- Possible date for rites in honour of the bona dea: essentially private rituals for Roman women only held in the house of a consul or praetor and attended by the Vestal Virgins and assorted upper class types. The actual date does not appear to have been ‘fixed’ and, of course, this ritual was ‘crashed’ by P. Clodius (dressed as a woman) in 62 B.C. with all sorts of nasty spinoffs, not least of which was the Julius Caesar’s divorce from his wife Pompeia.
- 313 A.D. — death of the retired emperor Diocletian
Month: December 2025
ROGUECLASSICIST’S BULLETIN ~ December 2, 2025
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LEGENDA
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Monumental Roman basin hidden for 2,000 years unearthed near Rome | ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251202052222.htm
Shepherd sparks Türkiye’s latest archaeological breakthrough | Daily Sabah
https://www.dailysabah.com/life/history/shepherd-sparks-turkiyes-latest-archaeological-breakthrough/
A Rare 2,000-Year-Old Roman Sun Hat From Cleopatra’s Egypt Has Been Restored to Its Former Glory
https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/roman-era-sun-hat-egypt/
Ancient dirty dishes reveal decades of questionable findings
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ancient-dirty-dishes-reveal-decades.html
Hoard of Persian gold found after being buried for 2,400 years – Earth.com
https://www.earth.com/news/treasure-hoard-of-persian-gold-found-had-been-buried-for-2400-years/
November 2025 in Turkish archaeology | Turkish Archaeological News
https://turkisharchaeonews.net/article/november-2025-turkish-archaeology
Three coin hoards found in northern France
Byzantine-Era mosaic discovered in Midyat
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2025/12/byzantine-era-mosaic-discovered-in-midyat/156523
Rare Roman silver ring discovered at Northumberland site | Hexham Courant
https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/25653367.rare-roman-silver-ring-discovered-northumberland-site/
The research project for the reassembly of fragmented frescoes using an “intelligent robot” comes to an end | EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1107962
The first Bible map
Can the US Avoid the Sallust Snare? – The National Interest
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/can-the-us-avoid-the-sallust-snare
Türkiye’s most extensive fake-artifact exhibition opens in Diyarbakir – Türkiye Today
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/turkiyes-most-extensive-fake-artifact-exhibition-opens-in-turkiyes-diyarbakir-3210661
This UK City Celebrates the Ancient Roman Festival of Saturnalia, Complete With a Roman Legion Parade
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/chester-celebrates-roman-saturnalia-chrismas-rep/
Female gladiators shocked the ancient Roman world — but not for the reason you think | HistoryExtra
https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/ancient-gladiators-female-role-and-reality/
Ancient Roman Grave Goods Suggest Military Officers Kept Pet Monkeys That Had Pets Of Their Own | IFLScience
https://www.iflscience.com/roman-military-officers-had-pet-monkeys-and-the-pet-monkeys-had-pet-piglets-81764
How Ancient Greek Mythology Foreshadowed Modern Prosthetics – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/02/ancient-greek-mythology-modern-prosthetics/
What ancient Athens teaches us about debate – and dissent – in the social media age
https://theconversation.com/what-ancient-athens-teaches-us-about-debate-and-dissent-in-the-social-media-age-270100
ROM appoints Kate Cooper as first Nick Mirkopoulos Associate Curator of Ancient Greece & Rome | Royal Ontario Museum
https://www.rom.on.ca/news-releases/rom-appoints-kate-cooper-first-nick-mirkopoulos-associate-curator-ancient-greece-rome
Thanksgiving 2025: A Mythological Puzzle from Trimalchio – CANE
Laudator Temporis Acti: Philologists
https://laudatortemporisacti.blogspot.com/2025/11/philologists.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, from Ancient Athens to the Present Day
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/when-democracy-breaks-studies-in.html
Kim Bowes, Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
Kim Bowes, Surviving Rome: The Economic Lives of the Ninety Percent
The Shield of Aeneas: Memory and History in Virgil’s “Aeneid” ~ The Imaginative Conservative
The Shield of Aeneas: Memory and History in Virgil’s “Aeneid”
Women are gross – cosi’s odyssey
https://cosisodyssey.substack.com/p/women-are-gross?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=991656&post_id=177963000&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=q7tlq&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
The Romans in Copenhagen | Blog post | Mary Beard
Het einde van Valerianus – Mainzer Beobachter
Alexander de Grote in Egypte (2) – Mainzer Beobachter
Faits divers (44): de wetenschap in het nieuws – Mainzer Beobachter
Good Advice (That You Just Can’t Take) | Sphinx
Weekly Varia no. 158, 11/30/25 – Noodlings
Victory! Greek and Latin at the University of Ottawa Saved – The Classical Association of Canada
Structure and Stories: Reading Iliad 6 – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
PaleoJudaica.com: Another review of Perrin, Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/another-review-of-perrin-lost-words-and.html
PaleoJudaica.com: The last Hasmonean princess
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-last-hasmonean-princess.html
PaleoJudaica.com: The Josephus Christianus project
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-josephus-christianus-project.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: The Many-Minded Man: The “Odyssey,” Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-many-minded-man-odyssey-psychology.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Mythologizing Performance
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/mythologizing-performance.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Script and Society: The Social Context of Writing Practices in Late Bronze Age Ugarit
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/11/script-and-society-social-context-of.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: New History of the Peloponnesian War
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/11/new-history-of-peloponnesian-war.html
Today’s Christians Can Learn from Yesterday’s Pagans – Christianity Today
Il mito di Atreo e Tieste nella tragedia greca frammentaria di V secolo a.C. – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Il mito di Atreo e Tieste nella tragedia greca frammentaria di V secolo a.C.
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AUDIENDA
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Ancient History Hound: Tacfarinas with Dr Jo Ball
https://ancientblogger.libsyn.com/tacfarinas-with-dr-jo-ball
The Ancient History of the Hor… – Ancient History Fangirl – Apple Podcasts
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VIDENDA
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(817) Ancient Rome Live is live! – YouTube
(818) Origins of Gladiatorial Combat – YouTube
Why We Needed a New Translation of Homer’s Odyssey | With Emily Wilson | Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/video/the-story-of-homers-odyssey/-351015
(818) The results of archaeological Excavations at Tell Es-Sukhnah, Zarqa Area”, by Dr. Nabil Ali – YouTube
(818) The Hawara Hoax: Joe Rogan’s UFO in the Egyptian Labyrinth⁉️ Debunking UnchartedX – YouTube
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NOTANDA
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Nestor – December 2025 issue available
https://classics.uc.edu/nestor/pages/news/853-december-2025-issue-available
Ancient Sparta
This Day in Ancient History: iv nonas decembres
- c. 255 A.D. — martyrdom of Hippolytus
- c. 256 A.D. — martyrdom of Aurelia and Paulina
- 259 A.D. — martyrdom of Pontian
… a little cluster from the persecution under Valerian
ROGUECLASSICIST’S BULLETIN ~ December 1, 2025
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LEGENDA
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New discoveries reveal Tell Abraq’s role in ancient Persian Gulf trade
https://phys.org/news/2025-12-discoveries-reveal-abraq-role-ancient.html#goog_rewarded
Roman sun hat: A ‘very rare’ 1,600-year-old brimmed cap that may have protected a Roman soldier from Egyptian sandstorms | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/roman-sun-hat-a-very-rare-1-600-year-old-brimmed-cap-that-may-have-protected-a-roman-soldier-from-egyptian-sandstorms
‘Enter the arena’: Roman restoration project reveals secret ‘Commodus Passage’ in Colosseum | Euronews
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/12/01/enter-the-arena-roman-restoration-project-reveals-secret-commodus-passage-in-colosseum
Roman inkwell discovery reveals advanced ink chemistry 300 years earlier than expected | Chemistry World
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/roman-era-ink-reveals-surprising-chemical-complexity/4022595.article
Mapping the Luwian Lands: How 483 Forgotten Settlements Are Redrawing the Map of the Bronze Age – Popular Archeology
https://popular-archaeology.com/article/mapping-the-luwian-lands-how-483-forgotten-settlements-are-redrawing-the-map-of-the-bronze-age/
Che emozione! Una statuetta romana emerge durante una “battuta” per detectoristi. Come si svolgono questi incontri? Come si suddividono le proprietà dei reperti? Quali accordi devono essere raggiunti con i proprietari dei terreni?
https://www.stilearte.it/statuetta-romana-minerva-ritrovamento-metal-detectives-group/
Roman military helped bring cats to Europe | Popular Science
https://www.popsci.com/environment/roman-military-cats-domestication-europe/
How the World’s Oldest Library Survived an Empire’s Fall
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/huge-library-of-ashurbanipal-2709162
The Spartan-Persian Peace Treaty That Destroyed Ancient Greece – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/01/spartan-persian-peace-treaty-destroy-ancient-greece/
Forgotton Women of History: Tomyris of the Massagetae
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/11/30/2356152/-Forgotton-Women-of-History-Tomyris-of-the-Massagetae
Universität zu Köln: Union of Academies funds long-term project to investigate papyri
https://www.uni-koeln.de/en/university/news/news/news-detail/union-of-academies-funds-long-term-project-to-investigate-papyri
Ancient dirty dishes reveal decades of questionable findings | Cornell Chronicle
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/12/ancient-dirty-dishes-reveal-decades-questionable-findings
OTTC: A Blog for Old Testament Textual Criticism: Cognitive Linguistic Approaches to Biblical Hebrew
https://oldtestamenttextualcriticism.blogspot.com/2025/12/cognitive-linguistic-approaches-to.html
OTTC: A Blog for Old Testament Textual Criticism: Greek Paleography Course
https://oldtestamenttextualcriticism.blogspot.com/2025/12/greek-paleography-course.html
Martha Graham & Greek Myth in Review – CRSN
https://classicalreception.org/martha-graham-greek-myth-in-review/
Zwölf Tage im Jahr: 27ten Dezember 2025 | Sphinx
https://thesphinxblog.com/2025/12/01/zwolf-tage-im-jahr-27ten-dezember-2025/
Cyber Monday: One-Click Download from The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota | Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
https://mediterraneanworld.wordpress.com/2025/12/01/cyber-monday-one-click-download-from-the-digital-press-at-the-university-of-north-dakota/
Poëzie: Keizer Domitianus – Mainzer Beobachter
https://mainzerbeobachter.com/2025/12/01/poezie-keizer-domitianus/
Ephemeris ~ TURBO ORIENTALIS Nuntius a Taprobane
https://ephemerisnuntii.eu/nuntius.php?id=2451
New Co-Authored Publication – Data Visualization! Quantification! Roman Intervention in the Greek East! Oh my! – Liv Mariah Yarrow
https://livyarrow.org/2025/12/01/new-co-authored-publication-data-visualization-quantification-roman-intervention-in-the-greek-east-oh-my/
PaleoJudaica.com: Review of Rosenblum, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/review-of-rosenblum-forbidden-3000-year.html
PaleoJudaica.com: Dream divination in the Exagoge of Ezekiel
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/dream-divination-in-exagoge-of-ezekiel.html
PaleoJudaica.com: Who goads God in the Aqedah?
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/who-goads-god-in-aqedah.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Access to Cuneiform Texts (CDLI-ACT) – the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative in Arabic
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/access-to-cuneiform-texts-cdli-act.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Josephus Christianus: The Reception of Josephus in Greek Christian Literature (2nd – 15th Cent. CE)
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/josephus-christianus-reception-of.html
AWOL – The Ancient World Online: SLaVEgents: Enslaved persons in the making of societies and cultures in Western Eurasia and North Africa, 1000 BCE – 300 CE
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/slavegents-enslaved-persons-in-making.html
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AUDIENDA
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Does Anybody at Iron Age Arad Really Know What Time It Is? Or, If You Can Write the Weekly Invoices, Can You Write the Bible? | This Week in the Ancient Near East
https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/does-anybody-at-iron-age-arad-really-know-what-time-it-is-or-if-you-can-write-the-weekly-invoices-can-you-write-the-bible/
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VIDENDA
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(786) AI Robot System Helps Archaeologists Restore Fragmented Pompeii Frescoes in Major Breakthrough | APT – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ENYdOvNF6I
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NOTANDA
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Graduate Study Opportunity (MA), Department of Classics, University of Manitoba – “Editing Plato: new critical editions of the fifth, sixth and seventh tetralogies” – The Classical Association of Canada
https://www.cac-scec.ca/2025/12/umanma2026/
SAM Newsletter December 2025
https://mailchi.mp/8aa53f3f3b5b/sam-newsletter-december-2025?e=
Call for papers- Women Archaeologists and War – EFA
https://www.efa.gr/call-for-papers-women-archaeologists-and-war/
This Day in Ancient History: kalendas decembres
- rites in honour of Neptune (connected with an altar rededication or a temple dedication?)
- rites in honour of Pietas near the Circus Flaminius (not much known about this one, apparently)
- 147 A.D. — Annia Galeria Faustina, wife of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, is given the title of Augusta