DecimusCaesar

How about things like - Door knobs (first invented in the 19th century). Plastic bottles. Tinned food. Zips on clothes. Tin whistles. Glass lanterns. Corrugated roofing sheets. Barbed Wire fences. Wallets.

I'd very much want to visit Pompeii, especially recently after a family member brought back photographs from the site. I was lucky enough to get to see the plaster cast of Trajan's column at the Victoria and Albert museum a few years back though.

This sounds like it could be interesting, although I wish Hollywood would start covering other events and people from ancient history instead of retreading the same ground (how many Julius Caesar or/and Cleopatra movies have been made now?) I like the sound that they are going to try and make this one a bit more historically accurate. On an slightly unrelated note I thought it odd that Angelina Jolie said: "I haven

Wasn't Decius the one whose army was annihilated by the barbarians in an Adrianople-like manner? Rome was fortunate that they were willing to return to their homes after taking plunder and accepting bribes. It seems to me that this was an important event that could have led to an earlier collapse of the empire. I suppose in a way that's true, although history documentaries only ever seem to concentrate on the Julius Caesars, the Cleopatras and the Alexander the Greats of the ancient world. Decius and the Battle of Abrittus/Forum Terebronii tend to be obscure events in comparison to the big names of history. That's what makes this documentary sound so much more fresh and unusual.

This sounds somewhat similar to a just to be released book called UnRoman Britain by English archaeologists Stuart Laycock and Miles Russell. According to the book synopsis the Romans had very little impact on the British Isles as many of the 'Celtic' Britons and Picts refused to adopt any Roman culture beyond a few pots and trinkets here and there. According to the authors the feeling was mutual among the Romans, who never really came to accept Britannia as a "true" part of the Roman world. It sounds a bit similar to the stuff I read in Francis Pryor's 'Britain AD' a few years back. Throughout that book Pryor referred to the Roman period as an 'interlude'; claiming the Romans never had much of a cultural impact on the native Britons. He uses examples of the majority of the Britons choosing to live in their little roundhouses rather than live in Roman towns. Personally I doubt 'choice' had very little to do with it. Perhaps many Britons would have loved to live in a cosy Roman villa, but like many people in Britain today, they just could not afford to live the richman's lifestyle. Rich British noblemen like Togidubnus seem to have adopted the Roman way of life though. I also find it interesting that Welsh, which is descended from the Brittonic language, has over a quarter of its words in latin, while many post-Roman British warlords, kings and Princes continued to use latin inscriptions and Roman terms (such as civites) for centuries after the fall of Roman Britain. So much for no impact!

Good work! Congratulations!

I recall reading about Roman toothpaste at one time. I think one of the ingredients is ash, although I can't recall what else was used. I saw this mentioned in one book several years ago but i could never find it referenced in other woks since (like Adkins' Handbook to life in Ancient Rome) so it might not even be real. Can anyone confirm this?

I came across this Sigourney Weaver narrated series on Youtube some time ago. Started watching it, but unfortunately the video froze up at one point and it refused to work. A cshame as it did manage to impart some useful information about social life in the First Century AD. You don't see much of that on Roman documentaries as they tend to dwell heavily on the military subjects.

I'll be looking forward to your opinion of it. I might get it too if it's any good.

I think I might have liked the town of Massilia in Southern Gaul. It was a relativily quite place, nice weather with plenty of travellers passing through, whether they were North Africans, Greeks (the original founders) or Celts. They did have odd laws though, especially concerning women and the drinking of wine, so it's not all nice there.

Anatoly Fomenko is finally Vindicated! New Chronology To celebrate this momentous occasion I've decided to organize a mass book burning of Homer. So far I've only been handed Simpsons memorabilia.

I had seen this advertised on Amazon but I ignored it as I assumed it was the American version of the 2006 BBC series. The fact that they have an episode centerted on a rather obscure Emperor like Decius makes this sound like it might have something new to offer over the standard documentaries that only follow the 'big' events of Roman history. On the other hand it still feels a bit like your average 'over the top' History Channel documentary.

Interesting link Ludovicus, I always find it fascinating to listen to ancient languages spoken. I find it interesting that the professor pointed out that much of the Babylonian tablets have yet to be translated or deciphered. I'd be interested to find out what's on them as they sound very diverse - from medicine and mathematics to poetry and speeches.

Nice review. I'm looking forward to the DVD release next year as I missed it while it was on TV as I don't have cable or satellite. Shame about Andy Whitfield's illness too.

Happy Birthday Caldrail!

This show is coming out on DVD/ Bluray sometime in March/April 2011. I haven't seen a second of the show (beyond the trailers) but I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I read Julius Caesar by Nic Fields. it's a very short analysis of Caesar the general rather than Caesar the man/politician (although it does cover that briefly too). Really nice pics by Peter Dennis too.

Like Aurelia, i'm a bit late but i hope you enjoyed your birthday Nephele!

I thought that Lady Gaga's song Bad Romance was about the Romans originally. I misheard one lyric as 'What killed the Romans?'. It might have been her take on Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. On another note, what about Hail Caesar by AC DC - My link

I saw this a few days ago. I remember reading some reviews a while back that stated that the film was emotionally empty and uninvolving. I personally found it rather moving, even with all the inaccuracies. A good drama film, and one of the few intelligent Ancient History epics ever made. In a lot of ways it harks back to the slower paced cerebral epics like Quo Vadis. On another note I was surprised to see film critic Roger Ebert give Agora a thumbs up. He's stated a few times that he hates ancient epics and historical films in general (I think he once stated that his favourite genre was the film noir and his least favourite the ancient war epic). I suppose that's a good recommendation.

Saw this a few weeks ago. The action scenes weren't half bad, although they were extremly gory - plus they looked rather fake while watching it in HD (although i don't think thsi would be a problem on standard definition). Too bad that so many interesting looking characters were introduced and then killed off within minutes. I recommend watching it if you love action films, and I agree with Russ that the Roman armour in the film looks cool.

I wonder why Queen Victoria seems to be sitting in that painting.

I was reading articles about the Ninth legion on Roman Military historian Ross Cowan's site.

The last film I saw was Clash of the Itatns. The last game I played was Mafia 2. The last book I read was 'The World's Last Mysteries (which was about historical 'mysteries' - The Maoi of Easter Island, Stonehenge, The Pyramids, Scythians etc).

It's coming out on DVD this month on the 16 (in the UK). Looking forward to watching it, as I haven't seen it yet. I might even pre-order it. There hasn't been much in the way of Roman period films for sometime now, so it'll be nice to see a good Roman action film.