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I would say these articles show that more is needed to verify even 5% that any particular elite of that time period lived there. Sounds like the so-called Villa Poppaea nearby which was associated with Nero's wife of that name on the barest random clue and lots of hope. There may be more to the story, but the Poppaea one is only 5%

Japanese archaeologists have found evidence of the suspected Villa of Augustus during excavations at Somma Vesuviana, at Naples, Italy. The area was a resort site for the Roman elite. It is believed that Augustus died there in AD 14. Radiocarbon dating, along with chemical analysis of layers of volcanic pumice, confirm that the area was inhabited in the 1st century AD before Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Suspected furnace believed to heat the baths at the site https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/excavation-uncovers-possible-traces-of-villa-augustus-at-somma-vesuviana/15161 https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/augustus-villa-somma-vesuviana-0020672 https://www.turkiyenewspaper.com/amp/culture/21985

But why is the economic idea dismissed. It’s seems like a much more reasonable objective than just glory right?

On this page, the only icons I see in the top upper right corner now are three: one for "unread content", a plus sign, and the search icon. My name doesn't appear anywhere at the top. No drop down menu icon. In the past I always logged in here. I have Forums discussions page bookmarked and enter the site that way, not the home page. When I do go to a home page, I don't see any place to log in or out. Maybe it's my browser. I had already emailed Peter about an issue with not being able to access the site at all due to an icon on my toolbar telling me it was "not secure". Obviously that got resolved as I am here. I think I actually logged in finally by requesting to create a new post and was told to log in. Was able to, but that option has disappeared. I'll wait awhile and try again or contact Peter.

Read David Livingstone's Ordo ab Chao, page 46-7. He explains how worshippers of Cybele, Ishtar, Rhea, Astarte, Venus, Magna Mater, Queen of Heaven (and her many other thousand various names) was worshiped by Attis (standing watch in New York City's harbor as "Larry Liberty" currently) and his followers with ritualistic floggings, castrating themselves, and the like. "The cult of the Magna Mater also involved a ritual called the taurobolium, where a bull was sacrificed above a pit into which a devotee descended, and was drenched in its blood, as a form of baptism." This is also the ancient roots of the modern form (just reappropriated and altered like "Jewish" sacrifices/pagan sacrifices) of Christianity's "water" baptism/consecration to the goddess/god.

Is the function at the upper right corner scroll down by your name (at the top of the page)?

A Greco-Illyrian helmet has been discovered during excavations near Zakotorac, Croatia. The helmet dates to the 6th century BCE. Previous excavations in the area had recovered a 4th century BCE helmet. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/well-preserved-greco-illyrian-helmet-found-near-zakotorac/151542 https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/70001 Here is a post on the Greco-Illyrian helmet found earlier in the area:

An intact wooden Roman cellar from the first century AD has been found in Frankfurt, which was the Roman city of Nida. The city of Nida flourished under Trajan. During other excavations, three Mithraea (temples to Mithras) have been discovered in the area. Seen in the pictures, a five-step staircase was recovered. Nida underwent a decline after AD 259 under pressures from Alamanni. It was transported to the Archaeological Museum of Frankfurt (pictured below). https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/02/excavation-uncovers-preserved-wooden-cellar-from-roman-period/150812#google_vignette https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nida_(Roman_town)

So I finally found a way to log in, but now I can't find the "log-out" option. 😕

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Right from the beginning, it had a certain modern day political vibe to it. Subtle messages throughout. Those were done well, but overall not a good production - my opinion anyway.

At Pompeii, frescoes in a suspected banquet hall have been recently discovered. https://www.artforum.com/news/roman-frescoes-uncovered-in-banquet-hall-pompeii-552190/

Kathy Sledge performs well in the Verona Arena, which is also featured in toldinstone video (3:43) on faked Roman reconstructions:

After a long absence, water has returned to the Baths of Caracalla https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-water-returns-to-romes-baths-of-caracalla.html Here is a wonderful older 3D view of the baths:

The road discovered is thought to be a crossroads with the Via Domitia, which was the Roman road that linked Italy with Hispania through Southern France. The remains were discovered between the two roads: In Ancient Rome the cemeteries were traditionally located outside of the religious boundaries (pomerium) of towns and cities. Tombs and elaborate burial monuments lined the roadsides. Burial graves and monuments along the Appian Way near Rome

Here is an article further describing the Roman finds as well as the Roman road uncovered with the finds in Nîmes, France: https://www.inrap.fr/des-tombes-et-des-buchers-en-bord-de-voies-romaines-nimes-gard-17952#

I would add that the Roman Empire was decentralised until the Dominate. Provinces were governed locally, by their own people though usually in emulation of Roman practice because that pleased the Senate and potentially earned them status, tax breaks, or commercial advantages. Roman governors were not rulers, they were there to represent Rome and be the last word in Roman and native law. Having said that, most of them were there to get rich quick, though it did involve military responsibility too.

I like his "introduction" video chats which encapsulate Roman figures based on actual evidence vs popular stereotypes: The British School at Rome has a good lecture on Roman house genealogy, sort of a blockchain of previous owners ancient Romans liked to trace:

Roman paganism was not an organised religion, it was the same social function as the client/patron relationship only this time using temples and shrines instead of atriums, and unlike the wealthy patricians, the deity was invariably absent and to the supplicant, might not have even bothered to listen, which was why a small sacrifice was such a good idea - you could even buy ready made sacrifice packages from your local priest. There were festivals of course (and from what Varro tells us, a great many of them) which were a communal function, but there was no religious group beyond influential collegia such as the Vestal Virgins.

Thank you for reading my post. Here’s an interview with the author:

65% for worms!! Wow....and these mummies were presumably the well to do class. Imagine the rates among the poor with more crowded living conditions. Malnutrition both from lack of adequate meat intake as well as nearly universal parasitic disease is probably a problem under appreciated by modern historians. It's been suggested that Caesar's "falling sickness" was anything from primary epilepsy or CVAs (both unlikely in a non-diabetic, non-smoker in his 50s) to cystocicersis from eating pork in Egypt (also less likely given the intermittency of his attacks). Tertiary syphylis may be the best fit of his symptoms.

I know its borderline going off topic territory but I have to ask why? As I read into Chinese religions, I am amazed at the amount of witch hunting various Chinese dynasties did. Fushigi Yugi actually downplays how much Qin. Tang. and other reigning monarchs went out to hunt people who worshiped what was deemed as evil spirits in Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese religions and philosophies. They were still hunting down witches even as late as Mao Tse Tsung's war with Chiang Kai-Shek before the Japanese invasion I learned! And since I mentioned Japan, I am amazed at how the Sohei Samurai monks not only did purgings of cults and other people who worshipped not just Akuma but dark Yokai and other evil spirits irl but its such a common part of their pre-Meiji culture that its impossible to avoid if you read Japanese comics or watch Japanese movies and cinema or even just play video games and computer software games (and I'm not even getting into novels nevermind ancient literature). So I'm wondering about the pathway Roman paganism took?

Roman glassware have been uncovered in the city of Nîmes, France. Excavations in the area have found cremation pyres and burial sites from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. Nîmes, France was known as the Roman city Nemausus (see link below). https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/archaeologists-uncover-exquisite-roman-glassware-in-nimes/151466 https://www.livius.org/articles/place/nemausus-nimes/

A boy and his mom have found a Roman bracelet, possibly gold, near the village of Pagham in West Sussex, England. Pagham is located near the Romano-British town of Noviomagus Reginorum (modern Chichester). The area was recently in the news (see post below) concerning plans to rebuild a temple to Minerva that is thought to have once existed there. The bracelet dates to the first century AD. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/ornate-roman-bracelet-found-near-pagham/151368

There have been previous threads about infections that ravaged ancient Egypt. Recent studies of the remains of mummies have shown interesting findings: Of the mummies studied: 65% revealed schistosomiasis* 40% headlice 22% falciparum malaria 10% leishmaniasis From the articles, it appears that 31 mummies were examined for study. *Schistosomiasis is spread by contaminated water with parasites released by infected freshwater snails. Even today about 250 million people have been infected with schistosomiasis. Each year schistosomiasis causes many thousands of deaths, possibly as many as 200,000 deaths yearly. How Ancient Civilizations Were Burdened by their Parasites - Fifteen Eighty Four | Cambridge University Press Parasites in Past Civilizations and Their Impact upon Health (cambridgeblog.org) Child suffering from schistosomiasis Parasites in ancient Egypt and Nubia: Malaria, schistosomiasis and the pharaohs - ScienceDirect Parasitic Worms Plagued These Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs (popularmechanics.com) https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/study-reveals-disease-landscape-of-ancient-egypt/151312

I think phase 2 will be a spectacular win, linking the under visited Circus Maximus to under visited Baths of Caracalla to u. v. Via Appia. I think we discussed the Darya video on how the isolated new Map museum and sculpture garden is included too. Nobody but me makes the horrible walk between these relatively adjacent sites due to multi-lane fast roads, industrial vibe where you can hardly buy a hydrating drink, and poor signage/sidewalks/crosswalks. I hate the logistics and loss of context using wheeled travel instead. Phase 1 could turn out intrusive, but I think taps into the less busy side of the coliseum towards the weird grassy hill east side of the Forum. Not many go there since you can't see what's ahead and whether it is worth the climb; I stumbled around there only because of the new Nero dining room excavation, which I found practically deserted. It would be a plus even relieving pressure on the coliseum by offering alternative strolls. Crossing thru the Palace area to the racetrack could be intrusive, but folks need a little guidance there anyway because it isn't obvious you can get thru the palaces to the racetrack. It is such a maze that on my first visit back when the forum was free, I found myself walking on an exquisite decorated floor all wavy and fragile with poor options to avoid it or back off. It's not clear where the route will go due to the articles having paywalls, etc but I think phase 1 generally doesn't intrude except to give guidence in areas where there is a lot of random congestion and confusion. I include a picture that falsely looks intrusive, but depicts almost no change to the recent practice of closing off the horrible road Mussolini plowed thru the Forum. I would rather Via dei Fori Imperiali be torn out and excavated, but shutting out vehicle traffic with a few niceties seems fine: Other anecdotes: Now you can be walking quite close to the massive Baths of Caracalla and not see it. I made a rare exception and asked directions which just confused things since I accented the wrong syllable into gibberish. I looked for a street sign for a major road branching off another major one to shortcut to Via Appia, with absolutely none in sight in the industrial wasteland deprived of pedestrians. Another shortcut was super narrow and twisty with fast traffic barely scraping brick walls and each other with side mirrors. I was like a hunted animal who couldn't see when to creep thru the rubble safely. The only foot traffic was a couple stunning blondes walking with just wisps of clothing and cheap flip flops. Unlike me, they could obliviously walk in traffic lanes because the drivers stopped on a dime to stare. Ah, so much more I could pass on...