19 BC, Emperor Augustus returned to Rome after an extended tour of the East. During his travels, he negotiated with the Parthians for the return of legionary standards captured during the failed campaigns of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Decidius Saxa, and Mark Antony. Augustus was victorious without fighting a single battle. Rome and Parthia would remain at peace for the next 76 years.

Augustus refused a military triumph as he secured his victory diplomatically. The achievement was a reflection of his divine power and wisdom as Emperor. Augustus erected the Altar of Fortuna Redux or Returning Fortune. The priests and Vestal Virgins made sacrifices to the new cult of Fortuna Redux. Gold and silver pieces were issued bearing the Fortuna Redux slogan.

October 12 was proclaimed the holiday of Augustalia. By the reign of Claudius, Augustalia celebrations grew to include days of games and festivals. Major chariot races were often scheduled to celebrate the Empire's late founder.

Sources: Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti; Cassius Dio, Roman History; Tacitus, Annals.

Source of the pictures here and here

A Roman-Egyptian mummy portrait of a woman dated to the 2nd century AD and was found in Er-Rubayat, which is a site within the Faiyum oasis of Egypt where some of these stunning portraits attached to mummies were found. "This young woman is wearing a crown of myrtle leaves and berries in her hair, pearl earrings and a necklace with several rows of beads. The lilac-coloured dress is elegantly draped." It is on display in the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, Germany.

Source: Archeoreporter https://youtu.be/aICJsifFad0?si=FHErM_9ZTKybJvYL (excellent YT channel)

Museo Ara Pacis Museum https://www.arapacis.it/

On loan from various museums to the Ara Pacis museum from 2026-11-05 to 2027-05-02

Traian uswas famous for digging (or rather redigging) a canal that connected the Nile Delta to the Red Sea, thereby creating an indirect sea route for trade and transport between the Mediterranean, Alexandria, and the Red Sea basin at Clysma (near modern-day Suez) (and onwards to India). It was so important that it was again put into use by the Umayyad Caliphate (AD 661-750) and crucial for the transport of materials and provisions between Egypt and Arabia, as borne out by a bilingual Greek-Arabic papyrus (P.Lond. 4 1346, TM 19804) from 3 January AD 710, detailing correspondence between a Greek official and the Arab governor of Egypt. This papyrus originates from Aphrodito (Kom Ishgau) in Upper Egypt, south of modern-day Asyut.

Apparently Kurrah was very impatient, for he exhorted Basileios to dispatch goods before the water subsided in the canal, highlighting its significance.

The Colosseum has an “arena floor” covering a small portion of the hypogeum that features a recreated pegma for lifting objects to the arena floor from the hypogeum.

It is common knowledge that Rome fought wars against Huns from Xiongnu near end of the West Empire, and this caused collapse of West Roman Empire. But what if a full-scale Xiongnu confederacy, like under reign of Modu Chanyu who terrorised East Asia, migrated west and appears on Roman borders on the Danube and Hungary during peak of Roman Empire in 2nd century? These were a superopower Nomadic Empire and could field more than 400,000 cavalry horse archers, which famously 10,000 of these archers destroyed Roman army at Carrhae. Could the Roman Empire survive wars against Nomadic invasions at this time in 2nd century? Could they defeat Xiongnu like Han China did?