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Did the Gauls bury some individuals in the sitting position? Here are two recent stories about different sites in France supporting that belief: Dijon (Euronews) Five adult males, seated upright in small circular pits Violent injuries (cuts, skull blows) No grave goods except a black stone armband Found during schoolyard renovation Dijon now has 20+ seated burials, making it the largest cluster in Europe https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/03/19/the-dijon-five-ancient-skeletons-found-sitting-upright-in-french-school-playground Paris (Jerusalem Post) Five new seated burials, added to 13 found earlier, for a total of 18 (see picture above) All arranged in a straight 25-meter line Unhealed cuts on humeri; one man struck twice in the skull Same posture: seated, back to east wall, legs tightly flexed. https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-891714 Both these sites date from 300-200 BCE. Both these sites feature Gallic males who suffered violent trauma. There are minimal grave goods (possibly supporting the belief that these were criminals, war captives, or ritual sacrifices). Archaeologists lean toward a ritualized killing or ritualized burial of socially marked individuals-possibly warriors, captives, or men involved in a specific ceremonial role. But no single explanation fits all the evidence.

There have been new insights from reading previously-unknown ancient manuscripts such as the Herculaneum scrolls. The results of the deciphering of papyrus fragments from the first century BCE of Empedocles have recently been published. Empedocles was a 5th century BCE Greek philosopher. Scholars have identified a 2,000-year-old papyrus in the Cairo archives that preserves previously unknown verses of Empedocles' philosophical poem On Nature, offering the most significant new primary evidence of his thought in 25 years. The fragment-first noticed in 2021 and published in 2024-2026—clarifies Empedocles' theories of cosmology, perception, and the cyclical forces of Love and Strife, and is being hailed as part of a modern "second Renaissance" of rediscovered ancient texts. Roughly 30 previously unknown lines of On Nature The left column describes the cosmic sphere breaking apart under Strife The right column contains dactylic hexameters on sensory perception, including Empedocles' idea that particles of fire enable vision https://greekreporter.com/2024/09/04/discovery-papyrus-fragment-empedocles/ https://arkeonews.net/second-renaissance-of-ancient-texts-2000-year-old-cairo-papyrus-reveals-lost-verses-of-empedocles/#google_vignette

My imagined image of Julius Caesar is certainly a Hollywood-inspired image (such as the images above and below from the HBO series “Rome”) The Tusculum bust (pictured below) is the only extant sculpture thought to be made in his lifetime: This image above is consistent with coins minted shortly before his assassination in 44 BCE. This short video below describes the supposed image of Julius Caesar. One suggested image of Julius Caesar: Here’s a modern depiction

Here’s an interesting article on the Lycurgus cup: https://open.substack.com/pub/worldpolitics/p/the-lycurgus-cup-how-roman-craftsmen?r=k9yfw&utm_medium=ios

Two previously unread Assyrian texts were finally deciphered. The tablets documented homicide-related restitution (described as “blood money.”) A high resolution CT scan was used to help read one of the damaged tablets with faint surface inscriptions. (Above is a similar tablet to the ones examined.) These tablets were written by Assyrian merchants living in the trading colony (karum) at Kültepe/Kaneš in central Anatolia, roughly 1950-1750 BCE. These tablets come from the same massive archive-over 23,000 documents-created by Assyrian merchant families who recorded business, legal, and personal matters in cuneiform. Blood money (Akkadian: dāmum) was a formal, legally regulated compensation payment owed when a person-especially a merchant—was killed during commercial activity. It was not a bribe, not a private settlement, and not a clan-based vendetta payment. It was a state-enforced obligation between political authorities. If an Assyrian merchant was killed in an Anatolian city-state, the local ruler of that city was legally responsible for: investigating the killing identifying the perpetrator and paying compensation to the Assyrian merchant community if the killer could not be found If a local Anatolian was killed by an Assyrian, the Assyrian authorities were likewise obligated to pay compensation. This shows a reciprocal, diplomatic legal system between Assyria and the Anatolian kin https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a70835167/blood-money-tablets/

Interesting article about life at Hadrian’s Wall https://open.substack.com/pub/worldpolitics/p/roman-soldier-empire-ancient-hadrians-wall-britain?r=k9yfw&utm_medium=ios

A Roman cargo ship, dating from AD 20 to 50, has been found in the Swiss lake of Neuchâtel. A Roman shipwreck discovered in Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, has yielded hundreds of exceptionally preserved artifacts-including ceramics, amphorae, chariot parts, and weapons-offering a rare, intact snapshot of early Roman trade and transport between AD 20-50. The cargo's condition is so extraordinary that it is considered one of Switzerland's most significant inland-water Roman finds to date. Identified via aerial photography in November 2024, followed by dives and excavation in 2025. Represents the remains of a Roman merchant vessel operating in a freshwater transport network. The finds so far include Several hundred ceramic vessels: dishes, plates, cups, bowls-mostly regional Swiss Plateau products. Amphorae from Spain: evidence of long-distance olive oil trade. Tools and utensils: insights into daily life and shipboard activity. Chariot and harness components, including remarkably preserved wheels— the only Roman examples ever found in Switzerland. Weapons (including swords): suggesting the merchant ship traveled under military escort. The presence of: Two gladii A military pickaxe (dolabra) A belt buckle A fibula used to fasten a soldier's cloak ...suggests the cargo was either: Escorted by Roman soldiers, or Intended for a Roman legion operating along the Rhine frontier. This aligns with the early-1st-century dating (Tiberius era). Details about the swords discovered: Sword 1 (the sheathed gladius) Still inside its wood-and-metal scabbard Scabbard construction suggests: Wooden core Metal fittings (likely tinned or bronze alloy) Typical of early-1st-century legionary equipment Sword 2 Described simply as a complete gladius No scabbard mentioned Why the swords survived so well: Lake Neuchâtel's chalk-rich, low-oxygen freshwater environment is known to preserve organics unusually well. This explains: Survival of the scabbard, Preservation of wooden chariot wheels and Intact wicker basket found with other cargo https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/03/rare-roman-treasures-found-on-shipwreck-in-swiss-lake/157564

A Roman settlement has been found in the Southern France city of Gémenos. It dates from the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. A newly excavated 4,000 m2 Roman-era settlement near Gémenos (southern France) reveals a compact but highly organized community with roads, vineyards, baths, metalworking shops, and domestic activity spanning the 1st-3rd centuries AD. The site's mix of agriculture, craft production, and traveler-oriented bathing facilities suggests a small roadside hub integrated into regional movement and trade networks along the ancient routes between Marseille and inland Provence. Southern France (ancient Gallia Narbonensis) was one of the most Romanized regions of Western Europe. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/03/roman-era-settlement-found-in-southern-france/157607

Corbridge, a town in Northumberland, England, near Hadrian’s Wall and along the River Tyne, was an important Roman settlement and supply center, yielding many Roman artifacts (see the post below). Today, an exhibit titled “Roman Rivers and Rituals” is on display at Corbridge Roman Town, showcasing Roman discoveries made near the bridge. Pictured above: a Roman knife handle depicting a secutor gladiator was found in the river near Corbridge. A new exhibition at Corbridge Roman Town (Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland) is unveiling a remarkable set of Roman ritual deposits recovered from the River Tyne-objects deliberately offered to river gods at a major bridge crossing. The finds include a gladiator-shaped knife handle, scabbard fittings, a panther-shaped mount, shackles, coins, and personal grooming tools, all discovered by divers in the 1990s and now displayed publicly for the first time. The objects were ritual offerings placed near a Roman bridge on Dere Street, the major road from York into the northern frontier territory. Romans believed running water and river crossings were spiritually potent-and potentially dangerous-thresholds. Travelers, soldiers, and traders offered items to river gods for protection, safe passage, or thanks after leaving the frontier zone of Hadrian's Wall. https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/25970742.rare-roman-objects-hadrians-wall-northumberland-site/ Previous post about the finds:

Researchers believe that an army, possibly allied with the Romans and possibly heading south to join the Roman Empire, was destroyed in Norway in AD 205. A large cache of 1,800-year-old weapons found in a Danish bog may represent a defeated army of roughly 1,000 warriors-possibly from Norway—who were on their way to serve as Roman mercenaries around the year 205 CE. Archaeologists disagree on whether the force truly came from Norway, but the evidence shows deep Scandinavian-Roman connections, early runic writing, and a surprisingly organized military culture in Norway during the Roman Iron Age. https://www.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-denmark-roman-empire/a-roman-army-from-norway-of-a-thousand-men-may-have-fought-in-denmark-1800-years-ago/2600351

Researchers have found several Roman graves during excavation of a future farmer’s market in the Croatian city of Vinkovci (the Roman city Cibalae). The graves date from the 2nd-3rd century AD. This recent article and the older video below discuss the ongoing finds at the site. Cibalae-lying beneath today's Vinkovci-was one of the key towns of Roman Pannonia, noted for its strategic role, its flourishing workshops, and its status as the birthplace of two Roman emperors. https://www.croatiaweek.com/roman-graves-market-site-vinkovci/

Here is a good article on Pytheas of Massalia (b c350 BCE). He was a Greek explorer and geographer who was the first person to write about Britain. (Below is a thread about Pytheas.) https://open.substack.com/pub/worldpolitics/p/pytheas-massalia-ancient-greece-thule-arctic-north?r=k9yfw&utm_medium=ios

Here is a good discussion on the planned excavations later this year of the suspected Roman villa at Port Talbot, Wales. The discovery of a Roman villa in Southern Wales will rewrite British Roman history. This discovery forces a rewriting of Roman Wales: It shows elite Romanized life deep into western Britain. It provides a rare non-military high-status site in Wales, where most Roman remains are forts or camps. It may reshape understanding of 3rd-4th century Romano-British society.

A page of the work of Archimedes, written in AD 900, has been discovered on a palimpsest re-used as a Christian prayer book. There have been previous posts about other palimpsests (see below): [Palimpsest: a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.] A French researcher, Victor Gysembergh of CNRS, has rediscovered one of the three missing pages from the famous Archimedes Palimpsest, a medieval manuscript containing rare copies of Archimedes' mathematical works. The page was unexpectedly found in the archives of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Blois, after Gysembergh jokingly searched the city's manuscript catalog. The rediscovered leaf is a 10th-century copy of Archimedes' treatise "On the Sphere and the Cylinder," containing geometric diagrams and text that match photographs taken in 1906 by scholar Johan Heiberg. The manuscript had been overwritten in the Middle Ages as a Christian prayer book (a typical palimpsest), and the page also contains a later drawing added in the 1900s to increase its value. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-lost-page-legendary-archimedes-palimpsest.html

Roman troops of Lucius Cornelius Sulla conquered the Roman city of Pompeii in 89 BCE. Excavations have found evidence of the related siege of the city with suspected impact scars on the walls and sandstone balls at the site. It is suspected that Roman ballistas caused the damage. The ballista was a powerful torsion-powered artillery weapon, essentially a giant crossbow designed to hurl heavy bolts or stones with high accuracy during sieges and battles. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-pompeii-scars-linked-ancient-machine.html https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/9/3/96 Video on the Roman ballista:

Here’s a well-done short video on the discovery:

I’m glad you are feeling better but … you have inspired me to take Lutein / Zeaxanthan supplements to prevent my cataracts.

I saw this interesting picture (above) on Substack (Architecture & Tradition). The Aqueduct of Valens, the longest aqueduct built in Roman times, is still partially intact in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople, Turkey). It was originally completed by Valens in AD 373. The 4th-century first phase was 268 km (167 miles).

There have been several posts on the Roman trade to the East, including India and Vietnam (see posts below). Here’s another video on the topic by Invicta

I never heard of that term before. I don’t know any Latin, but the term “senatores ambulantes” doesn’t seem right. The term “senatores pedarii” would seem better, but I don’t think Cicero used that term either. Here is a later use of the term “senatores pedarii.” https://latin.packhum.org/loc/1254/1/93/316-323?utm_source=copilot.com#93 Here is an English translation of the above passage from the Roman grammarian Aulus Gellius (AD 125-180). Gellius was known for his “Attic Nights,” a compilation of notes on grammar, philosophy, and history. Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 3.18 - Translation "What 'pedarian senators' are, and why they are called that; and what the origin is of the words found in the traditional edict of the consuls: "senators and all those who are permitted to give an opinion in the senate.' There are many people who think that pedarii senatores were so called because they did not give their opinion in the senate by speaking, but instead went over with their feet to the opinion of another. But what then? When a senatorial decree was passed by division, did not all the senators give their vote with their feet? There is also another explanation of this term, which is said to be the true one, and which Gavius Bassus recorded in his commentaries. He says that in ancient times those senators who had held a curule magistracy were accustomed, as a mark of honor, to be carried to the Curia in a chariot, in which there was a seat on which they sat - and for this reason it was called the sella curulis. But those senators who had not yet held a curule magistracy went to the Curia on foot. Therefore, the senators who were not curule magistrates were called pedarii, 'the walking ones.'

Another article on the find. (There are only a few pictures available of the find.) https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/03/gladiatorial-reliefs-discovered-near-the-appian-way/157415

Here is a short video to go along with the poem:

Here is a brief video (partially in Latin) of the Roman invasion of Britain under Emperor Claudius in AD 43. The pretext for the invasion was Rome’s coming to the defense of the pro-Roman King Verica who had been expelled by the Atrebates tribe. More likely, Claudius needed a military victory to solidify his authority as emperor.

I do hope you’re feeling better. I remember a discussion, possibly on another forum, of the Roman procedure of couching, as mentioned by Guido above. Here’s a simple short video on the ancient procedure: https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/roman-cataract-surgery/

Two Roman mosaics from Lusitania have been highlighted, one of which depicts a drunken Hercules (above) and a Medusa head (below). These mosaics were first discovered at the Roman villa of Rabaçal in central Portugal in 2023. The Roman Empire divided Iberia into three provinces: Lusitania (modern day Portugal and western Spain), as well as Baetica and Terraconensis. https://arkeonews.net/from-a-drunken-hercules-to-a-watchful-medusa-roman-mosaics-in-portugal-reveal-myth-power-and-protection/