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The Blog
For updates on the Valerius Mysteries, and the latest news from Ancient Rome, please subscribe to the blog.


A Roman rubbish dump
If you go to Rome, you might notice Monte Testaccio, a green hill in the middle of the sprawling city. But what you might not know, is...

Jennifer
Jun 23, 20232 min read


Ancient Roman brothel tokens
The fun thing about history is the amount of stuff that doesn’t get recorded. Like, it’s so common that nobody writes it down, because...

Jennifer
May 26, 20232 min read


How to brighten your (Ancient Roman) smile!
Since I'm at the dentist today, for a routine checkup and clean, I thought it'd be fun to do a post about Ancient Roman dentistry. For...

Jennifer
May 12, 20232 min read


Sol Omnibus Lucet
My apologies for a short post this fortnight! My alter ego is back from two back-to-back book signings in Sydney and Melbourne, and my...

Jennifer
Apr 29, 20232 min read


Sub Rosa - an unedited excerpt
This fortnight, instead of doing a shallow dive into Roman history, I thought I'd actually post the opening of Sub Rosa. I really do have...

Jennifer
Apr 14, 20236 min read


I made eggs!
I have tried the garum! I picked the easiest recipe I could find, which in this case was Soft-Boiled Eggs in Pine-Nut sauce, and gave it...

Jennifer
Apr 1, 20232 min read


Roman sexuality
It’s a running theme in my blog posts that the Ancient Romans were pretty much like we were, just in funny clothes and sandals. But when...

Jennifer
Mar 18, 20233 min read


Fast food in Ancient Rome
Sometimes, when we look at an ancient culture, so much of it seems so totally foreign to us that it can be difficult to see that we have...

Jennifer
Mar 9, 20232 min read


Here fishy, fishy (sauce)
If you've ever dug around in any Ancient Roman recipes, one thing that you'll see listed over and over again is garum, or liquamen. These...

Jennifer
Feb 3, 20232 min read


Where do Roman roads lead, exactly?
We’ve all heard the saying that all roads lead to Rome, but do you know where exactly in Rome they led to? The Milliarium Aureum, the...

Jennifer
Jan 20, 20232 min read


Here's looking at you, Janus.
Have you ever wondered how the Ancient Romans celebrated New Year? Well, they initially celebrated it on March 1, until they smartened up...

Jennifer
Jan 6, 20232 min read


Happy Saturnalia!
Or, as the Romans would say, “Io, Saturnalia!” Saturnalia is the holiday celebrated from December 17 – 23, in honour of the god Saturn,...

Jennifer
Dec 23, 20222 min read


How did we lose the Lupercal? And did anyone look behind the couch?
One of the most fascinating things to me about any ancient city like Rome is that things are lost over time, and then sometimes even...

Jennifer
Dec 9, 20222 min read


The Gods of Childbirth
Childbirth in ancient Rome is a hazardous undertaking. To safeguard the delivery of a baby, there are at least thirty different gods you...

Jennifer
Nov 25, 20222 min read


Catallus 16 - The Latin they don't teach you in school (NSFW)
There is a common misconception that the Ancient Romans patricians were a moralistic, dull bunch of blokes who spent their lives orating...

Jennifer
Nov 11, 20222 min read


Obscure Roman gods, and Happy Halloween!
I love ancient polytheism. A god for every occasion. If I ever start a cult based on the ancient Roman model, I will have T-shirts made...

Jennifer
Oct 29, 20222 min read


What's in a name?
Roman names, generally speaking, can be divided into three categories—the praenomen (personal name), the nomen (family name), and the...

Jennifer
Oct 14, 20222 min read


Ancient Rome is Ruder than you think
A million years ago I had a blogspot blog, which was terrible. But to kick off this new one, which (fingers crossed) will be much, much...

Jennifer
Sep 28, 20222 min read
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